Cassi is the mama, artist, and crafter behind the ever-popular kids craft blog, The Crafty Crow. Here she shares her wealth of experience with us, including tips and materials for crafting with kids.
***Note:
Readers will have a chance to win a wonderful little needle felted bunny, handcrafted by Cassi, at
the end of this interview.***
JEAN: So, tell us a bit about yourself. How did you
get to where you are now as the homeschooling mama of three, with a popular
children’s craft blog, and your own crafts featured in several books?
CASSI:
Well, my love of handmade, homeschooling and computers are the ties that
hold it all together and a divorce and being a single mom of three is what
propelled me forward. I started blogging 5 1/2 years ago just wanting to
communicate with other people who shared my love of crafting, I had no idea of
the opportunities it would lead to. I always think of that saying, "Do
what you love, the money will follow," well, I'm doing what I love at
least!
JEAN: Everyone loves your blog and looks to it for
ideas to do with their kids. What made you start The Crafty Crow?
CASSI: I
started it for my own needs, one place to keep all the kids' craft ideas, and
thought there were probably others out there who would like the same thing. I
also love the crafting community and wanted to be able to bring attention to
all the talented people out there.
A selection of crafts featured on The Crafty Crow from (clockwise
from upper left) Mus, Atelier pour Enfants, Mary Making, and Art for Small Hands
JEAN: You post several times a day on The Crafty
Crow – with multiple crafts from different blogs – often united by a theme. Are you scouring the internet all day to find these?
How do you choose what to post?
CASSI: It
seems like I am always on the computer! I have about 500 blogs in my feed that I
read through every day plus I'm always looking at new sources and going through
archives. I get lots of submissions too so there's always something new to
share. I keep all the ideas in files and many of them are compiled by theme.
My posting framework is loosely based
on the calendar with seasons and holidays. I make themed posts when I have
gathered enough variety of ideas to make it interesting and then the rest is
what I feel like at the time :) I try to post at least 3 projects a day and
include something for each of the age categories. My own little whimsy is that
I like the posts to look nice together so I make choices that coordinate with
each other.
JEAN: How have crafts featured in your family’s
life and homeschooling? What are your kids especially into?
Cassi’s workspace and her craft modern house - kitchen,
dining area, living room
CASSI:
Well, my house is decorated in craft modern! You'll find shelves full of
fabric, piles of old and new craft books, coffee filter flowers, jars of
buttons and ribbons, children's art on the walls and a dining hutch filled with
paper, paint, colored pencils, markers, glues, felt and more. We have always
incorporated a lot of hands-on projects in our homeschooling since it's a great
way to learn plus it's fun. The kids do a variety of crafts - we try things
from The Crafty Crow and they help me with tutorials.
An embroidery of one of her son's drawings made into a pillow (the
pattern for this is in Pretty Little Pillows by Lark).
We started our biggest
crafting endeavor two years ago when we began making all of our gifts for
Solstice. The kids have to make at least 11 gifts each so there's a lot of
planning involved. The idea wasn't terribly popular at first, and it takes a
lot of work, but it has added so much meaning to our holiday I can't imagine
ever doing it any other way.
JEAN: Any tips for parents who want to make
crafting with their kids more of a priority?
CASSI:
- have supplies on
hand
- keep art materials
on the table, coffee table, kitchen counter or wherever your family tends to
gather
-
start making stuff
yourself, many kids will want to join in
- weather
permitting, take crafting outside - everyone will enjoy a lot more artistic
freedom when they don't have to worry about making a mess
- for specific
projects, collect everything you will need in a box; when you’re ready to do
that project all you have to do is pull out the box and you're set
- don't have any expectations for a certain result, just enjoy the conversation and camaraderie
JEAN: What are your favorite craft materials for
little kids? What should we all keep in stock at home?
- For the youngest
kids use non-toxic and easy to clean up art materials. Experimenting with
different media and sensory experiences are most important at this age.
- Keep a
well-stocked recycling bin - newspaper is great for protecting surfaces but
it's also fun to paint on; cereal boxes can be used as structures (buildings,
blocks) but can also be cut apart to use as tag board; glass bottles can store
small items but they can also be made into vases, lanterns, snow globes, etc.
Set out a bunch of recyclables and see what the kids can create. There are lots
of ideas for crafting with recycled materials on The Crafty Crow.
- I love my roll of
white butcher paper from Costco! I mainly use it to cover surfaces for drawing
and to make patterns, but it has almost endless possibilities and it lasts
forever too.
- Clear contact paper and clear packing tape for making stained glass art and laminating.
- Mod Podge - I love the smell of Mod Podge in the morning ;) but, use in a
well-ventilated area!
- Sharpies, because
they stay permanent on so many surfaces - I guess that's the bad thing about
Sharpies too! These are markers for older kids you will need to use caution.
- Felt - craft felt
is fine for cutting and gluing but use wool and wool blend felt for sewing
projects.
- Colorful tissue
paper for decoupaging and making flowers.
- Oil pastels
because they are just so darned smooth and beautiful! They're messy too but
it's worth it to me.
- Painter's tape -
tape down work surfaces and watercolor paper, use it for masking and to hold
glued pieces together while they dry. Removal is clean and easy and it can be
reused too.
- Everyone should have
child-friendly but good scissors, white glue (I like Tacky Glue because it
holds quickly and since it's thick you won't get big pools of it on the
artwork), watercolors (I like Prang), and crayons/markers/colored pencils.
- Some sort of clay
whether homemade salt dough, polymer, or the real thing from the craft store.
- This will be my last idea, since I could go on and on, but take a walk outside and see all the things you can find to craft with: rocks, pine cones, sticks, leaves, flowers, acorns, seeds, feathers, etc..
JEAN: Your own creations have appeared in several
books. How do you make time for your crafting? Do you have anything you’re working on these days?
CASSI: My
own crafting has really taken a backseat to my work for The Crafty Crow,
homeschooling, and maintaining a household, but I always have several projects
going on anyway, they just take a lot longer :) Right now, I am crocheting two
different blankets, needle felting some little animals for gifts, drawing
mandalas and still doing my watercolor drawings. It's very difficult for me
just to sit and not have my hands busy with something so I always carry some
sort of project with me, like crochet, drawing or embroidery, and do a little
bit when I can. I usually do some in bed at night too to help me decompress
from the day. As far as professional projects, I have several that I'm working
on but I don't want to jinx anything by saying something too soon, I'm
superstitious that way :)
JEAN: Thank you, Cassi! We are lucky to have you scouring the internet for inspiring children's crafts to share with us! What a resource you are creating! And I hope you continue to carve out time for your own crafting.
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Readers who leave a comment by Friday, July 9th at 12 midnight EST, will be entered into a random drawing for this wonderful little needle felted bunny, handmade by Cassi. Here's what she says about him: He's a little needle felted gray bunny (the base of the bunny is 1 1/2", height is 2 1/4" and the orange part of the carrot is 1 1/4"). The bunny, his collar and carrot are all made from 100% wool, and everything except the collar is organic wool. He's pretty solid but not meant for rough play.
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The random number generator picked #117 so Sonja wins the bunny!
this lil' bunny is adorable!!