Both my kids LOVE crafts of any kind. We even have a box of random stuff known as the craft box at our house, which is used to construct random things. Basically the craft box is the dumping ground for any leftovers from previous craft projects, so there's a real variety of stuff in there.

A few craft things that were popular here last week:

Make your own T-shirt: K got a kit as a birthday present from a friend. This one was a Disney one with Tinkerbell on it. Basically, you colored the design with crayons, including a special glitter crayon for Tink's wings. You could then iron the T to make the colors permanent. After washing, it still looks pretty good! The directions also say that you can re-color and iron the shirt if the colors start to fade. You could do your own with a plain T-shirt and fabric markers, which are available at most craft stores.

We also have an overabundance of fusion beads. For the uninitiated, these are tiny tubular plastic beads in different colors. You put the bead on a form with little spikes (not sharp) to hold the beads, and then you can iron them to get them to stick together. You use parchment paper over top of the beads while you iron them so they don't stick to the iron. These darn things will occupy my kids for HOURS. If you're careful about the design, they would make cute Christmas ornaments/gifts for family. Maybe if I'm really organized (ha ha ha) I will have them create a few as gifts for the grandparents.

During a recent trip to see my mother-in-law, she taught my oldest to embroider. My MIL both embroiders and makes quilts by hand. I was surprised that J wanted to learn this, but she actually picked it up very quickly and does a great job! She is planning to make designs for a friend for a gift in the future. She's already completed a small elephant design. I was seriously impressed--this is something that I just don't have the patience for. I hope she decides to continue with it. It was also nice that my MIL was able to pass along this to J.

So get crafty people! Ask a grandparent or relative to show a skill to your kids that you may lack. The results are always beautiful.