Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Craft Trends Contributor, Gillian from the blog Dried Figs and Wooden Spools. Check out our Craft Trends board on Pinterest!

When I was a little girl I loved everything rainbow colored. I couldn’t get enough of ROY G BIV. The brighter and more colorful the better. In the intervening years I’ve tended toward a more muted palate. Lots of whites and beige and grey, which is all well and good. But once in a while I crave bright colors. And not just bright, lots of rainbow hues all together. There’s something satisfying about a bright array of rainbow colors that no neutral can give. With that in mind, here a a few rainbow hued projects to indulge in during these grey and cold winter days.

Colored Pencil Jewelry – Design Mom

Having a girl who is obsessed, very very obsessed with coloring, I love these colored pencil slice projects, especially the rainbow necklace. SO pretty and yet so simple. Perfect for kids jewelry while still chic enough for adults.  Even with a dressy outfit, you could get away with it.

Rocking Chair Project – Design Mom

These rainbow painted rockers are wonderful. SO fun and bright and different. I’ve got a bright yellow chair in my house and this makes me want to add other colors to the mix. It’s amazing how bright, solid colors make chairs that might be a little outdated look modern and new, isn’t it?

Crayon Canvas – Meg Duerksen

Crayon paintings are making the rounds in the craft world and for good reason. Who doesn’t love melting things, especially colorful things? And here’s a chance to make art and have fun melting all at once. There are lots of variations on this project, but I love this simple rainbow drip best of all.

Have you done any rainbow hued projects lately? Check out these and others on our Craft Trends Pinboard and let us know what you’ve been up to as well! We love to see your work!

By Guest Blogger Kim Skinner from the blog Stamping Imperfection

With a youtube channel, online store, and classes and clubs, Kim’s blog Stamping Imperfection will give you countless paper crafting and scrapbooking ideas.

I have been playing with envelopes!  Today, I discovered that I could make quite a nice little gift bag from a card envelope.  You really could do this with any size envelope.  In my experimenting, I learned one rule…all score lines must be the same distance from the edge of the envelope!  That’s it.  So simple!

How cute is this little handled bag?  I will freely admit that there is an art to adding ephemera to your project and I have yet to master that art.  I just attach one of everything and hope it all looks good when I’m done.  I need to work on my technique.  But alas, I love the rich regal colors of Fall.  I would never profess to being the soft, subtle, romantic color kind of gal which I believe is required to master the art of adding ephemera!

Read the Full How-to After the Jump…

Read the rest…

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.

Every dinosaur lover should get a special wreath! This decoration is easy to make and I’m sure my little dino lover will want to hang it in his room after all of the party guests have gone. The pennant banner in the middle can be personalized with a name or a “happy birthday”!

What You Will Need:

• Styrofoam Wreath Form
• Plastic Miniature Dino Toys
• Green Spray Paint
• Orange Cardstock
• Craft Glue
• Hot Glue
• String
• Soda Tab

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

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.

Put away the permanent marker and plastic cups at your next party, and pick up your chalk instead! Shapes can be changed out to fit the theme of your party. I know I’ll be giving away some hearts and arrows at my Valentine’s Day soiree, but I’ll be keeping the cute ribbon embellishment on top!

What You Will Need:

• Mason Jars
• Chalkboard Adhesive Vinyl
• Burlap
• Crocheted Lace Ribbon
• Chalk Markers
• Scissors or Cutting Machine
• Free Cowgirl Straw Flag Printable
• Striped Paper Straws

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

By Guest Blogger Cara

Every time I leave the office to get the mail, I wish I had a bag. we usually have a pile of outgoing letters and even more incoming. The P.O. box is usually stuffed with catalogs and magazines, and I tend to drop ten things before I get back to my car, and I usually misplace the box key. I’ve been known to take it home for a long weekend every once in a while, wash it in my jeans, etc… well, no more! Behold, the mail bag.

I made it with a super easy stenciling method.

You’ll Need:

• Freezer Paper

• X- acto Knife

• Cutting Mat

• Fabric Paint

• Stencil Brush

• Canvas Tote Bag

By Craft Trends Contributor, Gillian from the blog Dried Figs and Wooden Spools. Check out our Craft Trends board on Pinterest!

If you are a crafter, then you’ve got glitter. It can’t be helped. It’s a badge of honor, really, to have glitter in every crack and crevice of your craft space and stuck to your hands and shirt and under your nails. It’s glitter. That’s what it does and really, would we have it any other way? A little glitter makes anything more fun, more exciting and more memorable.

ThinkCrafts.com (click image for tutorial)

One Charming Party (click image for source)

If there’s ever a time to use glitter with abandon, it’s on special holidays like birthdays or New Years. These two projects offer different methods for marking those glitter-worthy days with sparkly candles. Both are fantastic projects, both are simple and so, both are must-do’s for any crafter. Candles are always fun, but candles with glitter are much, much better.

Crap I’ve Made (click image for source)

This is possibly the best glitter project I’ve seen. As a long time glasses wearer and a lover of glitter, well, it’s really the perfect project. How can you resist? I don’t think I’d start out using my good prescription glasses for this project, but sunglasses or drug store reading glasses would make excellent candidates for this project, and just think! With so many glitter color options available, you could make a whole wardrobe of glitter glasses!

iCandy Homemade (click image for source)

My little girl is (of course) just as glitter obsessed as I am, so glitter covered clothing is always a hit with her. We’ve done several variations on the glitter tee and each and every one has been worn and worn and worn until there are too many holes to keep wearing it. This tutorial is especially good if you’re looking for one to try (and I highly recommend that you do, especially if you have a sparkle loving child!)

Check out these and other glitter crafts on our Craft Trends Pinboard and please, share your glitter crafts with us! We love to see your projects!

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

There is a growing trend among crafters to create beautiful jewelry from beads.  There are so many different styles, sizes, colors, and designs to choose from.

I began this review from the perspective of a beginner, even though I have dabbled a little bit in beading and jewelry making for myself

Bead Simple begins with a section on the various tools, materials, and findings used in bead working.  What I liked about this section is that there were color photographs to correspond with the list of items referenced. As a visual type person, it is very helpful to have these images.

The next section of Bead Simple covers techniques used in jewelry making.  The colorful illustrations and instructions are an excellent resource for beginners.  Amongst the written instructions were tips for the best results.

The remainder of the book contains step-by-step instructions to complete 150 different beaded projects.  Each project page contains a beautiful, full-color example of the finished product.  I really like having photos of the completed piece as it does provide a visual reference of how the project should look

At the top of each project page there is a list of techniques that will be used in the individual project. The techniques correspond to the techniques illustrated at the beginning of the book. A full list of tools and materials are included as well.  The step-by-step instructions are simple and easy to follow.

At the back of the book, all of the guest designers are credited with a small biography of each one. This was an added touch, and made the book complete.

Overall this book contained everything in it that I would look for in a bead-working book. The attention to detail and photographs set this book apart from others. I recommend this book for beginners as well as intermediate beaders.