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At yesterday's craft morning I taught the butterfly, everyone seemed to really enjoy it and so I thought I would write out a really clear pattern with photos for it, as I didn't manage to find a proper one online. Enjoy :) You can use any yarn and needle you like.
maries making: Crochet Butterfly Pattern
I loved this idea because not only can you recycle these horrid polystyrene containers, but the process is really simple. You could even use tracing paper and trace your design so you don't even need to be able to draw. You could make a whole series of cards like this or just a colorful print to hang on your wall and cheer up the place. Materials needed: Foam or polystyrene container pencil paint or ink small roller
Fun with Foam Printing - Easy Tutorial
New England Through Yummy Moms Eyes: Tutorial: Photo Wood Blocks - StumbleUpon
Here is my first step-by-step tutorial... and I made it an easy one. I made these blocks for my mom and mother-in-law for Christmas and they loved them, so I thought I'd share. They are easy, although time consuming.
You know that I save toilet paper rolls. They can be made into so many things — mummies , rockets , Uncle Sam hats , flower party favors ………………. even cute pillow boxes perfect for a little favor! Fold in one side of the end.
Recycled Pillow Box Favors | Skip To My Lou - StumbleUpon
autumn leaf bouquet | Design*Sponge - StumbleUpon
I don’t know what it’s like in your neighborhood, but when I step outside here in Oakland, I sense it right away: Fall is in the air! I’m lucky enough to have a few turning trees on my street, so I don’t miss out entirely on the brilliant autumn colors I remember from growing up in NH. Speaking of brilliant autumn colors, I’m thrilled to share this stunning maple leaf rose bouquet DIY from a fellow Kate — clay, fiber and paper artist Kate Hust . Kate first learned how to make these a few years ago from a retired art teacher in her community, and now they’ve become an annual tradition when fall rolls around. Her instructor taught her to wrap the leaves really tight, so they looked like rose buds, but Kate has modified the technique a bit to suit her own tastes: She likes to find the really big leaves and make them with large open “petals.”The lanterns may look intricate, but it takes only half an hour to make one. They appear festive and ethereal by day and, if you place low-wattage lightbulbs inside, softly radiant by night. The lanterns are monochromatic, but you can play with the design by creating an ombre pattern (gradations of the same color) or stripes. You can even use green disks at the tops of the lanterns so that they resemble berries with leafy stems. Resources: Tissue-paper circles, 5 inches, in Pastel and Primary, $6 for 480; hyglossproducts.com . Wire-frame spherical paper lanterns, from $3.25 each; pearlriver.com .
Decorative Paper Lanterns - Martha Stewart Crafts - StumbleUpon
Baking Soda Clay
Here's another homemade modeling compound that good for both kids and adult artisans. Compared to the homemade polymer clay I presented a few weeks ago, it's non-elastic when wet and much "softer" when dry---that is, easy to sand smooth or to reshape, to add etchings, and possibly even to carve (I haven't tried). I've used it to make a variety of small items, particularly small bowls and candle holders (shown below in order of finished-ness). It takes paint well but I would finish painted pieces with a coat of varnish. Sanded nice and smooth!
One of my daughter's favourite toys for over a year now, is a lacing set where she 'sews' or laces different outfits onto a wooden doll's body. Having played with it over and over and over again over a this past year, she very quickly mastered the basic movements of hand sewing when I recently made her a 'sewing board' out of a recycled polystyrene plate. (Please click here if you missed that post). It was soon time to move on to something a bit more challenging. First up was sweet little craft kit that required her to do some overhand stitching to complete a craft foam handbag.
First steps in sewing: Paper Plate Weaving
26 Beautiful Free Retro Fonts | DeMilked - StumbleUpon
It has been long since we posted our last free font collection (see: 20 Free Handwritten Fonts and 21 Incredible Fonts That Shouldn’t Be Free ), so we decided it’s a high time to do one more. The use of retro and vintage themes in design is still very popular, so it’s always good to have a big font collection. That’s why we handpicked 26 beautiful and stylish free retro fonts . We had a lot of fun doing the sample images, so if you decide to use some of them – please link back to DeMilked .
<img src="http://makezineblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/duct-tape-roses.jpg?w=614&h=580" alt="" title="Duct tape roses" width="614" height="580" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-174845" /> If you’re celebrating Love Day this year, and could’t make it to the Kwik-E-Mart before they sold out of Lord Huggington, you might consider going the handmade route, in which case you could probably do a lot worse than a dozen of these realistic duct tape roses from Instructables user DIYHacksAndHowTos . Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go outside and assemble Love Land.
How-To: Duct Tape Roses - StumbleUpon
all / cats / dogs / birds / bunnies / bears / safari animals / forest animals / farm animals / sea animals / other animals / dolls / cartoons & games / food / transport / flowers / holidays / other patterns Scooby Doo by Erin's Toy Store Yosemite Sam
Free cartoons-games amigurumi patterns - Page 3 - StumbleUpon
mad in crafts: DIY Fire & Ice Lanterns - StumbleUpon
The old becomes new: A new variation on the outdoor lantern. We have had an unusually warm winter in Michigan this year, and while the temps have been nice, I have had to hold off on this project idea until we got a cold snap. We finally got some snow and cold earlier this week, so I was able to try out this fun winter project.by Michelle Vackar, Modern Handmade Child One of our favorite outside activities at our home is drawing with chalk on the driveway. You can play hopscotch, four-square, and of course draw and create silly stories.