Things to Save or Find for Crafts and Projects

Egg Cartons

Eggs (Duh!)

Fire Starters

Seed Starting

Milk Cartons

Seed Starting

Yogurt Tubs

Seed Starting

Broken Jewelry

Beads

Pendant, Bead and Bauble Christmas Ornaments

2d Christmas Tree

Dryer Lint

Fire Starters

Old Candles

Fire Starters

Jeans

Emergency Water Filter

Denim Quilt

Braided Denim Rug

Broken Crayons

Crayon Candles

Wax Paper Stained Glass

Recycled Crayon Christmas Bulbs

Bandannas

Bandanna Quilt

Bandanna Babies

Sheets

Flat Sheet Quilt

Rag Rug

Pillow Cases

Rag Rug

Pillow Case Dresses

Bleach Bottles

Bleach Bottle Toy Tote

Scrap Yarn

Scrap Yarn Rug

Scrap Yarn Afghans

Plastic Canvas Bookworm Bookmark

Crochet Birds and Baubles

Plastic Canvas Mitten Ornaments

Crochet Hangers

Bleach Bottle Toy Tote

Crochet Soap Savers

Loom Knit Hats

Braided Christmas Card Display

Chicken Sweaters

Plastic Grocery Bags

Grocery Bag Shopping Bag

Trash Can Liners

Lunch Bags

Felt

Felt and Button Mitten Ornaments

Felt Potpourri Sachet Ornaments

Newspaper

Paper Beads

Charcoal Starting

Pinatas

Paper Mache

Newspaper Owls

Seed Paper

Magazines

Paper Beads

Framed Photos

Craft Stick Puzzle

Wire Hangers

Crochet Hangers

Underwear Hanger

Picture Frames

Pressed Flower Art

Children's Book Framed Prints

Family Tree Wall Hanging

Rocks

Painted Rock Cactus Garden

Painted Rock Tombstones

Nuts

Brazil Nut Reindeer Ornament

Walnut Strawberry Ornament

Kids' Books

Craft Stick Puzzle

Children's Book Framed Prints

Cinder Blocks

Cinder Block Kindling Rack

Cinder Block Book Shelf

Drink Bottles

Drink Bottle Flower Vase

Scrapbook Paper

Paper Beads

Newspaper Owls

Paper Easter Eggs

Teacups

Teacup Pincushions

Teacup Flower Arrangements

Paper Towel and Toilet Paper Tubes

Organizing Ribbon

Towels

Pet Blankets/Cleaning Rags

Bath Mitts

Seashells

Seashell Christmas Ornaments

Scrap Fabric

Teacup Pincushions

Tied Scrap Fabric Christmas Trees

Rag Rugs

Scrap Fabric Heart Gift Cards

Scrap Fabric Christmas Cards

Buttons

Button Christmas Cards

Felt and Button Mitten Ornaments

Paint and button Christmas Cards

Greeting Cards

Greeting Card Gift Tags

Greeting Card Gift Boxes

Staying Organized - Ribbon

I bought a bag of ribbon at one of the local thrift shops for about 75 cents. When I got home I decided to get it all organized. A few of the bundles were bias tape and edging, so I put those in my drawer for later. 

As for the ribbon, I took an empty toilet paper roll and taped a free end of each color of ribbon to it. 

I carefully rolled up all three colors of ribbon onto the tube, and used a straight pin to secure the loose end of each color once it was all rolled up. There ya go! Got more colors to roll up? Use a paper towel tube!

Plastic Canvas Bookworm Book Marks

Willie made one of the little fellows when he was a youngster,  and I decided to figure out how to reproduce it.  I made myself a book worm, and I thought it would be a cute project to make for kids, or to help kids make for someone else. Sorry for the hand drawn pattern, but I had to sort of reverse-engineer this little guy. The black lines are your cutting lines. It's hard to tell, but his red mouth is on the second row from the bottom of his head. The colors listed in the pattern are just suggestions. If you find a wormy color combination that you would like to use, go for it! I have used green, yellow, orange, and brown, and any shade of each color. Just put together what looks good to you!

Bookworm shape

First, cut out your bookworm shape from 7-mesh plastic canvas. Trim off all the little pegs left over from cutting.

Stitch his stripes first

This handsome brown model just needs a face!

I like to make his stripes first, and then fill in the main colors, so, using one of your contrasting colors, stitch on the stripe on his butt, then switch to your next contrasting color for his next stripe.








Stitch his head, but leave spaces to stitch on his eyes, nose and mouth. If you forget to leave a space for his nose, don't fear! Just put a french knot there, and no one will know the difference!









Once all his details are stitched on, you just have to finish his edges. His body and antennae get finished with your main color, and his head gets finished with its matching color (orange, in my pattern.)

The worm at top is Willie's, bottom is my first attempt to recreate.

Tied Scrap Fabric Christmas Trees

These Christmas ornaments were inspired by the Scrap Ribbon Tree Ornaments from Fireflies and Mud Pies. I didn't have any green ribbon lying around, but I did have lots of scraps of green fabric to work with, so I decided to go that route. Using my pinking shears I cut the fabric up into thin strips.I took some pruners out into the yard and found some sticks that the goats hadn't chewed all the bark off of. (Hey, these look like branches from the fruit trees. I hope those goats can explain how that happened!) I trimmed up the sticks and set about building my trees.







It was a little more difficult with fabric than with ribbon, as some of the fabric is not double-sided, and none of it is as stiff as ribbon is. I carefully tied the fabric onto my stick, taking care that the right sides ended up showing, then starched and ironed the fabric to give it some body. I had some spray-on starch that I never use on my clothing. Ever.


Next I used my pinking shears to trim the fabric into the shape of a tree. It's sort of a crooked tree, but I find it to be quite whimsical and cute.












I decided that it needed a little pizazz, so I found some tinsel to make a shiny topper. Before gluing my topper on, I tied some cording around the top to use as a hanger. I applied the hot glue directly over the knot in my cording to stick it down, and to stick the tinsel down too.

I think it turned out pretty cute! I've got plenty more of the materials, so maybe I will make some more!

Craft Stick Puzzle

Ran across this super cute idea for a hand made children's gift the other day. I had saved a few illustrations from one of my favorite childhood books, and was trying to figure out what to do with them. Melissa at Fireflies and Mud Pies shared this idea last year on her blog using illustrations from a Christmas book. I didn't quite have all the same supplies, so I made do with what I had and changed it up a little

Since I didn't have modge podge, I had to get a little creative with tacky glue and clear coat.

First, I measured out how many sticks I would need for the illustration I wanted to use.

Next, I trimmed the illustration to make placing my sticks a bit easier.

I turned the illustration over and traced my craft sticks onto the back.

After that, I cut my illustration into stick-shaped strips.

Using the tacky glue, and a little water to thin and smooth the glue, I adhered the strips to the sticks.











I found some weighty books to pile on top while they dried, to make sure that everything stayed straight and flat.

Once dry, I took my sticks outside and gave them a few layers of clear coat. I should have been a bit more careful about moving them around on the newspaper so they didn't stick to it. My bird got a little paper stuck on its cheek. I got most of it off, though.

To finish up my project, I trimmed the excess paper from around the edges using my rotary cutter (you could also use an exacto knife, but I wasn't sure where mine was) and used an old emery board to sand and round the ends. I think it turned out pretty darn cute!

Pepperann's New Sweater

Poor little Pepperann the chicken chose the worst time possible to begin her molt. She dropped nearly all her feathers just before our "winter weather" set in. I felt bad for the scraggly little lady, and decided to intervene.

The only logical thing to do for a naked chicken in winter would be to clothe it, so I started searching for a pattern to make my little friend a sweater. I needed something simple, that would go together quickly, and that was crochet. I cannot knit, and it makes me crazy.

I found my perfect pattern on a blog called Adventures in Everyday Life, and you can view it here. The only thing that I did differently from the pattern is that I added a couple of extra rows on the belly. I tend to crochet pretty tightly, so I had to add on to accommodate Pepperann's breast.

Poor little gal was so scared after I wriggled it on her and worked her wings out of the slits, she nearly toppled over and fainted. Ever seen a chicken faint? I nearly did. She snapped out of it, though, and now she is trotting around like nothing is going on.

The only sad part in all this is that I think in order to get it off of her I may need to cut it. Oh well, if it keeps her from freezing to death long enough to regain her plumage, it's worth it.

Bleach Bottle Toy Tote

When I was a kid I had a few of these totes, which my mom made for me, to carry around my bunny blocks, dress up jewels and toy hippos, ants, sharks, and dinosaurs. The base can be made from a bleach bottle, milk jug, industrial sized sauce containers, basically and large, lightweight plastic container. Just make sure that the plastic is soft enough that it won't have sharp edges when you cut it apart.

What you will need:

Plastic jug

Exacto knife or sharp scissors

Crochet hooks, sizes G and N

Skein of yarn, any color you choose

WD-40

Paper towel

First, wash and rinse the container thoroughly. Next, cut off the neck and handle, leaving just the bucket-shaped base. Spray a bit of WD-40 onto the adhesive, let it sit for a few minutes and wipe it away. Use a bit of soap and water to remove the WD-40.

Using a hole punch, punch holes evenly around the top of the entire container, close to the top, and close to one another, without compromising the integrity of the edge.

Round 1: Attach the yarn with a slip stitch in any hole, using a size G hook. Chain 2 (this will count as your first double crochet), double crochet in each hole around the entire top of container. Slip stitch to join last double crochet to top of beginning chain 2.

Round 2: Chain 3 (this will count as your first double crochet and chain one space), double crochet in next double crochet. Chain one and double crochet in next double crochet, repeat all around, ending with a chain one, slip stitch to second chain in beginning chain 3.
Repeat round 2 until desired length is achieved.  

Once it is as long as you'd like, you can add a ruffle if you'd like. For the ruffle, chain 2, double crochet in the same stitch. Make two double crochet in the next chain one space, two double crochet in the next double crochet. Continue around and slip stitch to join at top of beginning chain 2. Weave in your end.

I made two drawstrings by crocheting two matching strings by using a chain stitch, then, using the size N crochet hook, wove them through the last row before the ruffle from opposite sides, and then tying each drawstring together at the end. 

Once completed, I filled it with dress up jewelry for my niece who is just turning 3.

Need help with the crochet? Check out my Basic Crochet Stitches post!