Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

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

My dad always wore crazy ties. In fact, he’s been infamous for it in every place he’s ever worked. When I was a teenager I was mortified every October when he pulled out his arm bone tie, a three dimensional stuffed ties that looked ust like an skeleton arm, shoulder to fingertips. On the other hand, it’s always made gifts pretty easy to find for him, give him a wacky, themed tie and he’s a happy camper. Which is what led to the creation of these ties, although they ended up being neither wacky or weird, in fact, according to him, they get more compliments than anything else he wears (good ones, that it).

This is a quick and easy father’s day present that every dad will cherish, and which you can taylor to the style of the man in question through your paint and tie choice. For my dad, who teaches at the University of Missouri, we used black and gold for the school colors. One if from my son when he was small, the other is newer and form my daughter. He loves them both to bits and considering the older one has had a lot of use over four years and is holding up well, they should last forever.

Here’s what you need

Fabric Paint
Foam paint brush�
Solid colored tie
Little hands (or feet)
Newspaper

Spread out the newspaper on your work surface and lay the tie out all the way so that you can pain all the way down. You don’t need to center each handprint, in fact, it looks cute to have partial hands here and there.

Coat your little one’s hands well with the paint and, with their fingers spread out a little, carefully press their hands down onto the tie, reapplying paint after each print.

Allow the paint to dry according to the instructions on the bottle before wrapping it up for a Father’s Day Surprise. It’s sure to be a hit!

What are you getting dad for Father’s Day this year?

Congratulations to Gillian who was randomly chosen as the winner of Free Stuff Friday and the Design Your Own Soccer Ball Kit! 

The Design Your Own Soccer Ball by Janlynn contains everything you need to create your own personalized ball! Paint the ball in your school or favorite team colors, and then play away. This is a real soccer ball and the special non toxic paint holds up like its part of the ball. Makes a great coach gift or autograph ball. Kit includes Hand Sewn, all weather size 4 soccer ball, pump & needle, non-toxic specialized paints, paint brushes, and instructions.

Gillian’s winning answer to “What is your favorite storage solution for all your craft supplies” was…

“Well, I’m reorganizing my work space so this is a questions near and dear to my heart. Right now I have all my fabric and paper in the drawers of an old dresser that I re-did and keep current projects, yarn, thread, ribbon etc in various sized storage boxes from IKEA. I like that you can easily change the labels on them and they look uniform and tidy on a shelf.”

Enter to win the Design Your Own Soccer Ball by Janlynn! 

This kit contains everything you need to create your own personalized ball! Paint the ball in your school or favorite team colors, and then play away. This is a real soccer ball and the special non toxic paint holds up like its part of the ball. Makes a great coach gift or autograph ball. Kit includes Hand Sewn, all weather size 4 soccer ball, pump & needle, non-toxic specialized paints, paint brushes, and instructions.

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.

Question of the Week: What is your favorite storage solution for all your craft supplies?

If the comment box is not below, scroll to the top and click “comments”.

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

The very best things in life are pretty and practical.

Over the past almost eight years that I’ve been a mother, I’ve discovered that having a bell on your door is a very good thing. When my son was two he woke up from his nap, balanced on the arm of a chair and unlocked the chain lock on our door, then let himself out of the house all in total silence while I baked cookies in the kitchen. He wasn’t due to wake up for another 30 minutes so it would have been a while before I realized he was gone. Thankfully our door let out a loud squeak whenever it closed which tipped me off. I snatched him up as he was making a break for it down the street to the local playground. It all ended well but it made for some bad moments for a while when I pondered the “what-if’s”. So, yes, a bell on the door is an excellent thing.

Then of course, he grew old enough to go outside on his own and I stopped worrying, until this spring when his little sister started showing distinct signs of following in his sneak-out-of-the-house tendencies (the teenage years are going to be rough). So we’re back to the bell on the door. Last time it was just that, a big old bell tied to the doorknob. This time I decided to get a little more creative and went for a little zen calm with some origami cranes.

If you ‘ve never folded cranes, it’s one of those calming, repetitive activities that both adults and kids can enjoy. My class folded, literally, a thousand when I was a teacher for a project one year.

Here’s what you need

3 pieces of patterned paper 8 inches square (I used Amy Butler Scrapbooking paper)
3 feet of thin ribbon in a coordinating color
1 bell with a loop on the top for attaching it.
Bone Folder (optional)
Yarn Needle 

Begin by folding the paper corner to corner and in half both ways, creasing each fold well and opening the square back up before each new fold.

With the paper point sure up (like a diamond) fold the sides in while at the same time pulling the top down. You’ll end up with a smaller square.

Fold in the flaps with open sides toward the center and then unfold. Then fold down the remaining triangle at the top. Repeat on the other side.

Open the square up and bit and pull down the bottom point to create a narrow diamond shape. Repeat with the other side.

Fold the sides in again to make an even skinnier kite shape and again, repeat on the other side.

Turn the shape on it’s side and slightly open the side creases.

Pull up the head and the tail, creasing the tip of the head down, and fold down the wings.

Once you have three cranes, thread the ribbon onto the needle and thread through the body of each crane. Tie a large knot just under each crane, leaving about 6 inches between each.

Loop the top around your doorknob and adjust for height before securing. Attach the bell to the bottom and thread the tail of the ribbon back up through the last crane to keep it out of the way.

Click here to watch an instructional video of origami paper cranes.

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

So this is one of those rare combinations of a project that boys will love (it involves pounding, what boy, well what kid doesnt love pounding away at things with a hammer) and a result that is just about guaranteed to become fabulous keepsake or gift.

The idea behind this is to literally pound the color out of flowers and into paper. Because you want as much color to soak into the paper as possible, use good thick drawing paper or even better, watercolor paper for the project. The possibilities don’t stop at book marks either, note cards, book covers and framed art are all great uses for pounded flower prints.

Here’s What You Need

Watercolor or good drawing paper
Paper towels
Brightly colored flowers (pansies gave the best results)
Hammer or rolling pin
Hole punch
Scissors
Ribbon 

Lay the flowers out on a surface that can take a little abuse, a cutting board works perfectly for this, and cover first with a sheet of paper and then with a paper towel.  

Gently (well, not too gently, but not so hard that the paper gets holes or shifts) tap the paper with the hammer or end of a rolling pin, making sure you cover all of the flower.

The color should start seeping up through the paper towel and if you peek under it you should be able to see the outline of each flower on the back of the paper.

Once you’ve pounded enough, flip the paper over and carefully brush off the remains of the flower. Allow the paper to dry before cutting to size and, if you like, adding a ribbon to the top to help mark your place.

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

I don’t know a single kid who doesn’t end up spending a good chunk of the summer in flip flops. Actually, most of the grown-ups I know use them as their primary footwear in the hotter months as well. Their the perfect summer footwear, cheap (so if you loose one, no big deal) cool and comfortable. They are also pretty plain which is great if you are an adult who needs versatility but not so fun if you are an I-love-bows kind of girl. Dressing up flip flops is fun and easy, and a great activity for a hot afternoon.

Here’s what you need…

Pair of plain flip flops
Three or four spools of ribbon  (coordinating with each other and with your shoes)
Pinking shears
 Fabric scissors
 

Begin by cutting four 8 inch lengths of each color of ribbon. You’ll probably need more but better to cut more later than to end up with too many.

Tie each piece of ribbon along the top strap of the flip flip, pushing each toward the toe after you make the knot to squeeze as many in as possible.

Once you have as many ribbons ties on as possible, go back and cut the ends to about 1-1 1/2 inches (shorter for littler girls) with the pinking shears to keep the ribbon from fraying.

Using a variety of widths of ribbon adds interest as does the inclusion of corkscrew ribbon or raffia. Although any combination will turn out fun, for best results, stick to a pattern for each side of the shoe, distributing the colors evenly.

Have fun and don’t forget to check back every Thursday for more Summer Fun!

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.