Sensory gifts

I have a nephew who chews his nails so much they bleed. His mother, my sister, recently asked me to make him something he could chew on instead of his nails.

After some research we found some silicone beads meant to be used as teething devices. We bought several.

I then asked him his favorite color...and he informed me that he liked more than one color and proceeded to give me a list. After hearing his list I was reminded of this lovely over-dyed hemp cording I had. So, I showed that to him and asked his thoughts. He said it was wondeful (he has excellent taste) and I proceeded to make him a necklace and attach the beads.

This first necklace was a hit, but after he wore it for several days the beads came off. It turns out that version one was a bit to short for comfort and the beads weren't attached well enough to be chewed on for long periods of time.

So, after carefully considering the issues I created a second version. We will see if this one works better.

Dream Catchers

Dream Catchers are fun and easy to make...once you have had some practice. They are great gifts for children...especially if they have nightmares.

I learned to make Dream Catchers when I was 10 at Girl Scout Camp. My first one was a monstrosity of plastic beads, twine, and white "craft" feathers. It had a metal hoop as its core.

The first one I made didn't last too long. I had over tightened the weave (and as we all know twine is both scratchy and weak...plus, I also couldn't stop touching it...I hadn't even gotten it home before it exploded, sending beads all over the cabin and breaking my heart.

However, I was already hooked. I had to make a new one. A better one.

And so, I convinced my parents to take me to the craft store (my mom was admittedly very indulgent about craft stores) and I spent my entire summer allowance on colored hemp, fancy czech glass beads, smaller and more colorful feathers, a premade metal ring about 6 inches in diameter. I was very proud of the resulting item and it hung in my bedroom for years and I didn't think about making another one...for a while at least.

Then, one day in the summer of my 17th year...a girl I knew explained that she had learned to make Dream Catchers from her grandmother and her grandmother always made the "ring" out of a cedar branch that was woven into a circle...this was something that I had never considered... but I was intrigued and went about gathering the materials so that she could show me the technique.

It soon became apparent that with cedar as the base of the hoop there wouldn't be anymore "perfect" circles...but I rather liked that the new way created unique hoops.

With the new materials I also had to change the order of the steps because the hopps shape changed depending on the tightness of the weave, so I now covered the hoop after I finished the weave instead of before.

In addition, her grandmother didn't use knots in the weave as I had been taught in girlscouts...I liked the new look and the fact that you could tighten or loosen it just before finishing to get exactly the look you wanted. Extra customization instantly! I was of course in love.

 Now, whenever I know someone who would like one...or a child who doesn't have one yet...I make one for them. Here are two recent ones. (As always...I tend to use a lot of bright colors and shiny things!---it can be fun to add rocks, shells, and other things as well)

* these pictures decided to not be in order

Happy Crafting,  seckmea