Crafty

I am not a crafty person. I know many very lovely crafty people. I read loads of crafty how-to articles, and watch no small amount of crafty tutorials online. I don't come up with my own stuff, but I am very skilled at borrowing ideas.

Today, I was feeling listless, so I went through my blog roll to check up on family and friends. One talented lady had graceously posted a bunch of crafty links for what she is up to in her home. I was in the mood to waste time, so I poked around.

What I found was a wealth of simple, hands-on Valentines crafts for children. Perfect. This evening, it was just me and the girls + their gal pal. Time stretched out, the initial joy of Friday evening wore off, and boredom set in. So, with all that craftiness still fresh in my mind, I ordered the dining table cleared, and announced that the crafting was about to begin.

We had all the supplies on hand (hooray!). We drew, we traced, we cut, we stitched, we chatted, we listened to music. We were no longer bored.

At the end of the evening, we had paper heart garlands hanging all over the dining room, each the unique creation of a pleased little girl. It looks quite festive in here, if I do say so myself.

If you want to see what we did, follow this link. If you want to see some of the other ideas I was looking at, check out this Valentine pom pom window garland, these unique yarn hearts, a fun stained-glass shaved crayon idea, a very pretty hanging glitter heart decoration (that I will never make in my own home because I despise glitter residue), and an enticing dimensional heart garland.

I am thankful for a long evening turned pleasant by an enjoyable activity. I am thankful for crafts that don't blow my budget or trash my house, that my children can do with me, and that can be cleaned up before bedtime. I am thankful for people who are truly creative and innovative, who publish their ideas online for one and all to view, enjoy, and shamelessly copy. I am thankful for crafty.

What are you blessed with today?