Button Jar

Filed Under Crafts, Glue, Kids, Spring | 2 Comments

button jar This is a very cute idea to use up all those extra buttons that seem to accumulate all over the place! I try to keep all my buttons in one drawer near my sewing supplies but I seem to find them everywhere… I found this idea over at Create-Kids-Crafts.com. They have lots of other great Spring Craft ideas as well!

This may be used to hold any number of small items.

Supplies needed:

baby food jar
flat buttons
paint or window markers
paintbrush
quick setting glue

Glue several buttons on the outside of the jar to represent flowers. Hold the buttons in place until the glue is set. Paint stems and leaves on to the jar for the flowers. Add any other decorations you may want.

Easter Box!

Filed Under Crafts, Glue, Easter Crafts, Felt | 1 Comment

Easter box Jillian helped with an Easter Egg Hunt last weekend and they always have a craft time as well as an Easter Egg hunt. They made little boxes to put jewelry or goodies into. They look very similar to this box.

They are small wooden boxes that they first painted with colored paint, then after it had dried, they took a strip of felt and glued it to the rim of the box lid. Then they each had some felt bunnies and chicks, as well as a variety of flowers to glue onto the top of each box. They turned out so cute!

I love making Easter crafts!

Just Veggin…

Filed Under Crafts, Easter Crafts, Wood projects | 1 Comment

This adorable bunny and directions can be found can be found over at Craftown.com. Bunny Wood Project

I’ve been looking for a cute bunny to put on my front door for Easter… and I only have a little over a week to make it! I better get on the ball!

They include the patterns and all the directions on how to make it. It looks like a fairly simple project. Hubby Frank has a lot of wood scraps around so he should be able to come up with enough wood for me.

I love the face on this bunny! I hope I’m able to duplicate it!

Make sure you stop over at Craftown.com to check out all their Easter crafts from easy to Advanced ideas!

Hoppy Easter!

The Grubby Doll Look

Filed Under Crafts, Dolls | 1 Comment

I want to share this great article I found about making dolls that are “Grubby”. Enjoy!

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“Grubby” is the word I kept hearing around the craft circuit. To me grubby meant grimy. So I decided to get to the bottom of this and find out the big deal with grubbing a doll and what it really meant in crafters terms. So I decided to ask a fellow crafter “What Is Grubby? To my surprise I found out that it’s another word for aged or old and that it gives your dolls that dirty look. Now at first I thought to myself “Why would I want to make my dolls look dirty”. Then I did a few of my dolls and realized they are not really dirty looking but a bit more primitive.
So to get “The Grubby Doll Look”, you can use a tea mixture, coffee or Walnut Ink. I decided to go with Walnut Ink, since I seem to drink too much coffee or tea to keep any left over for my dolls. Where do you purchase Walnut Ink? Try various craft sites and also E-bay sells them. Now this does not mean to go out and make all your dolls look grubby, has you may or may not like the look. Trust me; I was skeptical in the beginning so it’s best to start out with 1-2 dolls at a time.

Once you have grubbed up a few dolls, try selling them at your next craft show. This is a great way to introduce a new doll to your customers and also find out if they are acceptable. It is always good to test your market before going overboard with a new product.

Now of course I don’t listen to my own advice and have done well with making these sort of dolls. I even sold a few on Ebay. So if you decide to jump in and just go nuts with making grubby dolls, remember I warned you. Smile
Also know that each target market area is different and some people may not know what grubby is so be prepared to answer the question “What is Grubby”?!

Author: Talena Bacon tdsewcutedoll@gmail.com
Bio: © 2008 –All Rights Reserved~~~Talena Bacon is the owner of Sew Cute Dolls & More and Mulberry Creek Mercantile She is a doll maker, pattern designer and advertising specialist. Talena specializes in Primitive/Country dolls, home décor and low-cost advertising for all businesses.
http://www.sewcutedolls.com
http://www.mulberrycreekmercantile.com

Happy New Year!

Filed Under Crafts, Happy New Year | 2 Comments

Happy New Year

Fabric Christmas Trees!

Filed Under Sewing, Crafts, Christmas Crafts, Christmas | Leave a Comment

How about these little guys to brighten your Christmas? I love them! I found them over at The Small Object. She gives step by step instructions, with pictures, as to how to make them.

I have some gorgeous shades of green material that I think would turn out nicely for these trees. I’m one of those people that wants to see the proper colors for their creations! lol! Don’t get me wrong, I think these trees are great! But there’s something in me that wants to see green trees at my house! lol!

I like the one in the middle with the red and green the best. Enjoy!

Homemade Gift Bags

Filed Under Crafts, Kids, Christmas Crafts, Christmas | 2 Comments

It seems like everyone uses gift bags these days instead of wrapping paper. We still us wrapping paper for our kid’s gifts, but I do tend to buy gift bags for everyone else… it just seems easier!

But this year, I’m going to try something different… I found a box full of large manila envelopes in my closet and I knew there had to be some way to make these into gift bags. I did some searching and ta da!!! I found it over at Pages of the Heart! She lists the directions and pictures on how to take a plain manila envelope and turn it into a gift bag! How cool is that?

I think this is one thing the girls and I will be working on this weekend… buy some red paint, use some of the stickers I have from scrapbooking and I’m sure we can come up with some very unique and creative gift bags! This picture looks like they were made for Valentine’s Day but they could be made for any holiday or celebration!

Give it a try and let me know how yours turns out!

Christmas Crafts!

Filed Under Crafts, Kids, Christmas Crafts, Christmas | Leave a Comment

I’m still on the lookout for more unique craft ideas for Christmas. I found a great site that lists over 40 different craft ideas that are all pretty easy to make! Christmas Time Together at Imagitek has everything from place mats to ornaments, to snowmen and wreaths! I can’t even begin to pick my favorite!

Stop on over and check out their site, and while you’re there, try a few of their jigsaw puzzles that you can put together online! Some of them are definitely much harder than others! lol!

Coin Purse Gift Idea!

Filed Under Crafts, Gifts, Knitting | 5 Comments

My girls are both crazy about purses…. and lately, Jillian has been asking for something to keep her change in. So, I did a little searching and found these great little Coin Purses! You can purchase the kit to make them through The Maker Store .

Here’s the description of the coin purses from their site:

These tempting wallets give you a chance to knit the basic shape in a snap, then spend as much or as little time embellishing as you want. Their ‘mini-clutch’ size makes storing your essentials sleek and unfussy. The Coin Purse Cubed kit includes three colors of yarn and three finishing options for an exponential amount of flexibility and fun! Enough yarn to make either three unlined wallets; or 1 lined wallet and 1 unlined wallet.
Finished Size: Approximately 5″ wide x 4″ high
From Pick Up Sticks Felted Knit Designs. Level: Beginner

Since it’s at a Beginner level, even I might be able to do it! I’ve done a lot of crocheting, but not much knitting. Actually, Jillian is the knitter in the family, so maybe I’ll let her make her own purse and I’ll make one for me and one for Becca!

Quilted pot holders

Filed Under Sewing, Quilting, Crafts, Christmas Crafts | Leave a Comment

I’m looking for some unique gift ideas for my sister’s in law and came across a great site that gave very good directions for quilted pot holders at allfreecrafts.com There are tons of ideas on this site! Just look at this beautiful pot holder!

I love the step by step directions with pictures on this site! I’m one of those crafters that has to see a picture in order to make an item! lol! Otherwise, I never know if I’m doing it right!

Check out some of their other great Christmas craft ideas at allfreecrafts.com

Happy crafting!

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