In my Sunday Sevens #39 10.7.16 post last weekend I mentioned that I’d set myself a craft challenge to do something crafty on every day of the school summer holidays. It’s for my benefit (to maintain a tiny bit of sanity restoring craft time) and for the benefit of those around me (hopefully I’ll be a slightly less grumpy Mum).
Last weekend we were staring down the barrel of 8 long weeks of school holiday. It’s my favourite time of year in that we no longer need to clock watch and get to so many activities. The flip side of the situation is that at times it can be like spinning plates trying to keep all 3 Little Postcards happy. All three have different ideas about how they would like to spend their holidays and the conflicting opinions can often lead to well, er conflict.
By promising myself a tiny window of crafting each day I have a little bit of sanctuary in among the warring factions and general chaos! Each day I have posted a daily #summercraftchallenge2016 photo on Instagram and I have even had fellow crafters saying they’ll join in too once their childrens’ schools break up for summer. If you are a crafter and fancy joining in please use the #summercraftchallenge2016 on your Instagram photos and we can all link together to share our creations.
Here’s my first seven days of the challenge:
Day 1 : Saturday 9th July
A visit from an old friend at the weekend gave us the perfect excuse to have a barbecue. Fruit punch and a new crochet project went hand in hand.
Day 2 : Sunday 10th July
A shady spot at the Alameda Gardens park was lovely and cool on a very hot day.
Day 3 : Monday 11th July
This micro-second of bliss was shattered as I became the target of 3 water pistols…
Day 4 : Tuesday 12th July
A picnic lunch gave me the chance to make a few Attic 24 May Roses.
Day 4 : Wednesday 13th July
The first summer craft challenge project completed! A dinky wreath for our bedroom wall using my May Roses. It measures just 13cm across.
Day 5 : Thursday 14th July
Al fresco crochet again, this time an amigurumi dinosaur which is for a soon-to-arrive little baby. Spot the deliberate mistake? A dropped stitch wasn’t noticed in the bright sun/sunglasses/camera combo. It was put right shortly before a water bomb hurled my way cut this crochet session short…
Day 7 : Friday 15th July
Learning from my previous poolside crochet mistakes I opted for an activity today which didn’t require too much concentration from me while I was supervising the Little Postcards in the pool. I hooked up quite a few little woolly hearts for this year’s Yarndale festival in Skipton recently and the ends needed darning in and buttons sewn on. These will be winging their way to my Instagram friend @bonnies_little_crafts who has set herself the challenge of creating and collecting 7000 wooly hearts to give to visitors to Yarndale this September. Check her out on Instagram and search the #woollyheartsforyarndale2016 tag if you fancy joining in, in a recent post she revealed that she has received more than 4,500 already!
So all in all, it’s not been a bad first seven days of the holiday. I wonder what next week holds in store… Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Lovely! Just one week to go until our summer hols and yes, I will be joining you 🙂 x
I look forward to your company! 🙂
Well done on the sanity, sorry craft project. Love the mini wreath!
Hehe! Thank you! 🙂
Crafting every day sounds like a good idea. I do that at the moment when at home but when I go away sailing it can be quite hard to fit it in. I think I will join in with you and see how it goes 🙂
It will be lovely to have you along for the ride! 🙂
Love your little wreath!
The schools here broke up a couple of weeks ago but, although my youngest is still doing her BAC, she is old enough to amuse herself these days so I no longer have to take her into account for my crafting plans. It’s a good idea of yours though and you should try to stick to it otherwise it will feel like a very long school holiday!
Thank you! I’ll do my very best to see it through to the end. Perhaps I’ll manage to get some of my long forgotten WIPs completed and not just add to the pile!! 😉
Oh how lovely! It takes me back to fond memories of when my children were little, I loved the freedom of the long summer breaks.. it is just bliss not to have to clock watch.
The wreath is beautiful… might take a peek at that pattern myself! Thanks for the inspiration, and have a wonderful crafty summer!
Thank you! I’m so pleased I’ve given some inspiration 🙂 I can’t tell you how nice it is not having to rush about to things and scrambling to get out of the door on time in the morning!! I hope you have a wonderful crafty summer too 🙂
I was thinking “Sounds idyllic” until the water pistols arrived 🙂 Gorgeous neat crochet!
Hehe! Thank you 🙂 you’ve got to snatch those precious moments while you can!! 😀
I unconsciously do something crafty most days and I definitely get itchy fingers if I don’t. As you say, it’s time for yourself and it has a calming effect. Calm mum = calm household (usually!).
Yes – ‘usually’ 😉 !