Visual Philosophy                            Sweet Crocheterie                              Tinker Girls

Caught RED Handed                     My Craft Garden                                    KainKain

Heartfelt Yarn Wreaths                   Jane Foster                                          Belinda Saville

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

Download the instructions here: Pasque Flower

Happy weekend stitching!

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.

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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Bring the sea inside by constructing these fascinating underwater creatures with simple supplies from home.

How to Make Your Own Jellyfish :: from Scrapbooks, Etc.

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It’s hot. Plain and simple. Give those little hands something fun and easy to do, and you’ll all feel a pleasant breeze as a result.

“Fan”-tastic: How to make a paper fan :: from the Phoenix Examiner

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It’s raining? And you’ve already read every one of those library books y’all checked out? Sounds like a good time for popcorn and a movie! Invite your kids to help you whip up this tasty peanut-butter-y popcorn and settle in for a cozy rainy afternoon.

Peanut Butter Popcorn :: from The Girl Who Ate Everything

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Learning letters, matching sounds, spelling words, and writing silly poems just got even more interesting—write whatever strikes your kid’s fancy on these juice can lids and Go Fish!

Fishing for Knowledge :: from FamilyFun

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Turn your kiddie pool or bathtub into a mini regatta with Rachel Meeks’s clever ice cube boats. Ships, ahoy!

Sail into Summer with Ice Cube Boats :: by Rachel Meeks of AlphaMom

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For some of us, summer forts involved draping sheets over the laundry line, a sure-fire way to whip up some DIY backyard hideouts. For others, fort-building can be an art form and involve doors, trees, hammocks, rope ladders, and periscopes. Here are some pretty cool Pinterest boards that feature the Summer Fort in all its glory:

“Fort” Board by Angie Wiley

“Fort Building!” Board by Danielle Woods

“A Backyard Fort Ought to Have…” Board by Matt Jenkins

“Tree Fort” Board by Josh Laczak

“Tree Fort” Board by Ashley Hodges

And be sure to check out this stellar tree house made by Joyce Hesselberth and David Plunkert of kid baltimore:

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I don’t care how old you are, blowing bubbles is a delight, no matter what. Use this cool tutorial to make a batch of bubble solution AND a giant bubble-maker.

Super Giant Bubble Kit & Solution :: from Design Dazzle

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Bring the circus home! Save a couple large coffee cans and help the kids make these old-school, cool-school stilts. I sense a talent show coming on….

Old-school Fun: Coffee Can Stilts :: from teach mama

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What’s nicer than a picnic dinner in the back yard? An evening of picnic dinner theater! Sew this fab portable theater, round up play-writing inspiration, and step back to witness the theatrical creativity your kids produce. Bravo!

Backyard Puppet Theater :: from kojo designs

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Summer trees are filled with singing birds—invite some to eye level with this easy and clever bird feeder made with the rind of an orange. Yes, an orange!

DIY Orange Cup Bird Feeder :: from She Knows

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Want some book suggestions for summertime crafts? Ask and ye shall receive:

Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids by Jenny Doh

Closet Monsters by John Murphy

Stupid Sock Creatures by John Murphy

Big Little Felt Universe by Jeanette Lim

I’ve been a jojoba bean picker in the Sonoran desert, copy chief for a busy magazine in New York City, college writing instructor, and managing editor, editor, and author for Lark Crafts. But the hardest and most rewarding job I’ve ever attempted was teaching third graders.

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! Looking for a teacher gift idea you can stitch up easily in an evening? Grab some felt and make Lisa Jordan’s sweet Apple for Teacher Brooch from our follow-up to Fa la la la Felt, Heart-Felt Holidays (now available for under $10 on amazon and B&N.com).

My nine-year-old niece Oona sewed one for her teacher last night between dessert and bath time.

Look how great hers turned out!

Download a free PDF with instructions and printable templates: Apple for Teacher Brooch.

Download the project here: Lavender Tea Bag Sachets

Happy weekend crafting….for mom!

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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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!

Author Cynthia Shaffer thought this mom-and daughter-apron set from Stash Happy: Appliqué would be the perfect gift to celebrate, whether you want the set to give to your best friend, your sister, or whether you’re the mom yourself!

To enter for a chance to win the aprons, please leave a comment on this post by 9 p.m. EST on Friday, May 4. Any comment is fine—though we’d love to hear what plans you have for Mother’s Day! One winner will be selected at random from among all eligible entries and notified by Monday, May 7. This contest is now closed – the winner will be contacted shortly! Thanks to everyone who shared their Mother’s Day plans and apron memories!

Click here for the official rules.

Like what you see? Check out some of other posts (and free projects) on Stash Happy Appliqué:

Take a peek inside the book here!

Free appliqued lampshade project available here!

Super cute mason jar cozy project available here!

And of course check out the book!