Varada's Craft Corner

Granny has room in her petticoat to store plastic bags. This pattern was published in Craft n Things magazine in 1996.

I build this puppet theatre for my daughter who loved to make up stories. I bought 2 dozen puppets from Oriental trading company. She and her friends enjoyed putting up puppet shows. They would pin the program to the cork board.


You will need
3 sheets of Foam core board in desired size
Basic Square molding - enough to frame the foam core boards
6 small hinges with screws
A dozen wood screws to put the pieces together
2 sheets of cork board
2 yards flannel cloth
Glue

Cut 2 pieces of the foam core to measure 1.5 feet x 4 feet. Cut the third piece to 1.5 feet by 2.75 feet. Cover one long and the short piece of foam core entirely with flannel. Cover half the other long piece with flannel and the rest with cork board. I used 3 different colors, one for each panel.

Now frame the covered foam core with the molding using wood screws to secure the ends. Connect the three panels using the hinges. Cut a small piece foam core 1.5 feet by about 5 inches. Cover it with flannel and glue it to the center panel as seen in the picture.

You can write on the center panel if you wish. The puppet theater is ready.

I bought a $5 night stand from K-Mart. I painted the top with a small tub of stone finish paint. You can find that in Home depot or any home improvement or paint store. I painted the rest in primary colors. I used Acrylic colors. I added plastic hooks to the side and the kitchen was ready.

When my daughter turned 5 I built her a doll house. I used a kit made from 1/8inch plywood that I found in Michael's.


It came with cutouts for basic furniture. It took me 5 whole days to build and paint the dollhouse. The much played with dollhouse resides in my teenagers closet now. She will not part with it.

I have not had time to work on crafts lately. I am sharing a raggedy doll I make for my daughter when she was little.


I got the pattern at Walmart. Each doll was printed on a yard and came with instructions. Followed the instructions to sew and stuff the doll. It has been much loved.

It is very quiet around the house. The cats are asleep. It has been cold these last two days. Perfect for working on crafts. A couple days ago after dinner I cut scrapbooking paper into 1in tiles for my mosaic wall art. I realized I need some darker paper to complete the colors. Stopped by the craft store on the way home yesterday for a deep red, a deep brown and a sage green. The 3x3 canvas was ready for a coat of black paint. I worked over the weekend on the mosaic to get it done.

I bought 8 pieces of 8x10 felt cloth sometime in 1996. The plan was to embroider "Ashtavinayak" panels. The project never took off but I saved the felt cloth.


This month I finished the project.