By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

There are so many uses for clothes pins from displaying greeting cards and Valentines to hanging up clothes. The only problem is that they’re boring. Decorating them is a great way to bring a little more pizazz into the home and you can even make them themed depending on what you’re using them for. It only takes a few materials and a little time to make any type of themed clothes pins you wish.

What you’ll need:

• Clothes pins
• Decorative paper
• Mod Podge
• Scissors
• Embellishments

Step 1. Cut two strips of paper that are slightly larger than each side of the clothes pin.

Step 2. Put Mod Podge on one side of the clothes pin, then press it down to the paper. Do the same for the other side. Let it dry for at least a couple of hours before moving onto the next step.

Step 3. Use the scissors to carefully trim off the excess paper. Make sure not to cut the clothespin itself.

Step 4. Choose embellishments that match the paper you used. I chose red bows because I loved how it looked combined with the black and white polka dot paper.

Step 5. Use Mod Podge to attach each embellishment to one or both sides. Don’t attach it near the ends of the clothes pin; opt for the center. Press each embellishment down for a few seconds to ensure it sticks, then let it dry for a few hours without moving it.

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

Gingerbread houses are one of my favorite things about Christmas. However, one problem with them is that they’re typically on the larger side, so they usually have to sit on a table where they take up a lot of space – they then become a danger to pets or to the waistlines of their owners who pick and nibble at it. Although not a typical gingerbread house, I made a similar small version out of paper, a few types of candy and various other elements. It’s small enough that it can sit high up on a shelf without taking up a lot of space.

What you’ll need:

• Beige or brown paper
• Chipboard
• Cotton balls
• Tic Tacs or other small candy
• Peppermint hard candy
• Small paper bow or bow punch
• Two candy cane stickers
• Four sticks of gum
• Three colors of scrapbook paper
• Sugar
• Mod Podge
• Tape
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil

Step 1. Sketch the pieces of the house onto the chipboard. You’ll need four pieces – the roof, the back wall of the house, the base, and the front/sides of the house. To give you an idea of the measurements, these are the ones I used:

• Front/sides of the house: I did this in one combined piece so it’s easier to work with. The front rectangle is 2.5 x 4; the triangle height is 2 and the base is 4. The sides, which are attached to the front rectangle of the house, are 2 x 2.5.
• Roof: The entire strip is 7 inches long and 2 inches wide; when it’s bent, each half is 3.5 inches.
• Back wall of the house: Trace the front rectangle and the triangle to get the back wall of the house. This piece doesn’t have the sides attached.
• Base: The length is 6 inches total; one inch of space, the house, then another inch of space. The width is about 4 inches; .75 inches, the house, then another .75 inches.

Step 2. Cut all the pieces out of the chipboard, then use Mod Podge to attach them to the back of brown or beige paper. Cut the pieces out once they dry.

Step 3. Lay the front piece of the house face down, then carefully bend the sides upward. Press the sides back down, then lay the back wall of the house face down next to it. Tape the edge of the front part of the house to the edge of the back wall piece. No one will see the tape, it’s going to be on the inside of the house. Stand up the now-combined piece, pinch together the still open corner, and tape it from the inside. When you have the frame of the house together, glue it to the base and let it dry thoroughly before moving onto the next step.

Step 4. Glue the roof of the house onto the frame. I made mine long enough so the edges hang over the sides of the house, but trim it before gluing it if you would like it shorter.

Step 5. Glue one type of scrapbook paper onto the edges of the roof and two triangular sections of the house. I used red and white striped paper for a bit of a candy cane look.

Step 6. Trim down four pieces of gum so they bend on each corner of the house. I didn’t even have to glue mine on – all I did was put a little water on each one and they stuck to the house without a problem.

Step 7. Attach a candy cane sticker to the two sides of the house.

Step 8. Cut two small windows out of one color scrapbook paper, then cut a door and the widow frames out of another color paper. Glue them on using the Mod Podge, then attach a small paper bow above the door.

Step 9. Lay the house on its back, then glue the tic tacs on in a row going across the front of the house and the peppermint hard candy in the center of the front triangle. Let it dry flat, and give it about an hour to dry unless all the tic tacs will fall off and go everywhere – I know from experience.

Step 10. Stand the house back up, then pull apart cotton balls and glue them on the base all around the house.

Step 11. Mix Mod Podge with sugar to create a thick, gooey paste, then drip it onto the roof of the house, especially on the edges. I let some drip off into the cotton “snow” so the cotton looked like it had typical snow lumps in it.

I wanted to keep this little house fairly simple, but you can add any other candies or embellishments you’d like – gum drops, paper Christmas trees, and even more peppermint candies. The only thing I wouldn’t recommend using is unwrapped chocolate. When using candy, please make sure to keep it far out of reach of your curious little pets when you’re making it or putting it on display – my dog was quite interested during the construction process. Also, I highly recommend nibbling on the candy yourself while you’re making your own adorable little house.

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

Sensory bins or tables are a great project for those with small children. Letting your little ones pour, scoop and play with different textured grains or pebbles has many educational benefits (plus, it’s just plain fun!) and this rainbow rice takes it up a notch by adding color play into the game.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• White rice
• Food coloring
• Rubbing alcohol
• Zip-close baggies

1. Divide your rice evenly between the bags, For small batches, 1/2 cup fits well into snack sized baggies.

2. Fill each baggie with enough rubbing alcohol to make each grain wet without flooding the rice.

3. Add several drops of food color to each bag, try different combinations of colors to achieve different shades (this is an excellent chance to do a color blending lesson!)

4. Zip each bag closed, pushing as much air as possible out as you go. Massage the bags to blend the color and evenly distribute it through the rice.

5. Let the rice sit in the colored alcohol for 10-15 minutes.

6. One at a time, drain the baggies of rice through a colander or screen and spread out onto paper towels to dry.

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

STYROFOAM Brand Foam:

• Wreath: 16″ Green
• Desert Foam Brick: 4″x4″x3″

Other Materials:

• Glass Cylinder Vase: 8″x4″
• Marble Accents ¾ lb: (2) Amber and (2) Green
• Four – Yellow Forsythia Branches
• Three – Yellow Confetti Rose Spray
• Five – Yellow Hydrangea Spray
• Three – Yellow Wildflower Spray
• Two – Yellow Straw Flower Spray
• Four – Green Grape Bunches
• Coordinating Sheer Ribbon
• 4.5 Yards Satin Ribbon: Moss Green (wreath)

Tools:

• Low-Temp Glue Gun
• Floral Pins
• Scissors

Instructions:

Centerpiece

1. Glue the Desert Foam brick into the center of the vase. Combine green and amber gems then pour into the vase to hide the sides of the foam.
2. Use floral pins to attach the grapes to the side of the foam brick allowing them to hang over the edge of the vase. Use low-temp glue to secure the pins in place.
3. Push in a yellow forsythia branch into the center of the foam, standing about 14″ tall. Cut three shorter branches and push them in around the first and secure with low-temp glue.
4. Cut 3 hydrangea stems to about 5″ and push them in evenly spaced around the branches. Cut the stems of the roses to 5″ and push them in between the hydrangeas and one into the center among the branches.
5. Cut the wildflower and straw flower sprays apart and insert them to fill in around the entire arrangement.
6. Cut lengths of ribbon and use a discarded flower stem as a tool to push loops of ribbon into the foam to add interest to the arrangement.

Wreath

1. Pin the end of the ribbon to the back of the wreath. Wrap the wreath completely by overlapping each wrap as you go. Pin again at the back.
2. Pin the two hydrangea blossoms to the center left side of the wreath. Pin three roses in a triangle around the hydrangea. Pin a bunch of grapes hanging from the bottom of the hydrangea and a bunch peeking out from above the
3. Pin the two hydrangea blossoms to the center left side of the wreath. Pin three roses in a triangle around the hydrangea.
4. Pin a bunch of grapes hanging from the bottom of the hydrangea and a bunch peeking out from above the hydrangea.
5. Pin a tall branch running up the left side of the wreath from the top of the hydrangea, pin another shorter branch coming out from the bottom of the hydrangea.
6. Pin stems of the yellow forsythia branch, straw flower and wildflower sprays to fill in around the hydrangea and roses.
7. Cut leftover leaves and glue around the wreath to fill in.

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

These days, it seems as though everyone is carrying some high-tech gadget that does eighteen different things at once, including taking down spur-of-the-moment notes. I’ve got no quarrel with that, but you know, there are times you just can’t beat actual pen and paper.

If you’re a woman, toting a small scratch pad is a simple matter of tucking one in your purse. For a man, though, it’s a bit more problematic. Here’s a tiny scratch pad, small enough to slip into a shirt or pants pocket, or even his wallet, not so precious a guy would need to worry about ruining it, and simple enough for a child to make as a Father’s Day gift.

You’ll need:

• Several playing cards with simple graphics on the non-playing side
• Writing paper, lined or unlined
• Stickers
• Stapler and staples

You can make a number of these little pads very quickly. I had two sets in mind as I was working—a five pad set with a single letter or symbol on the cover of each spelling out “I-<3-D-A-D” (I HEART Dad), and a four-pad set spelling out “#1-D-A-D”. You might also make sets with stickers featuring your guy’s favorite hobbies or interests, which I also ended up doing.

Begin by folding your playing cards in half, crossways, to create the scratch pad cover. I chose to make the four-pad set using all the kings from one deck, so that would be what my honey would see when he opened the pad, but you can use any card. The non-playing side is the outside.

Now cut the writing paper into squares just a little smaller than the square you’ve made from the card. Ten sheets per pad is about right. Stack the sheets tidily, put the top edges right next to the fold of the playing card, and staple as near that edge as you can.

Decorate the cover with a sticker, if you like. You can make the orientation either horizontal or vertical, whichever you prefer. Do stay away from 3-D or thick embellishments—you don’t want Dad sitting on buttons!

You’re all done. Wrap in a long, slender, box so the message on the front is seen when the box is opened. Is Dad far away? These will mail right along with his Father’s Day card!

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

One of the most delightful traditions I know of is the May basket. It’s such a simple and pretty way to spread a little joy—just hang a basket of flowers on someone’s front door, ring the bell, and disappear before they can answer it and find the lovely surprise. You may want to enlist the kids to do the “hang and disappear” part, but we get to make the baskets! It’s past May Day, but why can’t we do this all month long?

You’ll need:

Pretty papers

Ribbon

Embellishments—stickers, buttons, lace, etc.

Glue, scissors, hole punch

For each basket, you’ll need to cut two identical hearts from coordinating papers, either freehand, or using a pattern or template. Play with paper ideas—music paper, scrapbooking paper, maps, etc. I used a page from a book in a foreign language, which added both a sense of mystery and a pleasant surprise:

It’s easiest to get them the same if you cut them both at the same time. Before you separate them, punch a hole near the center top for the basket handle.

Take the folded hearts, overlap the sides and glue them together to form the basket’s body. You might want to try overlapping the papers both ways. It’s surprising the difference it makes:

Now cut a piece of ribbon or cord for the handle, knot one end and push through one set of holes, and then through the other, and knot again. You can put the knots in front as part of your embellishment, as I did below, or in back, if you want a plainer front, as I did in the first picture.

Decorate with stickers and embellishments as you like,  you can tuck in a little bouquet and brighten a friend or neighbor’s spring morning.

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

I like keeping paper and a pen on the fridge, but I’m not a fan of the paper just hanging there by a magnet. I wanted something that would hold the paper and not take up a lot of space. The plastic packaging from recently finished Tic Tac’s provided the perfect size container considering I like writing notes on small pieces of paper instead of large pieces. It’s an easy project that takes less than half an hour to complete.

What I used:

• Plastic Tic Tac Container with the white top removed
• Pencil and Scissors
• Patterned scrapbook paper
• Mod Podge for paper
• EK Jolee’s Boutique Vellum Cupcake
• Self-Adhesive Rhinestones
• Self-Adhesive Business card sized magnet

Start by tracing the front, back and sides of the Tic Tac container onto the back of the scrapbook paper. While you’re tracing the front of the container, stand it up to trace the bottom as well.

Cut the shape out, then use Mod Podge for paper to attach patterned paper to the container – the open part should face up. Apply the glue one side at a time and smooth down along the way to make sure it lines up correctly and doesn’t wrinkle. If the bottom piece doesn’t fit exactly, cut it off and glue on an extra piece of the paper, then wait until it dries to trim the excess.

Choose one adorable vellum cupcake for the front of the container, peel it off and stick it on. I have a fondness for cupcakes, but you can always opt for another food related embellishment as well.

Place one self-adhesive rhinestone on each front corner.

Trim the magnet to fit most of the back, then peel off and stick on.

Trim note paper to fit into the container and include a pen for quick use.

By Guest Blogger Kristen, from the blog “Make the Best of Everything”.

Wine charms are a very popular accessory for get togethers. Charms help people keep tabs on their drink. Here is a cute idea for coffee charms. Coffee charms can be used for groups of people who get together and drink coffee!

Here is how I made these.

1) Went online and Googled “Coffee Puns” to get some cute saying for my coffee charms, and printed them out on cardstock.

2) Glued the coffee sayings on miniture tiles.

3 ) I Found a few coffee beans/grounds from the coffee stash in the kitchen.

4) Purchased a few packs of “Hoop earrings”.

5) Hot glued everything together to make the Coffee charms!

6) Decorated some finishing touches with puffy paint.

7) Here you go! Coffee Charms!

Click to view larger photo

These were Really fun to make! I cannot wait to make more sets of these to gift to family members and friends!!

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

These little candles are a practically free way of making a sweet, simple Easter decoration for your table. If you don’t have block wax on hand, melt down old candle stubs to fill the eggs for a recycled version of this craft!

Here’s what you’ll need

• Eggs
• Candle wicking
• Dowels or pencils
• Egg carton
• Wax
• Double boiler

1. Crack the eggs at the top of the shell, removing about the top third of the shell. Rinse each shell and allow it to dry.

2. Set the wax to melt in the double boiler. Add scent or color if desired.

3. Place the eggs in the egg carton an fill 1/2 way with wax.

4 Cut the wick into 5 5 inch lengths. Tie one end around the pencil or dowel and then tie a knot about 1 1/2 inch down, trim off excess.

5. Lower the knot end of the wick into the wax and balance the pencil over the shell so that the wick is centered on the egg.

6. Allow the wax to cool and then top off with about 1/4 inch of wax to fill in the void around the candle (this happens during the cooling process).

7. Trim the wick and break off any shell that will come near the flame. Set in egg cups and light!

Easter is already next week!

By DCWV Diary

I think it would be so fun to make these with bright, spring paper and put them on your walls or front door! So different and would totally set the springy mood in your home!

• The Black Currant Stack
• Poinsettia template
• Foam brush
• Black lace ribbon
• Tulle
• Beads
• Rhinestones
• Glue gun

1. Trace and cut template shape from Black Currant Stack. Each poinsettia requires one circle base shape and 15 petal shapes.
2. Wet a foam brush with water and wet the back of petal.
3. Wait about 30 seconds for water to soak into petal. Pinch petal center vertically to create a vein.
4. Pinch smaller horizontal creases to create additional veins.
5. Curl and pinch edges of petal by rolling around pencil.
6. Repeat to create additional petals.
7. Adhere petals around circle base.
8. Adhere lace, tulle, beads, and rhinestones to the centers of poinsettias.

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

I love those table top filing boxes. It allows me to keep my papers organized (Hint, Hint! They are the perfect size for sorting scrapbooking paper!) But I can NEVER find the little labels that come with them. I also tend to change what is filed where and with what in my desk filing box since most of what goes in there is in progress work so instead of writing and scratching out and writing again, I’ve started making chalkboard labels for my files. Easy, erasable and fun, I’m in love with them and I hope you will be too!

Here’s what you need:

Chalkboard Contact paper (or use Chalkboard paint)

Craft knife and stencil or Die cutting machine

1. Trace and cut or use a decorative tag shape die to cut out a fun shape from the chalkboard contact paper.

2. Peel off, stick to the front of your file and write (and erase) away!

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

I love to use Mini Alpha Stickers in my card marking.  I have a huge collection of various sizes, colors and fonts and I love that so many companies now create these tiny alphas.  Not only do they come in black and white, but they are now available in every color of the rainbow, so they can match any project.  If you aren’t a card maker, they are also great for journaling on a layout or in a mini album.

To make this card:

• Create a card base from white cardstock or use a premade card base.  You can also make the card base from the patterned paper – if it’s a two sided paper, you end up with a colorful inside to the card. I used My Little Shoebox “Green” Collection papers & stickers.
• Affix journaling sticker and tree sticker.  Cut another tree from patterned paper and adhere using pop dots for dimension.
• Add jewels to the tree trunks.
• Use the Mini Alpha Stickers to spell the sentiment.
• If you do not have this paper collection don’t worry.  You can use other stickers and papers and just use my card as a sketch to get you started.  

By Sewing Contributor Jessica, from the blog “Life Sew Good”.  

I used to be afraid of my serger.  I mean, I loved it and was so proud to have one (that I bought off Craigslist!)  It took me months before I even figured out how to use it.  I didn’t realize there were different stitch fingers, which changed my stitches from being wide to short or small enough to make a rolled hem.  It’s amazing how important those little manuals are.  I finally took a class because I knew there was so much more to my serger; I just didn’t know what! 

So, in celebration of National Sewing Month, dust off that serger, pull it out, and make this super simple project for a small child you know.  If you don’t have a serger, you can totally still do this project; I recommend that you use a walking foot if you have one to keep your fabric feeding through your machine properly.  As you may know, knit is stretchy, so you just have to be careful when sewing that it isn’t stretching.  Go slower than usual! 

Here’s the project:  recycle an old t-shirt and make pants out of it.  I’ve seen this before here and have always wanted to try it.  I hope you like my “serging” version!  It makes it all a breeze.

Here’s what you need:

Large old t-shirt
Pair of pants you want to make your pattern from
3/4″ non-rolling Elastic
Large safety pin
Ruler or measuring tape
Fabric Pen

1. Lay out your T-shirt flat.  Fold “sample pants” in half and lie on top of fabric, placing the bottom hem of the pants on the bottom hem of the t-shirt.  Trace a 5/8” seam allowance all the way around .  The top you want a 2” seam allowance for the waistband  Personally, I wanted the pants wider legged than my sample pants, so I just drew my line wider at the bottom.  Repeat on other side of t-shirt.

2. Cut out pieces.

3. With right sides together, using you serger or sewing machine, sew from the bottom of the leg to the crotch on both pieces.  DO NOT SEW THE CROTCH YET!!!

4. Now, turn one leg RIGHT SIDE OUT and one leg keep INSIDE OUT.  Put the RIGHT SIDE OUT leg inside of the other leg.  Yes, one leg should be inside the other leg, right sides together.  Make sure you line up the crotch all the way to the waist. 

5. Serge/sew starting at the waistband on one side, down toward the crotch, then up the other side—it looks like a big “U.”

6. Pull the inside leg out and you should see something resembling pants!  Serge all the way around the top of the waistband.  Then, fold the waistband over 2” and sew (I used a sewing machine for this) around, leaving about a 2” opening to insert the elastic.  ***If you do not have a serger do this:  first, fold over the waistband ½” and press, then over 1 ½” and press again.  Sew a seam close to the bottom of your fold, leaving the 2” opening to insert the elastic.  If you want to topstitch around the top of the waistband, now’s your chance!

7. Cut elastic.  General rule of thumb is the waist measurement minus 2”, but I would check it on your little one first!  Attach your very big safety pin to one side of your elastic, then feed the elastic through the waistband.  Sew the elastic back and forth several times to secure it. 

8. Finally, sew your waistband closed and viola! Pants!!

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

My daughter loves, LOVES a certain very expensive brand of kids shoes that feature sparkles and beading and flowers. She received a pair as a gift last year and wore them until they were so tight they made her feet blue. Alas we finally had to pass them on before her feet were permanently a size two! Ever since she has asked and asked for more “sparkly beady shoes!” and while I’d love to buy her some, they are a little more than I’m willing to pay for shoes for someone who grows several inches a year. Until her feet stop growing so fast, we had to find another solution. And when I ran across these little flowered shoes on the clearance rack the other day, I knew just what to do to satisfy my girls craving for sparkly beady shoes!

Here’s What You Need:

1 pair of tennis shoes  - preferably printed with flowers
Thin, sharp needle
Seed beads
Thread

Decide how you want to decorate your shoes. You can outline flowers, put beads in the centers of flowers or fill in individual petals or shapes. Stitch in and out through the fabric of the shoe at your starting point and tie off the tail. Slip one or two beads at a time onto the needles and stitch into place. Continue until you have enough of the shoe beaded to satisfy your own little sparkle fanatic (or until they can’t wait any longer to wear them!)

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

Collage, in both “hard copy” and digital forms is very popular right now, and I’m a fan of both. It’s relaxing, almost zen-like to sit with my materials, arranging, re-arranging, and layering them. Digitally, I love the fact that you can create what are basically transparent layers, which is mostly not an option with “real” images and materials.

Except that it is, at least with printed items. You can make decals, and it’s really quite easy to do it. I’m familiar with two products you can use, Liquitex Gloss Medium, and Omni-Gel. The process is the same with both products.

You’ll need:

Omni-Gel OR Liquitex Gloss Medium
Soft paint brush
Printed images—almost any will work, except for inkjet or photographs
A dish that is larger than your print(s)
Water

So first decide what images you want to use. Cut them out, leaving a generous edge around any that you want to completely cover the collage surface. Protect your work surface with plastic wrap, which will let you peel the finished decals/transfers off when they’ve dried, and lay the images print side up on it. Paint each image with a coat of the medium, allowing the medium to extend beyond the paper just a bit, and let dry. I usually just squeeze a drop or two of medium on the image and spread it around.

When the medium is dry, spread on another layer. If you’ve painted with up-and-down strokes on the first layer, make the second layer’s strokes go side-to-side. Let that layer dry, and paint on a third layer, again with brush strokes that go in a different direction than the layer before.

Three layers of medium is generally enough; I sometimes do four, but it probably isn’t necessary.  You’ll now have what looks and feels like a picture coated with a plastic sheet.

When the last layer is thoroughly dry, peel your images off the plastic and soak them in the dish of water. (If an image resists being peeled off, you can cut right at the edge of the paper, and slip your finger between the picture and the plastic.) Don’t worry if the transfer medium turns a little milky while soaking.

Soak the pictures until the paper is good and wet, but not more than twenty minutes, then take each one out of the water and lay it face-down on a clean, smooth surface—a plate works well.

Rub the paper with your fingers, and it will roll up and come away from the transfer.

Rub until ALL the paper is gone. You’ll know you’re finished when you don’t feel any fuzziness at all, and the transfer is completely transparent.

You now have a decal!

To use it, just paint the back with more of the transfer medium, and apply it wherever you like on your project. Make sure your fingers are absolutely clean—any little bit of anything will imbed itself and show later!

One of the things I love about the finished decal is that it’s stretchy. You can cover uneven surfaces, or pull the image around the edges of a plaque, and smooth it out completely, as you can see from the little project below:

To make it, I used three images I’d turned into decals—the background trees (scrapbooking paper), the blue bird (cut from a magazine), and the bit of music (from an old music book). As you can see, the plaque I used had a crenellated edge, and a raised circle about 1/2″. The transfer stretched over every irregularity and clung there. On the back, I just squished the gathered edge down and used a bit more medium to glue them in place.

You can also use the transfer medium to create pendants. The first image in this post doesn’t give you scale, but each piece is a half-globe in shape, with a transfer stretched over it. The half-globes were molded in measuring spoons—1/4 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, and 1 teaspoon—so they’re quite a nice size to glue on a bail and put on a necklace or bracelet.

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

This year I’m sending my girl off to preschool for the very first time. And along with a lunch bag and a backpack, the school has also asked us to provide a change of clothes in a waterproof bag, a pretty smart request and one I know  many preschools and even kindergartens have. While I could, of course, send her off with a ziplock baggie, I decided that it would be more fun to make a little oilcloth bag for her “accident” clothes to tuck into her cubby.

Oilcloth and laminated fabrics come in so many fun prints these days that you can find one to make any child happy. My girl picked a pretty flower print (surprisingly pink free) and I got to work.

Here’s What You Need:

1/2 yard of Oilcloth or laminated fabric
Coordinating thread
Coordinating Ribbon
Pins
Sewing Machine
Scissors

1. Cut a 15 by 30″ rectangle from your fabric. Fold in half, right sides together.

2. Sew the two ends together using a 1/2″ seam allowance, stopping 2″ from the top. Finger press and pin the remaining 2 inches to match the 1/2″ seam.

3. Fold the top edge over 1/2″ and then over again 1 1/2″. Stitch along the bottom of the fold with a 1/4″ seam allowance.

4. Sew across the bottom edge and trim the corners. Turn right side out. (You can position the side seam along one side here or down the middle)

5. Finger press the bottom seam and fold the ends to form a small triangle, about two inches tall. Stitch the corners of the triangles to the bottom seam to make a standing bottom.
6. Thread the ribbon through the top gusset  and pull tightly to draw closed and tie with a bow!

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

Aside from my wedding ring and my grandmother’s screw on (i.e. can’t fall off) diamond earrings, the only jewelry that I wear on any kind of regular basis are bracelets. I love necklaces, but about a week after my first child was born I realized that kids and necklaces don’t mix. Or at least my kids and necklaces don’t mix. Although now that they are 4 and 8 I’m probably safe to wear them again. But I’m out of practice. My jewelry box is full of bracelets.

Or I should say it’s full of lots of broken bracelets and a few hearty specimens that have survived where the others failed. I break bracelets all the time. Part of this I can blame on the kids, but most of it is all me. I spend a lot of time at the computer and I am constantly putting on and taking off my bracelets, and eventually, they break. Recently I moved most of the broken but-I’ll-fix-it-someday bracelets to a bead jar on my desk and in the process I realized that in most cases I don’t have all the bits and bobs from the originals, so returning them back to that state is probably not going to happen. Enter Stretch Magic.

If you are a veteran of jewelry making, you know all about this stuff, but I’d never tried it and I was so excited to get my hands on some and start turning my jar-o-beads back into wearable jewelry again.

Before you start, think about the size of the holes on your beads. Stretch Magic comes in a variety of thicknesses and several colors. Most of my beads had larger holes and since breaking has been an issue in the past, I chose the 1mm clear for my projects.

If you don’t have any broken bracelets or necklaces to start with (lucky you!) you can always peruse the many options that are out there just waiting for you to make something from them. I know I could go absolutely overboard buying different beads and charms in the jewelry making section.

Cut a good four inches longer than your wrist is around and start sliding on the beads, thinner Stretch Magic may require a needle but I had no problem using it straight with my larger holed beads. Once you have arranged your beads the way you want, tie the ends together using an overhand knot or two to secure the two pieces together without slippage. Trim the ends and enjoy your new (old) jewelry!

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

It was the perfect confluence of habits: I love, collect, and acquire a lot of laces, braids, and other trims, our family of two eats a lot of eggs, and I hate throwing things out that look like they could be useful.

I heard that! You’re scratching your head and saying, “HUH?”

Here’s the deal. I’ve been looking at egg cartons for years, trying to think of an afterlife for them. I also groan every time I open the drawer that holds those laces and trims I’m such a magnet for. Hard as I try to keep that drawer tidy, it always ends up seriously jumbled. Yesterday those two things just sort of collided in my brain, and I had an epiphany, just a little-bitty one, but a good one nonetheless.

Here’s what I did. I took an egg carton, in this case one from a five-dozen pack (told you) but a regular one would work as well, cut off the edges, and started wrapping lace trims around it.

The egg cup rows kept the laces in their places, the texture of the paper carton held onto the trims like gentle Velcro, and the rectangles still had just a bit of that nestling instinct. And they fit perfectly into those shoebox size plastic boxes, of which I had several, with room on the ends for a baggie filled with the short bits and pieces left over from past projects.

Now I can either put those boxes in the lace drawer or on a shelf, and instead of trying to riffle through this:

I can pick up one of these and see exactly what I have, without causing a lace explosion!