Great Easter Greeting Card

Thumpers Easter Greeting Card

Thumpers Easter Greeting Card

 

 

I have been seeing this craft around everywhere and really like it. I think this is a super fun project that makes really creative ideas. Easter has a ton of pretty colors to make fun swirls out of. If you have any kind of paper that you have been wanting to use and didn’t know what to do with it now here is your chance. I found this great Easter project from one of my favorite websites FamilyFun.com

 

 

 

Supplies:

Note card or cardstock folded into a card
Construction paper or other lightweight colored paper
Scissors
Craft scissors (optional)
White glue or glue stick
Paintbrush with a thin handle or wooden kitchen skewer
Toothpick
Colored pencil
Buttons (for added decor if you like)
Glitter (because why not)
Ribbons (if you feel your card could use them)

Directions:

1. First, create a simple landscape scene on the note card by cutting grassy hills and/or patches of garden soil from the colored paper and gluing them in place. Or, have your child draw or color a scene.

2. Now you’re ready to start quilling. To create the rabbit, begin by cutting strips from the colored paper that measure 1/4-inch wide and about 12 inches long. You’ll need 5 gray or brown ones, 3 white or tan ones, and 2 pink ones.

3. Glue the ends of 2 gray or brown strips together to form a single extra long strip. (Note: A toothpick comes in handy for applying the glue.) Wrap that strip around the paintbrush handle or skewer.

4. Slide the finished coil off the handle or skewer and let it expand into a circle that’s about 1 1/4 inch in diameter. Apply a drop of glue to the end of the strip and stick it in place. Gently pinch the top of the circle to form a raindrop shape. This will serve as the rabbit’s body.

5. Next, use a 12-inch strip to make a 3/4-inch circle and use it to create a teardrop shape for the rabbit’s head. Tear an 8-inch length from another strip and make a smaller teardrop for the rabbit’s foreleg. Set the remaining gray or brown strips aside for now.

6. For each of the rabbit’s ears, coil one of the pink strips into a circle and then pinch both the top and bottom. If you like, wrap a piece from the remaining gray or brown strips around each ear and use a couple spots of glue to secure it.

7. Use 2 of the white or tan strips to create the rabbit’s large hind feet in the same manner you did the ears.

8. Finally, use an 8-inch length from the remaining white or tan strip to coil a small tight circle for the tail.

9. For carrots, coil strips of orange paper (6 to 8 inches long). Pinch the bottom of the circle and then pinch the upper circle in two places. For carrot tops, simply fold short strips of green paper in half to form a V shape. Apply a bit of glue near the fold to hold the shape and then loosely coil the ends of the strip.

10. For the finishing touches, add a big round sun to the upper corner of the card. Then draw motion lines under one of the rabbit’s feet so that he appears to be “thumping,” and have your child print his or her holiday greeting inside.

Make Your Own Blarney Stone

DIY Blarney Stone

DIY Blarney Stone

 

 

For those of you that have never heard of the Blarney Stone or the legend here is what Wikipedia says about it: The Blarney Stone (Irish: Cloch na Blarnan) is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, about 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of the gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the stone and tour the castle and its gardens.
The word blarney has come to mean “clever, flattering, or coaxing talk”. John O’Connor Power’s definition is succinct: ‘Blarney is something more than mere flattery. It is flattery sweetened by humour and flavoured by wit. Those who mix with Irish folk have many examples of it in their everyday experience.’

I like this idea and think it is quite cute for little kids to do and possibly fun for them to learn. This is a super cute idea for littler kids to do as well as perfect for parties and school projects. All you need is whatever you have lying around the house to decorate the stone with ie. paint, glitter, buttons, feathers and anything else you think would be fun to use. Choose a stone from your yard or somewhere else that you can find them and go decorating crazy.
Once you have finished decorating you can put them around your yard and make a game of finding them or just use them for decoration. The perk to this project is you can leave the stone in your yard!

Crayon Drip Pumpkin

 

I love making my own decorations especially if I can reuse them year after year and for more than one occasion. You may have real or fake pumpkins left over from Halloween so why not put them to good use. If you have crayons that have about had it and are looking for something to do with them this is the perfect project for you and your family. This is a great project for schools or parties as well.

 

Supplies:

Crayons (if you have fun crayons like glitter or glow in the dark, multi color crayons)
Hair Dryer (or lighter with parents supervision)
Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Pumpkin orange or white (real or fake)
Towel, Sheet or bag to cover the area where you will be working
Decorations (anything you want to use to put your personal touch to the craft)

Directions:

1. Make sure to remove all labels from the crayons as they will not be helpful as the crayons are being melted.
2. Make sure the pumpkin is clean and isn’t spoiling. You don’t want to spend time decorating it for it to go bad after your hard work.
3. Cover the area you are working on with a cloth to make sure you don’t drip on anything important.
4. Break crayons in half, you won’t need a whole crayon for 1 pumpkin.
5. Glue the crayons to the top of the pumpkin, they may not stay still otherwise, if you want to do a drip effect you can hold the crayon and heat it to drip in a pattern of your choice as well.
6. Once you are ready to melt go crazy! Make any design you want drip separately or together.  Have fun with it.

I always say get creative so if you have fun things you want to add to this craft go for it! Use glitter, buttons, broken pins, ribbons or anything you have been looking for an excuse to make use of. Add whatever you want to the pumpkin while the drippings are still wet. Glitter or even sequins would be fun. You could go get leaves, twigs and acorns. Make it your own!

Homemade Non-Toxic Glitter

Homemade Non-Toxic Glitter

Homemade Non-Toxic Glitter

Glitter is clearly one of my most favorite things on the planet. Thanks to Planet Pals (where I found the recipe)  you can now make your own homemade non-toxic glitter! I am over the moon type excited to try this out! This is the best thing to ever happen since glitter was actually invented I think! If you have tried this let me know how it worked out for you, I’d love to hear about/see the results. You can also use this glitter for food because is it only food coloring and salt or sugar! You can get tons of uses out of it.

Supplies:

Baking Pan
Tin Foil
1/4 cup of salt (or granulated sugar)
1/2 teaspoon of LIQUID food coloring

Directions:

1.Preheat an oven to 350 degrees oven for 10 mins
2. You can use 1/2 cup coarse salt (non iodized) or 1/2 cup granulated sugar and add 2 -10 drops food coloring, adjust for desired color. You can mix colors also to get fun new colors!
3. Spread the mixture out in an even layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.
4. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
5. Allow your homemade glitter to cool before using it.

NOTE:
Paste food coloring can result in smoking. You may also store it in an air tight container for several months. This stays drier and stores wonderfully as is but even better if you spread colored salt/sugar in a thin layer to air dry for about an hour or microwave in 30 second intervals, stir and repeat for about 1-2 minutes or until moisture is evaporated. You can also add a few grains of rice to absorb any moisture.

Creepy Closet Monsters

Creepy Closet Monsters

 

 

This is my favorite time of year with my favorite holiday coming up! I love decorating for Halloween! There are soo many fun things you and your family can do to spook up your home simply and inexpensivly with things you have lying around the house. Creepy Closet Monsters are the perfect way to decorate and get some use out of the wire hangers you might have lying around at home. If you like this craft enough you can do this for other holidays and even make some for everyday. Why not make your closet pretty instead of having to buy expensive hangers. You can even reinforce the wire hangers while decorating so they can last longer/hold heavier clothes.

 

 

 

Materials:
Wire Hangers
Construction Paper
Fabric
Ribbons
Stickers
Glitter
Poster Board
Card Stock
Tacky Glue
Tape
Any possible decorations you have lying around.

Instructions:

1.For each hanger, trace the body of a hanger onto poster board, then cut out the shape.

2.Cut facial features, designs, decorations from poster board and card stock, adhering them to the base shape with tacky glue.

3.Let the glue dry, then tape the poster board face or design to the hanger.

Build a Portable Golf Course

Build a Portable Golf Course

Build a Portable Golf Course

 

 

 

Since it is still summer and the weather is sunny and warm an outdoor craft is a great idea to keep the family entertained!  I found this spiffy little idea on one of my fave sites FamilyFun.go.com.  I think the portable golf course is the cutest idea ever! If you like it enough you can bring the course with you to parties to share with friends and family. You might even inspire them to make a course of their own.
If you are a teacher this could be an excellent project for your students. The children can make and decorate their own courses and get really creative with other things they have around the house.

Supplies:

3-liter plastic soda bottles
Colored tape
Markers
Cardboard
Cardboard tubes
Duct tape
Glue
Paint
Any decorations you want to add to make them more yours ie glitter, ribbons anything lying around the house that could be used as a decoration.

Directions:
1. Trim the bottom off a 3-liter plastic soda bottle, then cut out an arched hole (approximately 3-1/4 inches wide and 4 inches tall) in the base.
2. Use colored tape, paint, markers and anything you want to decorate and number the bottles.
3. Fold a 3- by 11-1/2-inch piece of cardboard around the bottom of a long, sturdy cardboard tube (like a wrapping paper tube or poster/document tube). Wrap duct tape around the two pieces to secure them together, then wrap the rest of the tube.

Conch Shell Succulents

Conch Shell Succulents

Conch Shell Succulents

 

 

I was looking for some summer crafts to do since we decided against our garden this year as our outdoor fuzzy friends refuse to even give the garden a chance and everything we have tried doesn’t keep them out. I still love me some greenery and didn’t want to slack while the weather is so nice. I have been seeing succulents and succulent projects all over the place.  After much searching I have found a project that I love love love!!
Since it is summer and I know everyone knows at least one person who goes to the beach regularly and collects shells why not make great use of them. You have used sea shells as decorations before but why not as a planter right? This is an excellent way to upcycle! You can give the the conch shell planters away as gifts, do it as a party craft or even save it for next school year for a craft project. Conch shell planters can make beautiful decorations for inside or outside of your home. You can brighten up your office even! Here is all you have to do:
1. get and clean a conch shell
2. buy a pot or if you already have a pot of succulents you can use them
3. spoon

Make sure your conch shell is clean and big enough to give your succulent room to breath. You can really use any plant you want if succulents aren’t your thing.  I am really into the look of succulents lately here in NY you don’t really see them very often as decor.  I really like the look of them and there happens to be a wide variety to work with. Use your spoon to gently dig the plant out by the roots.  Once the roots and plant are out add a little soil to the bottom of the shell to make sure the roots will be covered.  Add the plant then the rest of the soil.  Make sure the soil and plant are packed tight enough to not fall out and there you have it! Your conch shell planter is ready.  I have seen some crafts where you can add wire or twine to hang the planter which is also a super cute idea!

 

Egg-cellent Easter Craft

Easter Egg Garland

Easter Egg Garland

 

 

I found this craft on Pinterest…yes, I know you are shocked but I figured this could come in handy for a few different reasons besides some pretty garland. I wanted to green it up just a bit.  You can make less disposable items to use for decorations year round or even just for multiple Easters.

 

Supplies:

Non Toxic Eco Paste (the original craft calls for liquid starch and flour)
Water
Pastel Hemp Cord (or any ribbons/thread/string you might have at home)
Shallow bowl for dipping string
Biodegradable Balloons (or regular balloons if you have them at home)

 

Directions:

1. Put eco-paste and water in a shallow bowl and mix

2. Blow up balloons to desired sizes.

3. Place string carefully into bowl and either coil the string and press into sticky mixture but keep your hands on the end of the string so you can find it easily.

4. Wrap the string around your balloon in the desired patter/shapes. Make sure to wipe off excess mixture so it doesn’t dry that way on your string.

5. Once finished wrapping the balloons find a place where they can sit and dry undisturbed. Wait at least 4 hours to make sure they are completely dry.

6. Pop your balloons! Then you can string them on a garland, place them in bowls or hide them around the house!

These eggs will last for quite awhile and can be kept around for decoration long after Easter is over. You can put candy and toys in them carefully and use them as gifts. There is alot to be done with these eggs.

Fancy Rocks

Fancy Rocks
Fancy Rocks

 

 

The warm weather is here and if you are looking for something to craft for the kiddos or a party activity even a school craft here you go! Get a hold of as many rocks as you can (or tell the kids to bring there own cleaned rocks) and go to town. You know there are little tidbits of craft materials you have that you have been longing to finish up and rocks are the perfect small crafts to do just that. You can use paint, glitter, ribbon, feathers, buttons sequins, anything! You can turn this craft into beach fun too. While at the beach collect shells, rocks and whatever else you can get your hands on even sand to be decorated. You can use the finished product to decorate your home with. You can make garlands, decorate the inside of bowls or vases even attach to old picture frames and hand on your walls.  I personally love Owls which is why I chose these designs but you can decorate your rocks anyway you want.  You can theme them for holidays or for gifts.

Shabby Chic Wine Bottle

Shabby Chic Wine Bottle

 

 

I never like to get rid of glass bottles and jars at home because I know they could be used for something else. Last night I was going through and organizing all of my crafting supplies and thought why not decorate some of them for funzies. I have been looking to do more crafting and send some gifts out anyway so this is a great way to reuse things I have around the house. This is also an excellent way to make a dent in my glass collection sitting in my basement. I used some ribbon, buttons, paper flowers and hot glue to attach everything and I think it looks pretty cute! If you don’t have a craft collection at home or don’t stock pile odds and ends like i do you want to decorate your own below are some links to where I got some of the stuff you see on my bottle:

Old broken or unused jewelry and hair accessories
Rags that are clean
Wrapping Paper or paper you have at home
Paper Flower Assortment
Buttons
Old Pins and Brooches
Bottle Caps
Ribbon
Glitter
Die cuts

The possibilities are endless! This is a great party craft for kids or scouting. You can even go natural and get leaves, twigs rocks, sea shells, sand anything! The Shabby Chic bottles make for great gifts or even something new to spruce up your house!