Ladies help me help another...

**MJsLady** · 10-23-2002, 08:57 PM

As some of you know I am a home health aide. The lady I work with is 84, she has had many strokes (the last one the day I started working with her..)
She is wheel chair bound and has 1 good hand. She was an avid sewer (that word never looks right to me!) cook and crafter before her 2nd to last stroke paralyzed one hand and her legs.
She is quick mnded and loves to read. Occasionally she mentions missing her sewing etc. I can not convince her she can still cook. (with help)
I told her I am sure there is a craft we can do together and her eyes kind of lit up. She has begun to feel useless and I hate that! She is a very sweet lady.
What are some crafts she may be able to do? I think plastic canvas, with precut parts might be good.
Mind you, I will have to do it along side her and i am all thumbs!
She can use her bad hand to hold stuff still but thats about it.
Any ideas? I will be supplying materials so it must be low cost. It needs to be quick and easy so she stays interested and doesn't get too tired.
I know you all can give me some clues! Thanks for helping!

**heaven** · 10-23-2002, 09:30 PM

the jars, are so easy and cheap to make. the ones with the candy corn and they are so much fun, she could make them for friends.

**captclearance** · 10-23-2002, 09:51 PM

Some crafts that glue together might be easy for her..... If she has scraps of fabric, here is a link to a very easy and fun craft....
http://www.usave2day.com/forums/show...ghlight=wreath

it was submitted by another member and would be a great thing for her to do.... if she has the fabric, you would just need to get the straw wreaths and the are only about $1.00 each..... The scraps can be secured with pins if pushing the screwdriver is too hard for her....they can also be done on styrofoam and these come on a variety of shapes like hearts and trees, try covering a styrofoam tree or cone in the same way......... HTH......

**heaven** · 10-23-2002, 09:58 PM

I did one of these once and it was so easy. and they are really cute too.

**Sara Noel** · 10-23-2002, 10:38 PM

Would she be able to latch hook? Or how about some silk florals glued onto some grapevine/straw wreaths?

I'm thinking cardmaking might be really fun for her, as well. Michaels has some great cardmaking supplies.

Sara

**mgory29379** · 10-23-2002, 11:09 PM

Latchhook would be easy for her as well as making simple stuff for friends and family like jars that have cookie ingredients,hot chocolate,muffin mixes. Another fun thing could be painting. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and she could use her one hand. Mind you it couldn't be paint by numbers, it would have to be free style. Could she hold a hand sewer,like those ones that they advertise on TV? Maybe you could get a family member to donate one for her.

**dolphin** · 10-24-2002, 12:11 AM

Glueing crafts sound great!

You can take clothes pins and glue pipe cleaner shaped like antlers, two google eyes, and tiny brown pompom and make reindeer.

Maybe take tin cans (veggie cans) and glue material on them or buttons to make a desk set. Have her pick out her favorite buttons, you put on the glue and she sticks it to the can. She will love it cause she did it and she can look at it long after and say "look what I made".

How about painting freehand on a terra cotta pot. Then you write her name on it and spray it with a gloss finish.

**dozymom** · 10-24-2002, 12:46 PM

I saw the prettiest collage made from buttons and old earrings at a friends.

She made a Christmas tree shape by gluing the buttons/earrings from her mothers button box on in a tree form.

It was a wonderful memento of her mother, and she puts it up every year at Christmas. I honestly can't remember the background bits, but she made it look gorgeous.

I was just thinking, if she sewed a lot, she probably has a pretty good button collection, and maybe that might be something she could do as a memento for her kids.

Dolphin's post reminded me of the buttons and I remembered Dot's button Christmas tree thingy.

**rhiana** · 10-24-2002, 01:27 PM

Can you borrow or purchase some rubber stamps on sale maybe? With some cardstock, rubber stamps, and ink she could make some pretty Christmas Cards. Glitter, glue and sticker can all be purchased and dollar and discount stores and they would make the cards even more special. You could tape the cardstock to a table and she could probably do the rest all by herself, especially if she is a really crafty person.
My grandmother used to make beautiful ornaments out of egg cartons. Cut the individual egg cups apart, cover in glue then entirely in glitter. Turn the cup upside down and hang a ribbon through to make a sparkly bell or glue two of them together to make a pretty ball with "windows" where the sides don't meet. They really come out very beautiful, we still put up the ones my grandmother made over 30 years ago.