Hello all!  I’m sorry that this post is coming late.  I got back from NYC late last night and I’ve spent the time catching up on sleep and loving on my little girl.  I’ll be slowly catching the site up throughout the day.

I love all the different cultures that are represented in this weeks theme!  The poll will be open until 9 PM Friday night, just like always, so hurry and vote!

Craft #1 –  Fabric Hawaiian Lei – Natalia & Whitnee

In my family we like to give Leis as a gift for any great celebration. Sometimes is makes me sad when we go to all of that effort to make a beautiful lei and it dies a couple of days later. So a fabric Lei is the perfect alternative. Not only is this Lei darling for a fun party it would also be darling to dress up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

Craft #2 – Native American Inspired Purse – Cheri

Craft #3 – French Shower Couture – Mary Beth

Oh la la!  OK, so I admit.  I am not the most cultural/worldly person.  But, my youngest sister is… so I will live vicariously through her.  She majored in French and lived in France…twice!   I never made it.  C’est la vie!  I guess the closest I will get is if I bring a little French culture to me.    And, every “salle de bain” can benefit from a little French Shabby Chic, don’t you think?  I was going after the French, vintage, flea market look for my bathroom.  I already had some artwork, but my store bought shower curtain was not doing it for me.  So, let’s say “Au revoir” to the old ugly one and “Bonjour” to the new French Shabby Chic one!

Craft #4 – Asian Tea Party – Carrie

Ni Hao! Welcome to our Asian Inspired Tea Party!

Our guest of honor is wearing her kimono wrap dress for the occasion!

We are serving a handmade Felt “Sushi Platter”. We have Nori Rolls with Avocado and Carrots some are even topped with Roe! We are also serving Nigiri, Toro, Seaweed, Edamame, and Ginger. To make this platter I used wool felt, beads, and embroidery floss.

Do you want to take some home for your friends?

Please use our hand sewn wool felt TO GO BOX.

Enjoy!

Craft #5 – Bilingual Blocks – Emilie

When this week’s theme was ethnic/cultural I knew just what I wanted to do!

Having never learned a foreign language myself, I have always wanted to make sure my children had better foreign language skills than I have. And while they are still young, this craft is made to expose them to simple vocabulary from three different languages.

There are three different colors of blocks. Green is Spanish, Blue is French and Yellow is Cebuano (a Filipino dialect which my husband is fluent in). Each block has an English word on top and the same word translated on the other side.

As the children play this classic game, when they remove a block from the tower they say the English word and then flip it over to learn the same word in a different language. This is so fun for kids and educational for the entire family! If you want your child to learn one language, you could always make the entire game with Spanish translations, etc. Or choose the languages which are prevalent in your area!

My children have enjoyed this game so much and frankly, so have I! This could also be a great study tool for older children and teens in language classes! This craft cost less than $10 to make and that’s worth saying BRAVO!

Craft # 6 – Matryoshka Sewing Friend – Vanessa

This week’s cultural theme gave me the perfect opportunity to play with
the blank matryoshka dolls I had been coveting but couldn’t rationalize a
reason to buy. Matryoshkas are definitely one of the first things that
come to mind when I think of the Russian culture. That and vodka, of
course, but there aren’t many crafts you can do with vodka. (Hmm, or can
you…)

The Matryoshka Sewing Friend has a built-in tape measure (because I’m
always misplacing mine), pin cushion and small cubby hole for buttons and
pins. I also used one of the smallest dolls as a needle holder (which I’m
always misplacing as well!) Most importantly, though, is the fact that
she’ll look absolutely adorable on your sewing desk!

Tagged as: Season 4