The Moravian Star was first introduced as part of a geometry lesson at the Moravian School in Niesky, Germany in 1850. A former student began creating and selling them and they were soon adopted by the Moravian Church as a symbol of the birth of Christ. They can usually be found on display at many churches during the Christmas and Advent season. There are several tutorials online to create your own. Here is a link to one: http://www.ehow.com/how_6687766_make-star-out-poster-board.html
I did some exploring in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati while at a conference this weekend and discovered a super cool art supply thrift store and gallery space called Indigo. In the store were all kinds of random and unique materials, big and small, for artists and crafters to reuse for their project needs. We at White Elephant Creations have been collecting random objects to reuse for our creations for years, but I never really thought about having a store to resell those kind of items for artists. According to their Instagram page, Indigo is a non-profit creative reuse center and gallery, so it’s real goal is to support artists and provide a service for the arts community. If you are ever in the Over the Rhine section of Cincinnati, go check them out! 1301 Main St. in Cincinnati.
American Girl Dolls and accessories taking a toll on your wallet? Why not try making outfits yourself using scrap fabrics. Instead of spending a lot of money on clothes and outfits, our daughter goes through all of the themed dolls in the catalogs and gets ideas for new outfits for her doll. Not only does this save money by not having to buy more dolls or outfits, but our daughter gets to create unique, one-of-a-kind looks for her doll.
Far out 60s dress made from leftover material from a curtain.
The sewing wiz hard at work.
We at White Elephant Creations love to play the game of Scrabble, and we love to use the Scrabble letters to make new creations as well. (See scrabble magnets w/box and Scrabble Board Wall Art). A very simple craft to make that is a great “end of the school year” gift for teachers are Scrabble name plates. With some Scrabble letters, a letter rack, and some glue, you can make easy name plate gifts for teachers to display on their desks.
We love to create with cardboard at White Elephant Creations and our kids have definitely caught the cardboard bug as well. When packages arrive in the mail, we’re not alway sure if the kids are more excited by what’s inside the package or the box that it comes in. The latest cardboard creation was a robot, which they named Cank the Robot. Cank the Robot has become another member of the family, playing games with us, keeping us company, or even providing entertainment. (Check out the video below of Cank the Robot in action scoring a soccer goal)
One unexpected result of Cank the Robot’s presence is that he has helped serve as a sort of mediator between our two children who have been having issues getting along with each other. Not only has building the robot given our children a creative outlet, but it also has provided an opportunity for them to collaborate and have a singular purpose instead of focusing on just themselves. As with most cardboard creations, Cank the Robot may not last forever and our children will most likely find something else to fight about, but the lessons learned by working together to create a silly cardboard robot will last much longer.
