Mouse + Paper + Clay

The weekend gone presented an interesting turn of events. There was an impromptu crafternoon, which led to the creation of Giuseppe, a needle felted mouse. Having wanted to make a little creature like this for quite some time. And the time never feeling quite right, until now. 

© Melissa Gaggiano

Since Giuseppe turned out as well as he did. I went at it again, and made another little mouse... even smaller.

After a tidy up one of the kids was on the verge of throwing out their recent paper sculpture. Before the paper was recycled, I took a photo of it, for a remembrance. This image makes you want to go on a holiday, does it not?

The kids make things with minimal input from me. Occasionally I show them techniques that I've figured out, but for the most part I give them the space to freestyle it. Yesterday though, we had a situation which required a collaboration between mama and child. The result was this Princess Peach statue.

Kidspot Will Have You Charmed This Mother's Day

KIDSPOT – MOTHER'S DAY CRAFT

The past few days I have been in full project mode. Those are the best times – producing work that is both pleasurable and challenging. As an added bonus, the creation process is a form of renewable energy as it feeds both my drive and imagination.

So what have I been working on lately? It is charming! It is lovely! It is a Kidspot – Mother's Day craft project. Head on over to Kidspot to find out how to make this sweet charm.

What else is happening in the land of Melissa. There's lots of brainstorming, chats with the little one about making a fairy village in the garden. We've already got a miniature prayer statue back there, so there really needs to be a village to go with it.

Catching up with an old friend, sparked an idea for a 'date night' outfit. Think twin flamingo shades, pom-pom shirt, with matching wedge sandals and toe nail polish. If the outfit makes your date turn and run, I say it wasn't meant to be.

Play Clay, Hey!

© Melissa Gaggiano

The past six months we have been composting, and fantastically it really has cut back so much garbage waste. To give you an idea: before composting, on average we were going through 2-3 bin bags a week; Now we are averaging 1 bin bag a week.

In lots of tiny little things we find ways to save and reuse materials which would otherwise make it's way to the bin. For instance, the Big Bunny has recently been visiting and done his annual dump... of foil covered chocolate eggs. I have this funny habit of balling up the foil while eating said chocolate. And wouldn't you know it, I got the idea that these balls/cubes of foil could be used for beading. So guess what we're saving from the rubbish pile this year.

We love playing with felt. As materials go it's perfect for everyone regardless of what you're sewing skills are. It doesn't fray, is generally speaking tough stuff, and comes in so many cheery, bright colors.

My youngest will often be in the mood for sewing. Out comes the felt box and off she goes whipping together a jacket and pants (pictured above: I wish this came in my size.).

A huge part of the creative construction in my home has been centered on what can be done with paper and fabric. For some time my youngest has wanted to get more into clay exploration. So this week we finally made that happen with air drying clay (bought from Riot Art).

Our approach to clay play is the same for any other craft medium, which is fairly unstructured: Make what you want to make. If it doesn't work, try a different approach. If it still doesn't work, we'll superglue the broken bits later. I find the kids are more likely to persist if someone's not critiquing the crap out of their development. Having said that, some of the things that the kids want to make can turn into a collaborative event – this is when they want/need a little guidance. It's good for me too, just sitting with them, crafting away at something. We're creating memories together.

Right now I've got the clay pieces fast drying on heater vents. The clay will be ready to paint when school is out.

Kids Craft Easter Basket

My Poppet Easter Basket

Easter is just around the corner. Indeed it is! If you're looking for some easy, crafty fun for Easter then let yourself be tempted by this tasty morsel My Poppet project – a Print & Colour Easter Basket.

{ Visit My Poppet }