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!

Ready for some Online fun? Crafts Beautiful Forum Party!

In less than 2 hours Crafts Beautiful will be holding an online forum party to celebrate the launch of their new Make Jewellery magazine, which looks absolutely divine!

It is free to join the forum and there will tons of free downloads over the whole weekend, as well as guest designers, challenges and loads of other fun! I went to the Christmas party and let's just say everyone had a fabulous time. Hope to see you there.

Make A Quick No Sew Sweater for a Chihuahua Puppy or Small Dog - Tutorial

This is my latest sewing, well actually non-sewing project! Tell me what you think!

It has been a while since I have needed to make puppy jumpers, and during a cold spell here in the middle of summer I needed a couple of coats for the puppies in a hurry. By the time the cold sets in here for winter I expect I will need to make some larger ones!

I would have loved to share pics of both of our chihuahua girls sporting their new clothes, but Bell just does not sit still enough to photograph! So here is Tinker modeling her Pink Spotted No-sew Baby Sleeve Sweater!

Tools Required:

Measuring Tape
Scissors
Sleeve from a baby, toddler or child's sweater (see step one)

Method:

1) Measure your puppy's neck and around the chest. This will give you an idea for the size sleeve you need. I used the sleeve from a baby jumper, but you may need one from an older child or adult depending on the size of your dog or puppy.

2) Cut the sleeve from the garment you are using. The top should be as long as your dog from the back of the neck to the start of the tail. If you have a male dog the part underneath the coat (where the seam is) will need to be shorter to allow them to go to the toilet without soiling the jumper.

3) Make sure the wristband will fit over your dog's head. If it fits, great go onto the next step, otherwise do as I did. I cut the ribbing (wristband) from the sleeve, as it was too small to fit over my little chihuahua's head. I rolled the neck to hide the cut edge and make it softer around the neck.

4) Measure from your puppy's neck to the top of the front legs, and also the distance between the front legs. These will help you work out where to cut the holes for the paws to fit through. Make sure they have room to walk and play safely in them. If the holes are too big the paws can get stuck inside the jumper making it impossible for them to walk. Cut the holes in the sleeve and then your dog is ready to try on his or her new outfit!

NOTE: Putting on a dog coat should be a positive and fun experience for your puppy. So whilst your puppy is learning to behave getting dressed, offer lots of rewards of praise and food treats.

How to Zipper Tutorial at twelve 22

Many of you probably remember the Breast Cancer Awareness shower cap and make-up bags I made from a thrifted pillow case. Well I was planning on creating a tutorial for the zippered pouches, and then I found this tutorial over at twelve22.com. It is basically the same as the way I sew mine so I thought I would share with you.

The tutorial is easy to follow and great for new sewers wanting to become confident using zips in their projects. These zippered lined pouches are great for gifts and are relatively quick to make.

I have made lots of these in different sizes to use for all sorts. Toothbrush and paste, make-up, medicines when traveling, first aid kit, books, and pencil cases.

Whether you are new to sewing or not, these are fun projects to make that are handy a quick to sew.

Orange Sweet Vine Bird Cricut Card

I will have some sewing posts coming shortly, but for now, here is yet another Cricut card! I made it a week or so ago and have only just remembered to post it!

I cut the leaf frame using the Design Studio and my cricut expression. I then used a green marker to outline all the edges, as I used white core textured card and to create veins on the leaves. It seemed to take forever, but it was worth it to give some depth.

I glued the frame to some patterned card and then added the flowers and bird using foam dots. I rarely make anything using orange and this turned out to be more fun than I expected.

The flowers are made using EK Success whale punches and a glass nugget designed for using in a vase of flowers or fish tanks. It was clear and I coloured it using permanent whispers markers.

The bird is from Kaisercraft Flora and Fauna clear stamps sets. It is stamped and then embossed with black gloss embossing powder onto patterned card. This is a great way to use up scraps of paper and to save time on colouring images in.

Tragic Bushfires in Victoria - Australia

I imagine many of you have heard of the horrific devastating fires in Victoria - Australia that have changed the lives of so many people recently.

The last I heard over 200 people had died and over 1000 homes completely burnt to the ground. It is just so hard to imagine. I am in Australia, but can't begin to understand what these people are going through. The Australian and Victorian governments have declared a National day of mourning for the 22nd February.

During so much tragedy there are also many miraculous stories of survival including those like the koala in this video Sam the Koala.

Many of the heros that risked their lives to save and help others during the fires are also victims, losing loved ones and also homes themselves. Volunteers and emergency care workers are all giving tirelessly to help those in need.

So many people from all over the world have come together and donated things from money to clothing, toys, bedding and even hobby materials to help victims that have survived get back on their feet. Many are sleeping where they can or in tents borrowed from the army.

If you would like to help out then make sure you are donating to a genuine charity as there have been a number of reports of disreputable people collecting donations for their own personal profits!

If you are able to donate please do. You could get together with a few friends and send your donations to one of the groups below. There are more, but these are the best known charities helping out at the moment that I know of. I will add more as I become aware of them.

The Australian Red Cross

The RSPCA is helping all animals affected.

The Salvation Army

St Vincent de Paul Society

New Looks for 2009 - Blog Template Changes

I have been wanting to make a few changes to my blog template for a while and finally sat myself down and did it!

I didn't do this all on my own I had some help from Amanda at Blogger Buster over here, and found the lovely patterned background here.

I read somewhere that with the tiled background images you can use them to create your own papers. This will be great if/when I can work out how! :)

Let me know what you think.