with Leah
I'm Leah--wife, mother, editor, writer, photographer, and rickrack apologist. There's craftiness in my DNA, but between the kids and my work and the house and the television and my blogs (http://www.agirlandaboy and http://www.workitmom.com/bloggers/workingonmotherhood, among others), I have to keep my projects quick and easy if I hope to finish them before my boys (born December 2008 and July 2012) graduate from college. You're a working mom and you're busy too, but if you still want to get your craft on, join me here for some fun projects!
How’s the weather where you are? Have you been spending time outside enjoying the longer, warmer days and, if you’re me, blinding dogs and small children with the glare off your legs? Pale calves and all, we’re geared up for park/picnic/party season here, and this year you’ll know us by the sweet outdoor play tent we’ll be tucked inside under the shade of a friendly tree.
I made that in twenty minutes, y’all. You can too.
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This Mother’s Day craft is so classic it will work as a thoughtful (and practical) homemade gift for any mom on your list—your mom, your mother-in-law, your sister, your best friend…You could also casually leave this webpage open on your family computer on the chance that maybe someone will make a silhouette tote for you (if you can refrain from making one for yourself first).
A custom silhouette tote makes a stellar gift on its own, but if you want to go the extra mile you could fill it with a little surprise too: a bouquet of flowers, something fresh from the farmer’s market, a few favorite books and a box of tea. I gave one featuring my nieces to my sister-in-law and filled the bag with Thin Mints, since she lives in England and can’t get Girl Scout Cookies there. Don’t tell my MIL, but she’s getting one with the silhouettes of all the grandkids, two on each side.
If you’ve never done a freezer paper stencil before, this will blow your mind.
Fellow children of the eighties, get ready for a blast from the past: we’re going to use puffy paint to upcycle glass jars and bottles into chic vases for spring blooms.
When my son got his first tiny canisters of Play Doh several years ago, I told him it would stop working if he mixed the colors together.
What? I’m sure I’m not the only mom who’s ever said that.
Fortunately for us all, now that I have a no-fail recipe for homemade play dough, we can both afford to be a little more adventurous. I even went so far as to suggest he mash two colors together, on purpose, for a craft in celebration of both Earth Day (coming up April 22) and my having become a tiny bit less neurotic about art supplies (although I still cringe when he muddies the watercolors, but who doesn’t?).
Last year I tried to get my three-year-old to painstakingly decoupage a dozen fragile blown-out Easter eggs. This worked about as well as you’d imagine, which was not at all. This year we’re going a little simpler with stamps, markers, sticky dots, and glitter. Join us!
Do you always forget about St. Patrick’s Day until oops, it’s here? Yeah, me too. Here are five simple last-minute crafts you can do with or for your family to celebrate, just in the nick of time.
[Image from Pinterest, with unfortunately no clues as to whose original photo this is.]
I made some of these last year and turned them into pins. (This is a perfect use for leftover felt if you made the easy felt trees for Christmas.)
My favorite style of holiday craft is the kind that’s generic enough I can leave it up for several weeks (or months) without looking like a nutter. This St. Patrick’s Day rainbow ribbon wind catcher is something you can enjoy all season long, not just on March 17. It fits with the overall theme of the holiday–leprechauns hiding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow–but it’s also just a pretty spring accessory for your home or garden. I imagined this hanging from our dining room light fixture over a table set with corned beef, potatoes, and soda bread, but after seeing how my seven-month-old’s eyes lit up when he saw it, I also love it as a nursery mobile.
And speaking of babies, I made this whole thing during my son’s pitifully short afternoon nap, so it definitely passes the working mom’s quick’n'easy test.
Nobody says “February showers bring March flowers,” but maybe they will if we all make this quick and easy and oh-so-fancy little craft the next time we’re stuck inside because of rain (or snow). It poured here yesterday, which is why I’m now the proud owner of a handful of lovely little felt blooms that will help brighten those gray weeks of early spring.
Do you love these? You won’t believe how simple the process is. And they’re like the potato chips of crafting: you won’t be able to make just one. So let’s get going.
Valentine’s Day is nearly here, and I still have no idea whether my son will need to take a big batch of cards to class or if the kids are all going to make them at school during craft time. Either way, I want to make sure he has something to give to his teachers (saints, all of them), and since I’ve grown into the type of person who would rather spend hours creating an original card design instead of minutes letting my son pick out a box of pre-mades at the store, here I am with an idea for quick and easy needle-punch Valentines that you can actually make quicker than you can drive to the store and choose between Toy Story and Cars.
My favorite kinds of gifts are unexpected ones.
Neither of my sons’ grandmothers is expecting a Valentine’s Day present from us, so they’re this Cupid’s targets this year. What are they getting? Some quick and easy hand-stamped kitchen towels, which are so cute we had to make one to keep for ourselves. They’re a great afternoon craft for kids of all ages, they’re easy to mail to sweethearts far and wide, and they’ll only cost you a few bucks each.
