Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

What’s your favorite handmade Halloween costume you’ve ever created?  From kids to adult costumes, funny to scary, we want to see your creativity!  Enter our Handmade Halloween Costume Contest for a chance to win one of these amazing prizes…

• 1st Place: $150 CreateForLess Shopping Spree      
• 2nd Place: $100 CreateForLess Shopping Spree        
• 3rd Place: $50 CreateForLess Shopping Spree

To enter to win, fill out the entry here, attach a photo of your costume and include a brief description of it in the Description box. Contest deadline is November 2nd, 2009.

To view some of our favorite entries from last year’s contest, click here!

Limited to three entries per person.  The winners will be contacted individually via email and posted on our web site.  After the drawing ends, some of our favorites submitted will be showcased on CreateForLess.com and our ThinkCrafts blog. Submission of an entry into this contest grants CreateForLess permission to use the submitted content for promotional purposes. 

Kid’s and General Craft Contributor, Gillian from the blog “Dried Figs and Wooden Spools”.

Every year, as we get ready to host our annual pumpkin carving party, I promise myself that I am going to carve or decorate some really cool pumpkins to have on display before the party. But between menu planning, crafts-for-the-kids planning and all the inevitable last minute details that come when you have your entire neighborhood over for an afternoon, the pumpkins get pushed to the bottom of the list. 

Generally I look around after the party and realize that every family on the block has a newly carved pumpkin except ours. Next year! I tell myself!

Well, next year has come.

I’m making an early start with the pumpkins by venturing into the realms of fake gourds. I’ve seen them for years, heard the craft pundits rave about their versatility, but somehow have never broken down and bought one. But when I got the idea for this pumpkin I decided that the time had come. I was not going to spend all that time decorating a pumpkin that would rot away in a few weeks time.

The inspiration for this came from a magazine I flipped though while in line at the grocery store one day. The pumpkin on the glossy pages was covered in tiny rhinestones which looked great but probably cost more than I was willing to spend. Instead I opted for glossy black puff paint and a few rhinestones accents.

After sketching out the swirls and loops with a pencil, I went to work with the paint, dotting carefully along the lines. It was often easier to start at the end of the swirl and work backwards toward the stem and I did stop at the halfway point to allow the paint to dry before proceeding with the rest. And although the project was definitely time consuming, it was also fairly easy once I got into the dot dot dot rhythm.

Once the entire pumpkin was covered I went back and glued a handful of rhinestone in strategic places. Such as the spot where my son decided to “see if the paint was dry”. The finished project looks elegant and spooky at the same time. The perfect combination for this year’s not so kid like but not scary either decor. In fact, I might just have to make another with that white pumpkin I bought the other day. Because you can never have too many cool looking pumpkins in October!

Please welcome experienced crafter and guest blogger Amy, from the blog “Mod Podge Rocks”.

I like clipboards yes I do, I like clipboards how ’bout you?

I’ve had several people tell me recently that they are working on clipboard projects, either for themselves or for gifts. I decided that I wanted to do one too, so I took a dive into the stash and this is what I came up with.

A little research reveal that clipboards are hot for back-to-school this year – but not the typical brown slab with a silver clip.  This year’s clipboards are fun and funky . . . and easy to personalize.  They are also way easier than you might think.  Just follow this tutorial for fabulous results!

"Hi, I'm a boring brown clipboard. To fix me up, gather the following supplies."

Supplies:

Clipboard
Scrapbook paper – 2 coordinating pieces
Acrylic paint – coordinating color (I used Sky Blue)
Spray paint – coordinating color (I used Apple Green)
Craft Glue
Chipboard letters and/or coordinating embellishments
Ribbon – all from my stash
Mod Podge Gloss, 8oz.
Flat paint brush
Ruler
Craft Knife and Mat
Pencil

Start by removing the clip at the top and set it aside.  Time to paint the board.  Paint one side, allow to dry, flip over and paint the other.  Do this at least twice depending on your paint color – I did mine three times because my paint was a little lighter and I wanted great coverage.  Set aside to dry.

While you are waiting for the paint to dry on the clipboard, spray the clip.  I had this extra paint laying around which happened to coordinate.  Lucky me, right?  Either buy spray paint (there are baby sizes now), or use outdoor paint such as this.  You can also use regular acrylic paint, but you’ll need to seal it with acrylic sealer so that it doesn’t scrape off.

While both the board and clip are drying, measure and cut your paper.  My clipboard is 9″ x 12″, and I decided I wanted two pieces of paper that met in the middle.  Therefore, I measured out two pieces of paper, 9″ wide x 6″ tall.

Cut both sheets of paper with your craft knife.  Lay them out on the clipboard (which should now be painted and dry) and make sure that they fit.

You laid out the papers on the board – remove the top piece and cover the board with Mod Podge.  Put on a medium coat, and make sure to get the corners well.  You’re probably going to put on more than you think.  Lay the top piece of paper down and smooth out with your fingers.

 Okay, so the top piece is down.  Repeat the process with the bottom piece.

Now that both pieces are down, you can use either your fingers or a brayer (like I am above) to smooth both sheets down thoroughly.  If any Mod Podge comes out the sides, wipe it away with your paint brush.  Allow these sheets to dry for 15 – 20 minutes, and then Mod Podge over the top of them.  Allow to dry, flip over and then Mod Podge the back of the clipboard to seal the paint.  Allow to dry for at least an hour.

This is always the fun part for me!  You’ll notice that when the Mod Podge dried, I replaced the clip.  I also laid out some ribbon that I had in my stash, a large brown piece and a thinner orange piece.  I had some chipboard letters to make the “Notes” saying down at the bottom, and I had a sticker to adhere to the clip.  I glued everything down with craft glue and allowed to dry for 24 hours.

Here’s the finished clipboard again.  Notice that I tied some ribbon at the top too – they were about 10″ pieces that I just knotted through the hole.  I call the ribbon the “piece de’la resistance.”  That’s French for something really cool!  Enjoy your clipboard, and as always I encourage you to use papers, colors and embellishments that fit your style.  Don’t forget, above all else, have fun!

Recycled Crafts Contributor Anitra from the blog “Coffee Pot People”.

Every crafter knows October is not too early to start thinking that. Come to think of it, a lot of us know even January isn’t too early. It’s my favorite holiday, my favorite time of year, and puts me into a virtual crafting, cooking, wrapping frenzy, all of which I consider huge fun.

A SEASON OF JOY, a collection of heartfelt creations for the holidays, is my newest boatload of inspiration between book covers treasure. I knew it was going to be good the minute I saw the cover. I needed to make the things in it.

And the book is spiral bound! It lies flat, so you can manipulate materials with both hands, while checking what you’re supposed to do next. I’m not a huge fan of holding books open with whatever heavy object is handy, so that was a big plus for me.

Another Plus: It’s a very attractive book. Each project is beautifully photographed,  the paper the publisher has chosen has a lovely texture, and leafing through, the pages make a rather lovely “scrrtching” noise against the wire spiral.

More To Love: Not only did I find myself wanting, planning, to make all kinds of things in this book, I soon realized that every single one of them was so simple it took only a few lines of text to explain.

The Book Sections: Ornaments, Wreaths & Garlands, Cards & Cardholders, Home Decor, Homemade Gifts, Tags & Wrapping, Children’s Projects, Activities & Parties, Scrapbook Pages.

Several Favorites Projects:

Blog Contributor, Crafty Mom and Writer, Gillian, from the Blog “Dried Figs and Wooden Spools”.

Somehow, this year I’ve been roped into being the den mother for my son’s Wolf Scout Den, or pack, or whatever it is. I should probably figure that out since I’m now in charge. The fact that my son is even in Scouts was a coup for my husband in the first place. Last year, when he joined I didn’t really want yet another thing to do in the evenings, but my husband was adamant. Every boy should be a scout, ours included, so a scout he became.

As far as how I became a den mother, well, I’m actually not sure, but here I am, in charge of ten 7 year old boys once a week. This week was our first meeting of the school year and to kick things off we decided to work on sportsmanship and teamwork and woodworking skills. In other words, we were going to build a Washers game.

Now the first thing I should tell you is that I’ve never played washers in my life. In fact, I had never even heard of Washers until we moved to Virginia. Either it’s a Southern thing or it’s just not something that happened in my family. And considering the fact that my family is the most anti-sports family around, they are both good possibilities. In any case, I’ve HEARD a lot about Washers, and it seemed like a simple thing to make, and a good game for a bunch of rowdy second graders to play.

As it turns out, a Washers set is an easy thing to build and a fun thing to play. So fun, in fact, that we’ve decided to play it at the beginning of our meetings every week. It also just might become a permanent feature in our back yard.

Learning woodworking skills!

To build a Washers set you will need enough plywood to make two squares roughly 17 inches on each side. We used 1/8″ plywood because we had it around and it was easy to work with, but whatever you can get your hands on would be just fine. And the dimensions are approximate, if you can find a 30 inch piece of plywood, make two 15 inch squares, 40 inch piece and you dont want to cut things down, go for 20 inch squares. The main things is that there is enough room on the inside to catch at least some of the washers.

Next cut 2×4″s or 2×2″s (we used 2×2″s to make it shallower and easier for the boys) to make a square lip around the plywood. Nail through the plywood and into the bottom of the lip so you won’t have nails sticking up then flip the whole thing over and glue a 4 inch tall piece of PVC pipe in the center using Liquid Nails or another construction adhesive (this is a step that should definitely be done by an adult!) The diameter of the pipe is up to you, we used a three inch coupling segment because it was big enough to catch a few washers and came pre-cut in the plumbing section of the hardware store. Once you have the boards nailed and the pipes glued, make another just like the first so you have a matched set. When the glue has set, or set enough, it’s time to play. Pull out your bag of washers and get throwing!

According to washers.org, the game boards should stand 25 feet apart, but if you’re playing with seven year olds, ten is probably the max, at least until they’ve gotten some practice time in.  Players stand at opposite boards and throw two washers each into their home board. A washer in the cup scores 5 points, the closest washer to the cup but in the box scores 1 point. There are some complicated rules about scores counting each other out and if you feel like playing that way, by all means, read up on that. But for our purposes, we just kept a running tab for two teams and let the boys play. And that’s the beauty of the game, if you want a serious game, that can be arranged, if you want to keep ten squirmy seven year olds busy for half an hour, it will do the job, and if you want to sit in your lawn chair and chuck washers into the box to see who gets up to get the next round of drinks, well, that works too.

Blog Contributor, Crafty Mom and Writer, Gillian, from the Blog “Dried Figs and Wooden Spools”.

When my son went off to school for the first time two years ago, I encountered the whole “lunch packing” thing for the first time as a mom. Aside from the all important cool snacks vs healthy snacks dilemma, I was also concerned about the sheer volume of plastic bags I was set to go through in a single school year. Since I am a) as cheap as they come and b) a sewer, I decided to make a few cloth wraps and bags to hold my sons food though the year, no baggies required. Fast forward two years and one environmental movement that has finally reached the masses and lunch wraps are everywhere these days.

While there are a variety of choices out there from metal tins to canvas wraps, I still prefer to make my own, largely because my son have very specific requests regarding what they look like. Last year it HAD to be dinosaurs but this year they just wouldn’t do, space was the theme of the day (or hopefully the year!) While buying them break the bank (and in fact, you’ll save a bundle over the span of a year from not buying baggies) they are even cheaper to make and can be done in a short afternoon sewing session.

In order to make two sandwich wraps and two snack packets you will need 1/2 yard of fabric, anything non stretch would work but I have found that quilting fabrics are a fun, economical option. 1/2 yard of mid-weight clear vinyl, a package of stick on Velcro and optionally four buttons and some elastic cording.

For the sandwich wraps cut two 12 inch squares out of each of the vinyl and the fabric, out of the remaining materials you should be able to get two six inch square for the snack packs.

With the vinyl on the wrong side of the fabric sew around the edge leaving a half inch seam allowance and a two inch opening for turning. Trim the seams to 1/4 inch, leaving the area around the hold at 1/2. Iron with the fabric side up on your lowest setting to assure sharp edges before topstitching around the edges to close the hole and to help keep the shape during repeated use.

From here, the sandwich wrap can be completed in two ways. The best way to determine where your fasteners need to be is to try it out with some slices of bread. Particularly if you use the same bread week after week, this way the wrappers suit your needs specifically. The first style of closure has the bread sitting in the center of the wrap with the points up and to the sides (so it looks like a diamond) Fold in the sides over the bread and then the top and bottom over the sides to close the wrapper. Mark where the top hits the bottom and stick a Velcro tab or dot in the correct location. For this style I also added a second piece of Velcro two inches closer to the point. This allows for larger or even multiple sandwiches to be packed in the same wrap.

The other option (actually there are many styles, but these are the two I prefer) has the wrap on the table like a square with the sandwich in the middle. Fold the sides in to make a rectangle then the bottom up and the top down marking a spot on each where you will sew a button. Before you stitch the top button on, add a two inch loop of elastic cording that will stretch around both buttons. This style also allows for larger or multiple sandwiches as the elastic make is very adjustable to shape.

The snack pack closes much like the first wrapper with the addition of Velcro on the sides as well as the top and bottom. THis creates a much more secure closure for loose snacks. Again, the best way to determine where your Velcro needs to be is to throw in a handful of snacks and stick a Velcro tab in the best spot.

Once you’ve determineed the positioning of the Velcro, stitch them in place with either parallel lines of stitching or an “x” across the tab.

And as a side note, BPA free vinyl is available to order online, however, these are easily cleaned with a quick wipe down so they don’t really get heated up, which is where the concern with BPA comes from. I have used the BPA free which allows you to just throw the wrap in the washing machine when it needs cleaning but found that I rarely needed to wash the whole wrap.

The average elementary school student produces about 100 pounds of waste per year and while certainly much of this is the food our kids throw out, baggies account for a good deal of that as well. If you replace two bags a day with reusable wraps you’ll save about 400 baggies from going into the landfill each school year!

Click here to read more of Gillian’s blog.

Welcome Returning Guest Blogger, Annie Authier, from the blog “Thriftfulness”.

Charming and wallet-friendly gift: the knit collar. Bulky scarves are so last December. And with this fun, easy to make collar, your friends can celebrate fall without worrying about frostbite.

I made this on my Knifty Knitter, a knitting loom and a wise investment (under $20) for the needle-impaired. You just wrap the yarn around the pegs for an hour or two while you’re watching your favorite medical drama or reality television competition. The yarn I chose has some fun bright colors in it so that it feels warmer-weathery. You could also unravel an old sweater and use that yarn.

Aah. A warm neck on a blustery day. Looks good pulled up around your chin or folded over (see top pic). Haven’t figured out who I’ll give this to yet. I’ll have to keep my eye out for acquaintences with chin hair or unsightly Adam’s apples so I can be sure this gift gets put to use all year round.

Cost: $1.75 ($20-$25 with new knitting loom and new yarn)

Time: 1 and a half hours.

To read more of Annie’s blog, click here.