Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.
I haven't been in the mood to craft lately (I know, I know - unheard of!!) so I have absolutely nothing to share for once. BUT my K has a couple of little things that she made for her eighth grade buddy:
a wool angel, a tiny knit pouch, and a little lavender heart sachet (she says it's a pillow) embroidered with a K and a J. She actually has even more projects in the works that didn't get done in time. We hope to give them to her buddy this summer.

Oh wait, I did make something! I finished K's dress for her last day of school. I'll have to get some better pics of it soon.

What are you working on?! Happy creating!

p.s. - Don't forget to enter the great Artterro giveaway going on now!

If you would like to link up and share your current works in progress (or finished works) please leave your link below. It can now be either to your specific blog post or Flickr photo. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Don't forget that there is now a KCCO Flickr group for you to share your crafting photos at anytime.

Please remember to link back here so that others who may want to join KCCO can find us.

It's as simple as that. Remember your post can be from any day of the week, it doesn't have to be today. We all love feedback so if you have a moment please leave a comment on some of the KCCO posts you may visit. I know from my own experience just how much your comments really motivate me! Now please share and inspire us all!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Bittersweet (not just a school)

Thank you Portland Waldorf School for allowing us to live our dream these past three years. What a blessing!! (pics taken over the last two days of school) Our beloved home. peeking into K's classroom during her handwork lesson. You can (just barely) see our church's steeple in the background. I have loved how close it is to school - a nice reminder for our whole family. End of the year picnic with yummy sorbet to celebrate with. I love watching K nurture Little L. She loves him so. Fun towards the end of the picnic. Some of our students and siblings worked together to dumpster dive (in true punk rock fashion), gathering cardboard used in geometry (?) lessons. The cardboard pieces became a house, tent, car, shade from the sun and then finally a slide. Creative play at it's finest!! Triumph! The school's hexamid is a favorite amongst most who visit, but you must be in the second grade and above to use it. It is a rite of passage of sorts. On the last day of school, K's teacher told her class that they were officially second graders and then let them climb on it. What a huge joy that was! K spent three years practicing her patience waiting for that moment. I think it was well worth the wait. These past few days have been so very full and a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I thought I was okay until Thursday night when we attended K's eighth grade buddy's promotion ceremony. I was so happy for her buddy and her mother that I cried. Then my cries turned to sobs when I watched and listened to all the love the students and faculty had for one another. There is just this amazing bond and feeling of hope, that words can not describe, found in Waldorf schools. My heart broke for my children as I realized they would not get to experience it any longer. K absolutely adores her eighth grade buddy and seeing them play together until very late that night was bittersweet.
My heartache continued the next day as I awoke crying my heart out. I was unable to get my children up and out of bed on time because I just couldn't stop the tears. Normally I want them to see my emotions, so they know that it's normal to experience them, but I didn't want to start off K's last day of school (possibly ever) with me crying. I got it together enough to get us all out the door and dropped K off in her classroom. As soon as I gave her a kiss goodbye I turned around and burst into tears all over again. It was like that all day. I was a blubbery mess, but got through it. Hugging my children and singing Amazing Grace over and over again with my girls helped me remember the bigger picture. Well, that and clinging on to hope that we can return here in four years, because truly, this is not just a school but a community of love; a family.
p.s - Sorry this post is a bit up and down (I can tell by the response that it must be a bit too much for you, too!) but that is where my heart and mind are at right now.

Bittersweet (not just a school)

Sponsored Giveaway : Artterro

Today I am happy to introduce you to one of my kind sponsors - Artterro. They are the makers of Eco art kits made with beautiful, natural materials like wool felt, recycled handmade paper and more. Artterro is co-owned by two entrepreneurs who are also artists and moms, Forrest Espinoza and Jennifer Conn. Each and every one of their kits are assembled by hand in Madison, WI. I love that their kits fit in with our "Waldorf crafting". This is another one of those businesses that makes you smile for so many reasons.

Please welcome Artterro.


Here at Artterro we make Eco Art Kits. There’s nothing else like them on the market, which is why we created them. Back in 2008, Forrest was shopping for a craft kit to do with her young sons, and she noticed that everything was either pink (as if to say, “girls only!”) or full of cheap materials and wasteful packaging. That’s when she decided to make a high quality, eco-friendly, creative and engaging art kit so that parents would have a fun, convenient way to bring more art into the home and have a great time as a family in the process. Forrest and her business partner, Jennifer Conn, have brought the idea to life.

Kids appreciate quality art materials! Beautiful supplies inspire them to create amazing things, just like they do for adults. Children easily immerse themselves in the process, often unattached to the final product, and their enthusiasm is contagious! Works of art composed with Artterro's high-quality materials become treasures artists young and old proudly display.

We want to make it easier for people to bring art into their lives. Artterro kits are for kids, families, seasoned artists and novices alike. We’ve done the sourcing and shopping, helping busy people bring a creative, meaningful activity home to their families. We have experience taking four and seven-year-olds along to art and craft stores, attempting to gather supplies for a family project, not an easy task!

Today we have 12 titles that make it easy to explore needle felting, wire sculpture, decoupage, art journaling and more. Each kit contains beautiful, inspiring materials, like 100% natural wool felt pieces, handmade recycled paper and US-made copper wire and glass marbles. We also include an ideas sheet that gives inspiration but never dictates what your final product will look like. Our mission is to bring creativity into people's lives by offering fun, inspiring projects with quality, sustainable materials, to provide friends and families a wonderful art experience and to continue to grow a deep green company.


So, out of love and inspiration, Artterro was born and being creative dreamers ourselves, we have lots of plans in the works for the future. Bringing these projects into our own lives has deepened our connection to our families and friends and we are excited to provide this experience to your families too.

 
Artterro is generously offering one of you lucky winners a set of three kits: 1 Bubble Wand Kit, 1 Wool Felt Bug Kit (one of my personal favs!), and 1 Art Journal Kit.

In addition, Artterro is offering a coupon code for 20% off any order using coupon code: FRONTIER20.  The offer will be good through June 30th.




For your chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post!

If you would like an additional chance to win:

-like Artterro on Facebook

-follow Artterro on twitter
 -post this giveaway to Facebook, Twitter, or your blog

and please make sure to come back and leave me another comment letting me know you did so! I will close comments on Thursday June 20th and announce the winner within this post.

Thank you, Artterro.  Good luck everyone!

Sponsored Giveaway : Artterro