There have been a few questions from people interested in the new Crafting for Fun and Money program. We have put together a page to answer the questions here:
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This simple craft takes a tootsie pop and makes it into a cute spider. It's great for a Halloween Party or to hand out to trick-or-treaters.
Time commitment: Less than 5 minutes per spider.
Supplies:
Lollipop of your Choice
4 pipe cleaners
Googly eyes
Glue
Directions:
Hold all four pipe cleaners and center them on the lollipop then twist them around the stick. Bend each end of the pipe cleaners to make them look like spider legs. Glue on two googly eyes.
Beads: Glass beads in red, white, and blue - Size 10MM
Directions
You will need a needle nose pliers and something to spread the loop end of your large safety pin. I find that a metal fingernail file works well for this, or perhaps a small letter holder.
Prepare the small pins with the appropriate color glass beads. Each pin holds 7 beads.
(Note: Beads may vary slightly in size, so you may have to change a bead or two so they will fit.)
Six of the pins will have red and white alternately. The remaining four will start with 3 blue followed by four white and red alternately.
Arrange as in photo 4 and assemble your pin using the photos as your guide. Wear with pride!
Using the photos as a guide, spread the loop on the large gold pin and set aside.
This is a cute and easy way to display your oranges for Halloween. Plus it makes the orange easy to peel.
Time Commitment: About 5 minutes
Ingredients:
1 Orange
Toothpick or paring knife
Directions:
Use toothpick or paring knife to Cut out the jack-O-lantern's face. Be sure not to cut too deep you only want to puncture the peel of the orange. Caution: Watch out for the orange juice that sprays out of the peel when punctured!
This band hat project will delight your child. It's simple to make, fun to wear, and you probably have everything you need to make it right at home. It's a great project for a rainy day, sick day, or "nothing to do" day.
Crafting time: approximately 30 - 45 minutes
What You Need:
Cereal box - opened to lie flat
Scissors
Stapler
Construction paper - green and white
Cellophane tape
Markers
Glue stick
Directions:
1. Cut a 2" wide strip of cardboard from the length of the cereal box. Fit this strip around your child's head and staple the ends in place to create a ring or band. Cut off any excess cardboard. Cover the cardboard with green construction paper. Use tape to secure the paper.
2. Draw and cut a green construction paper frog face. Decorate it with marker. Draw and cut frog eyes from white construction paper. Decorate these with marker. Glue the bottom of the eyes to the frog's head at the back of the green construction paper. The eyes should be at the top of the head. Glue the bottom of the frog's head to the front of your green band.
3. Draw and cut two arms and hands from green construction paper. Decorate these with marker and glue them to the band at the sides of the head.
4. Draw and cut two frog legs and feet from green construction paper. Decorate these with maker. Tape the tops of the frog's legs to the inside of the band at either side of the frog's head. The legs should hang out from the bottom of the band.
To make inexpensive throw pillows for a couch or bed, buy cloth dinner napkins and sew 2 of them right sides together leaving an opening, flip inside out and stuff as you would a pillow, then slip stitch shut. I can find beautiful napkins to use at yard sales, thrift stores etc. This is also quick work because no cutting is needed.
When starting a large hand sewing or needlework project, thread several needles when you begin. Then you won't have to stop and keep threading needles as you work.
There have been some questions about the new Crafting for Fun and Money program we started last month. In this FAQ we answer them.
Why are you paying $15 for crafts?
We really love crafts and love to see them on the website. This is our way of investing in something we really love to publish. We also realize that it takes longer to put a craft recipes together than it does some of the other items we publish, like tips and recipes.
What's in it for ThriftyFun?
Hopefully more people will visit ThriftyFun to look for crafts! We think crafts keeps the "Fun" in ThriftyFun!
How many crafts can I submit?
You can submit as many crafts as you like. To insure that they will be published, you should follow the guidelines on the submission form. We will pay you within 30 days of publishing the craft. If we decide not to publish your craft, you will not be paid for it.
If there is a problem or something we need clarification on with a craft, we may contact you to try to clear it up to increase the chances of your craft being published. So far, all Crafting for Fun and Money crafts have been published (or will be soon).
If you have any questions about whether a craft idea will work, feel free to contact us.
Can I enter a craft on both the contest form and the Crafting for Fun and Money page?
No, please only enter crafts to one or the other.
Is this a legitimate Work From Home opportunity?
The goal of this program is to reward people who take time to share craft projects with the ThriftyFun community. It's not meant to be a job opportunity.
We will pay for any crafts we publish through this program and you certainly can do the work from home, so it is a way to make money at home. Having said that, Crafts must meet the criteria on the submission form and there are limits to how many crafts we can publish each month. So it's not a bad way to earn a little extra moneny, especially if you were making the crafts anyway, but it's not intended to be a Work From Home opportunity (most of which are scams).
Is one photo a enough?
One photo is required. Beyond that, you need to provide enough detailed information for readers to be able to create the craft, be it in text, photos or a combination of both.
How long will this program last?
If it's successful, we may keep around for a long time. Currently we are committed to for the rest of 2006.
How and when we I be paid?
You can either be paid by PayPal or by check. We prefer Paypal because it saves on postage. We will pay within 30 days of publishing the craft.
How can I tell if a craft has already been published on ThriftyFun?
Our intention is to not publish any crafts that are already on our website. Use the search form at the top of every page on ThriftyFun to search and see if the craft you want to submit is already in the database. OR, feel free to send us an email with a craft idea or a list of crafts and we'll let you know if they are likely to be published. Here is our contact form.
When sewing heavy fabrics (e.g. jeans) on the sewing machine, keep the little box the needles on a piece of Blu-tack on the front of your machine. That way you will know at a glance where the right needle for the next job is.
Have photos of odd items or backgrounds? They don't have to sit in your photo storage any longer! They make great backdrops for pictures or items in scrapbooking.
Take a photo of, say, a bunch of trees with no real subject (or even a subject you don't really care for anymore, great to do with those odd pictures kids take) and blow it up a little bigger than the subject matter you want to place on top. Then just mount with acid free tape, squares, or corner mounts, what ever you want to be on top. Turns out very pretty and can make a scrapbook page even more personal.
One year I cut out four Christmas balls (circles) in bright colors. I then cut out picture circles a little bit smaller than each family member. Mounted each picture on a ball then mounted the ball to card stock. I then glued a string to the top of each ball. Inside I wrote "Have a Shiny Christmas!"
They worked well because each depicted an event that year in each person's life. My daughters wedding, son in front of first house, husband in front of his new job truck and myself in front of my new business. Better than a news letter.
I put up a shelf above my sewing machine and attached a 24" light from Walmart to the bottom of the shelf for additional lighting on my sewing project. I really like it. Then I put a "clothesline" made of yarn between the shelf brackets, got some light plastic little clothes pins and I can hang my pattern, directions, and/or a sample quilt block on the clothesline for easy, quick, handy reference while I'm working on a project. That's 2 tips in one!
We drink a lot of coffee. I use three pound coffee cans. I save the plastic lid. You will need 3 three pound cans. Cut the bottom out of the first can, cut the bottom and top out of the second can. Then take all three cans and electrical tape them into a long tube. After taping them all together, use your favorite Con-tac paper to cover the whole thing.
You can use this as a toilet paper holder for bathrooms. It works great for cabins with not a lot of storage. Also, I have one in all three bathrooms for storing toilet paper. It works well for small children who are always yelling for more paper. They can get their own. Seniors like this idea because they don't always have storage spaces. It works for both single and double rolls. Just fill it up when you clean the bathroom. No more toilet paper sitting on the back of the toilet or sink.
How do I take out just some color from valances. They are too bright of a yellow to match my duvet. I tried putting them in the washer with regular chlorine bleach but no color came out. I just want to take some of the brightness out not all the color. What is Nappy San? Will that work and where do I buy it?
What are some inexpensive do-it-yourself ideas for one-of-a-kind wall art? I'd like to make my own unique art for my home, but I get intimidated by those big blank canvasses at the store. They make it look so easy on decorating shows, but I can never remember how to do what they show on the shows. Any ideas?
Have any of you seen on craft sites, in person, etc. the little purses made from Capri Sun pouches or Kool-Aid pouches? I have the directions and have made one. My question is this and it is NOT addressed on any of the directions I have found... how do you get the glue from where the straw sticks off the pouch! I have used Skin So Soft, lighter fluid and alcohol... and with all you have to rub and rub and wipe. Seems to me there should be something easier. Any hints or ideas out there
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Finding couples Halloween Costumes has always been a challenge! Over the last few years I have seen many different ones at Halloween parties. To give you a few ideas I have about 80 here:
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This simple craft takes a tootsie pop and makes it into a cute spider. It's great for a Halloween Party or to hand out to trick-or-treaters.
Here's a cute Frankenstein candy dish that takes about an hour to make with clay pots, paint, wiggly eyes, ice cream sticks and hot glue.
This is a cute and easy way to display your oranges for Halloween. Plus it makes the orange easy to peel.
