Think Crafts Blog - Craft Ideas and Projects - CreateForLess

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

With all the cold weather that has swamped our part of the country this winter, we’ve been drinking a lot of hot chocolate and warm tea. And while my kids are generally pretty careful with dishes, I prefer not to hand them their treat in one of my vintage tea cups. I could, of course, pick up a plain old mug somewhere for each of them or dig into the collection of sentimental, but not valuable coffee mugs that reside under the kitchen sink, but where would be the fun in that?

When I was a kid I remember carefully coloring a picture that my mother sent off to be made into a mug in some mysterious factory. While that’s still an option, a homemade version is also easily done now a days thanks to inkjet waterslide decal paper. Whew, that’s a mouthful, I know. Basically this is the stuff that model makers use to add details to cars, planes and trains. It’s a printable paper that, once sealed, can be soaked in water and applied to just about any surface you want.

My kids put in requests for images (a Welsh Dragon and a crown) but you could easily scan some artwork of their own making and size it to fit on the mug. Either way, once you have your art, here’s what else you need:

Waterslide decal paper - this is available at model shops, I like 5 x 8.5 inches because there is less waste
Clear gloss lacquer spray
Old mugs - white is best
Your computer and a printer

Size the document (look under page set up) to the size of your actual paper and import the art you want to put on your mug. I generally like to try to fit it all on one half a sheet, this way I can still put the other half in the printer at a later date and have little waste. Print your images and allow the ink to dry completely, give it a good two hours otherwise the ink may run when you seal it.

Once it’s dry, spray a thin coat of lacquer over the paper and allow that to dry. Go back and add a second and maybe a third coat, allowing it to have a few minutes of dry time between each layer.

Cut out the art as closely to the edges as possible. The decal will slide off clear but you want as little extra material as possible. Drop the decals into a bowl of cool tap water. They will curl up at first then sink. If they float on the surfact, push them down so they are totally submerged.

After about a minute the decal will slide freely off of the paper. Being careful not to let it fold on itself, arrange the decal onto the clean, flat surface of the mug, smoothing out any bubbles. When you are satisfied with the placement of the image, lightly spray two more coats of the lacquer, again allowing a few minutes of dry time between each layer (hint - turn the mug upside down on a piece of cardboard before spraying to avoid getting any inside the mug)

While not dishwasher safe, the decals will last through handwashing and is a great way to repurpose old mugs.

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

Years ago, when my husband and I were first married, we had a little verbal routine. I would say, “I love you,” and he would say, “Well, I sure don’t know why.”  And then I’d list several reasons I loved him.

One day, I decided to clear things up for him, once and for all. It took an afternoon, but the book I created that day still sits on his nightstand, and every now and then he goes through it again. It was undoubtedly the best Valentine I ever gave him.

Here’s how you can make your own “Book of Love”:

• Get one of those photo albums that holds just one photo per page in a clear sleeve.
• Gather a stack of magazines and other picture-rich papers, a pair of scissors, a pen or pencil, and something to write on. (I used a scrap of wallpaper that was printed with narrow blue and white stripes.)
• Look through your magazines to find pictures that illustrate things you love about your dear one, and cut them out, sliding each one into a sleeve of the album.
• Write a caption for each picture and put it in the corresponding sleeve.

My first picture, a favorite Mary Engelbreit card, I taped to the inside cover of the book, using packing tape that completely covered it.

The first sleeve held only this:

Then I started filling sleeves:

What was fun and interesting was that I often let a picture inspire me. I might not have thought of it otherwise, but I adore the way my sweetie looks in a tuxedo, something that came to me when I saw this:

A spur put me in mind of the way he “spurred me on” to try harder, do more, and believe in myself. People bouncing around at a dining table reminded me of his playfulness. There were a number of pages praising his physical attributes and romantic skills, including a few that made the book something I wouldn’t share with just anybody, but which certainly pleased him.

And there were occasional small jokes, like the way he’d follow a compliment about my cooking with, “but then, I was REALLY hungry!” (You’d have to be there. It really was funny, the way he said it.)

I didn’t decorate the outside at all. It never even occurred to me, but it was already pretty. Still that might be something you’d want to do.

The book, when it was finished, held 36 pictures and captions, and ended with a quote, “Loving you is knowing dreams can come true.”

Oh, and I left empty sleeves. It’s a lovely little surprise to add another reason to love.

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

If your child, well let’s be frank, you son, is REALLY opposed to gushy valentines, try this little project. This can actually be done with any old image and is a fabulous last minute Valentine or last minute ANYTIME gift bag. Although I used smaller white bags here, I’ve also done this with plain old lunch bags for a quick wrapping idea and try to hang onto any paper bags that come my way to reuse this way as wrapping.

Here’s what you need:

Paper bags small enough to fit in your printer - here I used 4 5/8 x8 5/8
Paper
Markers
Printer
Something to stuff in the bag (candy is always a good choice!)

Have your child draw their image. For this valentine I had my son draw a series of monsters from a “How to Draw Monsters” book. After looking through his drawings we picked the one he liked best and I scanned in into my computer.

Open a new word document  on your computer and adjust the page size to the size of your bag. Measure the lower end of the bag when it is folded flat up to where the bottom folds up. This will be your bottom margin. If you print over where the bottom folds up it tends to blur the ink.  Insert the image from your scan, resizing as needed by dragging the corner in and up. Add your text in a fun font. Abstract Fonts is a great source for fun, free fonts.

Insert the bag into your printer fed, right side down and with the end of the bag away from the printer. Adjust the paper feed to fit the bag and print away. These are super cute straight out of the printer but even more special colored in by your little artist.

What kind of Valentines will your kids be making this year?

By General Crafts Contributor Amy, from the Blog “Mod Podge Rocks!”

We all know what day is coming soon - Valentine’s Day!  You don’t need a spouse or significant other to show your love for someone.  In fact, I made this recycled gift box for my mom!  She’s always supported and been there for me, and to show my love I got her a gift card for a pedicure.  To make the presentation delightful, I took a candy box from Christmas and dressed it up a bit.  You won’t believe how easy this to make, and it just takes a few minutes.

To make it, gather these supplies:

Old gift/candy/other box

K&Company Paper Pad 12×12 Designer Lovely

K&Company Grand Adhesions Kazoo Animals & Words

EK Jolee’s 3D Stickers Bling Large Gems Red

Glue Dots Craft Clear 1/2″ 200 pc Box

Glitter silver foam letters

Scalloped Scissors

Pen or Pencil

Here’s the box before I started.  I was lucky that it was already red and cute.  If you aren’t as lucky, add some acrylic craft paint into the mix (FolkArt).  Paint your box before you move onto the next step.

Place the top of the box face down on the backside of the paper (select a piece that matches your box) and trace.  Set the box aside.

Cut inside the line with the scalloped scissors - make sure you have even edges, even if you have to trim a little extra off.

Use your Glue Dots to line the backside of the paper.  I probably used about 10 - 15 Glue Dots and got around the edges.  I didn’t put one on every scallop, just about every inch.  I also put a few in the middle.  Place the paper down on the top of the box in the center, and make sure to press down well.

This is the most fun part!  Stick down the embellishments, including the letters and the red gems.  Pick whatever you like and looks good!

I can’t wait to give this to my mom - she’s going to love it.  The best part?  When she’s done with the box, she can redecorate it and give it again.  I love recycled crafts!  Happy Valentine’s Day!

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

Remember back to the Valentines days of our youth? All those little Scooby Doo and Barbie Valentines cards with their perforated edges and strangely sweet envelope glue? Yeah, they were cute, I’ll admit it. But somehow now that my kids are school aged, I find myself shying away from the cards that my classmates and I stuffed into shoebox “mailboxes” each year. Maybe it’s the fact that most of them are covered with kind of scary looking cartoon characters or maybe it’s the fact that I know all that paper will just end up in the landfill. Or maybe it’s just the crafter in me that hates the idea of sending my son off with something store bought (he’s going to hate me when he’s a teenager -What? No I will not buy you that shirt! I’m sure we can MAKE it for less honey!)

The problem is that now that he is seven and almost a half, the cutsie valentines that we’ve made in years past ARE NOT COOL MOM. No more puffball hearts or hand drawn red and white cards. No more talk of love or be mine. Sigh. So how on earth do you do a non lovey-dovey, boy approved, kid make-able valentine? Well, I’ll tell you, it took some serious thinking.

Actually, I’ll be honest; my son inspired the idea when we were eating lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant last weekend.

“Fortune Cookies! I love Fortune Cookies!” He said “Hey mom, can we make fortune cookies this week?”

Humm, well, yes, I think we can.

These are really simple and very kid friendly and let’s face it, who doesn’t love a fortune cookie?

Here’s what you need:

Felt - 1 sheet will make three large fortune cookies

Tacky Glue

Small treats (Hershey Kisses work great!)

Paper and pen

Fabric and paper scissors

Trace a five-inch diameter circle onto your felt. You can either cut a template from cardstock or find a bowl or lid that’s around five inches. You can also go bigger or smaller but I found that a five inch circle was the best size for holding a few treats and being handleable for little fingers.

Cut, or if your child is old enough, allow them to cut the circle out carefully. Try to keep the edges as smooth as possible.

Cut a strip of paper 1 inch long by 1/4 inch wide and write a message on it, leaving one third of the strip blank. Run a bead of tacky glue around the circle and lay the strip of paper just above the halfway point on one side. If you want to insert treats, put two kisses end to end (or other small candies) in the middle.

Fold the circle over and press to close, keep pressing the edges down until the glue has a good hold on it. Allow the glue to dry completely.

Using your thumb, push the center of the flat edge (between the two candies) toward the seam.

Dab a dot of glue where the two halves of the “cookie” meet and hold it closed for a minute to allow the glue to set.

And you’re done! How cute is that? My son is gung-ho to make these for all of his friends this year, which is good because I really don’t think I could have given in to the Power Rangers Valentines, no matter how anti-lovey dovey his seven-year-old self is!

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

You want to play with liquid plastic, you know you do!

By now I’m sure all you crafties out there already have your Christmas decorations put away, your winter-but-not-Christmas decorations still up and decorations leftover from your New Year’s Eve Dinner Party. 

That seven day gap between Christmas and New Years doesn’t leave much time for crafts, much less whole house decorations. But here’s a quick little craft that was just perfect for my New Year’s Eve dinner party.  

Here’s what you need:
 
Pinecones (one for each dinner guest or as many as you want!)
Plasti-dip black
Florist’s wire
Newspaper
Rubber gloves

 
A few notes: Plasti-dip is intended to use to recoat the handles of tools. It can be sprayed on, dipped on or painted on. While the spray is probably the easiest option, it’s also going to be pretty messy and probably not the best choice if you are working with kids. Painting on is better but I found that dipping was their favorite (and mine too!)  If you want to dip you’ll need to either find pinecones small enough to fit in the can or find a wider mouthed jar to transfer the dip to. And while all the types of pinecones that we tried looked great, those that were more open were definitely the best.

First find a place where the pinecones can hang to dry. A hanger hooked to a shelf or a lamp works well but look around the house and see what you can find. The paper towel holder in my kitchen worked perfectly for us. Cover the surface underneath your hanging spot with plenty of newspaper and cut a piece of wire for each pinecone that is long enough to wrap around the wider end of the pine cone and still have enough length so that it will hang a few inches above the newspaper.

Wrap the wire underneath the tines of the cone so that you can only see the piece that you’ll hang it from. Gently shake or stir the plasti-dip and remove the lid.  With their gloves on, let your kids lower the pinecone slowly into the plasti-dip. Once it is completely submerged, carefully lift it out, shaking a little to remove the excess plastic. Hold over the jar for a minute to catch the biggest drips and then let it hang to dry. If you want to add glitter, sprinkle a small amount about 10 minutes into drying time. The pinecones will be dry in about four hours.

The possibilities with this are almost endless. We plan on using them as place card holders but you could also pile them into a bowl, hang them garland style along your mantle or stairs or even add a little new years glitz to your tree. Plasti-dip also comes in other colors, including a custom color-making version, bringing other projects to mind. Think of blown eggshells for Easter or origami frogs for a child’s birthday party.
 
Be sure to clean the rim of the jar completely before replacing the lid and any leftover should be stored as you would any chemical.

By General Crafts Contributor Amy, from the Blog “Mod Podge Rocks!”

Although Christmas is over, the crafting season isn’t.  In fact, winter crafting has just begun!  These sparkly snowmen magnets are shown on my fridge, and are great because they can be accomplished in a few hours.  Use fun papers like I did for a childlike look - these don’t take much paper to cover, and are great for using up spare scraps.

All you need is:

• Wood snowman shape (3)
• Scrapbook paper - I used K & Company Rough and Tumble
• FolkArt paint in coordinating colors (I used Tangerine, Kelly Green and Calypso Sky)
• Mod Podge Sparkle
• Buttons - nine coordinating
• The Magnet Source^TM Magnet Ceramic Disc 1/2″   (3)
• Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue
• Pen or pencil
• Scissors

You will first need to trace the snowmen shapes on the paper.  Place face down on the BACK of the paper and outline with your pen or pencil.

Cut out the shapes and set aside for later.

Paint all of your wood snowmen using colors that coordinate with your papers.  I only painted the edges of the front because the paper was going over the shape - you can’t see it.  I painted the entire backside.  Don’t leave your snowman naked!  Allow to dry.

Grab your Sparkle Mod Podge and coat the front of your snowman with a medium layer.

Since the snowmen were so small, I adhered the paper to the front where I had Mod Podged, then I turned the snowmen over and pressed down hard with my hand to flatten out the air bubbles.  Wipe away any excess Mod Podge on the edges; allow to dry for 15 - 20 minutes.

Completely coat the outside of your snowmen with Mod Podge and allow to dry.  Add as many coats as you like - more coats equals more sparkle.

Finish your snowmen by gluing buttons to the front and then magnets to the back.  Let dry completely and then display on your fridge or other metal surface.