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Category Archives: Crafts

Leaf Suncatchers

Posted on October 11, 2012 by hmtaas

This is a project I did with my grandchildren.  While I did the cutting and gluing, they did the tearing and sticking – the fun part.  When the sun hits these, they are simply stunning.

 

Supplies: Tissue paper in fall colors (you don’t need much, so any scraps you may have will work just fine), brown cardstock, cardstock (any color), clear sticky-backed shelf liner (don’t use “repositionable”), scissors, glue.

1. Print a leaf pattern of your choice onto the cardstock (not the brown).  You need to have them large enough to cut out the inside to form a frame for the colored tissue.  You can find templates online or trace a leaf from your yard, or cut out a picture of a leaf and trace it onto the cardstock.  Make several different sizes and shapes.

 

2. Cut out the leaf template, inside edge and outside edge.

3. Trace the leaf onto the brown cardstock.  Use different shades of brown for variety.

4. For each leaf suncatcher, cut two leaves out the brown to make the  leaf frame and set aside.  Make sure to reverse the template for the second leaf.  These are the front and back frames for the suncatcher.

 

5. Tear the tissue paper into small pieces.  They should be varying shapes and sizes.  It’s okay if the wrinkle.

 

6. Cut two squares of the sticky-backed shelf liner slightly larger than the leaf frame.  Peel the backing off of one and stick the pieces of tissue paper in a random pattern to the square.  Make sure to overlap the pieces to give the stained glass effect and vary the depth of the colors.

7. When the square if full of tissue, peel the backing off the second square and carefully adhere it to the top of the tissue paper to make a “sandwich” of tissue between the two squares of shelf-liner.

 

8. Glue one of the leaf frames to the square.  Cut around the leaf to remove the excess tissue paper.

9. Glue the second leaf frame to the back.  Trim if necessary.

10.  Punch a hole in the top for a string hanger or tape to the window.

11.  Go find a sunny window and hang up your suncatcher!

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Kid Wash

Posted on May 13, 2012 by hmtaas

My husband and I made a “Kid Wash” for all the children in the family.  It’s after a car wash.  It cost $50 and only took 2 hours to build.  I have put the link for the original plan below and I’ll include our “tweaks” here.

My only complaint is that I couldn’t find PVC pipe that didn’t have markings all over it.  But nobody seems to notice that.  A lot of it gets covered with the decorations.

The pictures are of my grandchildren.  They got new raincoats that day and they came over to test both the Kid Wash and the new rain gear.  As you can see, both worked!

Here is the link to the original plan:

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/home-garden-projects/outdoor-projects/the-deluxe-kid-wash-709166/

Tweaks:

  • The overall size is about 8 feet long, 68-inches to the 2 top cross bars, and 33-inches wide.  The front bar is 62-inches and the noodle makes it higher.
  • Buy a PVC cutting tool!  Ours only cost $12 and was well worth it!
  • I bought a shower curtain on clearance and cut it into strips to make the flappy wipers thingies at the end.
  • Add 1 cap to the list of parts.  We put this on the end of the “gate”. It didn’t call for one in the instructions, but we found it finished it was needed.
  • We assembled it before drilling the holes and then drilled the holes in place.  Be careful NOT to drill all the way through!
  • We used 1/16-inch drill bit instead of the 1/8-inch called for in the instructions.  After researching other Kid Washes and the comments, we used a smaller drill bit for the holes and drilled less holes.  You can always make them bigger if needed.  The smaller size and number of holes still gave us good “sprinklage” and water pressure.  I didn’t have to turn the hose on very much at all.  We drilled 5 holes in the 2 back cross bars evenly spaced apart starting 1-inch in from the edges.  We drilled 3 holes in each of the lower bars.
  • Drill the top crossbar holes on the bottom so the water sprays down.  Drill the side bar holes on the top so the water sprays straight up.  You can twist all the bars to have the water spray where you want it to go.

Decorate how you’d like!  Pool noodles are cheap and make your KidWash colorful.  Even “big” kids will have fun.

 NOW GET WET!

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Posted in Crafts, Kids, Summer and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Marble Painting

Posted on March 23, 2012 by hmtaas

I tried this craft with my 3 and 1 year old grandchildren.  It was a hit!  All the 1 year old could do is tip the pan, but that was enough for her to feel like she was doing the same thing her brother was.  And you see the results come out great no matter what age child is doing the project.

You need several colors of paint, a marble for each color of paint, a small paper or plastic bowl for each color, white paper, and a flat bottom tray or bin.   I used poster paint I bought at my craft store.  A cookie baking sheet will work well.  This can be a messy project, so protect the work area and put smocks on the kids.  I kept moist wipes handy for cleaning the paint off our fingers after touching each paint filled marble.

Put a piece of paper in the bottom of your tray.  Pour a small amount of paint into a bowl.  This project doesn’t take much paint.  Put a marble into 1 color of paint and roll it around so the marble is covered with the paint.  Then, drop the marble onto the paper and tip the tray so the marble rolls around on the paper.  Roll the marble until you like the results and then remove it from the tray.  Repeat with the remaining colors using 1 marble per color paint.  Mix and match the colors.  You can roll 1 marble at a time or all of them at the same time.  That’s the way my grandson liked to do it.  Set the finished artwork on a flat surface to dry.

As you’ll see in the pictures, I used a dish pan because I thought the high sides would be better for keeping the marble contained if my grandchildren got carried away with their tipping and rolling.  But, the bottom didn’t have a flat level surface, it bowed up.  The paper wouldn’t lie flat and the marbles tended to go under the paper.  So, try to use something with a flat bottom.

You can laminate a piece or 2 of the finished artwork and use them for placemats.  Or cut them into strips for bookmarks.  What a wonderful unique gift that would be for the readers in the family!

Have plenty of paper!  The kids won’t want to stop making “modern” art!

Rolling the marble.

Finished masterpieces drying.

Even the pan was pretty!

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted on March 16, 2012 by hmtaas

Crafting With My Grandson

My grandson is 3 and he loves to color.  So, I had him scribble all over a piece of white paper with green markers, crayons, and colored pencils.  Then, I cut out shamrock shapes from his colored paper and outlined them with black marker.  I glued these onto another piece of white paper.  You can use heavy weight paper, color both sides and hang them from a mobile or in the window.   They look a little like stained glass.

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Posted in Crafts, Holidays, Kids and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Memory Wire Bracelet

Posted on March 3, 2012 by hmtaas

Bracelets made from Memory Wire are the fastest way to make a piece of jewelry for any occasion.  To make one, wrap several lengths of memory wire around your wrist until you have the amount of strands you like.  Three or more give you a better look.  Cut the wire about two inches longer than you want it.  With round nose pliers, roll one end of the wire to form a loop.  String the beads onto the wire.  You can do random patterns or a planned pattern.  You can use a mixture of shapes and sizes or use beads that are all the same.  This is a great project to use up odd leftover beads.  Once you’ve strung the beads to about an inch from the end, roll the second end into a loop.  You are finished!  If you don’t like the plain loops at the ends, add charms like the bracelet shown in the picture above.

Make loop on one end with round nose pliers.

String beads onto wire.

Close second end with another loop.

The finished bracelet.  This took me less than a half hour.

This was done in a random pattern with leftover beads in pastel Spring colors.

Spring and Easter.

Made from packages of assorted beads.

I sometimes wear the blue and purple bracelets intertwined.

This one is made by cutting the memory wire into separate circles.  Then they are joined by stringing on spacer bars.

 I will do a tutorial on this in a future post.

Beads were added to the loops at the ends for a finished look.

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Posted in Beads, Crafts, Jewelry, Spring, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Baby It’s Cold Outside! No Sew Fleece Blankets

Posted on January 5, 2012 by hmtaas

Here is a quick and easy project for those cold winter nights.  I made several of these as Christmas gifts for children and they loved them!  Each blanket only took me about an hour.

 You will be using the whole width of the fleece, so all you need to measure is how long you want it.  For a children’s size blanket I used 1 1/2 yards each of 2 pieces of contrasting fleece.  For an adult size, add about ½ yard to the length you want because the length will shrink from tying the knots.  For an adult size blanket 2 to 2 ½ yards should be good.

 Tip: Have the person cutting layer the 2 pieces of fleece together and cut them at the same time.  This will give you uniform pieces that will take less trimming.

 

Tip: Use a rotary cutter and a self-healing mat.  You can use scissors, but this will be harder on your hands. 

 Trim the selvage from the edges of the fleece.  Lay the contrasting pieces of fleece together right sides out.  Smooth and adjust the pieces so there are no wrinkles and the edges match.  Trim excess from edges to even them up if necessary. 

 Cut a 4-inch square from each of the 4 corners. 

 

Cut strips along each edge.  Make your cuts about 1-inch wide and 4-inces long.  For a larger blanket you can make the strips 5-inches long.  (If you are cutting the strips to 5-inches, make the squares cut away from the corners 5-inches, too.)  Tip: Just eyeball the cuts.  No need to measure the strips because any minor differences won’t show on the finished blanket. You can put painters tape along the measurement and cut to the tape if you feel more comfortable with measuring.  I just used my ruler as a width guide. 

 

Tie knots from each pair of front and back contrasting strips all the way around the blanket.  How you tie the knots doesn’t matter.  I tied double knots. 

 Once you are finished tying the knots, give your blanket a shake to “fluff” up the fringe. 

 Now you are ready to cozy up with a warm blanket on a cold winter night.

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Posted in Christmas, Crafts, Sewing and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Quick Window Decorating

Posted on December 12, 2011 by hmtaas

If you are as busy as I am and you just can’t find the time to decorate for Christmas, here’s a quick solution.  I cut out Cardinals and snowflakes and tape them to the windows.  They look great from the street and are inexpensive and fast to do.

I found a Cardinal shape that I liked from clip art and photos and traced it on to heavy red paper.  You can use card stock, construction paper, or scrapbook paper.  I used 2 colors of red paper.  Once I cut them out, I outlined the edge with black marker and added the “mask” and wings.  Mine are about 6 or 7 inches.  I used one for the smaller windows and 2 or 3 for the larger windows.

I cut the snowflakes from heavy white paper using my Cricut machine.  That made the job go very fast.  They range in size from about 3 inches to 6 inches.  You can also buy stick on snowflakes or cut them from paper the old-fashioned way, too.  Then, just tape them up randomly on your windows.  The tape won’t show from the street.  Put as many as you like.

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Christmas Jewelry

Posted on December 5, 2011 by hmtaas

Winter weather is creeping in and the Christmas season has begun.  My first Christmas post is two bracelets and a pin that I made.  You can make them for yourself or they are great gifts.

The bracelets were made with red and green bicone Swarovski crystals.  I also mixed in some tiny silver balls and white glass pearls.  You can arrange them in a pattern you like.  The silver sets off the other beads.  You can use gold balls, too.

   

This is a pin that I made as gifts for the girls in the family.  My grandmother collected and saved buttons for mending.  I kept the buttons and used them for these pins as a memory.  I painted a wooden heart white, but you can use any shape you want.  I glued a small white doily to the front and glued a selection of the buttons on top of the doily using hot glue.  I added some glass pearls beads, a gold button, a charm (a key ring on this one), a ribbon rose, and a satin bow for decoration.  On the back I glued a note about who collected the buttons and when I made it.  This is still a timely gift if you know someone special who saves buttons.

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Terrariums Part 2

Posted on November 20, 2011 by hmtaas

I told you in my Bring A Little Outside In article that I wanted to do a terrarium in a canning jar.  Well, here it is!  This one is a  moss terrarium.  That’s the only living plant I used.  I am lucky enough to have some moss growing in my backyard, so I dug up enough to put in the jar.

This is a Smooth Ball Jar from the craft store.  It doesn’t have the usual writing on the outside so you can clearly see what’s inside.  I made it the same way I made the other terrariums (see the article) – charcoal, stones, potting soil, moss, decorations.  In this case, I used 3 stones that matched the stones in the bottom and a plastic rabbit.  I put a thick layer of stones in the bottom because I wanted them to show.  Break up the moss into chunks to give it a more realistic outdoor look.  If too much condensation builds up in the jar, remove the cap.  I screwed the ring on, but left the seal off, so it looks like a jar, but gets some air to keep it from fogging up.

What kind of container can I find next?

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Posted in Crafts, Decorating, Floral Arranging and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Simmering Potpourri

Posted on November 16, 2011 by hmtaas

Is your house getting a little stuffy from being closed up due to the cooler weather?  Do you need a breath of Autumn?  You can perk up your senses by making a simmering potpourri with items you have in your kitchen.  It’s quick and easy.  I will give you the basics and you can go from there.

 You’ll need:

Cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces, or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 whole cloves or ½ tsp ground cloves

Several slices of orange peel or 1 teaspoon dried orange peel

1 teaspoon nutmeg or some fresh grated

Throw the spices in the pot and fill ½ to ¾ full of water.  I have a stove top simmering pot, but you can use a regular pan if you don’t have one.  Turn your stove burner on low.  You want it to warm up and just about simmer, not boil.  Then enjoy the aroma of the season.

Experiment with the spices you have on hand.  Mix a couple together or mix a lot.  Some other spices you might try are: lemon or lime peel, apple peel, vanilla, allspice, anise, bay leaves, ginger, almond or peppermint extract, pumpkin spice, etc.  Don’t throw your old spices away – use them in the simmering pot.  If you just ate an orange or peeled an apple for baking, use it in your pot instead of throwing it away.  The peels can be stored in your refrigerator for up to a week.

Make gifts of the simmering spices.  Use whole seeds and fancy jars for gifts.  Make a batch and put it in a jar.  Tie a decorative spoon to the jar.  Add tag with instructions.  For favors, make single batches and put then into small plastic bags tied with a ribbon and a tag attached.

Please use caution when simmering.  Never leave the pot unattended.  Check it every ½ hour to an hour to see if water needs to be added.  Set your timer to remind you.  The water will turn dark as you simmer.

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Posted in Autumn, Crafts, Recipes, Thanksgiving and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
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