Duct/Duck Tape Craft - Rose Pens - Kid Craft Critique

For Christmas, my 11 year old daughter got some craft supplies - Duck Tape (duct tape - whatever). Using the instructions on Ducktivities she and her 10 year old sister made these pens.

Here's the 11 year old Kid Craft Critique:

Clarity of instructions: 4 out of 5 (a little more instruction on petal placement would have been nice)
Fun factor: 3 out of 5 (dissatisfied with her pen)

And the 10 year old Kid Craft Critique:

Clarity of instructions: 4 out of 5
Fun factor: 5 out of 5 (she likes her pen - it's the one on the right in the picture)

I'm liking the Kid Craft Critic's assistance. They are excellent proof readers and capitalization experts too!

Be You Tiful - Beautiful - T shirts FREE Silhouette file

FREE Silhouette Studio file (created by me) to make this great t shirt design! It's my birthday this week and I just wanted to share.

I love making meaningful items. I've seen multiple variations on the "be you tiful" phrase and I've made several of my own. These clearance t shirts were just begging for me to make them into beautiful inspirational tees for my girls. So I did of course.

white and silver heat transfer vinyl on beautiful blue shirt

purple and royal blue heat transfer vinyl on heather gray shirt

If you would like to make your own shirt using the same design you can download the silhouette studio file from this link (google docs) Be You Tiful dot studio file  Please respect my creations and only use this file for personal use. And this file only works with the silhouette craft cutters.

Because of my etsy store I have a heat press which is the best way to apply heat transfer vinyl. But if you are using a home iron here are some tips for the best results.

Race Medal Holders

A friend asked me to make one of these as a surprise gift for her husband who loves to run. She choose the quote "Always earned. Never given."

I used boards I already had cut and only had to buy the pegs and the hangers for the back.

Gift for a teen who loves to run and choose not to run a big name marathon on Sunday even though his training partners did. Go Chandler!

My eval: 

• loved that I was able to make this for someone else. Their family has helped my family in many ways.
• and it gave me an excuse to do something for Chandler to tell him I really admire his courage in making the right choice
• it's nice to be able to use all my crafty "stuff" in meaningful ways
• happy I was able to find a runner and make a few modifications (remove the frame using point editing)

Improvements for next time (the perfectionist in me hasn't died yet): 

• pick a dark background color and use light lettering
• could still be changed if the new owners want to paint over the vinyl and then remove the vinyl (reverse stenciling)
• install 2 hangers on the back so it will hang even when medals (weights) are added
• I think I'll retrieve the one I didn't do that on and fix it
• put the hangers on before gluing the pegs in
• add felt pads to the bottom corners so it hangs more evenly on the wall
• or finally learn how to use the key hole router bit I own

Trivia (or not):

"run medal holder" (note to self)

used silhouette studio image "sports badge set" design #30246 

Arm Wrestler font

Paper Clip Elastic Band Bracelets - No Loom Required

Last year I posted my own version of how to make a paper clip angel. My fascination with paper clips continues. Let's make paper clip elastic band bracelets!!

Supplies: elastic bands and crazy paper clips. I found elastic bands at JoAnns and Michaels. Hobby Lobby had a few also. The paper clips were at Walmart. If you can't find those specific paper clips you might be able to find other shapes in the office supplies.

And that's it. My 5 year old (with a long attention span and great fine motor skills) was able to make his own!

Thankful Thursday - plus pic of silhouette cameo created art by kids

Being positive and grateful is a good mental exercise and I'm feeling sluggish in that department. So since today is the 26th and I missed a week or two, I'm doing makeup exercises today.

Things I am thankful for:

 #1 I'm thankful for my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ.
 #2 I'm thankful for my husband. (I helped the kids make the artwork below for Father's Day.)

Kid Created Art (with help of the silhouette cameo)

#3 I'm thankful for playgroup which gives me two hours of me time a week.
#4 I'm thankful for friends, even if they do move away.
#5 I'm thankful for music.
#6 I'm thankful that my kids are learning to play instruments.
#7 I'm thankful my parents insisted that I learn an instrument (flute).
#8 I'm thankful for blogging. It's a great creative outlet and I love seeing other people's creations too.
#9 I'm thankful for rain (we finally had some last week).
#10 I'm thankful for my bike and bike trailer. This morning another Mom and I went biking with our kid trailers in tow. We were passed by a group of "pro" bikers. I'm sure we made them smile - us and our mountain bikes and our kids!

Time's up (this was a timed exercise simply because I need to go pick up a kiddo from playgroup now).
Use your mental muscles and see how many things you can be thankful for in 5 minutes!

Sewing Lesson Fun

Monsters with teeth and pocket mouths!

First time sewing! Notice the "stool" so he can reach the pedal.

Vinyl lettering on the penants - it's not cheating - it's SMART crafting!

Apparently even kindergarten students can sew on buttons.

Southpaw Crafts is offering sewing lessons for ages 7 and up starting in October (contact me if you live in San Antonio and are interested). As I've prepared the curriculum my own children have been my pattern/project testers. I've been very pleasantly surprised at how well they do. Once I told the boys they could use the sewing machine (with close supervision of course) they were super excited to make monsters and penant banners to personalize their room. (They have bunk beds so yes that is my ceiling you see in the picture. Don't look too close because cutting in paint lines isn't my area of expertise.)

Fall Ombre Sign Craft

My friend Maria and I hosted a craft day this week and we made the beautiful Fall sign pictured. If you are local (San Antonio) and would like to join us contact me at southpawcrafts (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll let you know when our next craft day is.