Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

I always get the stupid Styrofoam plates from two places I order take out from even though I tell them not to give them to me. I hate eating off them and tossing them into the trash so I always try to make something with them. I needed a new bookmark, so it’s a perfect opportunity to make use of a Styrofoam plate I had lying around.

What you’ll need:

• Styrofoam plate
• Pen cap
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Ribbon
• Hole punch
• Ink pad

Step 1. Use the ruler to measure out the size bookmark you want out of the Styrofoam plate. Instead of using a pen or pencil, you can also use a pen cap so there’s no ink or pencil marks left behind. Cut it out when finished.

Step 2. Punch a hole in the top center of the bookmark.

Step 3. Use the pen cap to make a design in the bookmark. I chose flowers with lines of varying thickness connecting them.

Step 4. Take your ink pad and dab it over the bookmark. Avoid getting it in your design but not to worry if you do. It will just create different looks through the textures.

Step 5. Tie a ribbon through the hole of the bookmark.

Step 6. Give the bookmark plenty of time to dry before using it. Avoid touching it otherwise you’ll leave fingerprint marks in the ink if it’s not dry yet. Give it at least a day or two so you can be sure it won’t leave an ink mark in your book.

By Kid’s Crafts Contributor Stephanie, from the Blog Geek with Glasses.

It seems like the wooden playhouse swing set is everywhere. My daughter’s swing set has a small tower with the playhouse underneath. It has little windows on two sides and one day I was standing in the kitchen ridding out the cabinets when it hit me. The old loaf tin, marked for the trash, could be recycled into a great sturdy window box for the playhouse. So in the spirit of summer, we are going to upcycle the old loaf tin and brackets from a chain link fence into a new useable object to help beautify our yard. As well as teach my daughter a little about planting and flower care  - like water it so it stays pretty.

This is a simple project but requires a little drill work.

Supplies:

Old Tin Loaf Pan
Brackets – We used brackets from an old chain link fence, but hanging brackets can be found at any hardware store. 
Power Drill
Spray Paint
Potting Soil
Flowers

To start this project we drilled 1/8″ to 1/4″ holes in the bottom of the pan for drainage. Then the holes were drilled to mount the brackets. The brackets we are using are made out of pieces from a chain link fence. They already had the curve on one end to hang, but my husband gave them an extra bend at the bottom so it pushed the box away from the house a little, just like a real window box. 

Since we made ours out of recycled materials we had to drill holes in both the bracket and the pan, if you buy mounting brackets from the hardware store just mark on the pan where the holes are and drill the pan. I did not mount the brackets yet because I didn’t want them painted.

Next, I spray painted the pan white. I recommend any exterior paint. It could be decorated using outdoor vinyl stickers or paint, be we left ours plain. Let the paint dry completely.

Once the paint is dry, attach the brackets. Then fill the tin with potting soil and plants. Water the plants and hang the box. Beautiful. ( Why does the playhouse now look nicer than the real house? Ha.)

The windows in our playhouse are open with a plastic frame so the brackets are just curved to fit right over the edge of the window. If the windows on your playhouse have a real Plexiglas window in them, you might want to look for bracket that can be screwed to the outside of the playhouse, like a real window box. 

This made my daughter very proud of her “house”, but now she wants curtains and interior lights. Good luck with all your “home improvements” this summer.