Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

Enter to win an Autumn Leaves 60 Minute VacationScrapbooker! Simply follow the step-by-step instructions and you are on your way to success. All components are self-adhesive and all materials precut. Create pages in just 6 minutes each.

If you have photos piling up, think you don’t have time, are intimidated by the thought of scrapbooking or simply want lasting memories for your friends and family to cherish, then Autumn Leaves 60 Minute Kits are just for you. You are who we had in mind when this program was created. No tools required, no fuss, no mess…no stress either. Just fun, fast, fabulous results.

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 New Years Resolution?

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

After years working 9-5 at the office I have decided to throw it in and start a home buisness. I love the time I get to spend with my two little princesses and really bring out my creative side. I make sculpture hair clips and other accessories. I am most proud of the critters I make especially when I find a neat way of making one.

Checkout my site: Sculpture Clippies & Co.

10% off for all my crafting friends. Just use the coupon code “friend” at checkout

Interested in being a “Featured Crafter”? We want to hear from our crafty friends about what they like to create. Share with us what you put your energy into, whether it is your passion, your business, or simply something you enjoy doing. Do you have your own blog, Etsy store or craft products? Tell us about it!

Click here to submit a “Featured Crafter”!

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

Okay, so call me crazy, but when I walked into one of my favorite stores and saw their silk flowers were on sale for really, really cheap, the first thing to pop into my mind wasn’t “Floral Arrangement.” Nope. It was “Headbands!”

You may want to make some of your own. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Artificial flowers
• Headbands of the non-stretchy variety
• Glue & glue gun

First a note on the type headband to use: I used a couple my granddaughter had that were hard plastic covered with fabric. They worked well, having that porous cover. The slick plastic kind are not a great surface for glue gun-type glue, so you’d want to use an adhesive that works well on plastic.

Step one: Pull the flowers from their stems, and remove the sepals, the ring of green leaves around the base.

Step two: The layers of petals will easily separate after they’re “plucked”. That’s not great for making them stay on the headband, so put a drop of glue between each layer. And since you’ve taken the flowers apart anyway, you’re free to put them back together any way you please. My granddaughter and I opted to use three different colors  flower and reassemble them as tri-colored blossoms.

Once you’ve reassembled your blossom(s), decide where on the headband you want to put them, and then glue them in place.

That’s it!

My granddaughter and I made two headbands, this one:

And this one:

Pompoms. Those flowers look remarkably like pompoms. I had actually intended to bring some of the pompoms I’d made for a second headband, but left them home. Meggie lives an hour away, so there was no going back for them, but I do want to just say, “You could do this with pompoms, too!”

By Scrapbook & Paper Crafts Contributor Jennifer, from the blog “So Many Products, So Little Time”.

I love to use Mini Alpha Stickers in my card marking.  I have a huge collection of various sizes, colors and fonts and I love that so many companies now create these tiny alphas.  Not only do they come in black and white, but they are now available in every color of the rainbow, so they can match any project.  If you aren’t a card maker, they are also great for journaling on a layout or in a mini album.

To make this card:

• Create a card base from white cardstock or use a premade card base.  You can also make the card base from the patterned paper – if it’s a two sided paper, you end up with a colorful inside to the card. I used My Little Shoebox “Green” Collection papers & stickers.
• Affix journaling sticker and tree sticker.  Cut another tree from patterned paper and adhere using pop dots for dimension.
• Add jewels to the tree trunks.
• Use the Mini Alpha Stickers to spell the sentiment.
• If you do not have this paper collection don’t worry.  You can use other stickers and papers and just use my card as a sketch to get you started.  

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

We are all about handmade gifts in our house this year, right down to the pets, because they are part of the family too, right? And while we could, and probably will, make some homemade dog treats for our precious puppy, we also decided that a new dog collar would be a fun present for her, and luckily, they are easy to make. You’ll want to vary the size of the strapping according to the type of dog you have, smaller dogs will require thinner strapping and vice versa. For our very average sized dog we used 1 inch thick strapping.

Here’s what you need:

• Nylon strapping – measure around your dogs neck and then add 6 inches. 
• Grosgrain ribbon, the same length, but about half the width of your strapping
• Buckle with an opening that matches your strapping
• D ring with an opening that matches your strapping
• Sewing machine
• Heavy duty thread
• Pins
• Scissors

1. First pin the ribbon onto the strapping, centering in it evenly all the way down. 

2. Stitch just inside the edge of the ribbon on both sides to secure it to the strapping.

3. Slide one end of the buckle onto the strapping. Fold the raw edge under and sew in place by either sewing back and forth several times or sewing an X where the strap overlaps.

4. Slide the D ring and the other half of the buckle onto the other end of the strapping. Secure around your dogs neck to determine the size.

5. Stitch the second buckle into place and then fold the remaining strapping (trim if necessary)  under and slide the D ring between the end and the buckle, sewing it into place and finishing off the other end.

Congratulations to Allie who was randomly selected as our Free Stuff Friday winner and the game of Quiltopoly!

An exciting new game that lets you share your passion for quilting with your friends and family. Pick your favorite game piece and start moving around the “blocks” to collect your favorite quilting techniques and block designs. You’ll be on your way to owning a quilting empire in no time! Be careful, or you might end up “ripping out seams” and not collecting $200.

Allie’s winning answer to “What is your favorite Holiday tradition?” was…

“Every Christmas our whole family gets together for a big Mexican dinner. Then we open presents on Christmas Eve, so everyone can play with their new toys on Christmas! Then the kids sleep WAY better on Christmas Eve, and might even sleep in a little bit on Christmas Day”.

By Craft Trends Contributor, Trent Jaxon.

Greetings Crafters! Christmas is officially over, but thank goodness for leftovers!  Are you like me and have multiple giant totes and drawers, filled with bunch of leftover craft supplies? I have a whole section of my craft room that acts as a storage space for all my fabric scrap, ribbon remnants and partially cut pieces of cardstock. Figuring out a way to use all of those wonderful portions of craft can be a challenge. There is even an entire market within the craft industry of designers and companies coming up with projects and products to help you use all of those loved partial pieces of treasure.

One of the newest and most cost effective ways of putting that stash to work is through wall hanging home décor.  The two hottest items out on the market right now are pennants and tiles.

Chipboard Pennants and Tiles from Paper Accents come in a variety of sizes and styles.  They are great for covering with cardstock, fabric and paint. You can embellish them with just about anything and you can create a personal piece of wall art for any occasion. The precut holes make joining them easy and ensure that each piece hangs evenly every time.   Make a vertically hanging tile set with your favorite inspirational sayings to hang in the kitchen. Or how about creating a custom Birthday message for a party that the guest of honor can take with them. The possibilities are endless!

These products are at an amazing everyday price point and with the additional savings you get from CreateForLess the cost of owning one of the hottest items on the crafting market right now is just a click away! So lets get crafting and put all those leftovers to good use!

 Keep it Trenty! 

If you would like to have your questions answered by a true craft insider just send and email “To Trent” at info@thinkcrafts.com.