Feature Friday: FaveCraftsBlog.com

Somehow I missed getting this post up last week!  Sorry.  I know it's not Friday.  Anyway...

I've been following the FaveCrafts blog for quite some time!  It is such an awesome place to find ideas for ALL kinds of crafts!  Seriously.  Favecrafts is one of the sponsors of several sites that gather free craft tutorials...so they have a huge database!  They host awesome giveaways, too!

Just one warning, though:  There are a TON of ideas...so don't get overwhelmed!

Here are just a couple of ideas I came across this week, and have added to my never-ending things-to-try list!

Fun St. Patrick's Day crafts!

Pretty Felt Flowers to make!

Easter Crafts for kids!

Cute Puppets to play with!

If you get a chance, go check out FaveCraftsBlog.com!

Things to Make: Simple Upcycled Teacher Gift

In case you missed it here is the guest post I did over at Two Girls Being Crafty a couple of weeks ago!

My husband is a teacher.  He teaches the 5th grade.  Over the years he's brought home a lot of interesting gifts from students during the holidays:  body wash...candy...coffee mugs...hair gel...cocoa...and even a stuffed animal or two!

But guess what?  The best gifts he's ever received are the ones he can actually use in his classroom.

I asked him once what the best thing to give a teacher was and he said, "A raise."

But after that he said, "Hand sanitizer...and tissues."

He knows all about germs.  He's surrounded by them all day long...especially at school.

So when I was trying to think of a teacher gift for kids to give their teachers this year that's what I immediately thought of.

But how to make it cute...and something that the kids could actually help with?

Well, here's what I came up with!  It's soooo simple, and the kids can help with most of it (unless you don't want them to come anywhere near a permanent marker...which I completely understand, believe me.)

Here's what you'll need:

-  A Smallish container of some kind...I used an empty French's Onions can, because it was already white and had a lid...plus I have three of them left over from Thanksgiving meal preparations!
-  a couple packages of pocket sized tissues
-  a couple of sample size hand sanitizers
-  a bit of Christmas-y ribbon
-  a sharpie marker

First, remove the label from the container, and wash it thoroughly...you don't want it to smell like french fried onions, after all.

 Next, use your sharpie marker to draw eyes and a smile on one side of the container...

 ...and to color the lid black (like a hat).

 Next, tie a piece of ribbon around the base of the container.  You might want to secure it with a dab of hot glue or a couple of glue dots if you feel so inclined.

 Lastly put the hand sanitizer and tissues into the container, and snap the lid back on!

I included a note on the back of this little guy that reads:  "We TISSUE a Merry Christmas, and a HANDY New Year!"

There are so many cute ways to dress up a simple gift like this, but my kids loved that this was an upcycled project that they could REALLY help with!

Thanks again to Tristin for inviting me to be a part of the fun!  Happy Holidays!! :)

Things to Make: Pumpkin Blocks Revisited!

Hey!

So I'm cheating a little this week on my "how-to."
During the holiday season I'll be revisiting some of my favorite projects from days gone by...rather than reinventing the wheel...
This week I'm featuring...
EASY 2X4 PUMPKINS

CLICK HERE to see all the details and instructions!!

Things to Make: No Sew Pumpkin Tutorial ~ Guest Posting at Rhinestone Beagle!

Hey! Today I'm guest posting over at Rhinestone Beagle with my No Sew Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial! Go check it out, and let them know I sent ya'!

Pinterest Inspiration: Pipe Cleaner Fairies

I wanted to try out one of the projects I have pinned in my Things for Kids pinboard, this week!  My oldest daughter has been sewing tiny little fairy clothes, books, and bedding since the last week of summer vacation!  I thought this would be a perfect activity for the two of us...and of course the other kids wanted to join in the fun, too!
My

this week is:

Bendy Dolls by The Enchanted Tree

And here's what my kids and I made!

 The heads of the first fairies we made were a bit big...I only had jumbo wooden beads on hand - which was just fine for my younger kids!  (Even my son wanted to make one!  His is the red-head with the scars on his forehead...what a boy!)

We decorated them with tiny felt outfits, fake flower petals, and rhinestones ... cuteness!!

After we made the first group my oldest daughter and I went to the store and got some smaller beads...I only have one of the tiny fairies in the pics, but these ones' heads were were much more proportionate!

I had to man the hot glue gun for the kids, but they had fun wrapping their fairies bodies, making clothes and helping pick out hair colors! 

We'll definitely be doing this activity again!

Great Idea: Tutorial Round Up!

I'm not fully back in the swing of things yet, but I didn't want to leave you hanging this week without a tutorial, so I'm linking up some of my favorite how-to project posts from the last year months!
Enjoy!
Tissue Paper Cherry Blossoms

DIY Cake Stand

Repurposed T-Shirt Refashion

Hope you have a great Tuesday!!!!

Things to Make: Craft Fair Banner by Growing Up Wild!

Today's how-to is by Kelly from Growing Up Wild!  Kelly doesn't have a blog of her own, but she has a darling Etsy shop, where she sells the cutest onesies and baby shoes...seriously adorable!!

Whale One Piece!!!
Take it away, Kelly!
I was getting ready for my very first local event and felt so over-whlemed.  Creating a display for my organic baby clothes and shoes was a tough task.  I wanted to keep my table as eco friendly as possible while still catching people's attention.  I started with making a banner.  My goal was not to the printed store route as it didn't really fit with the handmade nature of my wares.  I decided to craft my own instead!

I started with two yards of eco felt (made from recycled plastic bottles) in green, purple, and gray.  They didn't have the shade of green that I wanted for the foreground, so I used fleece for that instead.  I was actually really happy with the texture that it added.  I drew my mountain forms in chalk first, and then cut.  Each layer was glued to the background starting with the purple.

I wanted my letters to stand out so I decided to use a font with a shadow.  

I printed my letters on the computer.  

I first cut the letter with the shadow form out of white felt.  

After trimming off the shadow, I cut the remaining letter with brown felt.  Glued together, this gave my letters an extra dimension.

Next I cut the sun out of fabric and glued it into place.  I arranged and rearranged the letters and footprints until I was satisfied, before gluing it all down. 

In order to hang my banner I created loops at the corners.  I took a 5 x 3 inch rectangle of blur felt and folded it in thirds.  This made a 5 x 1 inch rectangle that I then looped around the front and back side of each corner before stitching it into place.  (Be sure to reinforce these to hold up to the wind!)
I was so happy with my banner that I decided to use it for my Etsy avatar as well!  I am not very "techy", so I had been having the hardest time creating an avatar using programs.  Crafting with raw materials was much more my speed!  To create my avatar and shop banner, I simply took a picture in natural lighting.  I then cropped the image and used the dropper tool in each color section to read the color and then paint bucket to fill it.  It took about five minutes!  (This has also become the new label for my burp clothes!)  

While my banner may not have the professional look of some, it definitely stands out at markets and fairs!  I have had a number of fellow sellers come ask me where to find one!!

Thanks so much Kelly!!!  I know I'm inspired to make a banner for myself, now!!

Things to Make: Make a Crocheted Doily Bowl with CraftyDill

Hi everyone! I'm Michelle from craftydill and I am so excited to be guest posting here while Sarah is focusing on her family! 

I am the wife to a very kind, generous and patient man and the mother to two wonderful teenage boys. I love anything vintage and I love to thrift, craft and meet like-minded souls. On top of my day job, I also have a vintage Etsy shop called craftydill that I would love to turn into my full-time job someday.

And do I have a fun and easy project to share with you all... 

How to make a doily bowl

First, I gathered my materials:

a crocheted or knitted doily ~ I crocheted my own- granny style!

fabric stiffener

saran wrap

bowl to use as a mold ~ I used a Pyrex bowl... The size is dependent on the size of your doily and I always lay the doily on the bottom to make sure the bowl will give the doily the shape and depth I want

clean margarine bowl

water

plastic grocery sack

Next, I wrapped the bottom of the Pyrex bowl with saran wrap, placed it on a plastic grocery sack to capture drips and runs and then put stiffener into the butter bowl. I usually add a little water to the stiffener- I don't like my doilies to be crunchy! :) 

Then, I dunked my doily in the stiffener, making sure to fully saturate it and squeezed the excess out as I pulled the doily out of the butter bowl [don't wring- just squeeze]. Now I'm ready to mold my doily over the Pyrex bowl and let it dry.

I usually let the doily dry overnight, sometimes giving it a re-shape part way through. I have also been known to apply a second light coat of stiffener with a foam brush, but I always take care so as not to disturb the yarn fibers too much, which can make the bowl look hairy.

Once dried, I peel the saran wrap off the Pyrex bowl and then peel the wrap from the inside of the doily bowl. And voila! I now have a cute and preppy doily bowl!

Fill the bowl with just about anything... fruit, fabric scraps, balls of yarn or use as a general catch-all. I put vintage thread spools in mine...

Oh, and note to self...unless you want the colors to bleed causing a tie-dyed effect, don't stitch hot pink Sugar 'n Cream next to white and then get it wet. Not sure if it was just that the yarn isn't color fast or if it's the stiffener that caused the bleeding, but, it is what it is :)

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial as much as I've enjoyed being here! And feel free to visit me anytime!

Things to Make: Stenciled T-Shirts with Our Seven Dwarfs

This week's guest post is from Shannon and Jill from Our Seven Dwarfs!

They have a super fun blog where they share all sorts of great craft projects and recipes!  Seriously...go check it out!  You can also purchase some their fantastic creations by contacting them!

Hello to our friends at Sarahndipities!

We are Shannon &  Jill of Our Seven Dwarfs!

Our blog started in November 2010, but we have been busy crafting and growing! Our crafting together started after an unusual beginning of friendship. We are breast friends. Yep, you read that right. Our firstborns connected us through a breast-feeding support group. There we met each other and a few more very close friends! We are thankful that our breast-feeding struggles and our kids brought us together!

Welcome to my Guest Posters, Our Seven Dwarfs, for todays Things to Make!

Our families keep us busy, therefore taking time to craft keeps us sane. Our crafty talents include decorating, crocheting, crafting with wood, using the Silhouette, sewing, sharing recipes, making wreaths, gift giving, and rocking the mod podge. We do all this to teach our readers how to do it easily and step by step!

We are incredibly excited to be here! Thank you to Sarah for giving us this opportunity!  We are big fans of Sarah's blog and all her craftiness. We hope she is getting some much needed rest, recovery and enjoying her new bundle of joy!

Today, Jill will be sharing a tutorial for a Freezer Paper Stencil T-shirts.

Two of my children are having birthdays coming up.  Since I learned how to do freezer paper stenciling, I love to make personalized shirts for my kids.  They love showing off their age and/or their name and it is much cheaper than embroidery! Here is a picture of what I will be teaching you to make.

Needed Supplies:

• A T-shirt
• Fabric paint
• Foam paint brushes
• Freezer paper (found in the plastic wrap/foil aisle of any grocery store)
• Exacto knife
• Self-healing cutting mat
• Iron
• Pencil to trace number and circle
• Printed number and circle in your choice of font (I made a circle with the draw feature in Word).

Shannon and I both have a Silhouette and we love it!  Unfortunately, not everyone has a Silhouette, so I want to give you the tutorial for either way.  You can easily cut your letters on freezer paper using the Silhouette as well.  Shannon has done this many times and suggests selecting "Vellum" speed 3, thickness 25.  Make sure to use a mat that has plenty of stickiness left to it.  Rub the freezer paper down well to avoid any bubbles, which could cause the paper to tear.

If you don't have a Silhouette, here is the tutorial for you!

1.  Print off your number and circle or any design that you want to use.  Cut a piece of freezer paper larger than the size of your design.  With the waxy side down, trace your number or design.  

 2.  Here are all my designs ready to be cut out.  If you make the freezer paper too small don't worry, you can add more freezer paper to the shirt so that you don't get paint where it shouldn't go.    Also, don't stress if your tracing isn't perfect.  You can fix that when you cut it out.

3.  Now take your exacto knife and cut out the number and the circle.  Notice that I will need to add more paper to the five as I didn't center my 5 appropriately.

Here are the two designs I was working on.

I won't need the interior of the circle.  I am keeping this though as you never know what you might want to put a 5 on, right?

4.  Heat up your iron to the cotton setting.  Turn off any steam settings. Iron your t-shirt.  Then cut out a large piece of freezer paper that will fit the inside of your t-shirt. You want this piece to cover the entire inside so that you don't have paint bleed through.  Place the freezer paper waxy side up and iron your t-shirt again.  This will help the freezer paper to adhere to the inside.

5. Grab your circle.  Center the circle in the middle of the t-shirt.  Iron it down making sure it is flat and without any bubbles.  Then center the freezer paper with your number and iron it down too.

 I cut another strip of freezer paper as my one side was thin and I didn't want paint to bleed off the edge.

 Here is the shirt ready to add paint.

This is how your circle should look if you gave yourself plenty of space on both sides.  I did it right for the #3 shirt.

6.  Use a foam brush and fabric paint to paint your design.  Make sure not to use too much paint as it might cause the freezer paper to bubble and paint to bleed underneath.  Try to go with the lines of the shirt as well, not against the lines.  White paint is takes more than one coat to show up properly.  Most other colors can get away with one or two light coats. I did three coats for this design.  You can use a hair dryer to speed up the process if you get impatient between coats.  Just make sure that the first coat is completely dry before painting the second coat.

 After first coat of paint.

After second coat of paint.

After third coat of paint.  Notice the number has almost disappeared.

7. Again, allow the paint to fully dry.  Learn from my mistake on a previous project and let the paint dry for at least 24 hours before you machine wash.

8.  Peel off the freezer paper.  If you have any difficulty, use your exacto knife to get under the freezer paper.  You won't hurt the paint that is attached to the shirt.  Here are the finished shirts.

My little man Ryan loved his shirt and wore it proudly the day of his birthday.  He will wear it many more times throughout the year.  You can machine wash and dry without any problems.  Here is Ryan showing off his #5 shirt.  I don't have Evan in his #3 shirt as he hasn't turned 3 yet so he has to be patient!

Shannon and I have made many gifts and other projects using freezer paper.  If you would like to see more, click here. Freezer paper stencils are fantastic and let you make inexpensive personalized gifts.  If you have any questions, please let me know!

Thank you again to Sarah for letting us share a craft tutorial with you today!

Happy Crafting!