Ok, I’m back with Part 2 of the instructions for today’s “Take Five” craft segment projects. My 6-year-old daughter, Amelia, asked for construction paper for Christmas and was thrilled to receive a lot of it. I was thrilled, too, when I saw her drawing microphones (another one of her presents) until the unused paper started [...]

It would have made for a great family photo, but I was too busy participating in the Fourth of July craft time to run for my camera. We were at a family party hosted by Jeff’s parents when his Aunt Lou Ann Cruttenden showed all the ladies at the party how to make embellished flip [...]

We finally kicked off the Handmade Tour last week when we visited lovely Northern Michigan. I’ll be posting details and photos of our adventure soon. In the meantime, I invite you to check out the column I wrote about our DIY chalkboard adventures. Abby and Amelia are really enjoying their new boards. You can read [...]

I’ve been living in a “girl’s world” all my life. I grew up with two sisters and now have two daughters who love to play dress up and host tea parties for their stuffed animal friends. While all the women in my family are fans of pretty things and twirly dresses, some of us have [...]

Clipboards are fun without any enhancements, but they get even better when you paint them them with chalkboard paint, especially if you’re looking to keep the kids busy on the next long car trip. I priced out chalkboard paint (which is most readily available in green and black) and decided that using official chalkboard paint [...]

I met Tom, a Valspar paint represenative, at my local Lowe’s yesterday and he hooked me up with paint samples for tomorrow’s craft segment on WZZM Channel 13′s “Take Five” morning show. (Thanks, Tom!)  Check back here tomorrow to see what the girls and I have been working on. Oh and the curtains are up! [...]

My apologies for the sporadic blog posting of late. I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on issue 3 of CraftSanity Magazine and attending art shows hosted by my daughters in our hallway. The girls have been painting like mad and burning through their stash of supplies very quickly. They installed their latest batch of paintings [...]

Hi folks! I’m a guest on this week’s webisode of JTV, a fun floral design show hosted by my friend, J Schwanke, flower expert and CEO of uBloom. Tune in to watch us make wrapping paper using crayons and tropical foliage. This is an easy, all-ages project for everyone who loves crafting with nature and [...]

Happy spring break! Snow is in the forecast for Michigan, so chances are good that my family won’t be frolicking on the West Michigan sun during Spring Break 2011. But no worries, I’m a crafty mama with a plan. This past Sunday the weekly column I write for The Grand Rapids Press offered spring break [...]

While prepping for today’s TV segment on paper casting I ran into a little snag. I was planning to use cotton linters to make paper  pulp for casting, but couldn’t find the product on the fly at the local art supply stores here in West Michigan. I didn’t have time to order online, so I [...]

Ready for Thanksgiving? Don’t worry, I’m not either. Not even close. Since time is short, this year’s decorating ideas have to be fast. So we decided to use balls of yarn, pipe cleaner and colored feathers to whip up some cute turkeys on the fly. To make your own, roll a small ball for the [...]

This craft tutorial is in honor of Veterans’ Day, the day we pause to remember and honor the men and women who have made great personal sacrifices to defend our freedom. In an effort to reflect on what it means to be free in America, I thought it was appropriate to make some beaded lapel [...]

Running out of fresh Halloween decorating ideas? I was, too.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m heading West for the Conference for Creative Entrepreneurs in a couple days. There’s lots to do before I board the plane, but I took a break from spinning plates for a bit to work on a super important project for my daughters. I’ve been working on a set of stuffed [...]

Soon after launching my loom business last summer I started collecting colorful t-shirts to use in my weaving projects. But every now and then I like to change it up and do a t-shirt refashioning project or some other jersey knit craft. Yesterday I made some t-shirt necklaces with my daughters. This is a fun [...]