| ISSUE 82 • 25 NOVEMBER 2009 | |
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Editorial Welcome to another issue of Kids Craft Weekly! It's such a crazy time of year, isn't it? I hope you're all keeping sane. It's certainly been a busy week for me with lots of behind-the-scenes work on the card swap. If you're participating in this year's swap please read the important Card Swap Update at the end of this newsletter. Last week I got a terrific response to the idea of the advent challenge. Thank you to everyone who wrote to say they're going to have a go at making their own advent calendar for the first time this year! By way of encouragement I've decided to devote this issue to some more advent calendar inspiration, this time from other sources. Don't forget that there are a heap of great advent ideas and a full page of cut-out advent activities in my Christmas Craft printable mini-book which has been revised for 2009. I know you are probably all sick of me trying to sell you this book but seriously, it's awesome and I've put a lot of work into it! Buying a copy for $6, if you can afford it, is a fabulous way to support Kids Craft Weekly which is completely free all year round. Thank you so much to those of you who already have. Speaking of thanks, I'm aware that many of you are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving over the coming days. Unfortunately I haven't had time to devise any Thanksgiving crafts this year but I would like to point you in the direction of The Crafty Crow which has a fabulous round-up of crafty ideas to show thanks. I'd like to wish a very happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers who celebrate this unique holiday. And finally, before I disappear into the kitchen to tackle two day's worth of dirty dishes, I want to let you know that I'm giving away ten sets of my new printable Christmas mini-books over on the Kids Craft Weekly Facebook fan page. Head over there now for all the info on how to be in the running. Happy crafting and I'll see you next time!  Amber Carvan editor@kidscraftweekly.com PS. If your family doesn't celebrate Christmas, don't forget that you can still take inspiration from these ideas to use in other ways. Check out my page of Hanukkah craft ideas to see instructions for making a simple dreidel card, fabulous macaroni Menorah and some Hanukkah activity envelopes. |
This wonderful post from Christmas 2006 over on the old Kiddley website was one of the first times I'd come across the idea of making an activity advent calendar. Claire, aka Loobylu, has a great sense of style and I've always remembered this beautiful and simple advent calendar (pictured below) that she made from origami paper.  Bobbie-Jean told us about her great advent ideas over on the Kids Craft Weekly Facebook fan page. I love her idea for making a calendar from sealed paper cups that you have to bust open every morning. Inspired!  Whip up has just done a terrific roundup of handmade advent ideas. These are pretty fancy calendars which, in many cases, are more about adults doing the crafting (rather than the kids) but still they're a great source of inspiration, especially for those who parents who have serious crafty inclinations. I love these paper cones (pictured below) from the gorgeous French blog [3.30].  Cassi at The Crafty Crow has also put together a terrific kiddie-friendly handmade advent calendar round-up. Among them is this great print, cut and colour advent calendar (pictured below) that is available for free over at Alpha Mom.  I love this toilet paper roll advent calendar tutorial over at Maya Made that I've remembered since last year. We have so many toilet rolls in our craft box I'm always looking for new ways in which we can use them.  And finally, one of the best lists I've seen of advent activity ideas lives over in the archives at Little Birds. I love the ideas that have come out through the comments over the past four years. If you have your own links please send them in to me so that we can include them in a future issue to inspire others.
Card swap matches have been sent out to everyone who has signed up. If you haven't already received your email notification please check your 'junk' or 'spam' folder. If it's still not there please email me to let me know. I will then send you a new copy of the email notification. It can be quite a lengthy process so please be patient with me :) Over the past few days it's come to my attention that some addresses were incomplete, incorrect or had funny characters in them. The good news is that these have all been fixed. If possible, please go back and check the allocation page that you were sent because some of the addresses (or names) may have been amended since you first looked. Thanks so much for participating. I'm so excited to see your wonderful cards! As always, if you have any questions or come up with any issues please email me. |
Do you love Kids Craft Weekly? If so, there are a number of ways that you can support this little project and some of them don't involve spending any money at all! 1. Buy a copy of one of the new Christmas PDFs! 2. When you shop at Amazon click through from here. 3. Purchase a copy of the Everyday Craft PDF or book. 4. Make a donation. 5. Recommend the newsletter to your friends – forward it on to them! 6. Become a fan of Kids Craft Weekly on Facebook. 7. Follow Kids Craft Weekly on Twitter. 8. Add your photos to the Kids Craft Weekly group pool on Flickr. 9. Just send me an encouraging email – I'm like a puppy, I respond well to pats on the back :) |
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