Crafty-Do Session 1

Crafty-Do has officially begun!  

We had our first craft class today and experienced the serenity of mandala-making.  

Not so serene, but definitely fun!

The kids and moms did fabulously, and it really got me thinking that mamas taking their kids to school would really benefit from this type of organized event to get creative and messy with their kids after school (messy in my house, not yours, that's a bonus!).  Since I will not be letting go of my little kinder just yet (homeschool bitches!)*, I will not have to deal with the feelings I imagine I'd feel having my child be away from me, experiencing life apart from me, for the school day.  I understand the potential need there for connecting with ones child after the school day is through and what better way to do that then creating something with them.

*I do understand that homeschooling is not for everyone, and I hope everyone understands that regular schooling is not for I...I mean me...at least not now.  I am able to stay home with my kids because this is what we choose.  I could go back to teaching and put my kids in school and preschool, and we could have a much more comfortable life, but I choose this life--all together in a 1000 sq feet of familial bliss.  Now if we could just get my husband a stay at home job we'd really be living the dream.  Our dream, that is!

Back to Crafty-Do...

One way I am working to add income to our household is this wonderful gift of a craft class.  Today's session went so smoothly.  Teaching the craft step by step was so fun and having moms help out was perfect.  I'm so grateful.  We saw some new faces, and I can't wait to see what next week brings!

MOPS Crafts

For the past two years I served as the official Craft Coordinator for the MOPS group I am a part of here in Phoenix.  The group is wonderful and welcoming and has been a life saver for me as a new (newish now) mom.  I loved being the Craft Queen, and doing this definitely lead to my new love "Crafty-Do" Craft Classes.  I wanted to share a few of the crafts we have done over the past could years.  I wish I took more pics, but these are a good enough to get the general idea.  In no particular order:

These were a pinterest find.  They were given to the child care workers who blessed and loved on our kids while we had some much needed mom-time.  Spray painted mason jars, floral foam filing, some tinsel to cover it, painted kabob skewers and hot glued dove chocolates.  The leaves are made from paper plates and the scrapbook paper envelope holds a little gift card to the best place on earth...Dunkin' Donuts.

Next is another pinterest idea.  We used Hobby Lobby glass blocks which have a hole in the bottom (wait for the sale) and sprayed them with frosting spray. Then glued on a black paper cut out the silouette.  Some used black felt some put the image inside for more "effect" and some on the outside for a sharper image.  They turned out beautifully.  We lit them up with dollar store mini light strands.

This next was my own vision.  I wanted to do it so badly for my first year as Craft Leader.  The theme was "A Beautiful Mess" Which was perfect for me as craft leader because I am no perfectionist and hodge- podge, mess-cat, fake-it-til-you-make-it kind of crafts are right up my alley.  I must say all the posts I read on this "easy" project, did not indicate the immense amount of time it took to melt those little freakers, nor how hard it is to keep babies away from you while you are making so much noise and looking like you are having so much so much fun while you are "ruining" their crayons.

Here is another Christmas craft.  This was very fun.  Great for those who are not crafters and more enjoy the keeping your hands busy while chatting aspect of crafting.  Styrofoam cones and wrap away.  We use multicolored yarn for fun.  The bases needed some weight though.  If I had a do-over I'd add some kind of wooden base to keep it more stable.

Same concept.  Wrap away!  I think this was just a craft potential, not an official choice.

This is the only picture I have of this craft though I think it was a favorite.  The painted bowl vase on the left was the craft.  It is another one of those fun messy crafts that is good for non-crafters (it's really surprising how many non-crafters there are in a MOPS group.  Just pour in the paint and swirl.  Super fun!  I have yet to discover a good sealing mechanism though, so feel free to comment if you know of a good enough water proofer.

These beauties were Oh so fun.  Coffee filter flowers dipped in water with food coloring. The filters are cut in various sized tear drop shaped and wrapped around, adhered with floral tape to a bit of floral wire. Some of the internet versions of flowers like these are outrageously realistic looking.  They let them dry then add watercolor paint to the edges and it is amazing.  Mine were pretty gorgeous though, if I do say so.  I was making them for weeks after just for fun!

This one was a lot of fun, and I wish I had pics of everyone's because people got so creative!  It was good for the messies, like me.  Fun for the more precise and particular personalities as well.  I bought wood blocks for cheap from hobby lobby (wait for the sale), nails from the hardware store, and bright colored thin embroidery floss (on spools not the little bits I bought as a girl to make friendship bracelets).  The ladies went off.  I was so impressed.  Names, states, hearts, and mine...a feather to represent the theme for that year: Be You Bravely (MOPS decides the themes and the icon not sure why feather means brave, but I rolled with it).

So those were a few of our MOPS craft projects.  If you attend MOPS and are looking for ideas for this new year (2015-16) "A Fierce Flourishing" is the theme.  I am not the craft leader, but I can't wait to see what celebratory, fiery, bold, and creativity sparking projects we come up with.