Archive for the ‘crafts’ Category

Pat Sloan and faux ugly dolls

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Freeform crafting! Faux "ugly dolls"

Beth and I were lucky enough to spend a half hour with Pat Sloan today on her “Creative Talk Radio” show. We adore Pat and had fun talking with her about crafts that quilter-types can do with their kids or grandkids. One of the crafts we mentioned was this faux “ugly doll” craft. These were inspired by a craft that oldest daughter did at a sleepover… and ever since my kids can’t make enough of these freeform cuddlies. Basically, you take felt, make any “ugly” shape – a body with ears or hands or legs, whatever they feel like. Sew the two pieces together, leaving a small opening, and fill with rice, beans, stuffing, whatever. You can also add a nice smelling tea bag to the mix. Sew up the hole and add buttons etc. for eyes. There really isn’t a way to do this wrong—our favorite kind of project!

Enjoy! Jenna

Easy invisible ink

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

White crayons make easy invisible ink

My daughter got the cutest birthday invite the other day—a rolled up piece of paper with a highlighter inside, with the following text “I see a slumber party in your future… Color below with the highlighter to reveal your destiny.” When she colored over the empty space with the highlighter, the details of the party could be seen. The cool and easy way they did this—a white crayon! We’ve tried many “invisible ink” recipes, but white crayon is an elegant solution. You would think that years of egg dying for Easter would have given us this idea before, but it was a fun surprise to see it used on paper. The birthday girl credits an American Girl sleepover book for the idea—gotta love the folks at AG!

Enjoy! Jenna