| ISSUE 79 • 4 NOVEMBER 2009 | |
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Editorial – Big Announcements Hello and welcome to another issue of Kids Craft Weekly! This editorial is brought to you by a peculiar whirling feeling in my tummy, induced by the sheer number of big announcements that I am about to make. These big announcements have, in turn, been preceded by a great deal of stressful behind-the-scenes work which would also account for that aforementioned whirling feeling. The first announcement is the launch of my brand new printable mini-book called Christmas Cards: Fun and Simple Card Ideas for Kids. I'm so thrilled with how this book has turned out. It features detailed instructions on how to make different types of cards, interspersed with beautiful images of inspirational cards created by you guys – the Kids Craft Weekly community! It really is something very special, please take a look. Also on sale today is the revised edition of the very popular Christmas Craft printable mini-book. The new edition of this inspirational guide to a very crafty Christmas features a whole new section on crafty gift ideas as well as brand new ideas for advent and some fun new ornaments in the already impressive section dedicated to Christmas decorations. It's an essential holiday guide for crafty families. Again, I urge you to check it out. Each of the PDF books is available to download for just US $6 or you can buy both of them for a discounted price of US $10. To find out more and to purchase the books please click here. The next exciting piece of news is that the Kids Craft Weekly handmade card swap is back for 2009! I know that many of you have been keenly anticipating this announcement. Now in it's fourth year, the swap involves sending handmade cards to ten specific addresses, and receiving ten cards in return from Kids Craft Weekly families from all over the world. For all of the information, and to sign up, please visit the Card Swap FAQ and read through the info before signing up. Sign-ups for the swap close at 9am (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on November 18, 2009. Before I go, special mention must be made to Meiying and Charles for going above and beyond the call of duty to help me out over the past few weeks. Meiying, who has been involved in the design of Kids Craft Weekly from way back in 2006, has done a spectacular job on the latest books. Charles was called upon at very late notice to build an all-new swap-o-meter for this year after we lost the old one due to a hosting mishap. Thank you Meiying and Charles! And now I think it's time for me to sit back with a well-earned adult beverage and cross my fingers that everything works perfectly. Happy crafting and I'll see you next time!  Amber Carvan editor@kidscraftweekly.com |
This card idea is perfect for very young children as it takes away all the pressure of card-making, allowing them to focus their attention on having fun with colour and texture. You will need • paper • white glue • food colouring • glitter • brush • a collection of red and green items • blank cards Directions 1. Add a few drops of green (or red) food colouring to white glue. Then add some glitter to the glue mix and stir well.  2. Collect together a range of red and green items to paste onto paper. We used green cellophane, green crepe paper strips and red origami paper torn into squares.  3. Put out a large piece of craft paper and encourage your little one to paste the red and green items all over the paper with the sparkly glue mix.  4. Once this is finished and the glue is dry, cut the artwork into squares or rectangles and glue them onto cardstock. 
I have to credit Kids Craft Weekly subscriber Tracie with this one! In the card swap a few years ago she and her boys made this lovely card which I thought was a great idea. You will need • blank cards • cotton wool balls • white glue • red felt or paper • scissors • pen Directions 1. Cut some santa hats from the felt and pull apart some cotton wool balls.  2. Then glue down the hat and start to give Santa some hair and a beard. Here's my boring adult version...  3. ...and here are Ella's awesome ones! 
This idea is great for young kids who are able to use a glue stick but are not quite ready for anything more adventurous (or messy!). Even the very young (18 months +) can make these cards if you have are prepared to apply the glue and then hand the shapes over for placement. We used this idea for our cards last year and they were a big success. You will need • blank cards • a selection of colourful paper • scissors • glue stick Directions 1. Cut out a selection of shapes from a range of colourful paper. I cut triangles from green origami paper, rectangles from red origami paper and circles from yellow and purple textured tissue paper. I used pinking shears to cut out some of the shapes.  2. Provide your little one with the shapes, a glue stick and a pile of blank cards. For extra bling, let them sprinkle on some small metallic stars or add some christmas stickers.  TIP. Don't stress out if you little one keeps sticking the shapes half on and half off the card. Once they've finished simply trim around the edges. 
I have to admit that I shamelessly stole this idea from my friend Toni who has made cards with her kids using this method for many years. It's a fantastically easy way to produce a lot of glitzy cards with very little fuss and bother. You will need • corrugated card • blank cards • tinsel • stapler • glue Directions 1. Cut the corrugated card in rectangles and snip the tinsel into short lengths.  2. Staple the tinsel to the front of the corrugated card.  3. Glue the corrugated card and tinsel to the front of a blank card and there you have it.  |
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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