Foreign Objects Pumpkins

Are you going to be in a pumpkin-carving contest? Maybe you just want to make the silliest jack-o-lantern ever for your kids? Making a jack-o-lantern or other pumpkin for Halloween is so much fun and, when you approach it in a different manner than usual, you can make the funniest, scariest, or silly jack-o-lantern ever. Plus, yours will be one that looks nothing like any other. All you have to do is look around the house for foreign objects. Or, shop at dollar-theme stores to purchase cheap objects which will work well for your unusual pumpkin.Yeah, its fun to make frightening pumpkins, crazy jack-o-lanterns, and other Halloween creations from pumpkins, but it can be a whole lot of work - sometimes hours on end. And, if youre not a person who is particularly skilled at that sort of thing you can end up with a fright of a jack-o-lantern - and not in a good way. But if you can cut ordinary circles, squares, and other simplistic shapes, you can use foreign objects to make the coolest jack-o-lantern ever.One thing you can use is a choice of balls for eyes. Use plastic eyeballs, ping-pong balls, tennis balls, rubber balls, cue balls, or other types, to make really weird eyes. Draw right on ping-pong balls, tennis balls, or rubber balls, to make bloodshot eyes, sleepy eyes, zany eyes, or other types. Use cue balls and some other types as they are for a strange look. Just cut holes to be a tad smaller than the actual balls and then push the chosen balls into the holes.Its fun to use a small, plastic bowl as a mouth for the jack-o-lantern. That way, you can make it appear that the pumpkin is eating something - or someone. Cut a hole to be the size of the rim of the bowl. Slide the bowl into the hole, bottom first. Then, glue a novelty character, plastic food, a stuffed animal, or other object, inside the bowl. This will make it appear that the object is dinner for the jack-o-lantern.There are many objects you can use to make unusual eyes, mouths, and other features on a jack-o-lantern. Some of these include spools of thread, cardboard boxes, bathroom tissue rolls, soaps, wooden shapes, building blocks, jar lids, bottle caps, wooden skewers (makes great hair), cotton swabs (hair), potato chunks (ears), and dollhouse plates or other dishes.The foreign objects pumpkin can be anything you want it to be. Just gather up a few things from around the house, or some cheap supplies, and make the craziest Halloween pumpkin ever.Plastic Eyeball Pumpkin

Baby Footprint Butterfly Picture

I once saw a technique where you could ball up your fist, stick the side of it in paint, and stamp it onto an object. Then, you dip one finger in the paint, and make five dots above the fist stamp, and create a tiny baby foot image. It truly looked like the real thing. And, whether you use the fist stamp method, or your babys real foot, you can make the sweetest wall hanging for the nursery - particularly for a baby girl. A baby footprint butterfly is lovely on a canvas, hung in the nursery.

When you use a babys real footprints its easy to create the canvas wall hanging. Choose a canvas that is slightly larger than the babys feet. Or, craft a larger picture, and you can make several butterflies on it. Dispense a very thin layer of acrylic paint on a paper plate and press the babys foot into it. Stamp the image, wipe off the foot, and then do the same thing with the other foot. However, as you stamp, make the left foot where the right would go, and the right foot where the left would go, if the baby was standing on the paper. The "backward" feet instantly give the look of a butterfly with open wings. As you stamp, put the outsides of the feet close together.

If youre using your fist as a foot stamp, ball your fist up so that your thumb is facing upwards, and your pinkie finger is facing downwards. On the end where the pinky finger is, press the side of the hand into the paint, and stamp it onto the canvas. Use your index finger as the stamp for all five of the toes. Dip the end of the finger in the paint, and begin stamping the toes, pressing a lot of the paint onto the canvas for the big toe, less paint for the second toe, and so on, until you make a faint but distinguishable, pinkie toe. The harder you press, the larger the toe looks. As stated above, make the right hand where the left would be, and the left stamp where the right foot would be. With the images of the feet stamped onto the canvas, just use a marker to draw a small circle for a head. Draw on antennae, and maybe even a smile. If you want, you can further outline the body of the butterfly, right between the two sides of the feet. Make the butterflies from just one color of paint, or apply various colors to the feet, and make multi-colored versions. Hang up just one butterfly on a canvas, or create a grouping for the nursery wall. The butterflies, made from the babys feet (or your hands - shh), is definitely a beauty to behold.

Whats a Wordle and What Can You Do with It?

Ever heard of a wordle? Its become a popular thing with many schools. Its a fun, inventive word play that takes anything you want to say and turn it into a piece of art. Go online to type the words, phrases or even paragraphs that you want into a translator-type engine that turns the words into something unique and unusual. Youll understand more when you go try it out once.

Say you like everything to do with the beach. Type in words related to the beach, like "beach", "shells", "lighthouse", "sand" and similar words. Or, write something about the beach, like "My favorite vacation was when our family went to the beach". No matter what you type in the translator will turn it into a piece to admire. Some words will be large and others are small. Some words are placed vertically and some horizontally. Some of the words are made to resemble words in a crossword puzzle. The words are done in various colors as well.

After you view the arrangement you can then decide on changes you want to make. Change the words to all capital letters, all lower-case letters, or even calligraphy. You have literally dozens and dozens of choices concerning fonts, colors, writing style and much more. Use balloon letters or squared lettering. Select a black and white arrangement or choose from other color combinations. There are many different themes you can do: sports, names of flowers, the presidents, names of dogs, the 50 states, the cities youve visited, cartoon characters, your friends, wild animals, or just a theme like "I like country music". You have choices each time. You can just list words that are related to the theme you have in mind or you can type a paragraph or so to state what it is you want the art to be about. You can even type a paragraph from a classic book, a magazine, or another source. You can print out the art piece onto printer paper and frame it, print it onto adhesive paper, or even transfer it to something else. To do that, use stencils to copy the finished piece from the website. When you copy the art onto another object you can do some things the translator doesnt offer. For example, after using stencils to transfer the word art to the wall, create stripes, dots and other designs within the letters themselves. Copy the word art onto a small wall, a vase, a lamp, canvas, t-shirts, a mirror, - many different surfaces. Its a really inexpensive way to make a unique art piece that will have everyone staring!

Braided Scarf Necklace

If you can braid you can make a huge assortment of gorgeous cloth necklaces that look dressy or casual, colorful or demure. Wear them with pants and a blouse or even an evening gown. Its one of those accessories that just seems to go with anything. Since it only takes a few minutes to make each necklace youll want to make a whole collection of them! Select three scarves and align them side-by-side. The scarves dont necessarily have to be the exact same design or size but must be lightweight and similar in length. One design can be made by using scarves that are identical whereas another can be created by using three different scarves.

Tie the three ends into one knot and braid the scarves. It can be helpful to place something heavy on the end, right in front of the knot, to hold the scarf down while you braid. Create one look by twisting the scarves as you braid them. Make something different when you keep them straight and untwisted as you braid. Youll also achieve a certain design if you braid the scarves tightly yet a different necklace if you braid them very loosely. When you get to the end tie the scarves into one knot.

The knots serve only the purpose of holding the ends together as you wrap the cloth necklace around your neck to size it. Wrap the necklace so that it is fitted to the neck to create one look. Make a different necklace by allowing extra inches so that the necklaces hangs lower. Mark the spot, on each end of the necklace, where youll put the closure. A closure can be made by simply sewing on a strip of Velcro then cutting off the knots. You can also bind the ends of the scarf and add snaps or hooks and eyes. To do this, pin the scarves in front of the knot, cut off the knot, then sew the binding onto the cut area of the scarves. Do this to both ends before adding snaps or another closure other than Velcro. You dont necessarily have to use scarves to make the unique and beautiful necklaces. Use roping, strips of leather, cord, strips of fabric or felt, and similar things. Make variations by doing things like sliding beads onto the cords or scarves as you braid them or dangling a single charm from the center of the braided arrangement. It literally takes only a few minutes to make a scarf necklace so why not make a collection of them? You can wear them with scoop necks, v-necks, casual dresses or evening wear and theyre cute as a button for a little girl and simply gorgeous on a woman!

Powdered Sugar Doily Cake

All your guests will think youve been secretly taking extreme baking lessons when you create a fanciful cake that looks like it took hours - or an expert - to make! The cake is absolutely breath-taking to view, yet is so simple to create, but that doesnt mean you have to tell everyone! A doily cake is a beautiful thing and its appropriate for many different occasions. Its stunning at a wedding, perfect for an anniversary - its so lovely you can serve it on holidays or any other occasion! Youll be using powdered sugar as the decorative touches to the cake so a dark background is ideal. But, if powdered sugar will show up on the cake, you can use it as the decoration. Chocolate cake is ideal. Bake any chocolate cake, in two round cake pans, and allow them to cool completely. Stack them as-is or spread a bit of frosting on one and stack the other.

Doilies used to be tatted at home but now you can purchase them at a craft store. Theyre made from paper and you can get several in a pack for a buck or two. One of these is just what you need to fool all your guests into thinking youve been taking cake decorating classes. Itll look like you spent hours decorating the cake! A paper doily is solid white but has been hole-punched to create various designs on it. Generally, though, the center is a solid piece of paper with no hole punches. Use the doily as-is or use a hole punch to create even more designs - particularly in the center.

Lay the doily on the cake and center it. Its helpful if you have a shaker for the powdered sugar to make sure it distributes evenly on the cake. Use a parmesan cheese shaker, or something similar, for best results. Shake the powdered sugar on the cake so that it lands on the doily, in the holes, and around the doily. When you can no longer see the top of the cake carefully lift and remove the doily. Take care not to spill the powdered sugar from the doily onto the cake. It can be a little tricky so its a good idea to have someone lift one side of the doily while you lift the other side. If you make a small mistake on the design simply wipe it off with a barely-damp paper towel. As beautiful as a doily is, thats how beautiful the top of the cake will look. Its amazing to see the stunning designs made by something so simple as powdered sugar! See a powdered sugar cake decoration here: http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/birthday-cake-toppers?lpgStart=1?tslide=7?tChapter=1

Travelers Pillow

We want to remember the best of our vacations, dont we? Our memories are about sandy beaches and children laughing, warm breezes and seeing many new things. We erase from our memories things like how the sand burned our feet or how that hotel employee was distracted and made us wait to check in. And the pillows! Not the hotel pillows; the ones you brought from home. Surely you havent forgotten how you had to drag all the luggage - and all those pillows - to the car and back in the house when arriving home. One for each person going along for the ride. Not only do those bed pillows take up a lot of room inside the vehicle but its kind of hard to get them positioned so that theyre comfortable. After all, bed pillows are designed to go halfway across the width of a large bed and you dont have that much room per person. So, the pillow ends up covering the window, or sticking in someone elses face. Its the nightmare we all choose to forget while traveling. Turn that nightmare into a dream by making a much smaller pillow. Make travelers pillows and you wont have to drag your bedroom pillows around the country!Choose the material you want to use for the pillow. Most any cotton fabric works well. You can use a sheet or even a pillowcase to make the new pillow. With a pillowcase all you have to do is cut it down to the specific size, sew it and stuff it.Cut one piece of material to be 12 ?"x28 ?". Or, cut two smaller pieces to be 12 ?"x14 ?". If you cut one piece, fold it in half and sew across two sides. If youre using two pieces, sew around three sides. Youll have an easier time sewing the stuffing opening closed if you also sew around the corners of the last side.Stuff the pillow with pillow stuffing or just insert a pillow form. Youll find either at a craft store, fabric retailer or discount department store. After stuffing the pillow just use the machine to sew the opening shut or take a few hand stitches to close it.If youre using a pillowcase to make the new pillow, cut it to be 12 ?"x14?", and follow the instructions above. You can cut a second pillowcase to be a bit larger and use it as a pillowcase for the travelers pillow. Or, make one from purchased fabric.The travelers pillow is much more suited for resting your head while riding down the road. It wont be in anyones way but will come in handy. Just leave the pillows in the car, if you want, and youll always have them waiting for you - no matter where youre going!

Setting Up a Photo Booth for a Party

Its going to be a lot of fun watching your guests take silly pictures at a photo booth that you set up for a party or special occasion. It wont be hard for you to get it all arranged and youll have an exciting time gathering the things that youll offer your guests for their photo experiences. Some things can be made, others can be purchased, but you can offer an array of accessories, disguises, and more. Your guests will laugh at the pictures for years to come.

The photo booth itself isnt difficult. Its not really a booth; you can just decorate a wall. Hang fabric, feather boas, curtains - anything to create the look you want. Hang a curtain rod, and drape materials over it, or just tape something to the wall. Make sure the arrangement is at least four feet wide, to accommodate two people. Set the camera on a tripod and set a time so guests can snap their own photos. Each person or group can set the timer and take pictures when ready.

Set up a table with things that your guests can use for their silly pictures. There are many items you can make for the occasion, like paper things on a stick. When you cut shapes like moustaches or speech bubbles, and put them on sticks, guests can hold one - or more - while having their pictures taken. Just use small-diameter dowels and attach one paper moustache, lips, or similar thing, to each dowel. When you make speech bubbles you can put funny sayings on them. A guest can hold the bubble on a stick next to his own mouth, or someone elses. Guest bubbles are generally white on black, or black on white. Other things you can lay out on the table include silly costumes, yarn hair or wigs, outlandish clip-on earrings, feather boas, gloves, hats, strands of beads, tiaras, boots or clown shoes, wands, masks, and sunglasses or other glasses. You can also offer other props the guests can hold, or put in the picture, depending on the theme they want. Some suggestions include a rake or shovel, a stuffed animal, a broom, a book, a beach ball, a small bench, a doll, or another theme-related object. Whether youre having a party, or a holiday celebration, a photo booth is fun for everyone. When the party is over, toss everything in a box, and you can use them again for the next party. Every now and then, drop a few more things in the box for future parties. Your guests will laugh at the pictures for years to come, as they remember the fun time they had at your photo booth.

Wedding Stars

You have so many choices when it comes to the decorations you can put up at your wedding reception that it can be mind-boggling. Put aside your worries about decorations and concentrate on the wedding itself. Youll need little time, money or effort to put up dazzling stars which hang from the ceiling - over the food table, above the dance floor, or elsewhere in the room.

You cant believe how simple it is to make the hanging stars which, when finished, are spectacular. Theyll look expensive but wont be. When the wedding is over, dont get rid of them - save them for another special occasion. They can be easily re-decorated and used for Christmas, the Fourth of July or other occasions.

Purchase large, Styrofoam balls at a craft store to begin the construction of the stars. Make all the stars the same size or make them in assorted sizes. Craft stores sell quite a large variety of Styrofoam balls that are very inexpensive. Purchase cones to finish the stars. The cones can be ordinary and white - those meant for putting fluids into your car - or even cone-shaped birthday party hats. You can even roll your own cones using scrapbook paper with a wedding theme. There are various ways to make the hanging stars. First, make a hole in any one area of the ball, using a pencil, skewer or other poker. Cut a piece of string or twine, fold it in half, dispense hot glue into the hole, then place the twine ends into the hole. Apply hot glue around the large opening of a cone and stick it to the ball. Do this five times, placing the cones in a circle around the ball, and spacing them evenly apart. Create a different look by smashing the cones flat before attaching them to the ball. For this version, cut slits in the ball, dispense hot glue into them, then slide the wide end of a smashed cone into each slit. Another version you can do is to stick the points of the cones into the ball. When youre finished with the type of star you want spray paint the entire thing gold, silver or another color. Change the look of certain stars by sliding streamers or tinsel strands into the points and taping them on the inside of the cone, and do this before attaching the cones to the ball. Hang the glittery balls all over the wedding reception room and watch as the guests gaze in awe. They look fancy and expensive but are really not costly at all. Its a great way to decorate an entire room for little cash.

Sand Scene Wedding Centerpiece

Youve likely been to weddings where there were flowers everywhere; flowers almost always create the perfect scenery for a wedding. If youre trying to cut down on the flower budget, though, or youd just like to do something a little different, make a sand scene centerpiece. It can be done in many different ways and is perfect for a summer wedding, beach wedding and others.

Look around a craft store or discount department store for a clear fishbowl, squat vase or similar container. Or, look around at a home improvement store for light fixture covers that have a bowl shape and are clear. Some of these might not stand on their own but you can deal with that later.

For bowls which wont stand straight on their own, set them on a wadded towel to prevent them from rolling while you set up the sand scene. If needed, place small tree branches, driftwood or similar things around the base of the bowl to hold it in place while further lending toward the total look of the centerpiece. Youll create one look if the bowl sets upright as it was meant to but a different look if you turn a globe or squat vase on its side. Fill the bowl a third to a fourth full of sand. Use regular sand or colored sand from a craft store. You can even stir glitter into sand, or buy glittered sand, to create just the perfect look for your particular centerpiece. Craft stores feature a huge variety of miniatures with a sea or beach theme. Place shells, a lighthouse, a tiny boat, starfish, a miniature chair and umbrella, or even a bride and groom in the sand. Or, use no miniatures and just set up an arrangement of tiny plants which dont require much water. Make something similar using silk plants that need no water at all. If you use a bride and groom to make the centerpiece there are lots of comical or loving signs you can place inside the container with them. Use a toothpick and piece of cardstock, or similar things, to make the sign you want. The sign can feature the name of the soon-to-be honeymoon spot, can say "Love" or "Forever", or can even state the names of the bride and groom. Whether you purchase a huge glass container, or a much smaller one, you can save a fortune by creating a sand scene centerpiece over displaying vase after vase of flowers. After the wedding the sand arrangement can be displayed as it is or remade to look very different. Thats better than throwing out all those expensive flowers, isnt it? Simple Sand Scene

Hanging Clothes Storage or Mover

Many of us take the summer clothes out of the closet and replace them with winter clothes. Or, we do the opposite because there is no room for clothes of all seasons. So, when a new season approaches, we take out the clothing we wont be wearing that season. Its such a bit hassle, though. And, when you break out the clothing from the last season you often see that the clothing doesnt look like it did when you put it away. Now you have wrinkles in the garments and have to iron, put them in the dryer, or treat them with a wrinkle-release product. But when you make a simple adjustment to an ordinary cardboard box you do away with every bit of that hassle. Whether you need to store clothing for the season, or youre moving and you dont want your garments all wrinkled, youll be able to keep your hanging clothes still hanging - and neat as can be.I used a large cardboard box to make a storage unit. A good choice for a box is one that is a bit taller than a blouse is long. A wide box will ensure you also have room for many garments. Near the top of the box, on two opposite sides, poke a hole. The holes should be the same distance from the top and exactly across from each other. Thats it. With just the two holes the moving or storage box is ready to assemble.All you need now is a dowel rod and two wooden balls. Youll find both at a home improvement or craft store. The rod should be cut so that its a couple of inches longer than the width of the box. Wooden balls are made to fit on the ends of wooden dowels. Purchase the appropriate balls for the selected dowel and it will take just a couple of minutes to assemble the moving box.To hang the garments, take the dowel and slide it up under existing, hanging garments. Lift them off all at once. Lower one end of the rod into the box and through one hole. As you do this, hold the garments in place. Slide the rod way out one side of the box, settle the clothing inside the box, then position the rod so that it goes through the other hole as well. Put the wooden balls on the ends of the dowel, on the outside of the box, to secure the dowel.With the clothes hanging on a rod inside the moving or storage box youll find that most of the clothing will have no wrinkles. For long garments, like dresses or jeans, take the hems and pin them up at the shoulders with clothes pins. This will keep them neat and tidy. In fact, all of your garments will come out looking just like they did when you boxed them.

Plastic Cup Garden Flowers

Love outdoor accents like a birdbath, a windsock, or fake deer? If so, youll be thrilled with a fun and easy project where you make plastic flowers for the garden, to put beside your steps, or to display elsewhere in your yard. The next time you have a birthday party, a holiday get-together, a wedding, or another special event, save those plastic cups. When you cut them up and turn them into garden flowers youll find theyre colorful and adorable.Okay, were all aware of the need to put less garbage in the land fills, so many of us are trying new things to reuse what would formerly be garbage. You can, too, when you save those plastic cups from the trash, and use them to make garden flowers. For each flower, start with a clean, dry cup and cut the bottom off of it. To do that, pierce the side, right next to the bottom, with a sharp knife. Then, use scissors to neatly cut out the plastic circle. It will become the center of the flower you make.Cut the remainder of the cup into the petals for the flower. Cut down one side, and the opposite side, to separate it into two equal-size pieces. Cut each of those pieces in half, and then cut each of those four pieces in half. Youll end up with eight petals. Use a stapler to attach the petals around the circle. Staple the smallest end of the petal to the circle, and do this around the circle, to attach all eight of the petals. The petals, as well as the flowers center, should all be turned where you can see the outside parts of the cup.Purchase a small-diameter, wooden dowel to use for the flower stem. Paint it green with paint suitable for outdoors. After the paint is dry (it could take more than one coat) you can then attach the flower to the stem. Position the circle thats in the middle of the flower onto the end of the dowel. Use a single staple, in the middle of the circle, to attach the flower to the stem.Using adhesive that will hold up under the elements, you can attach tiny shells, mirrors, beads, roping, or other embellishments, in the middle of each flower, to make it even more attractive. Push the stems of the flowers into the dirt of the garden, or elsewhere in the yard. Or, put some in a plant pot outside. The flowers can be set on a porch - or even in the house; theyre adorable in a little girls room.Never throw the disposable cups away; just make more flowers. Dont need anymore? Give some to friends and family - unless theyre already making their own plastic cup flowers!

Pallet Sofa

There are some things that we just assume we cant make ourselves, and we go out buy those things. One such thing is a sofa. Besides an upholsterer, or a professional woodworker, who can make his own sofa? There is one couch that can be made by an average person, will cost little money, and will hold up for many years. A wooden pallet sofa is not your ordinary couch but its perfect for pushing up against a wall in a childs room, or as an extra seat or two in the living room.

A wooden pallet sofa is a little more unusual than a normal sofa but every bit as comfortable. You be the designer of the couch so that you can make one to be exactly what you desire. You have so many choices, like how long you want the sofa to be, how tall you want the seats, and whether you want to put the sofa directly on the floor, on legs, or on casters.

Set two or more pallets against a wall to start making the sofa. If you want the seats to be taller, stack another pallet on each of those. Nail or screw all pallets together to make the sturdiest couch. If you plan on adding legs or casters, put them on the bottom pallets, and do that before stacking and screw them all together. As for the cushions on the couch, you can buy some, or you can make them. Depending on the length of the pallet couch youve made, you can possibly use outdoor lounge chair cushions, body pillows, and similar things. Or, just fold a quilt, and you can quickly turn it into a cushion for the whole sofa. Fold a quilt in half and cut off the excess, so that it is the size needed for the cushion. Sew around the perimeter, leave an opening for turning, and then turn the quilt right-side-out. Stuff it with cotton, chipped foam, or similar material, and sew the opening shut. Another way to upholster the pallet sofa is to purchase a big, thick, dense piece of foam. Set it on the pallet, cover it with fabric, and staple the edges of the cloth to the bottom of the pallet. You can make a second cushion, and use it for the back pillow, or just align throw pillows - or a body pillow - across the back of the pallet sofa. If youve stacked two or more pallets to make the seats taller, you can create arms for the couch by standing another wooden pallet at one end of the couch, and one at the other end. Screw the arm pallets to the ends of the couch. A pallet couch - no matter what design you give it - is simple and cheap to make, but will hold up for many years.

How to Make a Muffin Bouquet Centerpiece

Entertaining guests for a high-class brunch? Having a few friends over for a weekend breakfast? Wait until they see all the fabulous foods on the table! And right in the middle of it all will be the gorgeous bouquet that youve made yourself. No, you wont be expected to go purchase a bunch of expensive flowers for the bouquet. Instead, make it with delicious muffins and the guests will leave full and impressed! Its a lot of fun to make foods into look-alike flowers. It doesnt take much effort, and other than the foods, it doesnt take much money. There are lots of different ways to make a centerpiece according to what you want to serve and how much you want to embellish it.

Choose the vase you want to use then fill it full of wooden skewers. Dont pack them in but just take a handful of them and place them in the vase. For the finished bouquet to look the best it can look cut some of the sticks down a bit. In the end, you should have several full-size sticks, several smaller ones, and a few more that are even shorter. Even the smallest ones should rise at least a couple of inches above the rim of the vase. If you want to paint the skewers green do so and allow them to dry.

The individual flowers can be made by simply placing the stabbed foods into the vase. However, youll make a much nicer presentation if you first place a few fake greenery pieces in the vase. Now you can decide how you want the flowers to look. Cut foam shapes, felt, foil, scrapbook paper or other materials to make the petals, with a mini muffin in the center. Slide the foam or paper shape onto the stick, center the muffin, then push it on to the stick. Make sure the skewer goes only halfway into the muffin. Combine various muffins as well as petal shapes and colors to create quite a nice flower arrangement. Other foods can be offered on different sticks in the vase with the muffins. Some choices include strawberries, grapes, pieces of cheese, marshmallows, and miniature candy bars. You can even tie narrow ribbon around the muffin wrappers and tie them in a bow; it adds a little more glitz to the finished bouquet. Things like fake baby breath flowers are also a nice touch. Whether youre having people over for breakfast or brunch its fun to make the easy bouquet that will serve all the guests. At the same time they get to view the beautiful table centerpiece that is the bouquet of muffins. Its a fun food project thats very impressive.

Decorate for Any Holiday Using Empty Thread Spools

If youve got wooden spools - or even Styrofoam ones - you can make all sorts of decorations for Christmas, Easter, Halloween and other occasions. In fact, you do one basic thing with the spools then use that to make the decorations themselves. Sound a little confusing? Its not. If you can slide spools on to string youve got the holiday decorations all under control! The spools you use can be painted or not. Use large ones or small ones. Combine small and large ones to create a totally different look. The spools can be Styrofoam or wooden spools. If theyre Styrofoam check the label to see that the paint you select is compatible with Styrofoam.

Use holiday-theme fabric or felt colors to give the spools a festive look. Youll easily find cloth that is suitable for making holiday d?cor at any fabric store. Cut pieces of it, or of colorful felt, then wrap the pieces around the spools. Instead of fabric or felt you can also use decorative paper. Simply glue a piece of the chosen material around the spool. Other things you can use instead of painting or covering the spools include rubber stamping methods and even metallic tape.

After youve decorated the spools as you want begin sliding them onto a piece of twine. Make sure the twine is longer than you want the finished spool rope to be. Slide on as many spools as you want then finish the ends by tucking them inside the hole of the spools. So, start with a length of twine, scoot the first spool nearly all the way down to the end of the twine, leaving a few inches hanging off. Continue the spool pattern you want, then when you get close to the end, stop. Take the ends, add a little glue to them, then push them into their respective holes in the spool. Between the holes you can tie small pieces of fabric to give the spool rope a little more holiday theme. Cut rectangles of fabric with pinking shears and tie one between each set of spools. That way, you use fewer spools and create a more colorful rope. Make small ropes to use as curtain tie-backs. Make long ropes to decorate a banister at Christmas. Use a small rope, made of small spools, to make a country-look lampshade. Instead of wrapping the spools with cloth you can even make each one into a character by using paint, wiggly eyes and other cheap craft supplies. There are few limitations when it comes to decorating with the spools. They can be used on mantles, cornices, around party tables and many other places.

Plastic Drawers Game and Storage Set

Have you ever seen those short, plastic drawer sets they sell at many discount department stores? Theyre usually available in several colors and they feature three or four small drawers that are shallow. Many of the drawer sets have wheels so you can easily scoot it in and out of nearly any space. You can purchase a drawer set for just a few bucks and the set is perfect for creating games as well as an organizer for the games. The type of storage drawers you need is one that has a flat top.

Nowadays its really easy to make your own games because craft stores sell nearly everything you need and you can get the rest online. The drawers you buy will make it easy to organize all the pieces while the top of the set can hold the game boards.

Cork blocks or foam blocks work well to make the game boards. Save money if you purchase the materials by the roll then cut the blocks yourself, or just purchase the blocks already cut. Cork, of course, is brown, but foam comes in many different colors. You can go online and find pictures of any game board you can imagine. Use the photos to create game boards of your own. Techniques for making the boards include stenciling, rubber stamping, markers or even stickers. Make a different board design on each side of the cork or foam blocks. Make several different blocks, with a different game on each side, except for one. Make one block that has only one game on it. On the opposite side, glue it to the top of the drawer case. Now stack the other foam or cork blocks on top of that one. Whichever game youre playing you can simply position that one on top of the stack. If youre playing on the game board thats glued down just move the other boards out of the way. Dollar-theme stores sell many different things that can be used as game pieces. Small plastic characters, cardboard cutout circles and shapes, fake coins, short wooden dowels, erasers shaped like various objects - they even sell poker chips, cards and dice. Or, go online to an auction and purchase used games which have no board or are missing something simple to replace, like the dice. Youll see that lots of board games featured at auctions are really inexpensive. Store the pieces in the individual drawers. You can make compartments by cutting pieces of cardboard and wedging or gluing them in the drawers. Now all your game boards and games can be organized in the small drawer set and rolled out of the way when not in use!

Pantyhose Polo Game for Kids

Every time a new year rolls around you know one thing for certain: there will be parties. Birthday parties, anniversary parties, a graduation party or two. There are lots of holidays and special occasions that we celebrate throughout the year, and if we have a party on that day, were faced with coming up with something a little different than what was done in previous years. Theres a silly game you can play, when your childs birthday rolls around, and it will quickly become one of the childrens favorites. You wont have to come up with something new next year because theyll want to play this game each and every year! Kids will laugh til they fall down when they play the pantyhose polo game. Its hysterical, easy to put together, and will bring lots of fun to the birthday party. Youll need a pair of old pantyhose to make the game in a hurry. Lay the pantyhose on a flat surface and cut from midway on the waist bands down to the inseam. With the pantyhose cut into two pieces it will only take a few minutes to set up the game.

Drop an orange, apple, tennis ball or similar object into each leg of the pantyhose. Strap one pantyhose piece - with ball - onto each of two children to start the game. First, place a piece of tape, a string, or a similar object on the floor, then make another one. These will be the two starting lines for the two kids. The game is played, two kids at a time, but each child will get a turn. Use tape, string or other markers to create two finish lines as well.

Tie or pin a pantyhose with ball set onto the two first kids and have them stand behind the two lines. The object inside the pantyhose should hang less than an inch from the floor as the child stands up straight. Lay one orange or ball on the starting line for each child. Without using his or her hands the child must swing the pantyhose ball and hit the orange or ball across the room and over the finish line. Its a blast to watch kids swing and swivel as they try to hit their assigned ball the distance to the finish line. Theyll be laughing so hard, though, that it will be fairly difficult. When the first child makes it over the finish line, the other child is "out" and his or her pantyhose is tied onto the next contestant, who will go up against the resigning champion. Continue in this manner until one child is the final winner. Its a hysterical way to entertain the kids with a fun game while they exercise without knowing it!

How to Make Drink Parasols

We often think of drink parasols being served with mixed drinks, beachside. Weve all seen many movies and commercials where adults were enjoying drinks that had umbrellas. But, you know, those little paper parasols can be served with any drink. The umbrella itself rests upon a skewer and that can be used to stir any drink. You can order all sorts of them online, and theyre not all that expensive, but youll have more fun if you make them yourself. On top of that, when you make them, you get to choose what theme theyll have! A wedding reception, birthday party, backyard luau or even a holiday is always a perfect time to serve drinks with the small parasols - for kids as well as adults. If you can cut a circle you can make one in seconds.

Have you browsed the vast selection of scrapbook papers online or in a local store? Wow, do they have some beautiful papers! Youll find them with birthday themes, neon colors, wedding themes, pastels, and even foil varieties. Choose any scrapbook paper - or other thick paper - to make the drink parasols.

Draw circles on the paper depending upon the sizes you want for the drinks. A good size is 4", but after making one umbrella, you can adjust the size according to the types of glasses youre using. Use something you have around the house as the circle pattern, like a spice jar lid, small coffee jar lid, prescription bottle cap or even a juice glass. Make the parasols all the same, like with a birthday theme, or make many different ones for another celebration. Cut enough circles for the estimated drinks youll serve and then the hardest part is over. Cut from one edge of a circle into the approximate center. (You can find the exact center with a ruler if you want). Now take one side of the slit and lay it over the opposite side of the slit. Scoot the top one over until you have the umbrella shape you want. Tape the paper together on the underside of the parasol. Cut the tips off of wooden skewers, measure them to be just a bit taller than the glasses youre using, then cut them to that size. Use a tiny dot of glue on the end of each skewer and press the inside point of the parasol onto the glue. Allow the glue to set or dry completely before serving. The tiny umbrellas dress up any drink and are appropriate for nearly any occasion. You can make many parasols from one piece of scrapbook paper so that makes this craft thrifty and fun! See homemade paper parasols here.

Hibiscus Party Garland

Wont a luau at your house be a lot of fun? Friends can dress up in grass skirts or just wear leis to the party. You can serve drinks in coconut shells and have lots of festive flowers around the place. A nice flower choice for a luau is the hibiscus. Its large, colorful, and goes right along with a Hawaiian theme, beach theme or luau. Although hibiscus flowers might look okay in vases at the party a much nicer way to display them is by making a hibiscus garland. The garland can be used to decorate tables, doorways, banisters and more.

Purchase silk hibiscus flowers to make the garland for your party. Purchase the type which has just the heads of the flowers, sold at craft stores. The hibiscus flowers you choose can be all the same color or an assortment of colors. In addition to the flowers youll need long, silk leaves. Craft stores feature a large selection of just leaves and the ones you need are ones which are at least twice as long as the diameter of the flowers youre using.

Purchase ordinary brown twine to assemble the garland. Youll get a better price on it at a home improvement store than at a craft store. Unroll enough twine to be as long as you want the garland to be. Set a heavy object on each end of the twine with the cord taut. Arrange two leaves so that theyre stacked on top of each other on one end yet spread slightly apart at the other end. Use a dot of hot glue to attach the leaves together. Position a hibiscus flower over the ends of the leaves which are stacked. Use a dot of hot glue to hold the flower in place. Go a couple of inches from one end of the twine and attach the first hibiscus flower with leaves. Use a dot of hot glue on the twine and press the hibiscus into it. Move over a few inches and glue on another set of flower and leaves. Do this across the length of the twine. Its up to you if you want the flowers to be close together or far apart. If you leave the flowers far apart you can fill in the area between them by tying on short pieces of twine and leaving the ends a couple of inches long, each. Tie several of these on, then a flower, and more tied-on twine, until the length of the garland twine is covered. Although the hibiscus are perfect for a luau or beach party there are no limits to the various flower and leaf garland you can make. Browse the silk flower section to search for more flowers and leaves you can use to make garlands for other parties and celebrations.

Butterfly Wedding Garland

Many brides are now making most of their own bridal things. From the foods to the bridesmaid dresses lots of women who are getting ready to marry decide on saving money and making the things theyll need. One of the easiest things you can make for your wedding is the decorations. You dont have to know much about crafting to make certain things which will look fabulous at your wedding. A decoration which is easy to make, and will look great around tables, across walls and down banisters, is a butterfly garland. If youre having a spring or summer wedding the butterfly garland is the perfect decorating choice.

Purchase satin ribbon to make the butterfly garland. The ribbon you use should be very narrow - a quarter-inch. Purchase white ribbon, pink, blue or another color which youre featuring in your wedding.

Browse a craft store and look for assorted butterflies. Youll find ceramic ones, wooden ones, metallic ones and more. The type you need for the garland are ones which arent heavy. Foil, paper, or cardstock are some excellent choices. Foil types of butterflies are especially nice for a wedding since they sparkle and shine. The garland can be made quickly if you purchase butterflies which are already complete and wont need painting or embellishing. Cut a length of the ribbon to be as long as you want the garland to be or work in sections to create yards upon yards of the garland. Weight down each end and keep the ribbon taut. Go over a couple of inches from one end of the ribbon and attach the first butterfly. Put a dot of hot glue on the underside of one butterfly and stick it directly to the ribbon. Go over a couple of inches and attach the next butterfly. Do this along the entire length of the ribbon, using a ruler to space them perfectly, to finish the garland. Its up to you how close or how far apart you put the butterflies but youll achieve the best look if all the butterflies arent facing the same way. You dont necessarily have to make the wedding garland with just the butterflies; there are other things you can attach to the ribbon, like tiny flowers, small leaves or even rhinestones. The finished garland can be used in many ways. Wrap it around a table edge, hang it outside on hand rails, decorate candles with it and more. After the wedding, save the garland, and use it at future parties and celebrations. Its fabulous for a springtime party or brunch or even a little girls birthday party.

How to Embroidery Portraits and Pictures

Many people hang pictures of their family on the wall to show them off to visitors or to view them when they want. Some people go all-out on a fancy frame and others turn color photos to black and white on their home computers. For many people, its fun to pick out frames, arrange the various photos on the wall, or do photo crafts. I might know of a photo or picture craft you havent tried yet. Embroidery portraits are gorgeous and, even if youve never done embroidery before, you wont find this method hard at all.

Make a copy of your photo and save the original. The copy will get ruined and you dont want to lose the actual photo when the project is finished. Adjust the copied image to fit the frame and mat youre using.

Purchase water color paper to begin. Youll find the paper at a craft store and maybe even a fabric store. Online, there are many places that sell water color paper. Lay the copied photo on the water color paper and tape it in place. Its a bit time-consuming to do the next step but, once you see the finished result, youll definitely feel as though it was worth your effort. Lay the picture and water color paper on a piece of cardboard. Use a pin or needle and begin making tiny holes through the picture and the paper at the same time. Outline the shape of the person, then outline features, like eyes, eyebrows, nose, and so forth. Do your best to space the holes evenly, but some uneven holes will, in the end, give you a more unique embroidered portrait. Youll achieve various looks by how you make the holes. For example, if you make holes that are close together youll end up with a different look than if you make holes that are further apart. So, for the outline of the person, make holes that are spaced further apart, but for something like the eyeball, make dots which are close together. That way, youll have more definition on the finished portrait. Remove the photo and use a needle and thread to sew in and out of the holes youve made in the water color paper. Use thick thread for things like the hair or the outline; use thinner thread for eyes and eyebrows. Use various colors of thread to make certain features, like eyes, or do the whole portrait in black and white. When youre finished, frame the embroidered portrait and enjoy it. Dont want to do a persons portrait? Use a picture of a lighthouse, a vehicle, flowers, or something else. The embroidered pictures turn out beautifully.

Unusual Things You Can Use to Make Small Halloween Spiders

Most of us have one of those drawers or baskets at our houses where everything that no one wants seems to reside. Sometimes referred to as the "junk drawer" you never know what you might find in there! Its often fun to look through the junk drawer just to see what youll find, especially if youre a crafter. If youre thinking of making some of your own Halloween decorations this year the junk drawer might be just the place to start! If you happen to find a thimble in your junk drawer you can easily turn it into a tiny spider that can lurk in any area of the home. Paint the outside of the thimble black then cut four lengths of black yarn for legs. Tape or glue the yarn pieces to the underside of the thimble positioning them so that four pieces stick out from the right side and four from the left side. Glue on tiny wiggly eyes from a craft store or even paint the eyes on the spider. He can sit on one of the serving dishes, on a window sill or at another location in the home.

Use a shank button in a similar manner to create a small spider. The button can be solid black, red, green - even white. Cut four lengths of pipe cleaners and glue them to the bottom of the button. With the shank positioned horizontally, place two pipe cleaners on one side, and two on the other. Turn the button over and bend the pipe cleaners to position the legs how you want. Glue on wiggly eyes or paint on the eyes.

Use a marble to make a totally different spider for Halloween. Cut four pieces of black pipe cleaner then lay them, side-by-side, on a flat surface. Apply glue to the marble then set it on the pipe cleaners, in the middle. After the glue has dried you can then bend the legs how you want. Use wiggly eyes or paint to complete the spider. Most any type of small lid, like from a prescription bottle, can be used to create a spider decoration. Paint the lid or even wrap it in black tape. Cut pipe cleaner pieces, lay them out in a row, then glue the lid to the collective pipe cleaners. Position the legs how you want and make the eyes. Other things you can use to make the bodies of spiders include a shot glass, a plastic cup, a painted ball of foil, a wad of black tape or even stacked circles of cardboard. Things you can use for legs are yarn, thread, wires wrapped in black tape, strips of painted cardboard and assorted cord types. It doesnt take much to make a Halloween spider; all you have to do is go clean out your junk drawer!