This mini basket pattern is inspired by my Great Grandma who used to crochet little baskets around butter tubs for the little girls in the family. Read on for the pattern and happy stitching!

Today’s craft segment is a continuation of the bucket filling conversation started in Sunday’s craft column. The mission is to encourage viewers to forgo the expensive and often meaningless Valentine’s Day gifts and take a handmade approach instead. A special thanks to Amelia, one of the VPs of Fun here at CraftSanity for assisting me [...]

My daughters are an endless source of inspiration. I wrote this column published in today’s edition of The Grand Rapids Press after witnessing one of their recent backseat conversations in my review mirror. We were on the way home from school and I was very pleased to see my oldest applying the day’s lesson to “fill a [...]

We’re headed to our first family holiday party today and I’m feeling like I could really use a little more time to prepare. I have yet to figure out how to freeze time, so I have to go with what I’ve got. I’m sure you know the feeling. Today Abby, Amelia and I are sharing [...]

On this episode of the podcast I chat with award-winning cookbook author and culinary instructor, Diane Morgan, about the joys of gifting food for the holidays and her inspiring book on the topic: “Gifts Cooks Love: Recipes for Giving.” This interview was recorded last year and I’m so glad to finally post it so you [...]

I’m addicted to beading, so it’s no surprise that I LOVE making these beaded heart pins. I made a bunch last year and found time to stitch a new one a few weeks back. Check out my tutorial, if you’d like to make some for the crafty people on your Valentine’s Day treat list. Ok, [...]

My unplanned foray into crafting on TV has not brought me riches or fame (I don’t get paid to do my segments and Martha still hasn’t called.) but the adventure has payed off in many other ways. It’s forced me to learn how to craft on the fly in front of live audiences and allowed [...]

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.

Father’s Day is coming up and my daughters are very excited. Abby has been squirreling away little handmade gifts for weeks and Amelia is on a magnets-for-every-occasion kick, so I thought it would be great to team up with my daughters for this week’s Father’s Day craft TV segment on “Take Five.” First off, we [...]

Dandelions rank among my favorite flowers. I used to pick them for my mom when I was a kid and now I get to watch my daughters pick them for me. Because most people consider them weeds, no one ever gets on your case for picking them and I love that, too. I wrote a [...]

Happy Spring, everyone! It’s snowing here in West Michigan. And waking up to a blanket of white was a crushing blow after we were spoiled by nearly a week of sunny, spring weather. Ah, well, those of us who live in Michigan are used to this kind of teasing by Mother Nature. We often complain [...]

I’ve never been one to get caught up in the commercialism of Valentine’s Day, but I do LOVE making heart-themed craft projects for my kids all year round. Last night I stayed up insanely late to make a heart-themed bean bag toss game to entertain Abby’s kindergarten friends at the class Valentine’s Day party. I [...]

There’s something very satisfying about stitching with beads. I love the meticulous work of embellishing one little bead at time. And while many of my bead projects take considerable time, these little heart pins are small enough to whip up in one sitting. Read on to find out how to make some of your own.  Supplies:  Craft [...]