I'm a 58 year old woman. I've been married for 37 years & we have 2 sons. I have loved crafting all my life. I usually teach myself & enjoy the relaxation I get from making things. I do crochet, crewel embroidery, macrame, decopage, applique, sewing, cake decorating, minimal carpentery, tie dye & am new to quilting. I love working with children & felt completely at home working in special ed. classes for a total of 20 years.I've also coached or helped coach Special Olympics for about 15 years. My son David is a member of Mensa and my son Derrick has Down syndrome so they were both challenging children in their own way. Hubby Ken has Parkinson's & various other debilitating problems so I am staying at home to care for him. I basically lived in AZ most of my life, we moved to Dallas, TX in 1992 and are now in WONDERFUL Oregon.
Thank you to every one for responding. I was able to make a crocheted cap a bit too large, then lined it with a light weight cotton fabric and put some elastic thread on the edges. It stretches, it covers the wounds and it is very washable. Finding the right fit was a bit tricky, but it's warmer than just crochet and I can make several colors for him. Again, thank you. ... View related article.
My husband & I used to camp out & hike in the Arizona mountains. We also coached Special Olympics. He, too, is pretty much confined to the house now with Parkinson's. He has started doing geneology research on the internet. He also loves military aircraft, so he does some history research on airplanes. He also gets into the public broadcasting websites and finds all kinds of videos about nature, history & geology in each state. He watches the videos to take a virtual trip since he can't do the actual hiking. Find some subject your dad would be interested in & get him on the internet. My husband is down to typing with two fingers now, but he loves researching things. Good luck, I know how hard it is. ... View related article.
I put a sign on my door that says Day Sleeper. I printed in in large letters on hot pink paper and taped it under the knocker. It worked like a charm. Even the UPS man hesitated to knock, but I heard him drive up & looked out the window. He was standing there, not sure if he should knock, but the package needed a signature. ... View related article.
I have used very strong tea with pretty good results. If you have the tea powder, about a teaspoon of powder for a teaspoon of vanilla. If you don't have the powder, put a tea bag in about a quarter cup of boiling water & let it steep for about 5 minutes. It isn't the same as vanilla, but it can be pretty good. ... View related article.
Thank you all for responding. As I said, my hint came from experience, so I know this is a really usable item for needy families. Give a hungry man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime. We were very poor when I grew up, so I like to help however I can on my limited budget. Dianne ... View related article.
My solution was a little different. I used the light color on the top cabinets and used a 'picture frame' effect on the bottom. First, I painted the entire door white. When it was fully dry, I used one inch masking tape on the sides, top & bottom edges creating a rectangle area in the middle. Then, I used the dark paint on the untaped area. When the tape was removed, it looked like a white picture frame with brown in the 'picture' area. This provided the dark area where dirty marks don't show, but kept the lighter look to help make the room look bigger. I did the same thing with the drawers, and got wooden knobs which I also painted white. I don't have a picture, but it was a nice, crisp effect. ... View related article.
I'm a mom of a son with Down syndrome and I've worked in classrooms for mentally challenged children, a home for adults and am a special Olympics coach. Lots of experience here! A lot depends on the abilities of the people you are working with. Most of the people I have known have loved paint by number kits, loop potholder kits, stringing beads of any kind, simple sewing projects, making things with Popsicle sticks, gluing puzzle pieces to picture frames, putting puzzles together and gluing them to make a picture, many love clay or play doh projects, anything with glitter, stencils & stickers, making sock puppets, gluing things to clay pots, making clay pot figures, planting almost anything, decorating a pillow case or a tee shirt with fabric paints, Sassier299 mentioned plastic canvas which is good and some may be able to actually do cross stitch.
I taught a 7 year old autistic child to crochet, the possibilities are endless depending on the capabilities of each person and the patience of the teacher. Oriental Trading is an excellent place to find kits. Michael's crafts has a lot of ideas on the website. Look at teacher oriented websites and at websites for home schooling. Also, get into the craft section of About.com for ideas. Just go for it! You'll have a lot of fun working with them and you will also learn from them.
I'm sure you meant no offense in using the term 'retarded', but as a parent of a son with Down syndrome, let me say thank you to beacondtspec & to sassier299 for saying mentally challenged. I'm OK with it, but you may want to be more politically correct because some parents & relatives get very offended by the 'R' word. ... View related article.
Thank you to everyone for their responses. I live in a tiny apartment, so I don't think using the oven would be a good thing (LOL)! However, next time we find a dead starfish, it will be properly preserved. Just a note--I would NEVER harm a living creature. ... View related article.
I worked at an elementary school for many years and I know the art lady appreciated donations of yarn. We also had a teacher who started a knitting/crochet club and she needed supplies. I know my local senior center also has a club that would take the donations. Many of the charities that make hats for preemies or for soldiers would take it. AND many of the homeless shelters or the safe houses for abused women also appreciate this kind of thing. ... View related article.
Cut them in fourths, sprinkle a little Mexican spice on them & use them in taco salad, or you can add them to your favorite nacho recipe. You can probably use them in Tater Tot casserole too. Just Google recipes for Tater Tot casserole and make the one that looks good. ... View related article.
