Make Stuff Together book giveaway
I’m so excited to share this book with you. Bernadette and Kathie are fellow Austinites who are doing inspiring things and connecting community in meaningful ways. I was thrilled to meet them IRL!
I appreciate the cool projects in the book not only for what they are, gorgeous sewing craft projects, but also for what they represent, more time spent sharing and communicating with each other, enjoying each other’s company without so many of the common distractions. Reading this book connects me with the values that inspired my own book.
Here are some of the things I like the most about this book:
1. The tone of is charmingly conversational and makes me feel like I’m sitting on in Kathie’s screened front porch drinking beers with the authors. I giggled at the intro to an upcycled hat project, “Who doesn’t like a hat?”
2. The photos and illustrations are beautiful and well-thought-out for assistance in directions that can be tricky to describe in words.
3.The list of ‘Tips for Crafting with Kids’ is realistic, not ‘and everything will go as planned and life is perfect’. I especially like, “If you have a clear and definite vision of how something should look in the end, make it yourself.”
4. Project: Art Roll Up, a roll-up holder for colored pencils, pens, markers and other small crafting tools. They encourage you to grab your roll up, bring the fam outside (or gathered together anywhere) for a family sketch-a-thon, passing around the drawings you all make in a collaborative drawing session.
5. Party project: Birthday T-shirt party is a brilliant idea that requires little to no sewing technology.
6. Project: Family flags, which I had the pleasure of making at a joint book event over the summer at our local feminist bookshop, Bookwoman. Our family is still very small, but this flag project will grow with us through the years!
I’ll add that most of the projects in the book require access to a sewing machine. This would be a perfect sewing club project book.
Bernadette & Kathie’s publisher, Wiley, rocks because there are NO shipping restrictions; that’s right, they’ll send copies anywhere in the world. I invite my international contingent to enter away!
Two winners will be selected at random on Nov 17, 2011 at midnight CST.
Enter by leaving a comment here describing any craft project you’ve attempted with kids (or friends), successful or not!
Kate
Thanks everyone for entering!
Congrats to the lucky numbers selected by Random.org:
Hooray Kristin and Joanie!
Reader Comments (54)
My stepdaughter came into my life when she was 5. We bonded quickly b/c she was always wanting to make things. Our first project together was creating an "art gallery" for her father's dining room walls. For us crafts have always been our way of bonding and she even made up a name for me Kraftymom (instead of stepmom).
During our first holiday season together, she expressed to me that she wanted to make gifts for her family. Each year we've made gifts during this time of year. One of her family's favorites that we did was the bath salts. We know they liked it b/c they asked us to make more! I had saved many containers that used to hold oxy clean. We cleaned them out well and saved the plastic scoops. I measured and cut sturdy paper for a label for the container that my stepdaughter then decorated for each person. I helped her adhere the label by using clear packing tape. Then in a big plastic bowl we poured in Epsom salts we got from the dollar store and applied a few drops of scented essential oil we picked up at our local organic grocery store, then stirred. We then poured the salts into the smaller containers and tied a ribbon. It was a fairly easy craft to do, it was something useful, and we used upcycled materials.
I hope this helps someone else out this Holiday season! Enjoy!
I grew up living next to Bernadette Noll. It's wonderful to see her as an adult, doing such creative things.
One person said every library should have a copy of this book. I think every mother should be given one before she leaves the hospital or by her midwife, just after the first child is welcomed into the family!
we made these adorable little acorn owls a couple of weeks ago with little bits of felt for the wings, eyes, etc. so cute and my 3 yo was so proud of them :-)
I love the idea of this book. My daughter (7) and I are learning to knit together. It has been a fun experiance for the both of us, even though neithor of us can knit very well. Teaching her to sew is on our list of things to do together. It gives us time together and its a great learning experiance for the both of us.