ThriftyFun Crafts - August 13, 2008

Vol. 3, Num. 33, August 13, 2008 (Read It Online) School is starting soon around the country. Do you have any craft ideas for teachers heading back to school? Feel free to submit them on one of the contest pages. If you have a Craft Project and would like to make some extra money, feel free to submit on the Crafts for Fun and Money page. For more information about Crafts for Fun and Money, visit this page: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml Thanks for reading, Susan Send to a Friend! Submit Craft Tips (You could win $25) Submit Photos of Your Crafts (You could win $25) Submit a Craft Request New! Crafting for Fun and Money! Link to ThriftyFun.com Edit Your Subscriptions: To edit your ThriftyFun subscriptions, click the Update Profile/Email Address link at the bottom of this newsletter. Today's newsletter contains: Photos and Projects: Craft: Button Necklace Craft Project: Colorful Caterpillar Craft Project: Fabric Pillow Panel Mini Garden Flag Craft: Gourd Snowman Head Craft Project: Tole Painted Woodcut Birdhouse Birthday Tee Shirt Craft Project: Magnetic Teddy for the Fridge Craft Project: Denim Placemats Tips: Filling Display Jars Emery Boards for Sanding Craft: Photo CD Craft: Recycle a Bookcase Into a Stool Frugal Faux Wedding Cake Recycled Rock Crafts Requests: Instructions for Children to Make a Rag Rug Decoupaging Vinyl Reusing Honey Bear Containers Using Vintage Railroad Spikes Removing Embroidery Transfers From Fabric Uses For Formula Canisters Using Line Drawings From Craft Book Keeping Embroidery Threads In Place Articles: How to Create a Child's Dress Up Box Today's Sponsor: 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 Photos and Projects: Craft: Button Necklace Tools and Materials Buttons Beading string, cut to 40 inches Crimp bead Necklace closure Needle-nose pliers Instructions: 1. Fold the string in half, and create an end by tying two slipknots 2 inches down from the fold. 2. Slip a button on one string. Tie another slipknot 1 inch from the previous knot. Repeat until you have 12 buttons on the string. Make as many strands as you like. Trim the ends (not the looped end) 2 inches from the last knot. 3. Gather all the ends together, and crimp in a crimp bead. Attach the necklace closure using a pair of needle-nose pliers. By Luv to Cook from NC Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf63585353.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Craft Project: Colorful Caterpillar This fluffy and colorful caterpillar craft is a perfect quick activity. It's cheerful pom-pom body and sweet red foam smile helps bring charm to any room. View This Craft: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf92202265.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Craft Project: Fabric Pillow Panel Mini Garden Flag Create your own inexpensive outdoor mini garden flags by using fabric pillow panels. View This Craft: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf27747660.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Craft: Gourd Snowman Head Materials 1 clean round gourd glue cotton balls or cotton fiber fill of any color 1 large Christmas bell acrylic paint acrylic sealer, spray at least 2 times for good coverage By Crafty Billie from Stockton, CA Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf59129489.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Craft Project: Tole Painted Woodcut Birdhouse This small birdhouse and bird decoration is a classic example of country style painting. It uses a woodcut birdhouse and bird as the canvas. Various crafts paints are used to do a type of "Tole Painting" to create a wholesome, country theme. View This Craft: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf75641610.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Birthday Tee Shirt Our grandchildren made their grandfather a birthday tee-shirt and imprinted their footprints and hand-prints on the front of the tee-shirt. On the back was the birthday age number..I.E. #62!! Fabric paint was used on the white tee-shirt and it will be hand-washed and only worn on special occasions. This garment will be a treasure in my husband's memory! By Jose from Tennessee Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf32280484.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Craft Project: Magnetic Teddy for the Fridge By Harlean Greathouse This little wooden bear has a magnet to be used for displaying a child's drawings. Made of wood, but this pattern could also be used with craft foam. View This Craft: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf51767836.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Craft Project: Denim Placemats My husband brought home these denim placemats because he liked the pocket for the silverware. I scurried to my "resource" center and got out some material and made 1 inch red bias tape for the edging. Then I found the "heart" material in another "resource" box. View This Craft: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf78859881.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Tips: Filling Display Jars If you are like me, you love displaying things in jars. I do it with rice, 16 bean soup, buttons, etc. However, if you are doing something crafty and you want the effect without the wasted stuff on the inside that no one sees (not so important with rice but a real loss with old buttons), then do what I do. Keep a TP roll or for a taller jar, a Paper Towel roll and slip inside the jar. Then fill around it with your pretties. I am submitting two examples, one done and the other not finished so you can see what I mean. As a special bonus, one of those jars can be a secret stash for jewelry, cash, etc, by slipping it all down the center where no one would think to look. Happy Crafting!! By Sandra from Salem, OR Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf22409524.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Emery Boards for Sanding I always try to think of ways to use things as much as possible before tossing them out. I recently realized a great use for partially worn out fingernail emery boards. I keep them in a container and use them when I refinish antique furniture. You can pop off just the length you need and they are thin enough to get into the crevices of detailed pieces, and ,they are so much easier to handle than regular sandpaper. I use them when I need a fine grade sandpaper and they work really great! When finished and completely used up, into the recycling bin they go. I feel so much better knowing that they have been completely used! By southeastgeorgiapeach from Jesup, GA Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf84134674.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Craft: Photo CD This "CD" is fun to make. I print a photo sent to me. Position the CD over the center of subject and draw around the CD. Cut it,I used Mod Podge to adhere it to the CD. I wrote who is the picture. In this case my pen-pal and her new baby brother. I embellished the outside with a sparkle glue. I signed and dated the back, added a hanger and/or a magnet. It can hang on the Christmas tree or adhere to the fridge. To send as a gift, I placed it in a plastic CD holder. Any questions? Source: my own creation. By Keeper in NC Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf62546776.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Craft: Recycle a Bookcase Into a Stool I took a simple bookcase (one large board with two smaller boards nailed on each end) and transformed it into a "potty" stool for my grandchildren. I painted it and put the children's names on the legs of the stool. If I want to recycle the stool after it has served its purpose, I will paint it again, "flip" the stool over and use as a small bookcase. By Jose from Tennessee Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf54141796.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Frugal Faux Wedding Cake My fiance Ken and I just pushed up our wedding date from November 1st to October 5th. So we don't have a lot of time and most definitely not a lot of money. We just found out that Ken's son has enlisted in the Marines and will be leaving on October 17th. So one of the many ideas I have swimming inside my head was a how can we cut the cost of a wedding cake? So why not a fake 3 tier box cake and then have a sheet (real) cake in the back. The idea is to have a slot on "cake" and have note cards for our guests to put their well wishes into or they can use it to put their wedding cards. This way we still have the feeling of a cake but not the expense. Here's what I did. Materials 1 (top) box - Wedding Card box from the dollar store (what a lucky find!) 1 (middle) box - Toy Castle from the dollar store (this needed to be put together and was a little bit bigger) 1 (bottom) box - case of beer that holds bottles (not the one for cans) Wire ribbon - 3 spools, white in color, from dollar store Tulle - 15 yds cream in colored, from dollar store Silk flowers - 4 packs, cream in colored, from dollar store Pull Bows - 3, white in color, from the dollar store Glue gun and pins. Instructions: Cover the beer box with white computer paper. Spray painted the toy castle box white. Stacked the boxes according to size, I made sure the slot in the top box faces the front not up. This way I can put a wedding topper on the top. Take tulle and start wrapping snuggly from the bottom up until you get a nice smooth look. You also want to include the top and cut and glue down and cover with ribbon the tulle when you get the slot in the box. Kinda play with it a bit to make sure it's all even. Take the white wire ribbon and wrap around the bottom of the each box and secure with glue gun. I took the silk flowers and put them in the middle of the bottom tier and on the center tier, I found this wonderful ribbon that had my fiancés and mine favorite colors in it and centered that on the center tier. I cascaded the pull bows on each tier. Next to the top bow I'll have our cake topper that has our initials on it and in each bow I'm going to have 2 little charms with my kids names on it and the other bow I'll have 2 little charms with Ken's 2 kids initials on it also. This is our third time around for both of us... :-) My picture is not the finished version but when it is I'll send it. By Karen from Tinley Park, IL Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf28864852.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Recycled Rock Crafts These are some recycling crafts that we saw last weekend at a Festival. All of the crafts were made by students. The pictures aren't the best but the crafts were very nice and very cute ideas. The first is a snake made out of painted rocks of different sizes. with each rock being separate, you can have your snake coil around a post or change their positions. The second is two rocks painted as turtles. They looked a lot better than they show in the picture. Unfortunately it was very bright and I only had my cell phone to take the pictures. These were really cute. I've had rocks that I painted last for years in the garden. I used acrylic paints to paint the rocks, then when it was finished, sprayed them with a good sealer. Susan from ThriftyFun.com Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf72235907.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Contests: Tip Contest Submit a Tip or Recipe! Photo Contest Submit a tip with photo! The above contests are weekly. We pick 2 tip winners, 2 photo winners (1 photo and 1 pet photo) and 1 recipe winner at the end of each week. Each winner will win $25! My Frugal Life Submit a My Frugal Life Essay! New Requests: Instructions for Children to Make a Rag Rug I want to have my class of 11 year olds make a rag rug. Can you give me some help on materials to use, as basic as possible. Thank you. butterfly Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf16445557.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Decoupaging Vinyl Can you decoupage vinyl? I would like to decoupage a vinyl cloth to a board to use as an outdoor wall hanging. Is this possible? What products would I need to use? Darlene from Charlotte, NC Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf31819026.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Reusing Honey Bear Containers I am looking for cute, crafty ways to reuse bear shaped honey containers. Any suggestions? Carol from Iowa Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf69144901.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Using Vintage Railroad Spikes I have a box of vintage railroad spikes. Any suggestions on what to do with them? Ideas welcomed and appreciated. anbsmommy from Spanaway, WA Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf70779288.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Removing Embroidery Transfers From Fabric How do you remove iron on transfers (the kind for embroidery) from fabric? They are not clear enough to see the design. They have been washed several times but that did not remove the blue color. Cinnamon from Williams Lake Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf85158872.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Uses For Formula Canisters Need crafty ideas on what I could make with empty formula cans and baby food containers. Especially in crocheting or plastic canvas. Other ideas would be great too. Thanks Pat from Corydon, IN Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf208933.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Using Line Drawings From Craft Book I have a Christmas craft book with line drawings and I do not know how to use them for crafts. They are nice Christmas pictures like angels, ornaments, etc. and I would like to use them for stockings or cards, but what do you do? They are in heavy black ink but there are pictures on both sides of the paper. Do you just use tracing paper or what? Fran from Conifer, CO Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf64938118.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Keeping Embroidery Threads In Place I have a bag that is embroidered and the thread is getting caught on items and it is also starting to get fuzzy. Is there anything I can spray on it to hold the thread in place. I thought about hairspray? Would that work? Any suggestions? Thanks! Mindy Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf53748282.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Looking for a frugal solution to an everyday problem? Submit your request here: Click Here Articles: How to Create a Child's Dress Up Box By Claire Bush Kids love imaginative play, and one of the best ways to encourage creativity and self expression is through dress-up. Allowing kids to be their favorite action hero, cartoon character, or even an imaginary friend with the help of a few costume props helps to keep kids away from TV and video games, too. Here's how to create a child's dress up box that you can pull out on the next time kids say, "I'm bored!" Read More: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf57592673.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print