Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Craft Trends Contributor, Gillian from the blog Dried Figs and Wooden Spools.

About the time my kids were toddlers, I made a decision to use photos (of them, naturally) as the main “art” in my home. On top of the photos I take (and there are many!) I’ve also had a photographer take portraits of my kids every few years. I love having their smiling faces all around me, but I’d love it even more if I had BIG photos of my kids everywhere! Unfortunately, the cost of giant, canvas mounted photos has prevented this from happening. Until now, that is.

The process of transferring photos to canvas, or wood, or even fabric, – using a decoupage medium - has made huge leaps of late, making now not just possible, but simple, to create your own large scale (or small, of course). While there are several tutorials floating around, these are the ones we like best. Click on the photos to find step-by-step tutorials!

By Guest Bloggers Melissa + Kellie, from the blog Icing Designs.

We are in love with paper flowers of any sort. These crepe paper flowers are so perfectly lovely. They are so versatile and can be used in so many different ways, and the best part…they don’t wilt! These are so easy to make you won’t believe it! We can not wait to show you how we used them!

All you need is crepe paper and hot glue…we layered the crepe paper with two colors to add some depth. The length of crepe paper you need just depends on how big you want your flowers to be. After you have both colors of crepe paper cut and layered just accordion fold them.

Then just take your crepe paper and start to wrap it around and start forming your flower. Then just put a dab of hot glue at the bottom every couple of inches, just to hold the flower in place.You can start to pull the top back a little to open the flower up as you go as well. After you have completely wrapped with flower around you can form it to be as open or closed as you want it.

So simple and so pretty aren’t they! The color combinations are endless as are the possibilities of how you can use them!

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

A lot of adults have as much fun on Halloween as the kids do. And why not? Why shouldn’t we get to play dress up, and watch scary movies, and enjoy the decorations?

Of course, not many grown-ups get to go Trick-or-Treating! So let’s make up for that a little and put together Altered Treat Jars for our fun-loving friends.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Halloween papers and stickers—black cats, skeletons, Jack-o’-Lanterns, etc.
• Ribbons and trims in Fall and Halloween colors
•  A small jar with a lid
• Treats to fill the jar
• Glue

Now, this is such a simple project, I don’t think directions are really necessary. Just take a look at the photos, the one above of the front, and the one below of the back.

Let your own imagination and creativity carry you along. Cover the jar with scrapbooking paper, or an old Halloween card front, decorate it and the lid with stickers, etc., and you’re ready to fill the jar and give it away.

Need help on what to put inside? There’s always candy, of course, including such yummy adult goodies as chocolate-covered coffee beans, but you don’t have to limit yourself to edibles. My friend just happens to love Halloween, and also does collage and card-making, so I packed her jar with black, orange, and purple buttons, beads, and flat marbles, a bunch of stickers, some purple ribbon, some ostrich feather, and another black feather I found outside, and two small paper punches of a cat and a bat. Get the idea?

Now that you’ve done a Halloween jar, I’ll bet you’re getting all kinds of ideas for others. Me, too! Here’s one I made this week for a friend who loves pink:

My jar had two flat sides, so it ended up having two “fronts”:

Oh, and one last thing: When you’re filling the jar, if you’re careful you can get the contents to show through nicely, and almost become part of the decoration:

You know, I can hardly wait to empty another jelly jar!

By Cardmaking & Scrapbook Layout Contributor, Peg from the blog “Peg’s Crafting Corner”.

A lot of kids aren’t interested in receiving cards and often toss them aside, but here’s one that they will love to get and to use. After the birthday fun is over they can remove the fish tag and use it to mark the spot in their favorite book they’re reading or to use as a key ring just by adding a split ring or a swivel clasp. The card is easy to make and CreateForLess carries all the supplies you will need to do it. You will be able to have fun, too, by making one for each of the children in your family.

Supplies Needed:

• Orange, Blue and Yellow Cardstock
• White Cardstock to stamp on
• Orange Peel Stickles
• Distress Inks: Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans, Black Soot and Spiced Marmalade
• Laminate
• Hole Punch
• D’Vine Swirls Embossing Folder
• Ornamental Iron Combo Die and Embossing Folder
• Die Cut/Embossing Machine
• Ink Blending Tool
• Fiskars Boundary Waters Punch
• Fiskars Scalloped Tear Edger
• Stamps: Cute Fish Cling by Inkadinkado
• Card Sentiments by Autumn Leaves
• Your Favorite Markers
• Your Favorite Adhesive
• Circle Cutter or 2″ Circle Punch
• Scissors
• Aluminum Foil

To make the card:

Start by cutting a 10″ x 7″ piece of orange cardstock, fold in half and lay aside. Cut a piece of yellow cardstock to 6 ½” x 4 ½” and punch the circle in the upper left corner leaving about ½” from the left side.

Using the Tear Edger, tear a piece of aluminum foil using the large scalloped edge.

Place the aluminum foil on yellow cardstock and with the Weathered Wood Distress Ink and Ink Blending Tool make a quick upward motion starting on the aluminum foil and sliding up over the edge of it. Repeat with the Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink making sure to do the entire width of the cardstock. This will create the horizon line. You can lay this aside and allow to dry a little.

Next, punch the waves using the Boundary Waters Punch and 2 strips of cardstock measuring 1 ½”x 7″ and 2″ x 7″. Stamp the sentiment on the 1 ½” x 7″ piece.

Adhere all of the pieces to the card making sure to fasten only the bottom of the waves so that the tag can be placed in behind it. Highlight the edge of circle with the Stickles and allow to dry completely to add a little bling to the card.

For the tag:

Stamp the fish on white cardstock, color and cut out. Using the Ornamental Iron die, cut out the tag and place in the D’Vine Swirls Embossing Folder and run it through your embossing machine. Ink the raised areas of the tag either by inking the embossing folder before running the tag through or run the stamp pad across it after it has been run through the machine.

Adhere the fish to the tag and laminate it. Trim the excess laminate off.

Punch open the hole in the tag so that you can put in a piece of ribbon if you’d like or to add the key ring.

Place the tag behind the waves making it look like the fish has jumped out of the water. The card is now finished. The next time you give a child a card you can do it knowing there’s a little fun attached that will be used after the big celebration.

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

Anyone who’s ever paid to get their nails done knows how expensive it can be for a manicure and how ridiculously difficult it is to do certain nail designs yourself. If you have any scraps of decorative paper lying around your home, you can save money on professional manicures and prevent quite a bit of aggravation from trying to do certain complicated designs by yourself.

What you need:

• Decorative scrapbook paper
• Nail glue
• Scissors
• Top coat
• Double-sided tape (optional)

Step 1. Cut out ten circles from scrapbook paper and trim the pieces to the appropriate size for each of your nails. The easiest way to do this is to place the paper over your nail, then hold it down while you use a fingernail to crease the paper around your nail. If you’re having a problem holding the paper and creasing it at the same time, cut a small piece of double-sided tape and stick the paper to your nail while you crease it, then carefully remove the tape when you’re finished so as to not rip the paper.

Step 2. Use scissors to cut the paper exactly along the crease.

Step 3. Put a thin layer of nail glue on your nail, then apply the paper starting from one side of the nail to the other rather than just putting it straight down or placing it from nail bed to tip. Press it down quickly after applying – don’t hold it down too long otherwise you can leave a fingerprint mark in any nail glue that seeps through. Repeat this step for each of your nails.

Step 4. Put another even, thin layer of glue over the top of your nails. Don’t touch your nails or try to clean up any excess glue on the skin. Give it at least ten minutes before you use a cotton swab dipped in nailpolish remover to remove any of the excess glue.

Step 5. Use a top coat over the top of the nails, concentrating especially on the nail bed and on the tip of the nail. You can use a clear or glitter top coat depending on the look you’re going for, or buff them so they have a matte finish. As you can see in my photos, one picture shows black and white polka dot paper with a pink glitter top coat over it; the other is a red and yellow swirl paper that had the top coat buffed.

Although you have the nail glue and the top coat over the paper, be careful how you use your nails to ensure the design lasts as long as possible.

By FloraCraft Designers from the Blog “Make It: Fun”.

It’s time for Back to School! Make this wreath for your classroom, your favorite teacher or just to get in the Back to School spirit!

Supplies:

• FloraCraft Foam Wreath, 14″ 
• Back to School Paper 12″ x 12″
• 2 1/2″ tall chipboard letters to spell “WELCOME”
• Paint marker, fine tip, blue
• Glue Dots, thin-small and thin-medium
• Two all purpose glue sticks
• 12″ paper trimmer to cut paper even with edges of letters
• 12″ x 12″ self healing cutting mat
• Precision tip scissors
• Craft knife
• Large paper clip
• School items: wood ruler, scissors, yellow pencil, spiral notebook, three crayons, paint brush and school glue stick.

Instructions

1. Use paper trimmer to cut approx. 1″ x 9″ strips from four sheets of paper. Note that to wrap wreath in paper strips, papers will slightly overlap along outside, but will overlap by about half the strips’ width on inside edge of wreath. This allows for even wrapping all around wreath. Apply glue stick to wreath, going all around wreath for several inches at a time. Wrap paper strip, with ends slightly overlapping on back. Continue going around wreath.

2.For hanger, on top back, use craft knife to make 1/4″ long, shallow horizontal slit (about 1/4″ from inside edge of wreath). Carefully insert knife blade into slit, angled up toward top and remove. Slightly separate curved ends of paper clip 1/4″. Insert shorter rounded end up into slit, creating hanger loop with longer end of paper clips. (Glue if loose.)

3.To cover letters, turn a patterned paper right side down on table. Apply glue stick to fronts of letters and place onto back of paper. Place paper on self healing cutting mat. Use precision tips scissors to cut apart letters. Then, use craft knife to cut paper even with edges of letters. Outline letters with blue paint marker. Let dry.

4.Refer to photo to evenly place letters at top of wreath, keeping in mind position of hanger on back. With top 2/3 of letters extending beyond edge of wreath, use glue spots to attach.

5.Use paint marker to write teacher’s name and class on first page of opened notebook. Refer to photo to plan placement of school items. Use appropriate size glue dots to attach.

6.Optional: Tuck children’s school pictures among items on wreath.

By Guest Bloggers Melissa + Kellie, from the blog “Icing Designs”.

We just love these tissue paper flower cupcake picks, they are so pretty and dainty and can be made in any color combination. We also love that they can be clustered on a cake or placed individually on cupcakes for a beautiful, festive presentation!

Materials:

• Tissue paper, any color you wish
• Scissors
• Flat top wooden picks
• Hot glue gun/glue
• 1/8″ wide ribbon

Layer 6-8 sheets of tissue paper. Cut out a 2×2″ square. Fold the squares into quarters. Hold the folded tissue at the folded point.

Starting on one side, cut around to make a petal shape, being careful not to cut too close to the point. You can make your petals pointed, rounded, or any shape you wish!

Unfold the tissue and layer the flower shapes on top of each other, staggering the petals.

Poke a hole in the middle of the stacked flower. I have this wonderful little punch that makes a tiny hole, but a pin or even the end of the pick will do just fine. Slide the pick into the hole, leaving room at the top of the pick.

Place a dot of hot glue onto the end of the pick and let it drip down a bit.

Squeeze all of the layers of the tissue flower from the bottom and hold for 10 seconds or so.

Fluff and carefully separate the layers.

Tie ribbon underneath the flower, to help keep it in place. If you choose you could even create a two toned flower by using two different colors of tissue paper.