newspaper chains

What do you do when your child is sick in bed for the second day in a row?  Climb right in with her for a little crafting and storytelling. Using the old fashioned method of cutting accordion folded paper, we created an instant village among the snowy white mountains blankets.  We took turns making up silly tales. When my daughter was ready to return to the stack of books at her bedside, I couldn't resist snipping some little acorns. I had been dreaming of a mixed fall leaf chain, but frankly my sleepy brain (lots of middle of the night waking going on these last couple of days) and uncoordinated fingers needed something easy.

Later on, when we both felt a bit more energized, we went downstairs and applied some watercolors.

Both of us are happy with how they turned out.Quite. I get a crazy amount of satisfaction out of cut and painted newspaper, as you well know! We'll be returning to these kinds of chains even after her sore throat disappears.

With all of the big box stores out there, it's easy to forget about simple materials and traditional crafts. But you and I won't, will we? Please keep spreading the word: you've already got everything on hand... or maybe out back in those recycling bins! Now, onto those leaf chains...