How to: Tiny Delicate Tissue Flowers

This is what I've been up to lately, making these delicate tissue flowers. The flowers will be glued onto contorted willow branches as part of a table centerpiece (providing all goes well). I'm really happy with the results, light, delicate & airy. Perfect for summer decorations.

Supplies:
tissue paper
scissors
string - waxed dental floss works well

Layer four pieces of tissue paper together measuring at 2 1/4" by 3 1/2". Fold together using an accordion fold (refer to picture).

When you're finished with the accordion fold, it should look like the picture on the left. Pinch together and place on its side. It will now look like the picture on the right. Cut where yellow lines are shown, through all layers.

Your tissue flower should now look like the image on the left. With string, tie a loop around the center of the tissue where you made the slits. Now unfold tissue.

Pull the first layer up. Begin to peel all four layers apart (picture on right). Now peel all the layers from the other side. Done.

Kid Craft: Design Your own Stickers

Stickers and kids go hand in hand. So why not have kids design their own stickers, right? My daughter made the one above (it's a smiley face). This is an easy project that's good for all ages. Simple directions below.


Supplies:
White Self Adhesive Liner - normally used to line drawers. I purchased in the closet organizing section of Target for about $5. You might be able to find it a the dollar store as well.

Permanent Markers

Scissors




Cut a piece of the adhesive paper out. Draw on the paper with permanent markers (we found the color shows better with permanent markers).

*other ideas - use rubber stamps

Cut the image out with scissors.

*Another idea would be to use a circle punch, or any other shape hole punch.

Now just peel and stick.

*note: this a basic sticker just like any other sticker, it is not specifically made to stick on shirts. my daughter decided to stick it to her shirt and I let her

Craft Project: Easy Button Stickers

Here's another simple sticker to make, button stickers. And the best part is they only take about 20 seconds to make, try to beat that! Simple directions below.



Using double stick foam tape, peel off one end of the tape. Add a little glue to it (I like to use E6000 glue). Place it to the back of the button. Let Dry. Done. You'll notice I also applied this technique to some lace flower trim. Experiment and try other items like, googly eyes, little toys, checker pieces, etc.


To package for a gift, use old button cards and place your stickers on them. If you don't have access to any of these vintage cards, you might be interested in these vintage trim tags from doe-c-doe. Enjoy.

How to Make Mini Chopstick Stickers

As promised, here are the directions for the mini chopstick stickers. Enjoy.

Supplies:
Origami paper - roughly 1" by 3/4"
Light brown card stock or paper
Scissors
Glue
Double sided foam tape

Cut two thin strips out of the brown card stock. Round the top edges slightly.

Place the print side of the paper face down.

From the bottom fold the paper up just a little more than one third.

Fold the top of the paper down just like you were folding a tiny letter.

Unfold. Flip over. Cut a triangle out in the middle section (refer to picture).

Fold back up. Flip over.

Fold the left side in. Glue all back seams shut.

Glue the chopsticks in the envelope. Place a piece of foam tape to the back of the chopsticks. Done.

How to Make 3D Stickers

Onigiri (rice ball) stickers

Chopstick Sticker

Any time I'm at a craft store I can't help but look at and occasionally buy those 3D stickers. Call me crazy but something about miniature beach balls and flip flops makes me smile. It's an illness I tell you. And I think to myself I could make that (another illness). So after years of thinking about it, I decided to make some stickers.

Below I'm going to share how to make the onigiri (rice ball) stickers and Tuesday I'll share how to make the chopstick stickers. In fact, I'm dedicating this week to my love of stickers. I'll be posting a couple more ideas so stay tuned.

Supplies:
White felt
Black card stock
Double sided foam stickers - can be found at most craft stores in the scrapbooking aisle
White glue

1. Cut the felt into a rounded corner triangle about the size of a penny
2. Cut the black card stock into a long rectangle and fold in half. Glue over the white felt (refer to picture).
3. Stick the foam sticker to the back of the black card stock. Done.

And since we're kind of on the topic, I thought I would share this cute video about onigiri, found via La Fuji Mama.

Kid Craft: Can Stilts

I have a vivid memory of walking around on can stilts as a child. I must have been about 5 or 6. And if my memory serves me right, I was in a church basement with my best friend Chrissy Pool. I remember the cans were large, most likely Folgers cans. But then again, everything seems larger when you're a child. I can recall the clanking noise they made against the floor. And of course, I remember it being lots of fun.

So, I decided to make a set for my children. They were both eager to try out the can stilts. My youngest who is three needed a little help walking around. My 5 year old son was able to walk around on his own. In fact, even as I type he's walking around on them in his bedroom. Although, I recommend them for outdoor use.

Simple directions below

Supplies:
2 29 oz cans - In the pictures I used smaller cans but I recommend a larger can (like the large cans of pumpkin filling). A wider base makes it easier for kids to walk around. There's also less chance of them getting frustrated. If all you have is small can's they'll work too. It's just a little more challenging.

hammer
nail
strong string

With the nail, hammer two holes on opposite sides of the bottom of the cans. Thread the string trough the holes of the can. Tie knot inside the cans to secure. (Refer to pictures). Make sure the string is at a good length for the child to hold on to.

Have the child hold the string tight when they walk.

Recipe: Drop Cranberry Scones

My Mother in law introduced me to this recipe, cranberry scones. This is one of those recipes you keep in the regular rotation category. They're quick and easy to make. Perfect for breakfast and keep the family coming back for more. Try it for yourself and tell me what you think.


Drop Cranberry Scones

In a large bowl mix in this order.

3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tb Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt ( if dough is too dry I add a little extra yogurt or milk)
1/2 cup butter (cut into dough)
1-2 cups dried cranberries (just depends if you like a little or a lot)

Once all well mixed, drop 1/4 cup portions on a non greased baking sheet (space about 2" apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Yields approximately 24 scones.

*These scones do not have the same texture as traditional scones. They're more moist and doughy.

Note, scones usually do not look this round in shape.

Cheap Wall Art

When books begin to fall apart, get ripped, scribbled on by little hands, don't discard them quite yet. Instead, think of them as craft supplies or in this case art. I salvaged this "fish illustration" from a book where the binding had begun to come apart. Now the set of pictures hang in my dining room.

Illustrations from a child's book would make a wonderful art piece for a nursery. Just think of all the possibilities. One example of a beautifully illustrated book is Masquerade by Kit Williams.

Painting by Kit Williams in Masquerade

On a side note, if you've never heard of this book before, there's a lot more to it than just a story. There's a built in riddle that once lead to treasure. This book was one of my favorites as a child. If you want to read more about it, there's a good history of the book on wikipedia.

Where to get free books
Often libraries will get rid of old worn out books so ask your librarian.

Garage Sales - I find at the end of most garage sales they begin to give most of the stuff away. One item I always find are books.

Where to find cheap frames
Thrift stores often price paintings by the quality of the image and don't even consider the frame. Often you can get a good frame for $1 and up.

Craft Project: Newspaper Yo-Yo Card

Did you know you can make yo-yo's out of newspaper? While experimenting with different mediums, I discovered newspaper worked well. So, what do you do with a newspaper yo-yo? Make a newspaper yo-yo quilt? So far, I've been using them for card embellishments. Curious to hear what all of you would use them for.

Simple directions below on how to make a newspaper yo-yo card.

First you will need to make a newspaper yo-yo. To make a newspaper yo-yo, follow these fabric yo-yo directions. The only thing you'll want to do different is cut and sew two circles together instead of one. This will keep the thread from ripping the newspaper.

Supplies:
Newspaper yo-yo
white card stock 8 1/2" by 5 1/2"
khaki card stock 4" by 5"
navy ribbon
button
glue
double stick tape
brown ink pad

1. Fold white card stock in half. Color the edges brown with an ink pad.
2. Color the edges of the khaki card stock brown with an ink pad. With double stick tape, adhere the khaki paper to the white card stock.
3. Fold ribbon in half and glue to card (refer to picture).
4. Glue newspaper yo-yo over the ribbon.
5. Glue button to center of yo-yo. Done.

How to Make Felt Yo-Yo Flowers

You'll be surprised to see how easy these felt yo-yo flowers are to make. It took me maybe five minutes per felt flower, seriously. These little flowers are great to use for adorning handbags, hair clips or broaches. You could even make a pretty garland with them. Simple directions below.


To start you're going to make a basic yo- yo. The only thing you'll do different is not fold the fabric over when sewing around the circle. There's no need since the fabric will not fray. Also the center will end up to bulky if you fold the fabric over.

For these flowers I used a 5" diameter circle pattern. My stitches were about a centimeter. apart.

Felt Flower Yo-Yo #1

With a pair of fabric scissors, cut your yo-yo where you see the yellow lines. Sew a button in the center. Done.

Felt Flower Yo-Yo #2

With a pair of fabric scissors, cut your yo-yo where you see the yellow lines. Be careful not to cut where the stitching is. Sew a button in the center. Done.

By changing the width and depth of the cuts you can get a large variety of flower shapes. If you want to make garland just string them on ribbon, you don't have to do anything extra to them.