TD Summer Reading Program

            

2009 TD Summer Reading Program
 AGENT 009 Window Splash

TD Summer Reading Club
 Every year Libraries across CANADA get on board 
in an effort to keep our youth actively involved (and even enjoying) reading throughout the summer. 

 For three years in a row I took on the job of  creating, Co-ordinating and implementing the local Librarys'  involvement in the program.
Working with the national, annual theme and other promotional graphics, games and great prizes Theme 
Destination Jungle 2009
I created a road to reading Board Game that I called
                                Jungle Juxtaposition. 

TD Summer Reading Club. Game Table

 My inspiration sat at the end of the neighbors driveway... 
It was Big Spring Clean Up Week and there was the table
 just waiting for me. 
Disheveled and shoved to the edge of the curb I concurred, 
Annual Treasure Week was what I preferred. I swerved into the curb and opened the back of the Explorer 

(That I had strategically borrowed that morning to run to the store, knowing it was clean up week and that  I
needed it to avoid the usual struggle of getting someone else to get my bargains home...) 

 After finally tipping the thing into the back of the vehicle, I was able to push it in far enough in to drive safely the three houses back home.
Once I finally got the beast onto my deck (it is made of a plaster like material, which weighs a tonne!)
Using elements and colors from the annual poster, I began the process of decorating the table base itself.

Destination Jungle 2009

 The table was already a shiny black. 

You can see where I have painted on top of the original

finish with my acrylic paints. They have a matte finish.

I created the Game Board top on a separate piece of wood that was then glued to the table top.

This allowed for the game board to be removed and for the table top to be put back to other use.

Home Made  BOARD GAME

I had picked up this wonderful wrought iron plant holder somewhere,

 at some time in my travels

(it called for a fresh coat of acrylic paint)

Happy to oblige, I brought it back to life!

It fit right in with the Jungle Theme

The two metal rings in which you place your plant pots were cleverly inserted between the table and the game board top.

The plastic animals were purchased at the Dollar Store,

the trees were created by hot gluing greenery from flowers together

and also with cinnamon sticks, glued greenery and polymer clay bananas. 

Real sand was pressed into to white glue to give a tactile feel to the game.

The water was painted with acrylic paint to which I sprinkled on sparkles 

*********** 

I created  Game Pieces out of Polymer Clay and then wrote the kids names in black sharpie on the piece they chose as they entered to play.

 The unusually large and green Dice was a fun topic of conversation.

Each color on the board represented a home activity that the participant had to complete and return to the Library within 7 days.

Each returned project earned the player one roll on the game table and an entry into the grand prize draw.

 Free spaces, roll again and move backwards spaces made things interesting and kept participants coming back in anticipation.

 Each players place was noted on a notepad in the event that the game pieces should suffer an upset somehow throughout the week.

The activities ranged from short book reviews to writing poetry or finding and reporting details on a specified subject, animal or event. Word finds and definition, creating your own crossword and coloring activities kept players of all ages involved.

All of the returned assignments were hung with clothes pegs on a cotton line that I had strung across the Library for display purposes.

Here is some of the artwork I copied (directly from Promo pieces for the TD Summer Reading Program) 

 and painted into posters. I hung them through out the Library.

The Tiger

 

The painting below captures a section of the original poster. 

Painted with Acrylic Paint.

TD Summer Reading Program

 The Art of Ingenuity!

The foam core that I used for the posters arrived on my deck one sunny summers eve.

It appeared like the grin on my Sons face.

It was a 4x6 foot Tim Horton coffee board!

My love of coffee and his knowledge of same, suddenly produced a smile on my face.

Tattered and worn it was plain to see

but how got from where it was to now in front of me

 was not quite as clear to me.

Assured of the fact that it had been rescued

from the side of a road

and that

 "It was garbage Mom, that's why I brought it home"

I pondered the lesson to be learned and then thanked him for bringing it home.

" I knew you could use it for something Mom"...

 The final touch!

Painting the Library Windows

 

Get Crafty in the Kitchen today.

  Crafts from the kitchen!
 Which came first, the Basket or the Craft?


Soaping is simple. 
Melt and pour Glycerin Soap, essential oil and soap coloring can be purchased in crafts stores everywhere.
Baskets, bags and other up-cycled receptacles bring personality to your creation.

Making soap really is as easy as melt and pour. 

Easy Wiki step by step

Bath Salts


4 cups Epson Salts (available at your local Drug Store)
mix in 4-5 drops of Essential  Bath Oil
(Optional) The Salts may be left white and placed into an airtight container at this stage
 or be separated  into several batches to which 4-5 drops of food color is added to each and mixed in.

Pour in different colored layers into beautiful glass jars. 
Tie a bow on the top, print up your own label for the front and presto, you're presenting presents!

Homemade Bath Salts
Bath Bombs away!

                                  
     Gift giving...in the bag!

  Easy, economical, enjoyable
          = Hot, Hot, Hot!
I happen to think that these magic bags are the hottest thing around.
 When you live where there is 6 months of bad winter followed by 6 months of bad summer
 anything associated with heat receives a warm welcome. 
The magic bags is loved by everyone. 
It provides therapeutic relief, it travels well
 and it is the gift that will keep on giving.

Heat magic bag in microwave oven for 2 min. and enjoy!

 This year I made bags to gift to my Senior clients. They were easy, economical and enjoyable.

SUPPLIES:  knee high nylons (2 pair for 1.00) Dollar store = .25/bag
                     work socks (2 pair for 2.00) Dollar store= .50/bag
                      rice (8kg = 10.00) approx. 10 socks= 1.00/bag
                                                                                  ------------
                                                                                    1.75 bag! 

 I use 3 cups of rice per bag. Start by filling the nylon knee high with rice, one cup at a time. 
I  put rice into a measuring cup and then stretch the nylon over the measuring cup.
 Turn the cup over, while holding the sides of the stocking and pour the rice, cup by cup into the stocking.
Make sure there are no twists in the stocking or the rice won't go all the way down.
Once filled,  lay the bag on a flat surface and stretch it out like a sausage. 
If you ball it all before tying it won't lay around your neck when finished. 
Tie a knot at the open end of the stocking. 
Next open the mouth of your sock and feed the stocking into it. Again, keeping the bag in a sausage shape will make it easier to feed into the sock. I have used a classic work sock here. 
Finally tie a knot in the open sock end.
I have added a fabric bow tie in seasonal colors. Any ribbon or bow can be tied on but don't forget to remind the user to remove any bows with wire BEFORE putting in microwave.

Magic Bag

                        Gift giving from the heart is a warm,
                                         wonderful  place to start.

                  Candles, Cards, Ornaments and more.
                  For the Love of Crafting More HERE

Ready, SET, CRAFT!

                                                              

      Polymer clay Earrings
This was a fun summer collection of fruits and veges that I made a couple Summers ago. 
Polymer Clay becomes bananas, apples, grapes, pizza,  cookies.
The earrings posts and the brooch pins were glued to the back with an Epoxy after the finished product has been baked.

                                

Did you know 

-if you take your Bananas apart when you get them home from the store they will last longer

      -Bananas connected at the stem ripen faster.

 -that if you peel a Banana the way a primate does, from the bottom up that you won't have to pick the little stringy things away

                                                                                 An Apple a day

Polymer Clay

    
 I craft like I cook. Orderly and tidy.
I clean, wipe, stack, sort and pile along the way so I never have to look behind me and say "Oy Veh"
(as my Grandmother used to say)  I can move forward with the business of getting it done knowing that all the wiping in my space has been done.
I think it also helps to keep my mind clear. Cluttered or messy space = cluttered or messy mind!

I also like to arrive at the end of a project feeling like I have a moment to deliberate..to celebrate...time to admire my accomplishments!
Never mind  that at any given moment, at the opening of the front door, I can be sidetracked and distracted by the hub of entering activity and the familiar sounds of
"Hey Mom, this broke. Can you fix it for me....? 

 Work in a clean,organized, well lit space. Its a healthier, happy place.

  Keep your tools clean and your conscience clear! Keep your imagination alive and your Polymer near!





Go get it. Do It! Be It! Love It. Feel IT!
But above all else just do it!
Have fun in your Crafting Day!

Laugh, Smile, Be Happy and Play!
Have you hugged your kids today?  I grab a hug from mine any time I am able,which is usually at the front door of a departure or at the kitchen table after my kids have politely thanked me for their dinner.
Grateful they have grown to be warm and polite I'll also get a hug from them before they bed tonight.
And as I lay my weary head on my freshly changed pillow case, I know that I love them all more and more each day...

You already have all you need at home, to Craft with Kids!
Just short of Inspiration?


Check out Amazon Book Ideas and Prices!
And then open the craft boxes, pull out the junk drawer, grab some juice lids and Styrofoam, newspaper, berry baskets or a loaf of bread! Put on your Crafting Cap and play merrily.


MY MY Martha, where the creativity never ends! 

BUZZ LIGHTYEAR Costume DIY

   Thank you for the memories.

Lillian the Domestic Engineer

I'm enjoying arriving at a time when my kids have aged through the awkward stage and the opposition era.
A time when nothing I said, did or made was
 or would ever be considered remotely right or even possibly plausible!
Each, slowly arriving at a time when they are willing to acknowledge and even employ their talented Mother
(if I must say so myself) and dare I say,  if I don't toot my own horn who will?
 I jumped this year at the request to create a Buzz Light Year Costume for one of my boys.
For help with this Costume I must first  give credit where credit is do. http://mojoturbocostumes.wikispaces.com/Buzz+Lightyear+Costume

Thank you to Mojoturbocostumes for being patient enough to record detailed step by step instructions
for creating the BUZZ LIGHT YEAR Costume on their page. I referred to the pictures and notes there as I set about to built my own Buzz Light Year step by step. Altering and improvising as I worked along at creating a costume for a 180 pound 6 foot man!
Buzz+Lightyear+Costume

Best Craft Blog

The gloves were purchased at the dollar store and brushed with a coat of mixed Silicone, white acrylic paint and Modge Podge, a white pase like primer for painters.  Left to dry for 24 hours I then painted the green, purple and white acrylic paint on the glove. They are then outlined with a waterproof ink, fine tip Sharpie Pen.

 The Gauntlets are created from wrist protectors that I found in the front closet, initially purchased for working with barb wire fence. I glued a layer of white construction paper to the inside to lengthen them and then coated the entire thing with the same mixture used on the gloves above before painting the final coat of  green and white.

DIY @ Lillian the Domestic Engineer.Blogspot.ca

 The body Armour and the Jet pack were constructed from a thin, blue foam mat that I found in the garage. 

After drawing out the pieces I would need, I cut two of each and glued them to their mate using contact cement. On areas where the layered areas would be seen, I applied a strip of the blue foam that I had cut to exactly the same width as the two layers were wide. It gave a clean finish to the end product.   
As visible in the neck area on the Chest Armour above.
Once all the pieces were assembled I applied several coats of the mixed sealant mixture (as noted above) and left it all to dry over night. The purple, green, red and white paints as well as the Lightyear sign the exhaust area and the logo were painted. 
A cloth strap was glued onto the side of the front panel allowing them to be pulled back together and fastened using the strip of Velcro on each. The finished front and back pieces are finally connected at the shoulders with a cloth hinge that has been glued in place.

 The purple head piece was fashioned from the pattern of a bear costume I altered. 
I stitched the black bands into the elbow to represent the joints.  The black at the waist was stitched onto a quilted piece of material before being stitched into the shirt, creating the tubing effect seen on Buzz's waste.
The pants were cut at the knee and cardboard was glued to the inside of the pants to create the knee joints. The bolts were glued together and painted before being hot glued directly onto the pants. The bottom trim and the belt were made from the blue foam that had bee primed and painted before being attached with hot glue.

 Buzz Light Year Costume. DIY

  

 I come in peace... seeking candy!

DIY Mickey and Minnie Mouse Costume

See more HERE

.

Tile Terrific

Tile Terrific                                       



 I'm excited to say that I have finally  finished the Garden Table I spent the summer working on, for my Sisters 50th Birthday!

  Last spring I dug this little wooden table out from the back corner of my yard where it had lived, unused and unwanted  for several summers.

 I don't recall from which driveway I rescued the table from
but I do recall having brought it home while touring the neighborhood on one of our annual fall "big dump" collection days. 
 I hosed it off and brought it to the front deck. As I sat there in the spring sun, sucking in the essence and aromas of a summer coming, I was again inspired by the tables overall design and durability.


I had gone a little Tile Wild in my bathroom the summer prior
so I had the balance of a bucket of grout, 6 green tiles my girlfriend had donated to the bathroom cause,  a couple of beautiful but (sadly) broken garden pieces from my sisters garden, some broken mirror from my sons room,(as a result of moving things out of our basement during the flooding we experienced in 2010-11) and I had the broken bits of a beautiful Zambuka bottle (believe it or not, that I had acquired from a friends wedding 28 years earlier!!)
I had as a rule kept dried flowers in it, so when I dropped and cracked it I just couldn't bare to throw it away.
 Finally I had glass bits and pieces that I had kept in a glass jar since last summer, when my sister gave them to me for use in the TD Summer Reading Program game board I created and constructed.
 I couldn't wait to get my bits in a pile.
 
Over the course of the summer I lovingly and most enjoyable
passed many a summer's eve tiling, grouting, sanding and painting.

      The design seemed to form itself into a blue river with a red glass heart at center. The sky was a mix of white tile bits, broken mirror and pieces of a grey and silver plate I took out of the 2nd hand store garbage  at back (while I waited for my car repairs)
     The garden under the river was largely the Zambuka bottle, already covered with great garden,floral colors, I added in the glass pieces and  three butterflies I has salvaged from the broken porcelain garden vases  I had gotten from my sister.
  I used acrylic paint to spruce up the sides and Fabric paint to give the gold paint another dimension. I gave it a final light spray of acrylic finish and it was good to go!

My Sister loved it 

See More

     

Go on and give it a go!
Start with something small like a Mirror or a Clay Pot.

 

Creating Mosaic Mirrors

By: Laura Evans

Would you like to dress up a room or two without spending a lot of money? Creating unique mosaic mirrors might be right up your alley.
Mosaic Art Supplies
An essential supply when creating this piece of art is a mirror. The only requirement is that the mirror has a flat surface. The mirror itself can be any shape that you like, including round, square, oval, etc.
Choose your tiles. You may prefer to stay within one color range, using complementary colors or picking contrasting colors. You can also use old ceramic plates if you like and break them into irregular pieces using a tile or glass nipper. In fact, you can create irregular shapes using this tool on your tile pieces as well.
You will need a bonding agent like a ceramic tile adhesive, silicone or regular glue. Check labels before you purchase your bonding agent to make sure that your tiles, whether glass or ceramic, will adhere to your mirror.
You will also need grout to fill between your tiles. Grout comes in different colors, so pick the one that you think would look best on your mosaic. You may also be able to find pre-mixed grout if you don't want to fuss with mixing it yourself.
Creating Mosaic Mirrors
If you want your mirror to have a specific pattern, draw the pattern on the mirror using a pencil. Make sure that you keep track of where your different colors will be placed, particularly if your pattern is complex.
You can apply your bonding agent in two ways. If you are using a random pattern, lay your glue in small areas, using a spatula or putty knife. If you are following a pattern, it might be easier to glue your tile piece by piece.
After your project is complete, let it dry according to your bonding agent's instructions.

Mix your grout according to its instructions. Fill in all of the cracks between your tiles. Gently wipe away any excess grout with a clean, damp sponge. Rinse out the sponge. Let the grout sit for about 20 minutes and wipe the mosaic down again to remove any chalky residue. Let your mosaic dry completely based on your grout's instructions.

You now have a mosaic masterpiece that you created yourself.

Creating a Mosaic Mirror

When Ducks Squawk?

Lillian the Domestic Engineer

This Ducky Craft is as easy to make
 as he is to love.
               
  I was hoping to find yellow cups for this Spring project 
but could only find red cups in the Dollar Store. 

  Red Ducky Cup, so he be!
                            
  
A great Craft for Kids of all ages!

Because these cups were fairly flimsy, a second cup was glued and inserted inside the first after gluing the feet (in this case) to the inside of the outside cup.

 We used Fun Foam to cut and create the feet and the beak. There are all sorts of pre cut shapes that you can purchase. Have fun. Seasonalize! 
The Bows and the eyes were purchased in a package. All were glued on using White Glue.

Most of the Kids in this craft class were less than 5 yrs. old 
so we didn't get too elaborate but you could certainly be as fancy as you want to be....
Stick a feather in a hat and add a wool mustache!  Add eyes that bounce and move when your duck squawks? Write all over him Squawk Squawk Squawk..

A hole is poked at top and center, going through both of the cups.
 A pointed pair of scissors and adult assistance may be required. 

You will need (approx 18 inches) of cotton string. The string that seems to sing the best is the white string the butcher's use. 
Feed one end of the string up through the hole in the cups.
More adult assistance may be required here. 


 Tie a knot in the string on the outside, top of the cup. This knot must be big enough to keep the string from being pulled back through the hole. Good tension is also required to make the Duck Squawk.
 Your now ready to make your duck squawk! 

First you must dampen the string. Hold the cup upside down and drop the entire string into a bowl of water. Pinch and squeeze out excess water.
 Turn the Duck right side up and hold the cup out in a steady position. Pinch the dampened string at the top between your thumb and Peter pointer and gently pinch as you drag down the with the string between your finger and thumb.
                                                         That's it!     
              Did your Duck squawk?        Did you giggle? 
 Remember that practice makes perfect so if your Duck didn't squawk the first time, try it again.
You know I saw an adult version of exactly the same thing on a Discovery Television Program not too long ago. (Proof kids of all ages will enjoy this project )
 He had made his with a large size coffee can and was traipsing about the frozen north country in Alaska somewhere with his wet string, canny thing, calling Moose! I kid you not. It actually sounded like a Moose.
 A great Craft for Kids of all ages!!!


More Crafts HERE