Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

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.

These graham cracker houses are too sweet not to eat! They take away all of the hassle of making real gingerbread houses. They are easier to put together, and the kids can spend more time decorating, and less struggling with setting up walls.

What You Will Need:

Icing Ingredients

• 3 3/4 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
• 3 Egg Whites

Gingerbread House Ingredients

• Graham Crackers
• Decorating Bags
• Round Tip
• Crushed Candy Canes
• White Sparkling Sugar
• Edible Snowflakes
• Cinnamon Drops
• Sharp Knife

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

By Kid’s Craft Contributor Tracey, from the blog We Made That.

Winter is here and with all the holidays the kids seem to be home a lot.  And with it being colder they can’t go outside to play as much, which means boredom is beginning to set in.  So the other day it was cold and rainy out and both girls were starting to get on each other’s nerves pretty early in the day and I thought why not make a game we could all play.

And to make it even more fun, we got a little crafty and made our cups into snowmen.  Which, both my girls loved to do because coloring is just so awesome.

Supplies

10 Styrofoam cups

Markers

6 Big Pom Poms

Directions for Snowman Cups

Color a cute snowman face on all 10 of your cups. (Note: younger children may just scribble, and that is fine)

Read the rest…

By Guest Blogger Corinne Dean of Small World Land Blog

Bloggers Corinne and Sarah create beautiful miniatures and their blog Small World Land will teach you to bring their magical style into your own home (or your doll’s).

I have always wanted a greenhouse of my own. Until that day comes, this miniature greenhouse is keeping me pretty happy. I finally found a good use for all these old thimbles, they make perfect planters for tiny succulent plants.

I used a glass terrarium for the greenhouse. Look around forterrariums and glass domes. There are lots of options out there for creating a small greenhouse. In addition to thimbles I used plastic bottle lids for planters. You also can locate very tiny little terracotta pots at dollhouse supply stores. Be creative. Any small waterproof container that can hold dirt will work. I planted tiny plant snips from my yard and from houseplants in the containers.  I used some old wooden bobbins and wood block for tables. The kids helped to build the rock table in the back. They loved stacking the rocks. Throw in some tiny tools (your kids may have some from Playmobil or Lego sets) and your greenhouse is ready!

Set it outside, and if you’re lucky, you may have some little visitors!

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

I love the beauty in a simple white ornament. This is an old favorite of ours, the Salt Dough Ornament. The kids can help make these as gifts for family and friends. They can be used as gift tags or even place cards at the holiday table.

Supplies:

1 cup Salt

2 cups Flour

1 cup Warm Water

rolling pin

cookie cutters

ribbon

something to make a hole

glitter

Optional Supplies:

Rubber stamps

leaves/ fir branch

paint

Start by making your dough by mixing the flour, salt, and water in a large bowl. Knead the dough with your hands until it is firm and rolls into a nice ball.

Next, flour a cutting board and roll out the dough just like making cookies.

Choose a cookie cutter and cut the shape out. Place the shape on a cookie sheet to dry.

Now before it dries, the rubber stamps can be pressed into the dough, along with the fir branch to make an impression. Make sure to make a hole for the ribbon hanger before it dries as well.

For our snowflakes, we took a small ball of dough and mixed in iridescent glitter by kneading it. Then we rolled the ball out and cut the snowflakes. Remember to punch the hole before it dries. When it dries it will be so sparkly.

Let the ornaments air dry over night. If you can’t wait, you can dry them in the oven at 200 degrees for 25 minutes.

Once it dries the dough can be painted or decorated as well, but I like the plain white.

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

The Holiday Season is closing in on us quick. That means another year of assorted tins full of popcorn and cookies. I have a collection of these tins, they have different cartoon characters in holiday outfits, Dogs in front of the Christmas Tree or snow scenes. You know these tins, I know you do. I keep them because someday I’ll use them, but I don’t because I don’t really want a huge tin with a Golden Retriever in front of a decorated tree in my living room year round, (not to mention that we don’t even have Golden Retrievers).

My new dilemma is my daughter and her collection of tiny little animal toys. There has to be a thousand of them and they do not fit into one carrier.

I came up with the idea of using these tins to store her things. We are just going to make them fit our house a little better.

Supplies:

• Old Tin
• Primer or White Spray Paint
• Color Spray Paint 
• Vinyl Stickers or pieces for decoupage / Mod Podge

Such a nice storage unit for tiny pieces and it recycles something destined for the trash.

By General Crafts Contributor Sara, from the blog Clever Pink Pirate.

• Pillow Form
• Table Cloth
• Hot Glue Gun or Fabric Glue
• Scissors

I did forget to press the tablecloth before adhering it, which would be the only thing I would do differently next time.

It’s Friday which means it is time to give away more stuff!  Today we have a fun assortment of beading supplies from Blue Moon Beads that will be going to one lucky winner.

Be sure to ENTER to WIN these beading supplies.  The selection includes gorgeous beads in pinks, corals and blues, as well as chains pendants, charms, and findings in silver.

Blue Moon Beads are beautifully designed to stand alone or be mixed and matched with other fashion pieces. Use with other charms, beads and spacers to create one-of-a-kind necklaces, bracelets or anklets. Have fun, the possibilities are endless.

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.

Question of the week:  When trick-or-treating as a kid, was there any kind of candy that you didn’t like to get?

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