*****Craft Ideas Weekly Posts: The Latest*****
What happens when a Red-Heeled sock company decides to include simple craft instructions with every pair of socks they sell? Long before viral videos of people being kicked in the pants spread through inter-office email like wildfire, a different kind of unexpected star was born. A floppy, warm, wonderful guy with a bright, peel-shaped smile and button eyes. His name? Oh, come on, you know him…it’s The Sock Monkey!
If you live in America, you have almost definitely had, made, or been given a sock monkey at some point in your life. What you might not know is the Sock Monkey’s rise to fame was almost entirely due to the overwhelming number of crafters who took the instructions and just started sewing!
To celebrate this icon of ingenuity and also post a nice afternoon craft the kids can help with, I bring you this list of wonderful sock monkey tutorials!
The Classic Sock Monkey - Tutorials With Illustrated Instructions:
http://www.supersockmonkey.com/catalog/howtomake.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/howtomakeasockmonkey
A Funky Sock Monkey From Stripey Socks
http://www.web-goddess.org/writing/tutorial/Image0.html
The Sock Monkey That Can Also Be A Sock Doggie or Cat
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-a-Sock-Monkey/
Freestyle: Carol Duvall’s Sock Monkey Tote
http://www.5min.com/Video/Sock-Monkey-Tote-274853107
Maybe Taking It Too Far…LOL
http://www.hgtv.com/crafting/sock-monkey-costume/index.html
So while you can still get the classic sock monkey making instructions on every pair of Rockford Red Heel Socks, some of these tutorials may inspire you to try a little something different and start a crafting revolution of your own . (#SockMonkeyFlashMob!)
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Every year my amazingly wonderful soon-to-be family and I spend a week away at the same small, perfect lake they have been going to for 40 years. No TV, no Internet. Nothing but the lake, the wood-paneled rooms, and each other.
Going completely “unplugged” can be a little difficult for me. I usually disconnect in stages… The first stage is complete panic that I cannot obsessively check work email. Next, acceptance that most things can wait a week or so in the grand scheme of things…especially since we only get to do this once a year.
image credit: sxc.hu
Once the lovely calm of being digitally helpless settles in, my focus completely changes. I become aware for a moment that the sandy beach I’m standing on is made up of thousands of singular grains of sand and try to focus on just one. I think about how if you add a little water, these individual grains of sand can take the form of something else like a bucket or a complete sand castle. Add too much and it turns to mush…then eventually dries into nothing but individual grains of sand, just as they started. How amazing that such a little piece of barely anything can do all that.
Look closely at a handful of it, and you just have several itty-bitty pieces of rock or glass. Step back, and you would never notice the beach was anything but an immovable hilly mass.
I try to take these little lessons of perspective back home with me to unpack when I get stressed and need a reality check. Sometimes seemingly immovable problems really are just a beach. Once you become aware of the pieces and possibilities, problems become easier to solve. Sometimes you realize they are not problems at all, but rather opportunities to make something new, something amazing if you add a little creativity and maybe just a dash of bravery.
Perspective is a really powerful thing.
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image - sxc.hu
Summer is the season of road trips. When I was younger, road trips were all about piling in a car and having a wild music and caffeinated beverage-fueled adventure. Drive 15 hours straight? Why not! Teenage American Freedom at its best!
These days road trips are a little different. With two kids, the playlist includes some popular KidzBop tunes and of course the occasional screaming tantrum. Time is definitely added to the trip for several snack and bathroom breaks…there are a few essentials that make the trip a little more fun for everyone. In addition to the things we pack for the car, making each child their own personal “Road Trip Kit” is a special tradition in our family that makes a road trip seem more like a party and keeps the kids interested the whole way there.
Here are our essentials for a Kid’s Road Trip Kit:
1. A pencil or other small box or case – this makes it “theirs” and it is pretty inexpensive to get fun designs with your kids’ favorite characters on them.
2. A small sketch book and new (washable) markers or crayons (or a custom dry erase board and washable dry erase markers)
3. Sunglasses (could be ones they already own)
4. Candy (minis work best!) and healthy single serving snacks like granola bars and natural fruit leather
5. Mix CDs of all their favorite songs…you can even leave them unlabeled and play “guess that song” as they are playing!
6. A Wildcard Surprise – this can be a selection of things from the party supply store and/or a favorite small toy they have wanted. If you have girls, it might be fun to include flavored lip balm, scented hand creme, and candy necklaces, for boys you might choose an action figure or a pretend magic wand or electronic game.
7. Tissues and or a small pack of baby wipes (just trust me, every trip has at least one minor messy disaster in the back seat…)
8. A small paperback board book or game book (depending on the child’s age)
9. A disposable camera to encourage your child to take pictures of his or her trip
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