* Save some money & make your own grapevine wreaths and swags! Just soak
vines in your bathtub overnight. In the morning, bend them into shape and
secure with wire. This works great for honeysuckle vine, too!
* Put those old drawers to use, after the dresser is too far gone. Or pick
them up at garage sales and flea markets. Paint with a coordinating color to
match the room, and decoupage the inside. Now you have a great file box for
your desk top, or hang it flat on the wall for a unique shadow box!
* Your kids will think you are the coolest, if you make double stuff Oreo
cookie wands. Take a Popsicle stick and push it between the cookies in the
cream. Dip the whole cookie in melted chocolate. Decorate while cooling on
wax paper by making faces with M&M's or sprinkles!
* I keep a can of canned air on my work table! I use it to blow the dust,
debris, embossing powder, glitter and lint off the area before I start a new
project.
* For quickie decorative accents, you can decorate nicely using those
bottles that are laying around the house by putting olive oil, bay leaves,
spices, pasta, or dried flowers in them, cork them, and then dip the tops in
sealing wax. You would pay dozens of dollars for the same thing in a
boutique!
* Here's a "ship-in-a-bottle" kind of gift that will make Dad crazy! Pick
a gift that will fit inside a clean plastic soda bottle. Take the label off,
and cut a trap door in the side. Insert the gift with shredded paper for
padding. Tape the trap door closed with clear packing tape and stick on a
gift tag to cover the trap door. Watch Dad as he tries to figure out how to
get to his gift through the tiny bottle neck! This is great for cookies, a
necktie, golf balls, or even a pair of socks.
* Make a personalized frame for you and your Dad or Grandpa's favorite
photo, for him to set on his desk. The new "Special Occasions"
PattieWack™ PatternPak has just the pattern you need!
* Here's the perfect poem to go with a little hand imprinted in plaster:
Dear Daddy,
"I know it's hard to imagine
when you're tossing me a ball,
that everyday I'm growing big
And soon I will be tall.
So here's a special hand print
Just so that you can say
this is how my fingers looked
when I placed them here today.
* Don’t toss out that old throw pillow. Let your ‘tweenager’ hot glue silk
flowers to cover the pillow completely for a fab & funky new accent to her
room!
* For a really funky idea, go outdoors and let the kids cover the bottoms of
their feet with bright acrylic paints and then walk on solid colored sheets
for their bedroom! Just be sure to use fabric paint, or add textile medium
to the paint.
* Supervise making new crayons from old broken ones, by melting them down
and pouring the crayon wax into metal cookie cutters or soap molds. They make
great shapes. (Keep the temp very low.)
* 5-MINUTE ICE-CREAM!
· In a 1 quart-sized bag, put: 1 cup milk , 1 Tablespoon sugar and 1/2
teaspoon vanilla
· In a gallon-sized bag, put: 1/3 cup salt, 3/4 of the bag filled with ice
cubes
· Place the smaller bag inside the larger bag (make sure the seal is tight!).
· Shake vigorously for 5 minutes. This will keep the kids busy!
(I know this isn’t a craft, but the kids will feel really creative, shaking
their bags!)
* Make a disco ball from CDs and hang in the window. Cut CDs into irregular
1/2" pieces. Discard any splintered pieces. Wrap pipe cleaners around a
Styrofoam ball and form a loop to hang. Glue CD pieces over entire
Styrofoam ball. Now pop “Staying Alive” into the stereo, and let’s disco!
* SILLY PATTIE PUTTY
2 parts Elmer's' Glue-All
1 part liquid starch
Gradually pour starch into glue and mix. If mixture is sticky, add more
starch. Cover and refrigerate overnight. This silly putty can be cut with
scissors or be pulled or twisted. The kids will love this!
* Tired of looking for the remote? Cover a box with broken egg shells
glued in a mosaic pattern, and then use copper rub-n-buff cream over the
entire project for a beautiful hiding place.
* You know all those board game pieces in the bottom of the kid’s closet?
Glue magnets to them, to hold their prized school papers onto the frig!
* Sew the neck and arms closed on the T-shirts you bought while on
vacation. Then stuff them and sew up the bottom, for perfect toss pillows in
the car!
* Dazzle your front door for fall by wrapping it in bright orange paper or
fabric, then cut out a giant Jack-O-Lantern face with black paper or felt and
glue to the door for a snaggle tooth greeting!
* Instead of tossing out the jeans the kids have outgrown, cut them into
squares and sew together for a rugged blanket they’ll never outgrow.
* Just for fun, glue candy corn over an entire Styrofoam ball, and another
covered in caramel squares, and cover one with mini marshmallows, or even
licorice. Make several to fill a glass bowl for a very unique party
centerpiece, for adults only.....
* Create pretty fall napkins with ecru fabric squares, and lay your
favorite falling leaves on the fabric, cover with a cloth, and pound with a
hammer to get a fabulous print! You could just do the corners, or get
carried away with an all-over pattern. You could even pound perfect party
invitations on paper!
* Let the kids help craft black cats from spray-painted bottles and
Styrofoam heads, decorated with felt eyes, ears and paws. A big woolly
chenille stem will finish it off with a perfectly coiled tail. They would be
“purr-fect” lined up in a window sill.
* Entertain your party guests by covering all of the chair backs with
bright white pillowcases that you have added felt eyes and mouths to, for a
“boo-tiful” Halloween bash!
* Can’t find the match to last years mittens? Let the kids turn them into
colorful puppets with a little felt, glue, and googlie eyes!
* Don’t you just love those fancy glass 3-tiered cake plates? Well, make
one yourself, by gluing 2 glass candlesticks between 3 sizes of glass plates
with E6000. You could even add holly and berries with glass paint pens for a
pretty holiday touch.
* Instead of paying premium prices for fresh swags and wreaths to decorate
your home, you can pick up a small, not so shapely tree at a low cost, and
cut it up for all the fresh greens you need to create fragrant accents for
less!
* Running out of time to make that perfect gift for a crafty friend? Why
not put all of the components in a beautiful basket, with the pattern or
magazine that inspired you, and tie it up in bright cellophane and a bow.
She will love it!
* Dazzle your front door for Christmas by wrapping it in bright red paper
or fabric, then wrap it with a huge gold bow to impress your guests
* Instead of tossing out last year’s Christmas cards, use your PattieWack
Mini Boxmaker to turn them into little boxes for money gifts and candy, or
for cute tree ornaments!
* Dig into your scrapbooking supplies and grab several sheets of vellum,
then let the kids cut all sizes of snowflakes to hang by threads in the front
window. Make them sparkle with spray glitter!
* Don’t have time to actually make handmade Christmas cards like you
planned to? Why not embellish purchased cards with lovely coordinating
ribbon or decorative fibers? Just tie a bow around the fold of the card for
a handmade touch! To find Adornaments fibers, go to:
* Let the kids make quick snowman pillows! Just tie a bright wool scarf
around a white bed pillow, then glue on felt eyes, nose, hat and buttons.
You can even make baby snowmen the same way with stuffed white socks. Set
them on their beds for instant grins & giggles!
* For Thanksgiving, make a “Blessings Box” from a recycled shoe box,
covered completely with preserved or silk autumn leaves, with an opening in
the lid. Then, pass out paper to all of the family and guests to write down
what they are thankful for and put into the box. Open the box during dessert
and read the many blessings out loud. You’ll be touched and entertained by
everyone’s blessings!
* Create a Happy Holidays memory banner with felt, and sew plastic pockets
all over to hold the latest snapshots or Christmas cards. Sew a loop in the
top for a dowel rod, then hang with a colorful ribbon. Embellish with ball
fringe at the bottom and felt cut-outs. Make one for yourself, and one to
give away!
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