Patchwork Quilt Tablecloth

Some of the main things that make a patchwork quilt so appealing work against you if you decide to make a patchwork tablecloth. A quilt is eye-catching if the original squares are cut into various shapes, and sewn back together, but all of that sewing means lumps and bumps on the top of a table - not ideal. Another loveable element about a patchwork quilt is that the batting inside makes the quilt warm and cozy. But batting inside a tablecloth means, once again, that youll be adding bulk, which doesnt work well on top of a table. If you eliminate some of the features of a traditional patchwork quilt, and make a more simplistic version, you can create a lovely tablecloth with a patchwork theme.

It can be really challenging to make a round patchwork tablecloth but a square or rectangular one is very easy. A sheet makes a nice backing on the cloth but a thin piece of cut fabric will also work. Trim a sheet, or cut the fabric, to be the size you want for the tablecloth. Hem the cloth on all four sides and lay it back over the table.

Purchase quilt blocks or cut your own. If you purchase the blocks, buy the ones without the batting quilted onto them. Theres no need to hem the quilt blocks; that will add bulk where you dont need it. Rather than sew the blocks onto the backing, which will also add lumps under the cloth, use fabric glue to attach them. Fabric glue dries clear and can be laundered. Lay the blocks on the backing so that you can see the design youre creating. Pin the quilt blocks to the backing for now. When youre ready to put a square onto the quilt, unpin the square, and draw tiny marks to show where the corners go. Although fabric glue comes in a dispensing bottle you can often end up with more glue than you need, and, therefore, a stiff feel in glued places on the cloth. Instead of dispensing it from the bottle, use a small paint brush. Brush in only one direction across, and one direction, down, to apply a thin line of the glue to the back of each square, around the perimeter. Position the quilt block onto the backing, centering it inside the corner marks. Smooth out the edges and move on to the next block the glue dries quickly. Make any design you want on the patchwork tablecloth. You can get lots of ideas when you look at quilt pictures online. The unusual tablecloth looks really great in a country home, a room with rustic accents, or on the table of a friend who loves patchwork quilts.

Rice Krispie Treat Alternatives

Needed: 4 tablespoons or a half-stick of butter or margarine A 10.5oz bag of mini marshmallows 3/4 cup of creamy peanut butter 6 cups cereal (your choice) 2 cups raisins, cherries, or other dried fruits 1 cup peanuts, almonds, or other nuts Rarely do you find someone who doesnt love Rice Krispie treats. Youve tried them, havent you? The recipe is made from Rice Krispie cereal, and contains gooey, melted marshmallows. The crispy cereal bars are delicious but did you know that there are many variations that, for some people, are even tastier? There are lots of cereals - and other goodies - that can be used to make a dessert similar to the Rice Krispie treats. Serve them at special occasions or just whip some up for your family.

Cereal desserts are often made similar to Rice Krispie treats. Start out with four tablespoons or a half-stick of butter. Microwave the butter for about a minute to melt it. Stir in a 10.5oz package of miniature marshmallows and three-quarters of a cup of creamy peanut butter. Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute, until its all fully melted. Stir in 6 cups of the chosen cereal, 2 cups of raisins, and a cup of peanuts. Butter a pan and pat the mixture into it. Allow it to cool to room temperature before cutting it into bars.

There are dozens and dozens of combinations that you can create for the cereal bars. Use Cocoa Krispies instead of Rice Krispies, or use Cheerios, Honey Nut Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, or another cereal choice. Instead of raisins, you can stir in currents, dried fruits, or chopped cherries. Rather than peanuts, try chopped almonds, walnuts, or cashews. Each time you trade out one ingredient for another, you create a completely different version of the cereal treats. Combine cocoa-flavored cereal with nuts and cherries, and the dessert will taste much different than if you mix up Cheerios with peanut butter and almonds. However, since the mixture already has marshmallows in it, Lucky Charms, or other marshmallow cereal, is not the best choice. Some good combinations for the bars include Raisin Bran cereal with raisins and nuts, Fruit Loop cereal with chopped cherries and nuts, Apple Jacks with dried apples and almonds, or Kix with peanut butter and peanuts. No matter what flavor, the cereal bars are great for birthday parties or for your own familys nightly dessert. They also make great snacks, party favors, and edible gifts.

Valentines Day Candles Anyone Can Make

Some people prefer a different Valentines Day gift than the old candy and flowers routine. For these people a nice candle would be in order. Go out and purchase a Valentines Day candle and youll pay a lot more for it than if you turn a regular candle into a Valentines Day version yourself. Here are some quick, easy and cheap candles anyone can make.

Turn most any candle into a Valentines Day d?cor piece by cutting paper or foil hearts in colors of white, red, pink or other shades. Use watered-down white glue to attach the hearts to a white, pink or red candle from a dollar-theme store. Its one of the easiest ways to give a regular candle a Valentines Day theme.

Take a cheap candle and give it a beautiful look by using a simple, pliable wire. Stick the end of the wire into the candle, near the bottom, then slide beads onto the wire. Make the beads in the patterns you want, combining Valentines Day colors, and wrap the wire around and around the candle. You dont have to cover the entire wire with beads. Group a few together, twist the wire, and the beads will stay in place. When you get to the end simply tuck the end of the wire into the top area of the candle. The beaded wire is gorgeous but should be removed if the candle is to be burned. If you purchase beeswax in colors of red, white, and/or pink you can easily make heart-shaped candles without melting wax or making a big mess. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make several hearts of the same or different colors. The shapes must all be the same size. Run a nail or similar object through each heart, right in the middle, then stack them on a wick. Use a wick which features a metal disk as a weight. Slide the hearts onto the wick until the candle is as thick as you want. This makes a really nice Valentines Day gift thats easy enough for nearly anyone to create. Purchase a heart-shaped wooden piece at a craft store and use it for the base of a Valentines Day candle arrangement. Paint the thin wood pink, white or red then set the desired candle(s) on it. Use a solid red ribbon, or a ribbon printed with hearts, around the candle(s). This makes a nice centerpiece for a party table or a nice gift for someone who loves candles. You dont have to make a huge mess and spend a lot of time to make someone a candle gift for Valentines Day. If you purchase cheap candles, then decorate them yourself, youll give gorgeous gifts that dont rip your finances to shreds!

Patriotic Table Decorations on a Budget

Throwing a huge bash for friends, family or neighbors is a tradition when it comes to holidays like the Fourth of July. People have cookouts, music and games to celebrate Independence Day. Each year, though, it gets harder and harder because prices for food, drinks and decorations climb higher and higher. But, you dont need a lot of money to throw a big bash particularly when it comes to decorating. Here are many different decorations you can make for a song.Purchase red, white and blue tape at a dollar-theme store and go crazy. Use it to make patriotic stripes on candles, a table, cups and other things. The best thing about the tape is that you can easily remove it when the party is over.Wrap red and blue tape around a white Styrofoam cup, turn the cup upside-down, and use it as a plate stand. Set a disposable plate on it to hold red, white and blue flowers, finger foods, desserts or other goodies.Purchase cheap, plastic tablecloths at a dollar-theme store; one in each color of red, white and blue. Lay one on the table then place a second color over it. Trim the second cloth off a few inches, all the way around, so you can easily see the color under it. Now trim the third cloth down to a wide strip and use it as a runner. For three bucks you can have a very patriotic tablecloth.Use the tablecloths in a different manner to decorate. Twist each cloth so that it looks like a rope, then braid the three together or use them individually. Wrap one of the ropes around a banister, drape one over the side of porch handrails or tape some around the food table.Use star cutouts to create all sorts of patriotic table decorations. Found at a dollar store as well, the bag of stars can go far when creating a red, white and blue theme. Tape them together to make a unique table runner, attach one to a ribbon and wrap it around a silverware bundle, or just use double-sided tape to stick them to the backs of chairs, onto napkin holders, on hand rails or other places.It doesnt take much effort to print out tiny American flags and stick them to toothpicks. Push the picks into cupcakes, hamburgers, pickles and other things. They instantly give a patriotic look to all sorts of foods.So, you see, you can continue on, as tradition dictates, with the yearly parties on the Fourth of July, but spend less and less. When you make your own holiday decorations you can create a red, white and blue, patriotic theme for the table, the house and other areas - inside and out.

Edible, Magic Wand

There are certain things youll simply have to have at a princess party. Frills and lace, a cake with the image of a movie princess, or a tiered number that features candy jewels. Oh yeah, and magic wands. No princess party is complete without magic wands. You could do like many others and make the wands from a wooden rod and a paper star but, for this princess party, why not something a bit more extravagant? Make edible, magic wands and, even though theyll disappear like magic, the girls will never forget them.

One of the great things about edible, magic wands is that you can make them any flavor you want and can decorate them just how you desire. Sugar cookies work really great but you can use nearly any flavor. If you want to make homemade cookies, go ahead. If you want something a little easier, purchase refrigerated cookie dough. Or, buy a boxed mix. Youll need two cookies for each wand.

No matter what kind of cookie dough you have, lightly flour a clean surface, and roll it out so that its about an eighth-inch thick. Use a star cookie cutter to cut the shapes for the wands. Use wooden skewers as the handles for the magic wands. The skewers can be purchased in colors or in an unfinished wood color. Lay one cookie on a baking sheet, then lay a skewer on it, and press the end of the skewer into the center of the cookie. Now lay another cookie on top of that one so that the skewer is trapped between them. Lay as many wands as will fit on the baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees. Bake the cookies for about 9 minutes or until they begin to look brown around the edges. Remove the magic wands from the oven and allow to cool. If you have a wire rack transfer the cookies to it after two or three minutes. Scoop the cookie up with a spatula while lightly holding the stick. After the cookies have completely cooled you have lots of choices for decorating them. Frost them with ordinary frosting or use a gel tube to outline the star. Use candy sprinkles or colored sugar to make the wands sparkle or even press candy jewels - found at online candy stores - into the center of each cookie. Tie curled ribbon onto each stick, close to the cookie, to finish the wands. If youre giving the magic wands out as party favors you might want to cover them with cellophane. Plus, colored cellophane can lend to the overall look of the magic wand. Theyre cute, scrumptious and easy to make. See edible magic wands.

Easy, Four Poster Pet Bed

Which do you prefer: a mattress on the floor or a real bed? Which do you think your cat or dog prefers? You can purchase all sorts of pet beds, from pillows you toss on the floor, to a cushion with molded sides and a bottom, but none of those can compare to a four poster bed you could make. If your pets comfort is important to you, and you have an old coffee table you no longer use, why not make the four poster bed? Then, your pet can live like royalty.An old coffee table is perfect for making the four poster bed. The table must be one without a glass top, and one that has four long legs. The most perfect coffee table is one with just a wooden top, a wooden border around the sides, and four legs. Turn the table upside-down and you can quickly fashion it into a nice, four poster bed for your cat or dog.Measure inside the border panels to decide the length, width, and depth for a pillow. Take all three measurements but add an inch to the length as well as to the width. Cut two pieces of fabric as the top and bottom of the pillow, with the length and width measurements.To make the band for the pillow, cut a long piece of fabric to be as wide as the depth of the coffee table underside. The length should be two times the length of the side panels, plus two times the width of them. It might be necessary to sew two or more strips together, to get the total length needed for the band. Sew the ends of the total band together.Lay one piece of the fabric on a table so that the right side is facing upwards. Pin the band to it, all the way around. Stitch around the two pieces to adjoin them. Position the second piece of fabric on the band, so that the right side of the fabric faces downward. Pin. Sew almost all the way around the band to connect it to the second fabric piece. Leave a small area open so that you can turn the pillow right-side-out.After turning the pillow, stuff it, then sew the opening shut. Put the pillow in the opening on the underside of the table to finish the bed. But, if you want to keep going with the project, screw on spools, wooden legs, tin cans, or other materials, to create legs and raise the bed higher. You can even attach tassels or glittered, Styrofoam balls, to create an interesting element for the posts.The four poster bed is a cute arrangement that anyone can make for a pet. If you have no way of sewing just use a bed pillow on the upside-down table. Your pet - dog or cat - will absolutely fall in love with the new bed.

Perfect Snack Cups for Any Party

If youre a party-sort of person you have many celebrations coming each year. There will definitely be a birthday party or two, a party for one or more of the holidays, and maybe even a wedding and/or an anniversary. That means you have to come up with unique and interesting themes, foods, decorations, and more, for each and every celebration. You might have started off big, with huge parties, costing hundreds and hundreds of dollars, but maybe youve settled down a little bit now. Maybe youre looking for things that are fabulous, but cheap; appropriate, and suitable for anyone. Good luck with that! But seriously, you can create the perfect snacks, for any occasion, and with any theme, when you use cupcake liners. They already come in a huge assortment of colors, with various themes and prints, so that there are cupcake liners to fit any and every theme. Use the liners in an unusual manner and youll create the perfect snack cups for any party.

Just a cupcake liner isnt all that impressive, no matter what it contains. And, if the cupcake liner has no support, the guest will have to worry about spilling the snack. But when you drop a cupcake liner into a clear, disposable cup, you create the perfect snack cup, and you can give it any theme you want.

Your local grocery store might have quite a few designs of cupcake liners but, when you shop online, you have an even larger selection. You can find cupcake liners with metallic looks, like silver or gold, or choose liners with themes, like babies, birthdays, or holidays. Places that sell cupcake liners often sell short, clear, disposable glasses as well. Youll need one cup and one liner for each snack cup. The cup should be about the same height as the cupcake liner. The clear cup allows you to see the cute designs on the cupcake liners and it strengthens the cup so it can be easily carried around. Such a cup can hold pretzels, mints, candies, doughnut holes, brownie bites, popcorn, chips, or other snacks. The cupcake liner inside allows you to easily create a treat cup for any special occasion. There are other embellishments you can put inside or outside on the cup, along with the cupcake liner accent. Tape a ribbon around the inside bottom, or wrap it around the outside top. You can even glue a piece of scrapbook paper over the top of each cup, to make a lid for transporting it. That way, it makes a fabulous party favor, rather than a treat cup at the party.

Poker Chip and Playing Card Party Treats

A poker party is one of the easiest themes to make snacks and treats for. Your guests will devour poker chip cookies, poker chip muffins, playing card cookies, and more, when you make them yourself. Its exciting to create treats that look like things at the party, such as cards and poker chips. The special desserts, treats, and snacks will be the hit of the party so dont waste anymore time; get into the kitchen! Make everything from scratch or cheat a little, depending on how much time and effort that you want to apply. For example, you can make your own, homemade cookies, or you can just buy some cookies, and decorate them as you will. Graham crackers are a nice choice simply for their size and shape. If youre making cookies, cut card-size shapes, and if youre making poker chip cookies, make them small and round.

Frost the card cookies with a smooth layer of white frosting; frost the poker chips blue, red, white, or other poker chip colors. Its best to make or buy white frosting and tint it with food coloring; youll be able to make small amounts of each color needed.

Gel frosting, which comes in tubes, makes it easy to draw on the cookies, but you can also pipe on the lettering and images. Just put frosting in a plastic bag, twist it tightly into one corner, and cut a tiny snip from the very corner. Pipe or draw on frosting to represent the denomination of each card and/or poker chip treat. Its helpful to look at cards and chips to get an idea of the placement of the lettering, sizes of images, and so on. All of the cards can be different - and the same goes for the poker chips - or you can make them all the same, like all aces or all blue poker chips. Besides cookies, you can quickly make playing card cakes when you make your own cake, or buy Little Debbie snack cakes. Just purchase rectangular snack cakes, draw on top of them to create the cards, and youre finished. Its optional to put on a layer of frosting since most snack cakes are rather skimpy on the frosting. If youve made your own cake, you can cut it into individual pieces, or you can make the card design across the entire cake. A fun element is added to the party when you create poker chip mini muffins. Purchase or make small muffins and then lay a clean poker chip on each one (after the cake is cooled if youve baked the muffins yourself). With this snack, each muffin-eater ends up with a free poker chip for the game!

Humorous Pillowcase Set for Newlyweds

Are you the type of person who prefers to give silly, whimsical and hysterical gifts rather than something more serious? Are you always pulling tricks on people and doing the unexpected? If so, no occasion to you is sacred! Not even a wedding. If you have a friend or relative who is getting married youre probably already considering what sort of crazy, wacky gift you can give to the new couple. Dont shop catalogs and novelty stores to find that special gift; make it yourself! Theres a fun and easy project you can do which will certainly surprise the recipients. Make a set of gift pillowcases (with or without accompanying sheets) and theyll laugh hysterically when they see them. Or, should I say "when they read them". Its a blast to make a pillowcase set that features a joke you pull on the wedded couple. The pillowcases look ordinary until they open them and thats when they get the cute surprise! Use any set of ordinary pillowcases to pull your wedding gift gag. Use paint markers to write the surprise captions on the two pillowcases. Or, use fabric paint that dispenses from a tube or squeeze bottle. On one pillowcase, write "Ive got a headache". On the other pillowcase, write "Ive got an aspirin". The couple will get a huge surprise when they open the ordinary pillowcases to find the unusual sayings.

No matter if youre using fabric paint or a paint marker its best to line the inside of the pillowcase with plastic to make sure the marker or paint doesnt bleed through to the other side. Allow the writings to dry completely before removing the plastic.

Paint markers are used just like regular markers but they contain real paint so they are permanent. They create writings on the pillowcases which look identical to a magic marker. With fabric paints that dispense from a tube you can create letters which, after theyre dry, you can feel them. The paint isnt scratchy, but if you want to ensure a smooth saying on the pillowcase, dispense the paint onto a paper plate and brush it on. The pillowcases can be embellished by using stencils along with the markers or paints. Youll find many bridal-theme or other designs when you visit a large craft supply store. After the paints or markers are completely dry, fold the pillowcases how they originally were, and put them back in the original package, or place them in a new gift box. The unsuspecting couple will get a good laugh from you, the funny person in their lives!

Leaf Boutonnieres for Groom and Groomsmen

A boutonniere is generally a small flower arrangement worn by men. Nothing like a corsage, the small arrangement is often just a single flower, and is pinned to the lapel of the groom and/or groomsmen. A boutonniere is an easy way to give a touch of the wedding flowers, colors or theme to the guys in the wedding party. However, most guys balk at having to wear a flower. Of course, the bride gets her way, so if necessary, the men will wear the lapel flower. However, a bride who wants boutonnieres worn by the groom and groomsmen has yet another option besides a flower. Make leaf boutonnieres and the guys can all grumble about other things! Its exciting to see the various silk leaves you can find at a craft store. Choose a vine of flowers which features leaves that you like or just purchase loose leaves in a bag. Theres a huge variety available in most craft stores. The leaves dont have to be all the same; you can combine leaves to create the boutonnieres you want.

Besides silk leaves you can also purchase real leaves from a nearby nursery. Although its not the norm, some nurseries, if you call in advance, will allow you to pluck a single leaf off of each of several plants. Or, the nursery workers will do this for you. If they dont offer this service it may be necessary to purchase a few plants and pluck the leaves at home. Plants are much cheaper at a nursery than they are at a store which sells them.

Choose two or three leaves - alike or different - and stack them on top of each other. Now spread them out a little, like you would playing cards, and hold them in place for the moment. Wrap a piece of tape around silk leaves, if thats what youre using, then tie a ribbon around them. If youre using real leaves wrap them with a floral wire. You dont have to use only green leaves to make the boutonnieres. Real as well as silk leaves come in colors of red, yellow, orange and other colors. If you want, you can even paint silk leaves to match or coordinate with the wedding colors. If youre using silk leaves you can simply hot-glue the pin hardware to the back of the boutonniere. If youre using real leaves attach the pin backing with a floral wire or floral tape. The boutonnieres add even more class to an already beautiful wedding agenda. You wont have to hear complaints from the guys about having to wear flowers, youll save a fortune over floral boutonnieres, and youll be pleased with how easy they are to make!

Giant Diamond Wedding Pinata

Your wedding reception guests will have lots of fun smacking a giant diamond until it opens and pours out candy. Make a glittery pinata with a theme that goes right along with any wedding - a diamond. All you need is some card stock and you can make the pinata which is unusual but perfect for any wedding reception.

Make a giant diamond shape by starting with two same-size squares of card stock. You can make the squares any size you want, depending upon how large you want the diamond to be, but a good size is an 8 or 10 inch square. Use a craft knife to cut out a large square from the bottom of each pyramid. Cut almost the entire bottom off of each box but leave about an inch of the perimeter.

Cut 8 triangles - one to go on each side of each square. Draw the triangles out on card stock by first marking a line to be the same length as one side of the card stock square. This will be the bottom of the triangle. Now cut the sides to be as long as you want. The longer you make them, the longer the diamond pinata will be. A good size for the triangles - when working with an 8 or 10 inch square - is about eight inches. Cut all eight triangles to be the same size. Lay the two cardstock squares out on a table so theyre far apart. Place a triangle against each side of each square, so that the bases of the triangles are against the sides of the squares. Use Scotch tape to attach each triangle. Bend the taped areas of the triangles up so that they all come to a point over the square. Do this to both squares so that you form two separate "pyramid" shapes. Tape each triangle to the ones beside it so that you have four seams which go from the point to the base. Do this to both boxes. Poke a hole in the top of one pyramid box. Cut a piece of silver twine or clear fishing twine, fold it in half, then slide the ends through the hole. From inside, tape the ends to the box. Fill each box with candy, small trinkets, gift cards, or any number of other things. Position the two pyramid shapes so that their bottoms are facing each other and tape them together. Spray on silver glitter or paint the diamond with white glue and sprinkle on the glitter. Make matching, glittery sticks for hitting the pinata by simply purchasing dowels which are about an inch or so in diameter. Cover them with glitter in the same way you did the diamond. The unusual pinata is glittery, appropriate for any wedding and absolutely gorgeous.

Outdoor Food Guards

You know how you can never find the right lid to a container you want to use? All those plastic lids start looking just alike and, the longer you go through them, the more irritated you can become. But if youre having an outdoor meal youre going to need those lids. Otherwise, youll face flies, bees and gnats trying to get at your fried chicken, burgers or other foods. No one wants that. Even if you can find the lids to your bowls sometimes they can actually be a hindrance. If, for example, the bowls are colored plastic, with the lid in place you cant see whats in the dish. And, if the dishes youre using are glass or melamine you might not even have lids for them at all. Solve all your lid problems by doing one simple craft. Make outdoor food guards and youll have lids for bowls, pans, pots and even glasses. Its quick, easy and inexpensive to make covers for food and drinks in many different types of containers.

Have you ever done embroidery work? To make things much easier for the person doing the embroidery a hoop is used. The hoop actually is two hoops. Theres one hoop on the inside of another hoop. Fabric is placed over the small hoop, then the large hoop is slipped over it, and theres a small hardware piece which is then used to tighten the two together. The set of hoops keeps the fabric taut and also provides the needlework crafter a way to hold the fabric flat while working on it. Those embroidery hoops are perfect for creating lids for any number of dishes you use outdoors. Theyre available in various sizes and, with them, you can create a collection of lids in minutes.

Choose a material for making the lids. You can use cheesecloth or fabric which is fairly thin. If you use cheesecloth or netting youll be able to see the food through the lid. Although you can virtually use any fabric which isnt especially thick, cotton or linen is ideal. Cut a piece to be square or round and to be a little wider than the embroidery hoop is in diameter. Separate the two hoops, lay the fabric over the small one, then position the large hoop over the small one, trapping the fabric between the two rings. Tighten the ring down a little at a time, while tugging slightly at the edges of the material to make it taut. After the clamp is tightened the lid is ready to use. Cover bowls, plates, glasses, pitchers, pans and more simply by making assorted sizes of the lids. Youll never want to be outdoors eating without them.

Bottle Lid Christmas Advent Calendar

Many of us have now learned to save nearly everything because weve been taught how to recycle paper, cardboard, plastic, and more. If youve got a junk drawer full of soda bottle lids, youve got what you need to make an adorable advent calendar for a child. Each day, from December 1st, to the 24th, your child can open a tiny door to a surprise, while marking off that day. As your child counts down the days, he or she will find a minute but cool gift inside each small compartment, all of which assembles to create a lovely Christmas tree.Youll need 24 red, green, or white bottle caps to make the advent calendar. Its up to you if the caps are from a 20oz, 2-liter, or 3-liter. Start with a large piece of plain or colored paper, poster board, or something similar. To get an idea of how long the paper should be, align 9 bottle caps, vertically. To decide how wide to make it, align 6 caps, horizontally. The paper should be at least that large, but can be a bit larger.Begin by gluing each cap onto the chosen paper. Put some hot glue, or another adhesive, on the top of each cap, then turn it over, and press it onto the paper. That way, the open area of the cap is facing upwards. Do this to each cap to create a Christmas tree shape. Glue the first cap to make the tip of the tree, then make a row of two, a row of three, a row of four, a row of five, and a row of six. With the remaining three caps, glue one under the last row - right in the center - and glue the other two under that one. This creates a trunk and a pot for the tree.Before you start making the tree, draw around one of the lids, and use it as a pattern for all of the soda bottle lids. When you draw the circle around the cap, though, draw a tiny tab on one side. Make 24 of these.Place a tiny object in each lid. Some ideas would include a temporary tattoo, a sticker, a tiny note that says "Merry Christmas", a piece of candy, or even a penny or dime. When there is a prize in each cap, place a tiny bit of glue around the edges of each lid, and stick a circle with tab on it. Face all of the tabs in the same direction. If you place the tab on the right, the door will open to the left. If you place the tab on the top, the door will open downwards.A child can simply tear a tab off, each night before bed, or each morning when he or she gets up, and reveal the surprise of the day. Before long, your child will open the last prize on the advent calendar, and awake to another beautiful Christmas.

Paper Doily Bedroom

As a crafter its not hard to get on a "kick". You try a new craft, or work with a new material, and you quickly become addicted to doing more and more of those crafts. Dont be surprised if that happens to you once you break open a pack of paper doilies. Pretty and inexpensive, the doilies are sold at many dollar-theme stores, and are meant to use as disposable coasters or accent under vases, picture frames or decorative bowls. For about a buck you can get 25 or more of the paper doilies and use them to create all sorts of lacy accents in a girls bedroom.A paper doily is similar in appearance to a real one. The paper one has a solid, white circle in the middle with a wide, lacy border. That makes them perfect for all sorts of easy decorating projects.Fold a doily in half and crease the fold well. Tape or paste the doily to the upper edge of the wall. Align the folded doilies, side-by-side, all the way around the room, to make a beautiful border. If you want, use a paint marker to add gold or other accents around the edges of the doilies before hanging them.Make an ordinary shelf much more lacy for a little girl by using the doilies. Again, fold the doily in half and crease the fold. Lay the doily on the edge of the shelf so that half of it hangs over the side. Tape the doily in place on the shelf. Align them, side-by-side, to give the shelf the lacy accent.Cut a picture of a cartoon character, pet or other image from a magazine or similar source. Cut it to be a circle which is a tad smaller than the white paper circle in the middle of the doily. Use a piece of double-sided tape, or glue, to attach the picture to the doily. Cover it with a circle of clear shelf liner and youve created a beautiful coaster for the bedroom.Use the same technique as above to make a standing photo or display. After attaching the picture and shelf liner, glue the doily to a piece of thin cardboard, and stand it on a plate stand or even hang it on the wall.A little girl can even help create a unique scrapbook from the doilies. Mount a photo, flat flower, magazine image or other flat things to each doily then stack them. Thread ribbon through two different holes of the lacy edges of the doily and tie them to make a hinge for the book.The paper doily d?cor looks good in other places besides the bedroom. Use them to make a lacy accent for a fireplace mantle, kitchen cabinet shelves or along the tops of bookcases. Theyre lovely.See paper doily shelf accents here.

Heart on a Stick Graveside Memorial

Do you take flowers to the cemetery to honor a lost loved one? Its always so sad to visit the cemetery but it often makes us feel better to leave a lovely bunch of flowers for the person we love and miss so much. You can purchase inexpensive graveside memorials of flowers at many department stores and online but you can only buy what they make. When you make a memorial yourself you can have it with the exact colors and sentiments you want.

Purchase a heart-shaped Styrofoam piece at a craft store and make the cemetery memorial. The hearts are available in various sizes and thicknesses and theyre not expensive. There are many ways to decorate the heart to make the memorial you prefer. Use silk flowers to cover the entire heart, on the front and sides. Cut a piece of fabric to be the size and shape of the heart and glue it to the backside. Make sure you use glue that is waterproof; hot glue wont work for this project.

A nice way to decorate the heart is to spell out a name, "Love", or another sentiment, using the flowers. Poke a hole in the heart, add a little glue, then place a flower in the hole. Continue doing this to spell out the sentiment with flowers. After that, fill in the remainder of the heart with flowers of a different color so that the sentiment stands out amongst the flowers. Make a different type of heart memorial by using wooden letters. Purchase these at a craft store and paint them. Glue these to the heart then surround the letters with flowers all over the front and sides of the heart. Another way to make the heart memorial is to just paint the Styrofoam shape with glitter paint. Fabric paints in a tube make it easy to dispense the paint and spell out a sentiment. With this design, you can use gathered lace or gathered fabric to make a ruffled edge around the perimeter of the heart. When youre finished making the heart you want its easy to attach it to a dowel so it will stand up at the gravesite. Just slide a small-diameter dowel into the point of the heart - a few inches into the heart - and remove the dowel. Fill the hole with glue and push the dowel back into place. Then, push the other end of the stick into the ground at the cemetery. The heart memorial is a very easy one to make and its nice that you can create it to look exactly like you want, with the colors, flowers, and sentiments you choose. Since its made from waterproof materials the memorial can stand there for a long time.

Collection of Altoids Tin Travel Games

If youre a person who has been collecting Altoids mint tins gather a few of them and lets make some travel games. There is a huge assortment of fun pocket games you can make for an adult or a child. One is a simple chess or checkers game. You can find miniature pieces at a dollar-theme or novelty store, or you can make the game pieces yourself. Go online to print out a simple, black and white check paper, and glue it to the inside bottom of the tin. Throw the pieces in there and, when youre ready to play, youre all set.Checkers can be made by using tiny button magnets, found at a craft store. Print and cut tiny, circular images, and tape or glue one to each magnet. For chess pieces, purchase miniature crowns, tiny people, or other minis that you can use for the pieces. Or, cut images and tape or glue them to the magnets.A tic-tac-toe game is also very simple to make inside an Altoids tin. Print out a tic-tac-toe image, or just make it yourself. Glue a piece of black construction paper in the bottom of the tin, then attach nine, white sticky paper squares. You can find stick-on name tags, and similar adhesive shapes, at any store that sells office supplies. The game pieces can, again, be magnets with images glued onto them.Make a backgammon board inside an Altoids tin by starting with any color of paper you want. Many backgammon games feature shades of tan, brown, black, or white, but you can make your game any color. Cut a piece of colored or white paper and glue or tape it to the inside bottom of the tin. Then, cut two different colors of elongated triangles, from tape. Place the tape triangles along the two short sides of the tin. Make the same arrangement on the lid. Its helpful to look at backgammon game pictures to get an idea of size and placement for the triangles. Backgammon pieces can be made from disks of cardboard or images glued onto button magnets.Make a Chinese checkers game by printing an image of the board game, and adjusting that image to size. Tape the paper onto a thin piece of cardboard. Use a nail to punch a hole on each dot inside of each triangle, as well as each dot on the center section of the star. Beads work well as the markers.There are lots of different games you can make inside an Altoids tin. In fact, when you make the game boards all on thin cardboard, you can place many games inside one tin. Take it - or them - anywhere you want. Theyre perfect for camping, for kids, for travel, and for everyday fun.

Quick Valentines Day Candles

Candle-making used to be such a huge production its a wonder any of us went through the whole process to make our own candles. Things are much easier nowadays! Put away the pots and pans, forget boiling water and melting wax - make your candles with no mess and no hassle! Create beautiful heart candles for Valentines Day and they can serve as centerpieces, d?cor and even as gifts! Since it only takes a few minutes to make heart candles, and about half a minute to clean up afterward, youll want to create many! Beeswax makes it so easy to create a heart candle or another shape. Youll find the thin sheets of beeswax at most any craft store and its available in many colors. Choose red and pink sheets to make a striped heart or all red to make a different design. White is another color that will look nice as a heart itself or as a layer of color in a striped candle.

Use cookie cutters, if you have them, to cut heart shapes from the beeswax. The wax is soft so it takes only a second to push the cutter into the wax. Make all the hearts the same size even if you make them assorted colors. If you have no cookie cutters you can use a stencil or even a heart shape cut from a piece of paper. Draw around the shape to make a heart on the beeswax then cut it out.

After you have a stack of hearts use an ice pick or similar item to poke a hole in the center of each one. Its important that the holes in the hearts will align perfectly with each other when the shapes are stacked. One way to ensure this is to poke a hole in the first heart, lay it on top of the next one, then run the ice pick through the hole of the first heart and into the second one. Each time, stack one more heart on the bottom, then push the pick through the holes of the rest of the stack, and into the new heart. Stand a weighted wick on the table and slide the hearts onto it to finish the candle. Allow a half-inch or so of the wick to rise above the last wax heart. Make any number of designs by the colors you stack and how many of each color you stack together. Make a heart thats starts out red, fades to pink, then to white. Or, make a heart candle thats all red but has a single layer of pink on top. There are any number of colors and designs you can create. Use the same method for creating candles for other occasions besides Valentines Day. Make Christmas tree candles, jack-o-lantern candles and even everyday candles. The beeswax makes it so very easy!

Easy Light Box and T-Shirt Images

Lots of people own a light box because it helps them with things like calligraphy and artwork. Some people build their own light boxes, rather than pay exorbitant costs for them, but even building one can run into quite a bit of money. You have to have wood, and a light source, and nails or screws, and brackets - its way too much. You dont have to spend that kind of money and effort on a light box when you can make one in a minute. And, after you make it you can use it to create fabulous t-shirts with any images you want.Look at a discount department store and youll find plenty of snap-tight, plastic cases. Some people use them to hold baseball or other cards, and some people use them to hold nails, and still others store beads or craft supplies in them. Buy a snap-tight box - a clear plastic one - and use it to make the light box. The best plastic box to buy is one that has no compartments.A tap light is a great source of light for the box. A tap light has a flat, round, plastic bottom, with a plastic dome on top of it, and runs off of batteries. All you do is push down on the dome and the light comes on; push it again and the light goes off. The tap light works great but you could actually use most any battery-operated light, which fits in the snap-tight box, and provides enough light to shine through a t-shirt.At home, just unsnap the plastic box, put the tap light - or other light - in it, then snap the clear box shut. Use it to make most any image on a t-shirt. Print a paper with the image on it - from the internet or your own photos - and lay it on the light box. Or, just tear a picture from a magazine or other source. Tape the paper to the top of the box so that the light shines through it.Lay the chosen t-shirt on the light box so that you can see the image on the front. The light will shine through the box, and the paper image, and through the shirt. This makes it easy to see the image on the front of the shirt as you draw.Its very helpful to tape the shirt to the light box so it wont move as you draw on it. Use permanent markers to outline the image you have on the shirt. After the outline is done, youll likely find it easiest to fill in the outline with the light turned off.Youll love making shirts with images of famous people, drawings of famous landmarks, or just shirts with images of family, friends, and pets on them. This is the easiest light box and one of the most simple t-shirt painting techniques there ever was.

Two, One-Minute Ribbon Organizers

Anyone who has a craft room or area knows how important it is to keep it all organized. With so many small items, plus endless spools of ribbon, thread, cord, elastic, and similar notions, you could get lost in it all if its not organized. No one wants to go hunting for the particular craft supplies they need every time she wants to make something new. One thing thats particularly messy around the craft room is ribbon. Any crafter could have 10, 20, or more spools of ribbon, and thats a whole lot of mess if the ribbons are coming off of the spools. There are lots of different ribbon and cord organizers that a person can make but some of them can take time and money that you might not have. There are, however, two different, really quick ribbon organizers you can make; one is for many spools and one is for leftovers.A coffee tin, or another object with a plastic lid, works great to create a little organizer for leftover cord, ribbon, and similar things. With the lid on the can, use a box cutter to make slits in the top of it. Push the box cutter blade in, and pull it straight out, to create slits all over the can lid. You can organize the slits into neat little rows, or cut them randomly into the lid. Put leftover scraps of ribbon into the can and push one end of each piece through the opening. Put the lid back on the can, set it anywhere, and dispense short pieces of ribbon when needed.Have you ever shopped at a place that offered carts for large purchases, and holey baskets for smaller selections? One of those holey baskets works great to create an organizer for many spools of ribbon. A similar type of basket is sold at dollar-theme stores and some discount department stores. With it, and a few wooden dowels, the organizer will be finished.Slide a small-diameter dowel into a hole on the side of the basket, and through a hole opposite the first one. Since the basket is full of holes its important that you locate two holes that are exactly opposite of each other, or the ribbons will sit lopsided. To load the dowel with spools of ribbon, slide it out of one hole, slide the dowel through a ribbon spool hole, and then push it back through the hole. Each dowel will hold several spools of ribbon or cord.The two quick organizers will have all your ribbon, cord, and spooled materials, arranged in minutes. Since its so easy to slide spools on and off of the dowels, or in and out of the can slits, it wont be any bother to keep them that way.

Boot Hangers

What youll need:Cafe curtain rodStyrofoam or wooden disk or oval"C" hooksHot glueNice collection of boots youve got there. Too bad theyre not getting the care they need. Sure, you keep them clean, and stand them neatly in the closet, but, like some boots do, the legs fall over. When that happens many times, or they stay bent like that for a period of time, they can get cracks and creases that can ruin the whole look. Dont let that happen to your expensive boots; hang them up instead. Few people know that you can easily organize your boots by hanging them up rather than standing them.Hang a caf? rod in your closet and youll be able to take much better care of your boots. The inexpensive rod is ideal for creating the unusual boot organizer. Just in case youre unsure of what a caf? rod is its a skinny, metal, pole-like hanger. Attach the rod between the two sides of the closet, a bit higher than your tallest boot.Make the hangers themselves by starting with a Styrofoam disk or oval. Measure around one boot then seek a circle or oval which is that size or a little larger. The Styrofoam should be a couple of inches thick. Its not hard to cut and shape Styrofoam. Cut an old candle with a sharp knife to transfer the wax to the knife. With this, you can easily cut a Styrofoam circle or disk to the size you need. You can shape Styrofoam by using sandpaper or even an emery board. However, if you purchase a disk or oval thats the same size as the boot you wont have to refashion it. The Styrofoam piece should fit snugly into the top of the boot.Use a large "c" hook to make the hanger. Twist it into the middle of the Styrofoam piece, remove it, fill the hole with hot glue, then twist the screw back into the hole. Allow the glue to set.Instead of Styrofoam you can also use a wooden disk or oval. The Styrofoam or wooden pieces are sold at any craft store and are not expensive. With Styrofoam, its much easier to shape it to fit the boot, but its not as sturdy as the wooden version. Its not necessary to purchase a really thick piece of wood; an inch thick is fine.To hang the boots, put one of the Styrofoam pieces into the top of it, and there you go. Hang it on the caf? rod and its up off the floor. Now the legs of your boots wont fall over and cause creases you cant remove. Make hangers for all your boots and you can wear them with confidence!See boot hangers here: http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/25-bedroom-organizers#slide_12