e - Spotlight Promotions

• crafting with kids
Mum’s
the word
They say a picture is worth a thousand
words, but a single word can trigger a
thousand pictures or memories if spoken
and written with feeling from the heart.
As a child, when it came to
special occasions in our house,
greeting cards were not bought from
a store. Whether it was birthdays,
anniversaries, Easter or, of course,
Mother’s Day, handmade cards or
gifts were essential. My mother
always insisted that a card made by
my brother and I, filled with words
spoken from our hearts, was worth
more than any expensive card or gift.
Now a mother myself, I try not to
buy store bought cards if I can help it
and my kids are happy to make and
write their own cards. Their words
are true and honest and from their
heart, although unfortunately not
always tactful; they love to state how
old everyone is ... all over the front of
their cards in bold marker pen ... for
everyone to see.
The longevity of a card isn’t as long
as we’d like it to be. Before too long it
gets thrown out, recycled or - if you are
like me - stored away in a keepsake
box. Once children are old enough
to write or at least draw something
that looks like a letter or two, they
can make all sorts of wonderful gifts
incorporating their words. These can
be poems or stories or my daughter’s
current favourite - pop love songs.
Words can also be used to embellish
décor items such as frames, cushions,
painted mugs (see our project on page
115) and canvases.
Once children are old
enough to write or at
least draw something
that looks like a letter
or two, they can make
all sorts of wonderful
gifts incorporating
their words.
I made a present for my own mother
for her 60th birthday, just using words.
I wanted to make something special
About Amanda
A freelance stylist, project designer and creative
consultant, Amanda Lefebure is a qualified visual
merchandiser and a crafter par excellence. Her work
appears in publications such as New Idea, That’s Life and
Total Girl and she’s a regular project contributor to the
Herald Sun Home Magazine. Amanda has two children,
aged eight and five, and still sews on her mum’s old
sewing machine ... 25 years and counting!
for her that she could keep and, every
time she looked at it, she’d remember
me and the love and appreciation I
have for her.
I painted a large wooden frame and
found an old photo of her from when
she was sixteen-years-old. I borrowed
her life story that she had written in
her note book, got myself a paint pen
and started writing her story around
the frame edges. I only wrote single
words, dates or small phrases, but
there was enough information for
mum to read to ignite her memories of
those times. I continued to write filling
the frame, spiralling inwards towards
her photo. As I got near the end, I
wrote a few words that described my
feelings towards her, along with our
hopes and dreams for the future.
She treasures that frame as it
hangs on a wall in my old bedroom
at her house. My kids love reading it,
swivelling their heads upside down and
around as they read and asking Nanny
what each word means to her. I’m
not sure if they have ever got through
the whole frame. With thousands of
stories to be told, it may take a while.
Happy Mother’s Day! •
114 spotlight.com.au www.facebook.com/gcqmag