Worry Dolls
14 Apr 2010 Leave a Comment
Option #1
I remember when my mother gave me my first set of these. I was always a worrier -still am. I do not have them any longer because one of my children had developed a fascination for them and took them, lost them. I can’t be mad, but can’t replace them either. My mother died in 2000.
Family Fun has some great info on making Worry Dolls! Their directions are clear and seem easy enough. The materials are not too difficult to obtain. I bet my girls would love to make these themselves!
In Guatemala, kids tell their troubles to worry dolls- tiny figures that they tuck under their pillows at night. Take this tradition worldwide with a multicultural collection of clothespin dolls.
My worry dolls had been more like half the size of toothpicks, but these are great for little hands to hold.
Girl Scout Worry Dolls at ChildFun.com. I really like this idea. They would make a great swap item if they could be made relatively quickly and cheaply. I wonder if I play with it a bit, and use those mini clothespins…..
I like this! 21st Century Mom had a unique way of making them, and the site is great.
Happy Crafting!
~Kell
Christmas Preparations
13 Apr 2010 Leave a Comment
It’s never too early to start, right? My health hasn’t been the best recently, and I didn’t manage to hand make any gifts for Christmas last year. My aim is to find some unusual ideas and get started on them early so that I won’t find disappointed children. I hadn’t realized how much it meant to my kids when I handmade something. They still have those Sorry Dolls I made two years ago.
I’ve got a few ideas brewing. More to follow over the next few days 
Anyone have any suggestions on some great items for kids ranging from 4-14?
~Kell
Bookmarks
12 Jun 2009 Leave a Comment
I love to read. Let me say that again. I LOVE to read.
And though I love to buy and read ebooks, there is nothing like the smell of a new paperback. So that led me to research bookmarks, so I can make some more.
I found macrame ones.
A crochet heart one.
Crochet and bead one.
A book thong.
And another one.
One made with wire and beads.
Scrap paper from Scrapbooking.
Even Family Fun has a bookmark.
Fun for the children and a keepsake too!
That is enough to keep me busy for a while. I’m off to look through my crochet thread and bead collections.
Happy Crafting!!
Kell
Cool kid crafts
27 Apr 2009 Leave a Comment
While searching for a no sew denim skirt, I found this great site with a few idea on crafts for kids. How Stuff Works has no sew pillows. I really like the book pillow idea!
Macrame
22 Jan 2009 2 Comments
My mother knew how to do this, as did my grandmother. Both have been dead for many years and so if I want to learn macrame, I’ll have to figure it out myself. I saw owl macrame swaps yesterday and it made me decide to compose a post for the blog.
From wikipedia:
Macramé or macrame is a form of textile-making using knotting rather than weaving or knitting. Its primary knots are the square knot and forms of hitching (full hitch and double half hitches). It has been used by sailors, especially in elaborate or ornamental knotting forms to decorate anything from knife handles to bottles to parts of ships.
Common materials used in macrame include cotton twine, hemp, leather or yarn. An essential feature of the threads used is a level of “give”. Jewelry is often made in combination of both the knots and various beads (glass, wooden, etc.), pendants or shells.
My oldest daughter would be the first to say “Mom! Don’t go to wikipedia!!!! They have trained her at school not to listen to the site. While I don’t know if sailors did macrame, I do know that it involves knotting and sometimes beads
Wikihow has a post showing the basics of macrame.
Here is an interesting site that offers some how to’s on the site.
Bracelet from Family Fun
I can see this project will be a lot of fun :
Kell
Cooking Class
21 Jan 2009 Leave a Comment
in Food
When we want to do a candy making class for any of my troops we have found a delightful woman who loves to come out and teach the girls to make different things. Her prices are very reasonable, and she takes all the work off of you.
I’m devoting an entire blog post to her because she is so wonderful wtih the kids. You can even pick from a list of recipes which ones -yes, more than one – recipe you’d like the girls to learn. She will also give them each candies to take home and copies of the recipes they’ve learned.
Kell
More Girl Scout SWAPS
20 Jan 2009 Leave a Comment
in Crafts, Crafts - older girls, Crafts - younger girls
Making Friends has a very nice page of the history of SWAPS.
“Girl Scout S.W.A.P.S.
Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere or Share With A Pal”
They give an explanation of how this came from Native American Indians. This story they posted is not something I am familiar with, so I thought I’d post the link to Making Friends and you can visit them for their history.
Links to ideas for SWAPS:
and a yahoo group for SWAP discussion
Kell
Crochet Vday Envelopes
16 Jan 2009 Leave a Comment
in Crafts, Crafts - older girls, Crafts - younger girls
This is a cute project that I found on the Lion Brand Website. They offer this in their Free Crochet Patterns. It is part of their By Kids for Kids program. How cute to have them make one for mom or grandmom or even for themselves! Now to teach them all how to crochet. I am thinking that this would be better suited for my Juniors and Cadettes, although we could try it with the Brownies. They would just need more assistance.
I should add that their membership is free and you can subscribe for a free newsletter with patterns and advice.
Kell
Plastic Bag Pom Poms
15 Jan 2009 Leave a Comment
in Crafts, Crafts - older girls, Crafts - younger girls
I was browsing the internet, not even looking for Pom Poms, and guess what I found? Creature Comforts has a link on using plastic bags instead of yarn to make pom poms. Now I’m wondering what else we can make pom poms out of. I think I will ask the girls at our meeting tonight to see how many different materials can make pom poms
Kell
Sock Monkeys!
14 Jan 2009 Leave a Comment
My girls are so excited about this project. They’ve been discussing it for over a month now while we wait for all the girls to pick out and purchase socks and buttons so we can begin.
A friend gave me this link to a great tutorial to make sock monkeys. We’re going to work on them at our next meeting.
There are other tutorials on the web for Sock Monkeys as well:
Oddly enough, this link is to the same tutorial I listed first but has all the photos and instructions on one page.
I never actually had a sock monkey as a child, but now I will have one I was like a little girl looking at the socks I purchased (Clearance at Target). Once we finish our project, I’ll post pictures of our sock monkey army!
Kell
