Category: Homemade

We're Back To Crafting To Help Homeless Pets!

3/23/2015

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!

Velma
She was adopted in 2012 by Lyn for her now 19 yr old daughter, who she still resides with.

Bo-Bo
He was adopted by Lyn in 2012 for her now 18 yr old daughter, who he still resides with.

Pinky
He was adopted by Rich and Lyn via a Craigslist Free ad recently and is adjusting extremely well.

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

Our handcrafted baby items started with inspiration from Nova Skye and has skyrocketed from there. When we learned we were expecting our baby girl's arrival, I started making cloth diapers and bibs to use with her. I just wasn't happy with the quality of choices available for cloth diapers or what companies were charging for them. My all-in-one nappies are unlike others on the market and I often make other accessories to accent them.

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.

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Green Homeschool Crafts: Homemade Reusable Workbooks

12/9/2014

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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

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Eco-Friendly Kids Crafts: Dryer Lint Fun

11/5/2014

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Fun Green Crafts from Dryer Lint

by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

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

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Eco-Friendly Kids Crafts: Homemade Milk Paint Leaf Prints

8/27/2014

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by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

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

water
powdered milk
various fallen leaves
recycled craft paper
2 mixing bowls
beet juice
blueberry juice

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

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Homemade Glue and Paste Recipes

2/15/2013

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by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

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:

I have skipped heating it up when the kids needed glue really quick and it works just fine. If you have no salt, it also works fine without that.

With either the cooked or the non-cooked method, note that this glue is mainly for paper, foam, feathers, and other thin, lightweight crafts.
This homemade paste takes about 24 hours to fully dry. But when it dries, it holds strongly.

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:

If your kids are picky and don't like the idea of homemade glue, add a small amount of flour to make it white and always pour it into emptied containers of their favorite glue when they aren't home. They'll never know the difference.
For fun, you can add food coloring to the school glue recipe or the paste recipe.
Let the kids help make the glue to extend the busy craft time.

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We're Back To Crafting To Help Homeless Pets!

Our Mission to Help Homeless Pets Via Crafting

Meet Our Rescued Pets!

Handcrafted Jewelry

Dog Toys & Other Pet Accessories

Homemade Cloth Diapers, Diaper Covers, Bibs, & Other Baby Items

How You Can Help The Animals

Green Homeschool Crafts: Homemade Reusable Workbooks

Eco-Friendly Kids Crafts: Dryer Lint Fun

Fun Green Crafts from Dryer Lint

Eco-Friendly Kids Crafts: Homemade Milk Paint Leaf Prints

Homemade Glue and Paste Recipes

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