Made with Moxie: Crafting with kids

May 2, 2013

Crafting with kids

The other weekend we went out to a street sale slash handmade extravaganza. We met up with Jane from Buzzmills who was hosting an adorable tent for kids to come and make crafts.



The kids made butterflies and flowers that they are still cherishing weeks later.



The whole experience left me thinking that maybe I could try a bit harder to encourage my kids to be creative makers too. Jane is always doing such awesome crafts with her kids and clearly all I need is some pipe cleaners, tissue paper and paper clips. In the past I've been more of a "fine you can sit on my lap while I sew" crafting mom. You are more likely to hear me say "No! You can't use the rotary cutter" or "That's is *my* fabric." Hangs head. I can do better.

So yesterday when the kids were driving me bonkers because it was raining and I was trying to study, I just gave up. I herded them to the kitchen table, got out the scraps of elastic cord I keep from the shoes we buy at Target (yeah, I keep those. Call Hoarders on me.) and a box of ditalini. (They're little sliced tubes of noodle. Know your pasta, people!)







Turns out scrap elastic and uncooked pasta is a kid craft made in heaven. Jimmy could even thread noodles on his elastic. Today we had to go to Wegman's for more kinds of "beads".



It was fun and I had a nice happy time with me kids that they loved and made me feel like less of a crap mom for putting them off while I sew or study. Of course, it all came to an end did after Jimmy mixed all the different kinds of noodles together (which make the voices mad) and then made a game of flicking zitis across the table and all over the floor. Sigh.

But I know you are jealous of my new Ditialini bracelet. ;)