When Ebay.com asked me to come up with on-trend sneaker decorations, I knew a cactus pair of shoes had to be made. These desert dwellers are popping up in all manner of DIY, home decor, and fashion, so I was determined to figure out a quick and easy way for kids to design their own sassy succulents…finger-stamping!

What You Need:

• White canvas sneakers
• Newspaper
• Green ink pads, suitable for fabric
• Fabric markers
• Green fabric paint and paintbrush (optional)

Sometimes my kids come into my craft room, fiddle around, touch everything they can get their hands on, and beg to make a project. While I have a ton of materials at my disposal, sometimes in the midst of developing new work, I can’t just clear the canvas and start an in-depth craft at the drop of a pom-pom.

So that’s when I grab for simple, mark-making projects like these. Using rubber bands and a few other household items that everyone has, you can make three different painting tools that will yield surprisingly clever results.

Rubber-Band Stamps

1. Cut small rectangles of cardboard, a bit larger than the circumference of the rubber band that you’re using.
2. Lay a rubber band down on a protected surface, apply glue to the top edge, and set a cardboard rectangle on top of it. Let dry.
3. Gently press the rubber band stamp onto the ink pad and stamp onto a piece of paper.

Rubber-Band Roller

1. Stretch five to eight rubber bands around the tape roll
2. Roll the tape roll in a thin layer of paint or on an ink pad and then roll it onto a piece of paper to create multiple stripes.

Rubber-Band Paintbrush

1. Gather six to eight rubber bands at the end of a pencil and wrap another rubber band around them to secure.
2. Dip the rubber bands into paint and use like a paintbrush.

Excerpted from Project Kid by Amanda Kingloff (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2014. Photographs by Alexandra Grablewski

I was so excited when Michaels asked me to guest post on their blog to talk about why and how I craft with kids. Check out the full post over on The Glue String!

Here is one of the projects I made specifically for this post!

BOHO DREAM CATCHER

How do you wish away your four-year-old’s bad dreams? While there’s no guarantee this will work, it at least gets them to sleep at night (and looks good on the wall)!

What you’ll need:

• 8” embroidery hoop
• Creatology Acrylic Paint Set
• Paint brush
• Pot-holder Craft Loops
• Cardstock
• Washi tape
• Loops & Threads™ Embroidery Floss, Assorted
• Scissors
• Multicolored Wood Beads By Creatology

1. Paint the hoop and let it dry.
2. In the meantime, lay a 12-inch piece of embroidery floss on cardstock and apply strips of washi tape over it. Cut out a feather shape, about 4-inches long, making sure not to cut the string. Fringe the edges to look like a feather.
3. Thread beads over the string. Set aside.
4. Stretch cotton loops over the inner ring of the painted embroidery hoop to create the dream catcher’s web.
5. Cut the strings of your feathers to the desired length and use a little piece of washi tape to secure them to the inside of the larger embroidery hoop.
6. Slip the larger hoop around the inner hoop and tighten the screw.
7. Hang on your wall with a cotton loop and have sweet dreams!

Originally posted on the Etsy blog….

Wreaths have a reputation for being all about holidays: Spooky styles greet Halloween’s trick-or-treaters, harvest motifs welcome Thanksgiving dinner guests, and come Christmas, decking the door with boughs of holly is the order of the day. But despite their undeniable holiday appeal, wreaths can add a lot of life, love and creativity to your door during the spring and summer months, too. No official holiday needed!

For further proof, check out this bright, botanical DIY wreath. It’s made with spring and summer seasonality in mind; floral spray paint and silk leaves mean it stays fresh from year to year. I used neon colors and high-impact stripes to create a tropical vibe for this project, but you can use the same technique with your choice of colors and patterns – from polka dots and zig-zags to color blocking and Memphis-inspired shapes. Get creative!

You will need:

• 15” extruded foam floral wreath
• Fabric floral wrap
• Hot-glue gun
• Large scrap paper
• Faux leaves, 2 to 6 inches in length
• Floral spray paint (like DesignMaster ColorTool Spray)
• Thin washi tape

Step 1: Cut about ten 8×4-inch pieces of fabric and hot glue them around the wreath form tightly, overlapping to cover it completely.

Step 2: Starting with the largest leaves, tape 20-24 leaves onto the scrap paper, creating a striped pattern on each one.

Step 3: Smooth the tape down over the surface of the leaves and spray with paint. Let dry.

Step 4: Hot glue the leaves around the covered wreath, positioning each one on a slight diagonal. Continue all the way around, overlapping them until you have covered the form.

Step 5: Repeat the same technique with the smaller leaves and a second color of paint (I used yellow). Once they are dry, hot glue them on top of the first layer, working all the way around. Next, paint 6 to 10 leaves with a third color (I used orange) and intersperse them among the layer of small leaves.