Is it raining near you today? It is spring so we are going to have a lot more to come. Rain and sun is what is going to make my brown lawn green and that naked tree grown luscious leaves. In the meantime, let’s make the best of it with a cool craft.
You will need:
Several shades of Blue Crayons, Wax Paper, Iron-set to low heat setting, Old tea towel and Paper Towel, Scissors, a Pencil Sharpener, String or Yarn or Embroidery Floss (Blue) and a Hole Punch.
Choose some blue crayons and peel off the paper so they are ready for sharpening. I chose several shades of blue, turquoise and white. Lay out a piece of wax paper and sharpen the crayons overtop of the wax paper. Spread the shavings out. Next cut another piece of wax paper the same size and place it on top of the shavings for a crayon shavings sandwich. I did the craft on a wooden cutting board with a tea-towel under the wax paper and paper towel on top of the other wax paper. The shavings move around a lot so you may end up with some melted to the towels. My main thought was trying to protect the iron from permanently melting crayons to it. Now you make a quick run over the top layer with the iron. Adults should do the ironing-start at lowest setting if it doesn’t seem warm enough increase a bit at a time.
Draw a raindrop shape onto the wax paper and cut out the water drop shape. Next use a hole punch to pop a hole in the top of the raindrop. String up the raindrops and tape or wrap it around a stick or dowel or wooden spoon. If you haven’t got anything to use just put it with a line of tape right on the window. If I had blue painters tape I would have just put a line of that on the window.
The sun is trying to push through the clouds!! Better hurry and grab a kiddo and doggo and get out for a walk….
Sharpie Tie Die Coloured Shirts
There is so much you can do with Sharpie permanent markers! For this project I wanted to see for myself what happens when you mix sharpies with a white tshirt and drops of rubbing alcohol. I was hoping for a vibrant a tie dye effect. It turned out pretty cool!
For this project, you need permanent markers (like Sharpie’s), a plain t-shirt, rubbing alcohol, a piece of cardboard or plastic to put between the layers of t-shirt so it doesn’t bleed through to the back side of the shirt. You will also need an eye dropper or baby medicine syringe (safety note-throw it out after using it for this project) for dropping rubbing alcohol onto the artwork you create.
Its harder to write on a t-shirt than you might think. Fortunately, I was just aiming for some funky designs that would look bright when the colours were all blurred together. This would be very cool on a cotton pillow cover or canvas running shoes!
The rubbing alcohol is really quite smelly and I drenched my shirt in it because I loved the process-it’s like watching fire works! When I made this shirt I was battling a cold and my nose was stuffed up…but when my family came home they said it was really strong. It might be better to do this when the windows can be open or even as an outdoor project.
The best thing about this wearable art is that every one will be an original!
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Paper Plate Animals Groundhog Zebra Dog
It’s March Break this week! That means it’s time to look around the house for easy, inexpensive crafts using things we already have. My favorite go-to craft items are paper plates, lunch bags and coffee filters. There is so much you can do with these basic household items-and no trip to the craft store is required. Endless possibilities!
Today lets talk about the sturdy paper plate! For crafts, I like the thin ones that makes you nervous at a picnic that your coleslaw and hot dog are going to fall off the plate and onto your sandals. EEK! They might not be great for dinner in the park, but that is what makes them so perfect for crafting.
For these three crafts we have used a thin paper plate, paint and brush, construction paper, scissors and glue, big googly eyes and a black marker.
This brown paper plate animal was meant to be a beaver, but it could easily be a bear or groundhog if you want it to match a hibernation theme or a book you have read. Here I used 2 shades of brown for the ears, slivers of paper for the whiskers a brown nose that looks like a triangle with soft edges. After drawing on the mouth, you can slice a slit thru plate along the mouth line to slide the white teeth through and add a dab of glue on the back to keep them in place.
This is a paper plate zebra. Just add a scrap off of another plate, paint it black to be his mane and some ears. Add black stripes with a marker. The nose is sort of an oval/diamond shape. Use a white crayon or pencil crayon to make his mouth and nostrils. I love big googly eyes to add to my crafts but you could draw on eyes if you’re out of googly eyes.
This dog looks like our Gus. Gus badly needs a haircut at the moment-he is bringing in all sorts of dirt.
For this dog paper plate craft we painted him a creamy yellow and added a big, round, brown snout cut from construction paper. The nose is simple circle of black paper…but a big pink or black pom-pom would be cute too. We put a brown patch under the googly eye and had his tongue sticking out. Again you could slice a line in the paper plate to have the tongue look like its coming out of his mouth.
Have fun with your kids and crafts this March break!
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Toilet Paper Roll Crafts-Use your loo roll tube for easy Crafts!
Are you collecting toilet paper rolls for kids crafts?!? Of course you are! Here are some ideas for what to do with them.
There is just so many things you can make once the ideas start to roll in. I started with the polly pocket race car, then a tree, several houses and a road. Using tea tins and boxes I made some different shaped houses. Several toilet paper houses too.
Cruising through pinterest I can see a lot more ideas and not to worry I have plenty of toilet rolls saved for more crafting. March break is this week and that is the perfect time to get out the cheap crafts and paints and glues and make a toilet paper roll community. Have Fun Everyone!
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Easy to Make “Kitty” Cat Ear Hairband with Flowers
My kids tell me that cat ear hairbands are what everyone is wearing to school. So make one that is springy with flowers and pipe-cleaners. You will need:
Artificial plants with small flowers, a plain hairband, 2 matching pipe-cleaners, hot glue gun and scissors.
Use one pipe-cleaner to make each cat ear, wrap the wire tightly then use plyers to pinch it tight so it doesn’t poke you in the head.
Pop the flowers off the stems and trim off the little green nub. This will make the flower sit flat when you glue it on but it will also make the flower fall apart a bit so put a dot of glue on the flower and attach the green plastic end back on. Then glue the flower into place.
Remember to pull all the glue strings off from the hot glue gun. I always miss some! This would make a fun project for a girls playdate or visit to grandma’s. Have fun!
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Wooden Spoon Puppets! Easy Fast Fun Inexpensive!
I was researching some puppet theatres to make and came across the easiest puppet idea ever! All you need is some wooden spoons, a sharpie, scraps of fabric, googly eyes and your hot glue gun.
The wooden spoons I used were 3/ $1.50 making this an inexpensive craft. The shape of the spoon makes a perfect head shape. Some spoons have wide handles too that would be great for drawing on the clothing but these cheap and cheerful spoons were very skinny.
First I added googly eyes and then I drew on the rest of their faces. The hair was a bit tricky. I used pieces of felt for it although you could use yarn or sewing trims.
Clothes are pretty easy just cover up the spoon with a scrap of fabric and hot glue it in place. Its actually easier than you might think to make a shirt and tie.
This is the sort of craft that will actually stick around a long time after you make it. You have made an actual toy. I was thinking this is the sort of thing you could take on a camping trip instead of Barbie’s or dolls with all the little bits and pieces that you might lose.
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Sew a Super Easy to Make Felt Crown – Add to your dress up clothes!
How to Make an Easy Felt Crown!
I went to Dollar Tree this time to get a few time things and got these vibrant colours of pink, 2 shades of purple and turquoise. They charged $1.25 which is a lot more than Michael’s $.59 each. But I was there and the colours were so appealing….A piece of craft felt can cost $.50-1.25 depending on where you are buying it. For each crown you will only need 2 rectangles of felt-I used different bright colors. You will need some gems, scraps of felt and your hot glue gun, This time we are going to use the sewing machine.
If you would like to use do this project without sewing follow this link….http://mybrightideasblog.com/make-no-sew-felt-crown/
Make a template using an 8 1/2 by 11 standard piece of paper. Measure 4 1/2 inches from the bottom and draw a line. Draw another line 2 inches below that. Put a mark every inch along both lines. Then using your ruler create a zig zag. This measurement should make it possible to do this twice on a felt rectangle that measures 9′ x 11 1/2″. To make sure you don’t cut into the other half you could cut the felt in half lengthwise before you cut the zig zag, If your felt isn’t as wide as mine just shorten the bottom portion of the template…it doesn’t need to be that thick. Do the same with the second color that you have. This extra layer will stiffen the project so it can support the gems. It also makes it really pop with the extra color.
Next overlap the two colors a bit and pin them together. Sew all the way around the bottom, side, zig zag and other side. Overlap one side to the other and sew a seam to connect them. The other seam will be open so pin Velcro strips so the size is adjustable and easy to get on and off. If you don’t have Velcro you could just fit the crown to the child’s head and sew that seam too. Cut pieces of felt out of scraps to place under the gems. Using the hot glue gun, glue the felt to the crown and the gem on top.I only put gems on the front of the crown, but you could put them all the way around. You could also add a strip of ribbon or gold trim around the bottom to decorate it further.
How to Make a No Sew Felt Crown for under $3
Today we are making a “no sew” felt crown. I tried to be mindful of the cost and simplicity of this project in case you need to make 10 of these for a children’s princess party.
Here is what you need:
A piece of craft felt can cost $.50-1.25 depending on where you are buying it. For each crown you will only need 2 rectangles of felt-I used different bright colors. You will need some gems, scraps of felt and your hot glue gun.
Make a template using a 8 1/2 by 11 standard piece of paper. Measure 4 1/2 inches from the bottom and draw a line. Draw another line 2 inches below that. Put a mark every inch along both lines. Then using your ruler create a zig zag. This measurement should make it possible to do this twice on a felt rectangle that measures 9′ x 11 1/2″. To make sure you don’t cut into the other half you could cut the felt in half lengthwise before you cut the zig zag, If your felt isn’t as wide as mine just shorten the bottom portion of the template. Do the same with the second color that you have. This extra layer will stiffen the project so it can support the gems. It also makes it really pop with the extra color.
Now comes the fun part! Sort out how you would like to place your gems. Cut pieces of felt out of scraps to place under the gems. Using the hot glue gun, glue the layers together. Then glue on the felt circles and triangles into place, and followed by the gems. This is when I borrowed my daughter’s head for a sizing. Overlap the edges and glue in place. I only put gems on the front of the crown, if you were going to put them all around its important to not have glue gems on the part that is going to be under this over lap. So if I were going to put gems all around I would only put it on the 4 middle zig zags for the back part of the crown.
While you have the felt and gems out and the hot glue gun is still hot…you might as well make a ring and bracelet too.
…Here is a link to another post with identical looking crowns but using the sewing machine to sew the felt together and add a Velcro closure.http://mybrightideasblog.com/sew-a-super-easy-to-make-felt-crown/
Sewing Diy- Extend the Length of a Short Top with Lace
Have you got a great shirt that has gotten too small and you aren’t ready to say good-bye to it? Adding a bit of lace to the bottom is so easy and will make all the difference on how much longer it will work for you. Great for growing girls….also helpful for adults…I have a 100% cotton tank top that is going to have a similar extension as it now is a crop top…just from regular laundering it shrunk inches!
For this project you will need:
An awesome shirt you want to save
A piece of stretchy lace that will be as wide as the top
Sewing machine, thread, tape measure etc etc
Iron the t-shirt and the lace before you start. This lovely, shimmery, sequin butterfly top is 14 inches wide (36 cms) along the bottom seam when laying flat. So the lace would need to be 28 inches (73 cms) wide plus one extra inch (2.5 cms) for a seam allowance. Check to make sure this will be a good match in width.
Fold the lace in half and sew the edges together. Turn it inside out.
Lay the lace on the bottom of the t-shirt and decide if you would like to sew it on top of the bottom edge or underneath. My lace has a nice look to the top so it didn’t need to be hidden. Lay the lace down flat and put a pin on each end…this will help you to line up the pin to the side seams.
I pinned the lace on top of it all around the top. After I took this photo I decided that the t-shirt would be on the left of the sewing machine so all the pins needed to be turned around. Since the t-shirt and the lace have some stretch you can pull and stretch it a bit if things aren’t lining up well. After you sewed all the way around you are done. Try it on. Can you believe that only took you 10 minutes!?!? Well done!
We love this sequin butterfly top enough that we would probably cut the butterfly off and sew it onto another shirt when its just too small.
100th Day of School Celebration-Glue Buttons on a shirt for a Gumball Machine
It looks like next Monday will be the 100th school day for 2018! Where has the time gone?!?!
Once a year the school has a nice way to spice up a dreary February by celebrating the 100th day of school. Its a great excuse for extra math too as they find all sorts of ways to come up with the number 100. Teachers from Kindergarten to Grade 2 seem to get into it the most with assignments for parents to help their children glue 100 cheerios to a page or 100 googly eyes to a t-shirt. What we did for the girls a few years ago was put 100 buttons on a t-shirt looking like gum balls in a gumball machine.
Simply take a piece of in-expensive white felt and cut a circle (trace a plate). Take a piece of red felt and cut out the bottom and top of the gum ball machines. We didn’t realize the date had snuck up and with one night to do this I hot glued everything in place. I could have sewed on the felt and buttons but that would have taken some time but made them more wearable. We put it on plain purple t-shirts from the craft store….purple is always a great choice and the bright colours pop! Their teachers were really delighted by the effort we put into making t-shirts for the theme.
COST
The cost to make this…$5 t-shirts….$2 felt…..$4 for buttons in 4 colors from the dollarstore which was enough for both girls tops. So less than $20 for both girls. You could cut the cost in half if you use t-shirts that you already have. Use one that they are just about to outgrow anyway! The photo was taken by the teachers and emailed to me-how sweet!
