Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

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

I keep a bin of clothespins in my house even though I’ve long since given up on line drying in this humid part of the country. They are one of those super handy, tons of uses kind of things. They hold up the sides of forts, keep the chips bag closed, identify dinner napkins and hang this week’s art assignment up in the playroom. But you know, they’re kind of boring; especially for something that makes appearances in every room of my house. After seeing some painted clothespins featured on an online store a few weeks ago, I decided to give my set a makeover, and if there’s paint (and it’s washable) my daughter is only too glad to help. 

There are really two ways of painting the basecoat of the clips. If you aren’t bombarded with “I want to help!” from a three year old, go with spray paint. It’s fast, it’s easy, it dries quickly and the colors are nice and bright. If, however, you are also blessed with a little helper, washable craft paints are the ticket. 

Clip the clips along the edge of a sturdy box, leaving enough room between each for fingers (or spray paint cans) to get in there. Paint the front, back and sides of the clip and inside the top. Allow the pins to dry, take them off to check for missed spots, and add another layer (hint- turn the clips around for the second coat)

Once the base coat is dry, lay them of a flat, paintable surface and get going with the dots. Drops of puff paint will certainly work but I found that applying paint with the tip of a knitting needle gave me more control over the size and shape of the dots and had an over all nicer effect. 

Allow the dots to dry completely before flipping over and dotting the other side. 

The possibilities for these are endless. Hang art, mark a page in your favorite book, close a lunch bag. Imagine the possibilities. I’ve already got a set of green and red clips in the works for holiday gift bags and Christmas ornament hangers. 

It’s time to announce the winner of the Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book.  A must have for not only your cook book shelf but for your craft shelf as well. Gifts to make and give, tasty Christmas recipes and fresh ideas for your home that will make the season sparkle. “Oh the fun of the season”, knowing that the design group from Gooseberry Patch has got your back covered with ideas for the whole holiday season.  160 pages in a soft cover.

Our question last week was: How will you spend December 25th?

The winning answer was from:

Tammy – With my family, we enjoy spending time together eating a good meal with great company!

By General Crafts Contributor Amy, from the Blog “Mod Podge Rocks!”

Have you noticed that a lot of holiday candy comes in metal tins?   Yummy things like Peppermint Bark, cocoa and mixed nuts.  Once the holidays are over and you’ve eaten the delicious treats out of the tins, don’t throw them away – recycle them into something wonderful! 

I had a bunch of fabric scraps sitting around, as well as some ribbon and (of course) Mod Podge.  Add the recycled tins with a little paint (also from my stash) and I didn’t pay anything for these refreshed containers.  I now have some cute storage for my craft room, or I can use these for gifting if I want to.  Try it.  These are a blast to make!

First you’ll need to gather these supplies:

Recycled Metal Tins – any sizes, types

FolkArt Acrylic Paint, Wicker White

Mod Podge Fabric, 8 oz.

Fabric scraps – large enough to cover the tins.  If you don’t have scraps large enough, fat quarters work very well for this, and you can get them inexpensively at your local fabric store

Ribbon – coordinating and large enough to go around the lids of your tins

Beacon Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive

Flat Paint Brush

Craft Knife and Mat – you can also use a fabric cutter if you have one

Ruler

Here are the tins I started with.  I got so excited about this project that I started painting the left one before I took a photo – then I remembered.  Whoops.

If you have a pattern on your tin, I suggest you paint the tin white.  If you don’t, the pattern will show through the fabric after you Mod Podge it on, and you’ll be sad.  Paint the lid too.  I technically didn’t have to paint the smallest tin shown because it didn’t have a pattern, but I was painting the other tins and so I went ahead and did the small one.  The white makes the fabric colors pop.  Allow the tins to dry completely. 

While you are waiting for the tins to dry, prepare your fabric with Mod Podge.  Wash and dry the fabric and then iron it flat.  Place wax paper down on your work surface (or something like it so the Mod Podge doesn’t seep through).  Paint a medium coat of Mod Podge on the top of the fabric and allow to dry.  This step will allow you to cut the fabric easily without fraying.

Measure your tins and then cut the fabric accordingly.  It’s easiest to do it with a fabric cutter, but if you don’t have that, a craft knife will work too.  If all else fails, use scissors! 

Tip: Some of your lids might slide down tightly onto their tins.  If this is the case, leave that much room for the lid to slide on, meaning, cut your fabric just below the lid.

Apply a medium coat of Mod Podge to the tin and roll the fabric around the center, smoothing as you go.  Smooth, smooth, smooth!  Keep smoothing with your hands until all of the air bubbles are gone.  Add more Mod Podge to the seam where the fabric meets to close.  Allow to dry for 15 – 20 minutes.

Coat the outside of all of the tins with a medium coat of Mod Podge.  Allow to dry.

The lids are a trickier proposition than the tins themselves, but still not that hard.  Here’s how I did it.  I Mod Podged the lid to the fabric and allowed to dry.  I cut a circle around the lid giving enough fabric excess to fold over the edges – I then cut the edges toward the lid about every 1/2″ (see the picture).  I Mod Podged, folded over, trimmed, and did it again.  I overlapped pieces until the whole lid was covered.  You are going to cover these lids with ribbon anyway, so do it as neatly as possible but don’t worry too much.

Now add the coordinating ribbon embellishments with craft glue.  Allow these to dry and you are done!  Put fun treats or supplies inside – you can also re-gift to friends and family accordingly.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Even though it’s Christmas, who needs Free Stuff? Enter to win free craft stuff!

Every Friday we’re posting a giveaway on Think Crafts. All you have to do to enter is comment on the blog post answering the question of the week. We’ll pick the winners and contact them via email. Deadline is midnight Friday night and the winner will be announced Monday on Think Crafts. One entry per person please.

Enter to win the Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book.  Gifts to make and give, tasty Christmas recipes and fresh ideas for your home that will make the season sparkle. “Oh the fun of the season”, knowing that the design group from Gooseberry Patch has got your back covered with ideas for the whole holiday season. A must have for not only your cook book shelf but for your craft shelf as well. 160 pages in a soft cover.

Question of the Week: How will you spend December 25th?

If the comment box is not below, scroll to the top and click “comments”.

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

Don’t you just love garlands? Here’s one I put together in about fifteen minutes today. It’s only about four feet long, so I’m thinking an eight-footer would take about twice that, and if you had an hour…

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Old sheet music
• Ledger paper, graph paper, or any other patterned paper you like
• Scraps of fabric
• Fancy-edged scissors, such as pinking shears, scalloping scissors, etc.

Your first step is to cut circles from the sheet music, using whatever scissors you’d like. They should be about 3″ in diameter, but don’t worry about measuring, or drawing them perfectly. Small imperfections will add a homey, old-fashioned touch. Since there’ll be about four circles per foot, just multiply the length garland you’d like by four to get the number of circles you need.

Now cut the same number of circles from the patterned paper, but make them smaller, about two inches in diameter.

Third step is to cut circles from the fabric scraps, about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. You can make them all the same fabric, or use a variety, your choice.

Next, lay the music paper circles out on a flat surface and stack a circle of patterned paper and one of fabric atop each. I suggest this because if you’re cutting freehand, some circles will “fit” together better than others.

Stack your circle stacks up, carry them to the sewing machine, and sew them all together in a line. Don’t break the thread between stacks, and again, don’t worry about precision. Random is good!

You are finished! Go hang up your garland!

By General Crafts Contributor Amy, from the Blog “Mod Podge Rocks!”

Happy Holidays!  This is Amy from Mod Podge Rocks, bringing you a great kids’ craft for the Christmas season.  Children and Mod Podge go so well together that I wanted to show you a way to incorporate the two AND decorate for your holiday parties.  This was so fun for me – your kids are going to have a blast!

First gather these supplies:

Fabric Scraps – I used about thirteen 12 – 20″ strips

FloraCraft® Styrofoam® Wreath Bulk 9″ White

Mod Podge – Gold Glitter Hologram

Kunin Rainbow Classic Felt 9″x 12″ – Apple Green and Kelly Green

Offray Ribbon Grosgrain 5/8″ Red – 12 inches

Beacon Craft Glue

Buttons – 6 coordinating

Flat Paint Brush

Scissors

This could be one of the easiest Mod Podge projects you’ll ever do, which is why it’s so great for children.  Simply grab your fabric strips (you can use squares or random shapes too) and spread a medium layer of Mod Podge onto the back (fabric face down).

Wrap the strips tightly around the Styrofoam wreath.  Make sure to cover all of the white.  If you have squares or shapes, simply glue them randomly down to the wreath form.  Keep going until you’ve covered the entire wreath.

Once the wreath is completely covered, coat the entire project with Mod Podge.  If you want the glitter to really sparkle, let dry and then give the wreath a second coat.

Take your felt and draw some holly leaves.  Cut out and then attach to the wreath with craft glue.  Accent with some buttons and then a strip of ribbon to hang on the back.

I don’t know that I’ve ever done an easier craft, or one that was more fun!  Your children are going to thoroughly enjoy their participation in your holiday decorating.  Have a great holiday season!

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

Years ago, a friend told me a traditional holiday gift in her family was socks. Wow, I thought. I’ll bet there were some excited kids under  that tree!  I couldn’t imagine a more practical, prosaic, and boring gift.

Of course, that was before I started giving socks for Christmas gifts myself. Not just any old pair, naturally. These socks have become so popular with the girlie types in our circle that I keep a drawer full of the makings, just in case.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Socks in the size needed
• “Eyelash” or “Fun Fur” yarn in a coordinating color, variegated is fun.
• Any crochet hook with a hook small enough to poke through the edge of the sock’s cuff

To begin, take one of the socks and push the crochet hook through, near the upper edge of the cuff, from right side to wrong.

Yarn over, and pull a loop through the cuff, and complete a single crochet stitch. You can also yarn over again and do a double or triple, if you like, but the single stitch seems sufficient to me.

Repeat what you just did, inserting the hook next to the place you just did the stitch in. Don’t worry about doing a stitch in every stitch of the cuff top; just a little way from the last stitch is good. Keep your stitches on the loose side, to preserve the stretch of the cuff.

Do that all the way around, ending with your hook pushing through in the same place as your first stitch. Yarn over and pull a loop up, snip the thread, and pull the loose end through your loop, just as you usually would to finish off. Trim the end to the length of the newly created fringe top.

Do that on the other sock, too, and you’re done!

This is a craft-to-love on a number of levels-the beginnerest beginner will have no trouble with it; there’s no such thing as a mistake, because the yarn hides all; there’s no counting involved, so  you can watch TV without worrying you’ll mess up the pattern; it takes less than fifteen minutes to complete a pair; and everybody seems to love getting them!

These make great stocking stuffers, and I like having these on hand as “extra” gifts for unexpected guests, and through the year for other occasions,too.