Creative Crafting

Archive for October, 2008

Family Fun.com

I just came across these cute votives for Thanksgiving.  They would be a cute inexpensive craft for the kids to do for Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Church groups. They can be used to decorate Thanksgiving tables or just as a decoration for a side table. Make a trip to your local senior center and give a homemade gifts straight from the heart!

Create a flock of these bright votive holders: they’re a great project for kids and, filled with battery-operated tea lights, a luminous addition to your table.

Be sure to check out more ideas for a fun-filled Kids’ Thanksgiving.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Hot glue
Glue gun
1 1/4-inch wooden doll head (available at craft stores)
Small glass bubble votive holder (ours is 4 inches wide by 3 1/2 inches high)
Brush
Mod Podge
Tissue paper
Scissors
Tacky glue
Beads

I have never understood the need to scrapbook. I have friends that make page after page of photos, but never saw the allure of cutting and pasting pictures on top of one another.  At least that is how I saw it.

Although I do like doing things with my hands and letting the creative juices flow, the traditional method of scrapbooking never appealed to me.  Digital Scrapbooking, however, does appeal to me.

About three years ago, I started going through photo albums looking at the pictures of my children as they grew and they were in a hodgepodge of order.  Some were marked others were not, as I never seemed to have the time to put any order to the albums.  There were pictures in shoeboxes that just sat.  Pictures of the rest of my family when they were young, including pictures of my parents when they were children.  Pictures of grandparents I barely remember.  Some were fading, some were bent, and some even got stuck together because of dampness.

Here is a cute project for you and you children. I made the pig and the skunk and put them in some of my houseplants. They are so cute. Very easy to do and a lot of fun.

by Laura Torres
Few craft materials let kids express their imaginations as easily as polymer clay. It’s squishable, comes in dozens of colors, and hardens permanently once it’s baked. So whether you want to mold an army of ants, sculpt a swarm of silly little bugs, or make your own mini menagerie, this material lets you get spectacular results. Have your children try their sculpting skills on this zoo of super easy critters to learn techniques they can apply to any creature imaginable.

Polymer Clay Basics
Simple tips and techniques for creating these clay creatures

The girls on one of the many forums I belong to have got me hooked on Digital Scrapbooking. I tried traditional scrapbooking, but soon ran out of room for all the supplies, and after a while could not figure out what to do with the book I had made. One of the reasons I wanted to try scrapbooking was to get rid of books, not make more. The pages were cute, and I liked them, but I soon lost interest.

I am relatively new to Digital Scrapbooking, so I have nothing to show you as yet, give me a few months as I work slow. I did find this wonderful article and it pretty much explains why digital, at least for me, is better than traditional.

Digital Scrapbooking Versus Traditional Scrapbooking
May 20th, 2008 | By Articles | Category: Scrapbooking

Once I decided I wanted to do some scrapbooking, I had to think what I wanted to accomplish.  Did I want it to be just page after page of really cool looking photos, or did I want those photos to tell a story of our family.

My sister and I have embarked the last few years on a history of our family, we have taken our geneology back 150 years to our great, great grandfather on our mother’s side.  Considering they did not have photographic equipment back then, I wondered how I would incorporate those names onto a scrapbooking page? I found on the web a free pedigree site: http://www.misbach.org/pdfcharts/.  With these charts you can fill in the names of the ancestors that you have no pictures for, along with either current pictures of your family, or pictures of other ancestors in that line.  There are literally hundreds of possibilities.

Candle holders are very easy to make and they’re a great gift idea. I have been making them for years for just about every occasion and person.  The materials are inexpensive, you can even use items you have around the house.  Just use your imagination and come up with some great ideas that match your lifestyle.

Basic materials required:

·  Small glass candle holders
·  wrapping paper (thin if you can find it)
·  tissue paper
·  Decoupage medium
·  Small scissors (I use cuticle scissors)
·  Small paintbrush
·  Damp paper towel

You can purchase whatever style of glass candle holders you like. You can also find them at thrift stores, yard sales or in your own home.  At one time I even used glass baby food jars.

I have a lot of friends who do crafting and when I said I was going to do this blog about crafting, once the laughter died down and they realized I was serious, the ideas and product recommendations started pouring in.

Here is one that my friend Jen recommended. Jen is into scrapbooking everything and anything she can find. She has a new baby, and every step of that babies life is documented in a scrapbook. I think it is great, so I asked her to help me with my scrapbooking pages, as quite frankly I don’t have a clue what it is a person needs to do scrapbooking.

When did the habit of wearing jewelry begin? Who were the first to pierce their ears or wear colored beads around their necks? Where did it start? Have you ever wondered about any of this when you are making jewelry or putting it on? I have; but then I tend to like the history of everyday life, so I looked into it.

I spent some time last month at the Detroit Art Institute and with every exhibit there seemed to be a piece of jewelry or ornament of some kind. While all were different according to region and time period, all of the ornamentation had something in common; it was made by someone who wanted to create something beautiful.