Instructions for How To Make A Western Vest From a Paper Bag (Writer's Workshop)

As a kid I loved anything related to cowboys so would have loved our VBS this year which uses a cowboy theme.  For the Kindergarteners, one of the suggestions was to make western vests for them to wear and add a patch to each day using a grocery bag.  Thanks, Giant Eagle, for donating the bags!  Gerard and I made 50 of these! 

1.   Get a paper grocery bag and cut it open, cutting a straight line up the back of it.
2.   Cut out a diamond shape in the center of the bottom of the bag for the head to go into.
3.   Put strips of masking tape all along the four edges of the neck to soften the edges by the neck.
4.  
   
   Cut along the side edges of the bottom of the bag.
5.   On each side of the bag starting at the bottom of the bag, cut out big arm holes.
6.   Turn the bag inside out.
7.  
   
   Cut 2" long strips around the top edge of the bag for fringe.
8. Set it aside if you have a cat, and I bet they will either enjoy sitting or lying on it!
   

Joining up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop using the prompt:  Write a post with 12 lines.

Share this:

Fabric Markers Are a Hit (by Manny)

Hi, Manny here and I am so happy mom finally added me to her CAT MOM shirt!  See, she got this shirt a long time ago when Mr. Moe was still alive and before I came to live with her.  That is why there are only two cats shown:  Moe and Spunky.

I felt bad whenever she wore it because I wasn't on it.  She finally bought some fabric markers at Walmart with her gift card and the first thing she used them for was to add me to the shirt!

I think she did a good job, don't you?

  Thanks, Mom!  Purrrrr!  Mom is happy with it too!

Joining the Cats on Tuesday blog hop.


Share this:

Look What I Made at Women of Wonder (W.O.W.)

It may look like a kid did these, but it is my work (I like color)!

Once again, at my church (Parma Heights Baptist), the Women of Wonder meetings have resumed and so far, both have been extremely enjoyable! Last week I did stamping for the first time and used watercolor pencils. I didn't even know watercolor pencils existed! We made coasters, but used pretty weighty tiles that I will use as a paper weight instead since I already have a lot of coasters. Actually, I am giving one to a friend who is going through a rough time right now and gave the other to my hubby to use on his desk in the basement. (If he doesn't want it, I'll take it back.)

I like easy crafts and it doesn't get much easier than this.  Everyone got to make two.  While some of the group was doing the craft, the rest were eating.    Some of the letters got cut off when I stamped it but used the black watercolor pencil to fill them in.  Once you stamp it, you can't stamp over it and get it lined up perfectly, I tried and the craft lady was kind enough to give me another one.  I really liked using the watercolor pencils--I wasn't sure you could tell.  Once we got the stamp on and the color we wanted, one of the committee ladies sprayed them for us outside to seal them.  We did this right at the beginning of the meeting so they would have time to dry. 

The Bible study part was good too.  We are reading Power of a Positive Woman by Karol Ladd.  The discussion was on being created for a purpose and how faith chases away worry.  We had a good discussion at our table and laughed a lot!  The time flew by.  I am a clock watcher, and I know that if I am at a meeting that lasts 2 1/2 hours without looking at the time once, I am having a good time!

Next month we will be putting together some food baskets for delivery to people in the church who are struggling financially.  I think they said we'll be putting them into our food pantry.  The baskets will have items for a Thanksgiving meal.

Share this:

6 Different Ways To Fold Napkins

I didn't realize there were so many different ways to fold a napkin until I went to our Women of Wonder meeting this month at Parma Heights Baptist Church,  I included links to the video demonstration I made for each one. You need to use cloth napkins that are not slippery so they hold a fold.  Abby (our dog) was barking while I was doing this.  She wanted to go for her walk.  Hopefully the printed instructions here will be helpful.

Rose

Rose (easy) Rose

Fold all four corners of open napkin to center.
Fold new corners to center.
Turn napkin over and fold all four corners to center.
Holding the center firmly, reach under each corner and pull up flaps to form petals.  Reach between petals and pull flaps from underneath.

Read more »

Craft Time: Making a Baby Blanket Without Sewing

She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.--Proverbs 31:20 
This was the key verse for our W.O.W. (Women of Wonder) meeting at Parma Heights Baptist Church this month. So, for our craft using our hands, we made baby blankets to donate to the Cleveland Pregnancy Center which were very easy to make—no sewing involved which is the best part! I think it would make a nice baby shower gift so I tried making one on my own. I guess this has been around for a long time but it is new to me. I bet I'm not the only one who didn't know about this great craft! Watch the video to see how easy it is (our pets all made an appearance but did not steal the show--they were very good!):

Instructions:

You need two pieces of soft material, preferably one print and one solid color.
Pin them together in the middle.
Mark a chalk line 4 ½” all around the edges.
Cut 1” strips up to the chalk line all around.
Cut out 4 1/2" squares from all four corners (I forgot to mention this step in the video), sorry.
Tie a knot with the top strip and the bottom strip directly under it and pull tight. Do every other one and then go back and do the rest.
Remove the pins without poking yourself, being careful not to leave any out where your pets or children could step on them!
Pull the sides of the blanket to stretch it out.

They also told us how to make cake pops but that involved baking so I wasn’t interested in that. Sorry, I should have paid attention just so I could have shared it with you.

What do you think of this craft? Have you made any crafts lately?

Share this:

8 Things We Learned Thi Week 41 of 2011 (dogs, TV, blogging, blind, crafts)

Our Dog

Abby has arthritis in her hip and back legs. Hopefully new food and some medicine will give your relief! The good new is her blood work and everything else is all good.  Abby wrote about her new food at We Like our New Food!

Dogs Jumping Rope

Through playing Freekibble this morning, I discovered that dogs can jump rope, something mine has not learned to do . . . yet. I can't even jump rope! This video shows 13 dogs jumping rope all together on one rope! It looks like the dogs are having a great time too!

Columbus Day

I learned from Daisy and Harley why there are so many sales on Columbus Day but think you need to see for yourself at Daisy The Curly Cat's Monday Funnies.

Read more »

Decorative Wooden Match Stick Crosses (Writer's Workshop)

This is an easy craft that boys like. I’ve used this in Hobby Club and at a Sunday School Class party.
Preparation: My dad used scrap wood to cut out crosses and then he burned lots and lots of matches to create this craft. He also drilled a hole in one side for easy hanging on a nail.

Supplies: Brown quick-drying paint, glue, burnt matches

I’ve used this craft for several different groups and they all liked making this.

The kids put their name on the side with the hole (the back) and then paint the front and sides of the cross. Wait for the paint to dry.

Then starting at the intersection, glue four match halves in the shape of a cross by breaking four matches in half. Use the halves without the tip that burns.

Then glue on the matches in groups of 9 allowing a little space between each group so they are spaced evenly on the cross. Just need to make sure you get the glue on the cross all the way to the edges and glue one group at a time.

Related post: Check out another craft on my other blog: Giraffe Note Holder.

This post sponsored by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop: share a craft prompt.

Tweet This

I Made A Fence Around The Litter Boxes (Writer's Workshop)

When I discovered our dog starting to eat the cat poop, I asked Gerard to bring me a couple big boxes so I could put them around the litter boxes. I was just going to cut a hole for the cats to walk through and have some space inside before getting to the litter box. The boxes were not big enough, so I just cut along the one side so it would open up flat. I proceeded to cut a hole big enough for the cats to walk through and just stood it up like a fence around the litter boxes. To anchor the one above, I just folded one flap under the box and the other flap I put the chair on to hold it. Of course, the cats were watching me the whole time.


I also did it for the box in our upstairs bathroom. For this one, I put one of the short sides between the box and the wall to hold it and then wrapped it around to meet the tub. I used our cat doorstop to hold that end in place. I was happy to see the cats were okay with this and still used the boxes.

Related Posts:
Litter Box Fences Solve Poop Problem by Manny & Spunky Doodle
So I Ate A Little Cat Poop--What's The Big Deal? by Abby
But Dad, I Don't Want To Ruin My Doors

This post is the Writer's Workshop assignment to "Show something you did yourself." See more or join in at Mama Kat's Workshop.

Tweet This