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I enjoy decorating for the month of July because my son and husband's birthdays are in July (5th and 27th).
I decorate my table by putting a white lace tablecloth as the bottom layer, a red checked tablecloth as the next layer, an American Flag scarf in the center; the centerpiece is:
A vase of silk white azalea flowers with small American flags on each side inside the vase. The front of the vase has a strand of red cherries tied with a white bow.
Two 20 year old resin like Charlie Brown figurines
Two 20 year old Charlie Brown drinking glasses which I placed a blue checked napkin with a candle fold.
A candy dish holds mints or candies
Votive candles with white or red candles
Fourth of July placemats
A glass condiment holder holds S and P shakers and a small glass toothpick holder.
The Breakfast bar has whimsical 4th of July placemats with a 4th of July ice cream sundae bouquet on it. These decorations will remain until the end of July.
When you want to make those dull, red clay pots into something for display, all you need is some tissue paper, glue and water mixture and clear varnish.
Needed:
Clay pot
Tissue paper
Glue and water mixture - it can be pretty thin
Plastic cup
Paint brush
Clear varnish
Instructions:
Step 1: Lay newspaper out on a flat surface.
Step 2: Put clay pot upside down in the center of the newspaper.
Step 3: Make a glue/water mixture in the plastic cup. (About 2 parts glue, 1 part water.)
Step 4: Use the paint brush to spread the glue mixture all over the clay pot.
Step 5: Stick tissue paper to the pot in any design you wish. Completely cover the clay surface.
Step 6: Cover the tissue paper with additional glue.
Step 7: Allow the pot to dry totally.
Step 8: Once dry, cover the entire pot with a clear varnish.
Step 9: Allow the pot to dry totally again.
Step 10: Fill with potting soil, your favorite plant or some seeds, and enjoy.
This project is quite easy, and can be done by the youngest child.
Even if you don't have a frame, you can make your pictures look decorative with colored duct tape! Add a magnet to the back and you can display it on your refrigerator with pride!
Items Needed:
Picture to frame
Duct tape (2 colors complimentary to picture)
Scissors
Instructions:
The lengths and widths of your duct tape you will need will depend on the size picture you would like to frame. Take your picture and add an inch to the height and the width. That should be the sizes of your strips of duct tape.
Make 2 strips of duct tape the height of your picture + 1 inch. Put them sticky sides together. Repeat. (You should have 2 strips with the sticky sides in.)
Make 2 strips of duct tape the width of your picture + 1 inch. Put them sticky sides together. Repeat. (You should have 2 strips with the sticky sides in.)
Take the 4 strips and create a frame around your picture. You may have to trim the width pieces so the whole picture will show. On the back, tape the width pieces and the picture to the height pieces.
Decorate your frame in any way you would like.
I took duct tape the color of the width pieces and cut off strips that would allow me to cover every corner. I ended up with a very nice design.
I used duct tape to attach a magnet to the back of my picture. Now it is easily displayed on my refrigerator.
This is a rather simple craft that kids in elementary school should be able to do. However, make the frames really fancy and it would be perfect for a 30 minute adult craft workshop.
I used an old bottle, went to Home Depot and bought Rainbow Twine. It comes in about 4 or 5 other (solid) colors. Rainbow was more colorful and interesting to me.
I put decoupage glue on the bottle and wrapped around the bottle 5 times and pushed it up into place and held there till I was sure it was stuck tight. It gets easier as you go down the bottle.
After it was all wrapped, I put on 2 more coats of decoupage glue letting each coat dry in between coats.
Then I used Clear Acrylic Craft Paint on it to give some protection to the bottle. Put a cork in the top and it was finished.
Fill with rice and heat in microwave or freeze in freezer and use as a hot/cold pack.
Use for cleaning small messes or for dusting. Slide on a yard stick and secure with a rubberband to dust under fridges, freezers, washers, dryers, beds, etc.
By Barbie
Barbie Tube Tops
The top part of old childrens socks can be used to make Barbie clothes. My daughter and I recently spent the evening making several items. You can make tube tops, dresses and skirts, etc. for the dolls. They look great, it saves money, and you child will enjoy doing it.
By kathy_ph1976
Extend the Life of Pajamas
Save the top part and sew them onto the arms and legs of children's pajamas to extend the usage of the pj's. I did this for many years. Kids didn't care at all.
By Mary
For Freezing Jars
Not really a craft, but if you freeze in jars instead of bags you can put a jar in each sock. Then if they break or leak it will contain the mess.
You can use markers to make faces which is fast and easy. Or you can sew or glue on buttons for eyes, use felt for a tongue and yarn for hair.
These are very fun and inexpensive!
By Stella
Holiday Snowmen
You can make Holiday snowmen! They are very easy to make and great for childern and the elderly. Take a sock and fill it with Birdseed. Then using a rubberband, string, etc (Or you can twist it a few times and it will just stay, but be careful, if you move it, it may come undone-so pick it up from the bottom) make your three "snowballs". Use something to close the top of the head and then you can fold the top part of the sock down and can color it black for a hat. Use any other items you'd like for eyes, nose, etc. It can be things from a craft store or simply a permanant Sharpie marker, whatever you'd like. Puff paint seems to be the best, it looks great and you don't have to deal with glue!
Not exactly "crafty", but useful. I cut some tube socks to use as beverage "sweaters" for some glasses I have that sweat profusely. They also keep your fingers from getting cold. I'm considering decorating each "redneck koozy" differently for parties - similar to the wine glass trinkets used to identify which drink belongs to whom. (Be sure they are open on both ends to prevent tipping). Another advantage to using socks - they STRETCH to fit different sized beverage glasses and can be washed.
By Tamara
Protecting Small Items
We also stuffed small glass items inside whole socks to keep the items from bumping during a short distance move (not sure how well it would work for shipping).
By Tamara
A Sock Quilt
Old socks make the warmest quilts you'll ever have. Use clean, stain free socks to make a patchwork quilt. Just cut out useable portions and sew together until you get the size you want.
This is a wonderful "as you grow" project. Start with your childrens baby socks (or clothes) and each birthday take time (together) to add that years collection to the quilt. Be sure to date each sock with the year. By the time they go off to college or move out on their own, they have a warm quilt and a lifetime of wonderful memories of time spent with just you. Add your own socks too, just mark whose is whose.
Add socks from special occasions when possible (even if still brand new)
Easy, Easy, Easy, even for people who can not sew.
If you put grass seed in first and then soil and close it up with a rubberband then turn it over and water it you can make a grass head. The kids can put eyes on with a permanent marker, we did it, it was a lot of fun.
You could use them to make sock puppets with your kids, neighborhood kids, nieces and/or nephews. I always made Barbie and baby doll clothes with old socks.
By Myra
Use Your Imagination
What about the old stand-by: Sock Puppets?
Use old socks to make cat or dog toys.
Let your child make a flag with old socks.
Use them for dry erase board erasers.
Save them for dusting - let the kids do it, they'll get a kick out of it!
Use adult size socks (male) to keep baby socks together in the wash by putting the baby socks in and tying the top of the male sock closed. No more lost socks!
Use them for quilting - nice and soft and washes well!
Use them as a sachet for a sweet smelling undies drawer.
Use your imagination! Kids can come up with the most fun ideas - ask THEM! My children, when very small, would love to play like she was folding laundry by playing in the mismatched sock basket.
You can fill the sock with soap flakes (which you can make yourself by grating a soap bar), tie it with a nice ribbon and use to deodorize your closet.
I have used socks as hand warmers in the winter. I couldn't find my gloves one very cold morning and use a pair of socks on my hands until my heater got warm.
When I was a youngin long ago a friend of mine's mother made a old sock baseball. It wouldn't go as far as a Wiffle ball but we sure had many great games. The sock balls were all socks. The last sock tied tight around the other socks.
People have been known to stash their extra money in a sock in a sock drawer.
I remember breaking Brazil nuts in clean old socks with the handle of a butter knife.
And if you feel the need to sock someone in the eye. Well please use clean soft socks. To Sock Or Not To Sock Is it a DeFEETING QUESTION. Sock It To Me.
Reinforce the toe before you start wearing the socks. Get inexpensive "boring" socks, cut the toe off and sew it to the novilty sock. Then use the boring sock for the other terrific ideas here.
If you have knee length, cut them off at the ankle, cut a seam up the back so they lay in flat "squares" and sew them together for a lap robe or a quilt.
By Carla Bledsoe
Heating Pad
Make heating pads to give as gifts. Fill them with rice then sew the top closed and reinforce the bottom seam. Instruct your giftees to heat them in the microwave for 1 minute.
By Mart
Arm Warmers
If they're long socks, like knee socks, cut the toe off (or right above the ankle if they have that weird heel) and cut a small thumbhole to make arm warmers. Sew a small stitch around the thumbhole and the top so it doesn't fray. Shorter socks can be bunched to make a sachel thing to put those smelly dried flowers in.
By Marissa
Cozies
Cut off the foot part, leaving just the part that covers your ankle or calf (I don't know what style of socks you wear!). Use this "tube" you have left, with all the cute kitties, etc (my favorites have frogs on them) as "cozies" for bottles and glasses -- keeps your cold drinks cold and your hot drinks hot!
With growing boys, I have had my share of well-used blue jeans. Here are a few things I did to get one more use out of them:
I cut the picket out (still attached to the jeans) and used a hole punch to put two holes in the top, then put yarn through the holes and hung in the kitchen for a bread tie holder. I also used to hold recipe cards, thread and those small objects that just seem to accumulate in the junk drawer - and often poke you in the finger!
I have also attached magnets on the back with super glue and used on the fridge for a note pad and pen.
I also cut the legs off and duct taped the bottom together and used the bag to tote garden tools around.
I used a small old garden fence to organize my craft desk. I attached hooks and used wires to attach items. I also used small flower pots to store tiny tid bits. I strung my ribbons on a strip of leather and hung that above the fence.
Take a tube sock of whatever size you would like and fill 3/4 full of instant rice. Put in microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. You will have a natural heating pad. Have kids or anyone decorated it with stamps or clothing paint.
What do you do with all those baby wipes boxes that you go through while raising your children? By using the same brand, but choosing different color packages you can make quite a collection. Then when they are empty, wash them out really clean and take the label off with "Goo-Gone" (a liquid orange product) and you have a ready-made, colorful, easy, set of BIG building blocks for your children to play with. Because they are clean inside, they make great little keeper boxes for kids little collections, too.
I wear hats a lot in the summer and was wondering how to make simple hat pins to hold the hats in place. If that is not possible, does anyone know where I can get hat pins at a reasonable price. Or if not hat pans, then what does one use?
I was wondering if anyone knows if you can use baby food jars for candles? I want to do a project similar to sand art, using candles. I want to shred different color candles, put in a wick, and layer the shaved candles into baby food jars. Will this work or will the jars get too hot and break? Has anyone tried this before?
Craft Uses for Leather Furniture Samples. Does anyone have any use for about 80 pieces of leather samples from furniture store that could be used for craft projects? I would like to sell for $1 each plus shipping. They are about 15" x 13" big.
My electric broom has a filter that is small and shaped like a hair bun cover, made of filter cloth and secured with sewn in elastic. I could make one, but I don't know where to find the cloth. Any suggestions?
How do I prepare plywood to attach seashells to it and what type of adhesive (glue) can I use? Also, what kind of glue should I use to attach shells to shells?
Can you add fragrance oils to used candle wax? I am looking for something or some way to get my home to smell like a candle shop around the clock. Or, where can I buy candles that will maintain their scent until they burn out?
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