The modern child experiences quite a different world than the one I remember growing up. Technology has wonderful benefits, no doubt, but I do feel nostalgic for simpler times... and try to re-create it with my children. I believe in the magic of old fashioned games and the teaching powers of classic crafts. I know I'm not alone. Much to my delight Rae Grant, author of
Crafting Fun
and
Cooking Fun
, has just published her third book:
Homemade Fun 101 Crafts and Activities to Do with Kids
. This book encapsulates and revitalizes many traditional childhood favorites.
With a wonderful selection of:
- hand sewing and embroidery
- paper crafts
- making jewelry
- baking
- building things
- toy, games, and pastimes
Rae Grant is a book designer by trade, and she did an absolutely exquisite job of incorporating vintage illustrations into each easy to read page... making this a treat for parents, but very inviting and accessible to children.
This is the kind of book an older child will love working from independently and just what a parent or grandparent of the younger set needs for a little inspiration.
Could the timing be more perfect for (creating) those lazy days of summer? I'm so thrilled that I was sent a complimentary copy at the very
beginning of our vacation! Thanks Rae! I've read it cover to cover and have bookmarked several projects right off the bat. The sewing section is just what my daughter is hungry for at the moment. I'm sure you'd love to get your hands on a copy yourself... Rae's publishers are generously offering 2 copies to two lucky readers who leave a comment in this post by Wednesday at 5pm EST. I'd love to hear what one your favorite childhood games or crafts were... so feel free to share if you're so inclined!
I loved jacks, both traditional and the kind with intersecting rings (no ball). I can almost feel the scrape of the sidewalk on my hands as I imagine grabbing the last 10! How about you?
For more wonderful crafts and ideas check in on Rae Grant at
My Little Hen.
Baking with my grandmother every summer- cookies, bread, cakes... some of my fondest memories.
ReplyDeleteMy Grandmother taught me how to cross-stitch and I still love it! Thanks for the awesome give-away!
ReplyDeletesome of my favorites were making forts in the woods, making clothes for my dolls, and playing catch in the yard with my brothers... lovely times!
ReplyDeleteMy aunt had a paper doll kit and I always loved dressing up the little girls in beach attire, Sunday dresses, and pajamas. Oh goodness, the sweet memories.
ReplyDeleteThis book looks great for my 2 girls! Thanks!
how wonderful this looks. my girl wants to learn how to sew this summer too. my favorite thing to do was swim it took most of our summer. we did love to create frozen fruit drinks in the blender with watermelon was our favorite.
ReplyDeletehappy monday! what a great giveaway!
jump-roping and playing skip-bo. I have such fond and plentiful childhood memories of those activities. This book looks absolutely wonderful!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother taught me to make doll clothes when I was young...eventually led to my life making clothes for children. Thanks Grandma!
ReplyDeleteI loved hopscotch. I really try to keep some of the older traditions alive with my kids.....altho' I realise now that I haven't shown them how to play hopscotch yet! Julie
ReplyDeleteWe had a beautiful cherry blossom tree in our front yard growing up. I have so many happy memories of setting up a blanket underneath it and playing for hours and hours with my friends. Everything from dolls to collecting leaves and seedpods to staring at the clouds. Oh, and we used to write messages to each other on our backs, and we had to guess what the other person wrote by the movements of their fingers. Did anyone else do that? What fun!
ReplyDeleteHi Maya! It's Maggie - from Squam - one of the mom/daughter teams...I love this book! I have one at the library on hold for me called "The golden book of colonial crafts." I'll have to tell you some time about the summer I was in 5th grade and went to colonial camp! Anyway - Wednesdays are our craft day around these parts, so - the book would be a welcome addition - wish me luck. Hope all is well with you and yours. Stay cool on these hot days.
ReplyDeletemuch love,
Maggie Davis
I loved making little dolls out of scraps of fabric and writing 'books'
ReplyDeleteA friend and I used to take walks in the summer storms that happen just about every day here in Florida. We'd make up stories and jump in puddles.
ReplyDeleteI remember baking cakes and cookies with my aunts at my grandmas, on saturdays! It was great fun!!! And I loved to watch my grandma sewing with the old singer, which I've got now at home!
ReplyDeleteLovely book!
ReplyDeleteI loved making tree houses, and since we are living in the forrest now, I hope my daughter will too some day... and baking and eating cookies.... and just playing outside in the neighbourhood with nothing else than my own and my neighbour friends imagination...
oh this book looks fantastic! I'm with you on the feeling nostalgic for simpler times. One of my favorite things from growing up was paper dolls. Not so sure my boys would be interested in those but once my baby girl grows up I can't wait to make/find some for her!
ReplyDeletevery cool. my brother and i love to make our own kites and fly kites during windy days. for myself, i love playing with tea set (ceramic). : )
ReplyDeleteloved to cross-stich as a young girl, and paper dolls were always fun to play with. with two boys this book might be a great way to incorporate some of the projects I enjoyed doing as a child. Best summer games- kick the can and tv tag!!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed learning to bake pies and sew with my grandmother.
ReplyDeletehop scotch and mud pies... that's all I wanted to do! Thanks goodness my children are open trying new things.
ReplyDeletemargie
margiedicroce@rogers.com
my favorite craft as a young girl was sewing barbie clothes with my mom!! So much fun. Now I have boys so no barbies but we love to paint!
ReplyDeleteI too loved sewing barbie clothes. But, that was mostly all an extension of our elaborate imaginative games. We'd spend hours upon hours outside playing Little House and digging in the garden and rounding up the neighbors for kickball tournaments.
ReplyDeleteThe book looks lovely. I will definitely check it out at the Library!
I dudnt do many crafts as a kid at home, I would draw for hours and read books and write funny little stories. I would hide for hours in the tall grasses near the pear orchard builting houses and nests for me and the dogs and cats who weren't always so thrilled with my games of living on the prarie like Laura Ingalls, or being Clan of the Cave Bear-ish and being alone in the tall reeds hunting for food (pears from the trees, tomatoes pinched from the garden).
ReplyDeleteI was blessed to have a much older brother who had a great sense of fun and adventure. He used to take me on monster hunts down in the undergrowth by the stream and dig me underground dens. When I look back I realise what a wonderful brother he was because he obviously had other stuff to do with his own friends but always made time for me too. When we were at school we were all obsessed with skipping games and doing hand stands! Rae's book looks marvellous! Lots of love, Amanda xxx
ReplyDeleteI tried a lot of crafty activities, when I was a child. Probably my favourite was building doll's houses, but also drawing and knitting with my aunt.
ReplyDeleteCan I consider playing with Lego a crafty activity, too? I really spent days and days with Lego!
A book to add to my collection. Maybe some are good for now, others good for later with Zelia.
ReplyDeleteMy great-grandpa taught me how to fold paper boats when I was little, and he had a story that went along with it. Each fold of the paper produced a different hat and was part of the story. We'd sail those paper boats, and boats we carved out of cucumbers, down the Nippersink creek. I was always dirty and barefoot. It was great.
ReplyDeleteoh what a wonderful looking book! i'd be thrilled if i won copy!
ReplyDeletegrowing up i remember loving to draw and color picture and then cut them out and tape them onto the hall closet door like a big mural.
that and cutting out paper snowflakes, i looooove making paper snowflakes!
What a wonderful give-away..!
ReplyDeleteMarbles, it's marbles for me every time. In the autumn, when it was almost too dark to play; in winter, when the icy patches made it really unpredictable; in spring, when there seemed to be mud everywhere; and in summer, during those gloriously warm and soft evenings. Fantastic..
I'm in love with these illustrations! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI loved making jam, watercolors, and building forts with my big brother. I'm going to order some of these for friends. What fun!
ReplyDeleteWhile I was mainly a tomboy - climbing trees and riding bikes - my mom yearned for me to be a good girl and stay home. Embroidery was one thing that could hold me still for a little while. I have some very cute pieces as a result of the brief downtime between scrapes.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather let us use his childhood marbles to play when we used to visit during dusty Texas summers. My brother and I would play epic matches in the dirt under the peach trees. We would have to be dragged inside sweaty and caked in dust. My brother and I didn't get along well when we were young, but my grandfather had a knack for bringing us together.
ReplyDeleteit was a couple things-- cooking and learning cross stitch with grandma or fishing and whittling with grandpa. lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteI agree...there's just something about simpler (in some ways) times..board games, outdoor activities, canning, freezing, baking have been something my kids have grown up with!
ReplyDeleteOur outdoor activity on Saturday was picking cherries from the tree and making Crisp :)
Ah, I loved jacks, too! Both kinds as well. I loved being in the kitchen while my grandma was cooking, even though I was always too nervous to join in.
ReplyDeleteI loved skipping games and hopscotch. When indoors I loved Lego. But mostly I just loved hanging out with my siblings and inventing games.
ReplyDeleteWorking in the garden & picking blackberries with my Aunt Jo...such memories!
ReplyDeleteRaft making with my cousins and sister:
ReplyDeletehttp://embracetiger.blogspot.com/2010/05/if-equipment.html
Simple things: Chinese jump rope, Chinese jacks, hop scotch...
ReplyDeleteI have such fond memories of baking with my mom, grandmother, and sister.
ReplyDeleteMy mum taught me to knit as a child and it's my craft of choice still. I'm about to teach my second daughter this winter. This book looks stunning!
ReplyDeleteOh my...that book looks delightful. I just had a little sojourn down memory lane, I remembered hop scotch, baking, lego, skipping, cross-stitch trying to play knucklebones, and a game we in New Zealand called "Elastics" with a bit of elastic tied up around peoples legs that we did jumps and dances with. Now that holidays are approaching it has given me ideas to entertain my children.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorites was cooking up grand meals with twigs, cut grass, leaves and other things we would find outside. And then we would invite my parents to come out and dine with us. Sweet memories.
ReplyDeleteSewing pot holders at girl scouts and making pom poms with yarn.
ReplyDeletei loved hopscotch! this book looks so darn awesome! thanks for the intro. ;)
ReplyDeletethat sounds so fun! thanks for this give-away.
ReplyDeletemine was skipping with an old bit of recycled washing line. We used to fold the washing line up with the ends secreted in someones hand and then we grabbed hold of the loops and sang "a bunch of keys, a bunch of keys, we all let go" and the person holding the loops would let go and the ones who were closest to the ends became the turners. we used to run the skipping rope from one side of the road to the other and when a car came we used to lay it down for the car to drive over! I used to love french skipping as well! I would be so happy to receive this giveaway. I could do with a treat right now x
ReplyDeletethat book is SO up my alley! Please, pretty please?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite "game" was converting the hayloft to our barn into a clubhouse/school where I would hoard penny candy (yes-they still had that, even then) and charge my brothers twice as much for it. Only had to be content to live among wasps...
this looks like a beautiful collection. my mom watched a few other kids at our home when i was in elem. school and I loved playing 'simon says' and 'mother, may i?' with them. in school, i loved shooting marbles on the playground!
ReplyDeleteI think the thing I remember most is running wild in the brambles behind our house. It was undeveloped land filled with blackberries and other cane-y plants that were easy enough to make trails through with a good whacking stick. What a maze we made back there!
ReplyDeleteI loved hiding in the little cave in the cliff behind my grandmother's house and playing "house"... or Star Wars!
ReplyDeleteThanks for another terrific giveaway!
Jumping rope, four square, chalk drawings on the driveway, embroidering with my grandma.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the book Crafting Fun and so look forward to this one!
I loved hopping on a bike (no helmet of course), riding down to the pond with my brother, and catching frogs and fishing for sunnies. I also loved my dearest sitter who hand built a dollhouse and had sewed all the interiors with (for) me as a little girl. I still have some of the rugs and bedspreads. so lovely.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a really fun book. One of my favorite games was bloody murder -- it was simultaneously exciting and terrifying when played at twilight.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was about 12 my Gma gave me some porcelain Christmas cottages to paint, a whole town, with directions... A couple years ago I saw the gazebo from it but I had forgotten that I had done and I was amazed with how good it looked. When I asked my mom who did it she told me it was me and was like NO WAY! I AM AWESOME! I have always been awesome. How is that?
ReplyDeleteI've always loved hopscotch and "helping" my mom make jewelry was loads of fun for me when I was little.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I never did very much crafting as a child...my mother was not into that kind of stuff. I spent my summers with my Grandmother and she taught me to bake. I also loved riding on the riding lawnmower with my Grandfather...man those summers were so much fun!!
ReplyDeleteThis book looks like so much fun! My mother was (and still is) incredibly crafty, so we were always creating something. My favorite was probably collages!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the fun giveaway! One of my favorite childhood (and schoolyard) games was called five stones, and is similar to jacks, I think, except it involved little pyramidal beanbags. Here is a link to a post about them:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ikatbag.com/2009/06/five-stones.html
being from England, I loved to play French Elastics, Cats Cradle, and conkers in the autumn (fall!). Here's a link to explain how they are played:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/studentssite/playgroundgames.htm#4
Thanks for this chance, I try to engage my 3 kids in more traditional pastimes, and have at least one day in the summer for all day long crafts.
My Mom taught me how to crochet when I was young. I haven't moved very far past a granny square since then, but I still enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteThat French Elastic is what we played too, that was a lot of fun! And bike riding and jumping rope. Hanging out at my grandfather's + aunts' and uncles' place all summer, in the village, and going to the pond on hot days. (danainalaska at yahoo)
ReplyDeleteOh I have two :) Cards with my grandma. We still all play 500 furiously! and marbles...oh the collections and competitions and swapping that went with those beautiful little balls :) I can smell the back yard at my parents place just thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteI loved making kites with a friend, out of paper, string and chopsticks, to fly on hot summer days.
ReplyDeleteI loved jump rope and sewing dolls clothes! And, what a great giveaway -- just the kind of inspiration my family is needing!
ReplyDeleteI too used to love playing jacks (both kinds), making paper dolls, making bread-dough Christmas tree ornaments with my mom, making a radio set with my dad. I have recently "re-discovered" kites, hoops and yo-yos, and have so much fun "playing" again!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite summer game was actually Chinese jump rope. My friends and I played that all the time!
ReplyDeleteI loved to make books for writing poems. My son now does the same!
ReplyDeleteI loved hopscotch and playing jacks. When I taught myself to shuffle cards, I thought I was the smartest kid on the planet. :-)
ReplyDeleteHopscotch and jacks were such great fun for sure, but as I got older reading took over. This book sounds great.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember being crafty as a kid (crazy right!) My favorite games were all organized sports-basketball, kickball, etc. Oh yeah I loved played the Wheel of Fortune board game too!
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteMy favorites memories include: catching lightbugs in a jar, using string to create cats craddle, kicking rocks on walks with dad!
sarah
sarahmarie345@hotmail.com
sarahmarie345.blogspot.com
I loved sewing and knitting with scraps from my mother's projects. My mom pulled out some saved doll clothes I made for my now 3 year old. I could actually remember making them; what a trip down memory lane!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't classify it as a game or craft, but as a child, I adored drawing with chalk in the driveway in the summertime. What a lovely giveaway! I'd be lucky to win!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful book.
ReplyDeleteMy sisters and I would spend hours, days, weeks, years playing 'house' in dad's shed. Ever supportive, dad moved out the work table and moved in some second hand furniture to complete our impromptu cubby. I loved that place.
This book looks so nice. Would love to have a copy. Favorite childhood craft was making "perfume" out of wildflowers, water and mixing them to perfection in a mason jar. I'm sure it never smelled as nice as I thought it did!
ReplyDeleteAs a child we alawys had cats. My Mom was great about bringing home cardboard boxes from work. We would tape them all together with differnt holes cut throughout them and call them "kitty hotels". It was so fun to paint and decorate them with soft blankets and of course plenty of catnip in every room!
ReplyDeleteMy brother and I played "Town", something we made up to entertain ourselves for hours on end. We created a tiny town based on the Hardy Boys books, complete with cardboard houses, stores, post office, library, people, etc, etc. We used matchbox cars and trucks, and trees and lawn from hobby shops. It was incredibly fun!
ReplyDeletei loved building forts in the yard and woods, searching in the creek and forest for delightful critters (snakes, salamanders, etc), swimming and having tea parties.
ReplyDeletehands down painting toast with butter & food coloring! and then of course, eating my creations with cinnamon & sugar. : )
ReplyDeleteWhat a great book! Tomorrow we are going to make hula hoops -- that was one of my favorite childhood past times.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!
Looks like a fabulous book!
ReplyDeleteI love 70's versions of Scrabble, Yahtzee, Boggle, Battleship and Mastermind!
Thanks again Maya for a generous giveaway!
Finger knitting! I made leashes, belts, necklaces, doll rugs - my room was like a spider's web!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite thing to do was play in my grandma's jewelry box.
ReplyDeleteWhen she died, I inherited it. WOW!
Oh, so many good memories..! Ok, going to my cousin's house where she had a huge yard full of fruit trees and berry bushes. We used to pick all the raspberries and mash them into 'our version' of jam.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful book :-)
ReplyDeleteI loved trying to build elaborate forts in the field behind our house (we never got as far as we planned), and I also loved finger-weaving and cat's cradle.
ReplyDeleteMy sisters and I would raid the dress up box and put on plays we wrote ourselves. When i got too old for that we had a tree in our yard with the prefect branch for sitting (hiding) in with a good book
ReplyDeleteI loved to play with my friends and my little brother in the street on the back of my house. And, of course, playing with my dolls :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a little girl, nearly sixty years ago (!!), my sisters and I used to spend ages sitting around the kitchen table making dolls' houses from cardboard boxes that we begged from 'Margery', who kept the little village shop. We cut holes for doors and windows and made furniture from matchboxes. The most frustrating thing was trying to make curtains that would open and close without collapsing.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this project would involve all sorts of crafts - sewing, knitting, painting and most usefully, using our imagination!
I love to teach my grandchildren some of the things that I did as a child - they seem to like that as it is a change from computer games and they get a lot of attention!
One of our ( I had four brothers) favourite summer activities was bubble blowing through the holes at the end of old keys. Another favourite when we were very little was "painting" on the cement driveway with water and paintbrushes. The "canvas" dries so quickly ready for a new work of art
ReplyDeleteWoW!!! What a great book. As our summer holidays begin today and I have 3 little ones, 8, 6 and 4 this book woud be wonderful! I have to say I remember playing in my sandbox the most. What fun!
ReplyDeleteMy Dad ran a bronze foundry and the used sand-moulds from pouring often found their way into our driveway so that the car didn't get bogged in the mud! I used to sit out there in the driveway finding still-intact chunks of 'sandstone', and used sticks and rocks to carve shapes like boats. I must have spent hours and hours and hours doing that!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great giveaway!
One of my favorite memories of growing up is baking cookies with my mom. She would always have to pull up a chair so that I could reach the counter to help her out. I've loved baking ever since!
ReplyDeleteThe book is lovely! It would be something nice to share with grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteAs a girl, I played a lot of jump rope. Two girls on the ends of a big rope and one or two jumping in the center. We also sold things around the neighborhood -- kleenex flowers, pumpkins, kool-aide stands.
Jody
I loved playing hop scotch and I have very fond memories of making newspaper hats when I was very young. You are so right...technology has changed childhood so much in today's age. I try to share games and crafts with my children that I did as a child and in doing so brings back such special memories. Thanks for the chance to win such a neat looking book.
ReplyDeleteSuch a gentle way to spend the summer! How I would love to add this to my bookshelf!
ReplyDeleteI remember so many happy times at my grandmother's during the summer. Crocheting, baking cookies, homemade icecream. Such a joy!
Our children deserve the same type of summer.
I made all sorts of handmade books, some with drawings, others with stories I would make up or "report" from the neighborhood. Summers were also spent exploring the creek and woods at the end of our street. We'd build tree forts, bring snacks and watch the water for salamanders and crayfish. Didn't know how lucky we were...
ReplyDeleteI loved playing hopscotch with my cousins as well as jumprope.
ReplyDeleteI loved anything to do with paper crafts!!!
ReplyDelete-Amy
Crafting by Candlelight
bibanon1@gmail.com
Oh I loved it all, embroidery, sewing, painting, baking, string art (dating myself with that one). Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteisn't Jacks the best?? I'm teaching my lovely boy that now. We're also skipping rope, reading out loud, and playing baseball in "the yard". Cookie baking is on the schedule for our next rainy day :o) We're getting excited about a visit from the grandparents, too! Hugs, Whitney
ReplyDeleteisn't Jacks the best?? I'm teaching my lovely boy that now. We're also skipping rope, reading out loud, and playing baseball in "the yard". Cookie baking is on the schedule for our next rainy day :o) We're getting excited about a visit from the grandparents, too! Hugs, Whitney
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have a lot of money when I was a kid, and there weren't many kids in our neighborhood, so my mom often made things for me to play with. I still remember the delicious (to a 4 year old) smell of the homemade play dough she concocted. Even then rolling the dough out and making things was my favorite activity. Now I'm an avid pie maker.
ReplyDeletehow sweet! I have such fond memories of sewing with my gram all day on the back porch.
ReplyDeleteThe book looks wonderful and, although my girl is only two years old, it's never to early to start gathering ideas and projects!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like such a great way to pass the summer! My kids are always hungry for new activities!
ReplyDeleteI would love to have a copy of this book. I need some inspiration and would love some quality time with my kids.
ReplyDeleteIt looks a wonderful book!
ReplyDeleteI am sure that me and my little boy could have much fun with it!
My little Simão loves to paint and collages also.
Joana
I always enjoyed playing jacks and all those hand clapping games. What a great looking book.
ReplyDeleteI am teaching my kids baking and crocheting this summer, as well as making all sorts of paper airplanes and how to play the recorder. We love crafting together! What a great book idea! Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun book! My favorite thing to do when I was little was make bracelets and other jewelry. I also loved to iron, something that did not stick with me. I can't wait to see what my little girls favorite things to create will be!
ReplyDeletewhat a neat book! i loved kickball and drawing animals and making forts inside of bushes and small trees... i still do!
ReplyDeleteI think that this generation is too plugged in and I've been attempting to unplug my son for the summer. We'd love a copy of this book, and thanks for the opportunity to obtain one!
ReplyDeleteI was always crafty as a kid with my grandmother and making crocheted squares that I would simply sew together for doll blankets and I would sew small doll clothes for my barbies and making May Day baskets and delivering them to the neighbors. Lots of fun times. It sounds like a great book and lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteAhh- just what I've been looking for to help inspire the summer days for my 3 year old little guy- he loves creating! I want to have some great ideas and materials for when his baby sisters nap! How exciting!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an inspiring book to have with kids, thanks for letting us know.
ReplyDeleteSewing. My mom taught me. My aunt let me rumage around her scraps and I would just make whatever I could get out of the machine. I had taken a break from it for several years (to crochet) and I just pulled the machine out a month or so ago. Now I can't stop! I even got to teach my boyfriend's 11 year old daughter how to use a sewing machine for the first time. I loved it! Thanks mom for sharing with me your time and talents!
ReplyDeletelooks like a fabulous book. my childhood fun was often from the garden, like making rose petal perfume water, and lots of mudpies. also loved dress-up, especially pretending to be shirley temple! and i remember being the egg crack when helping bake with my mom. my little one is just learning to this herself without smooshing the shells into the batter...
ReplyDeletethanks!
Perfect timing for the summer! I used to love sewing and baking -- and now I love doing them with my kids! Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteIt's my birthday today so maybe I'll have an extra dose of luck! What a fun book. I'd LOVE a copy.
ReplyDeleteI recall pretending that my Cabbage Patch dolls could talk to one other and I absolutely loved writing to penpals and swapping stickers.
ReplyDeleteWe spent hours making forts with sheets or exploring creeks in the backyard. Thanks for the chance to get a copy of this book!
ReplyDeleteI rummaged through my mom's scrap fabric and button box to see what would inspire me. I remember hand sewing a beanbag frog from those buttons and scraps.
ReplyDeleteMaya,
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of your blog and my daughter's name is also Maya! I finally had to post b/c doing homemade crafts, cooking and gardening with my Grandma are my most treasured childhood memories. Sounds like a great book, thanks for the give away!
Tia
My neighbor taught me to cross-stitch, then to bake and finally to sew over summers from ages 8 to 10. I remember making a favorite aunt a macrame owl complete with beads one summer and discovering while I made it that I was allergic to jute! :) (I finished it with sniffles and a rash )
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway. It would be fun to share with my son Elias.
Funnily enough, I was only just reminded of a beloved childhood game when I opened one of my childhood books the other day and saw very neat, very sweet, very 9yo me library pockets, date due flaps and cards in the back of the book! Yes, I had turned all of the household's children's books into my own library and used to make my brother and sisters BORROW them! Just so I could stamp a stamp on them, probably. I was very impressed with myself to see that I was obviously very well trained by my primary school in the art of The Dewy system. Oh, Happy hilarity!
ReplyDeleteMy mum made sure us girls knew how to embroider well, and I'm SO grateful for it now! But nervous about how to teach my own children! I have trouble making things like that FUN for them... would LOVE to see the ideas in the book! thanks for this! LOVE your blog!! it's always so full of inspiration and good vibe!
ReplyDeleteSo many wonderful memories as a child! We had a park close by so we spent a lot of time there. Wonderful giveaway!
ReplyDeleteRoller skating- the girls on our street would roller skate in our garages, we were either roller derby girls, or skating to music. Also playing softball and tag until the streetlights came on, barbies, dress up and lots of board games. Riding our bikes to the library was also a big part of summer. Thanks for bringing up wonderful memories. I love your blog, and look forward to learning more about this book! Take care!!
ReplyDeletepick-up sticks of course and helping my dad make handmade pinatas.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI read widely,played lots of hide and seek and just played house outside with my cousins. Playing in the creek was another favorite pastime, as was sledding on the most dangerous hill we could find!
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I like to paint watercolor pictures and then create an art gallery with them.
ReplyDeleteAs a young-un my favorite to make was fairy houses in the long grass. Then later many forts were built and camped in. Although the best was camping out under the stars with the neighbor kids.
ReplyDeleteI loved to make all kinds of cookies en sweets, and my 2 daughters share the same interrest
ReplyDeleteMy mother and I would wrap flour sack dish towels that her grandmother had embroidered around us like aprons and get to work baking in the kitchen! I loved it.
ReplyDeleteCombing the shore for sea treasures and then crafting with them. Unfortunately, it's the same beach that now has tar balls washing ashore. It makes me treasure the pieces that I have that much more!
ReplyDeleteI was queen of the monkey bars. I loved twirling around on my knees. blisters were a source of pride back then.
ReplyDeleteI love to paint with my daughter.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great giveaway.
I loved baking cakes and cookies with my mom. I still do!
ReplyDeletemy childhood fun/favorite summertime memories were playing school with my younger siblings, and going on hikes in the "gully" behind our house.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite things to do were play house with my baby dolls and ride my bike all over the neighborhood. This book looks so lovely, thanks for the chance to bring it home!
ReplyDelete