“And how about a potato clock so we can keep track of time?” said Bella. She ran back into the house, came out with two potatoes, and demonstrated how to connect them with wire to an old digital clock that didn’t have batteries.
“Aren’t you worried we’ll end up with baked potatoes?” asked Emily with a wink.
Everyone laughed.
Suddenly Emily remembered something. She still had not replaced her missing friendship bracelet. I’ll tell Maddie soon, she thought.
• • •
Every afternoon for the rest of the week, the kids met up at Bella’s house to work on transforming the shed into a crafting studio. It was a lot of work: building, drawing, painting, and creating. Sam sketched his mural on the wall with chalk, and all four of them painted. Maddie pinned together curtains and taught the others to sew seams and attach rickrack, pom-poms, and fringe. Emily continued to build furniture with Bella’s assistance, and Bella set up her computer. “After all,” she pointed out, “coding is crafting too.”
“It is?” asked Sam.
“Sure,” said Bella. “It’s all about being creative and making stuff. Plus, why else would they call it Minecraft?”
Chapter 10
Friends New and Old!
By Sunday afternoon Maddie’s new painting pants were as speckled and splattered as her old pair had been. Bella came running out of the house with a bandage for Emily’s newest scratch.
“Ouch,” she said sympathetically.
“Yeah,” said Emily. “It was worth it, though.”
“I’ll say!” said Sam. “This place is amazing!”
The kids admired their work. They had created a Sewing Station and a Coding Corner. The sewing machine was bolted to the tabletop, but you could flip the table up to create more workspace. Bella had made sure the computer had high-speed Internet by repositioning her family’s router. There was Sam’s Painting Pavilion, which was lined with all different color paints and about a million brushes of different sizes. Emily’s Carpentry Cabinet had tons of tools and materials. The shed already had a working sink, but the kids had added shelving for all their supplies. Plus, they’d painted a chalkboard wall and added that swing!
“Well,” said Maddie, “I guess all there is left to do is . . . make stuff! What should we create first?”
Suddenly Bella gasped. “The charity bake sale!” she remembered. “It’s in a couple of days!”
“Oh no! The friendship bracelets!” said Emily. “We got so busy setting up the studio, we forgot to make more!”
Sam looked at the girls, utterly confused.
“To sell, not to eat,” Emily explained. “Maddie and Bella made a bunch, but we need more if we’re going to have enough for the bake sale.”
“Well, can you teach me?” asked Sam. “With four of us, it should go pretty fast.”
“Great idea!” said Bella. “Here, watch. This is how Maddie showed me.” She selected four strands of embroidery thread, tied a knot, and taped it to the big worktable.
“Slow down!” said Sam with a laugh. But he caught on quickly. He copied Bella’s movements. Emily and Maddie joined them at the table and started making bracelets too. Before long they were tying off the bracelets’ ends.
Suddenly Emily felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and saw that Maddie was holding out something for her.
It was the most beautiful bracelet she had ever seen. Emily turned it over in her hand, admiring it.
“The other day I noticed that you weren’t wearing your bracelet,” Maddie explained. “I sort of figured you’d lost it but maybe didn’t want to tell me?”
Emily nodded in disbelief.
“Well, I made you a new one. See? The four colors represent each of us. And we can make one for Sam, too!” said Maddie.
Emily beamed as Maddie tied the brand-new bracelet on her wrist.
The four kids spent the rest of the afternoon making bracelets, laughing, and talking about future projects.
As Emily tied knot after knot, she smiled to herself. She was so glad she had talked to Maddie about her feelings. The two girls were still as close as ever. And to top it all off, Emily had made two new friends! So much for that un-friendship bracelet!
How to Make . . .
A Friendship Bracelet
What you need:
Embroidery thread (four colors!)
Scissors
Tape
Step 1:
Cut four strands of embroidery thread (one of each color) about twelve inches long.
Step 2:
Holding the strands by one end, tie them all together with a knot, leaving about three inches above the knot.
Step 3:
Tape the loose three inches to a table or other surface where you can work.
Step 4:
Start with string 1 and loop it over, then under string 2. Make sure you hold string 2 straight. Pull the knot you made with string 1 tight.
Step 5:
Do Step 4 again so you have a double knot.
Step 6:
Now take string 1 and make double knots around string 3 and string 4.
Step 7:
Do the same thing, starting with string 2 this time. Make double knots around string 3, string 4, and then string 1.
Step 8:
Keep going until the bracelet is the right length!
Step 9:
When you’re done, gather the ends together and tie a knot so the bracelet is secure. Then trim the ends but leave one inch.
Step 10:
Tie the two ends together to make a bracelet!
Here’s a sneak peek at the next Craftily Ever After book!
“Should we just . . . start?” Bella Diaz asked, glancing at her watch.
“Let’s wait a few more minutes,” Emily Adams suggested.
“Yeah,” agreed Maddie Wilson.
The three friends were at their craft clubhouse—formerly known as the old shed in Bella’s backyard. Usually, it was four friends, but Sam Sharma was nowhere in sight.
Their clubhouse was filled with all sorts of materials the kids used for their crafty projects.
