A hand-made, home-grown Christmas: this month’s challenge

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November. How did that happen? As it does every year I guess. Every year I feign surprise over its arrival – speculating that it’s come more quickly this year. No doubt November shakes his head and thinks “there are exactly the same number of days in October as there were last year, and the year before, and the year before that – why are you people always so surprised to see me?“
Home made Christmas
November means Melbourne cup and fancy dresses. It means the promise of holidays. It means long, hot days are coming. It means I had better start to get organised for Christmas.

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My creative childhood

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My creative childhoodWhen I was very young, I desperately wanted a secret keyper.

Specifically, I was quite taken with Sheldon, a plastic jewellery box in the shape of a turtle. You could keep all your trinkets in his shell, replete with a lock. If you are of a certain age, you might remember the ad. My parents where not so keen on buying me Sheldon. Undeterred, I set about making my own. A strawberry punnet, an empty toilet roll, some glitter, stickers and a small lock and key (purloined from my tiny diary) were fashioned into something approximating Sheldon. And I loved that thing.

My husband thinks this is a sad story. I think it’s a great reflection of childhood imagination and innovation.

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How to run a school craft stall

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How to Run a School Craft Stall

During this month of creativity, I have been very busy sewing, gluing, painting and generally having a lovely time making things. My mum and I have sewed and chatted together. I have cherished those moments. I have been amazed by the cleverness and generosity of others. My dear friend and I have been able to collaborate, lean on each other’s strengths, and build something amazing together. I have had ideas at silly o’clock in the morning and been unable to sleep.

Yesterday, all this work came to fruition in the form of the school craft stall.  Read more…

Being creative and making beauty with kids

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being creative

I love creating things with my kids. Messy spaces, paint from here to there and smiles just as wide. If they are entertained for longer than it took to set up, I am happy. The goal isn’t really to produce something lovely or useful, it’s simply to get our hands dirty and enjoy the process. In fact, many times the end result is discretely relegated to the recycling bin. Every mum knows: you cannot keep everything.

As much as I love messy craft with my kids, it doesn’t satisfy my need to create something beautiful. So I put together a list that allows parents to create something lovely while crafting in parallel with their children.

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