15 DIY crafts you need to make right now It's cold, it's raining and quite frankly, it's utterly miserable outside at the moment. So stay in! But then it hits you. It's not that great inside either. You're young, so you haven't got all of that furniture and all of the little decorative trinkets that accumulate over time, and if you have, you haven't got nearly enough. Instead of spending your time sitting around moaning about the weather, why not spend your time doing something useful? Why not spend your time crafting some of these? Freshers Fields is back for 2013! 1. Source Stick your button collection around a balloon (and importantly) to each other. 2. Source Glue, buttons, cardboard and a bit of artistic ingenuity and you'll have yourself a great sign for your bedroom door (assuming you use the first letter of your first name). 3. Simply wash out a screw top spirit bottle, find a screw top soap dispenser and put it together. 4. Source Blank glass tumblers, paint, and cotton wool buds are all you need for this one. 5. 6. Source 7.
Coolest Earth Day Craft Ideas - Crafts Made from Recycled Materials « Cans « Crafts With « Kids Crafts & Activities Earth Day will be here in just a couple of weeks. In honor of Earth Day I thought I would scour the internet looking for cool ideas for Earth Day crafts. All of the crafts that I found and have listed here are made from recycled materials. Earth Day is a special day to celebrate the Earth and to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s natural environment. And, I think making crafts from recycled materials such as the ones found here is a great way to teach children about recycling and the importance of doing that to help save our Earth. (1) Newspaper Roses Look how beautiful these Roses are? (2) Serving Tray I love, love, love this idea!! (3) Can-Do Robots Made from tin cans these robots are so freakin cute. (4) Cardboard Ottoman or Side Table What a clever and creative idea!! (5) Smashed Soda Can Animals Ok, this cow is really cute, isn’t he?! (6) Milk Jug Shade Now, this recycled craft turns out beautiful, doesn’t it? (7) Recycled Picnic Basket (8) Newspaper Basket
Everyday Mom Ideas: Scrap Paper Tree Centerpiece Tutorial (Featured guest blogger) Hi there! I'm Sharon from Two Girls Being Crafty, and I am so delighted to be today's guest blogger on Everyday Mom Ideas! Thank you so much, Julia, for having us. My co-blogger, Tristin, and I create fun and inexpensive crafts that anyone could do. Our goal is to inspire. Today I would like to share with you all our newest craft. This simple project uses scrapbook paper leaves to create a bright and cheery Spring ambiance for your home. First, drag out your unseemly healthy assortment of scrapbook paper scraps. Cut out a template of your leaf from the cardboard (you can also use chipboard or card-stock). Take your floral wire and cut strips anywhere from 5"-8" long. Lay down some newspaper next to your workspace. Now for the fun part! ...or make them funky. And you're done! Thanks again, Julia, for having us here today!
DIY Picture Tiles - You Will Never Buy a Photo Frame Again Lately I’ve been having this huge urge to decorate the house. This is big news. I do not decorate. Arguably, one of the reasons why is because I. absolutely. hate. to. buy. mass. produced. decor. (Also, I can’t ever remember if pink and purple go together or not.) Anyway, this extends to photo frames. Nope. Long story short, I discovered this method of transferring my photos cheaply, quickly, and beautifully to something uncommon and unique. Tiles. The only thing that’s not particularly crunchy about this is that it uses Modge Podge or similar (and I’m not sure what’s in Modge Podge). It’s just grainy and doesn’t dry clearly. Boo. BUT, if you can overlook that one minor issue, I think you’ll love this. And it will be glorious. Here’s how you do it. First, you need to go to Home Depot, Lowes, or something like it. (FYI, I found that Lowes prices on tiles were cheaper than Home Depot. I like the stone tiles, because they have texture. So you pick out your tiles in the sizes you want. Go go go!
Scrap Project Roundup I have been trying to finish up all of my Holiday crafting, so I got behind on my scrap fabric projects last week. To make it up to all of you, here are a bunch of super cute scrap fabric projects I found on Pinterest! Above you will see a fabric scrap Memory game, found at Babble. This is a great wall art project using fabric scraps and embroidery hoops, from The Purl Bee. Here are some garden flags from Design Sponge. A fantastic fabric mosaic, as wall art, by Cart Before the Horse. This vintage chair rehab with scrap fabrics is absolutely gorgeous! You can also use your scraps to make a cute pillow case, like this one from Cluck Cluck Sew. What are your favorite projects to do with scraps?
How-To: &Stained Glass& Votive Holders By Jenny Ryan Many times when I’m at the grocery or drug store, I can’t resist throwing a few scented votive candles in my cart. When I’m ready to burn them, it’s easy enough to sit one on a cute little vintage china saucer, but I recently decided to try and find a fancier display solution for them. I also wanted the project to be inexpensive, and the materials used to be things I already had on hand. I was inspired by memories of making faux-stained glass in elementary school and came up with these fun little glass votive holders. Materials Tissue paper in your desired colors Mod Podge (matte finish), in a pinch you can also use school gluePaintbrush Scissors Glass containers to fit your candle(s), I used thrifted vases and wine tumblers Paper punches in various shapes Q-tips, optional Directions Step 1: Figure out what colors of tissue paper you’d like to use and what paper punch shapes you want to try out. Jenny Ryan is an artist, crafter, and maker of things. More: Related
How to Marbleize Paper and Cards Immediately after removing the paper, place it in a pan, and pour water over it. Hang paper to dry, marbleized side up. Do not touch the paper until it is dry (typically within 2 hours, depending on humidity levels). Decide whether to keep or discard your solution (it can be used several times). Packing Tape Image Transfers I love image transfers. It’s something I’m always using in my journals but there are so many other fun uses for them. All you need to make a transfer is a photocopy of an image or words and packing tape. You can also use printouts from a laser printer or magazine pages. Inkjets will not work because they are not heat based toner. First, take a strip of packing tape and place it over the images you want to transfer: Then use the back of your scissors or the side of your fingernail to make sure the tape is adhered firmly: Next, dip the tape and paper into a bowl of water to wet the back: Using your fingers, start to rub off the paper from the back of the tape: Like magic….your image is left behind on the tape! I like to use the transfers to wrap special letters before I mail them. It’s like having custom tape: Another idea is to take a small canvas and use the images for artwork: I used a paint brush to add craft paint to bubble wrap to use it as a stamp: I just used my hand to press it down:
Monster Doll Tutorial ***Visit my etsy shop to purchase your very own Monster Doll*** It's here! The tutorial for these little cuties.... Monster Dolls that is! A Monster Mash? I began by creating a template {in purple} and cutting monster parts out of felt material. Then I traced the template onto my green flannel and cut out two sides {monster front and back}. I pinned my monster parts onto one of the sides. And began sewing my parts on. When I finished sewing my monster parts onto one side, I pinned the right sides of my front and back together. A Monster Lineup! Keep your peeps peeled for more Monster Party goodies! I hope that you likey!
Go Make Something » Surprise Balls This article is also posted at Squidoo! Inside this ball of yarn are all sorts of little goodies I chose for a friend. I wanted to send them to her in a way that’s entertaining, and since the gift will travel a long distance, I also had to come up with something that would take the abuse of going through the mail. My solution? I turned a pile of ephemera and goodies into a surprise ball. Here’s how: First, I chose the items I wanted to send, inlcuding a printer’s block, some buttons, rhineston brads in a small watchmaker tin, and a bunch of ATC backgrounds. I usually choose to make the largest item in my pile of goodies the center of the ball, so here, I’m starting with the ATC backgrounds. Because this is going to a mixed media artist, I wanted to include lots of different fibers and trims. Next, I’ll add two shorter, thicker items, to pad the center out, and start turning this into more of a ball shape. On the other side, I wrapped the little tin of brads.
Quick bread in a bottle Cool weather puts us in the mood to bake. So why not give a friend a head start? Layer the dry ingredients from step 1 (below) for this easy quick bread into a milk bottle or 1-quart mason jar. To fit, tamp each layer well (with chips and nuts on top). We used craft paper adhered with double-stick tape to cover the original milk bottle graphics and the lid. Add a label on the back of the bottle for the recipe instructions. Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Quick Bread 1. 2. 3. 4. Looking for milk bottles? We used bottles from milk we bought in an independent food market, which is a good source for milk from small, local dairies. Get local recipes that you won’t find online.