Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Guest Blogger Diane, from the blog Charmingly Creative.

 Here is a quick and easy Punch Art Bunny to make for Easter. I made this hippity hoppity bunny for an Easter card using various sizes of heart and oval paper punches. I have included an example of a card where I used the Bunny as the focal point.

What you’ll need:

• Martha Stewart Confetti Heart punch
• EK Success Paper Shapers 1″ Scallop Circle punch
• EK Success Paper Shapers ¾” X 1½” Oval punch
• EK Success Paper Shapers 1.25″ x 2″ Oval punch
• Fiskars XL Heart punch
• EK Paper Shapers Punch Medium Circle 3/4″
• Fiskars ¼” Circle punch
• Pink, Dark Brown and Tan cardstock
• Darice 10mm Wiggly eyes
• Scissors
• Self-healing cutting mat
• Art Institute clear Glitter glue and/or Glue Dots

Instructions:

Punch the following from:

Dark Brown Cardstock

• Four ¾” X 1½” Oval
• Two Hearts
• One 1″ Scallop Circle

Pink Cardstock

• Two ¾” X 1½” Oval
• Two 1.25″ x 2″ Oval
• Six ¼” Circles
• One Confetti Heart (use larger heart)

 Tan Cardstock

• Two ¾” Circles

To assembly glue Pink ¾” X 1½” Ovals slightly below brown ones for ears. Glue small Pink ovals to bottom of each foot and then glue three ¼” Circles to top of each foot. To create the Bunny head flip Heart upside down so the pointy end is facing the top and then glue Tan circles slightly overlapping each other on lower part of Heart and glue small Pink Heart in center for nose then attach eyes. Glue ears behind head.

To create body take second Heart right side up and glue head on top. Then trim 1″ Scallop Circle in half placing halves together and rounding the cut edge with scissors trimming off a little of the scallop to create two small hands, glue to body near bottom of head. To complete Bunny attach feet on either side.

I have included an example of a card where I used the Bunny as the focal point.

By Guest Blogger Diane, from the blog Charmingly Creative.

Make this Easter card for someone special. Gather your cardstock, paper punches, and your Spellbinders Grand Calibur and let’s make an Easter basket card! Time to complete this project: 10 minutes.

What You’ll need:

• Fiskars Grass Edge Punch
• Martha Stewart Tulip Punch
• Martha Stewart Chick Punch
• Martha Stewart Easter Egg Basket Punch
• Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circle Large dies (using 3¼” & 2¾”)
• Spellbinder Grand Calibur
• Purple, Yellow, Green and Polka Dot cardstock
• Orange & Yellow Glitter cardstock
• Scissors
• Self-healing cutting mat
• Art Institute clear Glitter glue

Instructions:

Using Purple cardstock and 3¼” Spellbinder Circle run through machine. Then take the cut 3¼” Circle and center the 2¾” circle die on top and run through machine again. This will give you the handle for the Easter Basket. Cut the Polka Dot cardstock about 3½” x 1″ and trim off sides at an angle. Glue Basket at bottom of handle.

From Yellow cardstock punch 9 Yellow chicks and glue three on top of each other so you have three complete layered Chicks.

Punch out Green cardstock with Grass Edge punch and trim two strips long enough to fit behind the Basket for a layered look and glue in place. Punch out Tulips from yellow cardstock and cut a strip long enough to go behind Basket and glue behind the grass.

Using the Easter Egg Punch and glittered cardstock punch Yellow and Orange eggs, saving the baskets for another project. Glue eggs in grass and two chicks to front of basket. You can create a bow and flowers to go around the handle and add the remaining chick once you glue piece to card.

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

I am well aware that there are large numbers of (perhaps misguided) folks out there that don’t like the taste of Peeps. For me, spring just isn’t spring until I’ve roasted a few over my stove, but for those who might like some non eating uses for the marshmallow treats (and for those of us that can’t get enough) here are some fun little peep projects for your spring delight.

Peeps Wreaths! I wouldn’t recommend them for outdoors as that might get….messy, but for inside? Awesome.

Too colorful? How about this one?

I love these bunting and their reuse of paint chips!

 A Peep Tree! Who can resist?(the Peeps Sushi is pretty funny too!)

Would you use Peeps in your spring decor? Check out more ideas on our Craft Trends Boards.

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

With Easter right around the corner, the Bunny Book would make a great gift idea. Add some crayons and wrap in cute cellophane for an inexpensive party favor or for classroom parties. Young children learning to write, love to make little books and practice writing on any piece of paper that they find. I created this project with young learners in mind, but it also can be adapted for adults too!

This bunny book is a simple project that can be made as a group project or with light supervision. You can create different variations by changing the colors of the cover, or adding different types of paper for the pages, or adding embellishments to the cover.

Materials Needed:

• Bunny Book Template (included)
• Cardstock
• Writing Paper
• Glue Stick
• Scissors
• Stapler

Optional:

• Scrapbooking Scraps
• Colored Paper
• Squiggly Eyes

 Instructions:

1. Print and cut out the Bunny Book Template.

2. Fold 1 piece of 8.5 x11″ cardstock in half (width).

3. Unfold cardstock with the fold vertical.

4. Glue the bunny cut out flap onto the top, right side of the cardstock. You will want to adjust the bunny cut out so that the head is sticking up above the closed book (see above picture).

5. Fold a 2nd piece of cardstock in half and glue it on top of the previous piece covering the bunny cut out flap. This will provide a sturdy cover for the book.

6. Fold in half 3-5 sheets of writing paper. You can use lined or unlined.

7. Place the writing paper fold on top of the fold of the bunny book cover.

8. Staple the bunny pages and cover along the fold.

9. The book is finished, and now can be embellished.

All of the materials used for this activity can be found at CreateForLess.com.

By Kid’s Crafts Contributor Stephanie, from the Blog Geek with Glasses.

Enter an enchanted world with this adorable, durable crown! My daughter, like most children, loves fairy tales.  A lot of fairy tales include a prince and princess, king and queen, or super hero of some kind.  Crowns are a big part of the dress up accessories.  We have made all kinds of crowns such as paper ones that tear and the wearer is heartbroken, then the fix is to tape it or staple it and it’s never quite the same.  Felted crowns are beautiful but as with all things felt – in a house with shorthaired dogs, felt is a magnet.  I have spent many an hour with tweezers trying to pick the fur out of the felt toys.  So, one day I was at the fabric store and they had a large bin of Leather Remnants, a beautiful selection of colors and textures, and I thought this would make an indestructible crown fit for a king, queen, princess – you get the idea.

The benefit of this crown is that it is completely adjustable, it can grow with the child.  This crown will be 19″ in circumference, with the laces pulled tight it fits my 3 year old fine. Loosen up the laces a little and I’m sporting the crown. PLUS – it can be wiped down with a damp cloth.

Supply List:

• Ridged Leather remnant – 19″ x 6″
• Eyelets
• Leather Lace
• Leather Punch
• Crown Patterns
• Pen
• Eyelet Setter

First, print and cut out the Crown Patterns, trace it on the backside of the leather, make sure to mark the eyelet holes.  The patterns provided are set up to trace one side, then flip it on the center edge to make a mirror image to trace the rest of the crown.

I use basic scissors to cut the leather, nothing fancy.

Once the crown is cut out punch the holes for the eyelets.  I have a punch that uses a hammer but there are hand held punches that work like a paper punch.  If you don’t have either of those a nail and hammer will work. 

Push the eyelets through the hole from the front (good side), set the eyelet, by setting the eyelet setter on the back of the eyelet and hammer.  A couple of whacks is all it takes, be careful not to hit it too hard or the face of the eyelet will misshapen.

Next, lace up the eyelets like a shoe using a leather cord and tie a bow.  Place it on your head and take over a kingdom!

We like the simplicity of the leather, but these crowns can be decorated with gem stickers or glitter glue.

By Guest Blogger Diane, from the blog Charmingly Creative.

Here is a sweet card you can use either for Spring or Easter and easy to make. Time to Complete: 10 minutes

What You’ll Need:

• Any Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page (I used Eyelet Lace)
• Martha Stewart Grass Punch
• Bunny Punch
• Hydrangea Punch
• Tulip Punch
• Fence Edger punch
• Fiskars 1/8″ circle punch
• EK Success Tri leaf punch
• Memory Box Puffy Clouds & Twiggy Tree dies
• Purple, Yellow, Brown, Pink, Green, Tan, White and Green & Gold glitter cardstock
• Spellbinders Grand Calibur
• Black pen
• Scissors
• Self-healing cutting mat
• Bone folder
• Rotary cutter
• Art Institute clear Glitter glue 
• Glue dots

Instructions:

Trim Purple cardstock with Rotary cutter to 8″x10″. Score the cardstock in the middle at the 5″ line and use a bone folder to crease the edge of paper to form 5″ x 8″ card.

Punch out the following:

• One brown bunny and glue a 1/8″ white tail and draw a black eye with a pen.
• One green grass strip & one yellow tulip edge strip each about 4.5″ long.
• Using White cardstock and the fence punch, punch two times which will get you a fence about 4.5″ long.
• Two Yellow Eyelet lace strips 5″ long.
• With Green glitter cardstock punch out 19 leaves for tree.
• You will need to punch six sets of Hydrangeas and six Gold glitter 1/8″ circles for center of flowers.

Run brown cardstock through die cutting machine using the Twiggy Tree die and White cardstock using the puffy Clouds die. (Note: if you don’t have Twiggy tree die or Clouds use a tree sticker instead and hand cut cloud shapes.)

Glue the Yellow Eyelet Lace pieces on the top and bottom of card.

Note: Glue these pieces to each other before gluing to card. Trim the Grass and Tulip strips to fit the fence. Glue the grass to front bottom of fence. Glue the tulips behind fence.

I made the flowers using the small Hydrangea punch gluing one flower on top of the other, slightly turning the one on top. I added a Gold glitter cardstock circle using the 1/8″ punch to the flower centers. Glue flowers to grass and bunny in place. Glue leaves to tree and attach tree behind fence close to the center. Now glue entire piece to front of card, add clouds to complete.

By Kid’s Crafts Contributor Stephanie, from the Blog Geek with Glasses.

My daughter is an Irish Step Dancer and March is a crazy month for us. We have two St. Patrick Day parades to partake in, so I needed something festive to wear. I love the mini top hats and thought I’d share this tutorial on how to make your own at home.

Mini Top hats are also popular for Steampunk costumes too, it’s all in how you decorate the basic shape.

Today, we are going Leprechaun!

Supplies:

Toilet paper or Paper Towel Roll
Cereal Box
Ribbon
Headband
Glitter
Felt
White Paint / Green Paint
Thread

Optional:

Stickers
Crystals
Other Decorations

Tools:

Pen
Craft Knife
Scissors
Brush
Glue
Hot Glue Gun
Needle

The first thing to do is cut open the cereal box to get a flat side. On the inside (non printed side) of the cereal box trace around the paper roll. This will make the center of the brim of the hat. Next measure 5/8″ all the way around and draw that circle. Cut out the outside circle, then using the craft knife cut the cross marks on the inside circle. This makes tabs to glue the brim to the tube.

Next trace the roll again, this time measure about 1/4″ and make another circle. Cut along the outside line, then cut tabs to fold. This makes the top of the hat, the tabs insert into the tube to hold the top on.

Now, determine how tall the Top Hat should be. This hat is 1 1/2″ tall, carefully use the craft knife to cut the tube so not to smash the roll.

Using the Hot Glue Gun, attach the brim by folding the tabs up and placing the tube over top. Glue the tabs in place. This can be done with craft glue but  then the tabs should be clipped until the glue dries. The Hot Glue makes the project go quicker without drying time. After the brim is in place, fold the tabs on the top of the hat and glue the it in place.  

Once the hat is assembled paint the entire piece white or green. I painted mine white, then after the glitter I went in and painted the edge of the brim and bottom green. It wasn’t necessary, but I did not like the white edge. If the entire hat was painted green to start that would not be an issue, but the glitter will show up different with a dark background verses a white background. It’s up to the crafter to decide.

When the paint is dry, cover the hat with craft glue and sprinkle the glitter on. Let the hat dry completely, once dry tap off the extra glitter.

I decorated the hat by gluing a ribbon around the base of the hat. Then using stick vinyl, I cut 3 hearts out using a heart shaped punch. I stuck the hearts on the hat in the shape of a shamrock and glued a crystal in the center. I added another shamrock to the hat in the same way. This is where it can become any type of hat that you want.

Next,  cut a circle of felt and glued it to the bottom to make attaching it to the headband easier.

I made 2 ribbon bows and glued them together, then hot glued the hat on top of them. 

To attach the hat to the headband, first hot glue the ribbon/hat to the headband. Then make a couple of stitches around the headband making sure to catch the felt on the hat, secure the thread with a good knot.

Now - put the beautifully crafted hat on your head, drink some kind of ale and eat Bangers and Mash Or follow the rainbow to your pot of gold! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!