This week we have craft ideas using playing cards, dollhouse furniture made with everyday objects and more. Hope you enjoy. As always, if you have any craft ideas, tips or questions, feel free to submit them.
I save and collect broken glass and other little findings.
Then I put 2" of cement in the bottom of a 5 or 3 gallon bucket then I press the pieces of glass and things on top. I will be making these for Christmas gifts this year.
I am going to New Orleans next month to help rebuild. I plan to bring home or mail myself as many shards as I can. I will make memory stepping stones out of them and maybe even a wall plaque.
My tip is, if you break something, don't throw it out! Recycle it!
I visited with Dick Larson recently. He makes walking sticks, hot dog sticks, and weeders to sell, and he does quite well with them. He gets a branch with either a really straight length or an interesting curve at the top end, depending on the kind of walking stick he is making.
Short lengths make handles for copper-coated hot dog roasting sticks or weeders. The weeders are fascinating. He makes a handle by whittling off first the outer bark, and then some of the inner bark, leaving patches of wood showing in spots. Then he sands it down very smooth and may or may not add a stain. Varnish comes last.
For the blade, he uses a foot of bandsaw blade. He forms it into a loop and screws it down tight. You can get in between onions or perennials without damaging their roots. At his last sale, he sold 23 of these for $5 each.
I am going to save money this year by giving themed baskets as gifts. The "yum-yum" basket consists of : 1 loaf of banana bread, one jar of homemade cocoa, homemade fudge, homemade cashew brittle, and chocolate dipped pretzel rods.
The next basket is the toiletry basket that has bath salt, shower gel, bubble bath, milk bath and a bath poof (all of these will be homemade) I am still working on the third basket but the theme for it will be coffee and tea, with some cookies and coasters that I will make. I am also making some scented beeswax molds and some ornaments.
Below are some ideas for reusing playing cards. Feel free to post your own ideas in the feedback forum.
Bookmarks
If you have an incomplete deck of playing cards, don't throw them away! Use them as bookmarks! You will never again have to buy those expensive bookmarks at the bookstore!
By Kimberly
Decoupage
I read somewhere to decoupage them onto a card table and the backs of the chairs. It looks cute.
By Liz
Decorating Ideas and More
I recently saw an interior designer do a game room and they placed cards around the edges of a square card table making a border and polyurethane over them to make a game table. You could add to this by using Liz's idea of putting them on the backs of chairs as well.
You could buy a package of those jewelry rings that you connect lockets to necklaces, etc. and make mobiles, a curtain similar to the bead curtains of the 70's, or a window covering for kids rooms or game rooms. Use larger rings for the top row to slide onto curtain hangers.
You could even arrange them for a framed picture for the walls.
You could glue them together to make little fans for kids to use in church or on a hot day.
If they have a cute design on the backs, glue them to a piece of card-stock and make it a 3-D picture for a greeting card.
Let the kids cut cool designs out of them, and tape a small picture to the back (card value side) then affix a magnet for a cute refrigerator decoration.
By kijay
Playing Card Ornaments
I just found this. I think it would still be cool with regular playing cards (either the face or the back if it's got a neat pattern).
I saw in a cute valentine man made from a queen or king of hearts card. They used pipe cleaners for the arms and legs and had the arm holding a sucker. Sort of looked like the deck of cards from the movie Alice in Wonderland.
Tips for making dollhouse furniture and decorations out of everyday items.
Pizza Box Support as a Table
If you have a Valentino's pizza near you, they used to put little white plastic things in the center of the pizza to keep the top of the box from getting stuck to the toppings. They look a lot like little tables and when I was younger, my Grandma would save them for me and we'd use them as tables for my dollhouse. They worked especially well for the smaller Kelly dolls.
Sink and a Trash Can
The plastic protectors on roll up deodorant are clear and oval shaped. Could be used as a sink. Hairspray tops could be used as trash cans.
By Sue Braun
Decorating a Room
Small school pictures work well as gigantic artwork on the walls. Also, the "after eight" mints have tiny ornate clocks on the front of their wrappers which dress up a room nicely. I used to use wrapping paper as wall paper in the room and scrap fabric for curtains. If your child has a barbie play-set many times items can be used from it in the doll house. Also, a tiny drum set can be made with enough dixie cups!
By Kelly
Dollhouse Furniture With Everyday Objects
Small boxes can be cut to make chairs and then covered with small amount of batting and fabric.
Velveeta boxes make great beds for Barbie.
Kitchen appliances can be made by painting boxes to look like them you can use stickers for the burners and knobs on the stove. When constructing these cardboard furnishings I would make sure you use hot glue or a tough tape as they will get a lot of wear and tear.
2 mac and cheese boxes could be used for a couch covered with batting and cover with fabric. You can get small amounts of Fabric can be bought at a discount in the remnants bin at Walmart. You may even be able to find real upholstery fabric.
Tables can be made from small food containers by drawing legs on to the container and then taking a pair of scissors and cutting out the legs. Depending on how much work you want to put into this you could tile the table tops with the glass gems.
Hope this helps
By Debra in Colorado .
Strawberry Container Table
When I was a little girl, we used the green plastic containers that strawberries come in. We turned them upside down, and placed a washrag or scrap fabric over the top. It could be a bed or a table, depending on the size of the doll. (11/01/2004)
By Jill Iannetti
Found Objects
I love making things for my dollhouse from found objects!
Dresser drawers can be made out of matchboxes. Simply glue, cover with pretty paper and add small beads for knobs.
Magazines and newspaper ads are great sources of scaled down pictures of foods, book and magazine covers and posters.
From old makeup: the thin trays eye-shadows come pressed in can be used as trays or picture frames. If you can pop the mirror out of a compact without breaking it, it's a good scale for dollhouses.
Couches and beds-any stuffed furniture-can be made from small boxes, cotton or batting, fabric and glue.
Cotton swabs and round toothpicks make handles for brooms and mops (kite string for the mop head). -Buttons for plates, beads for vases and bottles.
I have found that small doilies work fantastic as rugs, tablecloths, bedspreads etc.
By Alina
Popsicle Stick Furniture
You can make small (or large) furniture from craft sticks or popsicle sticks by cutting them to the right length and gluing them together. Most public libraries also have books on this topic.
By Alina
Doll Lamp
I've covered those little medicine cups that come with NyQuil with pretty fabric. Hot glue a bead on top for a finial, attach a lollipop stick to the inside center, and a large heavy button to the bottom for a base. Makes a nice sized lamp for 11" dolls.
By Chris
Russell Stover Bed
Russell Stover candy boxes make an ideal sized bed. Glue wooden beads at the four corners for feet. Cover with fabric.
By Chris
Balsa Wood
My mom used the strawberry plastic containers for the shelves in the fridge and stove which she made from balsa wood, she made them many years ago and the are still in my proud dollhouse today! Balsa wood is great for carving things for your doll house!
When I was a kid, we had a book called "Things to Make and Do". It had instructions for a six-drawer desk in it made from matchboxes. You make two stacks of three matchboxes, with a matchbox-width space between them. Cover with a piece of cardboard long enough to fit up, over, and across the stacks. I didn't have the brass prong paper-fasteners for drawer-pulls, so I used thumbtacks. I think tiny buttons would also be cute. I covered mine in denim Contact Paper (it was all I had), but I guess you could paint it. Contact Paper also comes in woodgrain. Thanks for asking for tips--I'm warm and fuzzy remembering how I loved my creation!
Me and my sister Kayley are beginner collectors with 8 barbie Dolls. Here's how to make a luxury bed for a single barbie or a few more at a time. You may use replacement materials.
First, you find velvet, or another attractive fabric, In thin or regulation size. Find a small mini shelf. Sit that anywhere around the pillow to make it look like a headboard. Put a dumbbell at least 10 pounds behind the (quote)Headboard(/quote), parallel. Now get an upside-down pompom, or any other long stick, or two, Put them in the space between the dumbbell and headboard. Pack clothes and stuff between, too, to keep your "canopy posts" up.
Now, get veil material or any other see through fabric on the "canopy posts", use rubber bands to secure canopy. Great! now you got your own luxury bed with a princess canopy! Feel free to furnish it with Pretend sheets and pillows. It's your bed now!
Yep, those plastic limes which I got so many glasses of lime water out of last summer will, with a little glue and glitter, become tree ornaments for years.
Hey, decorate them anyway you like. Oh and they don't break when they fall. A plus and they need little wrapping to store.
Don't throw away that jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing. Paint a few pieces, stamp or write a letter on each one and use them to make a title on a scrapbook page. Then use the corner pieces on the corners of your photos. (Cover the backs with acid free paint or paper if you are unable to determine if the puzzle is acid free.)
I have started a box of throw away JUNK for crafts for when I start homeschooling. We have TONS of stuff in there. But I'm sure I am missing things. So, what's in YOUR craft junk box?
Does anyone know how to make paper mache plaques for painting? They are usually used for welcome signs and such, and the wooden plaques can be very expensive.
My rotary rulers slip when I am cutting a quilt patch. I cannot afford to buy the new non-slip rulers. A friend said to glue small squares of very fine sandpaper on the bottom of the rulers. Where do I glue the small squares of sandpaper and what glue do I use? Is there another method for making the rulers non-sliping?
I am in charge of my junior float at MVHS and the theme is Indiana Jones. We have a some good ideas, but I need help on how to make a paper mache ball roll on a track. Do I use a pulley system? Any suggestion?
"Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share
all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it
automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you
had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with
folder names you will recognize. You can drag and drop to arrange
your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes
sure your pictures are always organized."
It's fun taking something apart and putting it back together again in a new creative way. I work in an office where we had a lot of old promotional type posters that were very expensively matted and framed. Now that we're moving to a new office we wanted something new, but didn't want to spend a lot of money decorating. We decided to disassemble the old frames and re-use the mats to frame new prints.
We made a visit to a local craft store and found an abundance of inexpensive artwork in all sizes, ranging in price from $1.49 to $40.00. Definitely within our budget. We picked out several beautiful floral prints and framed them with the old mats and frames. Disassembling the old prints included tearing off most of the prints that had previously been glued to the mats, but I just tore it all off and used scotch tape to tack down the new prints.
The new prints don't have to completely fit your frames or mats, either. It was hard finding prints that were just the right size. Don't be afraid to move the print around in a mat that's a little too small. Often you can cover some edges of the print and not take away from the overall effect of the picture at all. Just trim edges where necessary to make the print fit (after you've double checked your positioning within the mat). You can also buy bigger mats to make a smaller print fit in a larger frame.
If you don't care if all of your frames match, it's very inexpensive to shop thrift stores and yard sales for cheap prints and re-use the mats and frames for new prints. Or go through some of your own old prints and redecorate!
Also, when looking for inexpensive prints, don't limit yourself to poster prints. Postcards and greeting cards also look great framed. Add a mat and you'll never be able to tell the difference.
You don't need a lot of special tools to get started. All you really need is possibly a screwdriver for disassembling frames, a ruler to make sure your print is straight, some tape for attaching the print to the mat, and a pencil and scissors for marking and trimming prints that don't quite fit.
You don't have to spend a lot of money to have great wall art. It just takes a little planning ahead to match print sizes to frames and match colors. Have fun, and use your imagination! A beautiful picture really brightens up a room, and you can create your own easily and inexpensively.
Be the first to post feedback! Click here to post feedback.
Post Feedback:
Login using the form on the top of the page to post feedback (if you are a registered user). If you have not yet registered, click here to do so. It's FREE!.
