Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

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

My youngest child is headed off to school this fall and, being the girly girl she is, she has a whole closet full of new dresses and skirts that she deemed school worthy. And since she has changed her clothing color palate from red and pale pink to Hot pink and lime green, we are in need of some new hair bobbles to go with her back to school outfits. Knitted flowers look complicated but are really fairly simple little projects that can be completed in a sitting, or carted around with you to work on here and there. They are also a great way to use up leftover yarn, that is, if you happen to have hot pink and lime green yarn just hanging around in your stash!

Here’s what you need

2 colors of worsted weight yarn
Size US 5 knitting needles
Yarn needle
Hair Clips

For Each Petal:

Cast on 4 sts
Row 1: Knit into front and back of first st, Knit 3 sts (5 sts)
Row 2: Purl into front and back of first st, purl 4 (6 sts)
Row 3: Knit first two sts together, knit two, knit last two sts together (4 sts)
Row 4: Purl first two sts together, purl last 2 sts together (2 sts)
Break Yarn, weave ends in and tie off, slid to the end of the needle

Knit five petals in this manner, casting each on to the same needle where the last petal is stored. On the fifth needle, do not break yarn, instead use it to knit across all 10 sts then thread the yarn onto the needle and run it back through the loop of each sts as you pull it off the knitting needle. Pull tightly to draw together the petals, forming a flower. Tie yarn off and weave in ends.

Thread the yarn needle with the contrasting yarn and whip stitch around the edges of each petal. Stitch a few loops up from the center of the flower to accent the core. Tie off and weave in ends. Press the flower with a hot, steam iron and sew or glue the back onto a hair clip.

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

Here’s the perfect project for your fashionista tween. These button bobby pins are fast, easy and infinitely customizable. And bonus! They require no sewing! You need very (VERY) little fabric for this so instead of buying new, have your tween search through your scrap bag or even harvest some fabric from favorite worn-out clothing. You can also vary the style by changing the button size. Look for variety packs  for button kits so they can create all kinds of styles and looks.

Here’s what you need:

Fabric scraps
Covered Button Kit
Fabric Scissors
Bobby Pins

1. Cut circles of fabric about the size indicated on the back of the button package. Pay attention to what is centered on the fabric, this will be what’s on your button.

2. Center the circle of fabric on your button holder and press the button top in so that the fabric is pulled tight over the front.

3. Fold down the edges and place the button backing on top, pressing it into place with the presser piece.

4. Pop out your button and thread the shank of the button onto the bobby pin. Pop them in your hair and your ready to go!

 Enter to win the Pretty in Pink Bracelet and Earring set by Janlynn! Be a little girlie and wear pink!

The Janlynn Pretty in Pretty Kit includes crazy lace agate stones mixed with crystals and sterling silver balls. Extra 4 mm sterling balls are included to make bracelet larger than average size, if necessary. Bracelet is finished with silver plated lobster claw and earrings are finished with silver plated leverback earwires. Wire & flat head pins for stringing along with instructions are included.

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. Contest opened to all US residents, no purchase necessary.

Question of week: What is your favorite breakfast food?

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

The summer I turned ten, my friends and I were all about friendship crafts. We made knotted friendship bracelets, walking around with in-progress projects pinned to the hems of our shorts, we collected plastic charms and tried to make our own to trade and wear, and we were obsessed with friendship pins. Our the laces of our shoes jingled and glittered with as many pins as could be crammed between the eyes of the shoes. We carried bubblegum tins around full of beads and pins and got in trouble the first weeks of class when we tried to make pins inside our desks during math.

But as much as I loved it way back then, I hadn’t thought much about friendship pins in twenty years, until I was puttering around the fabric store and found myself in amongst the seed beads. Although my son is younger than I was the summer that friendship pins hit it big at my school, he had no trouble at all working through my entire supply of safety pins over the course of 20 minutes. Simple and satisfying, it’s one of those crafts that kids will always love, especially on a too hot to go outside summer day.

You’ll need:

Seed Beads – lots of colors
1 inch long safety pins – as many as you can spare

Pour the beads into a bowl for easy access and open up a couple of pins to get them started. Beads can be strung randomly, all one color or in a pattern, just be sure to leave enough room at the top to fasten the pin back together. Once they are done, pin them onto the bottom lace of tennis shoes, stack a row on them onto a hair-clip or fasten them around rubber bracelets so your kids can show off and trade their treasures.

By General Crafts Contributor Amy, from the Blog “Mod Podge Rocks!”

As a crafter, I have TONS of bags.  Some of the bags I have are merely functional rather than good looking, so I like to embellish them.  Ones of the ways I embellish things are with pins!  Pins can be small or large, and they are easy to make with supplies that you probably already have on hand.  Pins are great scrapbusters!  They can also be made pretty quickly and give as gifts.  As you can see, my pin is inspired by summer.

To make, you’ll need to gather these supplies:

Chipboard shape  – approximately 2″ x 4″
K&Company Berry Sweet Paper and Chipboard Fruit Embellishments 
Mod Podge Matte 
FolkArt Acrylic Paint – Yellow Citron, Hot Pink (or coordinating colors)
Pink Rhinestones  
Wood Letter – initial of your choice
Pin back 
Craft Glue 
Scissors 
Pencil

Take a small piece of scrapbook paper a little larger than your chipboard piece and trace.  Cut the shape out and set aside.

Paint your chipboard shape and letter – since they are so small, I just painted them both on both sides.  Cover completely and allow to dry.

Spread Mod Podge on the top of your chipboard shape.  Grab the paper you cut and smooth down thoroughly.  You can use your hands – I always use a brayer because it works *really* well.  Allow to dry for 15 – 20 minutes.

You are now ready to coat the top.  Give a medium layer of Mod Podge and allow to dry for 15 – 20 minutes.  I also put a coat of Mod Podge onto my letter “A.”

Time to add embellishments!  I used craft glue to add the letter “A,” the strawberry and then one rhinestone in each corner for a little bling.  Allow to dry.

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

It amazes me when, despite the fact that I’ve stopped subscribing to print papers (I read them online) and have signed up for as many e-bills as I possibly can, out house still amasses a shocking amount of paper each week in the recycling bin. Flyers, junk mail, school announcements, all end up as fire starters in the winter and as plain old recycling the rest of the year. This week as I pulled yet another glossy sale flyer out of my mailbox I remembered an old project my mom and I did when I was a little girl.

Back then our house was always, literally, full of newspapers. My dad, after all was first a reporter, then an editor, and finally a publisher, of both daily and weekly newspapers. I once won a newspaper drive when my dad and I carted in a years worth of overprints and back issues to the school, three pickup truck loads. Cheating? Maybe, but at least they got recycled instead of rotting away in the backroom of the paper, threatening to catch the place on fire.

I remember this as being one of those go-to rainy day crafts and, although I hadn’t done it for years, all it took was one bead to get back in the swing. It’s a little bit addicting and the possibilities for colors and sized are pretty much endless. And, if you have a girly girl like mine, well, you can make (free!) jewelry to her heats content anytime you have some extra paper lying around. Which, let’s face it, it probably all the time.

You’ll need:

Paper – any thing works but colorful ads make some of the best beads
Tacky Glue
Metal or bamboo skewer
Scissors or paper cutter

Start by cutting a few trial strips to determine the size of your beads. They will be as long as the widest part of your strip and the thickness will be determined by how long the original strip is. My favorite size is about a 10 inch long stip, 1 inch at the top and 1/4 inch at the bottom. Once you have the size you like, cut as many strips as you need beads.

With the widest end of the strip pressed against your skewer, tightly roll the paper around until you are 1/2 inch from the bottom.

Dab the very end in glue and continue rolling, using your thumb to press down the end for a moment before spreading any remaining glue around the outside. Give the glue a few seconds  to set up and then carefully slide the bead off the skewer.

This craft can also be done with younger children using strips of newsprint for the paper and something wider, like a dowel, to wind the beads on. The finished beads can be used as is, painted, or even clear coated. Mine ended up on a ribbon as a bracelet which I wore for maybe 30 seconds before it was claimed by the fashionista of the house, who wore it day and night until the dog “borrowed” it. *Hint*, these are not dog proof. But luckily they are free, so a replacement was just a few rolls away.