Crafts

A few months ago, I spotted this little cutie on Pinterest. The link is not in English, but the photos are pretty self-explanatory. A little toy in an Altoids box seems charming and appealing in an aesthetic sense, but I…

At the first hint of spring a few weeks ago, I ran out to buy potting soil, and the next day Amelia picked out some bulbs. Since bulbs are much more exciting than a bag of dirt, we got a…

My house is a firetrap. Seriously, paper comes into our house like moths to the light. And most of it arrives, innocently enough, in Amelia's school backpack. Treasured art projects she made at school. Plural. Every day. Of course, I'm…

It's been a good month for crafts in our house, in part because it's been raining, but mostly because we just adopted a dog and Amelia won't leave the house unless it's absolutely necessary.Turns out that even the dog gets tired…

Winter must be making me think about ice, because here's another ice project...albeit one that we did over the summer, and it wasn't one of Amelia's favorites.  But I thought it was very cool (pun intended), and it might be…

If the cold of winter makes you dream of summer, this project is for you. We usually do this one in the summer, but indoor ice is fun year-round, so we pulled it out again tonight. This may be the…

It all started with a baby shower gift. Someone gave me a very thoughtful gift of mommy-baby handprints in clay. Amelia was born earlier than expected, so we celebrated her due date, and the healthy 5-week-old she'd become, by having…

We’re hosting Thanksgiving this year. Somehow I’ve reached what my mother informs me is "middle-aged" without ever hosting a real, all-ages Turkey Day. Sure, I made a turkey once, but that was long before Amelia was born and everyone ate…

Something about Mod Podge has always turned me off. I don’t know why – yes, the name is silly and for unknown reasons makes me think of The Partridge Family, but surely that’s not a good enough reason.Lately I’ve been seeing…

A few weeks ago, I posted about a paver activity that has become a family craft tradition. Halloween ghosts are another one.These not-so-spooky little spirits are easy to make, and you’ve probably got everything you need already. This year we…

Last week I posted a photo on Facebook, and immediately received a flurry of comments from friends I never hear from – comments like "Wow, what is that and how did you do it?" In response, I promised a blog…

Some habits are hard to break. Amelia was born on the 5th of December, and on her first day of life we sent newborn pictures to family and friends. On the fifth of every month since, I've collected, uploaded, edited,…

Now that fall is practically here and Charlotte backyards are a delight again, it's easy to forget that just a few weeks ago it was so hot your shoes could melt on the sidewalk and the last thing anybody wanted to…

Some projects are so awesome that you never outgrow them. Just the mention of shaving cream brings an eager twinkle to Amelia's eye. We were first introduced to the wonders of shaving cream and liquid watercolor almost three years ago,…

I had to do it. Variations of this melted crayon masterpiece have been circulating on Pinterest for weeks, and the cumulative effect has been the best subliminal marketing campaign ever. What should we do this afternoon? Melt crayons, of course.…

Amelia is obsessed with baking soda. And really, why wouldn’t she be? It’s arguably the most versatile and mysterious product in the pantry. Her introduction to the stuff was early and personal – after trying every ointment in the diaper…

Amelia is catching on to this whole find-a-project, try-it-out thing. While flipping through Disney Family Fun magazine in search of perfume samples (poor dear), she found a recipe for these adorable lollypapas. And we had to make them. Now. That’s…

I hate throwing things out. Not in a hoarder kind of way, I almost obsessively use whatever I save as quickly as possible. But if something looks like it may have another life, I just can't waste it. There's fodder…