A Clown or a Scarecrow?

In honor of "The Ladies Who Craft" I share my clown scarecrow. He didn't start out as a clown, but he ended up as one. Sometimes things just evolve.

A Lost Friend - The Ladies Who Craft

I got the sad news that one of the ladies I visited at the nursing home to do crafts with has passed. Over the years, I have gotten the opportunity to work with a variety of people of all ages and walks of life. I have seen light, creativity, and humor. I have shared, but am humble enough to realize how much has been shared with me. I have taken away as much as I have given, if not received more over the years. This friend was among the true gems and the inspiration behind our little gathering (often in the a room used a beauty parlor or the conference room). She brought along her humor, her unique perception of people, as well shared some of her own knowledge and projects with us. Despite failing health and complications she was determined to live life on her own terms, something that I admired and drove some nutty. (She had great appreciation for that ability.) With her out spoken nature, she never failed to let someone know how she truly felt about them. To our group she added her own creativity, her own desire to take on new things, her sense of humor and wit, as well as her own heart. It can be easy for people to see the gruffness of a person's exterior, but too often people overlook the heart that is there as well. She was one of these special people, full of heart, but unbashful in her approach to life. It's a rare and refreshing combination, that will be missed.

Good-bye, Jen.

The Ladies Who Craft - Part 2

 

These are just a few more of the things we've done with the nursing home ladies. We often try to do seasonal projects and take into account not just the things I plan, but also things they have an interest in doing or sharing, just as the Indian corn pins made from triangle beads, pipe cleaners, a little raffia for decoration, a pin back, and a few drops of hot glue. Very festive fall pieces that can be worn or altered for other Thanksgiving/Fall decoration. (My grandma loved them and I still need to make her one for next fall/Thanksgiving.)
 
We painted little birdhouses, the added a touch of craft moss and faux birds and they are ready to hang in a window or sit on a table or dresser.

The jeweled fall leaves were a great fall decoration for windows or bulletin boards and super easy to make.

Jeweled Leaves

The Plastic Canvas Needlepoint Calenders were something the one of the ladies had done before, getting the pattern from someone she had been in another home with. We used the one she had as our original pattern. Each one was a different combination of colored plastic canvas and yarn (I preferred the fire colors pictured). It was something we could start together and then be worked on in the down time in between. I worked on mine at the hospital when my grandpa was in. (There are slots on the back not pictures to store the extra months and other pieces when no needed.)

Needlepoint calender

Bleach Bottle Pig Planters

With thoughts of spring and planting...

I've making bleach bottle pig planters since my early days as a Girl Scout. We would make them in multiple sizes, depending on the available bleach bottles, then plant them with flowers to sit on porches or in flower beds.

The strip of pictures are from a Craft Day at the nursing home. (See references to 'The Ladies Who Craft.')The piigs were cut, painted, googly eyes attaches, and sprayed with an acrylic sealer. Once everything was dry the potting soil was added and ivy planted in each. Perfect for window sills.

The instructions below were written out to be used as an example for recycling projects out of everyday things that would otherwise be thrown away. They don't need any special supplies since pain and a a craft knife or scissors are both items most crafters have readily on hand and they are a nice size for most flowers, herbs, or other plants. Most important remember that the emptied bleach bottles must be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed to get rid of any lingering bleach as it WILL KILL ANY PLANTS in the planter otherwise. (Unfortunately, this was not something we were able to do at camp for lack of enough bleach bottles. It can take some time to save up enough for a group.)

You can cut the ears any way you want, just make sure they have the notched flap on the bottom to help keep them in place.

Check out on CutOutandKeep too!

The Ladies Who Craft

Turkey Hat Wall Hanging

Part of the time I volunteer my time at a nursing home doing various crafts with my aunt and a couple of older women. It started as a result of a friend of the family feeling the activities offered at her facility lacked in projects that she would enjoy. They are based around getting as many people involved as possible and often offer rather simplistic projects. In a smaller group we could give more individual attention and chose projects that were a bit more in depth, even those that took more than one day or one hour.

There have been a few goals in this endeavor:

Making Turkey Hat Wall Hangings

     (1) To take on projects that are too much for large groups with many needing special attention.
     (2) To make things that would be usable or decorative for their living space.
     (3) To keep their limited space in mind... decorative and storage needs.
     (4) To have fun.  

We have taken on many different crafts that include some of the things I have pictured here as well as card making, various painting and decoupage projects.

Making Fleece No Sew Pillows

Before Thanksgiving we took straw hats, felt, and rafia to make turkey wall hangers to be used to decorate walls or doors. (I even made one for my mom. She really gets into decorating for the holidays and didn't have have anything for the front door for Thanksgiving.)

We also made no-sew knotted fleece pillows for Thanksgiving so that they had one for their own room and one to give away to someone they were thankful to or for.

Clay Pot Scarecrows

Another fall project was scarecrows made from clay pots. The scarecrows took a couple days of of painting and decorating with straw, felt, buttons, straw hats, and little black crows, but turned out adorable.A nice center piece for rooms.