If you know Jodi Levine, you are keenly aware that she is colorful, bright, and a craft superstar. For those who don’t know her, a simple Google search will reveal a variety of projects that showcase her immense creativity, her website supermakeit.com, and her whimsical books including Candy Aisle Crafts, Paper Goods Projects, Toilet Tube Treasury, plus her latest, co-authored with Margaret McCartney, Mousetown (find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble).
A lifelong crafter, Levine spent 19 years at Martha Stewart Living and was also the editorial director of spinoffs Martha Stewart Kids and Martha Stewart Baby. In her latest book, Levine and McCartney take kids on an adventure with Mouse and his friend Ginger to craft their town so they can go about making tiny cakes, miniature furniture, and more. The book offers more than 30 crafts using lots of recycled materials. We sat down with Levine and learned more about her ingenuity and the inspiration behind Mousetown.
What do you find so rewarding about making art with kids?
I love giving children simple, open-ended craft materials and art supplies and seeing what they come up with. It’s always surprising and inspiring! We have one craft we’ve been doing with kids on our book tour for Mousetown— coffee stirrer picture frames—and the kids often add their own twist or come up with something completely [different] like a mini TV or “frog trap.” We heard from parents that their kids who have the book are already “shopping” in their recycling bin for supplies and creating their own Mousetowns!
How do you come up with so many fun ways of using what others consider trash?
There are so many great reasons to use recycled materials in crafts, beyond just keeping them out of the landfill. Using materials from the recycle bin in our book was really important to us. Creating something from everyday items, like cardboard boxes or sardine tins strengthens our creativity by opening our eyes to the possibilities of these seemingly mundane items. The more you play with them, the more you will start to see a bottlecap as a pie pan, picture frame, or a wagon wheel; matchboxes as dresser drawers; or a milk carton as a (mouse) house!
What are some of your favorite materials to work with?
Toilet paper tubes and other cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls, gift wrap, plastic wrap, and foil never make it to the recycle bin in my house! I recommend keeping a stash of these. They can be made into all kinds of things—telescopes, napkin rings, favor boxes, mini houses, animals, light sabers, bracelets, puppets, the little toilet tube chairs in Mousetown (my favorite), or anything you can think of!
How did you and your co-author come up with the idea for Mousetown?
My co-author is one of my closest friends. We went to art school together at Rhode Island School of Design where we were roommates, then both worked at Martha Stewart, had kids at around the same time, and even shared a babysitter! When my family moved out of Brooklyn, we wanted to collaborate, partly as a way to stay connected but also because we had an idea that we were excited about: a book that combined story and craft. We bonded over a childhood love of fictional mice and their tiny, hidden worlds. She developed the cutest mouse characters, and I created mini-crafts for the props and sets.
What inspires you?
I find that playing with the materials I collect is often the best source of inspiration. I used to think, “I’ve done everything I will ever think of with a toilet paper tube or a marshmallow.” But the more you experiment, the more ideas emerge. Working within the constraints of using one material can be surprisingly inspiring. For example, my book, Toilet Tube Treasury is entirely focused on toilet-tube crafts. Initially, I wouldn’t have enough ideas to fill a whole book, but once I started playing, I felt like I could do that for the rest of my life!
Craft: Teeny-Tiny Pictures and Frames
What will you put in your tiny picture frames? Little photos or pictures that you draw yourself? Mouse has a whole wall of portraits of relatives, friends, and frenemies (cats!).
Special materials:
- Small jar, caps, bottle caps, or buttons
- Small pictures to frame
- Matchboxes or jewelry boxes
- Baker’s twine or string
- Wooden coffee stirrer
From your toolbox:
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- White glue
- Clear tape
- Pencil
Instructions:
- Trace the frame around the picture and then cut inside the line so that the picture will fit into the frame.
- Apply a glue stick to the back of the picture and press it inside the frame.
- Make a hanger for the frame: Cut a short piece of string, around 3 inches. Fold it in half: Use clear tape or glue to stick both ends of the string to the back of the frame.
Related: 5 Ways to Stay Engaged With Your Kids During the Work Week
