WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CROCHET-ALONGS?

Have you ever participated in a CAL (crochet along)? Neither have I. Oh, a bunch of readers will have participated in them. I can’t really determine how I feel about them. The Mystery CAL’s seem like they might be more interesting than a ‘regular’ CAL. I’m not quite sure what benefits there might be for a CAL.

This is the first motif in a Lion Brand CAL that I just received information about.

Aside from the fact that I don’t want to join motifs, I find this hexagon to be quite pretty. Don’t know where this CAL is headed – if it’ll be an afghan, scarf, or garment. I’d have to sign on every Thursday to find out.

Therein lies the rub. I won’t remember on Thursday. Will you? Yeah, I know I could maybe figure out how to use the calendar feature on my browser and have it remind me – but I’d probably have piles of other work to do on Thursday and would overlook the reminder.

My friend Ronnie has made several interesting things on CAL’s. The latest of her projects that I’ve seen turned out a unique, very smart cardi-wrap that I would like to make. But, it was a Mystery CAL, so since I didn’t know which way it was headed, I woudn’t consider joining.

So, what are the pros and cons of CAL’s. Let me here from YOU!

Ghost crafts are a lot of fun for kids to make and they’re a way to get into Halloween crafting that’s not really scary. Here are some easy ghost crafts for you to make with kids, whether it’s your kiddo at home or a class full.

I love this simple ghost made with a pompom or cotton ball covered in paint and used as a stamp. This one is from Crafts on Sea and you can have kids just hold the pompom or hold it with a clothespin to make it a little less messy.

Use cotton balls and printable facial expressions to make these silly ghosts from Housing a Forest. The post includes the printable templates or you can just add googly eyes.

Little fabric ghosts are a classic, whether you make them with white fabric or fall or Halloween fabric. Buggy and Buddy shows you how to make these little ghosts with a few cute embellishments. Just make one or two or make a garland or Halloween tree full of them.

There always seem to be paper plates lying around, and this paper plate ghost from Crafts by Amanda is a fun one. There’s a printable in the post for the facial features and arms, or kids can draw their own faces (and leave off the arms if you want to keep it simple).

What kid doesn’t love peeling dried glue? Turn that impulse into a craft with these glue ghosts from Friends Art Lab, and don’t miss the tip in the post that helps you turn these into window clings.

This handprint ghost in the window craft from Glued to My Crafts is so cute and easy for kids to make alone or with help. The post shows lots of variations so it would be fun to make these in a classroom and let each kiddo design their own “window” or add embellishments.

These sweet little tissue paper ghosts from Red Ted Art are actually mini pinatas, but you can just make it as a ghost without anything inside if you’d rather.

And you know I love a good kids’ sewing project so I can’t resist sharing these little felt ghost puppets from The Craft Train. Kids can sew them by hand or you can make them out of paper if you don’t want to try sewing them. The template for the ghosts is free to download, and you can also just make little softies instead of puppets if you like.

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