Simple cloth dolls are a rarity in this day of big box stores and the seeming competition to make the most commercial of commercial dolls. Yes you can find aisles of plastic dolls in any big box store—dolls from all the movies and TV shows that do everything from talk to wet their diapers. But simple childhood dolls that are huggable and soft? Dolls that leave something up to the imagination of the child? That can adapt to any pretend play situation the child comes up with? Those dolls are harder to find.
Luckily for us, there are still those who make simple cloth dolls for children. Reba of Dolly Mama Eugene is one of those people who lovingly handcrafts the kinds of dolls we want our children to have.
"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun." - Mary Lou Cook
I really like this creativity quote. And to prove how much I like it, this is the second time I've posted it. By the time I had created the image above, I noticed another version in my file of art and creativity quotes. Oh well. It's a good one and worth a repeat. I have never claimed to have the best of memories.
Yesterday I was feeling a little under the weather, both physically and emotionally. So I set up camp on the sofa and surrounded myself with color and happiness and things I enjoyed. I pulled up the red kiddo table and used it for my iPad (ostensibly for work, but in reality just for Pandora) and my thankful stones (because I needed a reminder of what I was thankful for).
I made coffee and baked a couple of cherry-almond scones (my absolute favorite—I make a big batch for the freezer and bake two or three at a time) and settled down with some books, a blank notebook, and some rare me time.
When I was working on my fall crafts book, one of my editorial feedback team members suggested I include the recipe for homemade mod podge as an alternate to real mod podge in the leaf doodling activity.
I almost did. I'm all for homemade
—especially when it works well.
But I hadn't tested it myself and didn't have the time then (this was the eleventh hour, as I remember, and I was scrambling with last minute edits and formatting) and so decided to leave it out.
I promised myself that I'd try out the two versions side by side as soon as possible, though. And that's what I wanted to share with you here. The test and the results. Homemade mod podge vs the store bought mod podge. So here we go...
A Rainy Day Play is an etsy shop and business owned and operated by Cassidy, sewer of costumes and mom to 4 children. She makes fun dress-up clothes for kids including superhero capes, fairy tale cloaks, pirate hats and hooks, Robin Hood and Peter Pan costumes, jet pack wings, and mermaid tails. (My daughters both requested her mermaid costumes when they saw me working on this post.)
.
When I asked Cassidy how she got into sewing costumes for children, this is what she said...
Remember those melted crayon rocks we made back in June? Well, the kids have used them for a lot of creative play over the summer and I thought it would be fun to share. They were an engaging art project to begin with and now act as prompts, accessories, and key components of some great play.
Here are some of the ways they have used the melted crayon rocks:
We splurged and bought Daphne a wooden kitchen for her birthday, and she LOVES it. But she and Maia have also been loving all the packaging that came with the kitchen. The large cardboard box now has a door that can open and close and is in regular use as a fort, reading spot, and play space.
The styrofoam packaging from the box? It's being used as well!
The Artful Year Autumn :: Celebrating the Seasons and Holidays with Family Arts and Crafts by Jean Van't Hul
$9.99
Would you like to create family memories while celebrating the seasons and holidays more creatively?
With 78 pages of autumn leaf crafts, Halloween decorations and crafts, delicious apple and pumpkin recipes, and ideas for celebrating Thanksgiving, there are enough ideas in The Artful Year :: Autumn to keep your family creating and celebrating together year after year.
Would you like to see a few pages? Here is the table of contents as well as three other pages from the book...
