Crafts
I’m totally blown away by the holiday cards that Andrea is making. I love the idea of doing crafty stuff like that, but the reality is that I usually wind up spending a bunch of money on supplies and then finding that it’s not nearly as easy as it looks to make something that looks halfway decent. And if I tried it with the boys around, I’m sure I’d wind up finding embossing powder in unexpected crevices until June.
I started making a photobook of the boys last week, but then I discovered that I was only up to July in my selecting/editing of my digital photos. I like the photos I get by taking dozens of shots and throwing out most of them, but I always underestimate the time involved in staying on top of them. It’s just so easy (and cheap) to take 30 pictures in a matter of minutes.
D got the idea that he wanted to decorate picture frames for some of his relatives (with pictures of himself in them, of course). We got some wooden frames from Michael’s, but his idea of decorating them is to make three swipes with the paintbrush and then say "I’m done." It’s taking enormous willpower for me not to impose my standards on him.
The one project that I did complete is the scarf I knitted for D. I started it at the end of last winter, then abandoned it when the weather got warm. It’s about as basic as you can get — moss stitch, cheap acrylic yarn. I like it because I don’t have to count stitches or remember what row I’m supposed to be in. It’s not exactly a work of art, but D said "it’s beautiful."
December 11th, 2005 at 10:54 pm
Domestic I am not. I haven’t even started on the holiday card project. No interest this year – or last.
Tried sugar cookies this weekend – instead of dreidles they looked like upside down Christmas trees. I give up.
December 12th, 2005 at 8:15 am
Since moving to Cleveland, I’ve taken a knitting class–a goal for many years. I just finished a scarf for myself and one for Miss P–again, very simple, just garter stitch for mine and stockinette for Miss P’s–but oh so satisfying.
December 12th, 2005 at 9:03 am
I know what you mean about imposing your standards on kid’s gifts–I struggle with this all the time. Often, I just sit there thinking, “shut up, shut up” to myself until the moment passes. I nag my kids enough about things that are important, don’t want to be doing it about something that should bring them joy.
December 12th, 2005 at 10:03 am
Great job on the scarf, Elizabeth! I like the colors a lot. I don’t knit, but I hear that hats are not too tough either.
Crafty I’m not, but I did manage to complete six different types of Christmas cookies in the past few weeks, and I began handing them out this weekend. That’s about the extent of my holiday projects. Hallmark and Ritz Camera handle the photo cards. 😎
December 12th, 2005 at 1:45 pm
Thank you!
It’s really not hard–and if it helps, I don’t display the crappy looking ones on the blog.
December 12th, 2005 at 7:38 pm
The scarf is beautiful. I like the colors.
I try very, very hard not to impose my craft standards on the kids. It seems as if the world is full of parents “helping” their kids do art projects, and I confess, I feel very self-righteous when my kids have the smeary entirely self-completed tasks. And then I see the beautiful creations done with the parent’s “help,” and think, hmmm, there’s something to that technique, too.
But not a lot. At least the art projects the kids have made were entirely their own creations. There’s value in that.
The kids made Christmas cards for their teachers today (it’s a Methodist preschool) and I had to remind myself, sharply, not to interfere. They’re preschool teachers: hand-made is good, right? Right?