Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Crafts-a lot Contributor, Mable who is an avid reader of craft blogs & magazines and has aspirations to improve her crafting skills. 

It’s June and there are blooms everywhere! I live in the Northwest where it’s green most of the year, so it’s raining most of the year… I don’t mind the rain because it makes our trees, grass, and flowers so pretty. There’s no wonder why Portland is the City of Roses.

It’s almost July and it’s still been pouring here! Since I’ve been inside away from the rain,  I made these easy flowers to decorate for summer. More importantly to decorate me! All you need to decorate yourself for summer is…

Organza fabric
Scissors 
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive 
Lighter
Beads or rhinestones 
Felt
 Pin back, head band, bobby pin, hair clip (anything you’d like)

I started by cutting lots of different sized circles from the organza, the largest had a 3″ diameter to the smallest at 1/2″. Since a flower isn’t a perfect circle, it’s not necessary to trace, just wing-it. I stacked the circles on top of each other, so the bottom is biggest. The next circle is a little smaller, until you get to the smallest circle on top. Each flower has about 5-6 circles of organza.

Next I lightly ran a lighter around the edges of each circle so the fabric melts and starts to curl.  Once you have curled all the edges of the circle layers, sew them together and use a bead for the center. You can accent with rhinestones or buttons or feathers…

To attach the flower onto your hair clip or pin, glue a piece of felt on the back. I attached my handmade flowers to a headband, a hair tie, a clip and a pin back. I also added a flower to card I mailed to my mom. They are so easy to make and can be used to decorate anything!

I sewed a flower onto a hair tie to accent a pony tail

A few of my favorites!

By Sewing Contributor Jessica, from the blog “Life Sew Good”.

I love making baby gifts!  However, I am a bit of a procrastinator, so on Friday night before my friend’s baby shower, I needed a quick project.  I settled on some practical flannel burp cloths.  Here’s how to make them!

What You’ll need:

½ yd. flannel  (or two 1/3 yd. pieces of coordinating flannel)
Scissors —preferably 1 pair for cutting your paper and a another pair for cutting fabric
Ruler
Paper—tracing paper, newsprint, or a paper bag works well
Pen
Pins
Sewing macine
Thread

Make sure you pre-wash your flannel.  Technically you would only need ¼ yd, but after the fabric shrinks, you will need a bit more.

First, we’ll make a pattern.  If you are making more than one burp cloth, making a good pattern will be key to uniformity!

1. Fold your paper in half length-wise and then in half the other way (in quarters)

2. I want my finished product to be 8″ across the top & the bottom, curving in the middle to 5″, and a total length of 14″. We will divide our total desired measurements in ½, then add ½” seam allowance.  So .  . .  Measure 3” in from the top corner fold in and make a mark.  Measure 7 ½” inches down from top fold and make a mark.  At 7 ½” from the top, (where you just made a mark) measure 4 ½” in from the center fold.  Using ruler, draw a straight line from the center fold in 4 ½”. Draw a curved line from the bottom line (4 ½”) to the top mark at 3″.  See example.

3. Cut paper pattern along your 2 lines.  Unfold.  You can use the full pattern now OR you can cut it in half and cut the fabric on the fold.  It’s up to you!  Both sides should be symmetrical, so if you cut it in half, you’ll have 2 patterns.  I’m going to use ½ the paper pattern and cut 2 pieces of fabric on the fold.

4. Cut your fabric.  You need 2 identical pieces.

5. Pin RIGHT sides together, leaving a 2” flipping hole on one of the center sides.

6. Starting on the side, sew ½” all the way around, except the 2” flipping hole.  Make sure to back tack your first and last stitches.

7. Clip corners and make small cuts on curved center.

8. Flip right sides out.  Iron, making sure to line up edges where you turned your fabric.

9. Top stitch ¼” all the way around, making sure to close your flipping hole.

10. Viola!  You’re done! Repeat to make more.

Finally, if you want a boutique look, packaging is everything.  Fold 3 burp cloths then roll them together and tie with a ribbon.

Congratulations to Trina who was randomly selected as the winner of Free Stuff Friday and the Clover Trace N Create Bag Template and Yo Yo Makers!

Trina’s winning answer to “What’s your favorite summer activity?” was…

“I love hosting pool parties. Since I live in an apartment complex it makes it easy. I don’t have to worry about getting the pool ready. I just have to cook the food, organize who brings what, and presto everyone plus some are here having a great time. -Something not so easily pulled off in the winter.”

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

I have a confession to make. I wasn’t always so crafty. OK, well, maybe I was crafty, but I wasn’t always a crafty mom. When my first child was born I spent the first year of his life preoccupied by making wholesome babyfood and keeping my house clean and organized. I was a little obsessed with the labelmaker in those days and sort of lost my craft groove for a while. But when Briton turned one he was suddenly a little boy who loved to spatter things and stick things together and make all sorts of messes. Gradually I let go of the cleaning obsession, trashed the label maker (although I still label things, but now the labels are part of the craftiness!) and dove into crafting with my child. One of the first things we ever made together was peanut butter playdoh, and it quickly became a regular part of our day, starting out as a game and ending up as our afternoon snack. Don’t be surprised, in fact, if you find yourself stealing it by the spoonful, I know I had a very pretty, made by her royalness, peanut butter playdoh flower with my lunch today, and I wouldn’t say no to another.

I like to make this in smaller quantities. For one thing, I think it looses it’s playdoh texture after a few days and gets crumbly, even in the most airtight containers.  Also, we eat it. And while it’s not too bad as far as healthy snacks go, eating it by the pound is probably not a great idea.

Before you get started here, make sure you child doesn’t have peanut allergies. It’s generally a good idea to keep kids away fomm peanut butter until after they are one. However, if your kids eat PB&J’s on a daily basis like mine, you’re good to go.

You’ll need

1 cup Powdered Non-Fat Milk
1 cup Powdered Sugar
3/4 Cup creamy Peanut Butter
3/4 cup honey

Plus Cookie Cutters!  

optional
1/2 cup rolled oats

This is messy so it might be a good idea to make this outdoors, or at least in a spot where you don’t mind some flying powdered sugar! Cream the Peanut Butter, sugar and milk until you get a grainy consistancy. Make a well in the center and pour in the honey. Using a fork, mash the sides of the well down into the honey and then mix until incorporated. For a different texture, you can add the oats now if you want to go that route. It’s fun to make half plain and half with oats so kids can see how different they feel.

Pull the mixture out onto a clean table and knead a few times then have at it with rolling pins, cookie cutters and textured objects. And don’t forget to eat up your mess when you are finished!

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

The 4th of July is one of the most kid friendly holidays on the calendar, so this year, before you crank up the grill or light the fireworks, let the kids get 4th of July ready with a little bike decorating!  Remember back to the days when bikes had streamers coming out of the handle bars and nameplates or license plates dangling off the ends so everyone would know just whose bike was whose.

You’ll need:

Red, white and blue plastic lacing
Bass wood oval or square
Foam letter stamps 
Craft paint
Foam brushes 
4th of July stickers 
Super glue 

For the Streamers:

Cut four pieces of lacing, 20 inches long, for each handlebar. Tie all four into a knot at one end, leaving three inches of excess above the knot. Spread the four long strands out into an “X”. Fold two, opposite strands over and weave the other two over and under the loops that the first strands created. Continue folding over two opposite strands and weaving the other two until you have about 1 inch of woven lacing. Tie off the ends and trim them to about six inches, adding extra strands if you want more streamers when you tie them off. Use the short end of the lacing to tie the streamer to the handle of the bicycle or push through the hole in the end of the grip so that the woven lacing and streamers come through.

For the Name Plate:

Paint the wood shape red or blue. Allow the paint to dry before using the white paint to stamp the child’s name onto the shape. Apply stickers or paint decorations before  gluing 5 inch lengths of plastic lacing to the back of the name plate. Tie to handlebars or hang form the seat of the bike.

Enter to win a the Clover Quick Yo Yo Maker in small and extra small, as well as the Clover Template Trace N Create Zieman Bag California! Use these products to create one-of-a-kind bags!

Leave it to Clover to create a tool that makes it quick and easy to produce nicely shaped yo-yos. This new plastic tool helps you make evenly spaced stitches to create gathers that in turn lead to lovely circular and beautiful shaped yo-yos. A great way to create decorations, accessories and home decor projects. The finished Yo Yo is approximately 3/4″ for extra-small and 1.2″ for small.

Clover Nancy Zieman Trace N Create Templates will help you create projects that will give you the status “designer” among your friends. Choose your favorite fabric, gather your notions and sit down to enjoy the process of creating.. The sewing is simple; the results are very rewarding! Zieman Bag California- Package includes 2 templates and instructions. Choose from 6 styles; Monterey, Monterey Petite Plus, Monterey Plus, Carmel, Carmel Petite, and Carmel Plus. The 6 variations of this template gives you option galore.

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

Question of week: What is your favorite summer activity?

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

Do you have a little princess that likes to play dress up?  I highly suggest a magic wand!  This is actually an inexpensive yard decoration that I found.  With supplies that I already had on hand, I was able to make a wand fit for a princess on a budget.  Keep in mind that because this is wood, it’s for older princesses only!  Always make sure to use with adult supervision.

To make, you’ll need to gather these supplies:

“Magic” Wand – decorative wood stick
FolkArt Acrylic Paint – Ocean Cruise, Wicker White, Perfect Purple, Kelly Green or the colors of your choice
Art Institute Glitter – Blue Hawaii (Ultrafine Opaque), Celery (Ultrafine Opaque), Angel Dust (Ultrafine Transparent)�
Mod Podge Gloss�
Flat Paint Brush and Liner Brush
Ribbon – 6 feet of your choice, I used white chiffon

Using your flat paint brush, paint your flower first.

Paint the handle and the leaves next.  If your wand has black print on it like mine, it will take several coats.  I used the smaller liner brush on the petals and to get around the edges of my flower.  Allow to dry.

Using the end of your brush handle, dot white polka dots on the main body of the flower.  Allow to dry.

It’s time to apply glitter in the areas of interest – I’ll show you an example with the center of the flower.  Paint Mod Podge in the area that you want glittered.

Using your glitter (I have one of these cool dispensers), spread the glitter all over the Mod Podge.  Allow to dry and then tap on the side of something (like a table) to get ride of the excess.  You can see that I did it on the leaves as well – I also went back and added some on the white polka dots.  It’s very sparkly!

Allow your wand to dry completely overnight before giving it to your princess.  I highly recommend adding some ribbon tied around the handle for some extra flair.