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by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff UPDATED: 5/24/2017   That's right! You can once again help pets with the purchase of pet toys, jewelry, and other arts & crafts handmade by myself and my kids in our family craft shop. We keep our prices low enough for most people to be able to enjoy these beautiful items without breaking the bank. Our shipping is free to the U.S. & Canada and we use only quality materials. Our Mission to Help Homeless Pets Via Crafting Those who know myself and my kids online or off likely know that we often do various things to help homeless pets. From physically saving them, to adopting or fostering, to donating money, to donating toys and more, we've been involved in animal rescue for as long as I can remember. One of those ventures is Crafts For A Purpose, from which we donate a portion of proceeds to animal shelters. We had an Etsy shop (among others), but we since moved it all to our own venue, with more results. Many will be glad to know that the current location has all new crafts and goals! Meet Our Rescued Pets!
Handcrafted Jewelry We like to work with beads and findings to make unique pieces. In addition to our creative stock, we also do custom orders. Glass beads, stone beads, and nickel-free findings are our favorite tools to work with. Dog Toys & Other Pet Accessories
Our dog toys and other pet accessories are made from re-purposed clothing and other fabric in order to be Earth friendly. The other reason is that dogs, cats, and other fur kids tend to enjoy items that have been used by humans. In addition to selling these toys and accessories, we often drop piles of them in the material donation box at a local animal shelter. Since shelter pets are often cared for by mostly material and financial donations, we feel the need to raise money, as well as donate materials they can use. Homemade Cloth Diapers, Diaper Covers, Bibs, & Other Baby Items
How You Can Help The Animals You can help keep our projects to support these animals going by liking and getting notifications for Crafts For A Purpose on Facebook and checking out our shop at LifeSuccessfully.com/CraftsForAPurpose. A portion of all shop purchases goes toward helping homeless pets in shelters local to us. These purchases are greatly appreciated, as are likes and shares.  All Images © Lyn Lomasi; All Rights Reserved
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by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff
Tired of tossing heaps of paper into the trash throughout the school year? Equally tired of telling your toddler over and over that scribbling in the older kid's workbooks is a no-no? Perhaps you need a greener and more practical way to do things. Enter the green-freak/veteran homeschool supermom. Yeah, that's me - go ahead and laugh until you try my solutions. They really work! Homemade reusable workbooks can save lots of time, paper, money, and frustration throughout the years.
Materials for Homemade Reusable Workbooks To make reusable homeschool workbooks, you'll need a laminating machine and laminating sheets, workbooks and/or loose worksheets, a hole puncher (three-ring works best), and a three-ring binder. For the kids to use them, you'll also need some earth-friendly wipe-off markers. Making Reusable Homeschool Workbooks If you are starting with workbooks, tear the sheets out so that they are loose. For organization, you can create reusable workbooks that are in order by grade level and subject. Use an eco-friendly permanent marker to mark the outside of the binders. Laminate each sheet individually. If you do not have the patience to do this, many office stores actually offer this service for free or at a discount on a certain day each year. It's generally near the start of the school year. Otherwise, they do charge a fee. But if you have a good number of worksheets to laminate, the fee may be worth it. Once all the sheets are laminated, punch holes in them so that they will go neatly into the binders. Then, put them in the appropriate binders. Benefits of Homemade Reusable Homeschool Workbooks Wipe of worksheets are great for going back to correct errors. If a student needs more time with a certain concept, you do not need to keep purchasing workbooks. Just wipe off and practice over and over. Also, if you have more than one homeschool student, you will only need to purchase or print workbooks and worksheets once. They can passed down to each child as they reach those levels. Also, by creating a reusable workbook, you are saving all that paper from going into the landfills. The plastic lamination may not be earth-friendly. But it will create an item that can last years and years, which is better for the environment than throwing piles and piles of paper and workbooks into the trash. What to Do When Kids Outgrow the Workbooks When kids outgrow their workbooks, create more and pass on the other ones to your other kids. If you have no other kids, give them to a friend or relative. It also would be a good idea to sell them and raise money for your homeschool. You may also donate them to a child in need. Homeless shelters and other family centered outreach programs can always use learning materials for the kids. Try contacting your local Covenant House, Red Cross, or Salvation Army to find out where you can donate them. If none of those are in your area, try contacting United Way. *I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network Fun Green Crafts from Dryer Lint Image by auberirsdische sind gesund via Flickr.com If you use a dryer rather than a clothesline, hopefully it's an eco-friendly one. Either way, you're going to have some dryer lint. Rather than toss it out, save it up as material for kids crafts. Dryer lint can be used to create many fun projects with kids. By reusing the dryer lint, you are fostering eco-friendly habits. Instead of tossing it in a trash heap, have some fun with the kids.
Make Clay From Dryer Lint About.com has a wonderful recipe for making modeling clay from dryer lint. This type of clay can be used to make craft items that need to be hardened. Some ideas include beads, figurines, and ornaments. The limit is only as far as a child's imagination. And admit it, some of you adults reading this want to construct some clay items as well. Bird Nest Material This one works best if you live in a desert climate. Otherwise, the birds will have issues with it when it rains or snows, as it remains damp for a good amount of time. Also, be sure you are using lint from natural fiber clothing, like cotton. To prepare some nesting material for birds, the kids can start with an empty toilet paper tube. They can fill the tube with twigs and a few small pieces of dryer lint, and set it on a tree branch for the birds. If you're lucky, you and the children might be able to actually watch birds gather some of the material. Make Beautiful Recycled Paper When you look at a chunk of dryer lint, you may not exactly be thinking of paper. However, in less than a day, the family can have some beautiful note paper from what would have been wasted in the trash bin. To add to the natural look, kids can put a leaf or two into the poured pulp mixture. Controlling the colors of the clothing you wash and dry will give you desired colors to work with. Trailer Park Dust Bunny Craft Now for something both fun and entertaining. If you're feeling extra crafty, you also might enjoy making the kids some of Jolene Sugarbaker's trailer park lint bunnies. Just remember that these are more for display fun and not for play. *CAUTION: Dryer lint can be flammable, so use care in choosing how to use it, especially around children. Never use dryer lint when making clothing or stuffed toy items. **I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff  Image © Lyn Lomasi; All Rights Reserved With this fun craft, you don't need to worry if the kids eat the paint. You also don't need to be as concerned about harming the environment. Learn how the kids can create leaf prints using homemade milk paint and recycled materials. This eco-friendly craft can be done by even the smallest kids with parental assistance.
Before starting with the craft, have some nature fun with the kids and let them gather fallen leaves from around the yard. Instruct them to find leaves of various shapes, sizes, and textures. That will make the artwork more interesting. Materials
Making the Milk Paint The first part of the craft involves making the milk paint. Kids can easily help with this, depending upon age and ability. Simply mix powdered milk and water until there is a thick pasty texture. It should be about the consistency of yogurt or pudding. In one bowl, add blueberry juice until the color is the tone you desire. Do the same in the other bowl with the beet juice. The beet juice will create a reddish paint color and the blueberry juice will create a bluish-purple paint color. To darken the color, simply add more juice. Painting With the Milk Paint Using Leaves Once the paint is made, kids can each be given their own recycled paper to paint on. The coloring for the paint involves dyes that can stain clothing. Be sure the children have on play clothe or aprons. The kids can use soft leaves as paintbrushes by rolling up the leaf and dipping it into the paint. Leaves can also be dipped into the paint and pressed onto the paper to make leaf print designs. Some kids also may choose to blend the two concepts together. Once the children are done, set the leaf prints and paintings aside to dry. Some also may want to frame their works of art. Eco-friendly frames can be created with sticks adjoined by vines or fallen branches. These are sturdy, but easy enough for kids to make or help with. The frames can be hung by attaching and looping sturdy vine to the top. Even once the vine is dried, it can still make a great frame hanger. *I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff  Image © Lyn Lomasi; All Rights Reserved If you're a parent, like me, you are probably running through glue like water -- maybe even more than water. Thankfully, my mom taught me how to make it myself when I was a kid. I must admit that we sometimes buy it anyway. However, the homemade glue is awesome in a pinch and works better anyway.
Homemade Paste -- For homemade paste, blend 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup cold water, and a pinch of salt. Whisk in a saucepan until smooth and creamy. Then, simmer fora few minutes until thick (but not too thick) and sticky. Cool and use. Extra Tips:
Homemade School Glue -- In a saucepan, mix 3/4 cup of cold water, 2 Tbsp of corn syrup, and 1 tsp white vinegar. Stir and simmer until boiling. In a separate bowl, mix 2 tbsp of corn starch and 3/4 cups of cold water. Once the other mixture is boiling, slowly add the corn starch and water mixture in and blend until smooth and sticky. Pour into a container easy to use for gluing (old, empty glue bottles work well for this). Let is sit in the container to settle and cool for at least 24 hours before use. Extra Tips:
More From Lyn: How to Remove Clown Makeup from the Bathtub, Sink, or Ceramic Tiles Yes, My Son Dresses as a Clown in Public How to Teach Kids Sight or Spelling Words Faster and More Accurately |
Crafting Successfully
Welcome to Crafting Successfully ! Here you will find articles about art, art history, art philosophy, DIY crafts, project ideas, lesson plans, material suggestions, and more. If it's related to art or crafts, you will find it. All ages, stages, and grade levels will be represented from 0-1000!
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Lyn Lomasi is founder and owner of the Brand Shamans Content Community. Services include ordained soul therapy and healing ministry, business success coaching, business success services, handcrafted healing jewelry, ethereal and anointing oils, altar and spiritual supplies and services, handcrafted healing beauty products, and more!
Lyn is your brand healing, soul healing, marketing & content superhero to the rescue! While rescuing civilians from boring business practices and energy vampires, this awesomely crazy family conquers evil and creates change. They live among tigers, dragons, mermaids, unicorns, and other fantastic energies, teaching others to claim their own power and do the same. By supporting us, you support a dedicated parent, healer, and minority small business that donates to several causes. Profits from our all-inclusive store, Intent-sive Nature support these causes and our beautiful family! HIRE OR SHOP WITH LYN | CONTACT LYN  Archives
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