penny carnival

Tutorial: Coloring Book Birthday Party Favor

Have I mentioned here that I used to be a teacher? Eighth grade. Language arts and U.S. history. Three years in the late 1990s. I won't go into the why-I'm-no-longer-a-teacher thing tonight (the kids were great; it's just not what I wanted to do forever), but I will share two things I learned from the experience:

No. 1: Drinking a shandy is a great way to end the week. I'm having one now. Coors Light with about an inch of Sprite at the top. Delicious. I picked that up from an Australian exchange teacher we had with us one year. That may or may not have been the same night that the middle-aged science teacher flashed her boobies in the bar where our staff gathered on Friday nights. It was a small town. I'm not sure what she was thinking. But it was hilarious.

No. 2: Students try harder on writing projects if you tell them you're going to bind their work into a hardback book when they're done. 

The old book-binding trick came to mind the other night when I was trying to think of what favors to give at Magpie's Little Red Riding Hood birthday party this Saturday.

The original plan was to make red hats shaped like hoods (similar to last year's elf hats for the woodland party) and wolf ears for everyone, but time is not on my side this year.

So, instead, I made hardback coloring books that tell the story of Little Red in pictures. The kids will get them along with a small pack of Crayons for their colorin' pleasure. 

 

The faux bois fabric is from Jo-Ann's. 

Wish I could say I had the skillz and the time to do the drawings myself, but I just used some pictures from one of those freebie coloring page sites.

For the photo-illustrated how-to, visit my About.com Kids' Parties site. 

The girls and I also made a pretend forest in our foyer the other day because what Little Red Riding Hood party is complete without some trees made from empty carpet tubes?

 

 

 

That tutorial will be coming soon.

Now we just need some food, a cake, some gifts and a wolf. Stay tuned.

'The rain is like a baptism'

One of my favorite movies in high school (and this might make some of you youngins realize how old I am. 35) was "Say Anything." I was so in love with Lloyd Dobler. Still am, really.

The movie is set in Seattle, which of course is thrilling when you're 16 and you sort of think Seattle belongs to you even though you live in a suburb 86 miles away. That was before Nirvana and Pearl Jam made it big, and then we really thought we had something to brag about--even us sheltered kids from the 'burbs who probably couldn't relate to half of the angst those guys sang about.

My friend Simon, who lives in Seattle, has this for his status update on Facebook this morning: "The drive to work in the rain through tree-lined streets that were shedding their leaves, listening to Classic King FM ... I heart the PNW!" (Translation: Pacific Northwest.)

I'm four hours away, on the "dry" side of the state, and it's pouring down rain here today, too. The rain is like a baptism (a Lloyd Dobler line) on my back patio. (I don't have any profound rebirth to report. That line from the movie has just always stuck in my head.) 

The rain sounds more torrential than it is because we need to clean the pine needles out of the gutter, but I almost want to keep them there because the sound of the water crashing down onto the concrete reminds me so much of home. 

Rain was a constant growing up in northwest Washington. It didn't keep you indoors during recess--you just wore your slicker or played kickball under the "covered area" at Roosevelt Elementary School. It didn't stop you from riding your bike through Whatcom Falls Park. On especially wet days at home, you stayed inside eating grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup and doing arts and crafts at the card table with your big sister. When you got older, there were first kisses in the rain and nights out with your girlfriends when the roads always seemed to be wet.

I've got the icks (again!), so I don't much feel like being out there today. But it's a perfect day for hunkering down, getting some work done, and then hopefully finally sewing up the girls' Halloween costumes later tonight.

If it's rainy where you are and you're looking for an arts and crafts project to do with your kids, check out these 3-D pumpkins I wrote a tutorial for for the new About.com site. You can use them as Halloween decorations or save them for Thanksgiving dinner and set them out as place cards.

One other crafty thing to report--the last book sling I'll be making for a while:

 

(Note to self: if someone ever asks me to applique the letter "S" again, just say no! Damn those curves.)

I put my little Etsy shop on vacation for a bit. Just too much other stuff going on. It's not like I had that many orders, but it takes a lot of time and care and I really admire the people who make a living out of doing that. I'll open it back up soon, but I need to get some Christmas and birthday gifts made for my own family first.

Don't forget that you can make your own book sling. Tutorial here.

And speaking of book slings, one that I had the pleasure of making recently is hanging in a home that many of you are probably familiar with, if you're a fan like me. Meg from Sew Liberated did a trade with me--a book sling in exchange for some of her patterns. I was quite honored that a talented person like herself would want something from my humble craft room. You can see it hanging for little Finn here.

About ... my new gig. And little red riding hood love

I'm pretty sure I hinted that I was up to something new behind the scenes. Did I say it sometime last week? Last month? Honestly, the days are running together and I'm quite proud of myself for remembering to wear pants today. Sometimes I even brush my teeth (but not if I go to bed after midnight, in which case I wear my pants).

Are you following me?

Anyhow, for the past two months I've been preparing for a new writing/crafting gig that just went live the other day. I'm the new "guide" to kids' birthday parties and other celebrations on About.com.

Here's my new site:

kidsparties.about.com

It's really a writing job, but I'm planning on putting all sorts of birthday- and party-related tutorials on there (hence, the crafts). I'll always alert Penny Carnival readers here when there's a new toot there, but feel free to bookmark that link, too, for your party-planning pleasure. Just some basic stories are up right now and links to existing articles from other guides, but I'll be adding content almost daily so check back often.

Can you believe someone is actually paying me to write about how to throw birthday parties?! This is right up my alley. Really, it is a TON of work, especially as I've had to learn their whole formatting, programming gobbley goop (Hello! HTML coding?! Who has to do that anymore? Why don't they just use Typepad? Oh, because then their site would look as crappy as my blog does right now. I see.)

But besides the late nights, I'm having a blast brainstorming all sorts of birthday themes and crafts and decorations. And with the holidays coming, I've been writing about how to throw Christmas parties for kids (Caroling! Polar Express in Your PJs! Gingerbread House Making!) and what to do for Hanukkah and New Year's Eve and everything. By the way, we're totally going to celebrate Kwanzaa this year. I hate to admit it, but I didn't know a thing about it until I wrote a little article for about.com. What a beautiful holiday!

Rest assured, it is not going to be a site about how to throw over-the-top Super Sweet 16s and how to beat other parents for the best party favors. Good grief! You can read more about my kids' parties philosophy of the bottom of my bio page.

By the way, I also am featuring "real" parties on the site, so please, please, please tell me about any fun ones you've thrown and send me pictures. kidsparties.guide@about.com.

So without further delay, here's one of my first tutorials for the site: How to make birthday invitations by creating a fabric collage, scanning it, and then printing it out. 

 

Step-by-step photo instructions at that link above.

I made those invites today for Magpie's 2nd birthday party (like how I'm multitasking?), which will have a Little Red Riding Hood theme.

Speaking of Little Red, a friend hired me to make matching Red Riding Hood capes for her daughter and her for Halloween. I didn't get a shot of the little one, but here's the mama version:

I'm kind of in love with Little Red Riding Hood right now (as if you can't tell).

OK. An hour until midnight. Maybe I'll make this a pajamas-and-clean-teeth kind of night. Maybe I'll even floss!!!!

G'night.

Tutorial: a covered cork board

I finally got around to writing a tutorial from the Trash-to-Treasure demo I did a few weeks ago for the newspaper's big indoor garage sale. The first "trash" I repurposed into "treasure" was the quilt top I made into an Emmeline apron. No tutorial needed there. Just buy the pattern.

Another project I demo'd that day was to give new life to an empty picture frame that I bought for $8, seen here:

 

Here is what came of it:

 

A burlap-covered cork board!

You can read the tutorial on my other blog.

The burlap and number stencils were inspired by the Barn House boys and Junebug Furniture & Design. I love their aesthetic, but I think I'll recover it with something more cheerful when I get a chance.

Great frame, though, huh? $8. Gotta love that.

Tutorial: fabric flowers

I'd like to put a shout out to God, the angels, the fairies, and whoever else might be responsible for inventing preschool. It started last week--for both girls!--which means Mommy can now make work phone calls without someone screaming in the background about their stuffed zebra needing a diaper change.  

We're looking forward to some extra curricular activities coming up, like a neighborhood parade Bo is instigating and a visit from Nana and Papa soon.

Oh, and a Swedish invasion. J is in a local Rotary club here. Great organization, but it makes me feel like I'm 65 years old when I say that. Some Rotarians from Sweden are coming to town next week and we'll be one of the families hosting them for a week. I've been putting together a menu and trying hard to not just imitate the offerings at an Ikea restaurant. Tee hee hee. Wouldn't that be hilarious? (French fries, anyone?) In fact, I keep referring to our guests as the "Swedish meatballs," something J hopes the girls won't pick up on.

We checked out some Swedish-y books from the library for the girls to sort of prep them, and you might see a Scandinavian-inspired kiddie craft here by the end of next week.

Speaking of books, I just learned about an online service called Storybird where you can make your own storybooks with and for your children. The art you can choose from is inspiring. Despite that, I had total writer's block when I was dinking around there earlier today. I can see Storybird becoming a minor addiction down the road, though.

Anyhow, the only crafty thing I've got for you today is the fabric flower tutorial I promised a while back. The instructions here are for hand stitching since I created them for a make-and-take booth at the fair, but you could easily whip these out with a machine. 

Fabric Hair Flowers, A Tutorial

You will need:

needle and thread

2 felt (or fleece) circles, about 3/4 inch in diameter 

A button

A strip of fabric that's about 2 inches by 30 inches long*

Bobby pin or other hair clip

*Option: if you don't want a frayed edge, your strip of fabric should be about 4 inches by 30 inches long

1. Thread your needle. Insert it on one end of fabric strip, then make a "running stitch" along one of the fabric strip's long ends, going in and out of the fabric every 1/4 inch or so.

2. Once you've stitched all the way to the end, pull the thread so the fabric bunches up near the knot. Tie a knot to hold the bunching in place, but don't cut the thread yet.

3. Sew together the two short ends of the fabric strip with the right sides of the facing each other so that your "circle" is closed. Knot and cut the thread.

This is what your flower should look like now:

4. Hold one felt dot in the center of the front of the flower and the other dot directly behind it on the back side of the flower, sandwiching the bunched-up part of the fabric flower inside the two felt dots. The felt dots are basically going to hide the messy part of the flower where your running stitch is.

 

Thread your needle with thread that matches the dots. Stitch through all layers, making your way around the dots. Knot and cut the thread.

5. Thread a needle with thread that matches your button. Sew the button to the front of the flower, starting with your needle coming up through the back side. Knot and cut thread.

6. Sew a bobby pin or other clip to the felt dot on the back side of the flower. 

7. Put the flower in your hair and feel this fabulous:

*The flowers you see above have raw edges, so they will fray. I'm kind of on a fray kick right now, so I'm cool with that. 

But if you want your flowers to have a more finished look, cut your fabric strip twice as wide as you want the finished flower to be. Then, before you begin your running stitch, fold it in half lengthwise so the two long raw edges are together (wrong sides facing). Then do your running stitch through the two layers of fabric and all your messy raw edges will be in one place--tucked underneath the felt dots eventually.

This fairgoer made it that way and I thought it came out great:

Another alternative is to make two flowers, one slightly larger than the other, and then layer them on top of each other before you sandwich them in between the felt dots. That's what I did here:

Tutorial: no-sew triangle pennant banners with kids

I'm gearing up to run that make-and-take craft booth at the North Idaho Fair tomorrow. Basically that means my hands ache from cutting, cutting, cutting fabric and my head aches from trying to remember everything I need to bring.

The easiest of the three crafts we'll be doing is the triangle/pennant/birthday/circus banner/garland (or whatever you want to call it), so I'm hoping the littlest kids will enjoy this one. Plus, I think the finished product comes out pretty well. Definitely something you could hang above a child's bed or use at a birthday party. Big impact. Minimal effort.

I posted a tutorial for a sewn birthday banner several months ago. This is a no-sew version. 

Just to prove how easy it is, here's Bo (age 4) putting one together this morning.

And then quite thrilled by her results:

She insisted on draping it across the rooster, as if there isn't enough going on in that corner already.

Some of these steps might need to be done ahead of time by you, depending on the child's age.

By the way, all the fabrics you see here (and the cord!) were found at thrift shops. Most were originally sheets or shirts and were purchased for a fraction of what yardage costs at a fabric store. You could probably even cut up some of your own old clothes for this project.

Enjoy! 

You will need: fabric, pinking shears, glue (Elmer's is fine), a disappearing-ink pen or chalk, cardstock or an empty cereal box, and either string, twine, bias tape or yarn.

1. Cut out a triangle template from a cereal box or cardstock. Mine is 7 inches across the top and 9 1/2 inches down the sides.

2. Fold a piece of fabric so that it's overlapped by 9 1/2 inches. Place the triangle template's 7-inch side on the fold. Trace around the triangle with the disappearing-ink pen or chalk. Cut along the lines. You should have just cut a diamond shape (once you unfold the fabric).

3. Repeat several times, depending on how long you want the garland to be.

4. Cut your cord (or twine or yarn or bias tape or string) as long as you would like the garland to be.

5. Place the diamonds where you want them along the cord with about two inches between each diamond.

6. Sandwich the cord inside the diamonds, folding the diamonds so that you form a triangle again. The "right sides" of the fabric should face out.

7. Unfold each diamond one at a time and place glue inside, along the three sides of one of the triangles. Press down to seal the triangles shut.

8. Repeat the steps until all triangles are glued to the cord.

9. Allow to dry, then hang wherever you want to add a bit of festivity.

P.S. A few things I'm loving right now:

-Tutorial on making a wall-mounted deer head out of foam core. Squeal!! I cannot wait to do this.

-Tutorial on making a ruffled girl skirt out of an old T-shirt by Epicurean Style. Super cute.

-This camping activity blanket. My girls would go bonkers for it.

-Tutorial on making a cake stand out of log cross sections. I wanted to do something like this last year for Magpie's woodland birthday party. And now I know how.

Reusable sandwich baggies and garden pix

With it being back-to-school season, I thought I'd post a reminder of a tutorial I wrote for making reusable sandwich baggies last year.

A publisher came across my tutorial recently and wants to include it (plus a few of my others) in a 2011 calendar, which is pretty exciting for me. I wanted to spruce up my photos since the originals were taken on a dark December night in my basement, so here's a better shot for you of the finished product.

Yes, the snaps are from the remains of the girls' old baby clothes. I know it looks a little wonky, but the point of the project is that you can probably make these from old stuff you have lying around the house. And of course they're reusable, so that makes them double green. Or would that be "dark green"?Hmm ... a new phrase ... Go (dark) green! 

I'm such a geek.

These are quick and easy to make so I couldn't help but experiment with another design:

Yesterday I mentioned our garden but didn't include any photos, so here's a visual of where things stand (and sprawl) today:

The first of the butternut squash:

I might have gone overboard with those this year, but the squash ravioli will be enjoyed all winter long.

Corny:

Cucumber balls:

They're not supposed to be balls. They're just growing that way. Could this be an overcrowding issue? Anyone? Anyone?

A baby patty pan squash:

This poor little pumpkin is growing in between the slats of our fence. I was about to set it free but then I thought it might be interesting for the girls to see what happens.

Stick-bound book tutorial

I've got food on the brain (when do I not?).

Our garden is on the verge of exploding. So far, we've been able to eat what it grows but I think within the next week it'll start outpacing us and J's co-workers will mysteriously find zucchini and patty-pan squash sitting on their desks in the morning.

Enter this recipe for ratatouille from The Leftoverist (A.K.A. Sarah, a friend of mine from high school who I've mentioned here before). I've got it roasting in the oven right now. The smell of the basil is killing me (in a good way)--not to mention the smell of tomatoes that's lingering on my fingers. 

I plan to eat it this way tomorrow.

I'm convinced that Sarah needs to write a cookbook. Her photos alone are stunning, not to mention the artwork her sister Naomi has done for the blog.

Now, if I were to write a cookbook, it would be this big:

In other words, itty bitty. 

This little booklet is one of the make-and-take crafts I'll be teaching at the county fair I mentioned last week. I'm running a booth as part of my gig for the local newspaper as a blogger for its "Down to Earth" Web site.

Everything will be made from secondhand materials, so I've been hitting every thrift store and garage sale in town over the last few weeks collecting supplies. Even the hole puncher we'll be using to make these books was a 99-cent find from The Classy Rack (don't you love it when thrift shops get clever with their names?). 

I figure this little booklet, which is bound with a twig and some twine (or yarn or strong string--whatever you have handy), could be used for grocery-shopping or to-do lists. If I were really great at entertaining house guests, I would print out the recipes of the food I made for them while they were staying with me, bind the recipes together this way and then give the book to my friends as a departure gift. As it is, my last house guests were lucky to get clean sheets and take-out pizza.

If you can find a use for this little booklet, please enjoy this tutorial:

1. Choose a front and back cover for your booklet. The paper should be cardstock-like, so consider using cereal boxes, softback book covers, old calendar pages, etc. In the pictures here, I used the front and back cover of a small coloring book from 1967.

2. Choose some filler paper. I like to mix blank pages with pages from old books, dictionaries or graphing paper.

3. Find a twig, pencil, chopstick or other short stick and a piece of strong string or twine that's about 15 inches long. (The length of your string will depend on how tall the book is that you're making.) 

4. You will also need a hole puncher, scissors and either a clothespin or paper clip.

5. Arrange the papers in your hand like a book, sandwiching the lightweight paper inside the heavier cardstock. Tap the stack on the table so that the edges of the left side are even and hold everything together with your paper clip or clothespin. 

6. If the papers aren't already all the same size and shape, trim around everything so all the pages (including the front and back cover) are the same size.

7. Punch two holes on the left side of the stack, a few inches apart.

8. Lay the stick on the right side of the holes. 

9. Poke one end of the string through the top hole of the book, pulling it through so that about half the length of the string is sticking out the front of the book. Wrap the string around the stick once or twice, then poke the string back through the hole toward the back of the book. Pull so the loop around the stick is snug.

10. Repeat that step with the bottom hole.

11. Pull tightly and tie the ends of the string together in a double knot on the back side of the book. 

12. Trim the ends of the string. Or don't. Whatever.

You're done!

The stick binding isn't practical for, say, a journal or anything else you'd be opening often and writing in at length. But it's kind of a cute, earthy way to present something special, like maybe a wedding program (grrr ... there I go again re-doing my wedding seven years later). 

While I have your attention, I just have to put a plug in for some amazing Spokane talent. Last night, J and I attended a fundraiser for a food co-op that's opening soon here. For an extremely reasonable price, we were treated to some top-notch entertainment, including book readings by 2006 National Book Award finalist Jess Walter and columnist Cheryl-Anne Millsap, both of whom are fantastic people as well as talented writers.

And then pianists Brad Greene and Kaylee Cole took our breath away. You can hear some of Brad's music on his site and Kaylee's here. I know we're all busy people, but if you get a sec give them a listen. 

Hope all is well, my bloggy friends.

 

Two new toots coming soon

I have a two new tutorials in the works, all in preparation for a craft booth I'm running at an upcoming county fair. More details will come, but here's a teaser in the meantime ...

(I look so pensive, pondering life and the backyard. In reality I'm praying to the camera gods that the self-timer is taking a picture of my head instead of my rear end.)

This is a no-sew triangle fabric pennant made from fabrics I found at thrift stores. Even the cord the pennants are hanging on is secondhand.

That'll be a fun one for the kiddos.

Stay tuned.

Make a dragonfly with Em

I'm sure I've said this here before, but I'm never totally sure who all is out there reading Penny Carnival. It's so fun to receive comments on posts to get to know people better, but I know there are still others hanging around who don't chime in. Lurk all you want! That's perfectly fine! (Although I do love to hear from folks.)

One reader I do know about is my 6-year-old niece Em (not her real name, but close). Em loves to dance, sing, go to kindergarten, make art and be a fabulous big sister and cousin. When she was a tiny baby, she was all eyes. She would lock her gaze on you with her great big beautiful peepers, melting everyone's hearts. She's still taking the world in, one wonder at a time (and taking it by storm often, too).

I'm across the state right now in my hometown, visiting my parents and sister. We were doing crafts with the kids the other day and Em had a great idea--how about if she created a tutorial for Penny Carnival? Fabulous. I'm on the mend from strep throat, so I'm thrilled to get some help around here. 

She invented this dragonfly craft on her own and dictated the directions to me as I took notes and photos. 

So here you have it ... a dragonfly craft courtesy of future craft blogger and wonder girl Em. I wish you could hear her voice as she explained these steps. Carol Duvall in training. The comments in parentheses are mine ...

1. Fold a piece of construction paper, starting on the long end. Keep folding, (accordion style) until you get to the end.

2. Choose a twist tie, whatever color you want. Twist it around, then you twist it around again.

3. Then choose whatever color paper you want. Cut a circle. This is going to be the head. At the very bottom put a little bit of glue. Then stick it onto your dragonfly wings.

4. Then flip it over and that’s the front of your dragonfly. Draw a face on the front.

5. Then cut antlers (yes, antlers! squeal!!!) from either the same color or a different color. Cut two little squares out. With a glue stick, you glue the antlers on.

And there you have it! A dragonfly.

Not to be outdone by her older cousin, Bo had to get in on the action. So here's her tutorial for coloring on a piece of paper, delivered in the same Carol Duvall tone:

1. I colored in. I colored like this and this. And then I made this. And then watch. I do this color in. Then what you do is put the cap back on.

2. Then just fold it and get another color to color with. Blue, yellow, pink. Any color. Color like this, this and this.

3. Snap it back on (the cap) and that’s the end.

That's it. I'm going to Bermuda. You're in good hands here.