D.I.Y. Kids

Ellen Lupton is a name that I'm familiar with in the design and museum world (you know, my other job). She is the curator of contemporary design at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, and so it is with great interest that I review a copy of her new book, D.I.Y. Kids, a natural follow up to her previous title, D.I.Y. Design It Yourself.

Now this is where I admit to being somewhat of a lazy mom when it comes to crafts with my kids. You would think that I'd be all over the craft and art projects once the kid was old enough to hold a crayon and handle a glue stick, but maybe it's because I do this sort of thing for a living that I'm no great motivator when it comes to craft time. Such a shame because the kid is so into art projects and it's amazing to see how she's actually drawing figurative objects and things resembling trees and flowers. Needless to say, I've been trying to do more craft activities with her and while many of the projects in Lupton's book is geared for kids a bit older than mine, there are some good ideas in here for the little ones. Some of my favorite projects are the Office Dot Buddies, Marshmallow Guys and the stuffed animal patterns. If you're crafty and resourceful, this book probably won't introduce any new ideas, but there are some gems in here and my kid loves flipping through the pages planning the projects for "when she gets older". My favorite part of the book is seeing all the art projects done by kids - they are quite impressive.

See more on the D.I.Y Kids website.