If your kids, like mine, love to play house for hours and hours, play food, you’ll know by now, figures largely into this imaginary world. My daughter loves to make tea and lunch for her babies and herself, and sometimes if I’m lucky, I’ll get a plate as well. This play pasta is easy enough to create that most kids can help out and the result will bring hours of play time fun.

If you can’t find beige felt, try soaking a few pieces of white felt in coffee or tea and allowing it to dry!

Here’s what you need

Tan or beige felt sheets
Pinking shears
Sewing Scissors
Needle and matching thread
Ruler and pencil
Batting

Tortellini

1. Cut 3-inch diameter circles from your felt.
2. Lay a quarter sized lump of batting in the center of your circle and fold over into a half-circle. Stitch a few stitches at the point to hold the shape in place.
3. Bring the two sides of the half-circle together and cross over, stitching them in place.
4. Fold the rounded edge over to finish the tortellini shape.

Ravioli

1. Cut 2 2-inch squares using your pinking shears.
2. Sand which a quarter sized piece of batting between the two layers of felt.
3. Stitch a square 1/2 inch in from the sides around the square, sealing the batting in place.

Linguini

1. Using your ruler, mark out 1/2 inch wide strips along the length of your felt.
2. Cut out the strips to make long noodles
(if you want you can also cut a wobbly shape out of red felt to make a blob of spaghetti sauce to set over the linguini!)

In the last few weeks, my summer flowers have begun to fade and the mums are starting to make a showing in my garden. Fall is on the way. From one of the windows of our house we have been watching tiny, bright yellow birds feast of the shriveling heads from our row of sunflowers. It’s been so much fun watching them flit and fly around the plants that I decided to spread the wealth around the house so that we had a view form every window with these sunflower head feeders.

If you don’t have sunflowers growing in your yard, you can sometimes find them through crafts stores, florists or even your local farmers market.

Here’s what you need:

Two sunflower heads per feeder
Floral wire
Ribbon
Needle-nose pliers
Wire cutters
Embroidery needle

1. Use the wire cutters to trim the stalk of the flowers back as far as you can.

2. Cut a 12 inch piece of wire and thread it through the back of one of the flowers. If the wire is bending, use the needle to make a hole in the flower before you push the wire through. Use your pliers to pull it out the front side of the flower and then thread it back through to the back about 1/4 of an inch over from where the first hole is.

3. Using the same wire, repeat the process with the other head so that the two flowers lie back to back.

4. Pull the wired tightly and twist together to secure. Trim ends.

5.  Thread the ribbon between the two heads below where the wire connects them. Bring the two ends of the ribbon up over the top of the flowers and tie a knot just at the edge of the flower heads. Tie another knot in the ribbon about 8 inches up, leaving a loop in between knots.

6. Hang from a tree near a window and watch the birds flock!

I love to go green whenever possible, so I try to find ways to reuse objects around the house.  One of my favorite items to reuse is an empty plastic juice container.  I use the Welch’s brand – they are very sturdy and you can even run them through the dishwasher before decorating.  In the past I have decorated quite a few for my scrap room to hold supplies.  My son recently got a new desk for his room so I decorated this can to hold his pencils.  He also loves to write notes to his friends, so I created a matching mini notebook.

Supplies used:

K & Company – Actopus Collection

• 12×12 Paper Pad
• Rub-ons
• Grand Adhesion Sticker

Ribbon
Plastic Juice Container
Composition Notebook (small)
Strong Adhesive

To cover the juice can:

* Cut a strip of paper to cover the entire side of the can and adhere.  You will need to use use a strong tape such as Therm O Web Zips Craft Adhesive Lines.

* Cut a small strip of paper and adhere to the top edge of the can using the same adhesive.

To cover the notebook.

* Cut a piece of paper to cover the notebook and adhere using a strong adhesive

* Apply rub-ons (see picture) to the notebook.

* Affix 3 Dimensional sticker to center of the notebook.

* Adhere piece of ribbon to edge of the notebook.  You can also tie a bow if desired.

My youngest child is headed off to school this fall and, being the girly girl she is, she has a whole closet full of new dresses and skirts that she deemed school worthy. And since she has changed her clothing color palate from red and pale pink to Hot pink and lime green, we are in need of some new hair bobbles to go with her back to school outfits. Knitted flowers look complicated but are really fairly simple little projects that can be completed in a sitting, or carted around with you to work on here and there. They are also a great way to use up leftover yarn, that is, if you happen to have hot pink and lime green yarn just hanging around in your stash!

Here’s what you need

2 colors of worsted weight yarn
Size US 5 knitting needles
Yarn needle
Hair Clips

For Each Petal:

Cast on 4 sts
Row 1: Knit into front and back of first st, Knit 3 sts (5 sts)
Row 2: Purl into front and back of first st, purl 4 (6 sts)
Row 3: Knit first two sts together, knit two, knit last two sts together (4 sts)
Row 4: Purl first two sts together, purl last 2 sts together (2 sts)
Break Yarn, weave ends in and tie off, slid to the end of the needle

Knit five petals in this manner, casting each on to the same needle where the last petal is stored. On the fifth needle, do not break yarn, instead use it to knit across all 10 sts then thread the yarn onto the needle and run it back through the loop of each sts as you pull it off the knitting needle. Pull tightly to draw together the petals, forming a flower. Tie yarn off and weave in ends.

Thread the yarn needle with the contrasting yarn and whip stitch around the edges of each petal. Stitch a few loops up from the center of the flower to accent the core. Tie off and weave in ends. Press the flower with a hot, steam iron and sew or glue the back onto a hair clip.

My daughter Bee’s friend Em turned 4 years old last week and it was time to pony up and make a gift!  Her mom informed me that she loved cooking, so an apron would be perfect.  Although I made this apron for a 4 yr. old, you could add 1 more fat quarter, adjust the waist measurement, and have one made for yourself easily!

Here’s what you need:

2 coordinating Fat Quarters
Thread
Scissors
Measuring tape or ruler
Fabric pen

1). First, measure how wide & long you want your apron.  While I was making mine for a little 4 year old, I wanted it to be something she could wear for years to come, so I made it fairly long, with the waist band coming around the sides of her waist.  Measure the front of your waist, wrapping a little around the sides to come up with your finished apron width  measurement.

I decided I wanted the finished apron—after gathering the waist–to be 12″ x 15″.  I added ½” seam allowances to the top and bottom, so I cut my fabric 22″ (normal width of the fat quarter that we will be gathering) x 16″ (length). 

2). Once you decide your measurements, mark & cut your fabric:

Main Fabric:      

22″ x length        [CUT 1 for main apron]

22″ x at least 2″  [CUT 1 for binding bottom]

Coodinating Fabric:

Finished apron width + 2″ (seam allowance) x 4″ [CUT 1 for waistband]

22″ x 4″ for ties  [CUT 2 for ties]

22″ x 5 ¾” for pockets [CUT 1 for pockets]

3). We’re going to work with your coordinating fabric first.  Take your 22” x 5 ¾” piece.  Fold the long side ¼” and press.  Fold again ½” then press again.  Sew seam.

4). Sew seam.

5). Take your main piece of fabric and lay your pocket piece on top as shown.  Make sure that your finished seam is on the top side of the pocket piece.  Don’t worry!  So far, it should be your only finished edge!  Pin pieces together as shown.  Note that both right sides are facing UP. 

6). Baste bottom edge, so your pocket and main piece are attached.  This will make your life easier!

7). Now, take your apron and fold in half, wrong sides together, & press.  Open.   Fold your right edge so that it meets the center fold.  Press the fold.  Open and repeat on left side.  Your fabric should have 3 folds, so your fabric is separated by creases in 4 equal sections.  Use picture below as a reference for what I mean! 

8). Your creases now serve as guides for where to sew seams for the pockets.  Sew seams along each crease only on pocket fabric (ie, in pic, floral fabric).  Make sure to back-tack.  Set that piece aside.

9). Make the binding for the bottom of your apron.  Simply fold & press the piece in half, lengthwise.  Open.  Then, fold both ends in toward center crease.  Press.

10). Attach binding to skirt.  Take  your binding, middle crease open,  just like the picture above.  Line up the center crease with the bottom of the apron, wrapping the folded creases around the bottom of the apron, enclosing the raw edges and pin.  See picture below.

11). Sew binding on close to the top edge. 

12). Take waistband piece and prepare it following the directions from step 9. 

13). Gather your waistband by basting (use a long stitch) 1 seam ¼” from top of apron and 1 seam ½” from top of apron.  Pull bottom  threads, gathering the fabric until it measures your finished apron width + 2” (seam allowance). 

14). Just like you did with the bottom binding, pin your waistband binding to the top of apron. Sew waistband onto apron.  Sew seam close to the bottom of the waistband.             

15). Make the ties.  Again, prepare ties the same you made your bottom binding and waistband binding, following instructions in step #9. 

16). For each tie, we want to make sure one end looks nice. The other end will be sewn into the apron, so the raw edge is okay.  

17). Fold over  one end ½”. 

18). Fold corners in to make end pointed, like picture below.

19). Fold tie in ½ length-wise.

20). Sew ties closed, starting from point all the way to your raw edge.

21). Prepare side seam by folding side of apron over ½”.  Lay the raw end of your tie on top of the first fold, lining up with the waistband like photo below.

22). Fold side of apron again another ½”, this time folding the tie in with the waistband like photo below.  Pin & Repeat other side.

23). Sew side seams, reinforcing waistband and ties by sewing a square where ties and waistband meet.

24). Top stitch all along from the end of ties and the top of the waist band. 

Viola!  You’re done!

I don’t know about you, but where I live, it’s full on farmer’s market season. Something new seems to come into season every few days and the stalls, and my garden, are overflowing with produce. Between the peaches and blackberries and beans and corn, we’re entering into the busy season for preserving. Our pantry is beginning to look like we’re preparing for Y2K.

But rather than prepping for disaster, I like to stock up on homemade goodies every summer  in part to have a ready supply of gifts to give come winter. When the snow is falling and the temperature has dropped below freezing, there’s nothing better than a jar of homemade strawberry jam to cheer everyone up. And to help get my self jam-giving ready, this year I’m making ready to go jam covers so that when the time comes, I don’t even have to wrap. One of the styles of covers I’m working on this summer is this simple, stamped burlap cover. And you can make some too in less time than it takes to sterilize your jars.

Here’s what you need:

Burlap
Fabric Scissors
Foam Letter Stamps
Craft Paint
Foam Brush
Newsprint or scrap paper

1.Using one of the rings from your jars as a guide, cut a circle two inches wider all around out of the burlap.

2. Set the circle onto the scrap paper to catch any paint that seeps through the fabric.

3. Brush a light coat of paint onto each letter and, centering the word on the circle, stamp your letters firmly.

4. Allow the paint to dry before tying on with a colorful string of bulky piece of yarn.

Presto! Gift ready!

We’re just weeks away from back to school. From backpacks and library books and school supplies. But that doesn’t mean we cant have just a little bit more crafty fun before school starts up again. This project is a great one to take to school that first day to help keep your place in all those books you are going to read this year. And yes, I did say toilet paper. But never fear, no one will know your cool bookmark really started out in the bathroom!

Here’s what you need:

10 sheets of toilet paper
Water
Stamp of your choice
Craft Glue
Cardstock
Scissors

1. Fold the sheets of toilet paper up on each other until you have a thick square. Run briefly under water and then wring out gently until you have a damp but not dripping pile.

2. Center the toilet paper stack onto your stamp. Stamps with a raised edge work better than those that are carved in, but you can get a good result out of both. Press firmly onto the stamp with your fingers trying to work it around the edges and into any grooves. If the stamp has raised edges leave the paper on while it dries. If it is an carved in stamp, gently pull the paper off the stamp and flip over onto a flat surface.

3. Allow the paper to dry completely. Trim the edges so taht you have a neat square with an impression centered inside it.

4. Cut the card stock into a 2×5 strip and glue the stamped paper just down from the top of the bookmark. Allow the glue to dry.

Here’s the perfect project for your fashionista tween. These button bobby pins are fast, easy and infinitely customizable. And bonus! They require no sewing! You need very (VERY) little fabric for this so instead of buying new, have your tween search through your scrap bag or even harvest some fabric from favorite worn-out clothing. You can also vary the style by changing the button size. Look for variety packs  for button kits so they can create all kinds of styles and looks.

Here’s what you need:

Fabric scraps
Covered Button Kit
Fabric Scissors
Bobby Pins

1. Cut circles of fabric about the size indicated on the back of the button package. Pay attention to what is centered on the fabric, this will be what’s on your button.

2. Center the circle of fabric on your button holder and press the button top in so that the fabric is pulled tight over the front.

3. Fold down the edges and place the button backing on top, pressing it into place with the presser piece.

4. Pop out your button and thread the shank of the button onto the bobby pin. Pop them in your hair and your ready to go!

I’m a menu planner, in fact, I have a hard time functioning in the kitchen without a solid plan. I even plan our meals when we are on vacation. It saves time and money and helps us to keep from wasting food because generally, we only buy just what we need for the week, so there’s not much that has a chance to waste away on a back shelf.

For the past year I’ve been using a cute little notepad to keep track of what we are eating and when, but this week when I sat down to write up our meals and our grocery list, I found that I had only two pages left. I could, of course, go pick up another one, but I love a challenge, so I decided to make my own.

The hardest part of this was designing the template so I’ll save you the trouble and give you a few versions of the one I made to download, but if you’re handy with Adobe Illustrator, the possibilities are endless! Design away!

This version is sized to fit an 8 x 10 inch clip frame but you could resize it at a copy shop very easily to fit whatever frame you want. I like the clip frame because it’s easier to write on.

Here’s what you need:

1 8 x 10 clip frame
Printed menu card
Ruler and Xacto knife

1. Print out your card and trim to fit your glass. My printer was a little low on ink so mine turned out light, but it works.

2. Clean both sides of your glass and wipe dry.

3. Assemble the clip frame with your menu card inside. Presto! Using a dry erase marker, you can keep track of your meals and have something fun hanging on your wallthat wasn’t created by a two year old!

*You can also glue strong magnets to the back to mount your menu card on the fridge!

Download your  menu template here:

Blue Menu Template

Yellow Menu Template

Red Menu Template

The summer I turned ten, my friends and I were all about friendship crafts. We made knotted friendship bracelets, walking around with in-progress projects pinned to the hems of our shorts, we collected plastic charms and tried to make our own to trade and wear, and we were obsessed with friendship pins. Our the laces of our shoes jingled and glittered with as many pins as could be crammed between the eyes of the shoes. We carried bubblegum tins around full of beads and pins and got in trouble the first weeks of class when we tried to make pins inside our desks during math.

But as much as I loved it way back then, I hadn’t thought much about friendship pins in twenty years, until I was puttering around the fabric store and found myself in amongst the seed beads. Although my son is younger than I was the summer that friendship pins hit it big at my school, he had no trouble at all working through my entire supply of safety pins over the course of 20 minutes. Simple and satisfying, it’s one of those crafts that kids will always love, especially on a too hot to go outside summer day.

You’ll need:

Seed Beads – lots of colors
1 inch long safety pins – as many as you can spare

Pour the beads into a bowl for easy access and open up a couple of pins to get them started. Beads can be strung randomly, all one color or in a pattern, just be sure to leave enough room at the top to fasten the pin back together. Once they are done, pin them onto the bottom lace of tennis shoes, stack a row on them onto a hair-clip or fasten them around rubber bracelets so your kids can show off and trade their treasures.

Whether you’re sending the kids off to camp this summer or just dropping them at your parents for the weekend, it’s always nice to get a note from them so you can see what they are up to. Send them off on their adventure with a set of cards made by their own hands (and don’t forget the pre-addressed and stamped envelopes!)  to help ensure you get a few scribbled lines from them while they are away having fun!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Blank card or half a sheet of cardstock for each card
Unpopped bubblewrap
Craft Paint (any colors!)
Foam brush

1. Brush paint in a pattern over the bubbles, try stripes or paint each dot a different hue, let them go a little crazy with the paint. You’ll want to work fairly quickly so that the paint doesn’t dry before you make your print, but even if some of the dots don’t print, you’ll still get a fun look!

2. Center your paper over the painted bubbles and smooth so that every bubble comes in contact with the paper.

3. Peel the paper back carefully and lay flat to dry.

4. Fold into cards and pack them up with the envelopes in their bags and they are ready to go!

Between the pool and the park and camp and play dates, summer can be a whirlwind of activity, and even the most energetic kids will sometime need a quiet activity to do in the cool of the indoors. If you have a burgeoning knitter this summer, or a child interested in learning to knit, but you aren’t ready to hand over your good needles, why not put the kids to work making their own knitting needles?

Here’s what you need

Dowels – 1/4 inch and or 3/8 inch
Pencil sharpener
220 grit sandpaper
Rocks, buttons or beads, even small toys
Hot glue or super glue

If you have longer dowels, cut them into pairs of even lengths, 12 inches long works well but you can go shorter depending on your preference.

Using the small hole of the sharpener for the 1/4 inch dowels or the larger hole for the 3/8, sharpen the end of each dowel until you have an almost sharp point.

Sand the sharpened end until smooth, then sand the shaft of the dowel to make sure there are no nicks in the wood to catch on the yarn.

Using either the hot glue or super glue, attach the beads, buttons or rocks to the flat end of the dowel.

Allow the glue to dry before using.

** a 1/4 inch dowel give you a size 10 1/2 knitting needle, a 3/8 inch dowel makes a size 15, both are great sizes for beginning knitters, especially when paired with a bulky yarn.

This past weekend we celebrated our daughter’s fourth birthday with a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. On top of the cake and the “Eat Me!” cookies and the croquet and the teapots, one of the things I knew we had to have to make it a very Wonderlandy party was, of course, hats! But how to make hats for a heard of three and four year olds? The answer came form one of my Aunties, who used to be an art teacher and is also the mother of a dress up loving girl. Wrapping paper hats! But don’t just think of these as party hats, this simple project is the perfect rainy day, or too hot and sunny day activities to keep the “I’m Bored’s” away.

You’ll need:

Wrapping paper cut into two foot lengths – any paper works here and a mixture of patterns makes it more fun, so this is a great opportunity to use of the last of the rolls you have tucked away in a closet somewhere
Masking tape 
Ribbons, flowers, streamers, stickers  – get creative here and raid your craft cupboard

Stack two or three sheets of wrapping paper so they are not quite aligned. Center them on top of your child’s head and shape it gently around the crown of their head. If you have an extra pair of hands available (older kids are great helpers here) have them hold the paper in place while you wrap the tape around the base of the crown.

Once the hat is formed, let the kids go crazy with decorating it. Roll up the edges of the brim, wrap ribbon around the crown, add bows or flowers or glitter or whatever they want to make the hats their own.

I have a confession to make. I wasn’t always so crafty. OK, well, maybe I was crafty, but I wasn’t always a crafty mom. When my first child was born I spent the first year of his life preoccupied by making wholesome babyfood and keeping my house clean and organized. I was a little obsessed with the labelmaker in those days and sort of lost my craft groove for a while. But when Briton turned one he was suddenly a little boy who loved to spatter things and stick things together and make all sorts of messes. Gradually I let go of the cleaning obsession, trashed the label maker (although I still label things, but now the labels are part of the craftiness!) and dove into crafting with my child. One of the first things we ever made together was peanut butter playdoh, and it quickly became a regular part of our day, starting out as a game and ending up as our afternoon snack. Don’t be surprised, in fact, if you find yourself stealing it by the spoonful, I know I had a very pretty, made by her royalness, peanut butter playdoh flower with my lunch today, and I wouldn’t say no to another.

I like to make this in smaller quantities. For one thing, I think it looses it’s playdoh texture after a few days and gets crumbly, even in the most airtight containers.  Also, we eat it. And while it’s not too bad as far as healthy snacks go, eating it by the pound is probably not a great idea.

Before you get started here, make sure you child doesn’t have peanut allergies. It’s generally a good idea to keep kids away fomm peanut butter until after they are one. However, if your kids eat PB&J’s on a daily basis like mine, you’re good to go.

You’ll need

1 cup Powdered Non-Fat Milk
1 cup Powdered Sugar
3/4 Cup creamy Peanut Butter
3/4 cup honey

Plus Cookie Cutters!  

optional
1/2 cup rolled oats

This is messy so it might be a good idea to make this outdoors, or at least in a spot where you don’t mind some flying powdered sugar! Cream the Peanut Butter, sugar and milk until you get a grainy consistancy. Make a well in the center and pour in the honey. Using a fork, mash the sides of the well down into the honey and then mix until incorporated. For a different texture, you can add the oats now if you want to go that route. It’s fun to make half plain and half with oats so kids can see how different they feel.

Pull the mixture out onto a clean table and knead a few times then have at it with rolling pins, cookie cutters and textured objects. And don’t forget to eat up your mess when you are finished!

The 4th of July is one of the most kid friendly holidays on the calendar, so this year, before you crank up the grill or light the fireworks, let the kids get 4th of July ready with a little bike decorating!  Remember back to the days when bikes had streamers coming out of the handle bars and nameplates or license plates dangling off the ends so everyone would know just whose bike was whose.

You’ll need:

Red, white and blue plastic lacing
Bass wood oval or square
Foam letter stamps 
Craft paint
Foam brushes 
4th of July stickers 
Super glue 

For the Streamers:

Cut four pieces of lacing, 20 inches long, for each handlebar. Tie all four into a knot at one end, leaving three inches of excess above the knot. Spread the four long strands out into an “X”. Fold two, opposite strands over and weave the other two over and under the loops that the first strands created. Continue folding over two opposite strands and weaving the other two until you have about 1 inch of woven lacing. Tie off the ends and trim them to about six inches, adding extra strands if you want more streamers when you tie them off. Use the short end of the lacing to tie the streamer to the handle of the bicycle or push through the hole in the end of the grip so that the woven lacing and streamers come through.

For the Name Plate:

Paint the wood shape red or blue. Allow the paint to dry before using the white paint to stamp the child’s name onto the shape. Apply stickers or paint decorations before  gluing 5 inch lengths of plastic lacing to the back of the name plate. Tie to handlebars or hang form the seat of the bike.

My dad always wore crazy ties. In fact, he’s been infamous for it in every place he’s ever worked. When I was a teenager I was mortified every October when he pulled out his arm bone tie, a three dimensional stuffed ties that looked ust like an skeleton arm, shoulder to fingertips. On the other hand, it’s always made gifts pretty easy to find for him, give him a wacky, themed tie and he’s a happy camper. Which is what led to the creation of these ties, although they ended up being neither wacky or weird, in fact, according to him, they get more compliments than anything else he wears (good ones, that it).

This is a quick and easy father’s day present that every dad will cherish, and which you can taylor to the style of the man in question through your paint and tie choice. For my dad, who teaches at the University of Missouri, we used black and gold for the school colors. One if from my son when he was small, the other is newer and form my daughter. He loves them both to bits and considering the older one has had a lot of use over four years and is holding up well, they should last forever.

Here’s what you need

Fabric Paint
Foam paint brush�
Solid colored tie
Little hands (or feet)
Newspaper

Spread out the newspaper on your work surface and lay the tie out all the way so that you can pain all the way down. You don’t need to center each handprint, in fact, it looks cute to have partial hands here and there.

Coat your little one’s hands well with the paint and, with their fingers spread out a little, carefully press their hands down onto the tie, reapplying paint after each print.

Allow the paint to dry according to the instructions on the bottle before wrapping it up for a Father’s Day Surprise. It’s sure to be a hit!

What are you getting dad for Father’s Day this year?

Congratulations to Gillian who was randomly chosen as the winner of Free Stuff Friday and the Design Your Own Soccer Ball Kit! 

The Design Your Own Soccer Ball by Janlynn contains everything you need to create your own personalized ball! Paint the ball in your school or favorite team colors, and then play away. This is a real soccer ball and the special non toxic paint holds up like its part of the ball. Makes a great coach gift or autograph ball. Kit includes Hand Sewn, all weather size 4 soccer ball, pump & needle, non-toxic specialized paints, paint brushes, and instructions.

Gillian’s winning answer to “What is your favorite storage solution for all your craft supplies” was…

“Well, I’m reorganizing my work space so this is a questions near and dear to my heart. Right now I have all my fabric and paper in the drawers of an old dresser that I re-did and keep current projects, yarn, thread, ribbon etc in various sized storage boxes from IKEA. I like that you can easily change the labels on them and they look uniform and tidy on a shelf.”

Enter to win the Design Your Own Soccer Ball by Janlynn! 

This kit contains everything you need to create your own personalized ball! Paint the ball in your school or favorite team colors, and then play away. This is a real soccer ball and the special non toxic paint holds up like its part of the ball. Makes a great coach gift or autograph ball. Kit includes Hand Sewn, all weather size 4 soccer ball, pump & needle, non-toxic specialized paints, paint brushes, and instructions.

Every Friday we’ll post a giveaway on Think Crafts and all you have to do is comment on the blog post answering the question of the week. We’ll pick the winner and contact them via email. Deadline is midnight tonight and the winner will be announced Monday. One entry per person please.

Question of the Week: What is your favorite storage solution for all your craft supplies?

If the comment box is not below, scroll to the top and click “comments”.

The very best things in life are pretty and practical.

Over the past almost eight years that I’ve been a mother, I’ve discovered that having a bell on your door is a very good thing. When my son was two he woke up from his nap, balanced on the arm of a chair and unlocked the chain lock on our door, then let himself out of the house all in total silence while I baked cookies in the kitchen. He wasn’t due to wake up for another 30 minutes so it would have been a while before I realized he was gone. Thankfully our door let out a loud squeak whenever it closed which tipped me off. I snatched him up as he was making a break for it down the street to the local playground. It all ended well but it made for some bad moments for a while when I pondered the “what-if’s”. So, yes, a bell on the door is an excellent thing.

Then of course, he grew old enough to go outside on his own and I stopped worrying, until this spring when his little sister started showing distinct signs of following in his sneak-out-of-the-house tendencies (the teenage years are going to be rough). So we’re back to the bell on the door. Last time it was just that, a big old bell tied to the doorknob. This time I decided to get a little more creative and went for a little zen calm with some origami cranes.

If you ‘ve never folded cranes, it’s one of those calming, repetitive activities that both adults and kids can enjoy. My class folded, literally, a thousand when I was a teacher for a project one year.

Here’s what you need

3 pieces of patterned paper 8 inches square (I used Amy Butler Scrapbooking paper)
3 feet of thin ribbon in a coordinating color
1 bell with a loop on the top for attaching it.
Bone Folder (optional)
Yarn Needle 

Begin by folding the paper corner to corner and in half both ways, creasing each fold well and opening the square back up before each new fold.

With the paper point sure up (like a diamond) fold the sides in while at the same time pulling the top down. You’ll end up with a smaller square.

Fold in the flaps with open sides toward the center and then unfold. Then fold down the remaining triangle at the top. Repeat on the other side.

Open the square up and bit and pull down the bottom point to create a narrow diamond shape. Repeat with the other side.

Fold the sides in again to make an even skinnier kite shape and again, repeat on the other side.

Turn the shape on it’s side and slightly open the side creases.

Pull up the head and the tail, creasing the tip of the head down, and fold down the wings.

Once you have three cranes, thread the ribbon onto the needle and thread through the body of each crane. Tie a large knot just under each crane, leaving about 6 inches between each.

Loop the top around your doorknob and adjust for height before securing. Attach the bell to the bottom and thread the tail of the ribbon back up through the last crane to keep it out of the way.

Click here to watch an instructional video of origami paper cranes.

So this is one of those rare combinations of a project that boys will love (it involves pounding, what boy, well what kid doesnt love pounding away at things with a hammer) and a result that is just about guaranteed to become fabulous keepsake or gift.

The idea behind this is to literally pound the color out of flowers and into paper. Because you want as much color to soak into the paper as possible, use good thick drawing paper or even better, watercolor paper for the project. The possibilities don’t stop at book marks either, note cards, book covers and framed art are all great uses for pounded flower prints.

Here’s What You Need

Watercolor or good drawing paper
Paper towels
Brightly colored flowers (pansies gave the best results)
Hammer or rolling pin
Hole punch
Scissors
Ribbon 

Lay the flowers out on a surface that can take a little abuse, a cutting board works perfectly for this, and cover first with a sheet of paper and then with a paper towel.  

Gently (well, not too gently, but not so hard that the paper gets holes or shifts) tap the paper with the hammer or end of a rolling pin, making sure you cover all of the flower.

The color should start seeping up through the paper towel and if you peek under it you should be able to see the outline of each flower on the back of the paper.

Once you’ve pounded enough, flip the paper over and carefully brush off the remains of the flower. Allow the paper to dry before cutting to size and, if you like, adding a ribbon to the top to help mark your place.