make:: the biggest snowflake ever :: (review & giveaway)

I just received a review copy of Side by Side: 20 Collaborative Projects for Crafting with Your Kids by Tsia Carson and am smitten. (Read to the end!! I have a copy to give away!)

The book is broken up into three sections. The first, features crafts that you can do with your children. The second is brilliant because each project is presented with two companion projects at different levels, so your child and you can work next to each other on independent projects that share a skill set. And the final section offers a few projects to do outside the home. 

As soon as I read the book, I knew that my kids would want to make the giant newspaper snowflake. 

One of Carson's tips for working with kids is to transform a typical craft project to something really big. I love this idea and can see how it might be applied to a myriad of projects around here. 

To make the snowflake, use making tape to tape double-spreads of newspaper sheets into a huge square. Carson recommends a 12 foot square but it works at any size. Ours was about 7 feet (four double spreads wide and tall). 

Fold the square into a triangle. Then fold in half as many times as you can. 

Round off the top. 

Cut your designs into the paper. (We made ours with guides to follow since there were 3-4 people cutting at a time).

The book offers templates, but the general rule is to cut away a lot of the snowflake from either side, without cutting all the way through. 

We had to take turns opening it. Each kid got to open one fold until the whole thing was revealed. We were so impressed with how great it turned out. 

So enamored with this huge beauty, the boys asked to hang it up in their room. It barely fit on the wall, but I can not think of a cooler piece of art!

Not only are the projects unique and engaging (how about a huge seed self portrait on the ground at the park?), but her philosophy is worth reading too. She offers great reminders on working with children on creative projects. 

This would make a great gift for a crafty family with several children!

Would you like to win a copy? Just leave a comment here and like me on FB too if you would. I will pick a random winner on Friday, October 19th. WOOO HOOO! Good luck!