I've been busy this season and not just with people's Christmas photos and cards. The crafting bug has hit and I've had the need to make things. I think having to make the 20 little items for the Secret Garden at Winterfair started the whole thing off, but whatever the reason, my kitchen can be found on any given day to have paints, beads, glue, hammers and nails scattered about the counter and table. Yes, I have a whole room dedicated to my need to create, but as I write this I can barely walk into it. Craft items, wrapping paper and film cameras are strewn everywhere. I hate to admit it but I'm a craft supply junkie and don't have space for all I acquire. However, I do have a hard time crafting in the room even when its been tidied up. I feel isolated away from the action of my family so more times than not I gather up my supplies and head downstairs.
I have even pulled Sawyer into my crafting frenzy, having him make gifts for some of his friends. Here he is happily painting.
The hardest part about him painting for me is him cross contaminating his brushes. I try to put only paint in the same family on each plate and give him a brush for each plate, but inevitably the blue/green brush goes into the pink/orange paint and it takes all my control not to grab the brushes from his little hands and clean them! What can I say I'm anal that way!
I put an old sheet on the floor and an old outside tablecloth on the table to helps avoid messes, but he's fairly neat.
He really enjoyed making these and told me which one was for which friend. I'm so glad he enjoys making things, hopefully he'll never outgrow that.
One of the projects I have had in my mind for the past three years was an advent calendar. I found these little favor tins at Michaels and thought they would be great for each day of the month. Sawyer could open them and each day a little item would be in a tin. I saw each tin as a Christmas ball and them mounted on a tree, but for some reason I wanted them mounted on the tree with magnets, and was having trouble figuring out how to do that. Once again this year I saw the tins sitting in my craft room and said, I need to make this. So I started by just figuring out how to do the tins, and then a flash of inspiration! Why use magnets when I can use Velcro! So John found a piece of wood for me. We laid out the tins and sketched out a tree for John to cut out. He did an excellent job and fit a nice little stand for it as well. I painted it up and Voila! The advent calendar that was three years in the making was born.
Of course now Sawyer will have to share the treats within the tins, but I don't think he'll mind.
I'm also working on some new ideas for my bottle cap pins. Once I see if they work out I'll post some pictures as well. You may think I'm nuts but I also saw some great felt ornaments that might be my twenty items for next year's Secret Garden. I told you I'm on a roll! Gotta go with it while I can because you never know when I'll run out of steam!
By the way, we are actually thinking of selling the advent calendars, so let us know what you think or what you might like changed. Better stop rambling now and get back to making!
