1 comments about Making Stuff for Kids.

1. The beauty of this craft book lies not just in its recipe for "Sparkle and shine playdough", or its "Pebble Pals", or the " Cute as a button necklace", but it is much deeper. It brilliance of it is where it calls out to parents and children alike: pick me up!!! Be creative!! Get messy! Don't stress! Making Stuff For Kids will bring parents and kids or kids and other kids together in order to create-and with their own hands make something to enjoy.
   
   Making Stuff For Kids, is a complete child's craft book, divided into helpful (age appropriate) sections: teeny talents, cunning crafters, super sills, and tough cookies. This way you will know if your child, or even if you are in way over your creative head. The beginning includes a section of how to's: how to knit, how to do appliqué, papier mache, pompoms and sewing- just in case you, as a parent need to learn or refresh your skillz right along side your child.
   
   The book is composed of craft ideas by contributors, I believe causing Making Stuff For Kids to break away from the traditional nerdy-kid-craft-mold(and parents wondering: what do I do with THIS mold) to a more interesting and involved crafting, where kids are really creating stuff that they are interested in! The creativity level is pretty alarming so beware!!!
   
   So far we have only had a chance to do several of the crafts- as my children are a little young, and things can get crazy while crafting (they are ages 2 and 4 and there are already some really fun projects for them in this book!!) We have done (and loved) the Pebble Pals (p.51), the Peg People (p. 52), The Scratch it and see (p. 53) and the potatoes for T! (p. 64). Next on our list (it has actually been the craft my 4 yr. old has been begging for since he looked through the book) Creepy Crawly Wormery (p. 47)!! Our young family will definitely grow into this book, so if you have older kids- there is a lot of things they could do, even some crafts designed for them to do without you! This is one of those books, that we will keep coming back to on those days of- "mom, I'm bored", or "there's nothing to do, mom!". I know it will be one we constantly have handy as our boys get older, I dread the stains it will suffer, but as any well loved book I am already aware of this unstoppable, impending doom- love stains.
   
   I love it, and obviously recommend it %100!!
   
   CRAFT ON!!!

1 comments about Children, Clay, And Sculpture.

1. This book is extremely useful for classroom teachers and homeschooling families alike. It slowly and thoroughly works through the progression of skills from first using clay to creating finished sculpture. The chapters include information for teaching the skills, multiple examples of professional artwork that can be studied to view the technique at hand, tons of pictures of student work with the age of the student identified (very helpful for knowing how to set your expectations at a realistic level) and every chapter includes free exploration ideas as well as specific exercises.
   
   Chapters:
   
   Before You Begin
   Explorations
   Making Sculpture
   Sculpting in Relief
   Animals
   Heads and Faces
   Figures
   Improving Sculptures
   Finishing and Displaying Sculpture
   
   I have taken classes with Cathy Topal; she teaches in the Education department at Smith College, helping prospective teachers learn how to teach art. The care and attention she has taken to laying out the exercises in this book clearly reflect this experience - she can think both like an experienced teacher of art and like a mentor to new teachers. This book is a valuable purchase for any art teacher or homeschool family and can be used with students from age 4 to high school level. It will grow with your child and can be used over and over to explore topics in more depth in subsequent years. I give it my very highest recommendation.

3 comments about How to Make Puppets With Children.

1. My students are the best reviewers and they just love making the puppets. The instructions are simple and easy to follow. I highly recommend this book.



2. This was definitely worth my money! The puppets are ADORABLE! I use them in so many ways. For example, after reading Harry the Dirty Dog, my students and I made the dog puppet. Students could make dirty Harry or clean Harry. We used the print-outs as templates; we traced them onto different colors of construction paper and felt. So many creative ideas!



3. I used this book with my four year old grandson who wanted to make puppets. For those who are not artists this is a perfect book. We had a wonderful time making about seven of the various puppets and then putting on our own show. We will probably do this again another time as it is easy and inexpensive.

2 comments about ABC's of Origami: Paper Folding for Children.

1. What first attracted me to this book, despite owning several origami books, was that this one has several patterns which make human forms... animals are so much more common, but my daughter wanted to make some little origami dolls, and humans are hard to find in beginner-level origami books.
   
   Ah, this is SO MUCH MORE than just another beginner-level origami book! It is an alphabet book, and each page has a pattern for a figure whose English name begins with that letter. The figure's name is given in English, French and then Japanese, and at the bottom it is written in Japanese characters, too! Many children are enraptured with curiosity about other languages, codes, characters from other alphabets, and this book fuels that fire with succcint doses, one letter at a time. My daughter got so excited about the translations on each page that she immediately started memorizing those, even before she got around to trying out the origami!
   
   And about the origami... as we have found, there are origami directions, and then there are... well, frustrating paths of deception that never lead you to the intended figure. And every parent knows how badly kids want to be able to do things like this without grownup help, which makes poor directions a real tragedy. Happily, these origami directions are really easy to work with. They are step-by-step, but simple. No labyrinthian trails of confusion to track here! No serpentine arrows leading you to valleys and mountains of terminology with optical-illusion illustrations. I've come across enough frustrating origami instructions to insist on checking an origami book out of the library and trying it out before I will buy one. After I checked this one out, renewed it, returned it, found it checked out to someone else and unavailable, I knew it was time to buy a copy!
   
   26 letters in the alphabet, so that's how many patterns you get. 55 pages. Each odd-numbered page shows a letter with its translations and a lovely illustration which serves as the backdrop for a photo of the actual finished origami figure (it's brilliant and inspiring!). The facing (even-numbered) pages show the very clear folding instructions, none of which exceed one page.
   
   So it isn't a long book, and it isn't cluttered. But it is a masterpiece of form and function, a litttle bit of language, a little bit of art, a little collection of nice origami projects (some quite unique), a most unusual ABC book (if you collect ABC books, you have to add this one to your collection!), and definitely one of those precious little books that you want to own, not just borrow!



2. This is a beautiful book. It is better for kids who have already done some folding because the instructions are a bit less straightforward than in other books. If you are starting an origami book collection, this is a must-have.

5 comments about Balloon Animals.

1. As a new enthusiastic in the field of balloon twisting I can honestly say that it is an excellent book. It is very easy to follow the instructions and the results are very pleasing. After a very short while you remember the instructions and no longer need to book near you. Don't mind the pump and 10 balloons, go and get a better pump for a few dollars and a package of 100 balloons because it is so much fun!



2. This product is excellant and so much fun! The book included is very informative and the directions easy to understand and follow. I highly recommend this for the beginner who needs alittle help in learning the art of making balloon animals. A++



3. This book is a great introduction to the art of making balloon animals. You get enought of a supply to learn several animals within a matter of hours... I'm practicing for my niece's fourth birthday party in a couple of weeks. The true test will be what the kids think! Now that I know the basics, I may be able to come up with a few of my own that are not even in the book!



4. This book is a great book for beginners, it is in black and white so at times it can be hard to see the animal.



5. Unlike my review of Aaron's other book, I liked this one. Most of the animals are very nice for beginners but I absolutely love twisting the ram. I also do a modified lovebirds in a heart from this book. A few others here are standards (both the animal offered and the way they're twisted)and if you want a book that is inexpensive and good for beginners, then this one will do nicely.

2 comments about Crafty Catholic Kids: Great Activities for Family Fun.

1. If you're reading this review, I wonder what book you looked up. The book I have in front of me is titled "Crafty Catholic Kids." The book is listed on Amazon as "Crafts for Catholic Children." If you look at the picture on the cover, it is the same book. I can only imagine that someone is trying to convince you they are two different books, and that one of them is worth buying. I'm sorry, it is not.
   
   I have "Catholic Traditions in Crafts," a 1997 book by Ann Ball, and it is wonderful. The crafts have an almost reverent feel about them-particularly the small baby Jesus doll to keep little one's hands busy in church.
   
   This new book is 4 times the price of the old one, and not 1/10th the value.
   
   To begin with, I can't tell where one craft ends and the next begins. There are no separate pages or chapter headings. The peculiarly generic crafts include soap balls, a decorated fish tank and paper flowers. I suppose you could make the argument that a swimming pool should remind you of Jesus walking on water, but most people would consider that a bit of a stretch to bring religion into your life.
   
   The somewhat religious crafts require the purchase of statues or medals or crosses that are then incorporated into some perfectly ordinary craft like a picture frame.
   
   Even if this book wasn't being marketed as a book for Catholic children, the crafts are tacky and simply reworked from any number of other craft books-a B-B-Q apron for Dad, a clay coaster, and a cedar shavings pet pillow. There aren't even instructions for making the pillow, it was bought at a $1 store and stuffed.
   
   This book is an embarrassment. I have to decide if it is worth my trouble to return it.



2. Crafty Catholic Kids is the title of my book. I bought this a few days ago mainly because Ann Ball had suddenly died the past few weeks (see annball.com), and I knew it was her last book. I have all her Catholic Traditions series . This is an oversized paperback (8 1/2 x 11) with glossy pages and color pictures. The color photographs is such an improvement from the other b/w images from all her previous books, so that's why I say "Finally!" because the book is inviting and colorful.
   
   And it's written for children. It's written to inspire a child to open it and want to do a craft, and the crafts range from very simple to more skilled.
   
   Unlike the previous reviewer, I don't have trouble finding divisions in this book. Each chapter is marked with a colored title and a star, and each craft is divided by a dotted line. There are themes to each craft:
   
   Let the Little Children
   Joy and Praise
   Christian Symbols Speak to Us
   Our Blessed Mother
   The Saints Our Friends
   Loving and Giving
   A World of Diversity
   Respect for Creation
   Our Beloved Dead
   Just for Fun
   Fast Fun with Food
   
   Yes, some are very, very simple. But there are different needs for a child and a family. First of all, and Mrs. Ball points this out, for a young child, it's the process, not the product. I need to look at these crafts with a child's eyes. My 4 1/2 yo son was enthralled with the pictures and excited to try and make some of the items, even those that look "kitschy" to adult eyes.
   
   And sometimes families need simple and short crafts, and even some that are completely child-led, because the parents have to be occupied elsewhere. There are also times when a child wants to create a homemade gift that this book gives some great ideas.
   
   The title "Catholic" doesn't mean every craft has to be religious. Catholic encompasses the whole being, and we have other celebrations in our life that encompass our Catholic life that aren't necessarily religious, but celebrated by Catholic kids, such as Fathers' Day.
   
   All in all, I think it's a wonderful book, inspiring, appealing, and simple for children to follow. And I think it's so wonderful for it to be her last title before her return to her Heavenly Father. "Let the little children come to me."

4 comments about Art Nouveau Windows Stained Glass Coloring Book (Stained Glass).

1. As a stained glass artist, this book got my creative juices flowing. The pictures are fairly complex, just like the stained glass of the 1920's era, and made me wish I had crayons or markers that could duplicate the textured, swirled, multicolored glass that was used during this time! It's a great starting point for people who'd like to take on more complex glass projects and who want to experiment with color combinations befhorehand.



2. There are lovely stained glass ideas in this book, but... to use as a coloring exercise, you need to know that you really have to have felt tip pens to make the colours show up. There is a lot of black surrounding the designs and the "transparent" colouring areas are a light gray which cuts down on the brilliancy of any colouring.
   
   
   
   



3. This is a very beautifully designed book. The images are lovely and it's such a fun, soothing activity to color the pages in. So enjoyable!



4. Get out your colored pencils, felt tip pens, or whatever you wish and get ready for some of the most satisfying, enjoyable and beautiful images of Art Nouveau Windows to color at your own whim.
   
   This book is just lovely, and the possabilities of adding its pages to other crafts is very enticing.
   
   Enjoy!

No comments about Great Pumpkins: Crafty Carvings for Halloween.

5 comments about The Toymaker: Paper Toys That You Can Make Yourself.

1. Even old people like me can put these paper toys together, even if it means taking extra days to figure them out. I simply love these toys, and the people I make them for enjoy them. When she first brought the toys out online and I tried cutting them out and putting them together, it was difficult, as I am not a smart little one, so I asked her to put directions with the pictures, so dumb old men could figure out what went where. Since then I have made many of her paper toys. I encourage people of all ages to buy the book and make the toys. Even those with arthritis.
   This is a great way to enjoy the little things in life.



2. I don't own this book--yet-- but I know this author's work. I frequent her site, and she is so very creative. Her artwork is a refreshing throwback to a long past era, with modern and beautiful colors. I LOVE that her site allows your to sample some of her brilliantly simple ideas. They are engaging enough to entertain middleschoolers, yet simple enough that my six year old can do many of them. Very awesome. Her sweet little fairies and beautiful cornocopias, the flowing swirls on the candy canes and fun "marble mice" and such from the site are reason enough to support her creativity and buy this book!



3. This book is beautiful. The projects are fun and entertaining. This book provides wonderful, wholesome activity for the whole family! It is well worth the price, and makes an excellent gift for any age.



4. I just love the Toymaker Paper Toys Book. It is wonderful for keeping children entertained, to help children pass time when they are ill or recovering, and great rainy day fun. The book can be a special gift from a Grandma too. I also enjoy and have enjoyed The Toymaker website. I have used this website for years, for all occasions and just for plain old simple fun. The paper toys in this book are the same toys available for print on the website, only now printed on good quality card stock.
   I recommend this Paper Toy book.
   Barbara in MA.



5. The Toymaker: Paper Toys that you can make yourself is a fabulous book full of creative, imaginative playthings. The only drawback is that the designs are so wonderful you don't want to ruin the book by making the toys!! I would recommend this book for every child and every child at heart!

1 comments about Making Flower Children.

1. This book is exelent for the ones who want to use craft felt to make the dolls, because not everyone has time and patience to make the felt dresses...
   It's very good to work with childreen!!!