Crafting - Make Your Own Gorgeous Twist Ties!

These are awesome! I came up with idea when I saw some red and white candy striped twist ties on a party site online. I didn't need several thousand of the same ones so decided to try and decorate some plain twist ties I already had. Now I can have them in any colour I like! They are so easy to do even the kids will enjoy this activity. They are perfect for decorating small gift bags or tying up a biscuit or two for lunches.

SUPPLIES:

Plain twist ties - plastic or paper (leave them attached together)

Markers -  Permanent markers are best for plastic, almost anything works for the paper ones (I used sharpies and bic pastel permanent markers)

Ruler - if you prefer not to draw lines freehand

 

Draw stripes on the front first, then copy the lines in the same place on the back. My twist ties are slightly transparent so that makes it easy to follow the same pattern on the back. Diagonal and horizontal stripes work really well. It does not matter if the lines are not perfect as you won't even notice after the ties are separated.

VARIATION:

I decorated this  lot of twist ties with alcohol inks. (The Tim Holtz Ranger inks are the ones I have. You can purchase them at scrapbooking stores.) These are much quicker to make than the marker ties above and don't even matter if the front and back do not match.

These new twistie ties are perfect for tying up party bags or even add a little fun to school lunches or tiny gifts placed in a small gift bag.

Fun Easter Crafts Projects

Some of you may remember these sweet little chicks we made last Easter. I still have them sitting on my computer desk just because they make me smile!

Then there are my freebie Easter printables, just click on the pictures and then save to your computer.

I have also been doing a little web surfing and found some great activities and creative projects that you can do, even with your kids. I would love to have a go at all of these, but sooo much to do and so little time. Hope these save you some time searching for some fun Easter projects. I am unable to add the pics from these sites here due to copyright reasons, but trust me I am sure you will love them.

1) Cute little chicks and bunnies from a face cloth. These are so cute with an Easter egg sitting in them. I have made heaps of them and they are so quick and easy to make. Great for selling at an Easter fair too.

2) Sweet Easter bags and egg wrappers to print for free.

3) Rabbit Napkin Holders with template to print.

4) String Easter egg made using a water balloon with chicks inside.

5) Chocolate daffodils

6) Bunny cupcakes

7) Egg train

8) oh so cute brooch

9) easy rabbit cross stitch

10) Felt Easter Bag tutorial. Quick, easy and can be made to suit any occasion.

11) chenille/pipe cleaner egg

12) Gorgeous Beaded cross to remind us of the real reason for Easter. This would be beautiful as a brooch.

13) Ribbon and plastic mesh cross.

14) Easter bunny basket from a paper plate. Very easy even for young children.

15) This Handprint lily with a poem would be a perfect gift for adults this Easter from children. Step by step instructions to make the flowers are here.

16) Gorgeous bead and wire bunny. These would make a sweet necklace and earrings set as a non-chocolate gift for Easter.

17) Easter Egg cozy with printable pattern to sew. If you make these a little smaller they would make fun finger puppets!

18) Egg shaped Cakes! These look really cute, you bake a cake right in the egg, and I imagine they wouldn't last long. LOL

19) Cute Bunny Basket that you can make up and let kids finish decorating the face and feet! Instructions to make the box base are here. This one uses a diecut machine but it would be easy enough to draw and make your own if you don't own one. Thanks to SharonSkippy for sending me these links!

Kids Crafty Birthday Party

It was my DD 9th birthday recently and she decided she wanted to have a craft party. So I thought I would share with you a few things we did.

It all began with the invitations, which my daughter proudly designed and assembled by herself. The inside of the card has all the details of the party which I helped her make using the computer.

Come the day of the party we decorated the birthday girl's chair for her to sit on during the party and whilst she opened the presents. This has become a tradition in our household since the day she turned 3.

The ballerina birthday cake was made and there were cupcakes galore!

Then onto the creating and making!

I had a long list of projects in case the girls finished their creations quickly and I let my daughter pick each craft as we went along.

The girls had a fabulous time and this is what they made:

Pencil Buddies


Lavender tied in the style of a ballet slipper


Drawer Sachets for scenting their clothes.


Paperclip Bookmarks


Handbag style boxes


The girls all had a delightful time and took home all their lovely makes.

Tinkerbell Fairy Costume

This is a sweet little girl's fairy costume I made for my DD and thought I would share with you. The photos just do not do this outfit any justice as it is so much prettier to see in person. It sews up quickly and is made very simply without a pattern. I have made a few fairy costumes using the same simple method with great results.

All of the pieces of fabric are rectangles, including the petal shaped tulle tier. I cut the petal shapes after cutting out the rectangle. The bodice is made from a stretch dance fabric and the skirt is 3 layers - satin, snowflake organza and tulle. All the fabrics are in a Tinkerbell green except for the white organza. The skirt layers are gathered and then sewn onto the bodice before hemming. The straps are a pair of clear adjustable bra straps to make the outfit more like the original Tink dress, but allow free play without worries of the dress falling down.

To make Tink's wings I scanned a Disney Tinker bell doll's wings and then enlarged them to print out poster size. I then cut the wings from a large sheet of clear acetate, sprayed it with clear varnish and sprinkled it with holographic glitter before the varnish dried. To give the wings more stability and define the edges I taped wire all the way around. Lastly I punched a few holes in the center and inserted elastic so the wings could be put on and removed with ease.

I completed the Tinkerbell Fairy costume with a pair of Tink green slippers and a sparkly pom pom? I just traced around my DD foot, added about 2"(5cm) all round, then using 3 step zig zag I applied the elastic. I made a couple of cute pom poms from glitter wool and attached them to the slippers by hand.

To really make Tinkerbell fly, she needs her hair in a bun and tied with Tinkerbell green ribbon!

This was such a fun and easy costume to make and would be great for anyone beginning to sew. Just measure, cut and sew.

Edited
Due to popular demand for this costume I am working on step by step instructions complete with the pattern for the wings. For anyone wishing to purchase it please email me(address above) with Fairy Costume Pattern in the subject line and I can let you know when it becomes available. Thanks for your interest.

Easter Craft Project - Eggs and Chicks

Here the tiny eggs lay waiting.......

...Then the hatching begins!

These Easter eggs and chicks in a nest are an easy and fun activity to do for kids and adults alike. These tiny eggs and chicks are just a mere 1 1/2" (3cm) tall.

1. Collect some small twigs and sticks and arrange randomly in a circular brown paper-mache bowl or container. This will help give the nest it's shape.
   
2. Paint some polystyrene eggs or real ones with pretty paints.
   
3. While the eggs dry make some baby chicks with pom poms, tulle for the wings, cardboard for the beak and joggle eyes.

These wee chicks are waiting for tucker!

Now the baby chicks are fed and ready for bed!

Click on the Holidays link at the end of this post for more Easter Holiday ideas...

Reindeer for Christmas

OOOHHHH! look what I found http://www.kckpl.lib.ks.us/ys/CRAFTS/Ratrein.htm

We just had to make these really cute reindeer today We couldn't find the right colour facecloths so we used some chocolate brown stretch knit I found in the cupboard instead.

We pinked the edges of the squares of fabric and then made them up in the same way described in the link above. We ran out of large soaps so we then started using travel soaps, smaller eyes and tiny pompoms and made even cuter baby reindeer!!!

SOOOOO CUTE!!






These are so easy to make even kids can do them and would make a very quick last minute gift that almost anyone is sure to love! These are going to teachers and family members.