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. Join Mable on Facebook to socialize and share with other crafters!

Have you decorated your pumpkins yet? I love using pumpkins for my fall and Halloween decorations. This year I wanted my pumpkins to sparkle, really sparkle. So what did I use? Glitter!

This project is as easy, as it is sparkly. I used a foam brush to generously coat one section of my pumpkin in Mod Podge. Then I sprinkled glitter over the Mod Podge. (I strongly recommend covering your work space before using the glitter). Once the glue seemed dried, I did the next section and so on, until the pumpkin is completely covered in glitter. Once it was dry, fill in any bare stops.

Lastly I sprayed the pumpkin with a clear coat sealer to prevent the glitter from flaking off. Place on your table, door step or porch for a fun, Halloween sparkle!

By Spellbinders.

I’ve been looking for a fun fall decoration for my coffee table at home. I like to display photos of my friends, family and pets, but wanted something more decorated than just a frame. I was looking at the Spellbinders Idea Gallery, and the Apple of My Eye box was just what I wanted to make! It’s cute, fall themed and I get to use my die cutting machine. Perfect project!

This 4½ x 4½” box is a cute way to display photos. By attaching the ribbon to top and botton of the box, and adding your photos to the ribbon, the photos cascade down when you open it! Then you can decorate the box however you like. This box is decorated using the Nested Apples and Labels Twelve dies to the embellish the top of the box.

Supplies used:

• Small Paper mache box
• Classic Squares Large Die
• Labels Twelve Die
• Nested Apples Die
• Fall Patterned Paper
• Core’dinations, Pistachio Nut Chocolate Cardstock
• Fall Background Stamps
• Brown Twill
• Brown Ink
• Twine
• Red Felt for Trim
• Buttons

By Crafts-a lot Contributor, Mable who is an avid reader of craft blogs & magazines and has aspirations to improve her crafting skills. Join Mable on Facebook to socialize and share with other crafters!

I love the homey feel of my throw pillows in my living room, almost as much as I enjoy using them. And as you can see, I’m not the only one who does! This is my dog Belle’s favorite nap spot.

I wanted pillows that were comfortable but not too soft that they looked sloppy on the couch. The Fairfield Pillow Forms are 100% polyester, making it soft and also hypoallergenic. Since I have down allergies, this is what sold me!

Since the pillow form has a zippered cover, you just have you add your decorative fabric, trims, buttons and any other pretty embellishments. I choose some Amy Butler printed fabrics that were bold, and a soft suede and a burlap material for my throw pillows.

After I cut out the material, and sewed 3 sides together, (with wrong sides together, but you probably know that) I pressed each of the 4th side seams in twice and used iron-on adhesive to finish the seam without any stitches. I added sticky back velcro to these inside flaps so I can take off the pillow case if I need to wash it. Since Belle uses the pillows so much, its really nice to be able to take off the pillow case to spot clean or use the lint roller on.

I made these a few months ago and wished I would have taken step by step pictures. This project started off simple, but once I found hypoallergenic pillow forms and sticky back velcro, it become much more than pillow cases. I added some large, Blumenthal buttons to the side of two of them, and then added a fabric flower to the other pillow. If you want some other ideas check out Pinterest. If you’re new to Pinterest, read this!

By Crafts-a lot Contributor, Mable who is an avid reader of craft blogs & magazines and has aspirations to improve her crafting skills. Join Mable on Facebook to socialize and share with other crafters!

Like most people we all have our daily websites we visit - Facebook, Gmail, a news site, and Think Crafts (right?!). Looking through my internet browser’s bookmarks most of the other sites I visit are for recipes, craft ideas, household tips, shopping, blogs, cute photos and more. One day when I saw my co-worker using Pinterest, I knew my time spent on the internet would be forever changed!

My Pin Boards

Pinterest in my own words is a photo version of your bookmarks and favorite web pages you’ve visited. You create pin boards with categories of interest. Like mine are: Event ideas, Things I want to Try, For the Home, Sewing, My Style and many more. In the ‘Things I want to Try’ category I have recipes, craft techniques, quilting photos and a few spray painting ideas. You choose what photo on the web page you like and that is what’s saved on your pin board, including the URL link to visit the site again.

My Pins

If you’re new to Pinterest, you can request an invite here. Once your account is set up, you add a “Pin It” app to your toolbar. Click here for more instructions about setup from Pinterst. Once your account is set up you will be amazed… You follow other pinners and see what they liked and what they pinned. Seeing other pins, you get so many ideas. Try it, type in cardmaking, pesto recipes, duvet covers, floral arranging, pillows or whatever you’re looking for to get ideas on anything, or everything!

By Crafts-a lot Contributor, Mable who is an avid reader of craft blogs & magazines and has aspirations to improve her crafting skills. Join Mable on Facebook to socialize and share with other crafters!

I was cruising You Tube last week, and got totally sucked into watching videos on nail art. I believe art and creativity can be everywhere and anywhere. I was very impressed with the artists who chose something as small as finger nails! The videos made it look so easy, that I had to try it.

Here is the video I watched and followed along with:

I have to admit, my first few attempts were not as easy as she made it look. After a while I did get the hang of her technique of water marbling. My design is more subtle than hers, but I liked how it turned out!

The best tip I picked up from this You Tube Channel is using a paint brush to get off the excess nail polish. Just dip a narrow brush in nail polish remover and move the brush around your nail bed.

By Crafts-a lot Contributor, Mable who is an avid reader of craft blogs & magazines and has aspirations to improve her crafting skills. Join Mable on Facebook to socialize and share with other crafters!

Playing with clay was one of my favorite activities as a kid. I could make a dinosaur, dog, palm tree, whatever my little heart desired. Now as an adult I have a little more dexterity, and I want to work with polymer clay. I love the intricate details you can add with polymer clay.

Since I was trying a new skill, I went to YouTube to find some video instructions. I started with polymer clay bead tutorials because I love beads! I wanted to learn some basic techniques for rolling, cutting and adding details to the beads.

This first video shows how to mix and roll clay to make marbleized clay beads.

I need to get a clay pasta machine! This video shows how to shape, add embellishment and add the beading hole to your clay.

Are you enjoying your Independence Day weekend? Here are some fun and easy craft ideas to have for the patriotic weekend. And the best part, you probably have everything you need to make these in your craft stash!

Patriotic Pinwheels & Popping Firecracker Crafts

Uncle Sam Hats

Red, White, & Blue Patriotic Bracelet