Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Handmade Hostess: Book Review

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Handmade Hostess just came out. And, oh what a spectacular book it is!

Kelly Lee-Creel and Rebecca Soder teamed up, and their work is just impeccable. The book shows us 12 party ideas from top to bottom. And within those 12 occasions, there are 37 craft projects (favors, decorations, name tents…) all with complete instructions and templates on how you could achieve the same results for your party.

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They show us a St. Patrick’s Day party, and one of the decorations is a clothes line with leprechaun laundry drying on it. So cute!

One of the most important things about a book for me is “will I be able to do this at home?” And this book addresses that concern beautifully. These parties are spectacular, and clever, but they are also very “real life”. They really look like you could host one at your house (without moving your family out, and hiring a full time staff the week before. And let’s be real here, sometimes it feels like that is what it would take!)

One of my other favorites is a “Mad Scientist” party:

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She gives us a full template to make this Lab Rat. (so great, with little corduroy paws!) But also – look in the background – that clever beaker display! It adds such a punch, but it is completely non-toxic, non-erupting, and non-messy. Win, win, win. I have fiber fill in a closet that is just waiting to be stuffed into a beaker!

I am really excited about this book. I have gone through it once, and I will be going through it again. It is really a great source of inspiration and ideas! Thanks Kelly and Rebecca!

 

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Shark Week Learning for Kids

Shark Week generally happens in July, but any time is a good time to learn more about sharks. 

First, start with some fun whale facts like these from Kids Craft Room. Here I learned about the dwarf lantern shark, which is the smallest shark and only grows to about 6-8 inches (about 15-20 cm) long. It also emits light. How cool is that?

Natural Beach Living has some great printable shark information guides, where kids can learn about different kinds of sharks, match the facts to the pictures, or print out doubles and do a shark memory game. 

Living Life an Learning has some great shark activity pages including the parts of a shark, types of sharks, a crossword puzzle and more. Also check out their parts of a shark and word scramble download, and a life cycle worksheet.

Learn about how sharks float with this great activity from JDaniel4’s Mom. 

Need more facts about sharks? This fact pact from The WOLFe PACK on Teacher Pay Teachers includes fact sheets, a printable flip book, informational text, vocabulary, comprehension questions and more. 

Living Montessori Now has a great collection of shark themed activities with a Montessori inspired twist. You’ll find a shark roll and cover, shark phonics and lots more shark activities Deb has collected from all over the Internet. 

Remember the “Sharknado” movie? A Few Shortcuts turned the combination of sharks and tornadoes into a fun science activity. You’ll need a bottle connector for this project but otherwise should have everything you need on hand. Use their template to make your sharks out of aluminum foil. So fun!

You can also do some shark themed coloring with these coloring pages from Encouraging Moms at Home. Or make a cool 3D shark with this template from korkotak. And there are tons of different shark crafts collected in this post from Kids Activities Blog.