Cardboard Octopus Bowl

Crafts, Green Crafting, Guest Bloggers, Home Decor 1 Comment

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

Our friend Mark Montano is full of amazing crafty ideas for your home and yourself. Recycle your cardboard in a new and beautiful way with this cardboard octopus bowl! You can create a bunch, each with a different underwater sea creature for practically nothing!  For more creative DIYs, check out the “Make Your Mark” videos on Mark’s YouTube Channel.

YOU’LL NEED

HERE’S HOW

10 Creative Ways to Use Leftover Fabric Scraps

Crafts, Crafts to Wear, Green Crafting, Guest Bloggers, Kid's Crafts, Needlearts No Comments

By Guest Blogger Paisley Hansen

About the Author: Paisley Hansen is a freelance writer and expert in fleece fabric and beauty. When she isn’t writing she can usually be found reading a good book.

Be honest with yourself, how long has that basket of rags and fabric scraps been sitting with your craft and sewing stuff? If you are anything like me, you have probably been collecting enough fabric over the years to reupholster an entire mansion. That is, if you could do that using just scraps. Well, you may not be able reupholster your house, but there are plenty of things that you can create to make use of your leftover fabric scraps. Here are 10 neat ideas.

Rag Quilt

Rag QuiltImage Source

If you have a lot of scraps, one way to use up just about all of them is to make a rag quilt. This might turn into quite the project, but you can watch tutorials such as this one online to help you out.

Blanket

Fleece Edging

Image Source

If you have a lot of leftover or cheap fleece fabric, you can easily make it into a blanket by cutting tassels around the edge. Tie a knot in each one to give it a more finished look.

Wreath

Scrap Wreath

Image Source

If all you have are a lot of smaller scraps, you can make them into a wreath for your door. All you have to do is use a metal coat hanger, and bend it in whichever shape you desire. Then cut the fabric into smaller strips, and tie them around the hanger using a cow hitch knot for each.

Cleaning

It would be a shame to use nice fabric for cleaning, but if you have random scraps of old, useless material, or it is ruined for whatever reason, they make good cleaning rags.

USA map

Have you ever seen the maps of the United States, made from license plates? A cute idea for a family home can be to do the same thing, but with fabric scraps. You can either cut the states out and stick them on cardboard for your wall, or you can sew them together and mount them on a canvas.

Canning

If you want to try canning, scraps can be a cute way to brighten up jars. Secure a small square of fabric over the lid with a rubber band.

Flip Flop Redesign

Create an original look with scrap fabric on flip flops

A fun way to use old scraps can be to redesign old flip flops for a new season. Make sure that you use strong glue.

Bracelet

There are a lot of creative ways to weave bracelets using strips of fabric, for use as a friendship bracelet, or simply a fashion statement. One good way can be viewed here, along with a step-by-step.

Pincushion

For the avid sewer, a pincushion might just be the perfect way to use your scraps. There are a number of different ways to make one, in fact, here are just 10.

Dog Toy

 Dog Toy

For your dog that likes to destroy your furniture and clothes, why not give them something that they can destroy? Some fabric might be fine as it is, but here is a step-by-step guide to make a fun little toy for your canine friend.

 

May Flowers Craft Roundup

Crafts, Floral Crafts, Green Crafting, Spring, Summer No Comments

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

Spring is officially in full swing, and the well known expression “April Showers brings in May Flowers” is certainly starting to show in our part of the country! The sunny weather and colorful blooms outside my window have been an inspiration to bring the beautiful spring weather into my crafting. I’ve collected a few of my favorite floral inspired crafts over the years to help you celebrate May Flowers too!

Press colorful flowers into lovely bookmarks. Tutorial at ThinkCrafts.com

Pick a few of your most colorful flowers from the garden and preserve them into these beautiful bookmarks. This way in the wintertime when you’re stuck inside reading, you’ll have something beautiful to get you through the cold weather.

Make a fabric corsage with Icing Designs at ThinkCrafts.com

Keep the flowers in your garden and create these beautiful fabric flowers instead. This way, you won’t feel as bad about wearing some beautiful floral accessories.

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Bee Skep

Crafts, Green Crafting, Kid's Crafts, Spring, Summer No Comments

By Kid’s Crafts Contributor Stephanie, from the blog A Geek In Glasses.

Make your own bee skep from recycled materials - ThinkCrafts.com

Summer time is a great time to decorate indoors while all the flowers are decorating the outdoors. We made this bee skep to decorate our house for the summer. The skep was used as a bee hive for centuries, but now they are more for garden decorations. Our project uses a recycled soda bottle and glue, so there is no need for weaving. This is a perfect craft for children, camps or addition to a bee lesson!

Soda Bottle, Scissors, Jute Twine, and Tacky Glue

Supplies:

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Egg Carton Wreath

Crafts, Green Crafting, Guest Bloggers, Holidays, Home Decor, Kid's Crafts, Spring 2 Comments

By Guest Blogger Jennifer from the blog Brave New Home

Follow along with Jennifer as she embarks on the overwhelming journey of transforming her current house into a dream home. Jennifer hopes to inspire and motivate everyone who reads her blog to create their dream spaces no matter the size or budget.

Recycle Old Egg Cartons to Make a Floral Wreath with Brave New Home - ThinkCrafts.com

When I came across this bright and intriguing wreath on Pinterest, I had to do a double take.  A wreath made of egg cartons?  Genius!  After heading over to the corresponding blogfor directions, I thought, What an easy project and one that my son will enjoy creating, too.  Sound the buzzer.  Wrong!  But in the end, it was such a cute wreath and a present I’m sure oma (grandma) will enjoy : ]

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Paper Fan Birthday Decor

Birthdays, Crafts, Green Crafting, Holidays, Kid's Crafts, Paper Crafts, Seasons No Comments

By Kid’s Crafts Contributor Stephanie, from the blog A Geek In Glasses.

Fold up these paper fans for easy and fun birthday decor!

My daughter is turning 5 in a month or so and we are having a large shindig for her.  It will be a Gala of epic proportions for a person who is only 5! To cut costs, like many moms, I’m doing a lot of the work myself. The decorations are going to be 95% handmade.  I shared these tissue paper flowers last month. Not only does it save on cash, but there is a little bonding time between myself and my daughter as we make these items for her party.

Paper

Supplies:

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Tin Can Flowers

Crafts, Floral Crafts, Green Crafting, Kid's Crafts, Mother's Day, Spring, Summer 2 Comments

By Kid’s Craft Contributor Tracey, from the blog We Made That.

Repurpose old tin cans into these cute bird feeders at ThinkCrafts.com

My mother has to be one of the hardest people to shop for.  So with mother’s day fast approaching, I thought it would be nice for the kids and I to make her something special.  She has always LOVED bird watching and has a ton of bird houses and feeders around her yard.

That is why I thought she would love these tin can flowers.  I think they are so pretty and will brighten up the yard just as a decoration. They also work great as a bird feeder, we have had them in our yard for about a week and the birds are all over the place.  I have seen birds that I have never noticed before come to eat our bird seed out of these feeders.

I had to do all the cutting of the tin cans.  Even though the girls could not make these flowers totally on their own, they are still so proud that they made them and are so excited about giving them to grandma for Mother’s Day.  It is the perfect gift for my mother who has everything!

Supplies

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