Sewn paper garland | MINI ECO I made this rainbow paper garland on a grey summers day and now the days are drawing in it’s really coming into it’s own and doing a wonderful job of brightening our home up. It’s really easy to make and costs next to nothing but you’ll definitely need a sewing machine and a couple of hours worth of patience. I took hundreds of photo’s of this and none of them do it justice – please believe me when I say it’s stunning! Click the “read more” link below for a really quick how-to. All you need to do is cut lots of strips of paper and sew along the centre point. Mine measured 8 x 1cm. How to You will need: ♥ Paper ♥ Thread ♥ Sewing machine ♥ Craft knife and cutting boards (or scissors) ♥ Ruler ♥ Pencil 1. The paper I used was from a paperchase notebook. 2.
Paper gems (+ templates) This has got to be one of my favourite projects to date…which is a good job because I nearly broke my brain putting the templates together!! I’m not so good at maths and figuring out angles (my lovely Mum is a retired maths teacher so I should know better!). By the way this project is quite fiddly so more aimed at grown-ups or older kids. My paper gems were very influenced by these wonderful crayons (via Deborah’s Pinterest board). You can use these paper gems as hanging decorations (for your Christmas tree) or you can incorporate them into a mobile or garland. If you spray them lightly on one side they look very pretty and a bit more crystal-like! If you love crystals and gems as much as I do then check out these cool projects: Home-made rock candyHome grown geodes Edited to add: Check out this great advent calendar idea using my paper gems. Kids craft coming up next week…I absolutely promise this time! I’ve been a total slacker on email lately…but intend to catch up over the next week. !!
All Things Thrifty Home Accessories and Decor Cut + fold paper stars | MINI ECO This post is sponsored by The Loctite Repair Network I love these stars. I wanted to do a cut-and-fold version of origami lucky stars. You can make them in different sizes and you can hang them on yours Christmas tree or make a garland from them. I also saw some similar stars being used as gift boxes. They look great alongside all the other paper decorations I’ve been making lately. If you fancy having a go you will find the templates and instructions at the foot of the post as usual. I hope all your Christmas plans are coming along well. YOU WILL NEED: – – – – – – – – – – + Good quality A4 paper (in whatever colours you fancy) + Scissors + Ruler + Loctite All Purpose Adhesive 20ml + Thread + Sticky tape 1. 2. 3. 4 & 5. 6. Handy hint: You can also use Loctite Power Easy as an alternative to the All Purpose glue. 7. 8.
Handmade geometric stamps for Handmade Living By Kate on January 11, 2012 I‘ve tried to make my own rubber stamps on many occasions but never really got the hang of it. I think half the reason is that it’s impossible to buy the proper carving blocks here in the UK. So…I put an article together for this months issue of Handmade Living on easy rubber stamps. (I actually wrote this article about three months ago….it’s taking me a while to get used to the print ‘time-lag’ thing). These stamps are made from erasers, using a craft knife and ruler. If you want to see how hand carved stamps are done the proper way then check out this ace tutorial at Geninne’s Art Blog. Hama bead weaving tutorial on its way early next week! You can pick up a copy of Handmade Living from Morrisons, Asda, Sainsburys, Martins, WH Smiths, Hobbycraft plus a number of independent shops and newsagents.
DIY + How To An occasion for dispensing confetti doesn’t present itself too often, so why not do it with appropriate aplomb? As if we didn’t already know that black-and-white, bold graphics, and a dash of sparkle are a surefire route to a memorably festive visual statement, along come these confetti poppers—a DIY project — Continue reading Talk about a gem of a DIY project! This shimmering, beautifully faceted holiday ornament, which we discovered on the unfailingly industrious site, A Beautiful Mess, was fashioned at home with the help of standard craft staples: balsa wood, X-Acto knife, gold paint—and, yes, a dose of motivation which (we admit) — Continue reading We were immediately struck by the moody prettiness of this Christmas tree, only to find that we were fooled by a terrific home-made optical illusion—and the most artful no-fuss tree we’ve seen in a while. As illustrated on Almost Makes Perfect, the beauty of opting for this tree is that — Continue reading Oh man, it’s here.
DIY Ladybird Party Invite | MINI ECO Hello! I’m back and blowing the dust off this blog! Sorry it’s been so long. Life well and truly got in the way! I hope you are all well?! I’ve seen a few of these ladybird invites around and wanted to have a go at making some. I also thought this would make a great 30 minute craft project for young children so I’ve made a colour-in version that you can print off. I hope you are all having a lovely summer. YOU WILL NEED: – – – – – – – – – – + Good quality A4 paper or thin card (in red and white) + Paper for envelope + Scissors + Small split pins + Wobbly eyes (optional) 1. 2. 3. 4. TEMPLATES – – – – – – –Invitation body (print on white paper/card) [pdf]Invitation wings (print on white paper/card) [pdf]Envelope template [pdf]‘Cut and Colour’ Ladybird [pdf] Happy crafting Kate ^_^
Kaleidocycle {aka folding paper toy!} Have you ever made a kaleidocycle before? They are pretty fun. All you need is some glue, paper and 5 or 10 minutes! There is an animated gif at the bottom on the post so that you can see what they do. There are also instructions & a template below too ^_^ – Template – Paper or thin card – Glue – Scissors – Ruler and needle for scoring 1. The animated gif is a bit shaky. By the way, check out this free download (courtesy of my cousins band) which contains: trick or treat poster, DIY ‘creeps’ mask, high quality MP3 and exclusive video art. And, Helen, from Curlybirds just put together a ‘vintage Halloween costume‘ post on her site. About Recycle This | How can I recycle this? This site started from a bowl of pistachio nut shells. After we gorged ourselves on their lovely innards, they, the shells, just sat there, looking useful and versatile – but we no idea what we could possibly do with them. Just throwing them on the compost heap seemed a waste – all the effort to make them tough and solid, and here we were just hoping they’d rot back down to mulch before the potatoes needed earthing up. When we thought about it, we were in the same position with lots of things: leftover bits of food, old household items, empty containers of all shapes and sizes… And so this site was born. Four years on, we’ve covered over 900 items and had over 14,000 suggestions of ways to reuse, repurpose or recycle things that would otherwise go in the bin. We aim to add new content every weekday – if you have any ideas for items or would like to make/repair something, suggest them to us – all suggestions gratefully received.
DIY play envelopes & stamps | MINI ECO When my boys were younger they used to love making little letters. I’ve put together an all-in-one envelope template and play stamps in the hope that it might inspire a little one that you know to create some snail mail too! You can make a little postbox if you want. There are some great examples on pinterest. By the way, I’ve been making a few changes around here in order to make my website mobile friendly so it may look a bit different to usual. YOU WILL NEED: – – – – – – – – – – + Good quality A4 paper + Scissors + Ruler + Compass or needle for scoring + Sticker or tape for sealing envelope 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. + Play letter + Play stamps