Think Crafts Blog - Craft Ideas and Projects - CreateForLess

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

Don’t you just love garlands? Here’s one I put together in about fifteen minutes today. It’s only about four feet long, so I’m thinking an eight-footer would take about twice that, and if you had an hour…

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Old sheet music
• Ledger paper, graph paper, or any other patterned paper you like
• Scraps of fabric
• Fancy-edged scissors, such as pinking shears, scalloping scissors, etc.

Your first step is to cut circles from the sheet music, using whatever scissors you’d like. They should be about 3″ in diameter, but don’t worry about measuring, or drawing them perfectly. Small imperfections will add a homey, old-fashioned touch. Since there’ll be about four circles per foot, just multiply the length garland you’d like by four to get the number of circles you need.

Now cut the same number of circles from the patterned paper, but make them smaller, about two inches in diameter.

Third step is to cut circles from the fabric scraps, about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. You can make them all the same fabric, or use a variety, your choice.

Next, lay the music paper circles out on a flat surface and stack a circle of patterned paper and one of fabric atop each. I suggest this because if you’re cutting freehand, some circles will “fit” together better than others.

Stack your circle stacks up, carry them to the sewing machine, and sew them all together in a line. Don’t break the thread between stacks, and again, don’t worry about precision. Random is good!

You are finished! Go hang up your garland!

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

Happy Holidays!  This is Amy from Mod Podge Rocks, bringing you a great kids’ craft for the Christmas season.  Children and Mod Podge go so well together that I wanted to show you a way to incorporate the two AND decorate for your holiday parties.  This was so fun for me - your kids are going to have a blast!

First gather these supplies:

Fabric Scraps - I used about thirteen 12 - 20″ strips

FloraCraft® Styrofoam® Wreath Bulk 9″ White

Mod Podge - Gold Glitter Hologram

Kunin Rainbow Classic Felt 9″x 12″ - Apple Green and Kelly Green

Offray Ribbon Grosgrain 5/8″ Red - 12 inches

Beacon Craft Glue

Buttons - 6 coordinating

Flat Paint Brush

Scissors

This could be one of the easiest Mod Podge projects you’ll ever do, which is why it’s so great for children.  Simply grab your fabric strips (you can use squares or random shapes too) and spread a medium layer of Mod Podge onto the back (fabric face down).

Wrap the strips tightly around the Styrofoam wreath.  Make sure to cover all of the white.  If you have squares or shapes, simply glue them randomly down to the wreath form.  Keep going until you’ve covered the entire wreath.

Once the wreath is completely covered, coat the entire project with Mod Podge.  If you want the glitter to really sparkle, let dry and then give the wreath a second coat.

Take your felt and draw some holly leaves.  Cut out and then attach to the wreath with craft glue.  Accent with some buttons and then a strip of ribbon to hang on the back.

I don’t know that I’ve ever done an easier craft, or one that was more fun!  Your children are going to thoroughly enjoy their participation in your holiday decorating.  Have a great holiday season!

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

Years ago, a friend told me a traditional holiday gift in her family was socks. Wow, I thought. I’ll bet there were some excited kids under  that tree!  I couldn’t imagine a more practical, prosaic, and boring gift.

Of course, that was before I started giving socks for Christmas gifts myself. Not just any old pair, naturally. These socks have become so popular with the girlie types in our circle that I keep a drawer full of the makings, just in case.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Socks in the size needed
• “Eyelash” or “Fun Fur” yarn in a coordinating color, variegated is fun.
• Any crochet hook with a hook small enough to poke through the edge of the sock’s cuff

To begin, take one of the socks and push the crochet hook through, near the upper edge of the cuff, from right side to wrong.

Yarn over, and pull a loop through the cuff, and complete a single crochet stitch. You can also yarn over again and do a double or triple, if you like, but the single stitch seems sufficient to me.

Repeat what you just did, inserting the hook next to the place you just did the stitch in. Don’t worry about doing a stitch in every stitch of the cuff top; just a little way from the last stitch is good. Keep your stitches on the loose side, to preserve the stretch of the cuff.

Do that all the way around, ending with your hook pushing through in the same place as your first stitch. Yarn over and pull a loop up, snip the thread, and pull the loose end through your loop, just as you usually would to finish off. Trim the end to the length of the newly created fringe top.

Do that on the other sock, too, and you’re done!

This is a craft-to-love on a number of levels-the beginnerest beginner will have no trouble with it; there’s no such thing as a mistake, because the yarn hides all; there’s no counting involved, so  you can watch TV without worrying you’ll mess up the pattern; it takes less than fifteen minutes to complete a pair; and everybody seems to love getting them!

These make great stocking stuffers, and I like having these on hand as “extra” gifts for unexpected guests, and through the year for other occasions,too.

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

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

I really like the idea of giving baked goodies as gifts this time of year. They have that, “I cared enough to make something especially for you” touch, they’re easy on the budget, and they’re more likely to be appreciated and used than, say, a lava lamp or yet another necktie.

I used to be much better at making fun little Christmas gifts for all our friends and neighbors. We made homemade vanilla and triple sec with beautiful labels; I baked platters full of cookies, four, five, six varieties. Once I even made dozens of truffles. I won’t tell you how many I ate and how many I gave away though. You’d never look at me the same again. But I used to go all out. And then I had kids.

The one problem with this gift idea is they’re so last minute. Like we didn’t have enough to do those last few days before the holiday, right? You have to do them within a day or two of giving, in order for them to be nice and fresh…. As my kids grew up I started to think more broadly about the kind of gifts that I can make in bulk to hand out to all the wonderful friends I’ve gathered over the years. And as much as possible I’d like the kids to help me out. Because you’re never too young to learn to be neighborly, right?

Years ago, our little family–two parents, three little girls–lived in smack in the middle of Oregon’s Santiam Pass. It was ten miles to the nearest store, twenty to the nearest town, pre-cell phone days, and I didn’t drive. I had a lot of time to do things, and one of the things I did was can fruits and jams and jellies and…

Bread! I canned quick breads! The wonderful thing about it was that I could spend a day mixing up batters and baking bread, and months later all I needed to do to was open a jar, and presto! Banana bread, or apple bread, or zucchini bread.

You can, too. You don’t even need a canner to do it.

What you’ll need is:

• The ingredients for your favorite quick bread(s)
• Wide mouth pint canning jars, the kind without any shoulder
• The metal rims and tops for the jars
• An oven
• Fabric and ribbon scraps, scrapbooking supplies, stickers, anything you want!

The cool thing about this project is that you can be as simple or as fancy as you want. You can mix up a special gingerbread or pound cake from scratch OR you can make something right out of a box.  Either way you will end up with a very pretty little gift with not much effort. And you probably have what you need in the house now.

Begin by sterilizing your jars. Run them through the dishwasher on high heat or boil them for a bit in a big pot of water.

Now, take three or four clean pint jars and grease them as you would a loaf pan. You’ll be baking the bread in the jars. The difference is, a nice crown of risen bread in a loaf pan is a beautiful thing, but bread above the rim of your jar will have to be cut off, so don’t overfill them. A little over half full is about right, as a rule.

When you have spooned the batter into the jars, take a clean, damp cloth or paper towel and wipe the rim of the jar off. Any batter or grease on the glass edge will prevent a good seal. Put them into the oven and bake as usual. You may find it takes a little less time for the baking, because the jars are smaller than loaf pans.

When the bread is done, take one jar at a time, wipe off the rim again, and using tongs and a pot holder, screw on the metal rings and lids, and tighten well. Set them on a rack or heat-proof surface and let them cool.

Your last step is to listen for the little *pop* that tells you the jars have sealed. You’ll be able to do a visual check on that, too. In the center of the lid there’s a little dome. When the jar seals, the dome sucks down, turning the dome into a depression, caused by the cooling of the hot bread and air inside the jar creating a vacuum. (That’s why you want that glass edge to be clean–no vacuum equals no seal!)

After attaching the lids, decorate with circles of fabric, strips of fun papers or ribbons or fun button. Another idea is to take a big circle of fabric, and gather it around the jar, cinching it up with a rubber band. Then tie a pretty bow around the elastic. You can stop there, because it’s already pretty, or do what I did and tuck in a bookmark. (This one is made for cooks, from a 1920’s cooking cartoon strip.)

Add a label (a tag punch makes this easy and looks fantastic!) and hand them out to teachers, friends and coworkers for a little holiday cheer! Jars can be kept at room temperature for a week or in the fridge for two before being eaten.

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

I’m really getting into the holiday spirit, and I decided it was time to throw something festive up on the ol’ fireplace.  I like the patchwork look, and so I employed that basic idea when making this banner - getting things together that coordinate but are not necessarily the same.  Try it with your holiday decorations.  It’s very fun and you get to use a lot of colors.  It’s easier to match your décor than you think. 

Gather These Supplies:

Mod Podge Sparkle

Letters spelling the holiday saying of your choice - mine came with the screws and ribbon.  If yours don’t, you can purchase the hooks and ribbon.

Christmas scrapbook paper - 3 coordinating sheets

Christmas embellishments and stickers - multiple coordinating

Rhinestones, adhesive - at least 10 coordinating

FolkArt Acrylic paint - 3 coordinating colors (I used Bright Green, Engine Red and Hot Pink)

Craft Glue

Flat Paint Brush

Scissors

Pencil or Pen

Take your letter and lay it down on the scrapbook paper face up.  Trace the shape - repeat with the other letters.  Use a different sheet of paper for each letter.

Use your scissors to cut the letter shapes out of the paper.  Set aside.

Paint your letters with coordinating acrylic colors.  Paint the entire back, but you’ll only have to paint the sides and the edges of the front.  You don’t need to paint the entire front because the paper will be covering.  Isn’t that delightful?

Grab those pieces of scrapbook paper that are shaped like your letters.  Paint a medium layer of Mod Podge down on your letters and make sure to get the corners well.

Place paper down and either smooth with your fingers or roll with a brayer.  Smooth, smooth, smooth!  Until all of the air bubbles are gone.  Do the other letters and then set them all aside for 15 - 20 minutes.

When your letters are dry, spread Mod Podge over the top of the paper on the letters.  Again, spread a medium coat.  Allow to dry for 15 - 20 minutes, then spread another coat.  Don’t forget to coat the back of your letters as well!  Allow to dry.

At this time, replace the hooks in your letters, or if you had to purchase, screw into the top of your letters.  You shouldn’t need to drill.  Simply push down and screw into the top.

Use your craft glue to add embellishments to the letters.  I added chipboard shapes, rhinestones and stickers.  Decorate however your little heart desires!  When you are done, allow to dry for 24 hours and then string the ribbon.  Mine came with ribbon, but if your letters don’t, then purchase about 1 foot of ribbon per letter for your saying.  Hang and admire!

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

Did you know that if you do a quick Google search on “December Holidays” you’ll find there is a holiday for every single day of this month? Most days, in fact, have more than one holiday, or at least something special about them. (Who knew that the Golf Tee was patented on the 12th?)  I suspected there were a lot of them for December, but more than one a day? Really? How cool!

"Don't worry. There's always collage!"

Don’t have an Advent Calendar, per se? There’s no crime in writing the days on a “regular” calendar, but put a sticky note over each day, and don’t let anyone peek!

What’s fun is that “National _____ Day” events tend to change from year to year, so you never know what’s going to come up when you do the search each year.

Here’s a list of some I found for December 2009:

1. Eat a Red Apple Day; National Pie Day; Rosa Parks Day; World AIDS Day; Special Kids Day

2. National Fritters Day; Special Education Day; International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

3. International Day of the Disabled; National Roof-Over-Your-Head Day

4. National Cookie Day; Wear Brown Shoes Day; National Dice Day

5. Walt Disney’s Birthday; International Volunteer Day; Bathtub Party Day; AFL-CIO Day

6. Ira Gershwin’s Birthday; Mitten Tree Day; St Nicholas Day; Coats & Toys for Kids DayNational Cotton Candy Day; Pearl Harbor Day; Civil Aviation Day

7. National Brownie Day; Islamic New Year; National Cotton Candy Day

8. Ball-Bearing Roller Skates Patented (1884); First Christmas Seals Issued (1907); International Children’s Broadcasting Day

9. Emily Dickinson’s Birthday (1830); Human Rights Day; Nobel Peace Prize Awarded

10. Hanukkah Begins at Sunset; National Noodle Ring Day; UNICEF Anniversary (1946); Apollo 17 Moon Landing

11. International Mountain Day; Hovercraft Patented; Poinsettia Day; Bonza Bottler Day (Happens every month when the month and day are the same: Sept 9, Jan 1; Dec 12, etc.); Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

12. National Cocoa Day; Ice Cream and Violins Day; 1^st Susan B Anthony Dollar (1978)

13. First Miniature Golf Course Opened (1929); South Pole Discovered (1911)

14. Phonograph patented (1877); Bill of Rights Day; Netscape Navigator Released (1994)

15. Boston Tea Party Anniversary (1773); Las Posadas (Mexican holiday that reenacts Joseph’s search for an inn), Beethoven’s Birthday; Cat Herders Day

16. National Maple Syrup Day; Underdog Day; Wright Brother’s Day; National Chocolate Covered Anything Day; National Re-gifting Day

17. National Wear a Plunger on Your Head Day; 13^th Amendment, Abolishing Slavery, Ratified (1865)

18. Oatmeal Muffin Day; International Migrants Day

19. Games Day

20. 1^st Crossword Puzzle in a Newspaper; Humbug Day; Look at the Bright Side Day; National Flashlight Day

21. 1^st Christmas Lights for Sale (1882); Thermometer Invented; Winter Solstice-Winter Begins; Maritime Day; National Haiku Poetry Day

22. Roots Day

23. Christmas Eve; National Egg Nog Day; Remember to Read the Instructions First Night; Silent Night Sung for the First Time (1818)

24. Christmas; National Pumpkin Pie Day

That gets us to Christmas, but there’s still nearly a week of December left! Why not continue? There’s still Kwanzaa and Boxing Day on the 26^th, not to mention National Whiner’s Day, and Visit the Zoo Day on the 27^th…

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

One of these years I’ll have a wreath for every window of my house during the Christmas Season. Of course, if I’d made a wreath every year of my adult life, I would have a wreath for every window but none of them would match as I would have made whatever style and color inspired me that year. Such is the way with crafters, you know who you are!

This year I’ve been obsessed with felt. It’s easy, it’s cheap, it’s fun, and there are endless possibilities of what you can make with it. I once made a 6-foot tall knights tent for my sons room out of felt. It was fantastic. So it seemed natural to find a way to make a wreath entirely out of felt this year.

This project is surprisingly fast once the pieces are cut, taking under a half an hour. With breaks to pass out goldfish and wipe up a spilled glass of milk (or three). The cutting takes a little time, but it’s sit in front a good movie and veg kind of time.

First, decide on your circle size, I used the top of a pint glass for a template, which worked well for a 14 inch diameter wreath form. Bigger circles for bigger wreaths, smaller for smaller, you know the drill. Trace the circles onto the felt and get cutting. For this wreath I used three -1/4 yard pieces of felt and a few scraps from some quilting cotton just for kicks. 

Glue a loop of ribbon to a masonite or flat wreath form for hanging. Then once you have your circles cut (using good sewing scissors I was able to cut through four layers at a time and still get nice circles), heat up your glue gun, separate the circles into colors for easy assembly and get ready to glue.

Folding each circle in half, glue with a dot of hot glue along the center of the wreath form. The closer the circles are to each other the denser the wreath will look, and the more circles you will need. So play around a little with this, you can tuck and extra circle in between two if a spot is looking thin.

Work around the form until you have the whole thing covered. You can also do the same to the back-side of the wreath so they will look great from either side of the window. Either way, you have a wreath of felt goodness for the holidays.

What is your favorite kind of Christmas wreath to make?