Lark Crafts

April showers brought many May flowers to the Etsy marketplace. Created from yarn, beads, leather, paper, fabric, and wool, I found flowers that had been beaded, felted, molded, stitched, printed, and painted. And come on, who isn‘t inspired by nature’s bounty of blooms? I plucked a bouquet of images that caught my eye.

Visual Philosophy                            Sweet Crocheterie                              Tinker Girls

Caught RED Handed                     My Craft Garden                                    KainKain

Heartfelt Yarn Wreaths                   Jane Foster                                          Belinda Saville

When I was young, I absolutely loved spending time with my mom in the kitchen. Whether it was being tasked with the important responsibility of mixing up the cake, brownie, or cookie batter in the bowl (and licking the spoon afterward!) or simply watching her cooking process while soaking up any worthwhile wisdom, I was fascinated by it all and felt great comfort in those special moments together. As an adult, that mother-daughter kitchen time is usually relegated to holidays and happens much less frequently than I would like (and is therefore all the more precious).

As you take time to celebrate the importance of moms this weekend, I suggest creating some kitchen memories of your own. Make something together that can be shared together.

Cake Ladies celebrates the importance of women’s stories, the power of baking within families and communities, and the simple joy of sharing something sweet with those you love. So grab an apron and a mixing bowl, enlist your mom or your own child, and bake up something wonderful.

We offer here a free recipe for Applesauce Spice Cake, one of my personal favorites from the book since it reminds me of my own grandmother’s cake I savored as a child. Enjoy with someone you love!

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE HERE: Applesauce Spice Cake

Mother’s Day always seems to sneak up on me. Today while packing school lunches it suddenly dawned on me that Mom’s Day is this Sunday. Does this sound familiar to you? If so, rather than make a mad dash to the drug or grocery store (where the card selection is by now no doubt a sad and picked over collection) how about making an engineering marvel that will be sure to impress?

To make the bouquet on front, you can use flower punches if you have them, or just cut out some simple flower shapes by hand. I guarantee that mom will adore your bouquet either way. While the outside of the card is cheerful and pretty, the inside packs a fun surprise because when opened, whimsical hearts pop up and dangle from thread (check it out here). Put yourself in mom’s shoes—wouldn’t you love to get a handmade card like this? This is just one of 25 designs that you’ll find in Pop-Up Cards: And other Greetings that Slide, Dangle & Move.

It’s almost summertime! School’s about to be out! It’s time for summer vacation, days unbound by the school bus and homework, and a kid’s-eye-view of weeks and weeks of fun.

Whether you’re inside or outside, in the shade or in the sun, below is a list of summer craft ideas to capture the interest of big and little kids alike. In fact, when it comes to some of these ideas (see the Tree Fort Pinterest boards), you don’t need to be a kid at all to feel that summer vacation excitement.

 Happy summertime crafting!

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You’ll WANT life to give you lemons so you can make these cool, refreshing treats. Hello, hot weather awesomeness.

Creamy Lemon Popsicles :: from gimme some oven

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Sidewalk chalk: it makes hopscotch possible, it brings traced silhouettes to life, and it offers endless opportunities for driveway/walkway poems (try jumping rope around a sidewalk chalk poem—it’s a whole new meaning for beat poetry!). Use powdered tempera to make your own vibrant colors.

Make Your Own Sidewalk Chalk :: from Instructables

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Don’t have a sunny day to go backyard camping? Never fear! This Fabric Pup Tent will have your littles singing songs around the campfire in your living room. Git along, little doggies.

Fabric Pup Tent :: from ReadyMade

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We are so very happy to share with you our new book,

Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids by Jenny Doh,

a celebration of the joyful art of crafting with kids.

Twenty top parenting bloggers share imaginative craft projects to make with kids of all ages: from a cardboard cityscape and papier-mâché masks to felted falling stars and DIY stilts, it’s all about sharing simple moments and making lasting memories.

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Chances are you’re a creative person. Maybe you are an inventor in the kitchen, maybe you recently made scarves for everyone in your extended family, maybe you designed and planted raised beds in your garden. Whatever your pursuit may be, you probably derive great happiness from making something.

We’re all creative in such different ways, but I’m willing to bet that we each grew up with the idea of creativity modeled for us somehow, whether it was a family member, a teacher, or a mentor who helped us understand what creativity might mean. Some of us spent our childhood immersed in the idea of being creative, while others of us may not have identified as a maker-of-things until later in life.

However your creative history may have unfolded, it’s likely that you have a creative history.

Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids aims to spark and feed that joyful creativity for the kids in your life, encouraging you to journey with them as they carve a creative history for themselves.

GIVEAWAY INFO:

To celebrate the release of this wonderful book, we’re hosting a giveaway! One lucky reader will receive a copy of Hand in Hand by Jenny Doh. To enter for a chance to win, please leave a comment on this post by 11:59 pm EST on Friday, May 11. Any comment is fine, though I’d love to hear about the person or people who helped you understand the meaning of creativity—whose words and actions have inspired you to create?

One winner will be selected at random from among all eligible entries and notified by Monday, May 14. Click here for the official rules.

Learn a bit more about the designers and bloggers featured in Hand in Hand:

Jackie Boucher :: weelife

Samantha Cotterill :: Mummy Sam

Jenny Doh :: Crescendoh

Maya Donenfeld :: maya*made

Ali Edwards :: AE Blog

Rachel Faucett :: Handmade Charlotte

Pam Garrison :: Pam Garrison

Abby Glassenberg :: While She Naps

Cindy Hopper :: Skip to my Lou

Beki Lambert :: Artsy-Crafty Babe

Merrilee Liddiard :: mer mag

Jhoanna Monte :: One Red Robin

Jessica Okui :: Zakka Life

Ella Pedersen :: Little Red Caboose

Carly Schwerdt :: Nest Studio

Amanda Blake Soule :: soule mama

Nicole Spring :: Frontier Dreams

Jean Van’t Hul :: The Artful Parent

Dana Willard :: MADE

Kristin Zecchinelli :: Maine Momma

Want a glimpse into Hand in Hand?

Check out this PDF of the Tissue Paper Lantern project created by Kristin Zecchinelli.

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If I were entering this giveaway, it would be difficult to point to just one person who has helped me understand creativity, since I’ve been so very fortunate to grow up with creative parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, and role models. But I will point to one person: I’d like to shine a spotlight on my dad.

Every day before school, my dad would draw a picture and my name on my lunch bag: I still remember the one where a man was fishing in a small boat and his fishing line had caught the B in Beth, while the e, t, and h were still swimming underwater. My dad is also an incredible baker, and when I was growing up he’d include me in the delicious, silly, and fun process of making Bubble Bread together. Standing next to him, breathing in the scent of yeast and cinnamon and rolling dough into little spheres was such a treat. His enthusiasm for making something by hand combined with his love of sharing that with me is a very big part of why I, too, love to bake and make things by hand, many years later. Thanks, Dad.

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Just in time for Mother’s Day, we’re so very pleased to share a project with you from Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids by Jenny Doh: Tissue Paper Lanterns made by Kristin Zecchinelli and her sweet kids.

These pretty lanterns can be made with tissue paper or scraps of fabric, and you can decorate glass jars of any shape and size. Try a fabric pattern featuring sweet little flowers, or shine a spotlight on summery gingham for picnics with personality. Simply gather glass jars, glue, water, tissue paper or fabric, and some little votive candles, and you’ll be ready to create with the kiddos in your life.

This activity is a fun one for all ages*, and tissue paper lanterns are a lovely way to celebrate any occasion from birthdays to Mother’s Day to candlelit holidays. Click here for a downloadable PDF of the Tissue Paper Lanterns project.

Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids is a celebration of the imaginative, playful, and inspiring ways we create with the kids in our lives. Twenty top parenting bloggers share their clever and thoughtful insights into creative parenting along with their 20 how-to craft projects from an ABC Photo Book to Felted Falling Stars.

We hope you enjoy this project, and we wish you and all the mothers in your lives a very Happy Mother’s Day!

*editor’s note: Kristin’s project really caught my attention when I was working on the book with Jenny, and I loved the idea of transforming mason jars into shining little lights. In fact, I was so inspired that I skipped the crafting-with-kids part altogether and made tissue-paper lanterns to illuminate an outdoor party all on my own. With that in mind, I can confirm that grown-ups big kids like making these crafts, too!

This month Gwen Diehn’s latest book, The Complete Decorated Journal: A Compendium of Journaling Techniques, is available online and in bookstores. The Complete Decorated Journal  is a 240-page compilation of Gwen’s two most popular books, The Decorated Journal and The Decorated Page. For those of you that already own one of those two books, this is an opportunity to get the other one plus new material, all in one comprehensive volume—priced at the cost of one book ($14.78 on Amazon!). The bonus material includes additional techniques such as working with casein, 13 artist profiles along with galleries of their work, and project instructions for creating a unique journal from a butter box (or a cereal box, a Little Debbie’s box, or any similar type box of your choosing).

We’re giving away this one one made by Gwen PLUS a copy of The Complete Decorated Journal (see entry details below*)!

We are so delighted with the publication of our most recent bookbinding title Making Mini Books that we’re offering up a rather spectacular giveaway to celebrate.

Erica Ekrem of Odelae Graphic Design & Book Arts Studio generously provided her actual Butterfly Wings project from the book, and we’re offering it–and a copy of Making Mini Books–here to one very lucky winner. Talk about a miniature work of art! This artfully crafted miniature book measures just 2.25 x 3.5 inches, but it delivers large scale artistry. Stitches along the spine of the book complete a beautiful butterfly design when the book is opened up.

How can you enter for a chance to win a copy of Making Mini Books and this extraordinary project from the book? Just leave a comment to this post by 9:00 pm EST on Thursday, April 26. One winner will be selected at random and announced here on Monday, April 30. Click here for the official rules.

Erica’s handmade books are constructed the old world way using hand tools– an awl, needle & thread, ruler, bone folder and steel blade. Materials, as well as her tools and binding methods, are chosen with careful consideration for the environment. Her vintage journals are born from faded, timeworn materials, many of which are discovered at the bottom of old chests and bookstore salvage boxes–she reclaims what is remaining and revives it. More of Erica’s beautiful work can be found at Odelae.com and in her Etsy shop.