Fingerprint Flower Vase

Posted by: Crafter

If you know children, you know most love to get their hands messy. They also love to pick wild flowers and weeds to share with those they love. Why not let them to be crafty for Mother’s Day by allowing them to create a fingerprint flower vase to give to Mom or Grandma this year?

Toddlers and young children may see Mom, Dad, or their brothers and sisters enjoying crafts. They may wonder why they don’t get to make something as well. This craft is perfect for little hands and will result with a gift any mom or grandma will love.

Since it’s springtime, your toddler or preschooler has probably already brought you a handful of daffodils or dandelions. Did you have a vase to put them in? Your child can make their own fingerprint flower vase that can be used for all of their future bouquets.

You don’t really need a lot of art supplies for this craft, just an empty jar or two and enamel paints in a variety of colors. You may also want to have some newspapers on hand to keep the mess to a minimum. However, if you’re working outside in the sunshine, you may not be concerned about the mess.

You’ll want to help your child with this craft project because it’s important they don’t put their fingers in their eyes or their mouth. Here’s how to do it:

* Start with clean and dry glass jars. It doesn’t matter which type of jar is used as long as the label has been completely removed. If you’d prefer to use an actual glass vase, these can be purchased inexpensively at any dollar store.

* Read all of the instructions on the back of the enamel paint bottle so you know how it should be used.

* Have them hold the jar by the mouth so they don’t mess up the paint.

* Let the children choose a color. They can dip their fingers into the paint and decorate the jar or vase by making flowers with their fingerprints.

* Your child can make any number of flowers on the vase. How they decorate the jar/vase is entirely up to them.

* After they’ve made a circle of fingerprint flowers, they can go back with a contrasting color to make the center of the flowers.

* Follow the directions on the paint to let the paint dry. If this includes baking it in the oven, an adult would need to handle it. Drying time may mean allowing it to air dry for up to three weeks before using it for the first time.

If you’re uncomfortable using enamel paints for this craft, you can use acrylic paints instead. The flowers will wash off, however, unless the project is protected by an acrylic sealer.

When Mother’s Day arrives, let your toddler or young child present their fingerprint flower vase. They may even want to give it with flowers inside. Any mom or grandmother would be proud to have this precious keepsake.

Create the Perfect Craft Area in Your Home

Posted by: Crafter

People enjoy crafts of all kinds. Some take up little space; some take up a lot. Some crafts need very few supplies, and some require enough to fill a cabinet or more. Whatever the crafts, if there is more than one person in the family, creating the perfect craft area in your home is probably something you all only dream about.

Crafts like sewing require quite a bit of space. You need to have a sewing machine, ironing board and iron, an easily accessible space for notions, and space to store fabric and patterns. Dad and the kids have their own crafts. Wouldn’t it be great to have one room where all of this could be located?

Begin by deciding which room you will turn into a craft room or if you will have to add one to your home. If you have a room to use, measure it and draw the room to scale on graph paper. Measure each piece of furniture that will go into the room and transfer those to the same scale size; cut out each piece so you can try different room arrangements without having to move heavy furniture.

One recommendation would be to divide the room into zones. If someone is interested in painting, they will want to have access to direct sunlight. Sunlight wouldn’t be so important to someone who was scrapbooking or putting together models. Create a painting zone nearest the windows.

Be sure to have plenty of overhead as well as task lighting in the room. Each task requires lighting for close tasks as well as something more general. Lamps that can be adjusted for specific tasks would be a good idea. Do you have enough wall outlets or do you need to add more?

Work space will probably be a premium concern. Someone who sews would need a place for the machine as well as space to spread out fabric when cutting out patterns. Of course, that area could be used by someone scrapbooking, as long as they weren’t trying to do so at the same time. The longer the flat surface, the better it would be. If it were long enough, it might be able to accommodate two crafts at one time.

Seating would be another area to consider. Comfortable chairs are a must, especially if you’re sitting for long periods of time. However, you don’t want to get lounge chairs. Something that is ergonomic and practical would be best. You want to be comfortable while working on your craft, but not so comfortable you fall asleep. Good quality office-style chairs will probably do nicely.

The final component is where to store everything. How much of the supplies needed for each craft can be stored on shelves rather than in cabinets on the floor? Peg boards, wall-mounted organizers, and multiple shelved units could store a good amount of things. What about putting strips of metal along the walls near each work area? These would be a handy place to hold scissors, little jars to hold beads or buttons, and more. The options are limitless if you think about it.

Crafts are an important part of our lives. They help us relax and give us a creative outlet. They help us to dream. If they’re so important to us, why is it we don’t enjoy doing them more often? Having a great space designated just for crafts might be the answer your whole family is looking for. Think about the benefits, and then create the perfect craft area for your home.

Crayon Wax-Melting Art

Posted by: Crafter

What mother of preschoolers or other children hasn’t found broken crayons in the couch, under the couch, and all over the floor? You may even have been frustrated to find a crayon in the laundry, way after it’s too late to salvage the clothes in that load. Help your child create crayon wax-melting art to keep from having to throw all the broken crayons away.

Melted wax is dangerous for anyone, especially for children. Please be careful when trying any of the following crayon wax-melting art projects. Adult supervision is definitely a must for melted wax artists. Here’s how to do it:

In the oven: Set your oven to 250 degrees. Create new crayons by melting the old broken pieces. Break the pieces up into smaller pieces and sort the crayons with like colors. Place the crayon pieces into an old muffin tin. Put the tin into the oven and then turn the oven off. Watch the crayons so they don’t melt entirely. When the crayons have melted sufficiently, remove them from the oven and then place the tin into the freezer for half an hour. Take the tin out and then pop the new, larger crayons out.

Double Boiler: Another way to melt peeled crayons is over a double boiler. Use an old pan that you were going to throw away. Get a larger pot and place water in the pot to boil. Put the old pan into the water so it floats. Put the crayons into the upper pan and allow them to melt. You can then use a ladle or measuring cup to remove small amounts of wax. Dribble or paint the melted wax onto paper or into old candy molds. You can also dribble or pour melted wax on wet sand.

Color on Fabric: On a blank sheet of paper, create a design you’d like to have on a T-shirt or other piece of fabric. Color the design heavily, using plenty of crayon. Set your iron to cool and allow it to heat up. Place newspaper between the layers of fabric so the colors don’t bleed through. Then iron the paper until the design shows through. For best results, use 100% synthetic fabrics.

Sun catchers: Children love the colors that are thrown across the room through sun catchers. You can help your child create a melted crayon wax sun catcher. Give your child a pencil sharpener and let them make crayon shavings. Fold a large sheet of wax paper and sprinkle crayon shavings on half of it. With a warm iron, run the iron over the wax paper quickly. Allow the wax paper to cool and then cut it into various shapes. Make butterflies or flowers with holes in them where you can tape the melted crayon wax sun catcher on the back so the light and colors shine through.

Let the artist come out in your child. However, since you’re working with crayon wax-melting art, be sure to supervise closely to keep your child from injury. The artwork they create will spread colorful light across your room and into your heart.

Scrapper’s Block?

Posted by: Crafter

At some point in every die-hard scrapper’s life, they’ll probably have to deal with scrapper’s block. You know what that is, don’t you? Try as you may, you just can’t think of a single clever word or idea for another scrapbook page. Here are some tips and ideas to help you overcome this bane to your scrapbooking existence.

If journaling is your problem, there are a number of things you can do to get over the blockage.

1. Get up from your chair and take a walk. That’s right. You need a fresh perspective. Go outside and enjoy the great outdoors. Breathe in the clean air and feel the sunshine on your face.

2. Start collecting sayings that are meaningful to you – witty phrases from commercials, cute things that your children say, quotes from famous and not-so-famous people. Keep them in a notebook for those times you need some inspiration.

3. Create a journal jar. This is really good for writers who get stuck. Find a nice looking jar and write down sentences that will get you thinking. Cut the sentences off the page and put them in the jar. The next time you have scrapper’s block, you can draw one out and see where it takes you. Here are a few to get your jar started:

* Explain a family tradition from when you were a child.
* Who do you most admire and why?
* What is your dream vacation?
* Which holiday is your favorite?

What if the problem isn’t journaling, but trying to come up with actual pages for your scrapbook to go along with the photos you have? Maybe it will help to know you’re not alone. Even professional scrapbookers have this problem from time to time.

1. It’s okay to “break the rules” in scrapbooking. You may feel you have to work with the most recent pictures you have, but it’s alright to go through them until you find some that you’d rather work with.

2. If you can’t actually make yourself work on a page, perhaps you can plan out pages you’d like to do but may not have the photos or supplies for. Think about how you could get photos to match those ideas.

3. Look through magazines or online to get inspiration. Perhaps you’ll see something that would be perfect with some of your photos.

4. Go back through your completed pages and realize that you’re really good at scrapbooking. There may be a layout in there that can be adapted or updated with some of the new supplies that are out.

Here are some ideas that you may be able to use to help get you past scrapper’s block:

* My first helium balloon
* Playing with my friends
* Taking a bubble bath
* First tooth lost
* Dirty faces
* First day of . . . school, camp, spending the night with Grandma . . .
* All dressed up and no place to go
* Splashing in puddles
* First haircut (be sure to save a lock of hair to include)
* Family reunions

There are endless possibilities when you’re creating scrapbook pages. Take some time away from your pages to give you a fresh perspective. Look through others’ pages, magazines, or your child’s baby book to get inspiration. When scrapper’s block has passed, you’ll have so many new great ideas you won’t be able to get to them quick enough!

Are You Having a Scrap Attack?

Posted by: Crafter

If you’re just beginning to take notice of scrapbooking, be prepared for a shock! Scrapbooking is so popular and there are so many supplies all over the place – in crafts stores, in discount stores, and online – that it’s easy to become overwhelmed. When you see everything available, are you having a scrap attack?

Look down the aisles at a crafts store and you’ll see shelves filled with scrapbooking goodies. Papers galore, stickers to die for, craft scissors with various edges, and oh, the books themselves are something to drool over. It’s no wonder people get easily overwhelmed. And that’s not even the beginning of what’s available.

Taking a look online, you’ll find millions of websites that have information about scrapbooking as a hobby. Some have various scrapbook page templates, or page examples, and tips of the trade for creating the perfect scrapbook. Others give step-by-step instructions of how to create pages.

While it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the vast amount of scrapbooking supplies available, take a deep breath and get ready to find what you’re looking for. To begin with, you’ll need to have photographs that you’ll place into your scrapbook. Organize them into what you’d like to include in one book, then you’ll be better able to go out and find the supplies you want.

Be sure that no matter what supplies you purchase, they are acid and lignin free so your precious photographs and memories will be protected. Choose which pages you would like to keep together on one page and then look for things they have in common besides the subject matter.

For instance, if you have pictures of your first child having their first bubble bath, you may want to find paper that has a bathroom design on it. Or you could choose stickers that resemble bubbles or rubber ducks. Be sure to choose some pens for writing on your pages or use stickers with fun sayings.

As you can tell, your scrapbooks don’t have to be elaborate. There’s no need to go out and buy one of everything on the scrapbooking aisle, although you could if your pocket book wouldn’t suffer too much and your spouse didn’t complain about the money you’d spent.

Pick up a few items that you know you’ll use right away. If you plan out your pages ahead of time, you’ll have an idea of what supplies you’ll need.