Many of you faithful readers know that I love polymer clay and am excited to try out all of the different brands on the market. So when Amaco offered to send me samples of “Cloud Clay,” I thought, “FUN!” and told them to bring it on. First, a bit about Cloud Clay is not polymer clay, but rather an air-dry variety. It’s also VERY light and has a foamy feel…but we’ll get to all that in a minute. Here’s how […]
Cricut + Vinyl = Upcycled Bike Helmet
When you have a kid, there is a zone in which “cool” trumps “safe”- so when it was time to replace my son’s bike helmet, I KNEW it had better be cool, or else he just wouldn’t wear it. Sadly, the safest one was plain white. (Lame-O!) So we had to jazz it up, STAT. With my Cricut, 2 colors of vinyl, and my Indie Arts cart, we hooked that bad boy up and now it’s SAH-WEET! So, you can […]
Recycled Coffee Filter Flowers
Yeah, I know this one is kinda an “oldie-but-a-goodie,” but I had such a good time making them today that I thought I’d share it here, too…just to remind you how much fun you can have with the garbage you generate! My recycled objects were all collected after breakfast: 5 or 6 coffee filters (per flower) egg carton (yields 12) cereal box Plus you’ll need some not-so-recycled objects, one each per flower: bamboo skewers chenielle stems button for the center […]
Recycling Your Plastic Eggs
Well, here we are, Easter is over, and now we have copious amounts of those annoying plastic Easter eggs. (Well, actually we’re down a few because Ginger the cock-a-poo has discovered their charms!) But anyway, even if you don’t have scads on hand, they’re on sale everywhere for cheap, cheap, cheap! So here’s a coupla good reasons to get crafty with ’em! Make your own Egg Rattle Snake complete with rattler! If you’ve got a dremel or drill handy, this […]
Review: Craft Apps for the iPad: FamilyFun Craft Finder
So if you read my post yesterday, you know that I’m the owner of a brand-spanking new iPad; so today I’m going to review the as-of-yet- only craft application for the iPad, the FamilyFun Craft Finder by Disney. The good news is that if you are an early adopter, this clever app is free for the downloading. It’s also easy to use and lovely to look at, if a little thin as far as content goes. But at the price […]
Craft Product Review: Eco Green Crafts Acrylic Paint
IÂ wrote about Eco Green Crafts and it’s fabulous founder, Julie Andrus during my coverage of CHA Winter for CraftCritique, and I was very excited to get these acrylic paints out and play a little! If Eco Green Crafts is a new company for you, you are about to be pleasantly surprised: it’s a company that makes environmentally- and human- friendly craft products with the mission of crafting a healthier world! I opened them out and kind of drizzled them […]
Craft Product Review: Elmer’s Painters Paint Markers
I hate to admit that I’ve never before used paint markers- must be something to do with the fact that I was never in a sorority! However, my world has opened up to paint markers, and I’m glad. Elmer’s Painters, in particular, are opaque colors in a convenient marker form. To get them started, you need to shake the pen, then depress the felt marker tip until it recedes back into the tube. The paint will begin to flow through […]
Snow and Craft and Crafting with Snow!
It’s a chilly, snowy day here in my neck of the woods, and my kids are home for a snow day. I’m content to stay inside and quilt, sew, and bead- but if you have a yen to craft with snow, here are a few ideas for you! Snow Tie-Dyeing. Visit Bunk’s Blog for the step-by-step, but the idea is to place your fabric in a bin, heap snow on top of it, then squirt the fabric dye onto the […]
Make Your Own “Bendaroos”
…or Wikki Stix, or whatever you call them. (I’m calling mine “Fake-aroos!”) You know, they are the wax-covered-yarn thingies that kids love to play with until they eventually become covered in dust. If you like the idea of crafting with your kids, you can make your own…and then when they get grotty and you need to toss them, it’s no big deal- ‘cuz you can just make more! Here’s the down-low. You need: 1 Wax Toilet Ring. (Yup, from the […]
Kid’s Craft Product Review- Bendaroos
I’ve got a crafty household, and my kids like crafting, too- especially my 5-year-old daughter, who put Bendaroos at the top of her Christmas list. I wasn’t so sure this would be a successful product for a pre-Kindergartner, but as it turns out, the are AWESOME. Let’s discuss, shall we? Despite my hesitancy, we got these for my then 4-year-old. I got them from a national drugstore chain- I can’t remember which one- but the kit included the multi-colored Bendaroos […]
Valentine’s Day Craft Round Up 2010
I have been a crazy person crafting for V-day…but not just on my own blog! So I thought I’d round up some of my crafty goodies to share with you here. Most of them are really easy, and use things you might have on hand, so you’ve got a good chance of actually getting these done by Valentine’s day! Fun Felt Chair covers: some felt yardage, two seams, and you’re DONE. You can glue on the hearts or use felt […]
Sweet Treats for the Class Party
(Subtitle: Or,how the wrong adhesive can sink a great craft project!) My son was gearing up to make his class Valentine’s cards- hand made, of course- and we decided on a compromise: make decorated juice box sleeves that would double as his cards for his classmates. (For you new readers, I’m big on juice box sleeves- see my posts here.) We had fun cutting out 2 sizes of hearts on the Cricut (we used the hearts on the Plantin Schoolbook […]
Recycled Tissue Paper Crafts
Here I am on the eve of Christmas Eve, planning out my New Year crafts! One of my resolutions is to use MORE of what I’d normally toss or recycle, and use up what I’ve got in my crafting studio before I run out and buy new. SO! With that in mind, I’m suggesting you keep on eye on those tissue-paper bag-fillers and pretty holiday wrap…fold it up nice, and tuck it away. Let’s use it for ornaments and thank […]
Jingle Bell Craft for Kids (and Seniors)
Need a quick and easy craft for a kid’s (or senior citizen’s) winter holiday party? You are not alone! This is one of those totally random things- I was in the craft store yesterday and I overheard a woman asking the sales clerk about crafts for a pre-kindergarten party. Well, the clerk had nothing to offer, and I’m a “class-A” busybody SO… This is the craft I’m doing with my daughter’s Pre-K class- but it would be good for 2 […]
Crafting an Advent Calendar- Inspiriation
Thinking about crafting an Advent Calendar? Yeah, me too, and so I thought I’d find a few projects to share. My critierion for this round-up is that they have to be SIMPLE…because the first of December is right around the corner! This is a super-cute and RECYCLED craft, using styrofoam. The is a full tutorial on Craftster, but the idea is that you cut holes in the styrofoam, decoupage the face, and then cut the cardboard circles and attach them […]
Does Crafting Rub Off?
Everyone knows that I’m a hard-core crafter, but my husband does not share the same love of all things crafty. He has his own creative outlets, and is supportive of mine…BUT…we do not share any kind of artsy/craftsy endeavors whatsoever. UNTIL NOW. Yes, my friends, it seems as if my craftiness is rubbing off on the man, because he made MUMMY HANDS! So here’s the story: I had signed up to provide snacks for the kid’s soccer team last August…and […]
Glow in the Dark Crafts – Volume One
Halloween is just around the corner, and what better way to spice up your crafting than to add a bit of “glow-in-the-dark” goodness to it? In regular light, these photo-reactive products have a white or pastel hue…but then turn off the light, PRESTO! You’ve got some glowing, spooky fun! Here’s a round-up of some fun GITD products/crafts you can try out for yourself! Polymer Clay Both Fimo and Sculpey offer GITD clays that can be used alone or (in […]
Kid’s Craft: Nature Prints with Solar Print Paper
Here at the Casa of Crafts we are trying to squeeze as much out of the rest of summer as we can; and while the sun is still shining brightly, we thought we’d try out some Solar Print paper as a fun science/nature craft. This quasi-educational project can be done over a few different stages, too. We started off by exploring our new yard and collecting leaves, stems, and flowers, and then trying to identify them all. We then pressed […]
Croc-a-Doodles Croc Art Contest
Crocs brand shoes is having a contest featuring Croc-a-Doodles craft paint and markers august 1-31 2009. Get your kids crafting their own custom footwear!
Easter Crafting
Jenny shares some great Easter/spring themed crafts from other great craft sites and blogs.
