Author: Jennifer Forker

Making your own ornaments and decorations for the holidays has its own rewards – the need to create is strong in many of us – but it feels particularly good to dig out your art supplies at this time of year. As Bob Richter puts it in his new book, “A Very Vintage Christmas”: “At…

When Amanda Tichacek began running eight years ago, she found a friendly sidekick in Roxie, her 2-year-old greyhound mix. They started out slowly, but soon began running longer distances on wooded trails. “We have grown together as runners,” says Tichacek, who now logs 40 to 60 miles a week. In her prime, Roxie ran near-marathon…

For making crafts, fast and easy always win. Adorable doesn’t hurt, either. Needle felting hits all three targets. “It’s got one of the least bumpy learning curves of anything I’ve ever seen,” says Wynne Reynolds, a mixed-media artist who teaches needle felting at Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver. “It can pretty quickly resemble something,” says…

Want to display your Halloween spirit at the front door? These do-it-yourself projects are simple enough to be done by kids with an adult’s help and use easy-to-find supplies. “The door to your house is basically the entrance to Halloween,” says Susan Spencer, editor in chief of Woman’s Day magazine. “It shows off your creativity…

Like knitting and crocheting, spinning – the process of twisting fibers together to make yarn – is enjoying a comeback. Textile artists want “to control the front end of their yarn,” says Sarah Anderson, author of “The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Designs.” “Instead of going to the yarn shop and saying, ‘What do you have?’…

Along with parades, picnics and fireworks, Fourth of July fun for kids can include some holiday-themed crafts. “The Fourth is such a great crafting holiday for kids,” says Mary Giles, deputy editor of FamilyFun magazine. “They can decorate their bikes or make silly hats and noisemakers for the local parade, then help create decorations and…

You might live near a disc golf course and not know it. While many of the nearly 5,000 courses in the U.S. boast grand vistas, glorious flora and some fauna, others are tucked along steep terrain and small creeks, providing a use for parkland not suitable for much else. “Disc golf courses can be built…

The Fourth of July typically is the first holiday during kids’ summer vacation. And by now, they’re bored. Here are three simple crafts that can involve them in preparations for the holiday’s fireworks and picnics. Not only do you keep them busy, but you get decorations to reuse year after year. “There’s so much enthusiasm…

From leprechaun beards to shamrock hats, a few simple crafts can turn you from a spectator into a participant at a St. Patrick’s Day party. “Kids especially like something they can wave, and to join in on the festivities,” says Joy Howard, associate editor of FamilyFun magazine. The crafts should be easy because St. Patrick’s…