RSS
Archive: CRAFT Summer Camp
June 3, 2009
How-To: Bagalopes
How-To: Bagalopes
By Stephanie Scheetz
The bagalope, a simple gift bag made from an envelope, is a project I've shared with countless people over many years. I'm still tickled by their reaction when they learn how it's created. "That bag started as an envelope? No way." Never has the term "pushing the envelope" been truer than with this practical paper project.
All you will need is an envelope, glue stick, liquid glue, scissors, ruler, scoring tool, pencil, rubber stamps, and ink pads (along with any other embellishments you want to add).
Download the project as a PDF.
About the Author:
Stephanie Scheetz (coolcrafting.com) has been a designer and instructor in the craft industry for nearly 15 years. Her hobbies include thrift store shopping, eBaying, and collecting mail art, prison art, and bad art.
Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
Jun 3, 2009 01:00 PM
CRAFT Summer Camp, Kids, Recycle |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
June 1, 2009
Family Connection Letter Writing Center
Family Connection Letter Writing Center
By Bernadette Noll and Kathie Sever
Future Craft Collective
In addition to being all about sustainable crafting, Future Craft Collective is also about building sustainable connection. When we spend our days with small children, so much of life has to be focused on the here and now that we sometimes forget we're actually building long-term relationships. We forget, or just don't even think about, the fact that our children will one day be grownups with whom we will have lifelong, grownup relationships. And we will have those grownup relationships for a whole lot longer than we have small children in the house!
As our own children grow and mature, we realize how crucial it is to think ahead and to think outside of what we are doing at the moment. We have to shake ourselves into thinking of the relationship we are building, not just the snacks we are getting, the mess we are cleaning, or the bedtime we are facilitating. But how do you teach the idea of long-term connection to your children? Like so many other things we want to teach, we model it now, build activities around the modeling, and hope the messages will stick.
One of the tools we're big fans of for building lifelong connection is maintaining ties via the written word. Letters and postcards sent to family and friends far and wide make us feel attached for now and for the long haul. And who doesn't love to get a handwritten letter in the mailbox, amidst all of the bills and bulk mail?
We try to encourage this love of letter writing in our own children. We use old drawings for stationary. We make postcards out of cereal and pasta boxes. We even save the many surplus reply envelopes that come in the mail with other mailings. We found, however, that to save them was one thing and to have them all accessible and in a sort of clearinghouse was quite another indeed. Our letter-writing center led to the creation of more stationary and the writing and sending of more letters, thereby creating more connections with all the people we love.
And so, because of our love and our need, we created the Family Connection Letter Writing Center. Hooray for the art of letter writing and postcard sending. Hooray for finding ways to use the many cereal boxes and old file folders that come through our world. And hooray for showing our children that we can maintain connection no matter how far away we may be.
Read full story
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jun 1, 2009 01:00 PM
CRAFT Summer Camp, Kids |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
May 29, 2009
How-To: Howtoons Pinwheels
The pinwheel is a classic toy that never gets old. All you need is a chopstick, a wine cork, a pushpin, and paper. Embellishments are all up to your personal style, from glitter to paper choice. Howtoons have a beautiful, graphic way of showing you how. Download the PDF.
Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
May 29, 2009 01:00 PM
CRAFT Summer Camp, Kids |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
May 27, 2009
How-To: Candy Box Purses
 |  |
Candy Box Purses
By Racelle Rosett
Some teenage friends of mine were suffering from the purse tyranny of their middle school when we came across these Japanese candy boxes. A glue gun and some fake fur later, we had made these clever recycled purses.
Make your own Candy Box Purse by downloading the project as a PDF.
About the Author:
Racelle Rosett is a television writer who has won the Writer's Guild Award and a national cupcake decorating contest, and whose recipe has been "February" in the Empire Kosher chicken calendar.
Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
May 27, 2009 01:00 PM
CRAFT Summer Camp, Kids, Recycle |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
May 26, 2009
Family Summer Center, Part Two: Family Calendar
Family Summer Center, Part Two: Family Calendar
By Bernadette Noll and Kathie Sever
Future Craft Collective
Hopefully you've completed, or at least seen, last week's project of the Family Intentions and Inspirations Banner. While you can certainly complete the calendar portion on its own, we really like the way the two pieces interact to make the Family Summer Fun Center complete.
Last week we talked about setting some intentions for the summer. This week we'll get ready to actually plan out those intentions on our Family Summer Fun Calendar. This calendar will stand apart from the rest of the year, giving a glimpse-at-a-glance of the entire 3-month window that is summer vacation.
Read full story
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
May 26, 2009 01:00 PM
CRAFT Summer Camp, Kids, Recycle |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
May 22, 2009
How-To: Paper Bead Bangle
Paper Bead Bangle
Roll your own beads to make an awesome safety pin bracelet.
By Stephanie Scheetz
I'm a self-proclaimed paper pack rat. Big pieces, little pieces, nothing gets thrown away. One day I sat staring at a huge stack of paper strips, all the same size. They were leftover remnants from a workshop I had prepped months earlier. "What the heck am I going to do with these?" I thought. And the challenge was made, albeit to myself. I needed to design a project that used up these last bits of paper, which others might have thrown away. What resulted was a fresh spin on a craft project familiar to many, but never seen like this.
Read full story
Posted by Goli Mohammadi |
May 22, 2009 01:00 PM
CRAFT Summer Camp, Jewelry, Kids, Recycle |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
May 20, 2009
Gluten-Free Play Clay Beads
Gluten-Free Play Clay Beads
By Jessica Wilson
Working with kids, I need to have a lot of tricks up my sleeve for those "I'm bored" moments. One of the best remedies for boredom is whipping up a batch of homemade play dough. I have oodles of recipes kicking about in my head; this one is gluten-free and easy to make. The best part is its capacity to be shaped into an awesome assortment of beads and baubles. Let's get to it!
Read full story
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
May 20, 2009 01:00 PM
CRAFT Summer Camp, Kids |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
May 18, 2009
Family Summer Center Part One: Intentions and Inspirations Banner
Family Summer Center, Part One: Intentions and Inspirations Banner
By Bernadette Noll and Kathie Sever
Future Craft Collective
It's that time of year, folks, when the classroom parties hit a fever pitch, the volunteer coordinator at school has you on speed dial, and we, as parents, start to spiral into a little bit of a panic about the season that is ending and the season that is about to begin. Don't get us wrong, we love summer with its opportunities for sleeping in and its carefree nature. It's just the transition that can be a little tricky.
This is our kick-off project for summer "campless" camp and we are totally excited for a summer full of projects. With this project, it is our greatest intention to help ease you and your kids into the transition, while simultaneously helping you get intentional about the open-ended summer months ahead. Additionally, we see this project as an opportunity for you to sneak in one last solo craft project before you segue into fully welcoming the kids into your crafting lair. Of course we're all about using crafting to connect with your kids, and though it sounds like we're saying to go this one alone, it's not entirely true. We just want you to get started and then call the kids in for the completion once you've got this one ready for summer planning action.
Today we're making the first part of the two-part Family Summer Center. We created the Summer Center as a place where the family can come on a lazy or crazy formless summer day to get ideas, prompts, and inspiration towards what to do next. It's also a place to put intentions and schedule activities for the three school-less months that make up summer. The two projects included in the creation of the Family Summer Center are the re-usable Family Calendar and the Family Intentions and Inspirations Banner. We'll start with the Intentions Banner and get to the Calendar next week, closer to the end of the school year.
We came up with this project because we've found that when we start with a little brainstorming, mixed with a dose of intention, and add a bit of family planning (not THAT kind of family planning), we are amazed (and delighted!) at how seldomly we have to act as referee or cruise director for our kids. Additionally, giving the kids a visual glimpse into their schedule and options, and allowing them a bit of autonomy in planning their days and listing their desires, gives us all more cause to actually enjoy each other's company in this elongated season we have together. So let's do it!
Read full story
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
May 18, 2009 01:00 PM
CRAFT Summer Camp, Kids, Recycle |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry |
Suggest a Site
