Lately I’ve been coerced into spending time doing something I hate to do: laundry crafting.
I know.
I know.
It’s supposed to be fun and relaxing or something, right?
But for me it’s mostly just disappointing. And frustrating. And embarrassing.
Because everything I make comes out lame.
And also ugly.
So I avoid handmade projects whenever humanly possible.
But, guess what happened.
Without even consulting me first, my youngest son decided he LOVES doing crafts.
What the butt, kid?!
Way to throw a kink in my parenting style which formerly consisted largely of sorta watching you run around in the yard with the dog for a bit, followed by snacks, TV, and a nap so you can run around in the yard again later.
I blame Mimi for this.
She’s the one who introduced him into the world of using your hands to create things.
Bought him all of these handy little art kits that are crazy hard.
Okay, so maybe they aren’t really hard, hard, but they do require a level of precision and concentration I can’t seem to wrap my head around.
And then this showed up…
Yes, friends, this bad mama-jamma is a Kiwi Crate. Or, as I like to refer to it: a happy little mail order craft box of awesomeness that has fully changed my life and outlook on crafting with kids.
Okay, not totally.
But, enough that we are actually considering a subscription to have this delivered to our house every month for the rest of our lives!
Or, until he goes to school daily and can get his crafting fix there.
I would like to note however that,even prior to encountering the best kid craft box since, um, the first kid craft box thingy was invented, I developed a few holiday projects of my own.
Go ahead and clap, and then get ready to have your mind blown!
By our felt Christmas tree project…
Decorated with, what are these things called anyway? Brads?
And, glitter glue, because it’s pretty.
And, palm trees and ghosts, because they were laying around in all of their self adhesive glory.
So easy, but super fun. You know, for him.
And, if you string a few together like so, you can hide display them in the playroom or hang them on the mantle; whichever floats your boat.
Then, in a rare moment of shear creative genius, we also made some adorable holiday frames.
Hands down the easiest craft item I’ve ever been a part of that actually turned out nearly exactly as I had envisioned it would.
All you do is buy a couple of $2 (or so) unfinished frames from the craft store (or WalMart), paint them red with acrylic paint, maybe sprinkle some glitter on them while still wet (or not), pop in a holiday themed photo, and, voila! Holiday frizzames…
With a nosy, photobombing dog to distract you from the glitter on the glass and the paint chipped off the side…
Gangsta.
Okay, maybe not gangsta.
But, totally Craftsta (my word, but feel free to use it if you’re ready to live it)!
Holiday happiness people. That’s what I’m all about, yo!
What are you Wordful about this Wednesday?!
This is Holiday Happiness theme week, but we are only doing ONE linky (because maybe you weren’t confused by the double linkies, but we sure were!).
All Wordful posts are welcome (and if you have a holiday themed post to enter into the $50 Magic Cabin! giveaway we just ask that you include the word “ENTRY” at the end of your link so we know to pick you!).
Now, link up and then head over to Angie’s spot and see what holidays look like at her Circus!
Ahhhh…. Look at you gettin’ all crafty and stuff. (Don’t be doin’ that. You’re making me look bad. Seriously.)
It’s just my way of dealing with guilt for ignoring most of his requests to do things with him. I also don’t like puzzles, nursery rhymes, or playing action figures. At least crafting doesn’t require me to perform at high levels; his expectations of my ability to create are THAT low.
Wow! That’s so cool! I may have to get in on that crafting thing too!
Don’t do it. It’s really not my idea of a good time.
Good job! Pretty soon you are going to have to stop talking about your non-crafty man hands.
Never. He made all of that stuff himself basically, I just stand there and make sure he doesn’t get paint on my table. Or at least keep an eye out so that I can yell appropriately when he does.
Look at your mad skillz! Impressive.
And, seriously, dumb dog is getting ginormous!
That broad weighs 60 freakin pounds! Outweighs 2/3 of the children in this house already!
You got skills! ;) Love it! Such a cool idea for picture frames too. Thanks for sharing. Happy WW! And Merry Christmas!
Nope. It’s the 3 year old with the skills. I just stand back and try not to ruin things by touching them!
Well he did an awesome job!
You are WAY craftier than I am!!!
That is not humanely possible.
Look at YOU, crafty girl!!!
LOVE the frames!
I think the frames came out pretty crafsta if I do say so myself. The kid did all of the painting and glitter throwing though. I just came up with the idea & then passed it off to him. That way, if they came out lame I could blame the 3yr old!
That frame is AWESOME!!!!!!
Cheap thrills. That’s what we live for over here!
I’m not much of a crafter myself either…at least in my mind’s eye. Thank goodness some of my own circus act is as they help to decorate our Big Top so beautifully this time of year.
Happy, happy holidays and Merry, merry Christmas to you all!
No one in this house is crafty other than the 3 yr old. The 6yr old is artistic and he can draw his pants off, but other than that, they don’t have a clue. And, neither do I. We buy things if we want them to be pretty.
“Decorated with, what are these things called anyway? Brads?” Bwahahah! I laugh only because it’s the one thing I remember using for crafts in school! BT dubs, your dog is awesome!
Yeah, they are left over from my scrapbooking days. Another handmade activity I sucked badly at. And Dumb Dog is HUGE! 60lbs already & she NEVER stops eating.
Good job! I can’t craft ANYTHING! Lol
Me neither. The preschooler did all the heavy paint brush lifting.
You really have it going on now! I love the frame.
For the record, having it going on is exhausting! I can’t wait until Xmas break so they can go to Mimi’s house where crafting is a part of life.
Love the frame with glitter.
Hate that you are making me look bad by turning all craftsta. Dammit.
From time to time I like to kick it up a notch around here. Total lie. From time to time I like to shut my kid up so he will stop begging me to use glitter and glue and paint and those puffy little balls of felt people like to glue on stuff.
Those frames are awesome!!!
You are so funny. I think you secretly love to craft ;)
Nope. I swear. It is quite possibly the most exhausting part of mothering this child. #2 is all about coloring & drawing. Now THAT is an activity I can get behind! All I have to do is stand there and clap and act like I know what his picture is of. So, so easy!
Well, if you can craft then maybe I can too.
Maybe.
I can’t craft. My 3 year old can. And yours probably can too. Or, maybe not. None of my other 3yr olds gave a crap about crafting. This kid is an anomaly.
The girl in this house is a crafter. She forces me to do the craftiness.
Yeah I aint into the crafting thing too. My crafts always end up looking possessed ;)
I know, you shoulda seen the first 2 trees I hand drew. I swear they where hideous. I FINALLY figured out that I could just draw 3 triangles on the felt and then cut it out. Took me a friggin hour.
Yeah. Crafts. Not really keeping children off the streets since the invention of indoor plumbing.
This kid likes to pee in the yard. Like actually gets up from the couch and goes outside to pee in the yard. But, crafting? He’ll sit quietly at the table for a good hour just doing it. And, as expensive as self-adhesive ghosts are I will buy them forever if he will stop talking for 20 minutes because of it. Seriously, my father has even tried to pay him cash to stop talking for 5 minutes. Self-adhesive ghosts are his kryptonite!
Love seeing another crafty mama! I’m one myself and am proud to say that I am. I love your crafts and I’m going to steal that table!!! :)
That looks like some fun right there! Gonna get myself Crafty today actually! Have a great day. :)
Love the frames!! I’m only minimally crafty. I can spray paint and glitter things, but no flower arranging or wreath making is going on at my house!
Nice! I need to check out Kiwi Crates. I would have absolutely NO ideas when it comes to crafting if it wasn’t for Pinterest. Need somewhere to start. The funny thing is my Mama is a children’s librarian and spends her days and nights dreaming up awesome and cheap crafts for kids of all ages. Me? I’m pretty inept. But thanks to Pinterest we’re busting out some cool shizznit over here. Craftsta. Love it!
Craftsa- I am cracking up. I may steal this for like ever. I’m pretty crafty and I’m hoping my daughter follows suit but we will see.
How fun! My little gal loves crafting too–but I have to confess I’m one of those crafty mamas that you probably hate. Although, not everything I do turns out Pinterest worthy. About a third of what I make is presentable…the rest I blame on my three year old. Adorable frames! Love the idea of glitter glue!
you are too funny! those are awesome projects.
The frames turned out cute… and I love the photobombing dog!
I am absolutely swooning for that frame! Stunning!!