Home & Garden Blog » Arts & Crafts

Homemade Craft: Potpourri Jar

brock — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:58:13 +0000

If you go to a craft store, then you know that potpourri gifts are expensive. You’ve looked at them and thought to yourself, “Why should I pay so much for something that looks so simple to make?” The answer is: You don’t have to.

Putting together a classic potpourri that is both attractive and aromatic is simple. You can avoid the high prices of store-bought varieties and still have a beautiful gift or addition to your own home.

Items Needed:

Glass jar or vase

Potpourri – scent is completely up to you

Battery operated tea light candle

Artificial leaves or flowers

Ribbon

Take a clean vase or jar and fill the inside with the leaves and flowers. If you are using a vase, then fill it to where the vase curves. If you are using a jar, fill it about 3/4 with the leaves and flowers. Place the tea light on top of the leaves and place the potpourri scented materials all around and on top of it.

You may be asking why I didn’t put the tea light on the bottom of the jar. It would create a beautiful ambiance as the light shines through the leaves. True, but you would have to stick your hand all the way down into the jar to turn it on and change it out when the battery dies. By placing it on the top, you only have to grab through an inch or two of material and then cover it back up.

Tie the ribbon around the top of the jar or vase, so it covers the tea light and potpourri. This way people will see the beautiful centerpiece and won’t be expecting the beautiful aroma. The candle will not only provide a beautiful light, but also heat up potpourri and help release the scent.

This makes a perfect gift for anyone that is a fan of potpourri or you can keep it for your own home. You can switch the insides as the season’s change as well. Pine cones and berries make a great winter/Christmas interior, leaves and flowers for fall, bright flowers for spring and summer. It’s a truly universal and adaptable craft.

Save Money and Make Family Time by Making Your Own Ornaments

brock — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:38:22 +0000

Christmas ornaments are great and a holiday essential, but the problem with those really nice ornaments you buy from the store is that they are so expensive. It seems the more decorative, the higher the price. They also have no personalization and the ornaments on your tree are exactly the same as those of your neighbor’s.

Why not buck the system and create your own ornaments for the tree. It won’t take long and it creates a great memento of each Christmas. Kids get a kick out of creating fun ornaments and adults can make their tree truly unique.

Go to a store and buy a few boxes of cheap plastic ornaments and bring them home. These will be your canvas. You can choose any assortment of colors you want. You will then need some craft glue, glitter, colored glass, etc. that you want to place on the ornament.

The easiest thing to do is use a marker to make an outline of the designs you want to put on the ornament. May I suggest things like Christmas trees and snowflakes (these look great on a blue ornament.)

Using the craft glue, glue over the traces lines and then add glitter on top of the glue. When the glue dries, you’ll have a sparkling design that looks great when reflected with the Christmas lights. When the main designs are complete, embellish with the colored glass and other items.

The good news is the bulbs are inexpensive, so if you mess up, then you can always get more and it won’t break the bank.

Don’t forget that ornaments needn’t only be made from those colored bulbs. Some snowflakes cut from a hefty paper stock look when great placed on a tree as well. When it comes to tree ornaments, your limit is truly your imagination.

Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and create ornaments from bent metal, cut glass, stained glass and more. These are geared more towards adults, for safety reasons, because don’t we deserve to have some craft fun as well?

Let the kiddies play with the paper, while you cut glass. You can always let them decorate the new ornaments in the same way they did the plastic bulbs. You don’t have to sacrifice family time because you want some more artistic ornaments on the tree.

Thanksgiving Craft: Bubble Wrap Indian Corn

brock — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:39:30 +0000

OK, it’s crunch time people. You only have a few days left until Thanksgiving and you are in need of some table centerpieces…stat. The problem: You’ve spent all your money on that expensive turkey fryer and you’ve got nothing left for a store-bought centerpiece.

What do you do? Panic! OK — do not panic, that would be foolish, and there is no need to when you have the homemade craft guru in your corner with one of the most awesome ideas on the cheap.

Bubble Wrap Indian Corn

Toilet Paper Rolls
Rubber Bands
Glue
Bubble Wrap
Paint Brush
Yellow, brown and red paint
Brown paper bag
Stapler

Take one of the toilet paper rolls and wrap bubble tape around it until there is a little overlap. Make sure to keep about two inches of bubble wrap extended past the toilet paper roll on each side. Glue the bubble wrap to the toilet paper holder and let dry.

Tuck in the bubble wrap on the bottom and use a rubber band around the top so it makes the end triangular like the end of corn cob. Take the brown, yellow and red paint and paint the bubble wrap bubbles so they look like corn kernels. Let them dry.

Now, its time to make the stalks. Cut the brown paper bags down one of the sides and cut the bottom until you have one large rectangular piece of brown paper. Cut it in half. Each paper bag can do two toilet rolls.

Wrap the brown paper around the bubble wrap corn cob until they meet. There should be a little excess at the bottom, but you can fold it up like a burrito and then staple it. Staple the middle of the paper so it fits secure around the corn cob, but only go from the middle of the bag down.

Fold down the top pieces of the brown paper so they look like the top of a corn stalk. Place it on the table and you have a great inexpensive and easy Thanksgiving craft.

For a great visual of the end result, check out this tutorial. Happy crafting!

Pumpkin Carving: Three Ways to Decorate

brock — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:44:00 +0000

With a week left until Halloween, you don’t have much time left to get that Jack O’ Lantern ready for the spooky holiday. The crafting of the Halloween pumpkin is one of the best parts of this spooktacular occasion, but there are three ways to go about it.

Traditional Carving

If you don’t mind a rudimentary face, then the traditional way of carving is the way to go. You just need a carving knife and about 15 minutes to craft this spooky guy. Cut a hole in the top or bottom and scoop out the mush. A couple of triangle eyes, a triangle nose and a gap-toothed grin completes the picture, and it’s ready for the front porch.

The benefit of this is time. It only takes about 15-20 minutes to carve this type of pumpkin. There are no intricate designs, so there is less of a chance of ruining a pumpkin, and it’s easy enough for children to do (with close supervision). This is how families have been carving pumpkins for decades, and it’s not going to go out of fashion anytime soon.

Fancy Carving

For the true artist, there are few things better than an intricately carved pumpkin. Whether you go freehand or use a kit, these pumpkin’s are adorned with realistic faces and scenes that look absolutely amazing. You can have a haunted house, complete with LED lit windows, or a large pumpkin chomping down on a smaller one.

Fancy carving has a few drawbacks. It’s not exactly family-friendly. The curves, small cuts and varied depths needed are difficult to do with small, unskilled hands. There’s also a greater risk of making a mistake, and then you need a whole new pumpkin. While the designs are second to none, this is best kept to the adults.

Painting Faces

If you have little ones at home, then giant carving knives may not be the best way to go. That doesn’t mean you have to go without a good pumpkin. Instead of carving, paint the faces on by hand. This way, the pumpkin stays fresh for a very long time and you don’t have to worry about the children being cut during the decorating process.

Children are also prone to drawing mistakes, and with paint, there is no need to get a new pumpkin. You can just wipe away the paint and let them start again. This can also be done with any size pumpkin, so even small pumpkins can have a face.

Easy and Inexpesive Halloween Crafts for Kids and Adults

brock — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:22:37 +0000

Halloween is the perfect holiday for crafting things by yourself or with your children. Many of these crafts only take a few minutes to make and cost next to nothing. You can use them to decorate your own home, use as centerpieces at a party or even to give away as gifts to guests. Here are a couple of my favorites…

Woven Pumpkin

Cut out four strips of orange construction paper. The width and length are up to you, but they have to be long enough for the ends to eventually touch each other to form the shape of a pumpkin.

Arrange the first two like a plus sign and then place the other two on top so they form what looks like the spokes of a wagon wheel. Pull the ends of one of the strips together to form a circle and either staple or tape them together. Do the same for the rest of the strips.

Cut out a green construction paper stem and tape or staple it to the top. The end result is a springy pumpkin perfect for any party.

Spiderweb Pictures

This is actually an offshoot of a craft that my child did in school. Get a piece of black construction paper and some craft glue. Using the glue, create a spiderweb pattern on the paper. The design and shape is completely up to you. You can do a standard web or get creative and spell out a word or two in the spiderweb.

Let the glue dry for an hour or two. Take a black pom pom — you can buy bags of them at craft stores — and put a dab of glue on the bottom. Take four pipe cleaners and arrange them into spider legs and set them on the glue on the pom pom.

When the legs are dried, glue the spider to the picture. This craft is good for hanging on the wall or, if you are planning a Halloween party, then you can use them as place mats for cold and room temperature dishes during dinner. Just make sure the glue is thoroughly dry and the items are not so hot that they melt the glue. That could be a disaster.

There are countless crafts that you can make for Halloween, going from the most simple to the complex. Don’t be afraid to try something new and save a little money by doing the crafts yourself. If you are planning a children’s party, then these simple crafts will dazzle just as much as the ones bought in a store.

Halloween Crafts: Tomato Cage Ghost

brock — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:24:05 +0000

Odds are, by the time Halloween comes around, your tomatoes are picked clean and those tomato cages are shoved back into the garage until next year. Why not get a little extra mileage out of them by using them to craft an awesome outdoor decoration?

All you need is:

Duct tape

A few white sheets

Orange Halloween lights

Some twist ties

Directions:

Take the tomato cage and use duct tape to connect the rounded prongs of the cage. Bend the top if need be so that it is closed off and preferably in a rounded shape.

Thread the lights throughout the cage and secure them using the twist ties. Make sure the lights are spread evenly throughout the cage. These will provide the spooky lighting for the makeshift ghosts.

Spread out the blankets for the ghost and either draw or use plastic or foam parts to craft the ghost’s face. Do not cut out eyes and mouth, otherwise the lights will shine too brightly through the cut-outs.

Once the face of the ghost is made, drape it over the cage. Cut small holes into the sheet and secure them to the cage using the twist ties. The holes should be as small as possible, so as to not allow too much light to shine through. There should just be enough to secure it to the cage, so the wind can’t blow it off.

When it’s plugged in, the orange lights will shine thorough the blanket to create an eerie glow. Too many garden tools and trappings aren’t much use outside of the growing season, so it’s always great to find alternative uses for them.

This craft is also kid-friendly. They can help decorate the blankets and thread the lights. They’ll love the look of the ghost and the glow it creates. If you don’t want to use this as an outdoor craft, then you can easily transport it inside. The cages don’t take up too much room, but make sure to keep them away from any type of open flames, such as candles and fireplaces, to prevent the blankets from catching fire.

To get a visual of the end result, see here.

Sewing for Beginners: Finding the Perfect Pattern

brock — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:54:45 +0000

My wife is the seamstress of the family. She is handy at crafting things, and one day I asked her how she did it (she tries not to let me near sharp objects, because I inevitably poke myself by accident). I thought it was some masterful sewing sixth sense that she inherited from her mother, but I was wrong. That hardly ever happens, at least that I will admit.

It turns out she uses patterns that she finds on the Internet, catalogs and in stores. If you want to try your hand at making a craft or clothing using a pattern, my wife gave me a few tips to share:

Shop Around

Apparently, not all patterns are created equal. Patterns come in a variety of difficulties, depending on your experience level. The more intricate the design and complex the sewing, then the higher the difficulty.

Newbies to the sewing game should start out slowly. Starting a difficulty level higher than your ability will only end in disappointment. The good news is if you try it, and things don’t work out, you can always try again with a new fabric.

Take Measurements Before You Go

If you are making clothing for someone, take the measurements before picking out the pattern. When you pick out the pattern, you can base your choice on the size and have a better understanding of your fabric requirements.

Choose Your Fabric Wisely

There are many different types of fabric from which to too choose. Cotton, denim, etc. are all possibilities, but you need to find the type of fabric that fits your project. Some projects, like purses, can be made from several types of fabric. Denim is a bit stronger and will last longer, but lacks the design that many cotton fabrics have.

Also, if you are doing things by hand, it can be difficult to push the needle through thicker fabrics. My wife uses a thimble, but she has stuck herself on more than one occasion while trying to push a needle through a tough fabric.

Sewing can be a very fulfilling hobby. You end up saving money on clothing, but it takes hard work. My wife loves it, and it helps clear her mind after a long day. She has made everything from purses and bags to pillowcases. I don’t know how she does it, but I will leave it to her. I have a hard enough time not slicing myself open with power tools.

Ceramic Painting: A Beautiful, Relaxing Craft

brock — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:20:45 +0000

Every year at Easter, my mother purchases ceramic eggs from a store and paints an Easter scene unique to each grandchild. She presents her mini masterpiece to him or her on the holiday, and we’ve got quite a collection going on this end.

You don’t need to have a degree in art or have taken classes on painting to start up this hobby. Painting is more about what you feel than your technique. As long as you’re having fun, you’re doing it right. The first thing you need to do is choose your medium.

I know people who spend their days painting faces on ceramic dolls and others who craft murals on the walls of their homes or on the street. You can create beautiful decorations and crafts by picking different mediums to paint.

Ceramic tile isn’t just for bathrooms, they also make a great painting medium. You can paint the individual tiles or connect several of them together for a large scale picture. When done, you can even lay the tile in a room and have a permanent fixture that will last for years. Or, you can hang the individual tiles to create a mosaic on the wall or frame them for a unique picture.

Anyone who hasn’t done a lot of painting may find ceramic painting difficult at first. It requires different types of brushes and using an oil-based paint, which can be difficult to work with. Many will become discouraged if their work doesn’t come out perfect after a few tries.

The key to painting is understanding that it may take several tries for your project to be of a quality that you want to display. The nice thing about using ceramic versus another material is that if you make a mistake, you can simply use paint remover to take off the paint and start again.

Painting is as much about therapy as it is about creating an art or craft. You pour your joys, sorrows and frustrations into your work and release it from your mind and body. It’s a great way to relieve stress, as long as you aren’t stressing about the painting itself.

My mom has been doing this for the last 18 years and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon; she has plenty of grandkids to keep her busy painting for years to come. As for the eggs, they have become family keepsakes that I hope can be passed down for several generations.

Running with Scissors: Keeping Craft Supplies Contained

brock — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:42:37 +0000

When my wife is doing one or her crafts, it doesn’t matter if it is flower arranging or beading, the table looks like a craft supply store exploded on it. There are tools everywhere; from three different kinds of pliers, scissors, and wire, to things I don’t even recognize at all.

I admit to being a neat freak, and seeing the pure chaos of her craft projects is enough to make my heart start beating like a brass drum. It’s important to keep your craft supplies organized and stored properly, or else you’ll either end up losing them or it will take you 20 minutes to find what you need. Here are some tips for keeping your craft supplies organized.

Take a Cue From the Hardware Man. If you go into the garage of an avid do-it-yourselfer, then you’ll see a wooden board with tools on it. Each tool has a space set aside for it, and an outline is drawn around it. When he puts something back, he knows exactly where it goes.

There is no reason why this couldn’t be modified for craft supplies. Outline your various tools and take them out only when you need them.

Plastic Totes Are Your Friend. My house is filled with about 300 different kinds of ribbon. My wife somehow finds uses for all of them. She used to store them in a large cabinet, often simply throwing them in and shutting the door. She could never find it again once it vanished in the cabinet abyss. Eventually, she bought plastic totes and organized them by type. This way she was able to organize them and compact their space. She then placed the totes in the cabinet and the black hole was gone forever.

Oops! Sorry, I Knocked Your Beads on the Floor. If I had a nickel every time I said this, I would be a rich man today. Those little beads used for crafts and beading often come in a small bag or box. If stored haphazardly, then the likelihood of dropping and spilling those boxes increased tenfold. I am a klutz by nature, so my wife was just tempting fate. She ended up purchasing a plastic box with several compartments and a snap-on lid. She keeps the lid shut when she isn’t using it, so when I knock it on the floor, there’s no mess, and I’m out of the doghouse.

Crafts are a fun hobby and, for some lucky people, a profession, but you’re wasting your time if you don’t organize your supplies. Looking for the right tool or ribbon takes time away from your craft and disrupts your natural flow and rhythm, so the more organized your crafts are, the more time you’ll spend crafting away!

Scratchboard: A Lost Art

brock — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:55:43 +0000

About 10 years ago, I was at college over Christmas break and a giant snow storm on its way was expected to shut the town down for a few days. My girlfriend, now wife, and I went to a local craft store to stock up on some things to pass the time.

I was instantly intrigued by a scratchboard set and had to give it a try. It’s a plate made out of white clay and covered in a black finish. It came with a small “knife” that you used to scratch off the black finish to create an etching with a beautiful black and white contrast. My first drawing was nowhere near perfect, but I was hooked.

Scratchboard started in Europe sometime in the 18th century. Scratchboard plates were first used as an alternative to traditional engraving techniques, but later used as plates for printing newspapers and other writing.

Artists liked the stark contrast of the black and white, because the pictures appeared vibrant and fine lines were easily visible. There are even scratchboards with layers of different colored clay, so the underlying color is dependent on the pressure applied by the knife.

There are tools available to create different types of texture, but one thing I cannot stress enough is that one mistake is all it takes to ruin a picture. There are ways to cover the board with a new finish, but it isn’t as easy as repainting over a brush stroke or erasing an errant pencil line. Through the years, I have honed my skills, but I am in no way a master.

When I talk to people about it, most of the time, they’ve never heard of it. They’ve seen scratchboard pictures, but never thought that was how they where made. It is unique because unlike painting and drawing, where you add to the canvas, here you’re taking away from it. It’s like you’re not creating a picture, just revealing what’s already there.

Scratchboards come in various sizes and are definitely suitable for framing around the house. It may take several tries before you get a piece suitable for framing. I consider scratchboard a lost art because it is so easy to do and so few people know about it.