Mummy, Don't Throw That Away (No Boo Hoo's)

Kid-Made Kid-Friendly Mummy

Take some of the boo hoo out of the boo! with a sweet-looking and kinda cuddly stuffed mummy to make with your kids. At the workshop we have just about anything you need to make just about anything. To make a wish. To make something. But what if you have no supplies? Do you have printer paper sitting in your recycling bin and a smidge of cello-tape? How about a crayon? We promise this won't be too scary for busy parents, either.

The Supplies

• 2-3 pieces 8.5"x11" used printer paper (printed on one side)
• Cellophane tape
• Colored pencil/crayon/marker/eyeliner....
• Scissors (or not)
• (really, that's all!)

The Operation

(Step 1) Crumpled Paper

1.  Crumple up two pieces of paper. Unfold and crumple them up again. The crumpling step is done when the pieces are soft and pliable. Set one piece aside.  
2.  Fold one crumpled piece of paper in half hamburger style (i.e. cross-wise, or fold the 11" side to make two halves that measure 8.5"x5.5"). On this paper sketch a squared-off oval mummy-like shape. 
3.  With the paper still folded, cut (or rip) out the mummy shape. This will yield two mummy-shaped pieces. Trim one of the pieces so that it is slightly smaller than the other.
4.  Draw a friendly face on the blank side of the larger of the two mummy shapes.

(Step 5) Folding + Taping

5.  With blank sides facing outward (i.e. printed sides touching), fold the edges of the larger shape around the edges of the smaller shape and affix with tape.

(Step 6+7) Stuffing the Mumm6. 

6.  Take the third piece of paper and rip it into smallish pieces. Wad these up into little balls to be used as stuffing.
7.  Stuff the mummy and close the opening with tape.
8.  Remember the remaining soft and pliable piece of paper? Rip that paper lengthwise into slim strips (about .5" wide).

(Step 9) Wrapping the Mummy

9.  Starting on the back-side, tape down the end of a paper-strip and begin wrapping the mummy. Tape strips together to make enough to wrap the mummy to your satisfaction.

Not too scary, right? Please enjoy a safe and silly Halloween.

Have you heard of Craft City, Michigan?

We're sorry. Really we are. We haven't ever intended to make anyone feel awkward, and if you have, please accept our apologies. If your child has refused to come home at their designated pick-up time, we apologize for our inner-smile and freely accept responsibility. We have every intention of helping your child feel readily comfortable in the workshop so that they can get to the work and play of getting to know their own creativity and capabilities. We do it on purpose. Some cry out ("oh, Mom!", "not yet!" or "I told you not to come so early!") and some may actually cry. Some kids feign sleeping from fun-exhaustion on our window seats or in our library. And one recently did an incredible mime-rendition of a baseball umpire's gesture of the safe call through the window to signal their parent that they just weren't ready to go home yet.

It can maybe explained this easily-- it is a second home for many of us. We like working here. We spend a lot of time here, and so it feels like home. We even have some dirty dishes, just like home (or at least like my home.) Be it a class, a camp or our after-school program, the time that we spend together in this colorful and comfortable place that generally smells really great has crafted some great memories and has knit quite a community. So while we really are sorry if it has ever made you uncomfortable, we are really glad that your child has been that comfortable.

Recently a friend in our creative community asked me for the name of the paint color that we used on the first floor of the workshop. A few months later she asked how we keep our table legs so level. The first question I understood (it really is a lovely blue), but the follow-on question not so much.....until she told me about Craft City. Craft City is an art room in her vacation home in Union Pier, MI outfit to replicate our workshop as closely as possible, including the tables, stools and brand of all-purpose cleaner. We knew that her child liked her time with us-- she told us as much in embroidery stitches. But this! Well if that isn't a compliment.

So yes, we humbly and sincerely accept responsibility for our role in this, but you need to own your part. This little house of fun, or Fun House depending on the day, wouldn't be anything, anything at all, without you.