Make it: Miniature Sponge Cake & Pie

Make it: Miniature Sponge Cake & Pie

Miniature Sponge Cake Materials:
flat, expandable sponges, yellow and pink
pen
quarter
scissors
Folkart - wicker white paint
craft glue
mini ribbons
mini beads
large button

1. Trace the bottom of a paint bottle onto flat sponges (2 on the yellow and 1 on the pink). Cut out circles and glue the three together with the "icing" (pink) layer in the middle .

2. Cut a small triangle from the circle (this will be a piece of cake). Wet the sponges, let expand and set aside to dry.

3. Paint the top and sides (not the inside) of the cake with white craft paint and let dry. Using glue, attach ribbon (frosting) around the outer edge and glue beads in a daisy pattern to the top of the cake.


Miniature Pie Materials:
bottle caps
tan felt
red seed beads (or color to match fruit of choice)
Quick Hold craft glue

1. Cut a thin strip of tan felt to fit the inside rim of the bottle cap and glue in place.


2. Put a small amount of glue on the inside bottom of the cap, fill cap with seed beads and cover with glue.

3. Cut very thin strips of tan felt; crisscross felt strips over the beads to form a woven crust.

Make it: Slumber Party Crafts: Gumball Slippers

Make it: Gumball Slippers
This is from the Teen Time episode of Creative Juice

This project is perfect for a girls slumber party. The pompons can be purchased in jumbo bags at craft and fabric stores. The poms can be hand sewn, hot glued or fabric glued to the slippers.

Materials:
open-toe slide, crisscross or flip-flop style slippers
large package of 1" craft pompons (bright colors)
sewing needle
thread, approximately the same color as the slippers


1. Sort the pompons, choosing your favorite colors.

2. Thread a needle and pull through from the back to the front of one slipper. Thread on a pompon and thread the needle back through to attach it to the slipper.

3. Repeat with different colored pompons until both slippers are covered. If the slipper is a crisscross style, do not apply pompons to areas where the slipper straps cross.

Make it: Barrette Holder

Make it: Owl Barrette Holder

Now you can keep rack of all your little ones barrettes and bows in one easy spot. Look for fun new wood shapes including, guitars, hearts and animals at Michaels. This project we designed for Plaid using Mod Podge.

	227 - FolkArt ® Acrylic Colors - Bright Green, 2 oz.
	CS11301 - Mod Podge ® Matte, 8 oz.

	Wood owl shape (or other shape of your choosing)
	Scrapbooking paper (3 sheets of coordinating designs)
	Ribbon (2 coordinating colors - 1.5 feet of 1 color and 3 feet of the other)
	Adhesive letters (to spell the name of your choice)
	Craft knife and cutting mat
	Hot glue gun

1. Using one of the sponge brushes, basecoat the wood owl shape with Bright Green. Allow to dry and apply a second coat. Allow to dry for 24 hours.

2. Use the craft knife and cutting mat to cut shapes of scrapbooking paper to cover areas of the owl.

3. Apply scrapbooking papers to the owl using a new sponge brush and the Mod Podge gloss. Apply Mod Podge directly to the bottom of the papers and adhere to the owl. Allow to dry for two hours and then coat the entire surface of the owl.

4. Affix the adhesive stickers to the owl with the name of your choice.

5. Cut the 3” of ribbon into two 1.5” strips. Hot glue the three strips of ribbon to the back of the owl. Allow project to dry completely before using.

Make it: Kids Holiday Wreath

Kids Can: Craft A Wreath

Kids will love to create this holiday wreath and it will look welcoming and beautiful on any door. This makes a great holiday gift for grandparents.

What You'll Need:
Green felt squares - 4 or 5 pieces
Cardboard scrap - 12"x12"
Scissors
Craft glue
Pom-poms
Pink felt square
Marker

Steps:

1 - Cut a 10 inch ring from a piece of heavy duty cardboard.

2 - Make a template of your kids hand with a scrap piece of paper. Using the template as a guide, cut hand shapes from the green felt. You will need about 10 hands.

3 - Using craft glue attach the hands around the ring, overlap as needed. Glue pom-poms as ornaments and add a bow cut from pink felt.

4 - Smile your finished! Hang on the door.

You could also create a holiday tree by using a large triangle shape. Glue hands to be the tree branches and pom-poms for ornaments.

Make it: Kids Bath Time Puppets

Quick Baby Gift: Bath Time Puppets

Bathtime just turned into an imaginative puppet show! Ordinary hand towels and felt become fun bath puppets in the shape of frogs, piglets, monsters or anything else a child can imagine.

Materials:
1 hand towel
embroidery floss
felt scraps
embroidery needle
scissors
sewing machine
permanent marker

Steps:

1. Choose a hand towel and felt in colors appropriate for each puppet.

2. Fold the towel in half end to end. Place a hand on the folded towel with your arm pointed toward the towel ends and a finger pointed toward the fold. Spread your pinky and thumb as far as possible and, with a wide stroke (approximately 1-1/2" from your hand), trace around your hand (like a hand turkey) with the marker.

3. Cut through both layers of the towel on the traced line and pin for sewing. Sew around the puppet, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance; leave the bottom part of the puppet open for your hand.

4. Clip the curves of the seam allowance to increase flexibility and turn right side out.

5. Adding features is the place to get creative. Cut circles for eyes, funny noses, floppy ears, etc. Hand-stitch with embroidery floss and add extra details with a simple satin stitch.

Make it: Kids Doll Bed - recycled

Recycled Doll Bed - perfect for American Girl Dolls

In this recycled project, a breakfast tray is flipped upside down and transformed into a dolly bed. The linens and pillows are made from fleece and flannel and are no sew - just a drop or two of fabric glue is all we used. From the It's a Dolls World episode of Creative Juice.

Materials:
breakfast tray with collapsible legs
wood glue
wood screws
4 wood balls or blocks (bed legs)
2" thick foam
1/2 yd. flannel sheeting
1/2 yd. polar fleece
2 empty 6-oz. gelatin boxes
Fabric-Tac glue
measuring tape
pinking/scalloping shears
craft paint (optional)

Steps:


1. To make the head and foot board of the bed, flip the tray over and, using wood glue and screws, secure the legs in a locked open position. Let glue dry.



2. Using wood glue and a screw, add legs to the bed at the four corners and let dry. The bed legs are an opportunity to use your creativity: wooden blocks, drawer pulls, wood balls, etc., can be used -- just look for objects that match in size.

4. Using a kitchen knife, cut foam/mattress to fit base of tray.

5. Cut flannel 10" larger, length and width, than foam mattress measurements. Wrap foam, gift style, with flannel sheet and secure on the bottom with Fabri-Tac glue.

6. For the bedspread, cut fleece, adding 6" to width and 4" to length of mattress measurements. Trim edges with scallop shears.

7. For pillows, wrap two large, empty gelatin boxes with fun fur, leaving 1" on each end. Using Fabri-Tac glue, glue fur to boxes, tuck ends into box sides and secure with drops of glue. Fill boxes with crumpled scrap paper for additional strength.

make it: kids Tea Table

Ikea Hack: painted kids tea table

This table is surprisingly quick to paint, when you use a few tips and tricks from us. We used a pencil eraser to make quick polka dots, added a floating medium to our paint to create smooth and simple flowers and used blue painter's tape to mark off our edges.

The table and chairs are from Ikea: Gulliver Table & Chairs

Materials:

unfinished wood children’s table and chairs
1 qt. semigloss paint (base color)
1 qt. primer
foam brush
paintbrush
drop cloths
sandpaper
folkart acrylic paint: purple (polka dots), dark pink (flowers), light pink (flowers), light yellow (flower center), spring green (leaves)
folkart floating medium
medium flat-head paintbrush
medium angle-head paintbrush
small detail paintbrushes
pencil with eraser
2 cans spray clear sealer

Steps:

1. If needed, lightly sand table and chairs; wipe down wood with a damp rag after sanding to remove any dust. Prime table and chairs, and let dry before painting.

2. Using low-tack tape, tape off design or pattern to be painted. Trim the corners so they make a sharp point. Paint areas to be painted and let dry, per directions, before removing tape from furniture.


Note: When applying decorative painting techniques for the first time, practicing first on scrap paper is advised. Once you're comfortable with the technique, begin painting the furniture. 1. To make flowers, working with an angled paintbrush, lightly dip brush into floating medium (the medium will soften the colors and help blend them together); dab off extra (this helps to embed medium into brush bristles). Next, dip the top three-quarters of the brush into the lighter pink paint and the remaining bristles into the darker pink paint.

2. To paint the petals, first make an upside-down teardrop with the brush, then fill in the center.

3. To add leaves. using a flathead brush (we used a 5/8"), dip brush into floating medium. Repeat the technique used for the petals with the colors green and just a bit of purple.

4. To paint leaves, go between the petals with a loose S stroke. Make the center of the flower with a finger dipped in orange paint. Once this is dry, remove the tape.

5. To make polka dots, dip the eraser end of the pencil into paint and dot paint on the pattern.

6. For fringe, using a small brush, dip brush into the paint of choice and make squiggly lines through the placemat.

7. Let paint dry and, working in a well-ventilated area, apply a coat of clear spray sealer to the chairs and table.

Stocking Stuffer: Felted Critters

Colorful balls and clumps of rolled wool roving are the perfect ingredient for creating playful little monsters. Great stocking stuffer or mini gift!

Materials:

felting wool roving in different colors
hot water
dish soap (hypoallergenic is preferred)
2 large glass bowls
large needle or safety pin
embroidery floss
Buttons for eyes or base

Steps:

1. Fill a bowl with 6 c. hot water and one Tbsp. dish soap.

2. Working over a towel, form a wad of wool into a ball twice the size the finished ball will be.

3. Dip the wad into the hot soapy water, squeeze out some of the excess water and begin rolling the ball in your hands. Don’t use too much pressure at this point; keep rolling for approximately 4-5 minutes, dipping back into the soapy water if the ball cools or dries out.

You can also roll the ball on a towel with the palm of your hand. If the ball becomes too wet and/or soapy, roll it on a towel to remove excess moisture. If the ball needs to be smaller, apply more pressure to lock the fibers closer together.

4. When the ball is the desired size, rinse it in the bowl of water, squeezing out the soap. Continue felting until there are enough balls to create your critter.

5. To create a teddy bear style critter: Poke a toothpick or sharp needle through each ball before they harden in the spots where you will join the balls to form a bear. Allow balls to dry overnight (a cookie cooling rack works well for drying). Using embroidery floss sew the balls together to form the bear and add eyes and a mouth.

6. To create a monster style critter: form the roving into a blob. Allow the blob to dry overnight. Glue a button to the bottom to form a base. Sew facial features with embroidery floss and buttons.

Thanksgiving Day Activities & Ideas

The meal is devoured, the dishes are stacked mile high and you have a house filled with family - what to do? Here are a few fun ideas and activities that everyone can do together.

On Thanksgiving Day
Take a family walk.
Have a family photo swap.
Compete in a scavenger hunt.
Watch football.
Play games - Apples to Apples is really fun!
Have a family dance off.
Have the kids make a youtube video of your family.
Have a familiy Wii or Guitar Hero competition.
Play flag football.

The Day After Thanksgiving
Tour an art or history museum.
Go on a fall leaf hunt.
Go to the movies.
Ice skate.
Have a family bowling game.
Make mini scrapbooks.
Make salt dough ornaments with the kids.
Have a wrapping paper swap or craft session.
Have a family member who knits give lessons.
And, of course....SHOP!

Salt Dough Ornaments
1 cup of fine salt
1 cup of flour (add a tiny more for softer dough)
/2 cup of water (may add more)
FolkArt acrylic paint
Paintbrushes
Paper clips
Clear varnish

Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine the salt and the flour. Make a well in the salt/flour mixture and add the water. Knead until smooth and shape into a ball. When not in use, wrap in plastic or store in an airtight container.

Ornaments: Form the dough into holiday shapes. (cookies cutters are great tools for this craft) Press a paper clip into the back of the ornament to create a hanger. bake at 150-200 until firm (around 2 hours) Cool. Paint with FolkArt paints and seal with a clear varnish.

Hungry For Halloween?

Steve and I thrilled to be partnered up with Plaid Enterprises. We have been huge fans of Mod Podge since we can remember! We have developed some Halloween ideas for Plaid that are easy and fun to make. Check out the pics below and follow the links to plaid for the project instructions. For more Halloween ideas tune into our Halloween special, Witch Crafts on DIY Network this October.

Halloween Shadow Boxes


Glow in the Dark Mummy Hand
(made with a kitchen rubber glove)


Recycled Paper Bag Bowl


Punky Pumpkin Patch

Frankie Baby Art


Halloween Party Banner


Mummy CD Case


Kids Paper Bag Pumpkin