Freezer paper stenciling

In November, in preparation for our Craft Social, I tried freezer paper stenciling for the first time. I didn't experiment with many fabrics so I can't say whether my less-than-perfect results were due to the fabric type or due to my tendency to apply too much paint. Maybe both.
Above are bags we gave to our kids' cousins for Christmas. My kids helped choose the images and paint colors, but I did the cutting, ironing and painting.
Also above is a bag I made for my sister. We're Seinfeld fans so I painted on a quote that I thought would be funny when remembering the context and appropriate for grocery shopping (although I don't know if she uses it in that capacity or not). It was fun to make but definitely tedious in cutting all those letters. I probably should have re-ironed it before taking a picture.
If you've never tried freezer paper stenciling but would like to, here's a tutorial to get you started. I would just advise that you use a pretty smooth fabric and enough paint to fill out your stencil without over applying it. Maybe a onesie with a stenciled shamrock is in order for St. Patrick's Day? Everything's cuter on onesies.

Back-to-School Scavenger Hunt and Eco-friendly school supplies

My daughter starts kindergarten this year. We have decided to homeschool. This year. Just meaning I have no earthly idea if either one of us will take to it so I have no expectations whatsoever of what we'll do next year. But since we are doing it this year, I'm needing to get things in order around here.
I've been caught up in researching our teaching/learning materials and haven't thought much about preparing my daughter for the event. She's never been to preschool so the whole concept of school (except, of course, for her experience in our one-morning-a-week co-op last year) is still foreign to her. And homeschool is foreign to me. I think we both need something special to kick off the new year.
I prepared the idea for this back-to-school scavenger hunt for the Celebrations radio show, but didn't have a chance to share it. I've decided to use it with my daughter, whom I expect will be thrilled. Ours will, of course, be the start-of-school version.
Here you go....

Collect some of the items your child will need for school: pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, maps, book (on a topic they've chosen to study or one you know they'd enjoy reading), homemade reusable sandwich/snack bags, lunch bag, thermos or water bottle, interesting ribbon or key chain for house key, favorite snack, bracelet, socks, tiny tissue pack, markers, clay, paint, etc .
Find a school-related image (books, bus, globe, crayons, map, school building, etc.) online or scan one into your computer then print out several small copies onto cardstock. Cut them out and fold like cards or leave them flat like postcards. Use these for your scavenger hunt clues.
Hide the supplies/gifts around your house or outdoors and create clues to lead your child on a hunt for each item. Provide your child with something for collecting her goodies or lead her 1st to a new school bag or box.
Print or write your clues inside or on the back of your clue cards. Be cute and simple.
Example: I'll carry water or milk for you to drink. Look for me under your kitchen sink. (New drinking bottle in the play kitchen).
Monster, bug or bike. Sculpt me how you'd like. Stretch me, roll me, push me, pull me. Find me next to your blanket that's woolly. (New clay hiding on the bed).
After your child has collected all her new items, help her open them and prepare them for school, putting in her bag or arranging in her home study space.

If you're thinking of going green this school year, here's a short list of resources.

Stylish and eco-friendly snack bags, boxes, and bottles
Betz White's sandwich wrap
LunchSkins Reusable Sandwich Bag
Fresh Snack Pack
Stainless steel lunch box
Stainless steel lunch bowl and boxes
Not your plastic Strawberry Shortcake thermos

Eco-art and school supplies
Smencils and more at Stubby Pencil Studio
Recycled newspaper colored pencils and cute stuff
Adhesive paste
Binders, notebooks, and paper

Alphabet block magnets

I know I promised more food posts this week, and I do have some ready, but I got so distracted with this tutorial and then felt I just had to finish it and post it before doing anything else. Anything else. Like washing dishes or preparing for our blueberry-picking trip or doing laundry or eating lunch. Sometimes projects do that to you, you know?
So here is a tutorial for alphabet block fridge magnets or photo holders.

Materials:
alphabet blocks
small hand saw
small piece of sandpaper
3/4" round flat magnets
drill fitted with 3/4" spade bit
craft glue like E6000
table vise, clamp or some way to stabilize your block while drilling (I stood on the side of a 3" C-clamp)

1. I chose 5 blocks with the initials of our family.
2. I used a coping saw to create a slit in the top of the block. I made it almost halfway between the front and back of the block, but a little closer to the front. I sawed down a little more than halfway to the bottom. Make sure your letter is right side up before sawing!
3. I sanded the inside of the slit and curved the paper to sand the side edges at the cut.

4. I tightened a 3" C-clamp around my block with the front of the block facing the floor and the back of it facing up.
4. I fitted our electric drill with a 3/4" spade bit and centered it on the back of the block (while standing with my feet holding the clamp to the floor).
5. I drilled down about 1/8" and dropped a magnet in to make sure the hole was flat on the bottom and as deep as I wanted. (I wanted to mostly hide the magnet).
6. I used a toothpick to spread some glue in the hole and pressed the magnet in.

Once the glue dries, you can stick your block to the fridge and insert a photo or your appointment reminder card or library due date receipt. If your photo is not secure enough in the slit, then wedge a little piece of paper or cardstock behind it.

Now, to use the blocks as tiny standing photo displays, business card or place card holders, simply cut the slit through the top and skip the rest. Unless you want the block weighted, in which case you could drill through the bottom instead of the back and insert a magnet or something to weigh it down.
Try stacking and gluing the blocks for a little photo tower or build pyramids or what have you. These blocks make it easy to change up your display often!

Candy wrapper belt tutorial

Alright, here it is. Now you, too, can wear a fantastically cool candy wrapper belt.

Candy Wrapper Belt

Materials:
candy or gum wrappers (the bag they're packaged in works well, too)
scissors
straight edge (optional)
tape measure
clear packing tape
double stick tape
x-acto or utility knife (optional)
2 d-rings in width of your choice (D-rings can be purchased at fabric stores. I made belts using 1 1/4” and 1/1/2” rings. These are probably the best for fitting through belt loops on most pants).

1. Measure your waist and determine the desired length of your belt. I used a ribbon belt I had on hand as a guide, too.

2. Determine the width of your belt by measuring the width of your d-rings. Plan to make your belt slightly narrower so it lays flat in the bottom of the ring.

3. Prepare your candy wrappers. I found the Starburst wrappers were simplest to use as they didn't require any trimming to fit into a 1 1/2” d-ring. With other candy wrappers I preferred trimming the sides to remove the excess or the ugly parts. The Tootsie Rolls were simple to trim with scissors, just outside the orange lines and they fit perfectly in a 1 1/4” ring.
I trimmed odd sized wrappers with a straight edge and utility knife. I found the width of the ruler I had was perfect for the 1 1/4" rings, so I placed the wrappers underneath it and trimmed down both sides.
With some wrappers, you could fold the excess wrapper over the back and double stick it down. I didn't want the extra thickness. Also, fyi, if you fold them over without taping them down, it creates kind of a tube belt and I found that annoying.

For my belts, I used about 19 Starburst wrappers and about 25 Tootsie Roll wrappers. The Tootsie Roll belt has a reversible end whereas the Starburst one doesn't. Obviously, a child's belt would require fewer wrappers.

4. Cut a piece of packing tape a couple inches longer than your desired belt length and lay it sticky side up on the table.

5. Begin placing candy wrappers face down in a line along the center of the tape strip, overlapping each slightly, paying attention to the direction your wrappers are facing. I wanted mine going the same way.
At one end, place a strip of double stick tape on the back of your wrappers (about 5 inches long) and place candy wrappers face up. That will be the reversible end opposite the d-rings.

6. Fold the edges of the packing tape running lengthwise over the backs of the wrappers. Cut a strip of tape in half lengthwise and stick it onto the back of the wrappers down the center to seal your belt, overlapping the folded tape edges. I found this easiest to do in multiple short strips versus one long one.

7. At the reversible end of your belt, fold the end over about 1/2” toward the back of the belt and wrap a piece of packing tape around the belt to secure it.

8. Slide the two d-rings onto the opposite end of the belt. Fold the belt end over onto the back of the belt about 1 1/2”. Wrap a piece of packing tape around the belt leaving about 3/4” play for the d-rings.

9. Slide through your belt loops and show it off!

I had a picture of my belt being worn, but can't seem to find it. If I take a new one, I'll be sure to post it.

While figuring out how to make these, I discovered you can thread your belt through the rings in 2 different ways: one with the end of the belt coming through over the topside of your belt and the other with the end sliding underneath the belt next to your pants. I had no idea. I'm actually a fan of threading it underneath now which means you wouldn't need to make the end reversible. Seems to hold the belt tighter, too.

On my daughter's belt (which she helped make) I added a loop to catch the end of the belt. Hers was a little thick at the end and needed some help laying flat. I made a short strip using the same process as the belt, circled it around the belt and taped the back side of it to the belt.

And just fyi, plastic doesn't breathe so expect a sweat ring around your waist if you wear one of these this summer.

Pom pom presents

My daughter attended a lovely tea party in celebration of a friend's birthday over the weekend. She wore her fancy flower girl dress and thoroughly enjoyed herself.
We attend so many birthday parties in the spring that coming up with ideas for homemade gifts becomes a must. This little girl happens to share a blue room with her brother so we thought she might enjoy a burst of pink (one of her favorite colors) in her living space. I made three small pom poms using this tutorial and strung each with ribbon to hang. (I looped the three together for packaging convenience).
These make pretty party decorations, too, whether you make them small or huge like the tutorial suggests. We happen to be offering the pom poms strung into garland as a project option at our Craft Social this Friday and I'm excited to see how pretty they look hanging in a row. So cheerful and springy!

Nature Can at Craft:

I just realized my Nature Can tutorial was posted on the Craft: blog earlier this month as part of their lead-in to Earth Day. This was the project I was eagerly awaiting to appear in print before the magazine ceased publication. It was scheduled for the next issue. Not quite the same having it online (versus in print compensated with a paycheck!), but here you go:

This is the new online tutorial.
This is the rest of their Crafting with Nature round up (which included the Nature Can).
This is my original Nature Can blog post (April 2008).

Hope your weather is warm enough to start collecting!

Paper pocket booklets

Say that three times fast.
My friend Jess and I were charged with leading some women in a craft during some down time at a recent church retreat. I was looking for a project with simple directions that wouldn't require a professional to put together, that would be functional and, of course, cute. Additionally, it needed to be cheap and relatively small. This paper booklet (with pocket) is one of the projects we completed. I think it was a hit.

The necessary materials for making this handy booklet are:
heavy paper (patterned is cute)
copy paper
cardstock for printed template
scissors
pencil
X-Acto knife
embroidery floss
embroidery needle

For the template and complete instructions, with video, see Jess's post here.

You'll notice I made a couple booklets from cereal boxes. I do recommend this, as it makes a cute and sturdy booklet, but not if it bothers you that the cardboard sort of remains open. It doesn't lay perfectly flat when it's closed. I figure that's not a big deal in most circumstances.

Another way to make these booklets that would be even simpler would be to cut your heavy paper to an 8 5/8"x 5 5/8" rectangle and score down the middle to fold. I preferred this method with the cardboard.

Cereal box garland

My final garland this week is made from cardboard cereal boxes. I love the bold colors, graphics and unexpected quality of this garland. Nice to stray from the traditional pink and red combo, too. Detailed instructions for making your own are posted at Blissful Kids today.

More Valentine hearts

Two for one today. Stuffed paper hearts and candy cane hearts.
First the stuffed heart:
We made it with patterned and solid paper, shredded paper, string/ribbon, and a hole punch. I cut out two hearts, one on the patterned paper above, and a second of the same size in solid red. I held the two hearts together and punched holes around the edge. I cut long lengths of 1/4" red satin ribbon and jute.
To lace it, I advise punching two side-by-side holes at the bottom and lacing it up like a shoe, with one half of the ribbon on each side of the heart. Then you can hang it by two ribbons which meet at your hook. I started and the top and worked my way around one side. Also okay, but then I had to tie it off at the top of the heart and string it up with the single ribbon left. Does that make any sense?
Whichever way you choose to lace it, stop part way around to stuff the heart. I let the kids help me shred paper in advance and then they helped stuff it into the heart. I tied it off and hung it up with our other garland.

Second, the candy cane hearts. I used this tutorial at Make and Takes for shaping the candy canes. Then I hung them each by their own ribbon, but grouped them together. Ours are hanging vertically, but I'm sure you could tie them together and hang them horizontally.

More from our Valentine heart garland sampler tomorrow!

Heart garland and Valentine worms

We've been making a variety of Valentine garlands here. Some the kids have been able to help with, like this one, and some I've made myself. I should be able to share one with you every day this week!
This garland is cute and very simple. We adapted the idea found here (via The Crafty Crow). My kids had so much fun making the Christmas pipe cleaner ornaments, I was sure they'd enjoy the Valentine hearts. They did pretty well at first, but I guess the heart shape was limiting. They were quickly on to making worms and caterpillars. Looking at them, I have to admit their worm families are more interesting than my hearts. Just not as obviously Valentine.

As a side note, I have to mention their process here. Every animal represented in this house is always labeled either a mommy, daddy, kid or baby. Same with the worms and caterpillars below. They had me cut the pipe cleaners so the mommy and daddy were longest, the kid was next and baby last. Age and height are popular and always interesting topics for them. Then they had me tie a ribbon around the families to keep them together. I think pipe cleaner and bead projects will be repeated here throughout the year.

Shoebox terrarium

Last week, we finally got around to something I've been intending to do for quite some time. We made terrariums (or vivariums): little plant/animal habitats. This is a fun project and, like so many of my favorite projects, can be made with household items and minimal craft supplies.

Materials for making your own toy terrarium:
cardboard box with lid (the hinged shoeboxes or mailing boxes are great)
thin, clear plastic (like bedding packaging, salad greens container, etc.)
magazines with nature photography
foamy filler (like polyester fiberfil, cotton batting, t-shirt or fabric scraps, etc.)
felt
cardboard scraps, plastic lid, cardboard tube
rocks, sticks
double-stick tape, glue stick, craft glue
X-acto knife
scissors

1) Begin by cutting, with your X-acto knife, a window in the lid and side(s) of your box, leaving enough room around your window to tape down the plastic. Cut your plastic next, larger than the windows. I used a clear package that held a mattress pad. I've had similar packaging from bed linens, storage bags, and other household items. You could also cut out from the lid or bottom of a grocery store-purchased spinach bin .
Use double-stick tape around your windows to tape down the plastic.

2) Cut nature photos from magazines and tape or glue to the interior of your box.

3) Line the bottom of your box with a shallow layer of filler. I used polyester fiberfil, but you could use any batting, fabric scraps, newspaper bunches, etc. Cut a piece of felt a little larger than the base of your box. Line the edges of the base with craft glue and press down the edges of the felt to cover the bottom.

4) Add your plant life. I glued some nature images to thin cardboard (eggs, leaf) and cut them out. I also glued felt to cardboard and cut out grass/plant and nest shapes. For our water basin, I glued felt around a 1/2" deep jar lid, and filled the inside like I did the box-with fiberfil and felt to cover. Cover a cardboard tube with felt to make a log. Add natural elements like rocks and sticks.

5) Finally, add your animals. We used little toy frogs, lizards, and snakes, that tend to come home in party bags.

We did not decorate the box exterior, but you could take it a step further and do that, as well.
My kids call it the frog house and are asking for another, since this one is rather small. I did construct this one by myself, primarily, but I'm thinking next time they could choose images, glue them on, make some plants, add the nature elements, and decorate the box exterior. Older children could participate more fully in the design and construction.

Beginning embroidery

Thank you all for the kind comments on my handprint embroidery. I've enjoyed seeing your own examples, too, as you've provided me with links. Lovely! Like some of you have said, I need to focus next on making one for our own family. Maybe in a frame. Almost too cute to give away, but luckily simple enough to quickly make one for yourself.
Here are some answers to a few questions I've received and links for those of you still wanting to embroider the handprints of your children or for those of you looking to get started embroidering anything.

I used the Backstitch with all 6 threads of embroidery floss. I thought this made a nice solid outline which is just what I wanted for this project.
I considered using linen fabric, but couldn't find a shade I wanted in my local fabric store. I ended up with a cheaper natural-looking cotton. I don't even remember if it had a name.
I don't know how long this project took me from start to finish. A couple hours for the actual embroidery? I do know it takes longer if you're watching Little Women while you work. Maybe the soundtrack would allow me to be more efficient.
The acrylic paint dried pretty quickly on the hoop, but you'll want a couple coats. So it all depends on how many fragments of time you have to yourself. It took me a couple, or a few, days from start to finish, but it could definitely be finished in less than one.

This was my first shot at embroidery and if this is the case with you, here are some instructional links for you:
Primrose Design-see the sidebar for Stitch School posts.
Sublime Stitching-see the How To section (their image above).
Instructables-Embroidery 101
YouTube-search under embroidery stitches, basic embroidery, embroidery tutorial, etc.
I saw a lot of other sites that looked helpful, as well, but didn't necessarily use them this time around. Here's a couple:
Needle'N'Thread
Needlework

I hope that helps! If you have any other questions or pictures of your own projects, let me know! I'll be sure to post my next embroidery project, too.
Merry Christmas and Happy Embroidering!

Button wreath ornaments

It's almost Christmas and I figure most of you are probably finished with your holiday projects or out of town away from your computer altogether. Merry Christmas! But, for those of you still hanging around needing something to do with your kids, here you go:
I saw these cute little ornaments last year and filed the idea away for future use. I'm glad I did. These were so simple. Perfect for another one of our afternoons confined to the apartment. The kids enjoyed making them (they strung all their own buttons and chose ribbon), and they look super cute hanging on the tree or just about anywhere. Also a great way to use up old buttons if you have too many ugly buttons hanging around. Of course, if you just have the ugly ones, you may want to get a little pack of holiday or brightly colored buttons to mix in.
See Martha Stewart and Me and My Girl for tutorials and more cute examples.

Embroidered hand prints

I am on my way, right now, to visit family for the week. It will be a fun and busy week, as we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving, early Christmas, and participating in a wedding shower for my sister. Whew.
I'm not very good about getting gifts made ahead of time (or even on time, for that matter), but I did manage to create a keepsake for my parents and grandparents that I am pretty excited about. Simple, but sweet.
I was inspired by this embroidery project at A Number of Things (via Kelly at Almost Frugal-who kindly included my clothespin dolls in her list of handmade holiday gifts).
Alice embroidered the outline of her son's hand which he had traced himself. While my kids aren't really up for that yet, I thought it would be a great way for me to capture their prints. I've never done the traditional plaster prints or even painted ones.
I traced their hands on paper, cut out the shapes, then traced those onto my fabric (you can get fabric transfer paper, but for an outrageous price). Next, I embroidered them all inside a 12" hoop. I kept it simple, with just their initials and the year. I painted the hoops (I didn't have a chance to photograph the other one which is designed a bit differently) so they could be hung as is, keeping enough extra fabric behind that they could be pulled out and framed later, if need be.
My kids were excited to see their hand prints sewn into the fabric and liked the thought that next Christmas they'll be able to put their hands up next to the prints and see how they've grown.
This was my first time to embroider anything. I'm definitely going to do more of it.

Update: I've answered some of your questions about this project and given you some embroidery instruction links here.

Cereal box turkeys

I think this cereal box project has been the most fun for me. This is the 3rd in my Cereal Box Cut-outs series. First, game. Second, mobile. Now, Thanksgiving turkeys.

Materials:
Cereal box circles (or boxes and circle cutter)
glue (glue stick or craft glue)
small cardboard or foam core scraps
scissors
popsicle sticks

I set out all of my cut circles and began layering to create colorful little turkeys, not gluing until I was satisfied with the overall appearance. Experiment with the front and backsides of the cereal boxes, patterns and solids, so as not to have too many competing patterns or like colors on top of each other.
Place a large circle in back, cutting off the bottom and making slits around the rest to form the tail feathers. Choose smaller circles for the body, one or layer two. Cut one circle in half for the wings. Use the smallest circles for the head and wattle. (Sidenote: It surprised me to see how many people have googled "What's the name for that red dangly thing on a turkey's neck?")
Cut little eyes and a beak.
For added dimension, layer small pieces of cardboard or foam core board between some of the body parts. See the middle picture above.
Once you're satisfied with your design, glue.
Glue a popsicle stick on the back and poke your turkey into a plant, centerpiece (make a bunch for an all turkey centerpiece), bowl of candy or cranberries, your baked sweet potatoes, whatever.
For clip-on turkeys and turkey napkin rings, see my corresponding Cereal Box Cut-outs, Part 3: Thanksgiving turkeys post at Blissful Kids.

Cereal box mobile

My first mobile was so much fun to make, I thought it was time for another. This time, I was trying to use as few materials as possible, primarily various sizes of circles cut from cereal boxes. This is a follow-up project to my first cereal box circle post, the matching game. You can find my instructions for making a mobile like this over at Blissful Kids: Cereal Box Cut-outs, Part 2: Mobile.

Black opal mining

This morning we studied Australia with our one-morning-a-week preschool friends. Aside from the anticipated "G'day, mate!" greetings, Kookaburra singing, and kangaroo races, we mined for black opals. Although it was mentioned, mining certainly wasn't a prevalent theme in our reading, which is one reason I thought it would be fun to try an activity related to it. You know, it can't be kangaroos for two hours.
Here's the lowdown.
Since I didn't want to send the kids home with a project that needed to be baked, and since I wanted them to have the mining experience, I created our "gems" at home prior to our meeting.
First, I rolled several balls (little bigger than rounded teaspoons, I think) of black or blue Sculpey. Then I pinched off tiny, thin pieces (odd rough-edged shapes, dots, snakes, etc.), of varying bright colors and pressed them to the balls.
Alternatively, you could sandwich your colors together. I used both methods.

Next, I rolled the balls in the palm of my hands, adding more bits of Sculpey if I thought it was needed, and formed each ball into a unique shape, suitable to be worn as a pendant or bead on a necklace.

I didn't want to bother drilling holes through the baked Sculpey, so I created holes, through which I could later string cord or ribbon, in each gem with a toothpick. Finally, I baked them in the oven at 275 degrees for about 20 minutes. (Follow Sculpey's box instructions if you do this at home).
That part of the project was relaxing and fun for me. I, sadly, don't have pictures of the kids' fun part, but here's what we did.
I filled a very large bowl with a mixture of soil, stones, and, since the soil came out of my friend's yard, some bits of weeds and a bonus worm. I tossed in a few of our black opals. The kids took turns sifting through the mixture with toy trowels, garden forks, and sieves.
After unearthing all the opals, we set them in our little beach sieve and took turns washing them in the sink. Each child chose their opal to "polish" with a washcloth or paper towel. Lastly, we strung our gems on ribbon and proudly wore them around our necks.
The kids really enjoyed this activity and, of course, the pretty take-home prize.

Domino necklace

We attended a birthday party over the weekend, which, for me, meant some last-minute crafting. This time I put together a domino necklace for our 5-year old friend Danielle.
I had been meaning to experiment with old game pieces as necklaces after seeing Scrabble tile pendants (links at bottom), but hadn't gotten around to it. Nothing like a deadline to get me going.
For this necklace, I glued an old lettered game piece (specifically chosen for the birthday girl) to the top half of a domino, leaving exposed the number 5. I coated the letter with Mod Podge and the number with Diamond Glaze. I super glued a jewelry bail with jump ring to the top and slid a little leathery rope necklace through. Pretty simple.
I was pleased, and am excited about experimenting further. I'll be sure to post when I get around to making something new.

For Scrabble tile pendant tutorials, see here:
Annie Howes
Home Studio at Make and Takes
Squidoo

For pendant-like magnets, see:
Angry Chicken

Oh yeah, I made the box, too, using this tutorial:
Origami gift box at U-handbag