Snowman in a Baggie

By Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

Here in my part of Maryland, we've had more 60-degree days this winter than we’ve had inches of snow, and it’s making me homesick for the winters of my childhood in Northern New York State. My son is missing the snow, too, and he hasn't really had a chance to make a snowman.

So, I was excited to find this cute snowman craft on Pinterest (where all my good ideas come from lately!). Whether you’ve had enough snow or are still waiting for flakes to fall, these are an easy way to pass some time, and they last long enough to be played with for a couple of days.

You’ll need:
Can of shaving cream
Zip-top baggie
Black construction paper or craft foam
Orange craft foam Glitter (optional)

Cut enough “coal” pieces for each snowman’s eyes and mouth or ask the kids to cut them. I used a circle punch to make my coal pieces and then ran them through a Xyron sticker maker, but you can also use sticky-back foam or glue to hold your eyes on. Cut triangle “carrots” from the craft foam, one for each snowman.

Give each kid a baggie. Attach the eyes and mouth pieces onto the front. Inside, put the carrot nose and some glitter, if using. Squirt a generous dollop of shaving cream into the bag and seal, squeezing out some of the air. I taped the bags shut with packing tape.

Now, get to squishing! See if the kids can line up their snowman’s nose in the proper place on the snowman’s face. Little kids and adults will love the way the shaving cream feels as they squish the bag. The shaving cream will break down after several days, but you can expect to get a couple of days of play out of this guy.

Here’s my son’s finished snowman:

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Introducing Boorashka

Today We Introduce You to Svitlana from Boorashka!

Q: What motivated you to start your shop?
I've been working for banks for about 8 years before starting my craft business. There were a lot of papers, files, manuals in my life, and so few chances to create something new and unique. When I left office to give birth I found a lot of time to realize my craft ideas. The process appeared breathtaking, and soon I found out that other people loved my creations and were ready to pay for them – so I needed some place to sell this. Etsy became the ideal platform for selling my handmade work – it was comfortable for a newbie, had plenty of tools for development and promotion, for successful collaboration with other crafters and artists throughout the world.

Q: What is the story behind your shop name?
My shop name – boorashka – is a hint about popular character in Russian children's literature and animated films, Cheburashka. According to the story, Cheburashka is a funny little creature, unknown to science, he is a little bit naive and very kind.

Q: Do you have a favorite Etsy Shop (non-child related)?
I have a bunch of favorite shops with different goods and styles, but I'd like to feature two talented Ukrainian girls. I adore felted things by Lena Baymut http://www.etsy.com/shop/Baymut – they are expressive and practical at the same time, beautiful and cozy. Hand embroidered pieces by Natalka http://www.etsy.com/shop/skrynka are clever, honest and elegant. I've learned a lot from these remarkable crafters.

Q: What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
Every day brings various surprises, maybe it is a surprise itself. Some necklaces are more demanded than others – we know the 80-20 rule, 20% of work produces 80% or more of results, and choice of a buyer is definitely surprising sometimes. Collaborative work with teammates from other countries is enthralling and full of surprises. Detailed and comprehensive feedback from a satisfied customer, and inclusion on Etsy's front page of course... Sometimes not so pleasant things happen too – postal delays, for example – but good surprises are prevailing.

Q: What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
At the moment my serious challenge is finding a balance between making simple, in demand pieces vs. creating something really new and unique. The first way is more safe, the second one may cause a lot of time and effort to be wasted, but... I definitely want to make something beautiful and practical, something that is not only pretty but also be useful.

Q: What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
My products must be safe, sustainable and aesthetic. Otherwise they are not worth the time and effort.

Q: How would someone (other then you) describe you?
Active, expressive, bouncy. I hope so.

Q: What music do you have on while you are creating?
Light jazz or nature sounds. More energetic music may draw me away.

Q: What do you do when you aren't working?
Mostly walking and playing with my daughter, cooking. Promising myself to start my yoga exercises and to revive blogging.

Q: Please tell us a little about the children's items market / handmade movement in your Country?
Ukraine has been famous for its gifted crafters since olden times. I’m really happy that owing to modern communications technology, Internet and Etsy particularly we can share our creativeness with the whole world. It is really great and challenging.

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EtsyKids Design Challenge for February: Spring has Sprung

Image via Flickr: Spring Leaves

"Spring has Sprung" is our challenge for February, picked by our last month's winner LittleTrendsBoutique. Spring will be here before we know it!  This month we are looking for items with hints of spring.  Fresh, light, airy, spring buds and flowers, birds, rain... 
EtsyKids members will have until February 20th to submit their entries, and voting will be open to everybody from February 21st to February 27th. So, be sure to come back to the EtsyKids blog for a new post on the 21st to see all of the entries and VOTE!  In the meantime, please click here to get a sneak peek at some exciting entries so far!

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Love Letter's with The Sewing Loft

Paper, fabric and sewing are definitely my vices, use them in a cute project and you'll see my entire afternoon schedule change so I can dive right in and make it.

This is absolutely how I felt when I saw  Heather of TheSewingLoft's adorable project for LOVE LETTERS, sweet embellished paper envelopes filled with candy, earlier this month, and she's sharing the instructions with us today.  So grab some scrapbook papers, your sewing machine and some tiny candies and we'll spend the afternoon making these, okay? ... cause you and I will need dozens to pass around Valentines Day don't you think!

Here's what you'll need::

* solid, embossed and printed papers in reds and pinks for Valentine's Day
* little candies like M&Ms or Sweet Tarts
* parchment paper (kitchen) or vellum (scrapbooking)


Basic Instructions:

1. To form your envelopes, cut paper and parchment into 4″ x 5.5″ rectangles. You'll get 4 rectangles from one sheet of 8x11 paper and 6 from a sheet of 12x12
2. For the stamps, cut paper of choice into 1″ x 1″.
3. Position stamp in upper right hand corner of paper along the 5.5" edge and stitch all around edge stitch.
4. Stitch some fun straight or squiggly lines to represent the cancelled postage.  If needed, lightly draw these lines with a pencil 1st and then stitch over them.
5. With your machine or marker, add some fun words like XOXO, Romeo, Cutie Pie, Hugs and Kisses, Sweet Thing, Heart Throb, etc. to the letter where the address goes.
6. Match up your embellished envelope with parchment paper, wrong sides together and straight stitch around 3 sides - one short and both long - to form a “pocket”.  Fill the pocket with small candies.  Be careful - overfilling will make the pocket hard to close and may cause the papers to rip.
7. Stitch up the opening, trim any loose threads and you are set!

A special thanks to Heather for sharing this project with us.  Visit Heather's blog for more fast and easy projects for handmade Valentine gifts at TheSewingLoftBlog. You can also follow her on Facebook at TheSewingLoftFB.

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Valentine's Day is for the Birds! - Bird feeder tutorial.

Today we have a guest post from Mia4Art!!

A fun craft for my preschooler: Valentine Bird Feeder

Materials: cardboard, shortening, pen, scissors, glue gun or glue, bird seed & ribbon

Cut out two rectangular pieces of cardboard. Place three points on each piece of cardboard in order for your preschooler to create a heart line drawing. The two points at the top form the letter V.

I instructed my daughter to make the letter C and backward C to connect the V to the bottom dot. A pen or crayon would be best for this.

After cutting out this heart, help your preschooler use this heart to trace onto second piece of cardboard.
After tracing, cut out second heart.

 

 

After cutting the two hearts out for your preschooler, fold the ribbon in half and place at top of heart about an inch down. Put glue over the heart and part of the ribbon. Place the second heart ontop like a sandwich.

Your preschooler will enjoy spreading the shortening on both sides of their heart! "Spread the Love!"

After spreading the shortening, have your preschooler dip their cardboard hearts into a plate of birdseed. Using their fingers they can sprinkle any areas that are empty.

Lastly, go outside and select a winter tree to share the warmth of Valentine's Day!
My daugher loves peeking outside of her window to check to see if any birds have come to visit!

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Introducing Art by Laurie

Today we introduce you to Laurie of Art by Laurie!

Q: What motivated you to start your shop?
I had mainly been painting commissioned portraits for most of my career. Although I realize how fortunate I am to have made a career from this, I now have the opportunity to expand, paint not only stranger’s faces but whatever I wish. Etsy has given me an outlet to show this work, and to see if there is an interest in my new endeavor.

Q: What is the story behind your shop name?
“Art by Laurie”, although not the cleverest of names, does convey the idea that there is a variety of subject matter. My website “Portraits and Pastels”: http://www.laurieportraits.net/ is the website where I showcased a sampling of my portraits and artwork.

Q: Do you have a favorite Etsy Shop (non-child related)
This is a hard one; there are so many wonderful Etsy shops. I love the shops that feature well crafted and unique designs. This shop, Radiant originals by Julie Campbell, is an example: http://www.etsy.com/shop/radiantoriginals

Q: What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?

I didn’t realize how much fun it would be! I have found a connection with so many like minded people from all over the world. There is a genuine camaraderie between Etsy sellers. There is a friendship and a desire to help each other.

Q: What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?

Creating fresh new ideas for paintings that both I can be proud of and that hold an appeal for others.

Q: What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?

I draw on my memories and experiences to try and create a story or a connection between the subjects in many of my paintings. There are many paintings about the children in my life. In other pieces I try to give images that create a nostalgic moment or a pleasant memory.

Q: How would someone (other then you) describe you?

Perhaps a little quirky, but I hope I am thought of as kind.

Q: What music do you have on while you are creating?

Well performed music from almost every genre, depending on my mood. From opera crossovers like Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, all the way over to country music like Zac Brown Band and The Band Perry.

Q: What do you do when you aren't working?

Now that my children have grown and deserted the nest, I enjoy taking day trips with friends, working on my home and garden (Whatever the deer leave for me) and helping out at the hospital ER.

Q: Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?

Without trying to sound like schmoozing, I truly feel that Etsy is a well run, professional website. There is many forms of help and easy to understand quides. All and all I have had a great experience here so far.

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Valentine's in a HURRY!

Still looking for the perfect Valentine's for the kids to take to school or to mail family and friends?  Here are five EtsyKids Team Members who offer custom personalized Valentine's that you print yourself!  They will email you a digital file you can print yourself!  Quick, simple and oh so affordable!  

Retro Pink and Brown 5x7 Printable Photocard from GreenBeansieInk

Valentine Printable, iPhone design for SweetHearts box from MadeByAPrincess

Valentine Printable Cards, Forest Woodland from polkaprints

Owl DIY Printable Sticker or Favor Tags from kidEprints

Personalized Printable Boy's Airplane Valentines from PamperYourParty

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Looking for more than just a card for Valentine's Day?  Lots of EtsyKids Team Shops have top quality Valentine gifts made up and ready to ship out to you today.  See what we have to offer here. 

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