| ISSUE 85 • 17 DECEMBER 2009 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
|
| 1.
Editorial Greetings crafters! How are you holding up? I ask you this because I don't feel like I'm holding up particularly well at the moment. I should explain that today is the first day of the summer school holidays and it's been so hot that we've barely been able to drag ourselves away from the fan all day. As a result our original dinner plans have had to be shelved – it's far too hot to turn the stove on. Instead we're going to get some takeaway food and head over to the lake to wait for a cool change. Bliss. Once the weather cools down I'm going to start tackling my festive to-do list. One of the things I have to do it put up more strings on which to hang our cards! Masses of wonderful cards from the handmade card swap continue to stream in and fill our house (and hearts) with love. Thank you to everyone who has sent them. It's been great fun to read about the card swap progress on the Facebook fan page and via your emails. I love this photo that was sent to me by Lisa of the card swap board that she's set up in her homeschooling classroom.  If you're still looking for festive craft ideas you might want to head over to Sew Mama Sew where I've posted some familiar festive ideas and am giving away more copies of the Kids Craft Weekly Christmas books. This is the last newsletter for the year as I'm going to take some time off to tackle that to-do list and spend some time with the kids. Before I head off I want to take this moment to thank you all for your support in 2009. It's been a massive year for Kids Craft Weekly with subscriptions to this free newsletter increasing to more than 35,000. You can credit yourselves for much of this success as you've done a great job of spreading the word to your family, friends and acquaintances. Thanks particularly for bearing with me over the past month of festive madness and for supporting the newsletter by purchasing the PDFs, and clicking through to Amazon via Kids Craft Weekly. Your generous support at Christmas helps to ensure that Kids Craft Weekly remains free to subscribers all year round. Wishing you and your families have a happy and safe holiday. I look forward to seeing you in the new year. Happy crafting and I'll see you next time!  Amber Carvan editor@kidscraftweekly.com |
For this issue, I have carefully selected three of our favourite projects and created some cute instruction cards that you can download and print out for free. You can then put together your own craft kits which are guaranteed to bring masses of crafty joy to the recipient. These craft kits are great for christmas stockings or for children to put together to give to their friends. They're also good to have on hand as a special surpise to pull out when things are going pear-shaped – I'm thinking here of all those loooong christmas lunches coming up! Get creative in the way that you package your crafty gift. Look for interesting boxes, jars, baskets, or tins to package the crafty project.
Our wooden spoon puppets remain one of the most popular crafts we've ever done. Put all the supplies together in a cute package and you've got a simple and creative gift with heaps of appeal.  You will need • two wooden spoons • small tape dispenser • two squares of fabric • two rubber bands • two or three coloured markers • wool and/or curling ribbon for hair • gift box/container and supplies to decorate it Directions 1. Gather together the list of supplies. 2. Print out the Wooden Spoon Puppets instruction sheet. Colour-in the sheet if you wish, or add some glitter and stickers. There's even a blank speech bubble on this set of instructions so that you can add your own personal message.  3. Find an appropriate box or container to package it in. We used an empty pastry box which we painted with a wooden spoon motif. 
Little car lovers will love to make their own fleet of vehicles using this simple and very effective match box technique.  You will need • two match boxes • two sets of four buttons • two thick markers in contrasting colours • small tube of glue • small pieces of aluminium foil • gift box/container and supplies to decorate it Directions 1. Gather together the list of supplies required. Before you pack all the pieces away, take the drawers out of the match boxes and then cut the top of one of the match boxes in half.  Two make two cars you will have to supply two drawers and two of the pieces that you just cut. 2. Print out the Match Box Cars instruction sheet. Colour-in the sheet if you wish, or add some glitter and stickers.  3. Find an appropriate box or container to package the supplies and instruction sheet. We glued felt cars onto a cardboard gift box. 
These pet rocks are very simple to make but the necessity for superglue means they must be made with help from an adult. Choose nice rocks from your garden or splurge on some fancy polished ones from a crystal shop.  You will need • a selection of rocks • some googley eyes, preferably in different sizes • a small tube of superglue (or other strong glue) • tiny scraps of wool, fur or fluff • a match box • a piece of patterned paper • a small piece of felt • a jar or container and supplies to decorate it 1. Gather together your list of supplies. Before you package all the bits and pieces you will need to cut the patterned paper to the exact size and length to wrap around the matchbox. You will also need to cut a small piece of felt that will fit into the matcbox.  2. Print out the Pet Rock instruction sheet. Decorate as desired and write a personal message to the recipient.  3. Find an appropriate jar or container to package the supplies and instruction sheet. We had lots of fun decorating a glass jar with pet riock images. We used clear sticky contact to stick the images and label onto the jar.   |
Do you love Kids Craft Weekly? If so, there are a number of ways that you can support this little project and some of them don't involve spending any money at all! 1. Buy a copy of one of the new Christmas PDFs! 2. When you shop at Amazon click through from here. 3. Purchase a copy of the Everyday Craft PDF or book. 4. Make a donation. 5. Recommend the newsletter to your friends – forward it on to them! 6. Become a fan of Kids Craft Weekly on Facebook. 7. Follow Kids Craft Weekly on Twitter. 8. Add your photos to the Kids Craft Weekly group pool on Flickr. 9. Just send me an encouraging email – I'm like a puppy, I respond well to pats on the back :) |
 For
a regular dose of inspiring craft ideas and fun activities subscribe to
my free email newsletter. Please note that my privacy
policy ensures that your email address will not be given to
anyone, ever.
|
