Recently in CRAFTS Category

Incredibly easy and cheap to make these gift bags are made from standard  8-1/2 x 11 sheets or thick wrapping paper and cost only pennies each. 

Once you know how to make them, the options on how to decorate them are endless.

 The glue does need some drying time so make them the day before you need them. (And remember that they were never meant to hold anything heavy just light little gifts).

Who would have thought that a lowly tuna can (actually two of them) could make such a stylish gift tin. 

While I used gift wrap paper to  decorate the tins the sky is the limit with this. You could use almost any sort of paper from wall paper to  scrap book paper. 

I left one tin with it's original colour and decided for the second design to paint it a blood red. Again your choices are endless if you decide to paint. 

So follow these surprisingly easy instructions to make your own gorgeous gift tin to keep or give as part of a present.

With a florist bow you can dress up a plant, add to a Christmas decoration, make a corsage and tie up a gift.  

You can do the same at home. It might take a little bit of practice but it is well worth learning how to do.

 
In my teens the first day on the job in a flower shop I was taught to make a florist bow. The head florist of the shop patiently showed me how to hold the ribbon in one hand as I twisted equal lengths to form loops and tie it off with a small piece of wire. When she was satisfied that I knew what I was doing she sent me out front to serve customers and told me to make 150 little corsage bows.  So in between serving customers, answering the phone, running errands for the florists and watering plants I was making little bows. I started painfully slowly but by the end of the day I had got the hang of it even though my finger tips were throbbing.

The modern ones made of flexible plastic I did not find attractive, I did not want cloth ones as I found they would stain too easily, wood ones really didn't match our decor and metal ones were very expensive and bulky. 

I ended up making these very plain white ones from tile that I bought.

Instead of trying to find something different for each and every one why not make them the same (but slightly different) card. 

Why buy a wreath form when you can easily make this on a formed wire hanger.  Twigs were bundled up using florist wire and attached, bundle on top of bundle, with florist wire as well. 

While we used twigs from a trimmed bush you can cast around and see if there is some other dried materials you can use.  We added pressed maple leaves, dried Queen Ann's Lace and dried Golden Rod to give it colour and texture. You could completely change the look of this by changing the flowers to dried dark purple and light purple statice. See what you have in your garden and work with it. 

While napkins are easy to find they can be pricey especially if you want nicer ones for more formal dinners. 

There are also sometimes that you want something a bit more special to commemorate an occasion or just to dress things up a bit.  It might be blush pink napkins to complete the decor of a bridal luncheon or it might be patterned card fabric for a bon voyage dinner for your parents before they head off on a cruise. 

What ever the reason or the occasion it is very easy to make table napkins with just a few sewing skills. If you have a stash of cotton fabric then the cost of these is only the thread and the time that they take to make.

We might not want to face that facts but the truth is our dogs at times smell bad, get into things they shouldn't and can behave in the most unbecoming ways. 

Simple to construct with just a few supplies this is an easy fall craft  to make once you get the basics down. 

With just corn husks and twist ties or wire you can make a bevy of these little beauties. 

Slip a name card under their arms you can use them as place card holders for an autumn dinner or add a few to your Thanksgiving wreath. As corn is in season in late summer and fall plan a few extra meals around it then gather up all those husks and set some time aside for this wonderful craft.  

Years ago I taught myself how to do some very simple origami. 

Origami suited me at the time when I was a poor student since it took no special tools and paper was cheap and easily available to me. 

The mathematical terms for these geometrical figures are hypotrochoids and epitrochoids. 

Invented by British engineer Denys Fisher, Spirograph was introduced to North America in 1966 and its been a hit with kids and adults ever since. Black ink on white paper gives this easy craft a surprisingly sophisticated look. I include instructions on how to make the card boxes that they are displayed in so you could also make these as gifts.

Packaged craft kits for children are terribly over prices and often terribly over packaged. A large box often only contains a small bag of materials and a few sheets of instructions. 

You can gather your own craft supplies at home for a fraction of the price that you would spend in a craft store using materials from a variety of sources including free recycled materials.

Be it a business trip or a vacation, there are some places, (believe it or not) that your four legged best friend is not welcome. 

They are made with left over paint chips. This is a lovely way to recycle these paint chips into something that is useful and attractive enough to slip in as a gift with a birthday or thank you card.  

They are a easy and relatively quick project that needs only a few basic tools. So dig out those weird and wonderful coloured paint chips (that you once considered painting your bedroom) and follow our directions for making  them into bookmarks.