Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

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

Rock painting is not new. I painted rocks when I was a kid, why I’m not sure. My daughter is fascinated by rocks. We have rocks in the car from various trips, there are rocks in the pockets of all of her coats… rocks, rocks, rocks. So, I put this old idea of rock painting together with my daughter’s love of rock collecting and came up with a way I can clean out my car and all those coat pockets! We’ll give them back – only prettier.

Supplies:

• Rocks
• Sharpies or Permanent Markers
• Mod Podge

 How to Make Them…

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By Guest Blogger Noreen from The Crafty Journal

The Crafty Journal is an endless collection of  her own craft projects and tutorials from all over the web for every age and every occasion.

An old family photo tile magnet is easy to make and a great gift idea!

A few years ago I attended a family reunion with a large group of relatives I didn’t know. It happened that I had a photo of our common ancestor that no one else had, or was even aware existed. I wanted to take some small gift for each family as a remembrance of the occasion, and I came up with the idea of using the old family photo to make a photo tile magnet. It was really quite easy, and since I did it in assembly line mode (I made almost five dozen) they were finished pretty quickly.

I scanned the photo (do NOT use the actual photo in this project!) and then shrank it to 2 inches by 2 inches, and filled a few sheets of computer paper with them. I let the photos dry overnight.

This is not the whole sheet, but shows a strip of how I printed the photos.

For the back of the photo tile magnet I created a small strip of paper with the names of the people and the approximate time the photo was taken, plus my name as the artist.

What you need

• 2×2 Inch Ceramic Tiles, which come on a sheet of 36 tiles

• 2×2 Inch Photos
• Business Card Magnets – or other magnets
• Mod Podge
• E6000 Glue
• Sponge Brush
• Scissors

What you do

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By Crafts for Learning Contributor, Danielle from the blog Crayonbox Learning.

© Danielle Westvang – Crayonbox Learning

Materials Needed:

• Tissue Paper (different shades of blue)
• Small (clean) empty glass baby food jar
• Mod Podge (Gloss Luster)
• Paint Brush
• Scissors
• Grosgrain Ribbon (coordinating colors)
• Tea Light

Directions:

• Take a small clean (and dry) glass baby food jar and put it into your work space.
• Cut different shades of blue tissue paper into small squares.
• Using a clean paint brush, paint  a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the glass jar. Do not paint the Mod Podge onto the whole jar at one time.
• Begin adding the blue tissue paper onto the thin layer in Mod Podge.  The Mod Podge will act like a glue and hold the tissue paper in place.  Staggering the pieces of tissue onto the glass jar (see picture) gives the jar a stained glass look.

• Use your finger to smooth the edges on the tissue paper as you’re placing it onto the jar.
• Keep adding Mod Podge around the jar and add the tissue paper pieces until the jar is completely covered.
• You will want to leave a small space uncovered at the top of the jar where the lid would have screwed on.
• After the jar is covered completely, use your paint brush to apply a thin coat of Mod Podge onto the jar.
• Let the layers of Mod Podge dry before adding a new layer.
• Add one more layer of Mod Podge to create a seal on the jar.  Let dry completely.

• Add Grosgrain ribbon around the top of the jar.  Glue down to give the candle holder a finished look.
• You can add embellishments as desired, but be mindful of the fact that the tea light may warm the jar so you won’t want anything added on that may get too warm.

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

Welcome the New Year with some sparkle! All of your friends will know that you plan on making 2013 much more fabulous than 2012 after seeing these glittery glowing candles. They’re surprisingly easy to whip up and they make the perfect statement for your New Year’s Eve festivities!

What You Will Need:

• 4 White Candles
• Martha Stewart Tinsel Glitter 
• Mod Podge
• Sponge Brush
• Adhesive Vinyl

Gather up these supplies and then head over to Celebrations.com for the easy to follow instructions.

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano

If you’re a fan of reading or know someone who is, creating a glass Shakespeare container is going to be a wonderful gift option for yourself or a loved one. It only requires a few materials and some effort, but you can create a beautiful decorative and functional item that would look lovely in almost any home.

What you need:

• Shakespeare book pages
• Scissors
• Small glass container
• Mod Podge
• Varnish
• Sandpaper
• Pen
• Felt

1.  Choose a bunch of Shakespeare pages that are as close to the same color as possible.

2.  Trim the pages so only the words remain and none of the border.

3.  Cut up the pages horizontally into strips. You won’t even need to measure the strips out, all you have to do is cut in between every fourth and fifth line.

4.  Apply a coat of Mod Podge onto half of the glass container and start applying the strips. Put them on in a haphazard way and don’t worry right now about covering up the entire surface.

5.  Repeat Step 4 on the other half of the glass container.

6.  Keep repeating steps 4 and 5 two more times until you create multiple layers of strips and there’s no glass visible. Don’t move onto the next step until the strips are thoroughly dried.

7.  Put a coat of Mod Podge over the entire container. Let it dry for a day before moving on.

8.  Sand down the strips. Go light with the sanding, but if any of the strips get slightly worn, it will only add to the charm.

9.  Trim off the excess paper from the top and bottom of the glass container.

10.  Coat the entire container with a layer of varnish.

11.  Trace the bottom of the glass onto any color piece of felt you like.

12.  Cut the piece out, then use Mod Podge to adhere it onto the bottom of the glass container.

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

Candy corn is one of the best things about fall. Not only is it delicious, it’s also super-easy to decorate with. Creating a candy corn box is a great way to make a cute, functional decoration as well as reuse material that would have ended up in the trash. All you need is a handful of materials and you can make a little box that’s perfect to hold anything from wrapped candy to car keys.

What you need:

• Candy corn
• Mod Podge
• Empty box
• Vinyl placemat
• Scissors
• Ribbon

1. Cut an empty box apart so you have approximately three inches in height left to the bottom of the box.

2. When you’re adhering the candy corn, do only one side at a time. Put on a thin layer of Mod Podge, attach the candy corn haphazardly or methodically, then flip the box over onto a vinyl placemat with the candy corn face down so it’ll hold the candy in place while it dries. Let it sit to dry for a couple of hours.

3. Repeat Step 2 for each side of the box until it’s completely covered in candy corn.

4. Wrap a ribbon around the box and tie it in a bow at the front of the box.

Optional: While I chose to leave the box in its original state, you can also line the inside of the box with decorative paper.