Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By General Crafts Contributor Mina, from the blog Mina’s Journal.

Add a touch of whimsy to your paper projects with these Pink Doodle Frames.

The Pink Doodle Frames come six to a page, and are oval in nature. They are fairly large and you can have them lined or unlined.

Pink Doodle Frames for Scrapbook Layouts

If scrapbooking is your thing, use the frames to hold your journaling for those photos that have been taken in sequence or photos covering the same theme. Looking at your photos, pick out the main points or ideas to write about and use a different Pink Doodle Frame for each.

Download Pink Doodle Frames Lined

Possible Scrapbook Themes:

Think:

• Princess
• Baby Girl
• Romantic
• Wedding
• Engagement
• Anniversary
• or just something super cute!

Download Pink Doodle Frames

Other Uses for Pink Doodle Frames

• Use the Pink Doodle Frames in the middle of homemade cards to hold that special message or verse.
• Gift Tags
• Labels for containers or books
• Thank You tags for gifts you have received
• Make a small book to hold special sayings or inspirational words

By General Crafts Contributor Mina, from the blog Mina’s Journal.

Bring a little of the outdoors, indoors with these Li’l Log Cabins. An easy project for a rainy day. The models come in two colors. These Li’l Log Cabins make a starting point for imaginative play. What’s your favorite craft project for rainy days?

You Will Need

• The Li’l Log Cabin Download
• Scissors
• Glue

Download Brown Li’l Log Cabin

Making the Li’l Log Cabins

• Cut along all outer lines
• Fold where indicated on the download
• Fold along the glue tab lines
• Glue the cabin together first
• Glue the roof to the cabin

 Download Yellow Li’l Log Cabin

Put the cabin on a cardboard base and add paper trees to make a papercraft scene. Cut the windows out if you like before gluing the main house piece together. Cut the door along the top and bottom and one side then fold along the other edge, so the door is a flap.

Make a street, neighborhood or town. Add small written signs to glue to the front of the cabins to denote stores like ‘Drapery’, ‘Sewing Shop’, etc.

By General Crafts Contributor Mina, from the blog Mina’s Journal.

Want something to pretty up your paper projects? Butterflies can add a whimsical or reflective quality to your creative work. The butterflies come in two colors and two sizes, so should fit most needs.

Use the Butterfly Clipart For:

• Cardmaking
• Scrapbooking layouts
• Gift Tags
• Place Tags
• Name Tags

3D Butterflies

Cut the images out loosely, leaving some white space around them. Make folds along the body and bend the wings up to add dimension. Glue the underside of the body and stick to your project so the wings are ‘free’.

Download Orange Butterfly Clipart

Butterfly Bookmarks

Glue an image to the top of a long rectangular piece of card or craftstick for a pretty bookmark.

Butterfly Cupcake Decorations

Glue an image to a wooden skewer or toothpick to use as cupcake toppers.

Download  Green Butterfly Clipart

Occasions to Use the Butterfly Clipart With:

• Garden Party
• Wedding
• Hen’s Party
• Engagement
• Birthday
• Sympathy
• Friendship
• Fairy Themed Party

By General Crafts Contributor Mina, from the blog Mina’s Journal.

When the Grandson stays, I get up early to get some work done because he likes to use my computer. One morning he was very excited to see I was working on dinosaurs. I told him I would be finished soon and then he could hop on the machine. I went to make a cup of tea and I could hear him saying ‘that should be green, that should be yellow, etc. When I came back he had colored them! Said Grandson is 4 years old. Some of them turned out pretty cute, so we decided to share them.

Dino Clipart

The Dino Pack has a clipart page to use for your projects. Scrapbooking layouts with a Baby or Child theme. Glue them on card for gift tags for Baby Showers or Gifts.

Dino Coloring Page

There is a coloring page so you can color them yourself or for the kids to color and add your own patterns to. Try adding glitter or rhinestones.

Dino Posters

Dino Posters for the wall or nursery. The smaller images can be used for card making projects.

Download Dino Pack Ebook

Get out the paints, pens, glue and scissors and have fun with the Dino Pack Ebook.

By General Crafts Contributor Mina, from the blog Mina’s Journal.

Make these cardboard tube holders for your pens and pencils to organize your craft area or funky up your desk. An easy ‘rainy day’ activity or for when the kids say they are ‘bored’. Most houses will have the basic materials at hand.

These were made with help from a wee guy who just turned four. He had a lot of fun deciding what colors the arms and feet should be, applying the paint with a sponge and loves to stack them like a totem pole. Maybe I’ll make up some tribal tubes for just that purpose. His two year old brother likes to put them in different orders, sometimes color, sometimes according to the shapes on them. (I haven’t quite worked out his logic!)

Craft Supplies

• cardboard tubes
• card for the arms
• acrylic paints
• thick black marker
• wiggly eyes
• white glue
• craft knife
• scissors

Craft Technique

Base coat the cardboard tubes. I used cut pieces of kitchen sponge. It provides a quick and even coverage.

Decorate the tubes with a marker. Use simple shapes like stars, swirls, dots, stripes.

Glue on the eyes. Add faces. A few well placed lines to show expression is all you need.

Cut out base from card and glue to the bottom of the cardboard tube. You can download some base shapes to use.

Download Feet Template

Or download plain shapes to use as a template. Resize them if you need to.

Download Plain Feet Template

Cut a rectangle from matching card for the arms. Make a slot in each side of the Pen Pal with a craft knife to place the arms through. Bend the middle of the arms to the inside of the cardboard tube to make more room inside the tube.

Add pens to your pals, and you’re done.

Easy Craft Ideas

• Further embellish with ribbon or yarn bows for shoe laces
• Use glitter glue to add some sparkle to your drawn designs
• For small children, let them put stickers on the cardboard tubes instead of painting them
• Draw eyes instead

Have fun and Happy Crafting!

By General Crafts Contributor Mina, from the blog Mina’s Journal.

Make yourself a Postbox to stash your change in! When I was small, Wednesday was banking day at school. You took your wee passbook and banking money. The saying on the passbook was something like:

Save your pennies, they grow into dollars!

Great advice and still valid for today.

These cute Postboxes are quick and easy to make.

Craft Supplies:

• cardboard tube
• black marker
• red and black paint
• craft knife
• white glue
• foam supermarket tray or thick cardboard
• a bead for each postbox

How to make the Postbox

Draw your design on the cardboard tube with the black marker.

Paint the bottom in black and the rest in red. You might want to leave a space for a message or your name. Something like: ‘Darcy’s Money Box’. You might want to put a message on like: ‘Don’t Touch’, or ‘Christmas Fund’ or something else.

Draw around the end of the cardboard tube onto cardboard or foam supermarket tray. Cut out two circles just a little larger than your circles to make the base and top of the Postbox.

Stick a bead onto the top of one of the circles to make the top of the Postbox.

Get an adult to cut out the money slot with the craft knife.

You’re done! Now put your post your change in them!

Ideas for the Postboxes

Messages to write in the blank space of the Postbox could be:

Have some cents!

I have cents!

Let’s be cents-able!

In-cent-ive!

Open in case of emergency!

Make a Postbox as a gift with a few coins or dollars put in to start the recipient off.

These would be great as gifts for:

• A New Baby
• Housewarming
• Bon Voyage – it would also be a subtle reminder for the gift-ee to write!
• Have fun with these, Happy Crafting!

By General Crafts Contributor Mina, from the blog Mina’s Journal.

Here’s a set of Clever Cats Tags to print and cut out. Use them as gift tags or journal tags in your papercraft projects. Print out a set for that cat lover you know!

Download Clever Cat Tags – White

Ways to Use the Clever Cats Tags

• Gift Tags
• Journal Tags
• Card Toppers
• Book labels
• Scrap pages
• Clip art
• Write your cat’s name on them and stick them to the cat house or cat basket

Download Clever Cat Tags – Black

Just cut and write. Punch a hole to thread string or ribbon through and you’re ready to go!

Download Clever Cat Tags – Black Label

These black tags are for those who want a label for writing on the front of the tag.

Happy Crafting!