Crafts that Cross State Lines

I have many fond childhood memories of working on crafts with my Mema.  She’d come to visit and bring her puffy paints and we’d make tee shirts and sweat shirts.  Once she even attempted to teach me to crochet… but after a few hours and only a few loops, I opted to let her continue making me anything I wanted crocheted. 

Now I am grown, with kids of my own, and I must confess, my craft skills don’t look a whole lot different than when I was a kid.  But, I can usually follow simple directions.  

Unfortunately, we live 5 hrs from Mema and we don’t get to see her as often as we would like.   But, my Mema is clever and she came up with a way to engage her great grandchildren from a distance. 

I called my mom one afternoon and was surprised to find my Mema and my Aunt were over for a “crafternoon”.  They were out on the back deck, each working on cutting out supplies to prep for kits which Mema then mailed to her great grandchildren (of which she has 22).

About a week later I received a package in the mail.  In it was this detailed instruction sheet (complete with arrows and pictures to explain the steps)  for each of my children to make their own fish mobile. 

The package also came with 4 ziploc bags each filled with all of the necessary components for each child to complete his/her mobile.  The foam pieces were already cut… literally all I had to do was help the kids glue them together. It’s a good thing too, b/c it turns out that helping each child glue their fish, and hold my (then one month old) baby and take pictures and answer the phone… proved to be almost more than this circus momma could juggle. (Yes, it has taken me an entire month to get this post up)  

The kids had a fabulous time doing their “Gma craft” and I can’t tell you how much it blessed my heart to see them so eagerly working on these projects from Gma, much like I did many years ago with her.  While she wasn’t able to be here to witness it in person, I did my best to capture the moments on film San Disk card so she could witness it from a far.

My Mema is one clever lady.  Not only can she whip up cute and creative crafts, but she even found a way to pass on her craftiness to her great grandchildren and allow them to share an activity with her from a distance.

Thanks Mema… for giving me all the supplies necessary for a fun afternoon with my kiddos, and for sharing your love of crafts with me and my children!