QuirkyFusioncrafts | QuirkyFusion

Get Creative and Earth-Friendly with Artterro Eco Art Kits

Christy — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 01:27:23 +0000

Image Courtesy of Artterro

I can’t think of a better company to highlight for Earth Day than Arrterro. Artterro is all about creating eco-friendly, high-quality craft kits that can be enjoyed by everyone from children to adults, novices to experienced crafters. The kits use materials collected from authentic sources around the globe, as well as recycled cardboard packaging. They are assembled by Goodwill. Best of all, they are fun to work with and result in projects worth framing or giving as gifts.

When Artterro invited me to choose a craft kit to review, I was stumped. It took me a week to get back to them, only to reply that I couldn’t choose. Honestly, I wanted them all. They have a Canvas Storybook Kit that I thought would be a great project for celebrating a birthday. There is a Wool Felt Bug Kit that I thought the kids would enjoy working on. In the end, I asked them to decide and was delighted to received the Paint with Wool Kit.

The kit arrived with four 4″ x 4″ pieces of white wool, 3 felting needles, and 14 pieces of wool roving in a rainbow of vibrant colors. I provided my own sponge to use as a base for the felting (as recommended in the directions). The kit comes with directions, but they are merely there to explain how to do the felting, not what to do with the kit. I like that the kits are open-ended, but I would have liked to see a bit more inspiration for people new to the craft. Create your favorite shape or flower, make a card for a loved one, design your own monogram, etc. Just some ideas for people who immediately go blank when faced with a blank canvas.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this particular craft, but it’s so easy. You place some roving on your felt, poke at it with the needle, and the felt melds together enough that it creates a piece of art. But the cool thing is that if you change your mind or make a mistake, you can still just pull the roving off the backing. I’m still partway through my first piece, but it takes awhile to create a solid piece of artwork. The only real challenges of this particular craft are that the needle is sharp and can easily be broken. The kit is designed for older children (8+), although a patient and attentive younger child would do just fine.

I can’t say enough good things about this kit. Every bit of it, from materials to packaging, are of wonderful quality. My only complaint (other than the wish for a bit more suggestion in the directions) is the lack of foam/sponge. Sponges are inexpensive, and can easily be reused around the home, so I’m not sure why they don’t include one. This is a small complaint, however, as most people have a clean sponge or a left over scrap of foam packaging that they can use. It just keeps the kit from being one that you can toss without thought into a bag for a vacation or camping trip.

Are you wondering what you’ll pay for all of this eco-friendly quality? The Paint with Wool Kit retails for $19.95, as do most of the other kits. A few of the kits are $26.95, but those look well worth it as well. I already have these on my mental list for birthday gifts for some of my nieces… these are perfect for tweens who still like crafts, but are ready for something nicer than cheap plastic beads and acrylic pom-poms.

Disclosure: I received a craft kit for review from Artterro. There was no promise of a positive review and the opinions contained in this post are my own.

Paint Your Own Pottery with Barefoot Books (Concord, MA)

Christy — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:52:34 +0000

I don’t normally repost press releases, but I wanted to share this with you and it seemed a bit silly to attempt to rewrite it all. We will definitely be checking out the new paint-your-own pottery studio at Barefoot Books, but haven’t gotten there just yet. I will say that the Barefoot Books community center/store is an explosion of color and creativity, so I imagine that inspiration will flow easily!

Also, if you aren’t already aware, their Concord, MA, location is home to a variety of classes, story hours, and other special events. Of course, if you can’t make it to the store (or even if you can), you can always shop for great kids’ books and gifts with me!

Who: Families with children of all ages

What: Join us on Saturday, March 26 for a full day of family fun at the Barefoot Books Studio to celebrate the opening of our new paint-your-own-pottery studio. Families can choose from more than 100 different pottery designs, including animal mugs, little monsters, and princess, castle, and crown boxes, and let their creativity flow! More than 50 vibrant paint colors will be available to decorate your potteryto your heart’s content, such as orange ya happy, blueberry hill, ruby slippers, and sour apple.

Storytimes will be held throughout the day at the storyteller’s throne where families can get cozy on satin pillows and listen to fun stories such as Animal Boogie, We’re Roaming in the Rainforest, The Prince’s Bedtime, and The Real Princess, chosen to accompany themed pottery pieces. Deep discounts on books and related pottery pieces will be available all day long.

Pottery painting at Barefoot Books Studio is now available Tuesday-Sunday for drop in times, as well as birthday parties, baby showers, fundraisers, and other special events.

When: Saturday, March 26 from 10 am – 5pm

Where: Barefoot Books Studio, 89 Thoreau Street, Concord, MA, across from the Concord train station

Why: Paint adorable and usable pottery in whimsical colors with your family while enjoying imaginative stories and getting deep discounts. Add a joyful ambiance, satin pillows, cake. What’s not to love?

More Information: Please call the Barefoot Books Studio at 978.369.1770 or visit www.barefootbooks.com for details, including special pottery and story times (animals, monsters, magicians, ballet, princesses and pirates).

A Sugary Sweet Fourth Birthday

Christy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:21:11 +0000

You may remember how I complained awhile back about the extravagance and expense of kids’ birthday parties nowadays. With young kids especially, you’re hosting parents as well and space can be a premium. We are fortunate enough to have a home that is conducive to entertaining. With a large kitchen and even larger living room, we can host big groups of people without feeling too cramped. This year, we decided to host Bug’s fourth birthday party at home.

We invited only friends and parents (none of our own relatives) to a Halloween-themed crafty party. We made graham-cracker gingerbread houses and had each parent-child pair decorate their house with frosting and a variety of candies. I warned parents in advance, in part so they could make arrangements for younger siblings (either by bringing another parent or by finding someone to watch them).

I had fun channeling my inner Martha Stewart by making some themed snacks and cute goodie bag gift tags. I rarely have time to work on my crafts any more, so this was a nice treat for me as well. Here are some of my favorite aspects of the party:

Goodie Bags

Since we weren’t paying an arm and a leg to rent a location, I was able to spend a bit more on the goodie bags and was happy with the final result. I picked up reusable trick-or-treat bags for a dollar each from the supermarket and filled them with coloring books, color-your-own puzzles, a few pieces of candy, temporary tattoos and a matchbox car. I was happy with the mix and the lack of “junk.” Also, I used my Cricut Expressions with the Paper Dolls Dress Up Cartridge to make the adorable tags for each bag. They look like I slaved over them, but they couldn’t have been easier.

Food

I made chocolate cupcake with “ghostly marshmallows,” veggies that included ants on a log (cream cheese instead of peanut butter), little witches hats (chocolate cookies w/a Hershey Kiss on top) and a pumpkin spice cake in the shape of a pumpkin a la Martha Stewart and my pumpkin cake mold. The food looked adorable and the pumpkin cake was fantastic. Mmm.

Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses

We bought orange juice in cartons, poured the juice into a pitcher and washed the cartons thoroughly. I covered heavy paper plates with foil and we hot-glue-gunned the cartons onto the plates. A friend of mind kindly covered the cartons with the graham crackers using more hot glue. We then took store-bought vanilla frosting and put it in large zip lock bags. We snipped the corner off each bag and used them to ice the houses. As a tip, if you’re going to use the frosting to adhere the graham crackers to the cartons, you’ll want to use royal icing or at least add some cream of tartar to the frosting to make it stiffer. Also, for fine detailed icing, cut off as little as possible from the bag. With little kids, it doesn’t matter so much, since the parents really just slathered the houses with icing! Each parent-child team had a bowl to fill with candy for decorating. The kids ended up eating more than they put on the houses, but I think we all had fun!