So today, I put away my sewing stuff and craft glue, and decorated a cake. A friend’s daughter is turning 16, and the theme of her “Sweet 16” party is flamingos. So I made a pink flamingo cake. I had intended to take lots of detailed pictures as I went along, to show you the […]
Love on deck I ran across this idea on the Craftster web site last year, and instantly fell in love with it. (The artist of that “52 Reasons I Love You” card-deck book said the idea had been around a long time, but I’d never seen it before.) What a great way to make someone […]
Spiraling swirls of hearts and flowers My husband, Bill, and I have been married many years, and he is not only my True Love, he is also my dearest friend. The other day, I was reminiscing about our romantic courtship and the early years of our marriage. We didn’t have much money back then, but we […]
Numerical tiny treasures Here is a New Year’s craft (or really “anytime” craft, since this calendar has no real start or end) that you will be able to enjoy – -and update, if you like– for many years to come. It is also a great way to display some of your favorite trinkets. I […]
Anti-virus protection! Last year around Christmas-time, I discovered a great craft project over at the Chica and Jo craft web site. (Love their web site!!!) It involved embellishing a tissue box cover with computer keyboard keys. My husband is a “computer professional”, so I could not wait to make my own version as a gift! […]
Cute pyramid-shaped felt coin purse This ingenious little coin purse makes a great gift, stocking stuffer, or favor-box for a wedding. It is incredibly inexpensive and easy-to-make — so also a great craft for youth groups. I am calling the shape a “pyramid”, but the mathematically-correct term is actually “tetrahedron”. Here’s what you need: Felt Embroidery thread Needle […]
Courtside cookies! A co-worker asked me to make some cookies for her daughter’s basketball team banquet. She wanted maroon-colored basketballs with white numbers (incorporating the team colors and the individual players’ numbers.) I was more than happy to oblige. I have an embarrassingly vast collection of cookie-decorating paraphernalia, and happened to have a “sports ball” cookie […]
Beverage brand bottlecap magnets I know I already showed you how to make bottlecap magnets where there is a little picture inside the cap. These are a little different, in that they show off the TOP of the bottlecap. Some bottlecaps are stylish, cute or colorful… or even funny/kitschy. Or maybe someone on your gift […]
Embroidered Days of the Week Tea Towels A co-worker of mine married recently, and I thought immediately of a traditional wedding gift in my family, tea towels embroidered with various colorful designs and the names of the days of the week. No one knows how many sets of these my grandmother has made over the years… […]
This black-draped pumpkin is reminiscent of the peculiar artistic stylings of Edward Gorey… or maybe Charles Addams. You’ll need: A pumpkin, preferably one with a long, twisty stem Black stretch fabric with a lacy design (about 3/8 of a yard) Black glittered bird (I got mine on sale at my local Michael’s) Black artificial roses (again a […]
My friend, Nichole, has three daughters and they like ribbon hair bows. But the bows can be rather expensive, especially in multiples of three! So she and her daughters (Taylor, Brieana, and Alivia) decided to make their own. They gathered pretty ribbons and hot-glued them in loops, then glued all the loops together to form bows. A […]
I was enchanted when I saw some wonderful, roughly-quilted scrapbooks on one of my current favorite web sites, Craftster. The creator of these lovely books, Craftster’s Phizzychick, credited Teesha Moore, who has a series of YouTube videos showing how to make these gorgeous journals and scrapbooks. I owe my cousin a wedding present, so it was […]
Pull-string surprise egg This is a fun way to bestow Easter treats. When the recipient pulls the embedded ribbon, it breaks the paper mache egg in half to spill its hidden treasures. What you will need: An oval balloon Several yards of ribbon Tissue paper Your favorite papier mache glue (I use wallpaper paste) Glass jar […]
Bottlecap necklaces These are so cool I wish I could take credit for the idea, but they are all over the Internet. All you do is collect and clean some bottlecaps (or buy them at a craft store), glue little pictures inside, then turn them into jewelry! Here’s what I used for mine: A one-inch […]
How to give an egg timer a tri-metal upgrade There is just something magical and enchanting about hourglasses. Can’t you visualize the witch’s giant hourglass with blood-red sand, counting down the minutes to poor Dorothy’s demise in the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz? Or imagine Hermione’s “Time Turner” necklace from the wizarding world depicted in Harry Potter and […]
How to make a business card holder from scrapbook cardstock Here is a quick project that only requires some patterned cardstock from the scrapbooking section of your local craft store, some scissors, and some glue or double-stick tape. From these, you can create a stylish business card holder to sit on your desk or sales […]
How to make a customized letter opener The other day, my teenage son (who is at an age where he is getting lots of mail from different universities who sincerely want our money) was asking for a letter opener. We looked around the house (I know that there is one around here, somewhere…) to no avail. […]
Design and make your own write-on wipe-off board Message boards are so useful, and yet most of them are so…. well, let’s face it — UGLY. Wouldn’t it be great to have one that actually coordinated with your decor? One that made a statement (even when there was no message written on it?) Well, here you […]
