Shoebox: All About Children

Carol Duvall Show : Episode CDS-1917 -- More Projects » By Carol Duvall
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Figure A
Today's shoebox contributions were all about children. The letters and/or projects were either by children, about children or for children and the very first item was a very clever little photo frame (Figure A) that proud grandfather Paul Mastrangelo of Phoenixville, Pa., made for his granddaughter Kendra.

The frame was made on a 6" x 6" square of corrugated cardboard to which he glued four, six-inch lengths of wooden rulers around the outside edges to form the frame. On top of these he glued several wooden items from the craft store that he had painted—an apple, alphabet letters, etc. In the upper left hand corner he added a small framed blackboard on which he wrote Kendra's name and the year. To finish it off he hot glued a pencil across the top that extended a bit beyond the frame at each end allowing space to tie the hanging cord. It was very cute.

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Figure B
Next was a letter from Angie Jennings of Utah who wrote to us about her daughter, Makalia, and her interest in crafts and our show. She also told us about the day Makalia announced she had decided to dress her pencils and apparently she meant that literally because she made some small (about three-inch long) felt dresses that she embroidered for decoration and slipped over her pencils (Figure B). The dresses were made of two layers of felt that Makalia hand-stitched together using a blanket stitch. The work was very neatly done and the dresses were a hit. Not only did many of her classmates want one but she has since sold a number them for 50 cents each!
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Figure C
Then there was a letter from Kathy Ingram of Texas telling of the tennis ball earrings that her daughter Allison made. It gave me pause to wonder and then I saw the earrings that Kathy sent. They were tiny round beads made of yellow polymer clay and decorated with a very fine string of the clay to imitate the lines on a tennis ball. Also included was a macramé necklace made with what I guessed was either hemp or waxed linen thread with the tennis ball beads positioned every inch or so. It was very clever and very nicely done (Figure C).
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Figure D
Margot Joseph of Florida also wrote to us and sent in a couple of samples of what she calls her paper collage. Margot, who was 11 at the time, sent a heart-shaped card along with a bookmark which had "I'm stuck in a good book" written on it (Figure D). Both pieces were covered with torn pieces of paper in compatible colors which Margot had outlined with a black marker. They were very nice and obviously took a lot of work and imagination.
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Figure E
We also received a nice letter from Evan Hartfield of California who sent in one of his duct tape wallets (Figure E) that got a lot of attention from all the men on the set. It was very well done and looked great having been made from black duct tape. Evan also reminded us that duct tape now comes in many colors, so it is possible to make differently colored wallets.
Also in this Episode
Carol Duvall Show : Episode CDS-1917
•Memory Page Embellishments
•Heart Pillow
•Shoebox: All About Children