Author Archive

Just stopping by to announce the winners of the two P&G Yes Kits (each one is a cute tote bag filled with aprons and products – Tide, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, Puffs facial tissue, Charmin Freshmates and Bounty paper towels – to help you clean up any creative messes you and your little ones make). Last week my toddler and I experimented with pudding paint, which, I am happy to report, actually made a lovely "masterpiece" when it dried. I am looking forward to trying a few more mucky kids' crafts once the weather is warmer and I can hose the baby off when we're done (just kidding! maybe.).

And the Random Integer Generator has chosen...

and...

Congratulations Kim and Kiki! I'll be contacting you shortly to send out your prizes. And thank you to everyone who entered – I enjoyed reading what kinds of messy fun other crafty kids (little and big) are having. Keep up the creative chaos!

I am not a fan of messes. But having a toddler in the house has really curbed my compulsion to clean obsessively – there's no way to keep on top of the chaos, so I've had to settle for things to be "somewhat tidy."

Letting kids experiment with arts and crafts is good for encouraging creativity, and I find it relaxing to take a few minutes to create something, however small. Archie and I have had a few lovely colouring sessions (and one failed handprint-making craft that resulted in a rainbow-coloured boy and crumpled paper).

Since he is still sampling everything he gets his hands on (I'd be curious to know what purple tastes like too), we use nontoxic art supplies. I recently found a simple homemade paint recipe: Make a batch of vanilla instant pudding (or if you're pressed for time, buy some individual pudding cups) and just add food colouring. You can do the same with plain yogurt – though I imagine the artwork wouldn't keep as long.

Colours appear darker when the pudding dries

To promote creativity, P&G brands have created It All Starts With Yes, a campaign to encourage adults to join kids in exploring, discovering and sharing life's experiences. And to help manage all the the mess that entails, the company has created the "Yes Kit," a cute tote bag filled with aprons (one for you and two pint-sized versions) and products (Tide, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, Puffs facial tissue, Charmin Freshmates and Bounty paper towels), so you can clean up when you're done.

He thought it tasted pretty good, too!

So, we're having a giveaway! (Yay!) I've got Yes Kits for two lucky winners.

Here's how to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post to say hello, and tell us what messy crafts you enjoy doing (with kids – or yourself, of course!).
2. Make sure you leave your name and email address, so that I can contact you if you win. (Unfortunately, we can only ship prizes within Canada, but we'd still love to hear from you if you're an international reader!)
3. Do it before 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.

I'll randomly choose and announce the winners on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. Good luck!

The knitters and crocheters have Ravelry, so it's only fair that we sewists (OK, I know that's not a word, but "sewer" always looks wrong) have our own online gathering place. Enter Threadbias: a new online community for people who love to sew, quilt and embroider.

All of the content is created by the site's users, so once you create a profile, it becomes your own virtual sewing studio: You can post the projects you're working on; exchange ideas and patterns with other Threaders; and browse fabrics, notions and books (with links to buy them online).

As Threadbias just launched, there haven't been a lot of unique patterns posted yet, but I found a few interesting ideas (fancy making a tea wallet or a baby bowling shirt?). I could see the site becoming a great resource for quilting inspiration – just check out this Luigi (of SuperMarioBros. fame) quilt!

My absolute favourite sewing-project-sharing site is still BurdaStyle – though I find the clothing patterns a bit cumbersome to print, tape together and cut out. Do you have a favourite online craft community? I'd love to hear about what else is out there!

Raise your hand if you've got a shoebox stuffed in a closet somewhere that's filled with seashells. If you don't, you're one smart cookie. The rest of us have squirreled away these tiny treasures with the thought that one day we'll come up with a craft project to use them in. One day....

I just came back from a press trip to the Out Islands of the Bahamas, and with the scores of gorgeous shells lying on the even more gorgeous beaches, I couldn't resist doing a little beachcombing.

Beach at Munjack Cay, off The Abacos

On the trip, I came across all kinds of aquatic specimens  – sand dollars, starfish, conch, even a slow-moving slug – that don't appear in the waters and shores of the Great Lakes I'm used to trawling.

Unfortunately, this lovely little sea urchin shell didn't survive the flight home.

So now I've got an even larger collection, and it seems a shame to store them away. I'd like to bring a little of the beach life into my home, but the craft projects I've come up with are lacking in inspiration: I could decorate a frame or flowerpot, glue the shells together to make little characters (OK, Marcel the Shell is pretty adorable) or pile them into a bowl.

I tried the bowl. Still not quite right.

Any ideas? In the meantime, I'm heading outside. Perhaps this lovely warm weather will get the creative juices flowing!

I've been inspired by the abnormally warm temperatures in my part of the country (it's supposed to be in the double digits all week!) and the lovely crocuses, lilies and tulips bursting up everywhere. I got another hit of inspiration after seeing this basic yet brilliant fabric bunting tutorial in lovely pastel hues. I don't know if everyone else is tired of bunting, but I love anything festive.... So I made some to welcome my favourite season.

I cut a bunch of fabric scraps to the same size, using pinking shears (I decided rectangles were faster than triangles). The tricky part was the lettering – I'm sure there's an easier method, but I drew my own letters and freezer-paper stencilled them on. I nestled the pieces into some yellow bias tape and ran the whole thing through the sewing machine. Now all I need to do is wait for an even warmer day and open the windows. C'mon in, spring!

Do you change up your decor when the seasons change? I'd love to hear about your ideas and see your projects. Please share!

I was super excited when I came across Pinhole Press's latest customizable product: a Big Book of Names and Faces (via A Cup of Joe). I have been meaning to make something similar for my son, Archie. He loves books, and one full of pictures of family and friends would be a fantastic way to help him learn all of their names, especially those people he doesn't see often. I was disappointed, though, by the price tag – there's no way that book isn't going to be ripped, drooled on, stepped on and thrown in the first five minutes it's in Archie's hands.

So I came up with my own less expensive version that I won't mind being nibbled on a bit or crammed under the fridge (oh, how toddlers can find the oddest places to put things!). The whole project took about an hour and cost less than $10.

I picked up a "brag book" size photo album, which had a fabric cover, and stencilled my title on. (I found these amazing reusable adhesive stencils at Michaels.... I cannot be trusted to go into that place without buying something I didn't know I needed.) This is the part that took the longest, because the paint kept soaking into the fabric and I had to apply four coats.

For the inside, I printed out each person's name in a large, easy to read font, with a colourful background, on white card stock. I then traced a 4- by 6-inch photo to ensure the name tags would fit into the book. And then it was just a matter of placing the pictures and tags inside.

I'm hoping Archie will enjoy his personalized book and that it will help him learn the names of his friends and family – and he will eventually stop referring to me as Bobo!

Wow – have craftiness, will travel! Knitting on a boat, rubber stamping on a warship at sea, using a sewing machine while camping: Apparently we'll go to any lengths to get our craft on. Thank you to everyone who entered for a chance to win a copy of Sweatshop Paris: Lessons From a Sewing Café. I enjoyed reading all of your interesting (and inspiring!) stories.

The Random Integer Generator chose one lucky winner:

Congratulations, Donna, I'll be in touch shortly. Hopefully this book will inspire you to take your knitting on the road! Thanks again to everyone who entered, and have a lovely Wednesday!

UPDATE: This contest is now closed.

Last week, while washing my hands in a public washroom (this is how all good stories start, right?) in Toronto's central train station, during rush hour no less, I happened to spot someone crafting. This was no knitting in public situation (not that you'd expect that in a train station bathroom either), but rather a full-on, crouched-down-on-the-floor-near-an-electrical-outlet heat-embossing project.

I'm not sure what type of emergency requires one to scatter their stamping gear all over a grimy counter and risk their safety by kneeling behind a constantly opening door, but it must have been something extremely important. I once took my crocheting camping (I was working on a line of dog bow ties at the time, and had some camping buddies to try them out on), but obviously I'm a lightweight.

Brantford the pug says all real dogs wear bow ties while camping.

On a barely related note, I've got a copy of Sweat Shop Paris: Lessons From a Sewing Café to give away. It's packed with more than 50 innovative fashion and home design projects (plus recipes for some delectable treats) from the owners of the Sweat Shop, a superhip café-workshop I'd love to visit one day. What better place could there be to sit and knit than a Parisian café, with a fantastic cup of coffee and a plate of macarons?

For your chance to win, leave ONE comment telling us the strangest place you've ever crafted.  The contest is open to Canadian residents only. Contest will run until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21, 2012; I'll randomly select and post a winner here on Wednesday, February 22. Good luck!

I'm not one to do up my house for every holiday and event (though I admire the people who have the creativity to come up with decorations for Groundhog Day), but a little colour in the middle of a grey February is always welcome. So here's a quick craft to warm up your kitchen: a hearty tea towel.

This project involves simple freezer paper stencilling made even simpler: Instead of drawing and cutting out my own design, I used two different sizes of heart-shaped paper punches to make a stencil. Just iron on, paint, let dry, iron again, and you're done! I reused the stencil in an attempt to make a matching pair, but the wax didn't stick as well the second time and the paint bled. (Lesson learned.) I did this project with a group of friends, who were all way more adventurous and made their own designs.

Mary's lovely monogram

Jenna's crazy hearts

With just a bit of freezer paper, some paint and super cheap Ikea tea towels, you could easily make a whole year's worth of simple holiday decor. Guess I'd better start looking for four-leaf clover paper punches!

I am often too impatient for the fussiness of finding and using a pattern to sew clothing for myself (and I often find myself deciding at 10 p.m. that I Absolutely Need Something New to Wear Tomorrow!), so I made my own basic shirt pattern.

Homemade shirt pattern pieces.... Don't think I'll be working for Simplicity anytime soon.

I didn't use any technical procedure (in fact, I didn't know there was an actual science to it until just now). I took a simple top that fit me well, and traced the basic components onto tissue paper, keeping in mind the places where they would connect and ensuring they matched up. I ended up with front and back pieces (cut one each, on the fold), and a long sleeve (cut two, on the fold) as well as a short-sleeve option (I just traced the long sleeve and made it shorter).

For extra stability, I laid pieces of clear packing tape over the tissue paper; the only drawback is that the pins tend to get sticky from the tape. (Next time I would use a heavier paper and skip that step.) The resulting pattern pieces are not pretty, but they've held up through quite a few uses – and I can whip up a new top anytime I fancy.

Next I'd like to create a basic bodice block (and the companion sleeve). It's a custom-made template that you can simply alter, by adding darts and changing the neckline, for example, to create any number of shirts, jackets and dresses. Drafting your own patterns requires a lot of trial and error, but it's so rewarding to be able to say, "Yes, I made the shirt I'm wearing (so please don't look too closely at the hem)." Have you had any luck creating your own designs?