Recently, when my daughters were looking for something to do, I pulled out an old craft idea that I had done as a kid. This project turns an ordinary tin can into a decorative paper clip or pen holder. Supplies needed: clean tin cans (e.g., tuna or soup cans, candy tins, etc) fabric scraps ribbons, […]
Make Your Own Teacup Candles
I decided to spend a recent rainy day (forty degrees in April, of course) making teacup candles that had the gentle smell of fruits, flowers, and other spring notions. These cups are also very nice for gift giving and incredibly easy to make.
DIY Paper Plate Animal Baskets
When I’m stuck in the house with my daughter, I like to find crafts to do. With Easter coming up, I wanted to create an Easter basket but didn’t have anything to make one with. But you don’t need anything special. Two paper plates will do! These DIY paper plate baskets are fun the whole […]
Repurposed Salt Containers
If you’re anything like me, being stuck in the house while the snow piles up outside you’re creative impulses may go into over-drive. Cleaning out my spice cabinet, my attention was drawn to the salt shaker containers. What, if anything could I possibly do with those? Here are three ideas. Supplies: All three projects require cutting, […]
Make Your Own Valentine’s Love Poppet
Nope, not a typo — poppet is just the older spelling of puppet. As if that statement alone doesn’t make it obvious, I will openly admit that quirky is my thing. Quirky is also my husband’s thing, and our kids. We are a big ole nerd/geek/quirk family. So, when it comes to gifting things, we are […]
Knitted Valentine Treat Bag
In creating a dice bag (geek thing ) for my husband, I was hit by the inspiration fairy. The original pattern for the Cthulu Dice bag that started all of this can be found at http://www.arcanavitae.com. From this, I made minor changes to create a home-knitted Valentine Treat bag that can be gifted to teachers, secretaries, […]
Origami Horse for Chinese New Year 2014 and Beyond
It is always fun to come up with new things to do with the kids, and sometimes it is more fun to recycle the the things we used to do as kids ourselves. Origami is one of those things from my childhood that makes an appearance in our lives at least twice a year. Typically, […]
How to Organize and Update Your Yarn Stash
You know how it goes – you find yarn on sale and can’t resist. You buy a few in every color, so you’ll be prepared when you need a certain hue for a specific pattern. Or, you want to keep a variety on hand, planning to experiment with different colors to see how it […]
Easy Afghan – Not Just for Grandma!
Do you knit, do you purl? That is all you need! Okay, well not all..you still need yarn, pattern, and needles. GIANT needles. Giant needles obtained (US50), yarn purchased, patternin hand, and get comfy. Oh yeah, free patterns are all over the place. This is one from the Lion Brand site. They have a whole […]
Homemade Holiday Wreath
A few years ago, at a flea market, I found a nifty little bell that inspired me to make a wreath for the holidays. Many years later, that wreath is still in great condition, but I just wanted something different. My husband said he would like a wreath that looked like a wrapped gift. […]
DIY Ornament: “Frosted” Candy Cane Thumbprint Keepsake
Now that my kids are old enough (sort of) at 2 and 3, I thought we would start a new holiday tradition this year and start making an annual DIY ornament! They are not exactly master crafters yet, but they rock at getting their fingers in paint. So I used the inspiration from two Halloween […]
Homemade Holiday Garland
I grew up loving the delicate looking lace garlands on Christmas trees. As an adult, I am drawn to them as they are less likely to be eaten by my toddler or pets. We are a non tinsel household with the babies (furry or otherwise) around. The only problem is that I don’t usually have […]
