Rainy day beading

The night before last, Child Two had a friend sleep over. Sleep over? Ha! Very little sleeping was done. They had planned to make bracelets, but they got sidetracked building a sheet-and-chair fort, which they played in for hours and then “slept” in. Two of the cats didn’t quite understand that a sheet, while technically a solid object, is not strong enough to stand on when it’s supported only by several dining room chairs. Dottie tried it first, before bedtime. In the middle of the night, what little sleep the girls did get was interrupted by Jamie crashing down on them: “And down will come kitty, sheet, chairs, and all.”

After her friend left in the morning, Child Two decided to keep the fort up (it’s still there now) and in the afternoon she and I sat inside and made memory wire bracelets together.
These are very easy to make. All it takes is some memory wire (so-called because it retains its coil shape), a pair of wire cutters and a pair of pliers (round-nose ones work well), and beads. Our local BigName Craft Store carries two sizes of memory wire, one just right for kids and one just right for adults. Cut the wire to whatever length you want (if someone has been pretending the wire is a Slinky—Child One, was that you?—you may have to untangle it first), curl one end with the pliers, and start beading. When you’re done, curl the other end. That’s it.

It was rainy yesterday and the day before that, so Child Two and I decided we needed some bright spring colors. What could be better than sitting in a homemade fort on a gloomy day with great company, 70s tunes cranked up on the stereo, playing with beads?

By the way, we're still in search of brownie recipes and online craft stores. Leave a comment if you've got something to recommend!