ThriftyFun Crafts - November 26, 2008

We have lots of Thanksgiving crafts this week. I hope all our US readers have a happy and restful Thanksgiving!

We'll now turn the focus of this newsletter to Christmas crafts. If you have any to share, feel free to submit them on one of the contest pages or to Crafts for Fun and Money.

For more information about Crafts for Fun and Money visit:

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Thanks for reading,

Susan

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Today's newsletter contains:

Photos and Projects:

• Craft: Pantry Turkey Collage
• Craft Project: Beautiful Fall Thanksgiving Wreath
• Craft Project: Handprint Turkey Art
• Craft Project: Thanksgiving Indian and Pilgrim
• Craft Project: Apple Turkey Table Favor
• Craft Project: Turkey Coloring Holder
• Craft Project: Mini Pumpkin Turkeys
• Craft Project: Crocheted Heart Ornament
• Craft Project: Milkweed Ornaments (Santa Pods)
• Craft Project: Tissue Box Turkey
• Craft Project: Make Personalized Photo Gift Tags
• Craft Project: Thanksgiving Card
• Craft Project: Autumn Leaves Ceiling Decoration
• Craft: Gourd-geous Wreath!
• Craft Project: Turkey Treats
• Craft Project: Plaid Heart
• Craft: Pinecone Bird
• Craft Project: Milkweed Ornaments (Tiny Holy Village)
• Craft: Little Monster
• Craft Project: Thumb Print Turkeys

Tips:

• Convert Your Fall Display Into a Christmas Scene
• Snowflake Puzzle Ornament
• Turn Wind Chimes Into Ornaments
• Reusing Wrapping Paper
• Stick Old Photos to Magnets
• Adhesive for Card Making

Requests:

• Making a Bag Out of a Hoodie
• Christmas Craft Ideas for Kindergartners
• Pop Can Ring Snowflakes
• Crocheted Potholder Patterns
• Thrift Store Crafts
• Painting Artificial Christmas Tree White
• Woman's Day Magazine Wine Cork Christmas Tree
• Decoupaging a Formica Countertop
• Making Adjustable Yarn Necklaces

Crafting for Fun and Money!

If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish.

More Information:
Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml

Craft: Pantry Turkey Collage

This was a kindergarten project that my son had this year. My older son remembered doing it a few years before and wanted to do another one. Before we knew it, the whole family was making one. It was very fun and I think they turned out nicely.

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Craft Project: Beautiful Fall Thanksgiving Wreath

Welcome your guests to a Thanksgiving meal with a homemade wreath for the season. You can make your own and then you can reuse it year after year.

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Craft Project: Handprint Turkey Art

Use paint to make this handprint turkey instead of tracing. Add a few details to the turkey and some fall leaves and you have a beautiful work of art to display at Thanksgiving time.

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Craft Project: Thanksgiving Indian and Pilgrim

This is a charming craft for kids to make for Thanksgiving or for you to make to place at their place setting.

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Craft Project: Apple Turkey Table Favor

This is something special for the Thanksgiving table. Make one for each place setting. The kids can help with this project.

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Craft Project: Turkey Coloring Holder

This colorful turkey will make a great addition to your kids table at the Thanksgiving meal. What a fun way to add a coloring activity to the day.

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Craft Project: Mini Pumpkin Turkeys

After Halloween, I didn't want to throw away the mini pumpkin bats that I posted on this site. So, we removed the bat wings, eyes, and ears and re-painted them brown. Add a few feathers and a head and now you have a festive Thanksgiving decoration.

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Craft Project: Crocheted Heart Ornament

I used a coarse, almost sisle yarn for this, as it gave it a wonderful country feel. You can use any yarn you like. To make it fast, I suggest two strands and a size "N" hook.

Chain 2, make a single crochet in the second chain. Chain 1 and turn, making the next single crochet in the same stitch, then another in the next stitch.

Continue with increasing one stitch per row till your triangle size is reached. It is very important to stop at a row with an even count. In other words, 10, 14, 18, etc. You will need an even amount on each side to make the tops of the hearts, but each top will need an uneven count so there is a middle stitch.

When you reach the size you want, you will be at the end of the row you just finished. (stop at about 3 inches and you will have a nice size for an ornament. If you keep going, you could make a pillow), it's all up to you!!

When the size of triangle you want is reached, chain 1 and turn, making a double crochet in the "middle" stitch of that half. So, if your triangle's last row had 10, you will make your first double crochet in the 3rd stitch, making 3 or 4 more in that same stitch, then slip stitching in the 5th stitch of the first half. That is half of your hearts top. Do the same with the last 5 stitches, cut and secure yarn. (If your triangle had 14 on the last row, it would be 7 on each side, and the center stitch would be number 4...with 18 it would be 9 on each side and the center stitch would be 5, etc).

I used ripped fabric about 4 inches long and tied it between where the heart tops meet. The blue "button" you see is actually a wooden heart I painted and put two dots of black paint for the holes. You can decorate yours with anything from ribbon to raffia, classy to country.

It's crocheted, so you don't need a hanger on the back, but you can make one if you want it to hang lower from the tree branch.

Enjoy!

By Sandra from Salem OR

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Craft Project: Milkweed Ornaments (Santa Pods)

This one is easy enough for kids. It's cheap and quick so kids in Scouts or groups can make several for gifts. I wrapped mine, using red and white tulle which comes on a roll. I closed the ends with tinsel pipe cleaners and added beads on the end. You could use curling ribbon, too, but the pipe cleaners are faster. Makes a nice presentation and the person can see your project if they don't feel like opening it this minute.

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Craft Project: Tissue Box Turkey

This is a cute craft to make from materials you most likely have around the house.

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Craft Project: Make Personalized Photo Gift Tags

Picture name tags for gifts. This works great for any gift giving holiday or occasion.

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Craft Project: Thanksgiving Card

Transform patterned paper into wonderfully personal greeting card. One creative way is to make both folded card and pop-up.

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Craft Project: Autumn Leaves Ceiling Decoration

Hang these beautiful autumn leaves from your ceiling to bring some of the outdoor beauty indoors this autumn season.

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Craft: Gourd-geous Wreath!

I saved the gourds from my garden and hot glued them to an old vine wreath and added some ribbon and a poem. November Blessings to you all!

By Wendy S from Coopersburg, PA

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Craft Project: Turkey Treats

This is such a fun project! Do it with your kids or by yourself. Great for the Thanksgiving table, or to make as a treat for your child's class.

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Craft Project: Plaid Heart

Here is another ornament I made and am sharing with you. This one is a Plaid Heart.

You can make it with any fabric. Glitter felt is cheap and fun, as is fabric that has holiday prints on it.

Choose the size of heart you want. This one is 3.5 by 3.5 inches. Stiffen the fabric with a 3 parts glue to 1 part water mix. When dried, the fabric cuts like paper.

Lay your stiffened heart on felt that goes with your color choices. Crimp around the edges for a cool look.

Sew with coordinating crochet thread in a running stitch around the edges. Cool glue a ribbon and button on the front, plus a hanger on the back

Enjoy!!

NOTE: With just a little work, you can also cut an oval or heart out of the middle, insert a photo in between the fabric and the felt, with a bit of clear plastic to protect it, and "encase it" in the ornament.

What relative wouldn't love that!!

By Sandra from Salem, OR

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Craft: Pinecone Bird

We love to use "things to make things"! My daughter (9) and I made this bird from 2 pine cones. We made his wings from some wide cloth ribbon, eyes from broken necklace beads, beak from scrap ribbon and the tail from braided jute. We covered a experimentally painted terra cotta pot with braided jute. You could use a variety of other things to decorate the pot and make the bird accessories.

By Ginok from Wayne, OK

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Craft Project: Milkweed Ornaments (Tiny Holy Village)

It's not too late to scan your woods for dried materials to use in crafting. In western PA, I discovered a treasure trove of milkweed pods this year and have found the teardrop shape lends itself to many things. My college daughter points out that I am also being very "green" with this project. You may be able to find other types of pods that would work in your area. You can do this assembly line style and complete many in a short time. Use a hair dryer to speed up the paint drying time.

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Craft: Little Monster

I love making things that require no pattern or few instructions. This "Little Monster" is made from an orphaned sock, scrape fabric, and my imagination.

By Gloria from Scottsville, NY

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Craft Project: Thumb Print Turkeys

These cute thumb print turkeys make great place cards or note cards. You can use stamp pads or acrylic paint, whichever you have on hand. I used acrylic paint for mine.

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Convert Your Fall Display Into a Christmas Scene

I always set up a fall display, which also included an old rocker. I thought what a waste of pumpkins and hay after Thanksgiving. So after that holiday, I removed the leaves and fall flowers. My pumpkins were of different sizes, so I stacked them in the chair, spray painted them white, give eyes and nose and a top hat, voile, snowman! The hay I took the spray foam from a can, and covered it, to give it a smoother finish, and then spray painted it white. Added some Christmas Flowers and greenery, and bows, and some fake packages over the whole display. Which last through the holidays. No waste! This was in Florida, it was the only snowman around!

Source: My imagination at work.

By Sandyc from Vesuvius, VA

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Snowflake Puzzle Ornament

With Christmas coming up soon, I thought I'd pass on this snowflake craft idea.

• Take an old puzzle (with pieces missing, preferably!), that you no longer use, and craft sticks (popsicle sticks).

• I usually use a hot glue gun to glue the sticks together in kind of an asterisk design.

• Then glue puzzle pieces to the sticks.

• Spray paint with white or silver, tie a string on one of the puzzle pieces, or hot glue a hook, and tada, snowflakes to decorate your tree or hang in windows.

Pam T

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Turn Wind Chimes Into Ornaments

This is a tip for wind chimes that can't endure wind and don't have too much chime. Such as ones that are constructed of plastic, nylon string and thin aluminum tubes. The tubes are usually decorative and have 2 holes on one end. Find a 'piece' such as a bead, an old jewelry stone or an ornamental piece of that broken chime. The piece should have a thread space. Measure your string, thread, twine, cord, etc., as you would like your ornament (tube and piece) to hang. I triple mine.

1. Thread piece.
2. Knot to your preference.
3. Thread the 2 ends of string through the 2 tube holes.
4. Pull both ends of string through the inside of tube
5. Top off your ornament as you like. I use a paper clip sprayed with a cheap adhesive and dipped in glitter.

6. Finish off by securing string with a dab of hot glue.

By Cindy from Key West, FL

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Reusing Wrapping Paper

You get a gift that is wrapped with beautiful paper or a beautifully decorated gift bag with lovely tissue paper and you would like to save and reuse the gift paper or the tissue paper, but it's all crumpled and creased.
Well here's a way to make it look practically like new again. IRON IT!

Yes, ironing with a Medium HOT iron and steam will take almost all the wrinkles and creases out and make it reusable. CAUTION: Keep the iron moving on the paper or it will burn.

Source: My Mom.

By Kalene from Oregon City

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Stick Old Photos to Magnets

My best friend is a photography major. We were going through pictures one night and came across a great idea. We went to Wal-Mart and bought a pack of business card magnets in the school supplies section. We took wallet size pictures and placed them on the sticky part of the magnet. Just trim to fit and you have a great gift for parents, grandparents, and anyone else that you think would enjoy!

By Keri from Boone,NC

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Adhesive for Card Making

I am trying make cards and cannot find a decent adhesive. I have tried the roll on tape and find it just to frustrating with gumming up and all. Any suggestion on a good adhesive that will stick and not release from card? Thank you in advance!

Darline from Troy, NH

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Making a Bag Out of a Hoodie

How can you make a bag out of a hoodie?

Cheryl from Hessel, MI

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Christmas Craft Ideas for Kindergartners

Does anyone have any Christmas ideas for kindergarten students to make? I would like it to be something they can use to decorate their house with and as a gift for their Mom. Thanks for any help and if you have pictures that would be wonderful.

Sue G. from Davison, MI

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Pop Can Ring Snowflakes

I want to learn how to make snowflakes out of plastic can ties.

Susan

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Crocheted Potholder Patterns

I am looking for crocheted potholder patterns.

Judy from Traverse

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Thrift Store Crafts

I am looking for new ideas for using those "old things" that come into my second hand store at our sheltered workshop. The other day my kids made some birds out of polymer clay and I used them in a neat "remake" of an old teacup and saucer set, and a swinging nest type basket.

I would appreciate some info on crafts or ideas like the following: neck tie sunglasses case, decoupaged photo stash case from an old suitcase, blue jeans purses, stemware and china jewelry holder, etc. Anything to inspire my customers to pick up that "old thing" and make it new!

Dedeswrkshop from Macon, MO

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Painting Artificial Christmas Tree White

Can I paint a green artificial Christmas tree white? How can I do that?

Patricia from Fort Wayne

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Woman's Day Magazine Wine Cork Christmas Tree

Does anyone have the pattern or directions to a Christmas tree made of wine corks? It was in Woman's Day, Dec. 5, 2006 issue.

Elizabeth

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Decoupaging a Formica Countertop

Can you decoupage over Formica countertops?

Judi from Florida

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Making Adjustable Yarn Necklaces

Does anyone know how to make necklaces out of yarn? They were adjustable with a bead on the back they were made with several strands and it was not the normal yarn it was more like fancy ribbons?

Carole from Rice, Minnesota

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