Here is a fun idea for using scrabble tiles to make a bathroom sign that will make your guests chuckle!
A while ago, I found this jar of scrabble tiles at an antique store. I could probably find scrabble tiles for a cheaper price in an old board game box at a thrift store but this cool old jar reminded me of my mom’s canned peaches…so I bought it.
For this craft you will need:
- scrabble tiles
- blank canvas
- craft paint and paint brush
- hot glue gun
- glass stones or other decorative items
I used a 12×12 blank artist canvas from the dollar store. Nothing but the best! Tee hee.
It would be sensible to paint your canvas right away so that it’s got time to dry.
“Copenhagen Blue” craft paint, my brush, canvas, hot glue gun and glue are all dollar store supplies. I was really tempted to leave mine white so I didn’t paint it right away. But later I changed my mind. This meant that I needed to slide all the tiles off and paint it before I could glue it on.
Now for the fun part!
Spread out your tiles and see what sort of bathroom words you can find.
Pee, poo, aim and flush are my best toilet words. Shower, wash, bathe (or bath), soap, bubbles, shampoo, tub etc. for the bathtub words. Brush, floss, gargle, spit for the dental hygiene words.
After you have found the letters to your favorite words you need to make them line up with other words on your canvas or board. This can be a bit frustrating.
I tried some random craft supplies before I settled on the bright glass stones and blue paint.
Since I hadn’t painted it yet I needed to carefully remove the tiles and set them aside while I painted my canvas blue. It dries very quickly.
Then I recreated the words in the right order and using a hot glue gun, glue each peice into place.
And there you have the final product! I thought the blue represented water and the glass stones were bubbles.
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Create a Flower Shop Play Centre
Watching my girls play in the backyard from my kitchen window sparked a great idea this week! Create a garden centre or flower shop for the kids. Using artificial flowers from the dollar store and a few other gardening things we can create a little centre for themselves. You can use real flowers too but this set up should last me a few years!
Several years ago I made a potting table out of a simple wooden shelf I wasn’t using anymore. Click on the link below to see how that was created.
Next we need some flowers! I went to the dollar store for a few bunches of flowers that looked like something I actually have in my garden.
For this project you will need:
- several bunches of artificial flowers
- empty plant containers
- foam knee pad or pool noodle
- scissors
- wire cutter snips
- burlap (optional)
These are called 4 cell planter trays but you can use other sizes.
Every year the girls don’t want me to throw out the plastic containers that come with the little flower and vegetable plants we buy at the garden centre. They want all the little tags that come with them too so they imagine they are selling the flowers. After seeing them rearrange the empty containers imagining they had flowers in them-I thought why not get some dollar store fake flowers and make it more realistic for them.
As I wandered around the dollar store I considered how I could get the flowers to stand up in the plant trays. I came up with this! A foam knee pad/seat pad.
It’s similar to a pool noodle but I thought this size would fit really well into my plant trays and I was right!
First of all, pull the sections of foam apart.
Then get your scissors and snip it 1 and 1/2 inches or 3cm long.
Test out the height and cut some more.
This is so easy. Just keep cutting off more. I wanted to give the at least 5 of these for their store. I might make even more…
Now for the flowers!
I started by bending out the branch of the flowers.
Snip it off several inches below the flowers. If you cut it too long, you can always bend the ends. I would rather they are too long than too short so the girls could make a little bouquet later or use them for something else.
Now test it in the container and see how it looks.
This looked pretty good but I thought since I have a huge scrap of burlap waiting to be used. Why not add burlap to the top.
Cut that to size. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Next poke the flowers through the burlap.
Voila!
You could hot glue all of it in place or you could just leave it so the kids can rearrange it and tend to their flowers.
Next we set up shop on the table and added some signs.
My kids also save all of the flower tags that come with every plant to tell you how much sun or shade it should get.
…So we tried to match up some to the colors of the flowers we had for our imaginary store.
If you don’t have the 4 cell-planters you can use any small containers. You could use a pool noodle or Styrofoam from packaging in a bigger one or several small pieces of foam to fill a bigger pot.
Also, look around for other gardening items you have for the store. We had gloves, a mini shovel and rakes and watering cans.
Hopefully, this inspired you to get the kids out playing with their imaginations.
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Upcycle Men’s Necktie for a fun Dad Gift Key Ring
Looking for a fun way to upcycle a men’s tie? Here is an easy and super cute idea to turn it into a key ring.
You will need:
- an old tie
- a key ring
- scissors
- needle and thread (or glue)
- ruler
My hubby happens to have a lot of ties so he was willing to sacrifice these two ties for my project. Thanks dear!
Cut the tie approximately 9 inches long.
At the cut end, tuck the fabric out of the way and trim 1/2 inch (1cm) off interfacing that is inside.
Fold inside and tuck the fabric inside. You could sew or glue this end to make a clean edge.
I sewed it with just a few stitches.
Next, fold the mini tie in half and slide it into the key ring.
Pull the ends through the loop to form a knot.
Pull the knot tight by tugging on the key ring. It looks like a proper tie knot without actually having to know how to tie it. The pointed end is perfect for the size of the key ring.
This is the back side of the tie. I added a few more stitches so the tie wouldn’t shift around, but that is optional.
How cute is this?!?
Now there is still half of a tie left so I’m going back to Pinterest for some more ideas for tie upcycling. I will let you know how that goes!
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Upcycled Frame with Toy Cars
Ready for a super easy craft? You might have all of the supplies at home. If you don’t you can easily pick them up at your local thrift store.
To make an upcycled toy car photo frame you will need:
- toy cars
- picture frame
- spray paint
- hot glue gun and several glue sticks
I wandered through a newly renovated Goodwill and that’s when I this idea hit me. Find a flat frame and glue something to it! Yeah! The frame I chose was really out of date with its flowers “Love” on the top. I thought it would be the perfect size to fit a parking lot of cars.
Then I went to bulk toy area and looked at the bags of cars! I chose 2 bags of cars for $3.00 each.
I brought everything home and admired it all….then located some left over spray paint in my painting stash. You don’t need much-so a bottle of spray paint left over from another project is perfect. I had a bright red Rustolium Painter’s Touch called “apple red”.
Take the backing and glass off of the frame and wipe it down with a damp cloth.
Shake up your can of spray paint and lay down some cardboard or news paper. Always spray paint outdoors on a day where there is barely any breeze.
Follow the instructions on your paint as to when to do a second coat. The pattern on this frame wanted multiple coats. It is black on the sides and back so I just spray painted the front. It wasn’t perfectly covered with 2 coats but since we are covering it with cars I didn’t bother with a third coat.
Allow it to fully dry before you begin the next step. I let it dry overnight. You can use that time to wipe down your model cars if they are dusty or sticky.
Now the fun part!
Arrange all the cars around the frame. I used 26 cars in total and would you believe my goodwill bags had 27. If your frame was narrower you could have them hood to bumper around the perimeter of the frame…like a traffic jam. This wide frame was a perfect for my parking lot.
Watch for variety in color as you place the cars around the frame.
Next, you are ready to glue the toy cars onto the frame. Place a dot of hot glue on each wheel. These will be part of the car making contact with the frame.
Put the car back in its place and press firmly. After attaching the toy cars and trucks all around the frame check each one again to make sure that they are secure.
Since this frame will be sitting on a shelf I made sure that the bottom of the cars lined up closely on the bottom with no overhang. Otherwise it could be wobbly. Also, I should mention, that the frame is actually really heavy with 26 cars on it. Put it in a place where it won’t get knocked and fall on a toddler.
That is all there is to this project! Have fun!
Scrabble Tiles Gift Idea for Kids
I have a sick kiddo at home (head cold, sneezy, wheezy) and she wants to use my craft supplies to make a gift for daddy’s desk at work. So here is what she came up with a love letter in Scrabble Tiles to Daddy and an old photo of herself.
Where can you get Scrabble tiles? From the board game of course silly! Or from a thrift store or online.
The other day I found myself parked next to an antique store I didn’t know existed. So I went in and found a gazillion things I would love to have and upcycle. The store was AMAZING! One of the items that I bought was a cool old mason jar filled with scrabble tiles.
My sick little darling sorted out the letters into piles while I went rummaging for supplies.
You will need:
- scrabble tiles
- a piece of wood, picture frame or canvas
- white glue-for the photo (or to make it temporary use “sticky tack”)
- hot glue gun-for the tiles
- hanging hook (optional)
I have scraps of wood and often will stain or varnish a few extra pieces in case I want to make a wooden plaque in a hurry. We chose out of scrap options a piece approximately 9 1/2 by 5 1/2. It was already stained with “Forest” Behr Semi-Transparent stain-which has a subtle green tinge to it.
Another option would be to use a blank canvas from the dollar store. You could paint with inexpensive craft paint in his favorite color or leave it white.
First she wrote out this…awe Mommy is at the top of the list!
I love that she is not bothered that 3 of her M’s are upside down W’s. When you see the letters are crooked its tempting to want to straighten them out but resist! It’s a child’s gift and adds character to the final product.
Arrange the letters and photo to your liking. Hot glue your scrabble letters to the wooden board.
Have your child put a thin coat of glue on the back of the photo. Or if you want to be able to take the photo off later and replace it you could use sticky tack instead!
Would you look at those gorgeous eyes! This gift will melt his heart!
Crafts Using Burlap and Buttons – Easy Project that Looks Great!
Upcycle Denim – Decorative Baskets made from Jeans
I’ve been working on another denim upcycle. If you have some blue jeans to cut up for an upcycle, you can turn it into a basket for your desk or craft area.
You will need:
- old jeans (I used kids jeans for a narrow basket)
- scissors
- trim
- sewing machine (or needle and thread)
First of all, I cut the jeans off around 7 inches from the bottom. I don’t mind the rough bottoms as long as the jeans are clean before you start. I think the frayed bottoms look good too!
Turn the piece inside out. Sew straight across the bottom 1/2 inch or 1 cm from the cut edge. You could hand sew this if you don’t have a sewing machine.
Now flatten the bottom and pin 1 inch (2.5 cms) from each corner. This will make your basket more boxy at the bottom and easier to stand up.
Stitch across the line.
Cut off the triangles on the outside of your last stitch.
Turn the basket inside out.
The square corners that you just created will help it to stand up. You can roll over the edge once or twice.
So you can stop there and fill up your baskets with small toys, pens, sewing items, nail polish etc….or…add some garnishes.
I pinned a bow on one but decided to add more color…. I added a felt flower left over from coffee cup warmers (see the link below).
Then I thought of some trim…maybe with some pompoms. The kind sold in the drapery part of the fabric store. Yes!
The solid white and pink trims cost approx. $2 per yard but the colourful larger trim was $8.99 per yard. Ouch! Fortunately it was on sale for 50% off so I got a yard.
Turn the basket inside out to pin the trim in place.
Before sewing, turn the basket right side out again to check out how it will look.
Here is my colorful pompoms too. They make me so happy!
Take it slow while you are sewing on the trim. The pompoms keep trying to get in the way.
There you have it!
I used children’s jeans so that the basket would be small to hold a bunch of nail polish, sewing supplies, Lego or pens. If you use adult jeans and the area higher on the pant leg you could use it to hold magazines Fill the bin with craft supplies, bigger toys, or whatever things need gathering up to keep your place tidy!
Below I have put some more upcycle projects that I posted in the past year. Have a look!
Toilet Paper Roll Daisy Wall Art
Last year I did a post on making daisy flowers out of toilet paper rolls. I do love to save my toilet paper rolls for crafts so I had plenty more to continue on with more flowers. So this time we are gluing the flowers to a canvas and making a picture to hang in a little girls bedroom.
You will need:
- large white canvas
- 9 toilet paper rolls
- hot glue gun and glue sticks
- craft paint and paint brush
- big gems
For this project you need a plain white canvas from the dollar store ($4). Everything else you likely have in your craft cupboards. I followed the same instructions from the previous daisy toilet paper project. Each daisy makes 1 flower plus 2 leaves.
To make this I used 9 toilet paper rolls. I painted: 2 purple, 2 pink, 2 yellow, 2 turquoise and 1 royal blue. I cut the rolls first and painted after. But you might think its more efficient to paint first and then cut and then touch up the edges afterward. Fortunately , the paint will dry quickly.
Flatten your toilet paper roll.
Mark cutting lines 1/2 inch apart.
Pinch two petals together. Hold a few seconds while the hot glue dries.
Glue and pinch all 5 petals together. Pull the two outside petals toward each other and glue them together.
Lay out your flowers and leaves and add a dab of glue to attach them to your canvas.
Add a big gem to the centre and attach with hot glue.
Hang your canvas on the wall. Super easy! If your young child is going to do this, please help with the hot glue gun or use white glue.
Look below for more toilet paper roll and Springtime craft ideas!
How to Make Spring Flowers Craft From Painted Toilet Paper Rolls
Toilet Paper Roll Crafts-Use your loo roll tube for easy Crafts!
Make a Driftwood Sign – Home
I’m trying to be patient for spring to come but its just early March and it snowed all day….sigh.
Fortunately, I am hoarding craft supplies…including driftwood from trips to the shores last year. So let’s put it together for another rustic, nature craft.
Gather your supplies.
You will need:
- Driftwood
- Wood Slice or Stones
- Wood Scrap
- Wood Stain
- Rag and Gloves
- Eye Hooks
- Twine
Start by finding a scrap piece of lumber that will match the size of your driftwood. Lay out your pieces of driftwood to arrange them and make sure they fit! My board is 9 x 18 inches (23 x 46 cms) and its a pretty good match for my driftwood pieces.
As always, I used my little pot of Miniwax Jacobean stain. I love this dark shade.
Apply with a rag or brush in the directions of the grain. Allow the wood to dry according to the instructions. My stain can says to wait 8 hours before applying a clear polyurethane. I didn’t add a clear coat because I like the mat finish.
Here I am playing with the driftwood while the stain dries. I’m so impatient.
Now that its dry you should decide on how your going to hang the sign up.
Hang it like a picture?
Or like a sign with screw eyes and a bit of twine or jute rope? I’ve used the above options on several projects.
Now the stain is dry and I can pull it all together. I found some blue glass stones? Hmmmm. Tempting to use them but I wanted to have this look natural.
I also like the wood slice for the “O”. That is natural.
But after deliberations, I settled on small pebbles in the shape of a heart.
You can use your hot glue gun to attach the pieces to the wood. I might put this on the craft sale table at work so I used E6000 glue which is a very stinky permanent adhesive glue that will not pop off like hot glue can when it gets moved. Crack a window or work in your garage…it’s pretty strong smelling stuff.
And that is all there is to it!
Here are some other similar projects I have posted you might like….
Yarn Wrapped Sticks – Easy Spring Craft
Want to add some spring colours to your home? Why not try wrapping yarn around some sticks?
Part of my inspiration:
Have you heard of yarn bombing? If you haven’t you really should google it. It’s hilariously amazing! People are knitting or crocheting a sort of non permanent graffiti. You might find a park bench, bike, phone booth or a tree that is literally wearing a perfectly fitting, bright coloured sweater! Sometimes the crafter that does it wants to make a point and sometimes it just adding color to something grey and sterile like a light post.
https://algarveblog.net/2014/05/05/yarn-bombing-in-portimao/
Here is just one cheery photo so you can see what I mean!
Anyhoo the photos people have posted make me so happy but I can’t knit or crochet ask my friends Lana and Gen who just attempted to teach me how-they were patient but it didn’t take I’m afraid. Someday I will give it another try but for now here is my happy alternative.
It’s so easy and cheerful you are going to love this craft idea!
You will need:
- sticks
- yarn
- hot glue (optional)
- scissors
- vase
If you love your hot glue gun (as much as I do) start by adding a dab of glue to secure the end of the yarn.
If you don’t want to use hot glue then just tie a loop around the end of the stick and tuck the tail in-as you wind the yarn around the stick.
I really love the yarn that transitions the colours as you go. Its very smooth looking and only need to deal with the end at the beginning and the end.
If you don’t have yarn on hand that transitions you can use several colors and just change them as you get an inch down the branch.
When you are done just snip the stray ends.
When you get to a split in the twig’s branches continue down one side and then go back to complete the other stems.
Using drift wood is even easier to manage.
This took my 11 year old daughter and I an hour to do all of the sticks in the vase. We both enjoyed doing this. It was kind of an easy, soothing craft. It made a great mother daughter moment to stop and talk about things on our minds.
The results are very cheery decorative sticks with springtime colors that will go on a shelf or mantle.
Have a look at the other crafts linked below. I seem to enjoy the stick/twig projects. Mostly because they are free-out of the garden and something always need trimming.
Happy crafting!
Felt Business Card Holder – Easy Kid’s Project!
Learn how to make Business Card Holders out of Felt!
Looking for an Easy Sewing Project? Teach your child how to hand or machine sew with this quick gift idea. I’m going to show you how to make a felt business card holder with hearts or buttons for decoration and 3 ways to hand stitch.
We have a big event coming up where thousands of people from all over the world will be gathered and at the end swapping little gifts. So I have been searching for little homemade souvenirs for our family to give to the friends we meet. We might even get business cards printed-with our family email to put in the felt holder so we can become pen pals.
This seemed like an easy, fun, cute craft to make together. Plus teach some basic sewing skills…Brilliant!
You will need:
- 1 full piece of craft felt
- scrap pieces of felt for the heart
- scissors
- needle
- embroidery thread
- a business card
- sewing machine (optional)
- bright buttons (optional)
If you don’t already have felt and embroidery thread on hand you can get these from the dollar store, Walmart and craft stores.
I must admit, I am a bit of a felt hoarder-so I have bought mine from several sources. I found the felt sold by Hobby Lobby for 33 cents was the best quality and value.
One sheet of felt is usually around 9 1/4 x 12 inches (24 x 30 cm). This is the perfect size to cut into 6 business card holders. Fold the sheet in half lengthwise and cut along the fold. Fold one of those pieces into thirds and cut on the fold. (bottom photos) In the end you should have 6 pieces 4 x 4 1/2 inches (10 x 12 cm).
Have a business card handy to make sure it fits.
To get started cut small love hearts to decorate the outside of the card holder.
The easiest way to cut a heart is to fold the scrap of felt in half and then cut half the heart so both sides are the same.
Choose matching or contrast embroidery thread.
Divide regular embroidery thread into 2 sections of 3 strands each.
Knot the embroidery thread and begin sewing small stitches to attach the heart to the top of the felt.
Another idea is just to sew a bright button on instead of a heart. Teaching your child how to sew a button on and a simple hand sewing could really be helpful later in life.
A side note: Would you believe that while I was proof reading this my hubby has handed me a pair of his work pants and a button that just fell off. That proves just my point-thanks dear!
Fold the felt in half to form the little folder to hold the business cards. Here are 3 options we tried for hand stitching.
Whip Stitch: Knot the end of the thread and start on the inside of the fabric. Sewing in from the front and out the back and around. Back in the front a smidge to the left of the previous stitch.
Blanket Stitch: Start from the inside to hide the knotted end, then go through both layers. Stitches can be a bit further apart with the blanket stitch. Go in through the front of the fabric. As you pull the thread through, insert your needle through the loop and pull it securely to make your knot. Insert the needle into the front again the same distance from the previous stitches. At the final stitch go through a second time to make that knot and then insert your needle between the two layers of fabric and cut the thread.
Running Stitch: Knot the embroidery floss and begin on the inside to hide the knotted end. Use a running stitch to go in and out all the way up both edges.
My 11 year old preferred the blanket stitch. Not bad for her first attempt.
She also liked having one small heart over a larger heart.
The grey felt with red hearts with red stitching looks pretty good!
Option 2
To make the process faster (as I mentioned we want to make a lot of them)…we sewed the hearts on first and got a little bit faster with each one.
We hand sewed 10 hearts onto squares of felt and ran them through the sewing machine to make a tidy edge.
Could this get any easier! What a great idea…I want to thank my friend Ashley for sparking this idea over dinner last week. Great food, lovely ladies and a bit of craft talk snuck into to the evening…my favorite!
On this blustery, winter day you might be inspired to work with felt too! I have added links to a few of my posts from last year for you skim through and see if an idea is sparked for you too.
Sew a Super Easy to Make Felt Crown – Add to your dress up clothes!
100th Day of School Celebration-Glue Buttons on a shirt for a Gumball Machine
