Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

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

The very best things in life are pretty and practical.

Over the past almost eight years that I’ve been a mother, I’ve discovered that having a bell on your door is a very good thing. When my son was two he woke up from his nap, balanced on the arm of a chair and unlocked the chain lock on our door, then let himself out of the house all in total silence while I baked cookies in the kitchen. He wasn’t due to wake up for another 30 minutes so it would have been a while before I realized he was gone. Thankfully our door let out a loud squeak whenever it closed which tipped me off. I snatched him up as he was making a break for it down the street to the local playground. It all ended well but it made for some bad moments for a while when I pondered the “what-if’s”. So, yes, a bell on the door is an excellent thing.

Then of course, he grew old enough to go outside on his own and I stopped worrying, until this spring when his little sister started showing distinct signs of following in his sneak-out-of-the-house tendencies (the teenage years are going to be rough). So we’re back to the bell on the door. Last time it was just that, a big old bell tied to the doorknob. This time I decided to get a little more creative and went for a little zen calm with some origami cranes.

If you ‘ve never folded cranes, it’s one of those calming, repetitive activities that both adults and kids can enjoy. My class folded, literally, a thousand when I was a teacher for a project one year.

Here’s what you need

3 pieces of patterned paper 8 inches square (I used Amy Butler Scrapbooking paper)
3 feet of thin ribbon in a coordinating color
1 bell with a loop on the top for attaching it.
Bone Folder (optional)
Yarn Needle 

Begin by folding the paper corner to corner and in half both ways, creasing each fold well and opening the square back up before each new fold.

With the paper point sure up (like a diamond) fold the sides in while at the same time pulling the top down. You’ll end up with a smaller square.

Fold in the flaps with open sides toward the center and then unfold. Then fold down the remaining triangle at the top. Repeat on the other side.

Open the square up and bit and pull down the bottom point to create a narrow diamond shape. Repeat with the other side.

Fold the sides in again to make an even skinnier kite shape and again, repeat on the other side.

Turn the shape on it’s side and slightly open the side creases.

Pull up the head and the tail, creasing the tip of the head down, and fold down the wings.

Once you have three cranes, thread the ribbon onto the needle and thread through the body of each crane. Tie a large knot just under each crane, leaving about 6 inches between each.

Loop the top around your doorknob and adjust for height before securing. Attach the bell to the bottom and thread the tail of the ribbon back up through the last crane to keep it out of the way.

Click here to watch an instructional video of origami paper cranes.

By Sparkle E. Glitter from the blog “Sparkle Studio”.

I am obsessed with pretty spring birds, I admit it!  I had such fun making these today out of Shrinky Dinks, and you will too!  Here is what you need:

• White shrink plastic
• Colored pencils 
• Big & Glitzy Glitter Glue  (I used Aquamarine and Ruby)
• Scissors 
• Hole punch 
• Ribbon 
• Your oven

Try this:

1.  Print bird pattern.  Lay it under shrink plastic.  Trace with pencil.  You should get two birds out of a sheet of plastic.

2.  Color birds with colored pencils.  Put the kids to work, have them color! Cut out the birds.  Use hole punch to punch a hole in the top wing.

3.  Bake in the oven on a cookie sheet following the instructions on the shrink plastic package.  See how much they shrink?

The color intensifies when they shrink.  Pretty!

4.  Squeeze a little glitter glue on the bird.  Spread with a small brush or with your finger.  Let glitter dry.  Even prettier!

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

So this is one of those rare combinations of a project that boys will love (it involves pounding, what boy, well what kid doesnt love pounding away at things with a hammer) and a result that is just about guaranteed to become fabulous keepsake or gift.

The idea behind this is to literally pound the color out of flowers and into paper. Because you want as much color to soak into the paper as possible, use good thick drawing paper or even better, watercolor paper for the project. The possibilities don’t stop at book marks either, note cards, book covers and framed art are all great uses for pounded flower prints.

Here’s What You Need

Watercolor or good drawing paper
Paper towels
Brightly colored flowers (pansies gave the best results)
Hammer or rolling pin
Hole punch
Scissors
Ribbon 

Lay the flowers out on a surface that can take a little abuse, a cutting board works perfectly for this, and cover first with a sheet of paper and then with a paper towel.  

Gently (well, not too gently, but not so hard that the paper gets holes or shifts) tap the paper with the hammer or end of a rolling pin, making sure you cover all of the flower.

The color should start seeping up through the paper towel and if you peek under it you should be able to see the outline of each flower on the back of the paper.

Once you’ve pounded enough, flip the paper over and carefully brush off the remains of the flower. Allow the paper to dry before cutting to size and, if you like, adding a ribbon to the top to help mark your place.

With Bazzill Matchmaker you can have the experts match your paper for you!

Bazzill will help you find the perfect Bazzill cardstock to coordinate with your favorite patterned papers. With more than 500 colors and 7 textures of acid-free, lignin-free paper, matching cardstock can be confusing.

The Bazzill Matchmaker is very easy to use. All you do is pick the brand of your patterned cardstock, and all the samples for the selected brands come up. Then it shows what color Bazzill cardstock will match! Perfect for making wedding invitations, scrapbook pages and other paper crafts!

This week only all Bazzill Paper is on sale at CreateForLess!

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

Are you interested in decoupage, but don’t know where to begin?  Have I got the project for you!  Coasters are great for home décor and gifts, and are the perfect project to start with if you have never used Mod Podge.  I got mine from the dollar bin, but these are easy to find.  There is always a set needing a little love.  Set aside a few hours one afternoon, grab your Mod Podge and you’re ready to go.

To make, you’ll need to gather these supplies:

Coasters  

K & Company Scrapbook paper  – 3 sheets coordinating

Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink Set Cottage Path  (I used Meadow)

Mod Podge Outdoor 

Flat Paint Brush 

Scissors  or Craft Knife 

Ruler 

Pencil or Pen

Cotton cloth or facial round – something disposable for alcohol ink application

Sandpaper  (optional)

Here are the coasters I started with.  They were only $1 for six!

I sanded my coasters lightly because the paper on top had a coating, and I wanted to rough it up so that the Mod Podge would stick well.

Place one coaster down on the paper and trace – repeat for as many coasters as you have.  I used three different sheets of coordinating papers, two coasters came out of each sheet.  When you are done tracing, cut out the coaster shapes with your craft knife or scissors.

Spread your Mod Podge down on the surface of the coaster in a medium layer.  Apply the paper and SMOOTH thoroughly until the air bubbles are removed.  Wipe away any Mod Podge that comes out the edges with your brush.  Repeat with the other coasters and then allow them to dry for 15 – 20 minutes.

DO NOT Mod Podge over the top yet.

The alcohol ink adds a little extra color and distressing effect around the edges.  I grabbed a bowl and mixed some Meadow ink with water.

Using your cloth or facial round, apply the ink to the edges.  Add more ink for a stronger color effect.  Allow to dry.

Once they are dry, seal them with at least two more coats your Mod Podge.  I used the Outdoor to seal (even though my Gloss is sitting nearby) – this is the most water resistant!

Your coasters are finished, but before you use them, I HIGHLY recommend spraying with an outdoor sealer to make them waterproof.

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

There’s paper all around us these days. Junk mail, last year’s date books, old ledgers, snippets of scrapbook paper, school notebook paper, and you don’t want to just throw it away, but what’s it good for?

Scratch pads!  I don’t know a single person who doesn’t need something to scribble a quick note on from time to time. Have you ever made your own? It’s remarkably easy.

You’ll need just three things: paper, cardstock, and rubber cement.

First decide what paper you’re going to use. I chose to use an assortment, just for the interest of having different patterns and colors to write on, and took sheets from all the sources I mentioned above. The cardstock is for the last sheet, to give your scratch pad stiffness, and it’s good to use it for the front, too, to protect the lighter-weight papers. What I used for mine was the back of a Bessie Pease Gutman calendar.

Cut all your sheets to exactly the same size. Or you could go random with them, which was my first thought, but I quickly discovered I liked a smooth, book-like edge better.

Shuffle the pages for maximum variety. If you want, make your cover pieces just a smidge bigger than the writing sheets, and choose them for their decorative effect.

Now stack them so that the top edges are perfectly aligned, put a sheet of paper under the stack to protect your work surface, and one on top to protect your weights, and then weigh the stack of paper down with something good and heavy. I used my cast iron bench press, but a concrete block, several heavy books, or pieces of wood clamped together with C-clamps are also good choices.

Paint the top, exposed, edges of the scratch pad with rubber cement. Let the cement dry, and repeat. Do that until you feel like you’ve got a good heaving coating of rubber cement. This is what holds the pad together.

When the glue is completely dry, take the weights off, and peel off the protective sheets of paper.  Trim any excess glue sticking out. If some of your writing sheets have skewed in the process, you can trim their edges, too, if you like.

My front cover looked a little lopsided to me, so I added another image to it. You might want to decorate it with a bit of ribbon, lace, or other pretty item.

You can also make these more production-style, by stacking multiple scratch pad assemblies, and painting as for one. When the glue is dry, just tear them apart.

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

As you may know, I love scrapbook kits. I have been searching for a kit to showcase the photos I took while on a trip to Alaska with my Mom, Aunt and Grandma.  And I found it! The Making Memories Passport Kit had everything in one package to go along with my travel theme.

I really enjoyed using the paper from the Making Memories Passport Kit to show off the ‘travel’ aspect to my trip a little further. The kit contained 2 sheets of solid Pale Blue paper, 2 sheets of floral with hand writing paper, 2 sheets of postcard paper, 10 border and tag stickers, 104 alphabet stickers with hand-written text pattern, 30 icon stickers-various postage stamps and cancellations, and 8 printed flowers.

I really liked the paper. There were 2 pages of each design. One design was a bunch of postcards, one seemed to be a light blue version- which I took to represent as blue sky, and the third, was a bunch of writing with brightly flowers in the corner.

I used Scrapbook Adhesives half size mounting squares because they are always easy to use. I was able to put the stickers on the back of the item to be mounted to the page, then I could arrange as needed. I tried using Glue Dots but I got really frustrated with them sticking to my fingers. There’s got to be a trick to using those things!

The embellishments were a lot like road signs and old style stamps. The embellishments matched too well, and didn’t stand out enough on the paper.  I really liked them, and I will use them with other scrapbooking projects. I also really liked the fact that the kit came with their own alphabet stickers.

Now I’m almost caught up with my scrapbooking! Are you?