Ten Easy Crafting How-To's and Tips
by Monica Resinger
Here are ten easy crafting how-to's and tips with a little something for
everyone. I hope you find them helpful, inspiring and fun.
Nature Crafts:
1. When making dried flower arrangements, be creative about the containers
you use. You can use anything that will hold the flowers including a dump truck,
football helmet, old watering can, china cup, basket or anything that suits
your fancy.
2. Save your old phone book and use it to press flowers and pretty leaves for
decorating items around the house. Just open the phone book, lay the flower
or leaf flat on a page and close the book. They will be dry in about a week,
then you can put them in/on frames, cards or use them to decoupage items such as
candles or paper boxes. Most any flower can be pressed, but the flatter ones
such as pansies work the best. You can also separate petals and press them
individually.
3. To decoupage, you can add water to white glue until it's the consistency
of cream. Brush this solution on the item you are decoupaging, carefully put
the flower on, then very carefully brush on a top coat of the glue solution. Let
dry and add another coat if necessary. If you want to make a design of
flowers and leaves, be sure to lay it out first to find the best look. You can
also
add pressed flowers to pictures of the family, or other pictures in frames.
When putting into frames, you can use decorative paper to mount the flowers
onto, then frame.
4. For a shaped (heart, square, oval) grapevine wreath, bend florist wire
into the desired shape then weave fresh grapevine around it until you get the
look you want. Be sure to put more vine on than you think is necessary because
the vine shrinks a lot as it dries. Lay the wreath on newspaper until is is
thoroughly dry.
Doll Dressing:
5. A fun thing to do is dress up a purchased doll or stuffed animal with your
crochet and/or crafts. You can purchase a new doll or stuffed animal, go to
the thrift store to get one, or, if you have kids, use one of theirs. Once you
have your doll, take a good look at it and decide what type and color of
clothes would look good on it. You can then look for a crochet pattern, sewing
pattern, or purchased clothes that suits. Once you have the doll or stuffed
animal
dressed, you can add accessories like crafted or purchased hair ribbons,
crocheted or sewn socks, buttons, shoes, miniature items, homemade jewelry and
more. I'm sure that in the process of doing this you'll come up with a name for
it. If you don't get too attached, you can sell it at a bazaar or give it as a
gift to one of your loved ones or a friend. It's a fun thing to do.
Needlecrafts:
6. If you crochet, be sure to save your yarn scraps because they make
excellent stuffing for pillows or stuffed animals.
7. If you knit or crochet, put balls of yarn in a coffee can. Punch holes in
the lid and string each yarn through a different hole.
8. Use a soap sliver as pin cushion. It will also lubricate the tips of the
pins & needles so they slide easily into stiff fabrics.
9. Use cut-up, old pantyhose as stuffing for pillows or stuffed animals.
Painting
10. Large bottle caps such as liquid laundry detergent bottle caps make great
disposable containers for glue or paint.
Have fun crafting!
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