A Banner Week for Little Bits and Opportunity Knocks

Kid-powered collaboration yields street decorations made from recycled materials.

Very happy to see this arrive in the inbox the other day, compliments of Liita Forsyth, a River Forest resident who leads the Little Bits Workshop. She writes: The Little Bits Workshop partnered with Opportunity Knocks to create a splash on Lake Street in River Forest. Young campers 5-9 years old created street banners, planted gardens and yarn-bombed a tree for the sole purpose of showing people how individuals of all ages and abilities can come together to create beauty and make a difference. The message is is simple: GROWING...OPPORTUNITIES...TOGETHER...which means if we accept and respect those with disabilities, the sky is the limit. (The banners were made from repurposed materials: a photographer's back drop, vintage doilies, old t-…

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The Picky Peasant

Get Those Old Sweaters Out of the Closet!

Don't donate those shrunken woolly things just yet. They're ideal for upcycling into useful cell phone accessories.

Like most folks, my family is still trying to recover from the spending spree of Christmas. Being a compulsive maker, I’m constantly thinking of the next project. But my budget requires my project lineup to be created by re-purposing rather than purchasing new materials and supplies. A few weeks ago my husband lost his cell phone and went to the phone store to replace his with the upgrade I had never bothered to use. Then, of course, his phone reappeared about a week later — making my old phone the logical one to dump.  I was happy with my tiny, old phone and had been resisting getting a new one because I'm too busy to learn a new device right now.  But, hence, I was forced to join the rest of the American population with a phone that is a…

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The Picky Peasant

Trunk Show Proceeds Bring Art to Children's Hospital

The Little Bits Workshop goes on the road to Children's Hospital in Maywood.

In 2001, a trip to Kaluga, Russia lit a flame that has never gone out. My husband and I worked with a team who taught art and sports to under privileged kids in a small village three hours southeast of Moscow. Tie-dye projects and making jewelry brought delight beyond words to over 125 children that week in late summer. When we returned home, I vowed to do something similar here in the Oak Park area. On February 15, 2010 that dream came true when the doors of The Little Bits Workshop opened. Last Friday, another dream came true: bringing meaningful craft to children with long-term and terminal illness at Ronald McDonald Children's Hospital at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.  My business partner Rose DeBoer and I worked with …

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At Little Bits, Art Coach Looks to Inspire All Ages

Little Bits Workshop splashes creative classes on the River Forest scene.

In these tough economic times, many people are searching for an outlet to explore their artistic talents, or to simply vent their energies and worries. The Little Bits Workshop is offering just the place. Founder Liita Forsyth shares her ideas of creativity and innovation in her sessions at the River Forest business, located at 411 Park Ave. Since opening shop in February, her classes have included teaching students of all ages how to turn recyclables into usable, beautiful objects. "Maybe the projects that kids and adults do at the workshop will inspire a product that they can make and sell -- maybe even start a company," said Forsyth, a 43-year-old artist and mother of two. Her students have learned how to make clothes, scrapbooks, robot…

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