Klutz Activity Kits to the Rescue

Stacy Lellos, Mom of 3 and GM of Klutz

What is a mom to do when the weather derails a day at the lake with her girls and their friend? Luckily, for this mom, we have many different Klutz kits at home! I suggested we all pick out one kit to do together, but when I brought out the box of books from our craft closet, each child was drawn to something different, telling me to “hold on!” while they read through the one that caught their eye.

I realized that rather than push for us all to do the same thing, the beauty of creating is to find what speaks to you.  Klutz has such incredible breadth it’s easy for each child to find something that ignites their imagination.  For my oldest daughter Sophia, who loves to draw but doesn’t always feel confident in her abilities, Stencil Art was the perfect find. The stencils and designs in the book gave her all the tools she needed to create with confidence.  For her friend Joelle, who takes art classes at school, Face Painting gave her a new medium with which to try her skills; first drawing on her own arm, before convincing Sophia that it would not be weird AT ALL to go shopping later with a tiger painted on her face.

 
As for my little one, Evangeline, the cuteness of Paper Pups drew her attention right away, and dressing them-up in the different outfits made her giggle with delight!  That was until her big sis went to get her face-painted by Joelle, and then, like all little sisters everywhere, she saw the project her big sister started was left unattended and decided to make it her own. :)

 And as with so many Klutz products, she at six, could have success creating with the easier designs included while her 12-year old sister could move to the more complicated designs in the book.  It¹s one of the tenets of our company of which I’m most proud; we make creating accessible for every age and ability.  Our step-by-step, crystal-clear instructions help kids to not feel intimidated to try new things.

The girls had a blast and by the time they finished their projects, the sun came out literally and, from Evangeline’s drawing, figuratively, too!

 

Wrap it Up With Klutz Stencil Art and Twirled Paper

There are a million things to love about Christmas: friends and family, gingerbread and eggnog, giving and getting gifts, and so much more! But as much as I love this holiday, there are a couple of things that just don't make sense.

My biggest beef? Gift wrapping! The crafter in me acknowledges the beauty of a perfectly wrapped present with pretty paper and big bows, but my thrifty side saddens a little at the thought of spending money on something that only has a few moments in the sun before heading straight to the landfill.

So, this year, I saved my wrapping budget and got a little creative— with Klutz, of course! 

I dug out my copies of Stencil Art and Twirled Paper and set to work creating my very own wrapping paper. With a dab of ink here and a curl of paper there, my wrapped gifts look so pretty that my friends will never know I only got down to wrapping on the eve of the big day!

Looking for more Klutz fun to get you through the winter break? In Christmases past, I made a pretty faux snow globe and Velvet Art Christmas cards, I planned my holiday wardrobe with Paper Fashions, and I decked out my tree three ways. There's tons of Klutz fun to be had before 2013 comes to an end, so get busy!

Wishing you the craftiest of Christmases and looking forward to another year of creating wonderful things, being good, and having fun!

Halloween Havoc with Stencil Art

Klutz and I always get up to some good stuff on Halloween! We’ve painted pumpkin faces, made shrunken heads and mini-mummies, and found the perfect way to top off our store-bought costumes. So as soon as I felt a chill in the air, I started to brainstorm what great way we would celebrate this year.

My favourite part of this spookiest of holidays is the dressing up, but I’m guessing for a lot of you, it’s all about the candy. I get it, I do! I used to work my tired little feet to the bone hauling around a giant pillowcase, till I was sure I had enough to last me the year, or at least longer than my sister's.

We had one house on our street that handed out regular-sized candy bars and it was my favourite stop on our route each year! I remember bouding up the driveway in absolute excitement for what massive amount of chocolate I was about to receive. And though I never knew the names of the lovely couple who provided them, I made sure to smile at them whenever I saw them, in the hopes that my cute kid smile would keep the giant-sized treats coming.

Well, I can’t quite break the bank and buy full-sized bars, but that doesn’t mean I can't earn myself some neighborly goodwill by sweetening up my holiday treats! I grabbed a copy of Stencil Art and stamped out some spooky gift tags, packed up some little bags with double the chocolate fun, and finished it off with a ribbon!  Twice the chocolate and some pretty packaging? It’ll be all treats and no tricks at my house this year!

My Stencil Art fun still wasn’t done, and my next victim was our pumpkin. It was a little trickier to use the stencils on a round and bumpy surface, but I persevered and I’m pleased as punch with my polka dot pumpkin! And the best part of this super cool stenciled pumpkin? With 12 days left till Halloween, I can swipe it with a wet paper towel and start all over again!

Happy Halloween!

Mother's Day Hooray! (with Stencil Art & Mini Capsters Jewelry)

 

Have you ever heard the expression "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree"? 

Well, that just couldn't be truer for my mama and me!

We're both absent-minded, artsy types with big hearts and our heads up in the clouds. It is why we love each other so fiercely (and why we can sometimes get so frustrated with each other too). When I think of where I got my penchant for arts and crafts, it’s easy to know who to thank. This Mother's Day, I’m celebrating my marvelous mama with a few of her favourite things to thank her for her love, hugs, unwavering support, and the aptitude for craftiness that has made me who I am today.

There’s nothing my mom loves more than looking at old photos. Whether pictures from her childhood, our baby years, or our family vacations, set her in front of a photo album or a slideshow and she’ll be busy for hours. I wanted to find a way to give her some pictures that she can take around with her whenever she’s feeling nostalgic. I first thought of the idea while making my cool Easter Capsters, but it wasn’t until I came across Mini Capsters Jewellery that the idea really formed. I dug into my baby picture archives, printed out my favourites (and some letters too), and set it all in place with a layer of glaze. Then I strung together these sweet photo necklaces and made myself a matching bracelet too, so that everybody will know just how much my mom rocks!

 

No Mother’s Day is complete without a card, so I pulled out Stencil Art to make my gift complete. With four pages of stencils in all shapes and sizes and a rainbow of ink to choose from, I blotted and dabbed out this pretty floral pattern to create the perfect card for my garden-maven mama. Then I glued it on some colourful cardstock, wrote a special message, and my Mother’s Day preparations were complete.

If you’ve got a mama as magical as mine, you’ll want to show her just how special she is! Find a Klutz kit that matches the things your mom loves, and show her how much you care with a thoughtful homemade gift that she won’t be able to resist!