We’re Crafty… (Well sort of)

After subjecting you to an insanely long post about my search for Martha’s craft kits at a Midwestern Wal-Mart, I thought it only fair to provide a little update about how those crafts actually turned out.

First let me say in no uncertain terms, I’m not exactly “crafty”… Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of glue and glitter and paint and play-doh flying through our house at any given time. We’re a pretty “creative” bunch, but when it comes to crafting -- truly creating lovely handmade items…Well as much as it pains me to admit it, I’m not so great that that.

So while buying the Martha craft kits would be a bit of a sacrilege for some (why buy it when you can make it yourself, from scratch, my über crafty, lovely cousin Erin would say…), for me they’re seemingly ideal.

A couple of days before our adventures in “pie country”, Audrey and I busted out the bird puppet and the felt flower jewelry kit (we decided to save the butterfly mobile for later.) First up, the puppet…It was easy, super duper crazy easy…I laughed in the face of it easy. So easy in fact that I wished Martha had included a few “extras” so we could have customized it a bit. (Wait, never mind, we did customize it, or more specifically Millie customized it when after her nap she found the puppet and a sharpie and went to town. Custom for sure.)

Next up, the jewelry kit. Arrrrrggghhh…holy hell. It. Was. Not. Easy.

In fairness the kit is designed for ages 8 and up, so it was not really something that Audrey could do, but I am much, much older than 8, and this was seriously challenging. Suffice to say there was much muttering and swearing under my breath. (This probably wasn’t what Martha had in mind when she conjured-up these kits. Or maybe she did, who knows… that Martha’s wily.)

Getting the little felt petals to lay flat was a nightmare, and then once I did manage to get them just right, attempting to glue the parts together with the little vial of Elmer’s glue thoughtfully included in the kit was impossible. The felt gluttonously soaked up all the Elmers, and the little ring and hair pin we were attempting to construct kept falling apart in our hands. Finally I pulled out the big guns, (yes super glue), and all was right with the world...

The finished product was super cute, but I’m still deciding if it was worth the pain.



We’re tackling that butterfly mobile this weekend. Wish us luck!

p.s...audrey dressed herself...that kid has never met a print she didn't like.