3 Reasons to Sew Together

I recently sewed a fairy with my niece. And I learned three reasons why it is worth the time and effort to engage children in crafting gifts (even for themselves!)

1. They make their own choices.

Their ideas of color and design may be very different from what we would choose for them. Sewing together gives them a chance to explore their own ideas. My niece got to build visualization skills as she tested one swatch of color with another. And her selections were not what I expected at all. And they were lovely!

2. They see the value of a handcrafted gift.

By engaging in the craft, they see all the effort and decisions that go into handcrafting a gift. From exploring my many supplies to undoing mistakes, she got to see the behind-the-scenes magic that makes a handcrafted gift so special. Unwrapping a gift is easy compared to creating a gift from bits of wire and felt. Yet, the process is so rewarding!

3. They treasure their creation.

Between the felt and sequins, magic happens. I shared with my niece that no matter how many fairies I create, they all end up different. Even if I try, I cannot make two that look exactly the same. She saw this for herself as she put her fairy together. She couldn't believe that she could create magic, too. "I know just where she belongs in my room," she said, "On my special nightstand." Creating something beautiful is empowering. And the 'voice' that a child gives her or his creation makes it unique in all the world.

The gift goes both ways. She enjoyed her fairy. I enjoyed spending time with her. Which is the best gift of all. Time together :)

Enjoy your crafting!

P.S. A few of our tips for successful sewing with children are here. We will share many more in our book coming out in late spring, 2013. Thank you for visiting the Forest!

Alexandria's Fairy

I recently enjoyed a treat. My niece visited and we sewed a fairy together. The needle, thread, and sequins fascinated her. "Look, Mom," she said, "I don't need glue!"

After showing my niece the basics of the running stitch and adding sequins (which will soon be shared in our book), she took off and made it mostly by herself.

The beauty of sewing together was that I planned to make a fairy for her a few months ago. I would use pink, black, and maybe red because those are colors she wears often. Yet, yet she chose all blues and greens! She chose colors I would never have selected for her. And they inspired me!

She especially liked the star on the fairy's hat.

I liked the long stitches to attach sequins. They gave nice texture and decoration.

We both decided that this fairy would wear short skirts instead of a long, full petal skirts. Better for dancing (my niece is a dancer). 

A parting image of her fairy looking thoughtful.

I am so grateful that we got to make her together. Wonderful sewing, Alex! She also reminded why I sew with children (again) which I posted about here. Magic is best shared :)

A Happy Announcement

Such exciting news! The fairies have been hard at work writing a book! Yes, Asia and I have spent this year working closely with the wonderful people at C&T Publishing to collect our favorite patterns, projects, and sewing secrets to create a fantastic Forest Fairy Craft book. We are so happy to share the cover with you!

The book will be released May 13, 2013. But we know what a great gift it will be for holidays and birthdays. Besides, children love to receive suprises after their actual special-day. It's like getting two gifts, the news on the day, and the book when it's released!

You can preorder through many wonderful bookstores and online retailers. Amazon's link is here (affiliate link so a percentage of the sale returns to the forest). I also made a certificate from the fairies that you can print and tuck in a stocking or gift.  

The PDF download is here.

Thank you for your support of Forest Fairy Crafts. We are delighted to share this journey with you! We wish you all the best of days :)

Peppermint Fairies

Every year I like to create a fancy fairy. I want to inspire myself. This year, my daughter is dancing in the Nutcracker. She is a peppermint. What a perfect theme for a fairy! And of course I had to make two, one with white on red and the other with red on white.

I planned to keep one and sell one to share the joy, but my girl will have none of that. They are sisters, you see, and cannot be seperated. So our home now has two new sparkly sweet-fairies!

I must admit, I don't mind. I couldn't choose one, either.

To make these fairies, I collected lots of red and white goodies since fall. Beads, baker's twine, sparkly ribbon... I bought the chenille stems (pipe cleaners) already twisted red and white. And the candy canes were with the Christmas Miniatures in the craft store.

I am not planning on making anymore for this year. She was a puzzle! I rarely use glue except to put the hair and hat on their heads. For these ones, though, I glued the ribbon onto their hats after a few attempts to sew with tiny-tiny stitches. It was a lot of work! Then the ribbon slipped anyway and the spiral wasn't matching... The fun of crafting, the labrynth with lots of false-ends where you turn around with another way, there must be another way. :)

My girl adores them. And they will remind me of this year and her dancing in the land of sweets. A happy holiday season indeed! 

Christmas Sketches

We draw a lot in our classroom. And, every year, students ask me for help. 

"How do I draw an elf? How do I draw a reindeer?"

As often as possible, I encourage their own ideas. "What shapes do you see? Where can you start?"

My students are 5 and 6 years old. Especially around the holidays, overwhelm may rise up at any moment. So this year I decided that a little inspiration could go a long way. I made simple sketches for them in an easy, one page format. 

Clicking on the image will bring you to a larger size you can print for personal or classroom use. I also have a PDF you can download with both pages.

At first, I planned to fill the back-page with more drawings. Except I ran short on quick, easy ideas.

Then I had my own inspiration. Words!

Of course! Children love to make cards and decorations. They could use a word-bank for holiday ideas.

As often as possible, I used a visual cue to help show the written word. This helps our early readers.

We realized that I forgot an angel and train along the way, so they are on the back too. I print these out double sided and keep them available throughout the season. Children love to color them and use them for project ideas. Children usually take my basic shapes and create with a lot more detail in their finished projects.

So fun!

Please be aware, I drew these with student-help after school in pencil :). They are a little rough through my eyes. When I scanned them, the pencil transferred light so they may not print perfectly. If I wait to make them perfect, though, they will never be posted for you :). Also, the light writing gives children a nice chance to trace letters! 

I hope these sketches inspire us to create more winter scenes. Let's draw together :)

Enjoy!

Christmas Sketches and Words PDF Dowload 

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