How to build a mining setup. A mining sluice is expensive to rent, but this easy DIY setup was a perfect addition to our gem mining birthday party.

Gem mining party? Rock climbing birthday? Whatever the event, take a look at these Rockin' Geology Rock Party ideas including creative rock birthday cakes, gem mine activities, rock party decor & more

I've built this simple bench for a friend of mine to use on its home terrace and i featured it with two plots to fit in it some furniture plants to give it a better stylish look.

Inside you'll find an easy step-by-step Back to School art Project tutorial video. Stop by and grab yours for free.

Joan Miro was an artist who didn't subscribe to any artistic label. Learn more about this incredibly talented artist with these Joan Miro Projects for Kids.

This cat sewing pattern is available in various models, sizes, and shapes and can be used as stuffed animals, door hangings, or appliques on your projects.

I had a question the other day from a reader on an older blogpost of mine, about how to update the look of travertine tile floors. I’ve worked on projects like this in the past, and have some example palettes to show you. If YOU have travertine you are tired of in your home, you might want to check

Completed kindergarten masterpieces. That's right, I said kindergarten. The under-6 set is knockin' it outta the park, er, art room so far this year and I couldn't be more thrilled. What I'm about to present to you right here is one Big Fat Hairy kindergarten unit on line. And color. Oh, and shape, sculpture and good craftsmanship, i.e. how-not-to-drive-the-art-teacher-crazy(-er)-by-not-grinding-your-paintbrush-into-the-paper. Because she no like-y. And, in my art room, keeping me sane-ish is at the top of my Learning Targets. Which is way harder than you could ever imagine. Just ask the kids. Do you recall those wild and wacky paintings created on the first days of school in this post? Those large paintings have come in very handy as backdrops for our displays as you can see here. Without getting into all of that, let's chat about the aforementioned Line Unit, shall we? I'm not gonna lie, I do this same ole project with kindergarten at the beginning of every year. Which is unusual for me because with all the other grade levels, I love to change things up. Not so with kinder'town for a coupla reasons: A. they love it; B. it covers a whole batch o' skills/techniques/vocabulary/routines and C. let's be honest, coming up with projects that the little ones can master is not my forte. So when I find something that works, I stick with it. So on our very first day of art, after introducing ourselves to one another and an abbreviated discussion of rules and consequences (because, after all, these kids are five. They still have baby fluff, suck their thumbs and wet their pants routinely. Rules and consequences mean nada. A wicked stare and a "we don't do that in kindergarten" usually does the trick), I like to dive head first into the art-making swimmin' hole. Which means we create our very first sculpture. Now if you're an old warhorse at this art teacher game, this lesson is nothing new to you. You might wanna skip on down to the bottom where I discuss such things as pinwheel portrait painting and bottomless basket weaving (don't worry newbies, they'll be gone a while. I don't even know what that stuff is!). For the rest of ya, lemme tell you how I go about teaching this line sculpture lesson: First of all, we have a little chat about the difference between flat two-dimensional artwork and sculptures. After looking at some images of sculptures, we chat about the ones we are familiar with (ole Lady Liberty almost always comes up) and discuss how a sculpture is something we can see (rotating body at waist for emphasis) all...the way...around. I then tell 'em that we are going to create a sculpture with a bunch of straight lines (strips of paper cut 1" X 9" but sizes can vary). I ask them how to make a flat piece of paper pop out of their sculpture base (aka the bottom paper) to which they usually answer "glue!" It's at this point that I tell 'em that if they want their sculpture to stand, just like us, it must have feet. I demonstrate creating a small fold at the ends of the strip of paper thus creating feet. It's there that glue is applied (to which the strip of paper always responds, "oohh, that tickles my feet! Ohhh, that glue is soo cold!" Yes, the paper talks to us. It's kindergarten, people. They eat this stuff up). Once the glue is applied, I show the kids how to hold the paper in place on the base for about 10 seconds. From there, I demonstrate adding more paper strips to the sculpture base on top, below, behind or beside the first strip. Then I turn the kids loose on their on sculptures. The following art class, I introduce more lines. I demonstrate folding a zigzag line, wrapping a strip of paper around my pencil to create a spiral and creating a loop de loop. I also chat about how lines create shapes and demonstrate creating a circle by gluing one end of the strip to the other. With that circle, so many other shapes can be created with a pinch. Pinch the circle once and you have a teardrop! Pinch it again and you have an ellipse! One more time, it's a triangle! Anther pinch and you have a square. From there, the kids go nuts on their sculptures creating lines, shapes and whatever else they can dream up. Here! Lemme walk you through it. On the third day of art class, I get real serious about the whole line thing. We look at each of these snake-y lines on the poster I created way back in first-year-art-teacher-land and then locate them on works of art. Any ole Kandinsky works great for this. It's at this point I introduce to the kids a lil poem I wrote some years ago about a snake named Larry that can morph his body into any line he likes. It goes a lil sumpin like this (complete with hand motions, you better believe it!): Larry the Line Is a friend of mine (creating a snake by opening the fingers of your hand, puppet style and there's your snake!) He can make three (hold up a three with your fingers) Straight lines for me! Ver-tickle (create a vertical line with your forearm) Diagonal and horizontal! (pantomime each) Any curve, he can learn With a twist and a turn. When he's out of his tangle he makes a great...angle. (created by placing your hand on your hip and pointing to your elbow) Any line, he can make After all, he's a snake! After learning the Larry the Line poem, I bust out this huge cheesey carnival snake I got years ago that happens to have a little rattle in his tail. I convince the kids that he's real (they're kindergarten so they totally buy it) and maneuver him around to create a variety of lines. If the kids guess the name of the line correctly, I let them "rattle" Larry's tail. They eat it up and learn the names of lines to boot. After that, I give a little demo on painting. If you've read this blog for five minutes, you know that when painting, I liken the bristles of the paint brush to a ballerina: It always dances on it's toes, it never scoots around on it's bottom. After I demonstrate painting each of Larry's lines, the kids go to their seats and we do a little guided painting. Meaning, I paint and they follow along. This school year, I have my kindergarten for 45 minutes every six days (which is different than my usual 30 minute classes, twice every six days...confused yet? That makes two of us). That slightly longer block of time makes a world of a difference in that we can accomplish so much! On the fourth day of this unit, we examine Kandinsky again and this time chat about how influenced he was by music. The kids were told that they were going to be painting a nonobjective picture of lines while listening to Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. If you're not familiar, this piece of music introduces each character of Peter and the Wolf with a different instrument. Each character really comes to life with the music and makes for great line paintings. On that day, the children were only given black paint. As they painted to the music, you could see them trying to capture each character in line. Once a painting was finished, I'd take it from them and hand them a new sheet of white paper. By the end of art class, each child had painted about three black and white line pictures. The following art class, I introduced the kids to tempra cakes which you can see best a coupla photos ago. My focus was on using the art materials properly and exploration of color. I wrote about this particular painting lesson pretty extensively last year in this blog post. In that lesson, we didn't paint to music and we focused some on pattern in a follow up lesson. Here's a collection of their finished pieces. I love how wild, bright and unique each one is, just like the artists themselves. On the sixth and final day of this unit, the kids were introduced to Roy G. Biv and watercolor paint. Since the last lesson had just been about exploring with color and proper use of painting supplies, I really wanted to focus on the order of the colors in the rainbow. My hat helped them remember the order (even if it is missing the "B" in Roy G. Biv) as did the large rainbow I have mounted on my easel. And in case you're dying to get a rainbow hat of your own, mine is from amazon. Yes, really. Have you read this book? I picked it up years ago at the thrift store and it's pretty cute. As you turn each page, an additional color of ribbon is added to the ribbon rainbow in the book, hence the "Magic Ribbon Book" label at the bottom. After that chat, I demonstrate to the children how to use watercolor paints. This is an easy transition from the tempra cakes as the cleaning-your-brush-before-getting-another-color is exactly the same. We do chat about the differences between the two mediums (you know, watercolor being more translucent) and also discuss painting in Roy G. Biv order. After that demo, the kids returned to their seats with their paintings created on that third day of art class and rainbow-ize the thing. This is the first year I've added this portion to the line unit and I love the result. And there you have it. One Big Fat Hairy line/shape/color/RoyG.Biv/sculpture/abstract Unit for the wee ones. I know these lessons are nothing new...so I'd love to hear how you approach teaching line. Also, for the sake of space, I may have not answered all of your how-you-teach-that questions, so feel free to email me or leave a comment. I may or may not get back to you. Just sayin'.

When it comes to crochet creations, few items are as cherished as a crochet lovey. These adorable and comforting security blankets are perfect for little

Free amigurumi patterns... On our blog, you can find great ideas, crochet step-by-step tutorial about amigurumi hedgehog. You will not have a hard time crocheting Amigurumi free crochet patterns.

This Cozy Days Daisy Blanket Free Crochet Pattern features daisy granny squares, bringing a sense of sunshine and warmth to any room.

Learn how to sew beautiful garments with these free PDF patterns and video tutorials. Download your favorite patterns and start sewing today!

Cottagecore is a new aesthetic that is hard not to love. Its gained traction on Social Media and is a movement fostering the ideals of living in nature; a rural and simple lifestyle. It features local food, artisans, animals, gardens, forest and flowers. So, why not incorporate some cute hand made c

Today i thought i'd write about this old red and white checkerboard quilt of mine.....there have been so many enquiries about it over the years even though it is such a very simple design........ .................the picture below is one of the most 'pinned' of all my blog pictures..... ............so in answer to those lovely readers who have asked for details about this quilt here are a few.....it is made from 4inch squares and i paper pieced it by hand ( quite a few years ago)........ .............i used any scraps of fabric from my stash for the coloured squares as long as there was some red in the pattern..........then i arranged them alternately with plain white squares to create the classic checkerboard pattern.......there are 225 squares altogether......... ...........when the squares were sewn together (in rows of 15) i added a 3 inch white border all round.... ............i decided to hand quilt around each square just inside the seam and then to quilt a 2 inch square in the centres..........i used i inch quilting tape to give me a guide line to sew the centre quilting squares....... ...........we have used this quilt for years now and it has been washed and tumble dried many times and is still fresh and new looking...... .............it is such an easy pattern and when i made it it was without much though at all ;).....yet it works and is pleasing to the eye in its simplicity...........a true scrappy patchwork quilt....... ............the backing is one of my favourite pink and white candy striped fabrics (though if i had made this quilt now i would have bought a red and white fabric specially and not just used one i had the most of in my stash at the time).......and (another favourite) red and white gingham binding............ .............i hope this post will help to answer all the questions this quilt has received over the years from lovely readers both here and on facebook :)............x ..............here is a more recent shot of the checkerboard quilt on my quilt ladder and below with the little bears from my new book modern vintage gifts.............. ...........this past week has been quite a rollercoaster ride for me and i am glad of my little crafty world to escape to sometimes and of my dear friends and family who have shown me so much kindness....and that includes you my sweet blog friends too of course..........x ...............thank you to everyone who visits me here in my little blog space......it is always a pleasure to know you are here and to read your kind comments.............wishing you all a wonderful week ahead with sweet flowers and peaceful crafty times to enjoy.........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Learn how to Grading Altering Sewing Pattern Sizes. Modify your patterns to use the sizes that fit your body with this easy tutorial.

Instead of throwing out your old jeans, upcycle them into one-of-a-kind jean quilts. Check out these denim quilt ideas for inspiration.

Today we’re going to talk about creating removable knee pads and we will be adding a gusset to the Jutland Pants! I’m adding both of these features to the heavy work pants I’m making for my Uncle. My inspiration is the brand of pants my Uncle likes to wear (Kühl) which always include a gusset. Creating Removable Knee

I love the look and the simplicity of this project. I also love how easy and cost effective it was!Here's what you need:-piece of scrap wood, any width that you…

You can make this functional, beautiful DIY sofa table for around $30! This is a great project for beginners - an easy, narrow behind-the-couch table that's as simple as cutting and attaching.

Gem mining party? Rock climbing birthday? Whatever the event, take a look at these Rockin' Geology Rock Party ideas including creative rock birthday cakes, gem mine activities, rock party decor & more

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Other Mother Box: There are all kinds of strange and wonderful boxes showing up across the Internet to promote the new Coraline movie. I, unfortunately, did not rate high enough on the coolness scale to receive one. Rather than cry myself to sleep, bemoaning my lack …

My main goal when redoing our front entryway was to make it a more welcoming and more FUNCTIONAL space in our home. It was a dumping ground for random school projects, tools, mail, my blog things, ev-er-y-thing. Not exactly what you want to see when you walk in the front door. First step was to […]

I need a bigger ironing board, how about you? Let me show you how to make yours bigger!I tend to use mine for a storage surface

Chicken Chow Mein is a delightfully flavorful dish that’s filled with tender chicken, crisp vegetables, and perfectly cooked noodles, all tossed in a savory sauce. It’s not heavy or overly salty either.

Very cool printmaking ideas and inspiration for printmaking projects.

Use the Mr. & Mrs. Graph for your next corner to corner, mini c2c, tapestry (sc), hdc, dc, bobble stitch, cross stitch, etc. project!