Need a fun playdate craft that makes no mess? These bracelets that I made for an issue of Make it Yourself magazine are so fun and easy to make, and your kids will get so into that they’ll have arms full of them when you’re done!
What you’ll need:
-Clothesline rope
-Duct tape
-Scissors
-Parchment paper
Make it!
1. Measure wrist and cut rope so as a ring, it’s large enough to slip over your hand.
2. Wrap the rope in metallic duct tape.
3. Adhere strips of colored duct tape to the parchment paper and cut strips of varying size. Apply strips around the cord.
4. Connect two ends together with a piece of metallic duct tape.
All kids, boys and girls, go through a pretend food phase. Cooking, tea parties, picnics…and you can go far down the rabbit hole buying plastic peppers, wooden watermelons, or felt fettuccine.
Especially if you suspect this is a short lived phase, craft these treats to play with your kids. Pizza, a big pretzel, popcorn, and cotton candy…all made from upcycled materials.
So fun to make, but not so tasty to eat!
What you’ll need:
• Brown paper grocery bags
• Tacky glue
• White, red, and yellow paint
• Paintbrushes
• Newspaper
• 1 popsicle stick
• 1 square cracker box
• Scallop scissors
• Red crayon
• Resealable gallon-size plastic bag
• Packing peanuts
• Cookie sheet lined with wax paper
• Cardboard
• Magazines
Pretzel:
1 Cut a grocery bag into 3-inch-wide strips and glue them together to make a 24-inch-long piece.
2 Roll and crumple the strip into a rope shape, being sure to keep any labels or writing on the inside.
3 Fold the tube into a U shape, then bend the ends toward the bottom of the U, twist them, and glue them down, crisscrossed. (You may want to put the pretzel under a medium-heavy book until it dries.)
4 Paint white dots on as the salt.
Popcorn:
1 Unfold the cracker box. Measure 7 to 8 inches from the bottom folds to where the top of the popcorn box will be, and cut a line straight across with scallop scissors.
2 Paint the inside surface (nonprinted side) of the box white. Let it dry.
3 Color red stripes vertically on the painted side of the box with the crayon.
4 Reassemble and glue the box so that the decorated side is on the outside.
5 To make the popcorn, squeeze a quarter-size dollop of yellow paint into the resealable bag, add enough packing peanuts to fill the cracker box, and shake. Start with a little paint; you can always add more.
6 Set the popcorn out to dry on a sheet of newspaper. Once the popcorn is dry, fill your box.
Pizza:
1 Cut a triangle from cardboard, with two long sides of about 7 inches and a short side of about 5 inches. The short side of the triangle (the crust side of the pizza) should be slightly rounded.
2 Give your pizza some tomato sauce by painting the cardboard red and let it dry.
3 To make the crust, roll and crumple a 4-inch-wide-by-7-inchlong strip of brown grocery bag into a tubelike shape and glue it across the rounded edge of the pizza. Trim or glue any excess underneath.
4 Paint a 10-by-10-inch piece of newspaper yellow on both sides. Once it’s dry, fringe 1⁄4-inch strips of the paper (see the Fringing lesson on page 120) and then cut across to make tiny strips, about 1 inch long.
5 Cut pepperoni and peppers (or whatever toppings you like) from magazine pages in the appropriate colors.
6 Brush watered-down glue (in about a 1-to-1 ratio) onto the cardboard, then sprinkle the “cheese” on top. Glue the toppings on top of the cheese.
Last-minute DIY gift sounds a bit like an oxymoron, no? DIY is usually time-consuming, requiring a trip to some special store to get the supplies that are probably expensive or sold out. Not this craft. This craft can…
be made from materials from your drug store.
be made from materials on a routine visit to Target.
be made from things you might already have at home.
What you’ll need:
Plain bangle bracelets
Socks
Scissors
Hot-glue gun
Slip bangle into the sock and cut. Leave at least a 1/2 inch on either side of the bangle for gluing.
Hot-glue the edges of the sock to the inside of the bangle.
Voila! A fun gift to make and give…plus helps keep wrists warm this winter!
My daughter Sommer came home with a flyer from school, assigning a different holiday wearable for each day of this week. Holiday hat day, holiday scarf day, holiday sock day. And to be honest, Hanukkah-wear is not so easy to come by on short notice. So this crafty momma had to think fast.
And literally, this crown was made in 3 minutes flat on the kitchen counter the morning of! I wrapped nine gold pipe cleaners around a simple head band, slipped trimmed colored straws onto the pipe cleaners (she arranged them in rainbow order, of course), then twisted the ends into flames. No glue, no drying time, nada!
I think I’ll make her one for each birthday from now on, adding a candle for each year!
This post is sponsored by my friends over at Minted.
Every November, I mentally commit to crafting holiday cards. And then the frenzy of December happens, so I’ll swear I’m going to get busy making my New Year’s cards. Take a guess if either actually get done. (A: Nope. Never.)
So this year I’ve decided to let the professionals handle the job. Check out these cards that just arrived in the mail from Minted. Part of my lack of organization with holiday cards is that I’m never actually looking for the typical “holiday card photo” throughout the year. Lucky for us, my kids and their new bedroom were featured in the August/September 2016 issue of FamilyFun magazine so I got a slew of amazing photos from the photographer, Biz Jones. This one didn’t run in the issue but it totally captures Oliver and Sommer as their goofy, yummy selves.
We sat down this weekend to write notes and stuff the envelopes (of course we had to add a little sparkly confetti to each). Oliver and Sommer were excited to pen messages to their friends on the backs.
And then, I tried to capture a photo of them in the same position, but as you can see, there was no recreating that perfectly sweet, joyful moment. Instead we made about sixty more (mostly blurry), with these nine being my faves.
And wait…if you are panicked about getting your holiday cards in time, Minted has your back. Through 11:59pm PT on Monday, December 19th, you can get free rush shipping or 15% off your holiday cards. Go go go!
I’m sure this is no surprise to any other crafters out there, but over the years I’ve collected many (many!) issues of Martha Stewart Living. When I say many, I mean jam-packed shelves worth. While most magazines find their way to the recycling bin within a few weeks, it’s a different story with the Martha’s. I flip through them again and again for inspiration because, let’s face it, nobody does it quite like Martha. And while blogs and Pinterest offer much inspiration, there’s just something about a glossy page, with well-considered typefaces, color, and texture that make me swoon.
Despite my adoration, as a professional crafter I’m up to my ears in supplies and space is at a premium. The time has come to part with some of my magazine collection. Luckily, I think the pages are firmly ingrained in my memory for eternity.
Because I couldn’t bear to just recycle them, I had an idea to incorporate pages of Martha’s crafts into crafts of my own. Her crafts are all so beautifully done that they can be turned into totally new show-stoppers in just a few steps.
Here are three simple holiday crafts you can use to recycle the magazines you love!
1. Garland
What you’ll need:
Magazine
Scissors
String
Hot Glue Gun
Cut out a series of images of roughly the same size (we used the awesome cookies from the Living December 2013 cover) and attach them to the string with a dot of glue on the back of each!
2. Cork Board Ornaments
What you’ll need:
Magazine
Scissors
Silver String
Acrylic Paint
Paintbrush
Round Cork Coasters/ Cork circles of various sizes
Glue Stick
Glue Gun
Paint cork coasters in festive colors, and let them dry. Meanwhile, cut out images from magazines that will fit, or can be trimmed to fit, cork circles. Glue image to dried cork and hot glue a loop of string on the back.
3. Mini Gift Boxes
What you’ll need:
Magazine
Scissors
Marker
Glue Stick
Gift Boxes
Trace the top of the box onto a magazine image, cut out, and attach with a glue stick. That’s it!
Does this get your creative wheels turning? Leave a comment with ways you would repurpose beautiful magazine photos!
Why should your kids have all of the holiday crafting fun? We’ve found crafts that are as much fun for the giver to make as for the giftee to receive. Don’t be surprised if you start to feel especially generous this season!
For the Co-worker with a Cubicle in Need of Cheer
1. DIY Face Planters
These adorable planters from Oh Happy Day are made with the classic craft staple, sculpey. Give the friend who sings to her plants a face to focus on.
For the Friend Who Likes to Keep her Kitchen Ship-Shape
2. DIY Finger Knit Rope Trivet
These nautical trivets couldn’t be simpler to make – your kids can even help! All you need is rope, a pair of scissors, and your fingers. Follow the instructions from Flax and Twine to make your own in half an hour.
For the Friend Who Likes to Wear Her Art on her Sleeve
3. DIY Abstract Embroidered Sweater
Let this sweater reflect your friend’s personality by including all of her favorite colors. Sugar and Cloth shows you how easy it is to create a masterpiece.
For the Sibling Who Refuses to Accept Winter
4. 30 Minute Terrarium
No matter how cold and snowy it is outside, keep a piece of summer alive with this glass terrarium. Instructions from The Lovely Drawer include a how-to for the clever stand made from Vinyl paper and a jar lid.
For the Friend Who Makes Even the Routine Glamorous
5. Gemstone Soap DIY
This is definitely a gift you won’t want to stop making. Let out your inner scientist as you experiment with color combinations to create just the right jewel. A Beautiful Mess shows you how.
For the Stylish Upcycler
6. DIY Leather Box Handles Using Thrifted Belts
Give new life to the forgotten belts in the back of your closet by turning them into modern handles. These multipurpose boxes from Idle Hands Awake are as pretty as they are functional.
For the Foodie Who Likes to Keep It Simple
7. DIY No-Sew Waist Apron
Don’t let your lack of sewing skills stop you from making the perfect apron. The instructions from Almost Makes Perfect are so easy you can make one for all of your favorite chefs (while still letting them think they’re #1).
For the Neat Freak Who Prefers Her Paperclips in Gold
8. DIY Gold Bar Acrylic Tray
Though they’re probably missing from your supply box right now, acrylic sheets might become your new favorite material after making this tray from Lovely Indeed. It’s sure to add some serious polish to whatever surface it sits on.
For the Friend Who Likes Traditional with a Twist
9. DIY Fall Flowers Cross Stitch Napkins
Kittenhood makes a classic embroidery pattern feel fresh by using unexpected colors. Follow their example with a fall floral, or put your own spin on another traditional design. If you’re new to cross stitching, this article from DMC outlines basic techniques and helpful hints.
For the Hostess Who’s a Kid at Heart
10. DIY Animal Dishes
We can’t get over how cute these dishes are! Though the instructions are in Dutch, you can still use Show Home‘s whimsical image as an inspirational jumping off point.
I think pretty much any craft project can get a holiday makeover. I recently went through my books and selected a bunch of ideas to give little updates to, and the Tooty Fruity Wagon was the first one that I was excited to make!
Plus, my friends over at the Etsy blog were also excited and asked me to write up a post for them. So head over there for the full how-to with photos! And don’t forget to print out the template for the wheels. You can get that right here.
I’m a big fan of the holiday decorations that can be stored, damage-free, from year to year. This one is super simple to make, plus it can take a licking and keep on keeping on from year to year.
I made these with upcycled sweaters, but you can use green felt or even tissue paper.
Here’s what you need:
styrofoam cones
green fabric or old sweaters
scissors
hot glue gun
colored brads
1. Cut the sleeve off and begin to wrap it around a Styrofoam cone.
2. Hot glue sweater to the cone, folding the ends in the back to create a seam.
3. Press colored metal fasteners (or brads) through the sweater and into the Styrofoam to create Christmas ornaments.
Are you in the market for a NEW menorah craft this year?
I’m crazy in love with the one I made for FamilyFun Magazine this year, using colored sand from Sandtastik. Check out the simple how-to over on Parents.com! And those candles? They are just silver paper straws with a piece of yellow grosgrain ribbon shoved in there. Easy and safe for kids to “light” themselves!
1. Cut the sleeve off and begin to wrap it around a Styrofoam cone.
