Author Archives: Kelly Cheatle

Valentine’s Day – Woven Heart Craft

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Valentine Woven Heart Craft

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner- and these simple woven paper hearts are a great snowy weekend project!

Change up the number of tabs cut into the template to increase the number of woven squares.

The paper can be a little tricky for little hands to get the hang of- so I’d suggest starting with just two tabs in contrasting colors. You can download a traceable template here. I’d suggest printing it on card stock for durability.

Take it a step further:

  • Recycle pages from old books- bonus points for love poems :).
  • Use non-woven fabric (felt/polar fleece) and ribbon to make a fun purse.
  • String several into a pennant.
  • The three-tab heart creates the perfect tic-tac-toe board! Create the ultimate Valentine’s game board, and slip some x’s and o’s inside the pouch.
  • If you’re really up for the challenge- an over-sized 8-tab heart would create a checkerboard.

This is my first illustrated-craft post, let me know how you did in the comments below. I’d love to see photos of your finished pieces!

 

Mitten Tamer!

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When 7:30am rolls around I’m really only semi-conscious. While I need to make sure all four kids get their breakfast, medicine, coats, mittens, hats, homework, lunch, and backpacks before the bus comes at 8:08, I still find myself hitting that snooze button, repeatedly. So I am perpetually trying to get the house organized ahead of time…

I would have loved some built in cubbies in the entry-hall, but space by the door is scarce. Instead I mounted hooks in a piece of square trim and anchored it to the wall. It’s great because I can easily walk by and SEE which kid hasn’t put their stuff away- you know, if I haven’t already tripped over it.

While that handled the backpacks & coats, it still left hats & mittens to deal with. The hallway is too narrow for a shelf, and besides- shelves just tend to collect more stuff than needed. I had tried using an attractive little basket, but hats & mittens would get all jumbled. I’ve lost several nice pairs of gloves after handing them off in the mad rush because we were missing one half of a pair.

Tame the hat & mitten pile in less than 2 minutes!

And then today, I had an epiphany: warm and fuzzy hats & mittens + adhesive velcro = no more mitten pile of doom!!

Admittedly it took a little longer than two minutes, because I had to run to the fabric store. But once I got home- I just had to trim it to the length of the board and press it on. POOF! Hats & mittens are now right where they’ve left them- and you can barely see the velcro when there’s nothing attached- so it keeps the hallway looking neat & tidy.

If any of the polar fleece/nylon gloves don’t want to stick well, I’ll just sew a little inconspicuous circle of fuzzy velcro on them.

Let me know if you try it out! Can you improve on it?

The never ending school supply hunting & gathering fiasco

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Most wonderful time of the year my...

I know I'm not alone. I don't know when it started, but man- 25 years ago getting together back to school supplies was never this ridiculous. We have 4 kids- I get that the insanity is often magnified due to the sheer number of monkeys that must be managed, but the logic of sending 24+ parents on individual supply missions is an exercise in excess & waste. The pitfalls of" data-image="http://craftyb.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/mostwonderful.jpg" data-site="Crafty B">

Most wonderful time of the year my...

I know I’m not alone. I don’t know when it started, but man- 25 years ago getting together back to school supplies was never this ridiculous. We have 4 kids- I get that the insanity is often magnified due to the sheer number of monkeys that must be managed, but the logic of sending 24+ parents on individual supply missions is an exercise in excess & waste.

The pitfalls of individual purchasing:

  • Purchasing items individually means a TON more packaging is tossed in a landfill.
  • Unlike my child’s school, I am not tax exempt.
  • Getting “the best deal” on items requires preternatural flier hunting/coupon cutting.
  • Imagine the gas that is being wasted when 20+ parents go shopping at multiple locations.
  • OH MY GOODNESS THE TIME I HAVE SPENT SOOOOORRRTING and gathering… (x20)
  • Further support of big box stores to get “the best deal” little guys just don’t typically have that purchase power.

Benefits:

  • Bobby gets to pick out a fancy folder (?)
  • Coupon gods & goddesses can find their supplies for pennies
  • Local businesses can profit from purchases (if you have one nearby)
  • Doesn’t come out of classroom budget
The packaging thing really got to me today. We try to recycle/reuse what we can from the year before- but consumables like glue sticks get perpetually eaten up and need to be replaced. One of my daughters needed 3.   These are just a typical example of how this product is packaged/non-sale price.
Ok so lets just say, for giggles, that all 20 parents in her classroom purchased the above package.
  • $40 for 60 glue sticks works out to be 67c/gluestick.
  • 20 individual car trips to various stores (assuming at least 1 school supply trip)
  • 20 plastic “blister” shells and 20 full color printed cardboard sheets tossed/recycled (hopefully- but still lots of energy in creation/recycling)
Replace this instead with the purchase of two 30 packs:

  • $18 for 60 glue sticks (now down to 30c/gluestick)
  • 1 car trip by ONE dedicated shopper or single delivery by PO/UPS
  • 2 thin cardboard packages (in this case, again full color printing) easily recyclable.
And this is just the glue sticks!! WTH people?! WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?! I get that it’s not covered in our local school budget IMOHO it should- BUT does anyone have a good example of a PTA or a parent/group run org setting up a fundraiser by selling a “pack” to incoming students? I’m thinking a checklist that can be filled in at the end of the spring of the previous year for items that can’t be re-used? (and then a few parent volunteers to help sort them into classroom boxes) Any other ideas? Ok, back to packing this shtuff up, I’ve got to get some sleep Larry & I are building a back to school balloon scene for a local elementary (in a district that DOESN’T send parents out for supplies… le sigh)