Pardon the ratty ironing board cover, I shot this photo in a rush before shipping these garlands off to Wondertime last January.  The bottom three are necklaces, and the top one is a headband.  These are in the latest issue (June, I think) and I also have a piece on page 56 called "Paper Work."  I wanted to show you these as well as link to their version because they have a really cute template available.  Also, I wanted to tell you a little about the process involved in creating this one.

For Wondertime, I try to come up with projects that are fun for kids, and often try them with Elliot, but when producing the final piece, he is rarely involved.  For this one I fussed over the beads made of drinking straws covered with printed fabric, at first trying Liberty prints, but finally settling on mossy green print I already had.  Similarly I purchased and tried several other beads, as well as ribbon, yarn, string, seam binding-- you get the picture-- putting way too much thought into something that is supposed to appear organic, thrown together.  In the end I was pretty happy with the results when I shipped them off.

In the next day or so, I sat out several bowls of "leftovers" for Elliot, along with a tapestry needle threaded with green yarn.  In a few minutes, he threaded himself a flower garland that was just the unfussy look I was going for.  Moral:  If unfussy is what you're going for, don't fuss so much. 

Who is teaching crafts here?

These would make a great rainy day or Midsummer craft.