Kids Crafts: DIY Nature Charm Bracelets

School is out and you're probably looking for fun ideas to entertain the kiddos. Here's a cute and easy two-part project. First, load up for a family hike or a morning at the beach where the kids can scavenge and collect shells, acorns, and whatever else they find interesting.
What you'll need at home:
Felt, self-adhesive Velcro closures, sewing needle, yarn and glue

Cut a felt strip where it will fit around the child's wrist. Attach velcro closures to the ends. Use needle to thread on short yarn pieces and tie to secure. Let the kids go wild glueing on their favorite charms. They'll have their own personal piece of jewelry that jingles!

DIY Tribal Sandals

We found a craft project that's the perfect kickoff for summer. The ladies at Daily Candy put together this video to show you how to turn plain old regular brown sandals into a more festive summer staple using just some embroidery string and a dab of glue. Check it out!

http://www.dailycandy.com/atlanta/video/fashion/125819/DIY-Tribal-Print-Sandals-I-Spy-DIY-Jenni-Radosevich

DIY Spring Topiary

We found the cutest idea for an easy spring decoration on the DIY craft website www.twotwenty-one.com. This table top topiary is the perfect finishing touch for a seasonal refresh of the living room mantle or a dash of color for the brunch table. Best of all, its easy, inexpensive and very customizable to your own decor. Here's how to craft one - and for more ideas with great how-to photos, check out her site.

Tools you'll need:

• 6 inch foam ball
• small flower pot
• Silk flowers, she used peonies
• Floral foam
• Spanish Moss
• Bundle of branches, she used twisted willow branches
• Hot glue gun
• Tape measure
• Knife and hedge clippers

Start by clipping flowers, leaving short stems to stab into foam ball. Once you poke a few in to gage spacing, start stabbing and hot glueing flowers around the ball, filling it with blossoms.

In the flower pot, place floral foam in the bottom, using the knife to carve pieces to custom fit. Measure the branch and clip ends to achieve the desired height of your topiary - she used a 16 inch stem and ended up with a 27 inch finished product. Insert stem into foam.

To attach top to stem, pre-cut a 1" deep round hole on the bottom of the flower ball for the branch/stem. Dab hot glue at the end of the branch and stab the branches into the ball. Hold for a few seconds for glue to dry.

Finish it off by covering the foam base with a layer of spanish moss, and you've done it!

DIY Paper PomPoms

Hosting a baby shower? Bridal Shower? or simply a Summer Dinner Outside? Than this tutorial is for you! Paper PomPoms add the perfect amount of color and fun to any room. They are easy and inexpensive to make and it's a great excuse to have your girlfriends over and enjoy that bottle of chardonnay you've been saving. Once you start, your biggest problem will be deciding when to stop. Have fun! 

Supplies:

• Tissue paper (20 inches x 30 inches). Choose one to three colors, or similar shades of the same color, to keep things from looking like a circus.
• Scissors
• Monofilament
• Floral wire. White, if you can find it.

Here's how:

1. Stack four to eight the sheets of paper on top of one another, depending on you puffy you want them to be.
2. Now, fold the sheets into 1.5-inch accordion folds, all the way across.
3. Prune the ends of the tissue into round shapes, to give them a petal-like look.
4. Cut about a foot and a half length of floral wire.
5. Wrap the wire around the center of the folded tissue and secure it by twisting.
6. Now the fun part! Pull apart each layer, separating it from the center one piece at a time.
7. Measure the length you'd like to hang your pom pom from and cut a piece of monofilament accordingly.
8. Knot the monofilament to the floral wire and hang!
9. Repeat until you've created a pom pom fantasyland. The more, the merrier!

New Life for an Old Favorite

Sometimes its just impossible to part with an old go-to wardrobe favorite. Broken in, comfy and familiar, these pieces are the trusty standbys that wear well with everything and prove so hard to adequately replace. I had almost resigned myself to trashing my favorite slouchy boots - despite having the right height of heel to do some serious walking, the perfect rich mahogany color, and a style that hit the mark with both jeans and dresses. The amount of "love" we shared was obvious in the scuffs and worn soles. So, while contemplating the potential void created by their loss, I remembered reading an article ages ago about revamping worn leather goods by dying them. I immediately googled products and found one with good reviews and easy instructions...and it only cost about $2 on amazon.com. I followed the directions, it took about 20 minutes, and my boots turned out great! I highly recommend trying it the next time you're thinking of parting with a favorite.
NOTE from experience: I highly recommend wearing gloves and doing the dying outside, it IS messy.

Valentine's Month is Here!

The most romantic of all months has arrived and what a better way to get in Valentine’s mode than by adding some lovely hearts to your home. With the following project you will be able to create a wonderful Valentine’s Day display in literally no time. Perfect to decorate your living room for a get together with your girlfriends or to decorate the kid’s room. Enjoy!

Waxed Heart Display

*Begin with a 12-by-16-inch sheet of waxed paper.

*Fold it in half along its length; unfold.

*Deposit wax-crayon shavings (made with a handheld pencil sharpener) evenly but not thickly across one half of the paper.

*Fold the clean half of the paper over the shavings.

*Crimp the three open edges with a 1/2-inch fold to hold the shavings.

*Protect your ironing surface with kraft paper.

*Place the waxed paper on the kraft paper, and cover it with another sheet of kraft paper.

*Iron lightly on medium heat, checking after every few passes.

*Stop when all the shavings have melted; let cool.

*Next, trace and cut out hearts of various sizes.

*String each heart with a silk thread for hanging.

*Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Get Crafty and Organized

Interior designers are skilled in the art of wisely maximizing space at home and creating chic eclectic decor. For most of the rest of us, we end up merely managing the clutter and chaos. It takes effort to edit through the trinkets and keepsakes we collect over time, and sometimes it's not easy to figure out the best place to hide all the rest. We found an idea for a handy DIY project that only involves a few easy steps and the end result is a stylish, well-merchandised area with little extra hidden storage space.

All you'll need is a cute framed picture (preferably with a thicker wooden frame), 3/4" inch screws, a wooden box (like those they sell at Ikea), a drill, a measuring tape and a pencil.

Measure your frame and mark on the box where two screws will attach. Marks need to be at least one inch down and in from the top and sides of the box. Pre-drill starter holes on your marks. Flip frame over (face down), place box on top, screw through box and into the back of the frame.

And that's it...arrange and enjoy!

DIY Valentine's Day Cards

For those of us that are pressed for time or perhaps craft-challenged, making homemade valentines is a simple way to show you care, and its a great activity to entertain kiddos. As a matter of fact, this project brings back childhood memories of vigorously glueing and glittering pink and red construction paper greetings and proudly distributing them to classmates. Here's a quick how to:


1. No need for a special stamp when a regular old potato will do. Cut one in half, sketch your shape and carve away the excess.

2. Once you're happy with your shape, use a brush or dip the stamp in paint and you are ready to make prints.

3. Paper choice is important. Use watercolor paper rather than card stock, since it will be more absorbent and adds great texture. Stamp away! Here a zigzag graphic was stamped on a sheet of paper and then was cut into a heart shape and glued to the card. Then two solid hearts were stamped to the right.

4. Be creative and have fun with it - We're sure whatever you come up with will be cute and appreciated for the effort... it truly is the thought that counts!