Pencil Flowers in a Pot

This sweet and simple gift is both fun and useful for the teachers in your child’s life. Premade flower stickers can be substituted for flowers cut from cardstock with a punch or small handmade flowers.

Things you’ll need:
12 flower stickers – about 1 inch in diameter
12 unsharpened pencils
paper grass or shredded tissue paper
4 inch flower pot

Things to do:
1. Fill the bottom of your pot with a fist full of paper grass.
2. Poke the pencils in, evenly distributing them around the pot to look like flower stems.

3. Fill in with more paper grass to help steady the “stems”.
4. Add flowers to the top of each eraser. If needed, secure with a dot of glue.

Cupcake Push Pops

These new Cupcake Push-pops are a fun, less-mess way to eat cupcakes. These push-pops allow you to layer cupcakes and icing for a pretty treat that everyone will enjoy.

Things you’ll need:
Cupcake Push-pops
Mini Cupcake pan
Icing
Icing Pen

Things to do:
1. First remove the mess free top from the cupcake push-pops by holding onto the main cylindrical shape and pulling up on the top dome piece.
2. Make sure the push-pop handle is pulled all the way down before inserting your first mini cupcake. Gently push the mini cupcake all the way to the bottom of your push-pop container.
3. Use your icing pen to add a layer of icing on top of your first mini cupcake.
4. Gently push your second mini cupcake into the push-pop tube. Be careful not to squish your first layer of icing too much.
5. Use your icing pen to paint your second layer of icing on top of the second mini cupcake layer. Finish this layer with a pretty swirled design.
6. To store your cupcake push-pops and keep them mess free, place the dome-shaped toppers on the cupcakes and store them in the fridge or arrange them in a bouquet until you are ready to serve them. *Be careful not to put pressure on the handles while arranging your cupcake push-pops because the cupcake and icing design will be smooshed.
7. To eat the cupcake push-pops, simply remove the dome-shaped top, and push the handle up until your cupcake emerges. Enjoy your cupcake push-pop bite-by-bite without getting your hands messy.

DIY Crocheted Doily Gift Box

Turn a simple and plain gift box into something elegant nothing much more than some Mod Podge and a pretty little doily. The trick to getting a clean edge here is to use very sharp scissors, holding the blade at a slight inward leaning angle when trimming the excess away.

Things you’ll need:
Crocheted doily
Paper mache box
Mod Podge
Scissors
Foam brush

Things to do:
1. Coat the entire top of the box with a generous coat of Mod Podge.

2. Press a doily onto the top, arranging it so the edge crosses across the top of the box.

3. Using the tip of the brush, sponge on additional Mod Podge to coat the doily.
4. Allow the glue to dry completely. Once it’s dry, neatly trim the excess fabric off the box.

Flower Hands Tote

Perfect for mom or grandma, this flower tote bag is both handy and a precious reminder of the little hands in your life.

Things you’ll need:
Cotton Tote
Fabric Paint
Foam brush
Iron
Waxed paper or freezer paper

Things to do:
1. Lay out your bag on a covered work surface. Slip a piece of wax or freezer paper into the bag to keep the paint from seeping through.

2. Coat your little ones hand with a thick coat of paint and press onto the bag. Turn the bag slightly and repeat, creating the petals of a flower. Continue to work around in a circle until you have the flower.


3. With the paintbrush, add the center of the flower and the stem.

4. Allow the paint to dry and then heat set according to the directions on the bottle.

DIY Paper Baskets

These little paper baskets have endless uses and can be made in as many sizes as you have cardstock. Fill them with treats for a party or display summer fruit at a dinner, or just let your kids use them in imaginary play! Replace the ribbon with decorative tape or simply use a brightly colored rubber band. The sky is the limit!

Things you’ll need:
Cardstock
Plate or bowl to use as a template
Pencil
Paper clips
Ruler
Scissors
Pinking shears
Ribbon
Stapler

Things to do:
1. Trace circles onto your cardstock using your plate or bowl. The larger the circle, the larger the basket.

2. Using your decorative scissors cut out the circle.
3. With the ruler, draw faint lines that divide the plate into three rows of three, with a full square in the very center (you can use a square piece of paper as a guide if you want).

4. Cut in from the outside edge to the corner of the square at each corner (only cut one line on each corner)

5. Pull the pointy end of each cut to the inside until the top edges meet to form the sides of the basket. Use paper clips to hold the sides in place while you continue with the other cuts.

6. Staple each side together, trying to keep the staples along the same line (this is where your ribbon will lie) If using decorative tape or rubber bands, skip this step and simply wrap around the basket to secure.

7. Tie a ribbon around the basket so that it covers the staples. Finish with a bow.

Felt Wine Bag

As the weather warms up and summer draws nearer, picnics and barbecues will become a part of our weeks again (yay!) and so will the ever-present dilemma of the hostess gift. Wine or prettily bottled lemonade is always a great choice and this year bring your bottle in style by whipping up a few of these pretty (and simple!) gift bags!

Things you’ll need:
Felt
Sewing machine and notions
Contrasting colored thread
Pinking shears
Scissors
Bottle of wine

Things to do:
1. Fold the felt in half and lay your bottle down so that the bottom is lined up with the fold.

2. Adding about an inch to each side and the top, cut a rectangle slightly bigger than your bottle.
3. Set your bottle, end down, ½ inch from the cut top of the felt, center it and trace the bottom onto the felt.

4. Using your pinking shears cut a slit in the center of the circle and then cut out the rest of the circle neatly.

5. Starting 1 inch up from the fold and using the contrasting thread and a decorative stitch, sew around the edge of the folded rectangle about 1/3 of an inch in. Stop 1 inch from the bottom fold on the other side.

6. Slip the bottle through the hole and slide it carefully down to sit at the bottom of the bag so that the neck is sticking out of the hole. Add a pretty tag and you are ready to head out!

DIY Doily Coasters

These pretty coasters have a nice, elegant look without being too fussy, or too difficult to make. You can change the look dramatically by using a bright felt for the backing for more contrast or keep things subtle with a dark color as we did here.

Things you’ll need:
Small crocheted doilies — Ecru or white
Fabric Stiffener and Draping Liquid
Felt squares – colors of your choice
Clear coat spray
Fabric glue
Plastic wrap
Scissors

Things to do:
1. Spread the plastic wrap out on a flat surface.
2. Soak the doilies well with the fabric stiffener.
3. Spread them out on the plastic wrap and flatten any bumps. Allow them to dry completely.
4. Once they are dry, lightly spray the doilies with clear coat to protect them from moisture.
5. Glue the doily to the felt and allow the glue to dry. Trim away the edges of the felt so that the edge lines up with the edge of the doily.

Craft Travel: Jewelry Making in France

Let beautiful surroundings inspire you to make beautiful things at La Videlerie’s in Aveyron, southwest France. You can choose from workshops teaching beginning skills in silversmithing, chainmail weaving, glass fusing or wire work.

The trip fee includes transportation from the nearest airport (Rodez, France), private accommodations in a restored farmhouse in the French countryside, all breakfasts and lunches, instruction and all class materials. The location in Aveyron, France offers beautiful scenery while being well off the beaten tourist path. Students can enjoy privacy and serenity of the rural location, or use the time between classes to visit the adjacent the cathedral town of Conques or the nearby medieval town of La Couvetoirade, once a stronghold of the Knights Templar order. Fishing is also available if you want to vary your activities, or if you are traveling with a spouse or friend who is not a crafting enthusiast.

Classes range from short 2-3 day breaks to one-week workshops. Students can book one of the regularly scheduled classes, or arrange their own private or semi-private class to cater to their scheduling needs and jewelry-making interests. Class size is kept very small (usually no more than 4 people) to give students the opportunity to experience personalized instruction.

La Vidalerie is owned by expert jewelry maker Karen Sarll whose designs and kits have been featured in the UK-based Making Jewellery magazine and Bead magazine. Sarll moved to France from Yorkshire five years ago. She can arrange trips to local spas or historical spots depending on student interests.

Doily Relief Gift Box

Here’s a quick, simple way to turn a plain gift box into something a little more interesting. Using layered paint and a fabric doily; create the look of a doily for a pretty, interesting look.

Things you’ll need:
Paper mache box
White and contrasting color spray paint
Doily
Newsprint

Things to do:
1. In a well-ventilated area, lay the newsprint down on your work surface and place your box lid on top.

2. Spray lightly with two coats of white paint, allowing each to dry before adding the next.
3. Once the paint is day the doily, centered, on the lid.
4. Spray lightly with the contrasting paint color, being careful not to shift the doily as you spray.
5. Allow the paint to dry before peeling the doily off the box to reveal the relief print.

Upcycle: DIY Multi-Wick Candle

While simple jars make excellent vessels for candle making, unusual objects such as antique tins, jello molds and trifle bowls make for beautiful container candles but they are often too wide for a single wick. Candle wicks need to be well centered in order for them to burn evenly, so the answer to larger containers is evenly spaced, multiple wicks.

Things you need:
Container of your choice (heat proof)
Wicks – enough to space them evenly around the container.
Candle wax
Double Boiler
Candle dye and oil scent if desired
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Skewers

Things to do:
1. Break the wax up into chunks and melt over medium heat in the double boiler. Once the wax has liquefied, add dye to achieve the color of your choice.

2. Set the oven to its lowest setting and pre-warm your container for a few minutes.
3. Determine the spacing of the wicks. You want them to be evenly spaced from each other and from the sides of the candles. Try out a few combinations before adhering to the bottom with a few drops of hot glue.

4. Add scent to the wax if desired and pour most of the wax into the container, reserving about 10% for the second pour.

5. Prop the wicks into place using the skewers until the wax has completely hardened.
6. Once the candle is cool, reheat the reserved wax to a slightly warmer temperature and pour into the candle to fill the hole that formed when the wax cooled.
7. Allow the second pour to harden completely before trimming the wicks to 1/4 inch.

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