My poor kids. When it comes to anything remotely crafty or creative or art-oriented ... I'm what you might politely call, "challenged" ... I swear there was a glitch in the old brain building system in utero with me because try as I might ... beyond coloring books and crayons ... I just can't.
the face of the deprived.
Which is why I'm always intrigued when I hear about genius companies like Seedling (post sponsor!) that will hold my clueless hand through the treacherous waters of kid crafts and seemingly simple creative endeavors.
For example ... when given a fun pack of clay ...
with self-professed endless possibilities ... alllllll I can come up with is ...
a tepid small (but tall) faceless snowman minus the snow.
Hopeless.
So you can imagine the older kids' delight that rivaled that of Christmas morning when the box-o-Seedling goodies came onto the scene one afternoon.
So happy together. Working on both the Personalized Design Your Own Tote Bag and this Colour and Carry Satchel.
And Sebastian is feeling super smug because he was getting away with NO NAP. The good life.
Welcome to the fold, you murse you.
In retrospect I should've introduced everything one project at a time because to go from zero to hero was a little overwhelming for all parties involved (or just one parental party involved) but we made it through.
Theo broke Julia's prized tiara recently so she was THRILLED that she got to design and make a new one to call her very own with their Make a Tiara kit ...
... so thrilled that she forgot to look at the camera. I was thrilled that the kit came with detailed instructions but gave enough creative freedom that if we/she messed up a bit .... eh. No big dill.
Perhaps the biggest hit was the generous Jar of Beads.
you could hear a pin drop (a house first!) while the kids worked on those fiiiiiiine motor skills.
finished product and proud artisan . . .
Look out Etsy.
I encountered a bit of a teachable moment with Julia when she accidentally made a necklace that might fit ...
the neck of a Chihuahua.
Or a (supervised! fear not!) Phoebe ...
sitting pretty.
But Julia persevered and made a bigger one for herself because she's a selfless trooper like that ...
I like big beads and I cannot lie.
or
The grass is always greener.
You pick the caption.
Anyway, here's the Seedling scoop:
+ Seedling specializes in creating toys that inspire open-ended and imaginative play
+ Their super fun inventory ranges from kits, toys, and novelty items focusing on real life skills (drawing, gardening, sewing, painting, model building, and more) for kids ages 3-13
+ Seedling's philosophy is simple: to help fuel imaginations and foster new paths to discovery with every one of their products
+Seedling has a great Pocket Money Collection (see: the modeling clay and beads) with price points from $1-$15 that are all perfect for incentive rewards (hello potty training milestones), tooth fairy loot, stocking stuffers, road trip lifesavers, and the list goes on and on as you can imagine (ha)
To get 25% off your order use this link and code: SeedlingPatton.
And I hope you have a nice first day of the freakin' weekend.
the face of the deprived.
Which is why I'm always intrigued when I hear about genius companies like Seedling (post sponsor!) that will hold my clueless hand through the treacherous waters of kid crafts and seemingly simple creative endeavors.
For example ... when given a fun pack of clay ...
with self-professed endless possibilities ... alllllll I can come up with is ...
a tepid small (but tall) faceless snowman minus the snow.
Hopeless.
So you can imagine the older kids' delight that rivaled that of Christmas morning when the box-o-Seedling goodies came onto the scene one afternoon.
So happy together. Working on both the Personalized Design Your Own Tote Bag and this Colour and Carry Satchel.
And Sebastian is feeling super smug because he was getting away with NO NAP. The good life.
Welcome to the fold, you murse you.
In retrospect I should've introduced everything one project at a time because to go from zero to hero was a little overwhelming for all parties involved (or just one parental party involved) but we made it through.
Theo broke Julia's prized tiara recently so she was THRILLED that she got to design and make a new one to call her very own with their Make a Tiara kit ...
... so thrilled that she forgot to look at the camera. I was thrilled that the kit came with detailed instructions but gave enough creative freedom that if we/she messed up a bit .... eh. No big dill.
Perhaps the biggest hit was the generous Jar of Beads.
you could hear a pin drop (a house first!) while the kids worked on those fiiiiiiine motor skills.
finished product and proud artisan . . .
Look out Etsy.
I encountered a bit of a teachable moment with Julia when she accidentally made a necklace that might fit ...
the neck of a Chihuahua.
Or a (supervised! fear not!) Phoebe ...
sitting pretty.
But Julia persevered and made a bigger one for herself because she's a selfless trooper like that ...
I like big beads and I cannot lie.
or
The grass is always greener.
You pick the caption.
Anyway, here's the Seedling scoop:
+ Seedling specializes in creating toys that inspire open-ended and imaginative play
+ Their super fun inventory ranges from kits, toys, and novelty items focusing on real life skills (drawing, gardening, sewing, painting, model building, and more) for kids ages 3-13
+ Seedling's philosophy is simple: to help fuel imaginations and foster new paths to discovery with every one of their products
+Seedling has a great Pocket Money Collection (see: the modeling clay and beads) with price points from $1-$15 that are all perfect for incentive rewards (hello potty training milestones), tooth fairy loot, stocking stuffers, road trip lifesavers, and the list goes on and on as you can imagine (ha)
To get 25% off your order use this link and code: SeedlingPatton.
And I hope you have a nice first day of the freakin' weekend.
Hahaha! I laughed through this entire post—I can totally relate. I'm an elementary art teacher who is hopelessly clueless about crafts.
ReplyDeleteFine arts? Yes.
Graphic Design? Yes
Crafts? Wait, whaaa?
No.
We mostly focus on the fine art stuff that I can actually teach, but every once in a while I summon all of my Pinterest Powers and try to make a craft work out for the whole group. It can be fun, but man is it overwhelming for ME
http://BlushedDesign.etsy.com
exactly!!! exactly! overwhelming for the supervisor .....
DeleteHahahaha - you murse you. Good one Grace.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure if that was a universal term - glad you got it :)
DeleteI got my niece's birthday presents from there! I hope she enjoys them like the camp!
ReplyDeleteMy 20 month old saw the necklaces and goes "ooh"- we may have to try it out!
ReplyDelete'Tis Our Life Blog
Coloring books and dry erase boards are about as exciting as it gets over in this house. Thank goodness for Sunday School :p
ReplyDeletehaha! I should do the dry erase boards!! genius!!
DeleteYou're the best. I just was wondering what I was going to buy my 5-year old niece for her birthday. THANKS!
ReplyDeleteoh yay!! :) Curious what you got!
DeleteCraft time is for library story time and other kids' birthday parties. Philosophy of "Mama-to-seven."
ReplyDeletehahah preach!
DeleteLove it. I think that once I sent my first kid to preschool we pretty much stopped crafts- and forget play dough- that is what preschool is for.
ReplyDeleteha! I like that logic.
DeleteA LOT.
It's so refreshing for someone else to admit being arts/crafts challenged. Hello, my name is Kris and I'm a crafty-mom-school failure. I hate anything to do with crafts. My poor boys are homeschooled and got NO crafts out of it. My oldest two went to preschool for a time and I have lovely things that they made, and my poor younger two have Nada to show for it. The sum total of my "art" at home is crayons and coloring books and the occasional modeling clay breakout. And I hate all holidays associated with being crafty - Valentine's Day and Halloween being at the top of my most hated list. Sigh. It's a problem.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't really start doing crafts until my oldest could read and follow instructions on the craft kits. She then showed the younger ones. Otherwise, I would get the crafty stuff ( clay, watercolors, pipe cleaners, etc.) and just let them go to town and see what they came up with.... Now my almost 12 year old is REALLY good at almost anything crafty/artsy and I can take absolutely no credit for it other than giving her the stuff to work with.
ReplyDeleteOh Julia. That face.
ReplyDeleteI love this post because Seedling is from my little part of the world - New Zealand. My kids have played with Seedling for a lot of years, but now they're too big for it. I love your Blog.
ReplyDelete