Crafts for Kids

The other day, a friend of mine posted on Facebook, "took the kids to buy crafts to get us through June, and they blew through half of them yesterday. It might be cheaper to put them in camp." I posted these links on her wall and realized that I need to spend some time with them myself as yesterday Zadie tells me, "after nap I wanna make a craft, a gluing craft."

These are my three favorite sites.

Made by Joel:

I've posted links to his blog before but now there is a categories bar on the right that makes it really easy to access the projects.

The Crafty Crow:

I've had this button in the sidebar for a really long time now. I actually haven't looked at it in ages but The Crafty Crow is such an amazing resource. Now that Zadie knows her way around a pair of scissors, it's time.

Kids Craft Weekly:

Lots of great ideas and fun projects are at Kids Craft Weekly and you can sign up to have an email sent to you so you don't forget.

Anybody have any good resources for kids crafts aside from loading up on pre-packaged kits from the store?

We're back

We took a family trip to Berlin. It was amazing. I have lots of new travel tips to add to that section but a very busy month ahead. Remind me never to go away in May again. It is too much work!

Anyway, above is the photo of the bag in action. I am reading our guidebook while we stopped for a snack.

The bag!

I finished the bag and I've been trying it out. I just now realized that I didn't take any "action" shots so I'll do that soon. It's the perfect size and I'm quite happy with it. Two bold box pleats on each side and no box pleats on the inside. I made a pattern for that shape so there wouldn't be all that fabric to dirty up.

Inside is Amy Butler and a print I can't remember the name of (anyone?). The straps are solid yellow home dec. fabric from Ikea on the outside and a secret bit of the matching Heather Ross moons. I just love the sleeping beauty fabric more than anything.

There are definitely a few things I'd change if I make this bag again. I didn't add interfacing to the top panel and that was a big mistake. The pocket on the inside is a bit small. But I enjoyed making something for myself for once -- and actually using it.

Making some progress

Here is the pocket sewn into the lining. I stitched it on after I ironed the interfacing so it would be stronger.

Design process

We are taking a little trip in a few days and I need the perfect bag for it. I searched high and low for patterns but nothing was working so I decided to design my own. I measured a few of the bags I already own to get an idea of size. I pulled a bunch of fabrics and spent whatever free time I had in two days to draft my own pattern. I just finished testing it with some dotted swiss I picked up at a yard sale and I think it's going to work.

I thought I'd show a couple of photos of my fabric process. I start by pulling out anything that seems good to me and then I think about it. Next, I pare down even more to get to the heart of it. Tomorrow I'll narrow this down with my pattern and decide what's going to go where. I like mixing prints but I don't think that will work for me in a bag. I have an ideal self that mixes prints but in real life, I'm damn boring.

The bag I designed has a finished size of 16" wide at the bottom (4" deep -- it's a box bottom shape). At the top it's about 14" wide with two nice box pleats. I might finish off the top with a wide-ish band to keep it clean. I'm still not sure about what I'll do for pockets on the inside or if I'm going with one strap or two but I'm hoping that will be a little easier. I hope to post pics when I'm finished.

Umbrella Prints

I must admit to doing absolutely nothing lately that's notable enough for the blog. As the semesters near their end twice a year, I find my house in complete shambles, my daughter wild, and my office a sea of posterboard and white paper. I can see the end of the tunnel but it is still a tiny pinprick of light. In a couple of weeks, I'll be out.

Lately it's all I can do to help get the kid to bed before I climb underneath a blanket on the couch and mimic a root vegetable. Now that it is staying lighter later and there are actual leaves on the trees, I'll be able to get back into it all. But seriously mid-term is the mark where it all begins to go downhill.

The photo above is a Trimmings Pack from Umbrella Prints on Etsy. They are based in Australia and I've been wanting to buy some fabric for a while but haven't had a project in mind. I picked up this back and now I think I must buy some more of the elephants. They are better than I had expected. I plan to make more mini pillows and some rugs for the house I wasn't able to pick up today.

Making some minis

Z and I set to work on another scene this weekend. I bought a bunch of new chairs and wanted to play around with them and so did she. We were having some issues with the layout of everything so I decided to make some pillows to go on the floor. As always, I had some help with accessorizing the space. The more I look at the photos, the more I think there is just too much stuff in there. I kinda have this rule in my head though that I only photograph once and then I dismantle everything. I don't look at the photos until after my design assistant has gone to bed and the light is long gone.

The pillows were so easy to make, I'm ashamed I haven't made more mini stuff for our scenes. I used some muslin I had in a bin and a DJ Lance I had printed onto iron-on paper a few months ago. I finished them while Z was eating lunch and surprised her with them. They add to the 1970s sort of rumpus room vibe of the space -- lots of wood paneling and random furniture, some kids stuff and whatever snacks you have in the fridge.

I like the lighting.  A few more pics and a list of what's possibly what over on flickr.