The joke around here is that a great many of us are devoid of the crafty gene, hence our obsession with the amazing creations by many of the folks we feature here at Cool Mom Picks. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have crafters envy, especially when it comes to doing stuff with our kiddos. So when we had the chance to interview designer and long-time fave Lotta Jansdotter we couldn’t help but ask her for some tips and tricks to help us not-so-crafty minded mamas get started. –Kristen

So many moms have the desire to bring out their “inner crafter” but
just don’t know where to start. What are three simple must-haves to get
them on their way?

Well, there are so many crafts you can do, but I personally can’t live without:

1. Good scissors – and make sure you never cross use them!
2. A good iron.
3. Paper cement – since I’m obsessed with paper collage work.

Any tips on how to get kids involved in crafting without losing your mind?

Keep the projects short, and depending on your kids’ age, try not to be
too detailed. It’s so important to try not to interfere with their
creative process; let them do it the way they envision it and not the
way you might want it to end up looking. It’s hard to turn off the
micro manager and the perfectionist.

With that in mind, any suggestions for quick easy crafts that you can do with your kids?

Stencil printing with kids is great. And iron-ons are too. Good for fast gratification.

Make us feel a little better about our shopping habits, Lotta – what’s
one thing you absolutely won’t make yourself and insist on buying?

I’m not really good at making clothing, but I wish I were. So if I want
anything to remotely look good and fit me, I head to the store!

What are you reading to glean inspiration?

I really like the Australian magazine Inside Out as well as the kid
style magazine Milk which has some rather fabulous photos. I also
love to read Swedish lifestyle magazines for a bit of my home land.

As far as blogs go, I just discovered Reprodepot, which shows simple and easy sewing how-tos!

Thanks so much for these tips, Lotta, and thanks to the folks at
Rowenta (for whom Lotta is an ambassador) for hooking us up. Check out her amazing products at the Lotta Jansdotter shop and boutiques all over. And you can
visit the Rowenta Lab site for some easy Halloween crafts created by Lotta herself that, you guessed it, require an iron!