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| Washcloth Mushroom |
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| TerryGami, Animals, Birds, and Gnomes |
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| Washcloth Gnome |
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| Washcloth Lady Gnome |
Gnomes and critters in this book!
Available online now!
Available online now!
TerryGami! The softer side of origami!
From what I have observed, the tween years are a great age for washcloth crafts because they just want to make something cute, neat and different, and because they are still at an age where they really like stuffed animals.
It is fun to watch the kids and the creative process at work. They love the bright washcloth colors. I know I have said this before. I was surprised to see that they love to put faces on things, like even the mushroom, which, of course, doesn't require a face! Although, I will say there was one tween who wanted no face on any of her critters at all! I had to agree with her; they still looked pretty neat without a face. Faces are not necessarily my forte, so please do experiment! For example, the lady gnome can use some eyelashes -- just use regular thread or tatting thread cut in tiny pieces.
When the kids reach 13 or 14 years of age, they seem to need to see the value doing the craft, for example, as a project for children at a local hospital, or to make as an ornament for a holiday tree or as a gift. In order to be cool, the washcloth critter needed to have purpose because they don't necessarily want to make a stuffed animal as a toy just for themselves any more.
The younger kids? Forget it! They are sold and tickled by washcloth crafts. Just be prepared, if they are working on a easy project, they are going to want to make more than one. If you are working with a bunch of kids, it is easier to concentrate on just one critter, so just let them make a couple of the same one, instead of trying to do another animal. If time doesn't matter, then by all means, move on to another project.
The gnomes/elves are a lot more labor intensive because of the clothes, hats, and shoes. There is no real need to make a pedestal, unless you are going to use them for decoration rather than a doll. The male gnome can be made up with brown yarn hair and a brown yarn beard rather than the white, but I wonder if the quilt batting can be dyed brown?! I'll have to check out that possibility.
The new TerryGami book has a few possibilities for making ornaments or holiday decorations, too. The bear made with red or green washcloths can be a Valentine's Day bear or a Christmas bear, (or a Girl Scout bear). The monkey, too, can be red with white accents instead of cream. The hare can be made with pink, blue, green or yellow washcloths for a treat in an Easter Basket.
"TerryGami, Animals, Birds, and Gnome" will be available online soon. I will keep you posted.
In the mean time, scroll down for Valentine's Day, St. Patty's Day, and Easter ideas in the first book and available now at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Go to the links above.
Happy Crafting!
~Terry
