I never really thought of myself as a crafty sort of gal. Seriously, I have long lived with the crafty curse, trying many a Martha-centric project and failing in expensive, ugly sorts of ways.

I very much admit that my mom got the short end of the stick when it came to these sorts of projects when I was a kid. She tried to teach me the whole homemaking gig – sewing, knitting, cross stitch – I would have none of it. Damn my stubborn “I’ll do it my way” sort of nature.

Turns out, the crafting thing is HUGE at our house now and – looking back on a year of projects – the tiny person and I (Ken even got in on a few) definitely made a few cool creations that got us through rainy days, made for some excellent imaginary fun in the forest, were just plain pretty.

Here’s a review of our 10 favourite craft projects of 2008:

1. My personal fave for 2008 had to be the Handmade Paper Bracelets we made last Summer. They didn’t last long. But, the tiny person totally digs jewelry and she L-O-V-E-D making her own gear. Good times.

2. Spending a Summer at the Hands On Farm gave us some great chances to get into farm projects like the Paper Quilts we made. Gluing and cutting, plus the bonus of matching pieces like a puzzle, made this one a real gem. We still have one hanging in our hallway.

3. Spring was a favourite crafting season for us last year and one of the big hits was the Waldorf-Inspired 3-D Butterfly we made in April. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

4. In June, we got our pioneer crafting groove on and tried our hands at Tin Punching. While we totally turned this into a pretty girlie craft, this one is awesome for boys and older kids. We’ll be making this one again soon.

5. In July, we hit the beach for inspiration and came up with some very cool Seashell Maracas. These music makers were a HUGE hit and we still have little maraca concerts.

6. September launched a love affair with unicorns and fairies around here. So, it makes sense that our daughter’s very favourite craft of all time is our Forest Fairies project. These are totally lovely, a great excuse for a walk (and a trip to the paper store) and can be made for any season. Love.

7. While we’ll go a bit more eco with this project in 2009, our Paper Bag Easter Baskets were so much fun to make. I found one filled with blocks in our daughter’s room the other day. Some things are keepers.

8. My favourite holiday craft, by far, was our Stained-Glass Twinkle Lights project. So pretty and an excellent re-use of glass jars.

9. It has been the year of imaginative magic around our house. So, the perfect nature craft project for us was most definitely the Magic Wands that a day of collecting and some help from Ken created in the Spring. Our wands are still producing some excellent magic.

10. Finally, the craft project that has most definitely had the most longevity and requests to recreate around our house was the Waldorf-inspired Watercolour Hand Trees. This easy, nature-focused project makes me smile every time I see it. Waldorf projects warm the heart.

Hope you all had a great year getting your creative groove on. 2009 should be even more fun!