Camp Crafty

First a housekeeping note: Today is the last day to enter the necklace giveaway. The winner will be drawn using Random.org and will be announced sometime tomorrow. Don't forget to leave me a comment for all the ways you've entered.

Now back to our regularly scheduled post:

Because my daughter is too young for camp this summer, I decided to hold our own camp. We would do special activities and crafts to make the summer more fun. For our first craft, we decided to make a butterfly garden for her room.

The butterfly garden will essentially be paper butterflies hung on string from her ceiling. I am hoping to hang them over her bed like a mobile. When her fan blows it will look like the butterflies are flying.

Making the butterflies was so easy, I thought I'd share a little tutorial with you. All you will need is:

Paper
Crayons, pencils or paint to decorate the butterflies
Scissors
Yarn or string

I had Bunny color a picture on the paper to start off with. Because she is three, it was easier for her to do than to color on the butterflies themselves. However, if you want to decorate each butterfly individually you can do that too.

To make the butterfly, you fold the paper and draw a B on one side of the fold. Cut along the B.


And you've made a butterfly shape, easy peasy. If you've decided to decorate each butterfly do so now.


Next fold the butterfly like an accordion. The folds should be tighter in the middle and the edges should be left unfolded.



Then tie a string or yarn around the middle as tight as you like making sure that the edges (or wings) are not folded.


If you are planning on hanging the butterflies, leave one end of the string long enough to hang from the ceiling. If you just want to use them for decoration or play, you can cut both ends short.

That's it. A super easy and super fun project.

A Magical Place

The world outside my door is a magical place filled with wonder. I used to know that. I used to believe. But the realities of grown up life got in the way and I forgot. Grass had to be mowed, flower beds had to be weeded, bugs and critters were a nuisance.

Now I view the world through the eyes of a three year old. When I venture outside I see the limitless possibilities of the world around me. Every step we take, every corner we turn brings new and wonderful things to see. A walk must be stopped to pick a flower from a lowly weed growing through the cracks in the sidewalk. Ants are not to be stepped on or over, they should be examined closer. Worms are not gross, they help our garden grow.

The leaves and sticks that clutter the sidewalks should not be pushed aside. They can be taken home and made into something new, something wonderful. You just have to see it. You just have to look with the eyes of someone who is discovering the world instead of numbly wandering through it.

Ch ch ch changes

I haven't been happy with the way this blog has turned out. What was supposed to be an experiment in crafting everday, in living a crafty life in the midst of a normal hectic crazy life, turned out to be pretty boring.

It was just pictures and posts about what I had done the day before. The pictures weren't that great and the posts were just plain stupid. "Yesterday I did this". "The other day I made a hat." "Ooh look at this pretty picture I painted." Reading through some of these posts, I was bored and I wrote them.

I did have one good post that I was proud of. It was more reflective of the way I view myself as a writer. And it really captured the essence of why I am creating, for myself and for my daughter, to find beauty in every day things.

But one good post out of fifty-one is not a record I am proud of. I wasn't happy with the blog or the process of blogging so I ignored it. Ignoring something does not make it go away. It does not make it better. It just makes it lonely.

The way to make something better is to work at it. I work at my crafts. I try harder every day to do better than the day before. I am proud of what I have done. I want this blog to reflect that pride. I want this blog to show how I am crafting my creative life, how I am re-building my business, how I am finding inspiration, and how I am inspiring creativity in my own family.

So there will be some changes coming to this space. I'm going to be posting more about inspiration and creativity. I want to find some other people who are doing the same things and have them share their ideas. I want this to be a place I am proud to come to and a place that other people want to visit.

Day 16 - Creating A Mess

Today's post is a cross-post with my other blog But Why Mommy where I blog about all things related to my family and my daughter Bunny. This post is all about our differing approaches to the creative process. (There is no picture accompanying this post because I am very close to finishing a hat I started yesterday - to replace the one I lost. And I want to show it in all of its glory tomorrow.)

Bunny is very creative. She loves to draw and color and paint. It makes her happy.

And seeing her happy makes me happy. I love that she loves art. It makes completing this challenge so much easier that I can sit down and create along side my budding Picasso.

And her approach to art is very inspirational. She just dives in. She doesn't care what people think. She only wants to put the paintbrush, crayon or marker on paper and see what comes out. I love listening to her little comments as she is going along. "Oooh Daddy's gonna to love this." "Isn't it pretty, momma?" "When I'm done its gonna be so nice."

She's all about the process. She doesn't sweat the details because its going to turn out just fine. She doesn't agonize if there is a mistake because there are no mistakes. Every stroke belongs on the paper just where it is.

Now she and I have received about the same amount of artistic training, which is to say none. However, I often freeze when it comes to the output because its not what its supposed to be. Its not "art". I've seen art and what I produce isn't art. So I get frustrated and scrap project after project because its not perfect.

That is why I am loving the challenge of creating everyday. I have to throw caution to the wind. I have to get over my preconcieved notions about what is or isn't art. I have to let go of the hang-ups I have over my abilities or lack of abilities.

In other words, I need to get in touch with my inner three year old.