Friday 1 July 2016

Time to Play

A box for a medal
A medal for the box made by Jenny Stacy
A felted crochet button, bit of ribbon, a flower button I like, in a medal by Jenny Stacy
Bits of bling created this medal by Jenny Stacy
Do you find time to play in your busy life?

One of the most blissful things I can think of is to sit at a table and 'play' with the bits I've hoarded over the years and a needle and thread, paints, scissors, sellotape, paper,glue and bits of fabric. Even more fun to 'play' with a friend or friends who enjoy experimenting with puting things together as much as you do. 

It's interesting how suddenly there are all these colouring books in the shops, encouraging people to switch off and 'play'. Who would have imagined that colouring books for adults would be so popular?

Visitors to Handmade Happiness often express their frustration that there is no time in their lives to create things. With children to look after and jobs to go to, any time for themselves feels like self indulgence. I know, I've been there, but we all feel better for a bit of 'me' time, even if it's only fifteen minutes. Just enough time to splodge some paint on to paper, draw a quick sketch,or make a collage with pictures from a favourite magazine, all of which can be done with children once they get past the stage of puting everything in their mouths.

One of my earliest memories is of 'sorting' my granny's button box. I really enjoyed that. My mum used to let her grandchildren do 'mixing' with wooden spoons and big bowls and the contents of her kitchen cupboards. They loved that. So what sort of Granny will my generation be? I hope we'll be successful at inspiring children to enjoy activities that don't involve looking at a screen...
jigsaw puzzles, card games, but above all, playing with bits and pieces and making things from them...!

No comments: