Tis the Season for Kid Craftin', Fa la la la la....

Well, despite the freezing weather (a whopping 2 degrees below zero--NOT counting the windchill!) my girlie wanted to mess with polymer clay today! Clay does not like the cold temps, so it took some effort to get it soft enough to work with. A Twitter pal later gave me the tip she had heard from professionals, to warm it up inside my bra!! Hey, it just might work!!

I think it is just great to give the kids some extra clay and see what they come up with. It is so good for them, and it makes a lasting item since it gets hard when baked! We worked together to make this kitty cat, which she has decided to give to her brother for Christmas.

This is my favorite polymer clay item made by my son when he was 4 or 5 years old. The arm broke off, so I had to hold it up there for the picture! It just makes me happy to look at--this funny dancing guy! It also reminds me of good times spent together with him.


We have worked on other Christmas gifts together. These are shrinky dink pins made by my son. I should have gotten the white shrinky dinks instead of the clear, since you can see the pins right through them!

This one (below) was a big hit with the kids!!! These are just bottle tops which they filled with white glue then added little toys, shells, whatnots and etcetera. They sprinkled with glitter. I added some clear resin just because that is my thing, but it wouldn't be necessary. They really had a good time doing it. I glued scrap magnets (sales, etc, that get sent in the mail, etc) to the back. I was worried they would be too heavy for those magnets, but it worked fine--although I did glue the magnets to the entire back, not just parts.
My girl loved the Pikachu (from Pokemon) pin that my son made from Shrinky Dinks for the pin shown above, so he made her a smaller one for a necklace in secret. I punched a hole (use a regular size punch, as the hold will shrink, of course!) and added a jump ring and ball chain. I think she will love it, and he is proud.

Part of the fun of Christmas is making gifts for each other, so maybe this will give you some ideas--leave comments if you have ideas of your own to share! I am *always* looking for new ideas to keep these guys busy!!

Where Have I Been?

Well, my mother scolded me that she wouldn't have to secretly spy on me on Twitter if I would just update my blog!!! :-) Isn't she a silly thing!?

But truly--how lucky am I that my parents are so very interested at me, even at my maturing age, to sit and read every word I write? They have always made me feel that they think I am so talented and special--all of us kids in our own ways. To grow up and grow older with that feeling is priceless. It is not something I take for granted and something I appreciate.

Maybe she will read that and get me a bigger Christmas present!!! JUST KIDDING, MOM!!! :-D

Ok, so that aside, where HAVE I been? Really, I have been nursing my craft show hangover all this time. I haven't done ANYTHING crafty except work on my hubby's Christmas gift from the kids with the kids. I've wrapped gifts, gone to work, watched some DVDs in the evening with hubby WITHOUT beads in my hands. I've been Twittering here and there, and pimping my etsy shop now and again--but I haven't even opened my ArtFire shop in days.

I guess I've gone on vacation. I need some time to renew my creativity. It got to the point where my ideas far outweighed my time, almost to an uncomfortable feeling--like my brain might burst... plus my housework waited, Christmas projects were being shoved aside... so I am taking a creative rest. And I think after several days of nothing (truly I have not taken several days off from crafts in a few YEARS) I will feel renewed.

Except as I am typing this I just remembered some stuff I need to do... jewelry promised... I was going to make Christmas earring for my daughter from polymer clay... oh well, the rest was short... I'd better get back to work tonight!