Strollerderby : craft

Move Over Booties! Here Come Knitted Boobies!

Kate Tuttle — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:30:00 GMT

From England, a new and crafty way to promote breastfeeding: a competition in which knitters create faux breasts. The contest is called Tit-Bit for Knitters, and is a project of the Trading Standards, a government agency that oversees trade, consumer, and food issues, in the town of Wigan, just outside Manchester.

Part of a larger governmental push to get more British moms breastfeeding, the Tit-Bit contest has already attracted some attention, according to Julie Middlehurst, a spokesperson for the Wigan Trading Standards. From the article:

"It's a bit of a joke but there's a serious message behind it. There isn't a huge up-take of breastfeeding nationally and it's the same in Wigan. Around 15% of mothers in Wigan who start breastfeeding stop after a few weeks.

"We're hoping to get people talking about the issue. We've had quite a few entries already, which are all different shape, sizes and colours."

Any Babble readers who find themselves in or around Wigan can still submit their knitted boobies, up to the April 3 deadline. Winners will be chosen, according to the news article, for qualities such as "most eye-catching, the most realistic and the largest number knitted."

More by this author:

Think Your Baby's Car Seat Is Safe? Think Again

California Daycare Closed; Worker Was Mocking Kids' Genitals

"Angels in Waiting" Apparently Still Waiting

Bad Science: How The Autism Vaccine Scare Snowballed

Cornstarch Hand Turkey A Step Up From Paper

Brett Singer — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:39:00 GMT

We've all made the Hand Turkey – trace your digits onto construction paper, cut it out, and voila, instant Turkey Day decoration.

If you want to go into the Hand Turkey Big Leagues, you can make a "handprint turkey keepsakes" using this cornstarch dough recipe from SusieJ.com.

As near as I can tell, it's not unlike making an inedible cookie. Lasts longer than paper, and has more heft. A word of warning: if the political arguments get too heated, keep these puppies out of sight until everyone is safely in a food coma.

Source: SusieJ.com

Are Elementary School Thanksgivings Racist Or Just Outdated?

A Black Friday Game Plan

How Much Would You Pay for an Organic Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving BINGO or Mocking Your Crazy Aunts

Are You Cutting Back This Holiday Season?

Babble's Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide

Babble Podcast for November 24, 2008

Proof Martha Stewart Wants to Eat Children

editors — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:45:00 GMT

Trying to figure out how to dress your baby for Halloween? You could check out Babble's top five costumes for newborns and toddlers. Or you could take Martha's advice and spend a few days working with muslin, insulation foam, and many other materials to turn your infant into a delicious-looking lobster, pie or turkey — complete with sides and, yes, serving knife.

Tampon Craftacular: Wiener Dogs are for Winners

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:33:00 GMT

The Uncrafty Mommy should be my name. So I'm always thrilled to find crafts that make me laugh, are fun for all involved, and are goofy and silly. Enter the tampon wiener dog, courtesy of the lovely CrabMommy, who also writes a funny blog over at Cookie Magazine (Who knew?). Finally, an answer to the question "Mommy what are these?" Or better yet, a response to the guilt you feel when Billy's Mama pulls out the drawer full of felt squares and declares "Today we're going to make a Chore Chart!!"

Follow CrabMommy's simple instructions (which suggest adding sequins to your little doggie) and before you know it, YOUR little Martha or Michael will be able to show Billy a thing or two..

with THIS...

For more fun with tampons, go here.

Crafty: Frankentoys!

Patti — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:37:00 GMT

I'm all about Ugly Dolls and their ilk, or at least I was until they turned out to be totally ubiquitous, mass produced, and overpriced. Here's a better way to satisfy the misfit-toy urge: take a page from Toy Story and do a little bit of surgery on your stuffies. Especially well-suited for damaged or handmedown toys (the originals were put together out of chewed-up dog toys), creating a Frankentoy doesn't require much other than a needle, thread, and some imagination.

Crafty: Make Magazine Launches "Howtoons" Kids' Projects

Patti — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 13:26:00 GMT

Howtoons is like manna from heaven. Functional, fun projects that don't all revolve around gluing stuff to other stuff. Terrific, vividly illustrated instructions. Stuff that's cool enough for big kids to do by themselves, and interesting enough for little kids to get excited about helping with. Pinchy chopsticks that I don't have to scour Chinatown for (these disappeared from brick-and-mortar stores when my kids were born. Why is that?).

Make and it's sibling Craft are such awesome showcases for people who are still interested in creating things; it's a pleasure to see them encouraging the next generation of makers and crafters.

Crafty: Getting Bibby With It

Patti — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:25:00 GMT

Since bibs have been added to the list of Things Full Of Lead Which Will Kill Your Baby, this bib-making tutorial from Amy at Happy Things is a timely part of the whole "OMG Now What Do I Feed My Baby With???" zeitgeist, only softer and cuddlier than a steel sippy cup.

A quick and easy project that you can remake endlessly in millions of fabric combinations (it's reversible!) and that will lend itself beautifully to recycled/repurposed fabrics, you could become a bib-making expert after whipping out a couple of these babies and have your baby-shower-gift requirements squared away for the foreseeable future.

(via Craft, thanks to Amy for the image)

Crafty: Eyeball Pincushions

Kelly Mills — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 19:27:00 GMT

My family has a thing for eyeballs. One year my better half and I made eyeball Christmas tree ornaments--use white balls for the eyes, felt for the iris, and a black thumbtack for the pupil and all of the sudden the trees have eyes. We've given out eyeball bouncy balls as party favors, and you'd better believe Halloween is all eyeballs, all the time. Our child has picked up the fascination, and her current favorite book is Heedley Pecked Me in the Eye. Yes, we are watching you right now.

So I love this crafty project: make an eyeball pincushion. You can use this tutorial, then go here to figure out the rest or register for her website. My only problem is that I can't sew. (Which begs the question, "Why would I need a pincushion? Response: "Look, eyeballs!") I'm hoping I can convince Mike to make me one. Or several. Particularly the bloodshot ones, which immediately make me think of my Whole Foods cashier.

Labeling Your Steel Sippy Cups

Patti — Wed, 30 May 2007 22:28:00 GMT

This may be craftiness gone too far, but what are you going to do with a sippy cup that only comes in one style, that everybody is suddenly bringing to the park, and that even a Sharpie won't stick to? You make jewelry for it.

Thingamababy's got the goods, if you're a Kleen Kanteen owner who'd rather not spend $16 bucks every time you can't tell your sippy from the rest when you're packing up the sand toys and heading home from the playground. Or if you have a lot of Inner Martha that needs channeling. It's a cute idea, really.

But me, my Martha mojo has enough outlets already, and besides, I'm still merrily risking my children's lives with Nalgene bottles. And if I were to start taking responsibility for the amount of bisphenol my children are ingesting, I'd probably laze out and go Sigg. So pretty.

(photo credit: Thingamababy)