Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Scrapbook & Paper Crafts Contributor Jennifer, from the blog “So Many Products, So Little Time”.

I love to go green whenever possible, so I try to find ways to reuse objects around the house.  One of my favorite items to reuse is an empty plastic juice container.  I use the Welch’s brand – they are very sturdy and you can even run them through the dishwasher before decorating.  In the past I have decorated quite a few for my scrap room to hold supplies.  My son recently got a new desk for his room so I decorated this can to hold his pencils.  He also loves to write notes to his friends, so I created a matching mini notebook.

Supplies used:

K & Company – Actopus Collection

• 12×12 Paper Pad
• Rub-ons
• Grand Adhesion Sticker

Ribbon
Plastic Juice Container
Composition Notebook (small)
Strong Adhesive

To cover the juice can:

* Cut a strip of paper to cover the entire side of the can and adhere.  You will need to use use a strong tape such as Therm O Web Zips Craft Adhesive Lines.

* Cut a small strip of paper and adhere to the top edge of the can using the same adhesive.

To cover the notebook.

* Cut a piece of paper to cover the notebook and adhere using a strong adhesive

* Apply rub-ons (see picture) to the notebook.

* Affix 3 Dimensional sticker to center of the notebook.

* Adhere piece of ribbon to edge of the notebook.  You can also tie a bow if desired.

By Guest Blogger, Jennifer from the blog “So Many Products, So Little Time”.

My husband Steve grew up a farm boy in Southwest Iowa.  A tractor originally owned by his Grandpa Stanley Hansen was passed down to  his father Robert Hansen.  When Steve was a young boy while he was driving it, the tractor rolled over on top of him.  Miraculously he wasn’t hurt.  The ground was very soft from a recent rain and they think it had just enough give that it kept him safe. The tractor was damaged after rolling over and so they stored it.  A few years ago my husband started to restore this tractor and finished it up a couple years ago.  It currently takes up his side of the garage and he likes to drive it during tractor rides at the local county fairs. I made this album of pictures with him and his tractor. I used pictures from the recent Warren County Fair, and from back in 1951.

Supplies used:

Wooden Album: Genuinely Jane Studios (4 pages – 8 sides) approx. 5 x 6 ½”
Plaid FolkArt Paint - silver, black, red
Jewels
Chipboard Circles
White Cardstock
Black Photo Corners:  Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L
Ribbon
Provo Cuttlebug Embossing Machine
American Crafts Black Paper
Label Tape/Machine

I started by painting the tractor part of the wood album red, and the side of the tires black. I used my circle Coluzzle template to determine the tire sizes and then cut them out.  Be sure when using a Coluzzle knife that you have it straight up when cutting.  If you do not have a Coluzzle or large punches, you can trace a template and cut by hand.

I ran my circles through the Cuttlebug Embossing Swiss Dots template to give them some dimension.

I made my hubcaps by using chipboard circles and used the outside ring for the large tire and the inside circle for the smaller tire.  I painted them with Plaid silver paint. After gluing down the tires and hubcaps, I added red jewels to the centers.

Next all you have to do is add your photos, photo corners and captions. I used white cardstock as a backdrop for each photo. To make the small pictures, I used the collage 4×6 print feature at Walgreens (most photo centers would have the same function).  I selected 4 pictures that were either all portrait or all landscape and for around 25 cents. I had 4 mini photos that fit perfectly as tractor windows. Their size is 1 ¾ X 2 ½”.

Lastly join all your pages together with ribbon or a binding ring.

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

We’re just weeks away from back to school. From backpacks and library books and school supplies. But that doesn’t mean we cant have just a little bit more crafty fun before school starts up again. This project is a great one to take to school that first day to help keep your place in all those books you are going to read this year. And yes, I did say toilet paper. But never fear, no one will know your cool bookmark really started out in the bathroom!

Here’s what you need:

10 sheets of toilet paper
Water
Stamp of your choice
Craft Glue
Cardstock
Scissors

1. Fold the sheets of toilet paper up on each other until you have a thick square. Run briefly under water and then wring out gently until you have a damp but not dripping pile.

2. Center the toilet paper stack onto your stamp. Stamps with a raised edge work better than those that are carved in, but you can get a good result out of both. Press firmly onto the stamp with your fingers trying to work it around the edges and into any grooves. If the stamp has raised edges leave the paper on while it dries. If it is an carved in stamp, gently pull the paper off the stamp and flip over onto a flat surface.

3. Allow the paper to dry completely. Trim the edges so taht you have a neat square with an impression centered inside it.

4. Cut the card stock into a 2×5 strip and glue the stamped paper just down from the top of the bookmark. Allow the glue to dry.

By Crafts-a lot Contributor, Mable who is an avid reader of craft blogs & magazines and has aspirations to improve her crafting skills.

I love Birthdays! My birthday was a few weeks ago, and I received the cutest gift bag from my crafty friend Kim. She made a felted cake with candles, and glued to the front of my card. I loved the idea so much I stole it and used it to make a birthday gift bag.

To start, gather these supplies:

Felt

Roving felt

Felting needle

Foam block

Gift Bag

Birthday Scrapbook paper

Hot glue gun

Optional: Birthday stickers, embellishments, die cuts

To create this cupcake felt appliqué, start with a square piece of felt. The first layer of felt will be the cupcake holder. I cut the bottom piece of felt in the shape of a cupcake. Lay the felt on your foam block, and take pieces of a different color roving felt and make long “snakes” by rubbing them in your palms. Attach the roving felt snakes to the bottom felt with your felting needle. To do this, push the needle through the roving felt into the bottom felt. Repeat this around the edges of each stripe on the cupcake holder.

For the cupcake top, I took yellow roving felt and formed a circle. I laid it on the round part of my cupcake bottom felt piece and secured the yellow roving felt with my felting needle. My cupcake was completely shaped with three small circles.

I decorated my cupcake with a flower also made from roving felt. To make the flower I made another “snake” from red roving felt. I attached one end to the cupcake, made a loop, and attached the other end to make each bloom. There were five loops to make my flower.

After my flower was done, it was ready to be glued onto the gift bag. I had decorated the gift bag by gluing 2 different patterned birthday scrapbook sheets down to make the backdrop. Next I just needed to glue down my felt cupcake with the hot glue gun.

Congratulations to Staci Jones who was randomly selected as the winner of Free Stuff Friday and the Paper Accents Craft Pack!

The Pound O’ Paper are wonderful packs of paper that comes with a new variety each time. These varieties are great for making cards, invitations, tags or adding special accents to scrapbook and memory pages. It’s an assortment pack , the sizes and kind of paper change with each package. Create Your Own Journals are made with heavy chipboard on the front and back with 25 pages inside. Have fun decorating and personalizing these journals with stamps, stickers, embellishments, marking pens, and more. Each journal is spiral bound so they are easy to flip and stay together! Create Your Own Chipboard Pennants are great for Banners, Seasonal Sentiments, Names and much more. Made with heavy weight chipboard, they are acid free, and ready to decorate to your personal taste.

Staci’s winning answer to ”What is your favorite summer memory from your childhood, or your children’s” was…

“My favorite summer memories were visiting my grandparents in Seattle. It would take us 2 1/2 days to get there so we usually stayed for awhile. I loved going to the zoo and aquarium. It was so much fun.”

Enter to win this craft pack from Paper Accents! This prize comes with a Pound O’ Paper, Create Your Own Journal and Scrapbook, as well as rectangle and pennants chipboard pieces.

The Pound O’ Paper are wonderful packs of paper that comes with a new variety each time. These varieties are great for making cards, invitations, tags or adding special accents to scrapbook and memory pages. It’s an assortment pack , the sizes and kind of paper change with each package. Create Your Own Journals are made with heavy chipboard on the front and back with 25 pages inside. Have fun decorating and personalizing these journals with stamps, stickers, embellishments, marking pens, and more. Each journal is spiral bound so they are easy to flip and stay together! Create Your Own Chipboard Pennants are great for Banners, Seasonal Sentiments, Names and much more. Made with heavy weight chipboard, they are acid free, and ready to decorate to your personal taste.

Every Friday we’ll post a giveaway on Think Crafts and all you have to do is comment on the blog post answering the question of the week. We’ll pick the winner and contact them via email. Deadline is midnight tonight and the winner will be announced Monday. One entry per person please. Contest opened to all US residents, no purchase necessary.

Question of week: What is your favorite summer memory from your childhood, or your children’s.

We can tell it wasn’t easy to only pick 3 craft items to take if you were ever stranded. There was a lot of  thought in your answers! Congratulations to Penny who was randomly selected as the winner of Free Stuff Friday and the MiMi Essentials Scrapbook  Tool Tote!

The Essential Scrapbook Tool Tote in Kiwi with Chocolate accents is a durable water resistant shoulder tote that keeps your tools at your finger tips. It boasts a patented locking wing system and a strap to hang it from a doorknob or your wheeled tote handle. A coordinating Kiwi interior lining complemented by decorative contrast stitching gives this tote a functional and fashionable look. It cleverly unites storage and style for the crafter on the go.

Penny’s winning answer to ”You’re stranded on a deserted island, what 3 craft products do you bring?” …

“Camera for photographic journel of my situation
Pack of Crochet Hooks
Skeins of Yarn

My main hobby is papercrafting and just can’t see doing that much on an island. But crocheting a blanket or something would be useful. Would have to bring a camera though to journel the experience. Make one heck of a scrapbook on my rescue!”