Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Guest Blogger Jenny, from the blog a bird in the hand.

I have a confession. I’m dreaming of writing a craft book. As much as I enjoy making finished products, I’m happiest when sitting at my craft table, dreaming up new projects. It must be the scientist in me but I just love experimenting. So I’m thinking of writing a book. Which means I am putting lots of extra time into craft experiments and tutorials. With that in mind, here is another one of my crafty experiments. Enjoy.

As you may know, I love playing with shrinky dink. I had so much fun dreaming up the woven shrinky dink bracelet. This time, I took it to the next level and incorporated another childhood favorite, Perler beads. To start, draw out the shape of an artist’s palette on white shrinky dink. You can freehand it if you feel confident, otherwise just print and trace.

Cut it out and then cut out the thumb hole. I used a hole punch and then scissors to enlarge the whole a bit. I also punched a whole to hang it from but later realized this was irrelevant; it melted away.

Bake your shrinky dink at 325 degrees F to shrink it.  Now take it out of the oven and crank the temperature up to 375 degrees F.  Arrange your Perler beads around the palette; these will be your paint blobs.

Okay. Now put it all back in the oven and be careful not to knock the Perler beads over. It took about 20min for my beads to melt into blobs. During this time, you will notice that your shrinky dink starts to melt around the edges. That’s fine. Shrinky dink can be cooked at a temperature of 450 degrees F to fuse the pieces together and that typically involves a little melting. [Note- I baked mine on parchment paper, but you may want to use a glass baking dish. According to the directions, shrinky dink needs to be fused on a glass dish. I noticed that my parchment paper baked into a nice tan color at 375 so I probably will try glass next time.]

Once melted, remove from oven and let cool. See what I mean about the small hole I punched melting away? That’s fine though because you can use your thumb hole to attach a chain with a jump ring.

That’s it!  All done.  Now put on your necklace and take some awkward modeling shots of yourself where your head is cut off.  Perfect.

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

Two of the best things about knowing how to make your own earrings, is that you can customize them any way you wish and you can save yourself money in the process. A great way to make new earrings is to create them from items you already have in your home. Since spring is coming, you can make a pair of flower shaped earrings to celebrate the season.

What you’ll need:

• Jump rings
• Earring hooks
• Cardboard
• Patterned paper
• Needle nose pliers
• Mod Podge
• Pen
• Small hole punch
• Marker
• Scissors

Step 1. Use Mod Podge to attach patterned paper onto a piece of cardboard. Flatten it out to eliminate the air bubbles, then give it ample time to dry before moving onto the next step.

Step 2. Draw two flowers onto the back of the cardboard, then use the scissors to cut them out.

Step 3. Use a small hole punch to make a hole on the edge of one petal.

Step 4. Choose any size jump rings you wish; I opted for the larger ones. To pry open the jump rings, use needle nose pliers.

Step 5. Hook the open jump ring through the hole in the petal. Before closing the ring, attach an earring hook to the jump ring, then use the pliers to choose the ring.

Step 6. Use any color marker you wish to color in the center of the flowers.

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

The mornings are crazy, everyone rushing around to get ready for the day.  These bracelets can help the kids remember things without mom nagging. A simple reminder on their wrist will help them bring the stinky bag of gym clothes home or return the library books before they are overdue.  The  new season brings new sports, it might be hard for the kids to remember when practice is. Also, a way to help with a change in schedule, like “Don’t ride the bus” because mom is picking the kids up after school.

Supplies:

• Letter Beads
• Beads
• Stretchy Bead String

Tools:

• Scissors

 

To start this project, pick the message the bracelet will have. Choose the letter beads and decorator beads. Next measure around the wrist of the child with the stretchy string, do not stretch it while measuring. Cut the piece just a little longer than needed. String the beads on making sure there is enough decorator beads to go all the way around the child’s wrist. I finish by tying the 2 ends together with a square knot, right over left, left over right. The first part of the knot – right over left – is where I pull the string just enough to stretch it a little. When done the bracelet should have to stretch a little to get over the child’s hand then be snug at the wrist. Trim the excess string off.

 

The goal for these bracelets are to not fall off while playing at recess, if that happens then the remembering part is gone as well as the bracelet.

A great project for the kids to help with over spring break. The end of the year is coming and all thoughts go to summer not schoolwork. An added bonus if you use really colorful beads others might notice the bracelet and ask about it, making it more effective, because the child will explain and remember, score!

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!!!

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

Roses are one of my favorite flowers and there’s something truly beautiful about wearing them in your hair whether they’re real or fake. When you make your own rose clip, you can customize it in any color you wish – red, blue, yellow, purple – so you can have one in every color or pattern possible. It may look complicated, but it’s pretty easy to do, especially once you get the hang of it.

  

 

What you’ll need:

•  Red cardstock
•  Pen
•  Paper
•  Red tissue paper
•  Scissors
•  Mod Podge
•  Clip

Step 1. Cut out a small square from the red cardstock, then trim it so it creates four adjacent petals connected by a tiny square in the center.

Step 2. Cut a small triangle from the red cardstock, then trim it so it forms three petals in the shape of a triangle that are connected by a tiny circle in the center.

Step 3. Bend both pieces so the petals face upward, then use scissors to carefully curl the ends.

Step 4. Make the center of the rose by cutting a small rectangle from the red cardstock and rolling it tightly. Use the Mod Podge to hold it together.

Step 5. Glue the second piece inside the first, then the center piece directly in the middle.

Step 6. Make several singular petals from the red tissue paper. Use your fingers to slightly bend the edges.

Step 7. Dip the very tips of the tissue paper petals in Mod Podge, then carefully slide them in the flower to fill it out.

Step 8. After the flower dries, lightly pinch it in between your thumb and pointer finger to expand the flower a bit.

Step 9. Glue it to the edge of your clip, then let it dry thoroughly before moving it. 

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

*This project will work best with a serger, but you can use a zig-zag stitch on a regular machine. The seam intentionally is showing on this scarf so make sure to follow the instructions, making sure your seams are on the RIGHT SIDE!

I had a friend buy me a scarf like this for my birthday and I loved it so much! I had to make one myself. Part of the fun of this project is finding a new way to wear your old stuff. I had a t-shirt that was too big, one that was too small, some extra fabric from making a skirt, and a couple of Goodwill finds that I used to make this gem. You can use any stretchy fabric, which means you could even throw an old polo shirt into the mix to add some texture.

I used 5 different fabrics, but you could use as little as 3; it depends on how big your shirts are, how many patterns you want to play with, and how big you are making your scarf.

Here’s what you do:

1. Cut 28 rectangles measuring 7 ½”H x 6″W (this makes a reasonably long scarf)

2. Divide your rectangles into 2 equal piles of 14 each. One will be for the front of your scarf; one for the back. Choose what order you want to place your fabrics for each side & pin in a line WRONG SIDES TOGETHER.

3. One side at a time, serge or zig-zag the rectangles together straight across. The seam should be seen on the RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR FABRIC!!

4. Once each side of the scarf is complete, pin them WRONG SIDES together. The seam should be showing!

5. Serge or Zig-Zag stitch all the way around the scarf.

Ta-da! Awesome new scarf!

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

My daughter is to the age where she has a couple of friends that she wants to exchange presents with. We are making our own cards and as an alternative to sugary treats we made little charms to give to her friends. I was wandering through the craft store and came across the Shrinkable plastic. A blast from the past, I had to make 100 swaps for a scouting event out of shrinkable plastic. The thrill of watching the large plastic cutout shrink down to mini size was fun for me then, it should be fun for the kiddo now. I was right, she was amazed at the process and enjoyed making these zipper pulls.

Supplies:

• Shrinkable Plastic Material
• Permanent Markers
• Color Pencils
• Image to Trace
• Lobster Clasp
• Jump Rings

Tools:

• Scissors
• Hole Punch
• Pliers
• Cookie Sheet
• Oven

If the plastic you are using is clear plastic and you want to use colored pencils, I suggest ruffing up the surface with a scotch brite pad or fine sandpaper. This gives the plastic a texture that will hold the color of the pencils. If you are using a permanent marker, then you don’t have to ruff it up.

To begin this project you need an image to trace or if you want to free hand draw the image that’s fine too. The image will shrink about 42%, if you design or print an image it will have to be about 3″ x 3″ to shrink down to a 1″ x 1″ finished piece. If you are using an image to trace, print it out and place it behind the shrinkable plastic. I trace the image with a permanent marker to create the outline for the little one to color in.

We used colored pencils for some and permanent markers for others. The thing with the markers are that they turn out so dark, so if you want something brown, try and use a tan.

Next cut out the image, I leave an 1/8″ to 1/4″ boarder then at the top where I want the hole I leave more space. Once the image is cut out I punch a hole using a scrapbooking punch it’s 1/4″ hole.

Now we’re off to the oven. Preheat the oven according to the instructions on the package and place the cutouts on a piece of parchment paper on the cookie sheet. Place in the oven and keep an eye on them, this is the fun part! They will shrink down, they may curl up a little if that happens use a toothpick to make them flat. In the instructions of the plastic it will advise you on all troubleshooting.

Once the cutouts have cooled, take a pair of pliers open a jump ring and insert it into the hole of the cutout. Then into the hole of the lobster clasp. Close the jump ring and you’re done.

This is neat project that the little ones can help with, by coloring them. Then they get the enjoyment of watching them shrink up. A useful gift, instead of sugary treats, and they can be clipped to book bags, jackets or even shoelaces. Have fun creating yours!