Scared of art and handicrafts :)

Well, I consider things like, sewing, knitting, crochet, weaving, etc. to be skills that are easily learned by watching and just trying. You do need to have a bit of talent for things like landscape painting and pottery and things such as that but even with those a large part is simply learning a skill and trying it out! I would say as far as things like sculpting and painting and things like that all that is required to start is just exposing yourselves to the different mediums out there and see what you like working with. You will probably see in a short while if your kids have a particular bent or special talent for somehing that should be cultivated further. If not, then just have fun with the experience and try to encourage creativity. Just make something crazy. The point being just to know what it is like to work with certain mediums and tools and to feel the differences, etc.

If you are interested in a handicraft that will produce something useful such as knitting or sewing I would say to first decide on something simple that you would like to learn to make and then pick a skill that you would like to learn. Then all you need to do is look up the info on how to make it happen. I need to watch in order to learn so I use youTube ALL the time. So, for instance, you decide you would like a potholder ( simple but useful). So start by deciding how you think you would like to go about making one. You can sew one or knit one or crochet one or weave one etc. Then google it! Type in “homemade woven potholder” and you will come away with a plethora of ideas on how to start.

Another simple thing you can do to get started is to use kits. Craft stores offer a lot of different kits on getting started in things like sewing, knitting, weaving, and even woodworking and painting. Look around and see what appeals to you!

Hope I didn’t run on to long and that it was able to help you a little!

Have fun,

Miranda

A really easy handicraft is rug hooking… there are kits for those (what I’d suggest) – or you can buy the rug hooking canvas, hook, and wool (harder – and harder to find.)  The motion to hook a piece of wool onto the canvas is easy (will probably take a couple of tries) – and that is the only skill…. then it is putting the right color of wool in each place.  More than one person can work on a big project at once (a hook for each person… you all need to sit on the same side so you either want a wide project or only a couple of people working on it) or you can have a smaller one for each person.  Might be little hard for a 4yo though.  

My family made a rug-hook picture of a grandfather clock, and a lot of other ones.  As a teenager I did a huge one that was a picture of a german shephard.  (that was an expensive kit!)

I have the same “fear of arts and handicrafts” as you, since I have always been a math/factual person and not gifted with artistic flair.  For my first homeschool year next year, I’m planning for ds (to be 6 then) to do cardmaking and beading (thinking my then 4 yo dd can participate on her level with little pressure).  Also, dh hopes to start taking ds to Home Depot workshops.  Then, I’m thinking scrapbooking will be a good idea for the end of year1 or start of year2, with the added benefit of getting my pics in an album at my ds’s expense (that might qualify as child labor, as I am terrible at getting pictures put into albums).  

Quilting is the only handicraft that I have ever done that I found success with, and that’s only because it can be as simple or complicated as one wants to make it.  For my dc (in a few years), I hope for them to make a “crazy quilt” at first, then a nine patch, then later something more complicated if they take interest in the hobby.  

I like the ideas of candle making, soap molding, or basket weaving as well.