Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
I love this idea of a family sketch book from Cakies: just leave a big, blank pad in a common area of the house—the coffee table or kitchen—and when the mood strikes, anyone can scribble away. Make sure to date page one, and when it's full, break out a new one. Such a fun way to preserve your kids doodles (and yours) in a tidy way!
Link via The Crafty Crow.
Categories: Crafts, Time for Fun | Tags: art, crafts, DIY, Family, kids, little kids
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
I am currently completely obsessed with a new blog I found (well, new to me) called Inchmark. It's written by a former Martha art director, so as you can imagine, it's impeccable.
I fell in love with this holiday post—these tags are so easy and so adorable! She provides you with her well-designed templates, so all of the fussy layout measurements are done for you.
PS…check out her advent calendar, and then look at the one from Parents Mag. I guess great minds think alike!
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
I'm a huge fan of Etsy (at this point, who isn't?) so when they asked to me to contribute to the Etsy Finds section of their blog, I couldn't say no. My assignment was to "shop" for great gifts for a baby's first holiday, so I dove into hundreds of pages of gorgeous, well-considered toys for little ones.
The article was published today, and a conversation began in the comment section about the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) legislation that will go into effect February 10, 2009, requiring testing on all toys brought to market. While this legislation is enormously important to keep our little ones safe (Parents reported on this in the October issue), it will effectively put a number of independent toy makers out of business due to the steep charge of each toy test. Amber Dusick of Woodmouse Toys commented: “I'd be more than happy to have each of my toys tested, if it wasn't so
cost prohibitive. It is the COST involved in testing that will shut us
down, it isn't that anyone refuses to have their work tested."
Etsy points out that these toys are "…made with love, care, the human touch and—often—all-natural materials. These items bring the consumer marketplace back to a personal level
where customers can chat with toy makers and even create custom items
for specific needs."
For more information, you can check out the US Consumer product Safety Commission site, the Handmade Toy Alliance's website or Etsy's call to action.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Are you a buyer of handmade toys for children? Do you think that handmade toys should fall under the same testing guidelines as toys made in China, for example?
Categories: Shopping & Gear, Time for Fun | Tags: art, baby, Christmas, crafts, dicey topics, DIY, gifts, Go Green, Holidays
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
We are all trying to be eco-minded these days, and crafting is a great way to turn trash into treasure. Here are three clever and earth conscious ways to give paper back to the trees.
Starting from the left, Bella Dia made this sweet tree from newspaper and glitter. Just Like Martha will show you step by step how to fold down pages of a magazine to make a tiny spruce, and AlphaMom offers up this sweet craft that will brighten your bleak winter windows by using up craft paper scraps. (Okay so maybe it's really only green in color, but it was too cute to resist!)
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
I think my Halloween obsession has reached new heights; I just can’t say goodbye to October 31st this year. I guess it’s a holiday that has everything— decorations, crafts, costumes and candy!
I’ve been hearing of some pretty fabulous ways to tame the candy beasts that become your children at Halloween time. But I must say, I’ve never quite seen such an intricate (and clever) system as this one from Alphamom.com. It looks like so much fun—you punch out the glued-on tissue paper to reveal a treat; it’s like an advent calendar for the month of November. (And it reminds me of the punch game from The Price Is Right. Anyone else have a game show obsession?) It’s a great way to portion-control the sugar, and it gives your kids something to look forward to after dinner.
We want to know…do you have any clever tricks up your sleeves for doling out the Halloween sweets?
Link found via Ohdeedoh.com.
Categories: Health & Safety, Holidays | Tags: art, crafts, DIY, Halloween, kids, little kids
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
There is no greater crafting joy for me than upcycling for art’s sake, which is why I have been desperately trying to invent a craft to make from post-Halloween candy wrappers. It actually never occurred to me to think beyond the paper waste and onto the cardboard candy box.
Check out these candy box robots made by That Artist Woman. With a few additional crafting doo-dads, Halloween trash can become an out-of-this-world treasure!
Link via The Crafty Crow.
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
The final countdown is on…you have 48 hours remaining until one of the most important days of the year. So today I leave you with inspiration from Halloweens from Parents past and present. And don’t worry…sometimes the last minute ideas turn out to be the best!
(PS…this very spooky slide show tool comes to you courtesy of Photobucket.com, the largest, coolest photo sharing site around. Just upload your photos and they provide a gazillion unique options for sharing them with your nearest and dearest ghouls and goblins.)
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
Okay, it’s October 1st which officially begins the 31 day countdown to the spook-tacular sugar-fest of Halloween. I thought I’d kick the month off with a light n’ easy craft that will ease you into the fall spirit (before the homemade costume stress sets in). These precious pumpkin pom-poms (found via Curbly.com) are super-easy to make and the kids will love them. You can even add jack-o-lantern faces with tiny shape cut from adhesive-backed felt.
30 days and counting….
