I haven’t had much time to craft for fun lately, but lucky for me, I just got a copy of Diane Gilleland‘s lovely new e-book, Weaving Un-Loomed, and those sweet little projects are tempting me left and right! I learned how to weave on a cardboard loom at summer camp one year and I loved it. I remember that we dyed our own yarn with natural materials and then tried out different patterns and designs, I know I have my first triumphant little project somewhere…

I wrote a bit more about Weaving Un-Loomed as a special post for CraftStylish, and Diane gives a great introduction and overview on her blog post announcing the book, too. It’s a collection of five very different and very cool off-loom weaving projects, along with a comprehensive beginner-friendly how-to, about a zillion great tutorial photos, and a super-helpful resources section. You can buy the project tutorials individually or as a full book length, and Diane is also offering up a free download of one sample project on her announcement post — check out the last paragraph for the link!

As I mentioned over on CraftStylish, my first project will definitely be the Ribbon & Burlap Tote. I love the off-center cross of ribbons woven into the fabric, and the total simplicity of the design is so appealing.

In the meantime, while I dream of weaving, I have my very own in-house crafty inspiration — Pearl has started doing her very own art projects at school, and it’s been so much fun to see them all! I love her finger-painted tree the most. But the red-and-green I-don’t-know-what-that-is is very cool too.

I got her her own set of toddler-friendly crayons for our mini-vacation this weekend (more on that tomorrow!) and I’m planning to make her some play-dough, plus I’m on the lookout for some nice bright finger paint to add to our home art studio.

I have two little cotton smocks my grandmother sewed for me and my brother to paint and glue and make a mess in, so I’ve unpacked them from the big-kid-clothes box and I’m thinking it’s time for a crafty-toddler playdate with one of her buddies soon! I have some burlap and ribbons ready to go, too, so hopefully we can all do some fun little projects together. I could use some more summer camp in my life!