I. Am not. Crafty.  I know – it’s sad.  I mean, I have five children, and I homeschool.  How can this be?  Honestly, I don’t really know, but the Lord chose not to gift me with craftiness.  Or artsyness*.  Or cute handwriting. You will never visit my blog and see some craft I came up with, my latest piece of refinished furniture or any scrapbooking ideas.  You also won’t see any sweet pictures of my children completing their latest painting project.  Don’t get me wrong.  I do crafts with the kiddos, but it stresses me out so much, that the thought of leaving them unattended for 30 seconds to pick up my camera and take any halfway decent pictures is just laughable.  🙂

Anyway, I digress. I used to try all of those crafty, momish things, thinking that if I just worked harder I would be able to conjure up some skills.  You know, like actually be able to pick out a cute theme for a scrapbook, make bubble letters, heck even crop a picture with straight edges.  Well, after failing every single time, I finally realized that I was not going to be able to succeed at my goal.  I would need to just stay in the home decor section of Hobby Lobby, realizing the other half of the store was not made for me.  I used to bemoan my lack of craftiness, thinking it somehow made me an incomplete mother.  Then I just accepted that God made everyone different, and while I have other giftings, creativity is not one of mine.

So, I have learned to work around my insufficiencies.  That’s what being a good parent is all about, right?  (Just go with me on this one.)  As you can imagine, I was thrilled to stumble upon Kiwi Crates.  These look so stinkin’ perfect for me and my clan.  All you do is sign up for a subscription, and each month they send you a crate with two projects.  The projects include everything you need and are either crafts, science projects or imaginative play projects.  The cost is $19.95 per month, which includes shipping.  Also, you can pause or cancel your subscription at any time.  I’m a big believer in the ‘don’t lock me in’ subscription type.  (If you visit their website, they have multiple example crates you can view.)

From the several reviews I have read and pictures I’ve seen, the projects look to be high quality.  I’ve seen a few other sites that propose to offer similar products, but most projects tend to be completely comprised of those foam shapes sold at craft stores.

Now, the frugal, deal-seeker in me, immediately screams, “Jessica!  I’m sure you could buy these material for less than $20!  What are you thinking?!?  Just get in the car and drive straight to Hobby Lobby.  This time it will be different!”  Well, I have had enough experience to know that this voice LIES TO ME!  It will never be different.  I will never have the skills or time to sit down and plan multiple, cute crafts every month.  I will always walk out of Hobby Lobby with a bag of junk that will get used in one sitting because I don’t have a good plan, and feel like a failure as my children sit around covering their faces and bodies with stickers.  Again.

All of this being said, I have decided the extra money is worth the planning, driving, shopping and self-esteem.  🙂  If you want to check out Kiwi Crates for yourself, click this link or the image at the top of the post.  So, Happy Crafting!!!  (Isn’t that what they say???)  🙂

* Please note that I am fully aware that I made up multiple words for this post.  I don’t know ‘craft speak’.  🙂