impact summer 2013
with crafts
Capes4Heroes real heroes need super gear Crème de la Craft author, Natalie, shares Journals for moms of preemies
Welcome to town! help new neighbors survive Because the world needs more love letters
Keep letter writing alive
ideas for those interested in helping: moms, artists, book lovers, babies, the homeless, teachers, and more!
photo credit: Margarida Sardo, Creative Commons
welcome to impact
with crafts
Welcome to the inaugural issue of impact. If you could see us right now, you would see Lisa and I are both sporting big, goofy smiles. Do you know the feeling you get when you invite a friend over to your house for the first time? That’s how we feel. Excited and hopeful about the beginning of a fabulous friendship.
Impact. It’s the mark we make when we quit worrying about the results and decide to act. Each quarter, an issue of impact will be released and with each new issue comes a new focus.
This month’s focus is on impacting others through crafts. Legions of people are crafting and creating for a cause, and it thrills us to share about them. Within each page, you will find a focus (who the craft would be appropriate for) and links to each contributor’s home on the web. We’ve highlighted all links in red. Those involved graciously shared their ideas and talents, and should you like what you see, could you do us a favor and visit our contributors online? We have also included organizations which focus on creating; some create with pen and paper, others with
letters from the editors
yarn and knitting needles, all with love.
Thanks for taking the time to peruse the pages. If you are interested in becoming involved in the next issue of
impact, we are interested in talking with you. Please email us for the upcoming theme list and needs.
Amy, amylsullivan12@gmail.com and Lisa, lisavanengen@gmail.com.
Amy L. Sullivan
Lisa Van Engen
Amy L. Sullivan is selfish, selfish, selfish, but
Lisa Van Engen believes crafting for a
for the past two years she’s pretended not to
cause is a great way to involve families and
be. She’s looked harder, loved stronger, and
communities in giving. She believes when
discovered more by fixing her gaze on
we offer something in kindness to another
someone other than the person staring back
we are giving hope. Lisa has tried to knit
at her in the mirror. In regards to crafts,
the same scarf for nearly a decade, and it
Amy’s mother bought her a sewing kit, but
is still a mass of yarn. Connect with Lisa at
she hasn’t seen it since 2002. Connect with
AboutProximity.com.
Amy at AmyLSullivan1.com.
where to find the goods organization: the world needs more love letters. . .5 art smock. . .6 winter gloves. . .8 journal. . .10 galaxy umbrella. . .12 welcome to town cards. . .14 foot scrub. . .16 baby hats. . .18 organization: nyc hats for hope initiative. . .20 organization: little free library. . .21 organization: capes for hope. . .22 operation: write home. . .23 book love. . .24
I’ve seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives. -Tracy Chapman
organization
focus:
More Love Letters
Founder of The World Needs More Love Letters, Hannah Professional blogger and TED Speaker, Hannah Brencher, 25, pins her passion to projects that bring the human touch back into the digital age. After spending a year writing and mailing over 400 love letters to strangers across the world, Hannah launched The World Needs More Love Letters in August 2011— an internationally recognized organization that harnesses the power behind social media and tangible culture to lift up strangers in need. More Love Letters is active across 6 continents, 47 countries, all 50 states, and over 100 college campuses.. Hannah was named as one of the White House's "Women Working to Do Good," a spokesperson for the United States Postal Service, and has been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, BBC News, Glamour and Oprah.
I see you, and you are loved. Click here to learn about immediate love letter needs.
Visit The World Needs More Love Letters
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For the little artists in your life
Focus: Women and Children’s Shelter, Preschool Teacher, Art Teacher
Contributor: Esther Kao Esther is a graphic designer and crafter who blogs over at WhollyKao. She also makes jewelry, and enjoys taking part in local craft fairs. Esther is a huge fan of yoga, the outdoors, and all kinds of popcorn.
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for kids
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art smock
materials 2 kinds of fabric (1/2 yard of each), cut out to pieces A & B (see below to reference shape) 2 large buttons tissue paper (or a paper bag) to make your own pattern
pieces
Pattern and complete direction for free download.
1 | art smock for kids
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Old Sweater,Winter Gloves Focus: The homeless, families, schools
Contributor: Maria Blazynska is a Polish fashion and lifestyle journalist who decided to share her passion with others from around the world. Maria tries to find inspiring things around her. You can find fashion, design and cooking at Maria Just Do It. Maria hopes people find interesting DIY projects they can make by themselves at home. Find more of Maria’s ideas at Maria- Just Do It.
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Materials: - knitwear ( scarf, old sweater) - needle - thread - scissors - colorful DMC thread - tailor soap (marker)
5 Easy Steps to Create Old Sweater Gloves (yep, that’s a link, click for more details) 1. Draw the shape of your hand . 2. Cut out the shape. Twice for each hand. 3. Sew both pieces together. 4. Cut a heart shape from welt. 5. Sew heart on top using DMC thread.
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2007
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Journals
Focus: Moms of preemies or families who have chronically ill children. Materials: • Cereal box (1 cereal box makes 2 notebooks. You can also use cardboard, card stock or gift boxes) • Paper for the inside pages (I used 20 pieces of 8.5" x 11" computer paper, but you can also use lined or graph paper) • A piece of decorative paper (to cover the spine) • Scissors • Ruler • Pen • Glue stick, tape runner or double-sided tape • Needle and embroidery floss • Button
Contributor: Natalie Natalie is the DIY blogger behind Crème de la Craft where she shares her unique DIY tutorials made by upcycling everyday objects found around the house. She believes in making stylish projects without having to break the bank. Some of her favorite upcycled projects include a Cereal Box Notebook, Bobby Pin Earrings and a No-Sew Pillowcase Tote Bag. Head over to www.cremedelacraft.com to see more of Natalie's projects.
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Type to enter text
Find instructions and full tutorial here.
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Galaxy Umbrella Focus: teachers, crossing guards, and mail carriers Materials: - Black umbrella - Painter's tape - Craft paint (I used black, red, yellow, blue, and white) - White fabric paint (I used the bottle because it had a nice tip to draw stars) - Martha Stewart Tintable Fabric Medium - Cups - Sponge - Stick for stirring - Palette (or crapty styrofoam plate) - Paper towel - Inspiring photo of the universe
Directions for Galaxy Umbrella 1. Cover the umbrella's ribs with painter's tape.
2. Make your fabric paint. Not sure if you have this problem, but I own a ton of craft paint and very little fabric paint. So instead of buying different bottles of fabric paint, I bought one bottle of fabric medium to turn my craft paint into fabric paint. (Wow, right? Oh Martha, you crafty minx! What will you think of next?) Following the bottle's directions, I mixed the fabric medium and the craft paint together to make black, blue, purple, red, yellow, and white fabric paint.
3. Use a dry sponge and a piece of paper towel to dab the different colors on. I tried starting with my darker colors first and then adding on my lighter colors, but then ended up using darker colors again. So, just play around and have fun with it.
4. Once you're satisfied with how your background looks, use your white fabric paint to paint stars. I liked using the bottle because it had a nice neat tip, but, you could also just use the white fabric paint that you previously made and apply it on with a paint brush.)
5. Make some stars cross shaped to look like they're twinkling. Remove painter's tape. Then, let your masterpiece dry overnight. Voila! Now you've got your very own galaxy. Open this baby up on an icky rainy day, and you're guaranteed to feel better.
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Contributor: Leslie Manlapig of Pink Stripey Socks
A mild-mannered stay-at-home mommy by day and a madscientist craft-o-holic at night. A true-blue "crapter� who loves giving stuff a second life and turning "junk" into something beautiful, useful, or fun.
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Welcome to Town Cards
Focus: New Neighbors
Contributor: Kierste Kierste is a blogger who enjoys sharing her love of all things creative. When she's not busy chasing her six kids, including two sets of twins, a teenager and a baby, she's working on a project, training for her next race, reading one of her favorite books, or baking something with chocolate in it. - See more here.
I created this fun and easy "Welcome to Town" survival guide that's perfect to give to a new friend or neighbor who has just moved to town. It's small and compact, and can easily tuck into a purse or diaper bag for easy reference. You can fill new neighbors in on all the best places in town: groceries, restaurants, libraries, parks, farmers markets, outdoor activities, hair salons, and other tidbits that would be so helpful right from the start. Tie this book onto a bag of treats with a ribbon, and you've got a wonderful gift anyone would appreciate. Click here for original post and PDF file of cards.
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Foot Scrubs
Focus: Any woman who needs a little extra love Strawberry Foot Scrub 8-10 strawberries 2 tablespoons Apricot oil (you may substitute with olive oil 1 teaspoon of coarse salt, such as Kosher salt, or Sea Salt Preparation: Mix all ingredients into a paste, massage into feet, rinse and pat dry. *Source
Natural Lemony Mint Foot Scrub 1 lemon 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon sweet almond oil 15 fresh mint leaves, chopped 2-3 drops lemon essential oil Preparation: Slice the lemon into small pieces. Place them in a blender and form a pulp. Remove and then add sugar, almond oil, mint leaves and lemon essential oil. *Source
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pretty toes
Salt Foot Scrub 1 cup of sea salt or Epsom salt 1/2 cup of cold water 2 drops of lavender essential oil Start by gradually adding water to salt and lavender oil. As you are adding it, you want to make sure the mix starts looking like a paste. It has to be not too liquid and not too solid, it should be like soft though otherwise it will run between your fingers. Rub your feet and soles in circular motion. Rinse off with warm water.
*Source
Honey Almond Foot Scrub Recipe 3 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon brown sugar 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 11 almonds (1/2 oz.) Juice of ¼ lemon Grind almonds into a fine meal in a blender or food processor. Mix almonds, olive oil, honey, brown sugar, and juice of lemon. Rub onto feet and massage, then rinse off. Makes enough for a single foot scrub application. *Source
Contributor: Sarah Sarah Howard is a writer and beauty consultant currently living in New York. She writes at Beauty Banter and various other publications about beauty, fashion, and lifestyle. 17
Contributor: Ruby By day, she’s a mother and a scientist studying Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) and brain development. At night you will find Ruby in her sewing room trying to work on an endless to-do project list. Ruby shares her creations at Zaaberry.
•Download pattern: here
• Make sure to select "no scaling" when printing and check the 1 inch square guide.
• Any knit fabric will work, but 100% cotton is the best. A old, clean t-shirt works great.
• Seam allowance is about 1/4 inch. Personally, I just use the knife on my serger as my
guide.
Full directions here.
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Baby Hats
Focus: New babies in foster care, the hospital, or clothes closets in shelters
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the homeless
NYC Hats for Hope Initiative
organizationfocus:
NYC Hats for Hope Initiative focuses on New York City’s homeless and working poor and will hopefully spread out to the other boroughs in time. Patterns for blankets, gloves, scarfs, and hats can be found online at NYC Hats for Hope Initiative. Please also check guidelines.
Keeping warm, one person. . . one hat at a time. 20
communities and neighborhoods
Little Free Library
organizationfocus:
The Little Free Library has a two part mission: -To promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide. -To build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity, and wisdom across generations.
What is a little free library? A place where kids and adults can borrow books for free! Visit Little Free Library for plans and tips. Click here. 21
organizationfocus:
Individuals faced with a life threatening illness, disability, or life struggle.
Capes4Heroes
Founder of Capes4Heroes: Barbara Casados Barbara Casados’ second son, Maddox, is Autistic. With this comes
many challenges, one of which is dressing each day. Â At the age of 2, he refused to wear anything but a superhero cape. Rather than struggling
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through the daily battle, Barbara did what any other mother would do. She
2007
bribed him! If he would agree to let her dress him, Maddox would be able to wear his superhero cape for the day. It worked! Soon after that she purchased a sewing machine, taught herself to sew and began making her son every different type of superhero cape imaginable. Visit Capes4Heroes.
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organization
focus:
soldiers
This merry band of thousands of card makers is made up of Americans – and citizens of other nations too – who care about our military, and want to support them through creativity and encouragement. Many thousands of crafters of all ages and levels of experience have participated since 2007!
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Visit Operation Write Home here.
book love
Author Joan Tapper and Photographer Gale Zucker inspire readers to get their craft on. For more information visit Craft Activism.
Craft Hope isn’t just a book, it’s a movement. Find out more and information on current projects at Craft Hope.
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Photo credit: Lisa Clark, Creative Commons