sylune

Creative Ideas Wanted

12:15 pm - 03/08/2004
My best friend and I get together every Sunday afternoon to craft. This winter, it's been primarily crocheting, with a bit of collaging and soap making thrown in. My husband has shown an interest in participating with us, for the social aspect as well as expressing his creativity. I have had a horrible time, however, finding a craft that is inexpensive and that I think he'll enjoy doing -- both with us, and on his own. He was in an accident a few years back that shattered his right arm, so that makes any repetitive motion (like crocheting) impossible for him.

Any ideas?
Leave a Comment
heartquest 8th-Mar-2004 09:23 am (UTC)
tie dying tshirts? you can buy packages of white tshirts pretty cheaply. guys usually like tie dying because its not really too girly. well its just an idea. someone might have to help him place the rubber bands on the tshirts. but the rest should be easy for him.
saisha a few ideas — 8th-Mar-2004 09:24 am (UTC)
How about buying raw wood boxes and getting a wood burner. After he does the burning, you guys can paint the box and have a really nice little box for change, his wallet, whatever.

Or decoupage. That's easy, and not too repetitive.
yardenxanthe 8th-Mar-2004 09:25 am (UTC)
I have had a couple guys express interest in stencil-making after seeing stencils I made. I don't know if cutting the stencil would be too repetitive for your husband or not, but he could help choose the pic and be otherwise involved if the cutting is too much.

prophetspyder 8th-Mar-2004 02:07 pm (UTC)
If exactoing is too hard, you could buy the plastic stencil sheets and one of those melters that you trace the lines with..
melena 8th-Mar-2004 03:01 pm (UTC)
what! ah! give me a link!
prophetspyder 8th-Mar-2004 03:42 pm (UTC)
hehe
schnuckypuss 8th-Mar-2004 09:54 am (UTC)
Some ideas:
I've made some cute little blank books with inexpensive stuff like copy paper, cereal box cardboard or baseball card covers and dental floss.

Making stuff out of sculpey or fimo and baking it can be fun.

Fabric painting tshirts, aprons, bags, hats, etc.

Hope this helps :-)

Anu
lunia 8th-Mar-2004 11:58 am (UTC)
What about mosaics? He gets to break stuff (like dishes, tile, and glass - which can be found for free or bought for very little money), then gets to put the pieces together like a puzzle, glue them down, then cover it all with messy grout (which is pretty cheap, too). Very manly, I'd say. Some ideas of things to mosaic: The mailbox, a toilet seat, a table top, a trash can, a pencil holder, a trivet, and that's all I can think of right now.

I wish my man wanted to do crafts with me - that's so cool.
rawiscorrri 8th-Mar-2004 12:57 pm (UTC)
i think the painting stuff, decoupage, sculpey, maybe scrapbooking? could he do that or would that be too much stress on his arm?

i think you're totally a lucky duck for having such an awesome husband. if i had a husband i'd want him to care!
ethicalcannibal 8th-Mar-2004 02:32 pm (UTC)
There is a gal who crochets that runs http://www.electrickat.com/ that crochets with a prosthetic limb. I just thought I would throw that out there, because she makes amazing stuff.

Does your hubby need any adaptive equipment, or is it just that the repetative motion becomes painful?

prophetspyder 8th-Mar-2004 02:50 pm (UTC)
I was going to add this to the FAQs, but I don't know where would be good.. Oh goddess, please tell me *bows down*
ethicalcannibal 8th-Mar-2004 02:54 pm (UTC)
I added it to "crafting with disabilities". I love that we have a growing section of that!
prophetspyder 8th-Mar-2004 02:56 pm (UTC)
I must have missed it scrolling through.. you rock <3
naelany 9th-Mar-2004 08:55 am (UTC)
Perhaps we can get a new faq with regards to crafting as a couple???? I know I've been trying to find stuff to do with my hubby, so it's awesome to see some ideas.
prophetspyder 8th-Mar-2004 02:43 pm (UTC)
I was going to say chainmaille, but that takes alot of arm strength..
As mentioned above, stencilling is as popular with guys as with women..
scary dolls - yes, they're dolls, but they're spooky (I don't know how to make them, if you find out, do let me know)..
decoupage doesn't have to be girly.. he could decoupage playing cards onto a table for a poker table or to refurbish a bar or something..
What about making decorations for Hallowe'en? He could build a smoke machine (more instructions here, or make things like tombstones..
I don't know about your area, but recently I heard about a woman who collects old furniture and other handouts from people, cleans and restores them, then donates them to the thrift stores..
Leatherwork? It depends on how much he can do and how much you can afford..
Duct tape things are always fun (doesn't have to be wallets and purses, could be hats, pillows..)..
Things like lamps (you can buy the parts at somewhere like Home Depot, and make almost anything into a lamp), he could do the wiring, and you could make a shade..
Glass etching or stained glass paints..
Copper tooling..
Mosaic was also a good idea, as mentioned above..
Is hemp jewellry too repeatative?
Build a taiko drum from a wine barrel?..
PVC furniture?..
altered books or book safes?..
mod your computer?..
nintendo controller belt buckles (or any other thing he wants to stick on there?</a>

I'll add more later if I think of anything. *phew*
ethicalcannibal 8th-Mar-2004 03:03 pm (UTC)
Wow! That was fantastic!
prophetspyder 8th-Mar-2004 09:49 pm (UTC)
Haha, I'm trying to find something for my bf to do with us, can you tell?
ethicalcannibal 9th-Mar-2004 08:18 am (UTC)
That's why I thought the list was so awesome. My boy is half interested in crafting with us, and I want to make it fun and interesting for him.
prophetspyder 8th-Mar-2004 03:39 pm (UTC)
ooh, ya, if you have a garden, or a lantern festival, lanterns are fun to make.
Chinese lanterns
Fan lanterns
Chicken wire

There are ones we made here that I think are cooler than any of those. They are more time consuming, but worth it. Using any sort of sticks you like - we've used tree branches, slats cut off of bamboo blinds, or dried grape vine - and using string, or masking tape, connect them into any sort of shape you want (star, box, flower, circle..). Once this is complete, using a mix of half-and-half water and white glue, glue tissue paper onto your frame. IMPORTANT: do BOTH SIDES of the paper (this makes it fire resistant). The paper WONT STICK to the wood, you have to wrap it around and stick it back to the paper. The paper will be hard to work with at the stage, so just go slow. It WILL tighten up when it dries, don't worry. You can also use this technique on hot chocolate or coffee containers - just peel off the labels, exacto your design out of the can, then stick the paper over top (or inside, if you prefer). I don't have any pictures of these lantern in progress, but next time I make some I will take pictures, I promise. To hold you over, here's some pictures of finished ones.



Ones like the fish can be made out of chicken wire (actually, those metal things used for tomato vines to grow up are the perfect shape for fish), and then the same papering technique used.
prophetspyder how can you tell that i'm trying to find something for the bf to do w/ me? — 8th-Mar-2004 05:25 pm (UTC)
felting?
batik?
dipped candles? (you can use leftover wax from old candles)
poured candles?
rolled candles?
soap?
windchimes?

There's always the basic birdhouse/feeder.. or stepping stones
lunia Re: how can you tell that i'm trying to find something for the bf to do w/ me? — 8th-Mar-2004 10:14 pm (UTC)
ooo - i've made dipped candles before and I remember really enjoying it. That was about 20 years ago, though, when I was 10-ish.
prophetspyder Re: how can you tell that i'm trying to find something for the bf to do w/ me? — 9th-Mar-2004 05:04 am (UTC)
Ya, I made them when I was..9 or 10.. very lumpy and ugly (cause i suck) but smelled so good cause they were beeswax
prophetspyder 8th-Mar-2004 05:57 pm (UTC)
paper making
Copper sculptures (trellis, dragonfly, sceptre, garden lantern)
chops (stamps)
demarazare 9th-Mar-2004 10:54 am (UTC)
My boyfriend and I make chainmaile and boffer swords together. The chainmaile might be too repetetive with the motion, but if you use aluminum instead of steel it doesn't require a lot of strength. (The armor we're making is for a game, so it's okay that it can't take the hits that steel would.)

We've also done some marble magnets together, though they don't take much time.

Otherwise... maybe any of the duct tape project ideas in the FAQ?
Leave a comment
This page was loaded May 24th 2013, 8:33 pm GMT.