Anne Marie Would Be Proud

By Amy

Background:
When we lived in Colorado, Brad had a meeting with a group of men every other Thursday night. So, that gave me and two of my friends, Krista and Anne Marie, a good reason to hang out together. (Their husbands were also at the meetings.) Anne, a retired kindergarten teacher, often planned fun crafts for the three of us to do together. It soon became evident to all that I am craft impaired! I had never handled a hot glue gun and couldn't tie a bow to save my life. So, Anne Marie would often use my project as the demo; therefore, I couldn't mess it up and still could have a cool wreath, pumpkin, etc. to show Brad.

Today:
I am still not the craftiest person you've ever met, but I do own a hot glue gun and a rockin' kid's craft book. My daughter is now the one encouraging me to be crafty -- she LOVES to make things! Hence these fun clown faces we made after reading The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola.

And, these are not the only things we've made! As a matter of fact, my kids doors are often overflowing with things we've painted or created together. (The above door is in our dining room.) Their doors were starting to look pretty sloppy and too full of stuff. The boy's door....

So, I decided I wanted a cork bulletin board. I had never seen one here, but maybe.... I looked all over a huge market with tons of office/school type stuff -- no cork board. Then, I got on line and tried to figure out if I could have it mailed here. That seemed to be a pretty expensive option...So my crafty, creative friend Rachel off-handily mentioned that I could make them my self... I took the kids and let them each pick out their own fabric and ribbon. Then, I pulled out the handy hot glue gun and here you have it...

Pedo's

Alex's -- their door only had room for one.

And, Savannah's....

Aren't they cute?!? At Christmas time, we hung our stockings on our doors, so now all of our bedroom doors have hooks on them. I thought that would make an easy way to hang my new "cork" boards. I made them by hot gluing fabric over a 1-inch thick foam(ish) floor puzzle piece thing. I know that doesn't make any since, but aren't they cute anyway? I even made one for my bedroom door as Brad and I are often the recipients of artwork.

So, Anne Marie, I still can't compare to your craft skills, but I've come a long way in the last 9 years....Thanks for getting me started!