Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Fun to String Beads!

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alex ceramic beads

hearthsong craft

This wonderful craft kit is sure to keep your little one’s hands busy for hours! It’s called Paper Bead Fun from Hearthsong. These are large (3/4″ diameter) paper mache beads in bright solid colors Your child can decorated them however they wish with the five color markers that are included in the kit. After they have decorated the beads, they can then string them and create funky cool jewelry. This craft is recommended for children ages 5 and up because the beads could be a choking hazard.

 

If you are shopping around for an older child try Paint Ceramic Beads by Alex Toys. It is an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award winner. It comes with two large heart ceramic pendants, 16 square ceramic beads, 10 other shaped ceramic beads, seed beads, paints, brushes and cord. Because you do need to bake the pieces once you have painted them, adult supervision is required.

 

And Mom, if she makes something for you, please wear it with pride. We want to encourage our children to be creative and to enjoy themselves, even if that means wearing a chunky bracelet with smiley faces all over it. 🙂

 

Read These Next

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Stitch Your Favorite Fruit on a Sweater

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.” 

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them. 

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits. 

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves. 

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit. 

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy. 

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]