Small Matchbox Template

For the past week now I've been on the hunt to find small matchboxes and I do mean hunt. You would think this would be an easy item to find, right? wrong. No store I visited carried small matchboxes. I began to wonder what a girl had to do to get some tiny matchboxes? Eat out at a bunch of fancy restaurants?! I could see the conversation now, "hey honey, can we go out to Boulevard every night for the next couple weeks? I need some small matchboxes". As much as my husband puts up with my crazy crafting ideas, this one wasn't going to work. So I was left with one option, make my own matchboxes.

Click on template twice to enlarge. Right click, copy, save and print on heavy card stock. Cut out templates. The template above will yield three matchboxes.

1. Solid lines designate where to fold. Dotted lines designate where to cut. I recommend using a scoring tool if possible. And in case you didn't know, some paper slicers for scrapbooking also have scoring blades. You can not imagine the joy I experienced when I first discovered this, seriously.

2. Tuck in flaps on each side and glue. Fold top flap over side flaps and glue. Repeat on opposite side of box.

3. This is what the first part of your box should look like when finished.

1. Fold on solid lines.

2. Glue in place. I recommend folding the box so the lines do not show on the outside.

Now just place the two pieces together and you've got a matchbox!

You might be wondering what the boxes are for. If all goes well, I'll be posting a tutorial later this week to answer that.

Koi Fish Jelly Roll Cake

Why didn't I see these a few weeks ago for Boy's Day?! They would have been the perfect thing to make for the holiday. Oh well, at least I'll be prepared for next year.

Want to make some of your own cute koi fish jelly roll cakes? Stop by Junko's site for the decorating how-to (recipe not included). The site is in Japanese so here's the translated version if you need it. Besides this koi fish cake, you'll find instructions for other jelly roll cakes. Happy Baking!

Update: Jelly Roll Recipe
I just noticed the translated version isn't showing all the pictures. Not sure why that's happening. Click on the untranslated version "Junko's site" for the step by step pictures.

Craft: Easy Paper Bows

If you've been following this site, you're probably guessing I got this idea from an earlier post about origami bows. However, this paper bow actually came about when I was making some paper pinwheels. It all started like this; I was debating whether to do a post on mini yo-yos or mini guitars. Trying to decide, I started staring at my bulletin board wishing there was a pinwheel on it to spin. This then lead to the making of some pinwheels which started turning in containers which then morphed into bows. So there you have it, if you ever wondered how my brain works now you know. Some may call this a short attention span but I like to kindly refer to it as the "creative process".

Supplies:
Square piece of card stock
One brad
Hole punch
Scissors

With right side of paper facing down cut paper where you see dotted lines. Cut off bottom section (refer to right picture).

Bend top flap down revealing right side of paper. Punch holes as marked by the five black dots. Fold bottom left corner up and add a brad. Click on images for a larger view.

Attach top left corner to the brad. Attach bottom right flap to the brad.


Attach top right flap to brad. Place brad through the center hole. Close brad in the back. Cut out bottom of bow (refer to dots). Done!

Once your bows are made you can adjust the shape by trimming the bows if you wish.

These cute little bows would make the perfect bunting for a party. Make them small for tiny embellishments or large to decorate with. There are lots of possibilities.

Bay Area Maker Faire

Glow Forest Cathedral created by O Yeah Toys

Last Saturday my family and I attended the Bay Area Maker Faire. The Maker Faire is a fair dedicated to DIY bringing creativity, technology and crafts all together in one place. There are shows, interactive exhibits, handmade booths, demos and so much more. It really is for all ages. One year just my mom and I went and we had a blast. This year I took my family and the kids were entertained the entire time. In fact, we didn't even get to do everything we wanted because there's just THAT much to experience.

If there's a Maker Faire in your area, I highly recommend checking it out. There's really nothing else like it. Below are some pictures of the highlights of our outing.

ArcAttack - show where Telsa Coils produce music and electrical arcs similar to lighting bolts. This is something that's better seen than explained. Check out one of the videos on the ArcAttack site to see it for yourself.

R2-D2, need I say more

Tap Tap Animation created by Purin Phanichphant

Eepybird performed their famous show of Coke and Mentos geysers. The kids loved it! It's a must see.

At the Maker Faire you'll find unique vehicles roaming the fair such as this vehicle above along with a robot giraffe, cupcake cars and much more.

Colossus is a 70 foot structure with three 10,000 pound rocks which fair goers could pull in circles. This was a big hit with kids and adults. My daughter was going to try it but had second thoughts when she got closer.

My sons personal favorite, LEGOS!

Being covered in a giant bubble was my daughters favorite activity.

I'm really glad I brought the kids this year. While I was walking around, I kept thinking, "I wish someone brought me here as a child". I always had grand ideas of making things besides crafts and I think this fair would have opened up more possibilities for me. I remember once when my friend's family got a computer (family computers were a new concept then). I wanted one too and went home and tried to make my own out of a play kitchen. As you can imagine, fake food doesn't cut it for computer parts. So, I can only hope the Maker Faire taught my children that they can create whatever they put their minds to. Ideas can be more than pretend.

Free Printable Matriuska Box

Jinjerup is offering up this cute Matriuska box to download for free until August. Wouldn't it be cute for a baby shower? I almost wish I was throwing a party just so I could use these for the favors.

*Update - the boxes are no longer available. There was a little confusion on the expiration date. However, Lynn has another freebie available, Happy Recycling Labels.

On a side note, sorry its been a little light on the craft projects around here. I hope you'll except these printables I've been sharing as a substitute. The past couple of weeks have been hectic with doctor and dentist appointments, baseball games, a sick child and a husband out of town. Thankfully my husband is back now and things should return to normal next week, I hope (fingers crossed).

Have a great weekend everyone!

French Cupcake Pop-up Card

I found this cute little birthday card via Sweet Tidings. You can download the card for free at Marie Claire Idees. Even if you're not interested in this card, you still might want to check out the site. It's filled with lots of crafty inspiration and one of my favorites.

Craft: Cross Stitch Stamp Card

Sometimes I like to take a traditional craft and change it up a bit. This time I decided to make a faux cross stitch card. For this card, I made a cross stitch stamp to create the bow image. The stamp is really easy to make which you'll find in the directions below. Now that I've made one card, I'm thinking it would be nice to make a basic running stitch stamp as well. So many ideas, so little time.

Supplies for Cross Stitch Stamp
x-acto knife
Pencil with an eraser
pencil

Draw an "X" on the top of the eraser. Cut out excess eraser around the "X" with an x-acto knife. Test stamp. If necessary, carve more of the eraser away. Done.

Supplies for Card
Cross stitch stamp
Card stock
Stamp pad
Cross stitch pattern - optional

For the card, I choose to use a pattern from one of my Japanese Craft Books. I used just the bow in the pattern above. You don't have to have a pattern. It's really up to you.

Stamp any pattern you wish on your card. I recommend sticking to one color to make the stamping process go quicker. It's also a good idea to test out the stamp to figure out how far you want the stitches apart, how much pressure to use, etc.

Done! Okay, lets see some cute cards now.

Odosketch: Fun Site for Sketching

Have you seen the site Odosketch? It's basically what you would guess from the name, a site where you can sketch images. What makes it a little different is that it creates an animation of all your strokes like the image above. The sketch board has a specific color pallet and brush selection which is really quite lovely. Below are a few pictures from the Odosketch gallery so you can see this tool's true capability.

Happy Day Sketching!

Puppet Play: Book Review & Giveaway

Today I'm participating in the virtual book tour for Puppet Play by Diana Schoenbrun. This is Diana's second book. She also authored Beasties, a book on how to make stuffed animal monsters. Besides writing books, Diana also teaches puppet making and does freelance illustrating. To find out more about Diana you can visit her website.

Puppet Play features 20 puppet projects to make out of recycled items such as mittens, towels, and socks. You'll also find a tutorial on how to make a theater for your puppets out of a cardboard box. For each project you'll find pictures, step by step instructions and patterns to make the puppets. The construction of the puppets is mainly created by hand sewing. The projects are good for all sewing levels. In fact, many of the projects could easily be made by a child with a little adult guidance.

What I like about the projects is that most of the supplies come from cast off items and are easily accessible. Diana also incorporates lots of common craft supplies such as buttons, washers, and googly eyes. She even has a project for those socks with holes, a wizard puppet!

I also like that the projects are quick and easy to make. I started making the "Ice Cream Man" from the book and in just one hour I was half way finished. Depending on your skill level you could probably make a couple puppets in one day.

Below are a few pictures of puppets from the book.

Two Blue Mice - They even have shoelace tales!

The Five Little Pigs

Feilong The Dragon

On to the giveaway. . .One lucky winner will receive the book Puppet Play. To enter, please share what kind of puppet you would like to make (doesn't have to be one from the book) . One entry per household. Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. The last day to enter the contest is Tuesday, May 17 2011. I'll announce the winner Wednesday, May 18 2011 on this post. If I do not hear back from the winner after two weeks, I will choose a new winner. Open to everyone.

Puppet Play Book Tour Schedule

May 3rd Oh My! Handmade
May 4th Craft Sanity
May 5th Sew Mama Sew
May 6th Little Birdie Secrets
May 7th This Mama Makes Stuff
May 8th Roots and Wings
May 9th Whip UP
May 10th Fiskateers
May 11th Zakkalife < You're Here
May 12th Prudent Baby
May 13th Make + Do
May 14th Craft Test Dummies
May 15th Cute Everything
May 16th Schmancy
May 17th Progressive Pioneer
May 18th Pink and Green Mama
May 19th Arrow Cabinets
May 20th The Happy Honeybee
May 21st Craft Gossip

Contest Closed

Congratulations to ***Sharon*** who is the winner of the giveaway!

In case you were wondering, during the the Blogger problem last week I lost a lot of comments on this post. However, I still had everyone's comments in my email files so no ones entry was lost. As always, thank you to everyone who entered :)

Craft: Tea Tin Pails

To recycle or keep for a craft, that is the question. Actually, THAT'S always the question for me. This time it was a tea tin. I thought to myself, "you have lots of tea tins, you haven't done much with them, do you really need this? Do you need this?!!!". And at that moment the idea of a tea tin pail popped into my head. Craft idea to the rescue! Tea tin saved.

Supplies:
Tea tin - easy to find at thrift stores
Strip of leather - I used an old belt
2 Brads
Small Hole punch
Hammer and one nail

Here's the tea tin I started with. It doesn't matter what shape or size it is.

Punch a hole large enough for a brad to fit through it on both top sides of the tin.

To make a hole in the leather, hammer a nail into the leather and then remove nail. Repeat on opposite site. Attach leather handle with brads.

Here's what the brad will look like from the inside.

Done!

Mother's Day Card Roundup

Looking for a last minute card to give mom for Mother's Day? Here's a few cute cards you can download for free.

Flower Print by Mufn Inc
Martryoshka Card by Creative Mamma
Movie Night Card by Martha Stewart
Poster Card by Proffittable Life
Silhouette Card by Babalisme
Teacup card by Zakka Life

Craft: Decorative Wax Paper for Packaging

One of my favorite crafts as a child was sandwiching leaves between wax paper to hang on the windows. It's one of those crafts that has been around forever and for good reason. It's easy, fun to make and only requires a few supplies. Well, this wax packaging paper "how-to" is made the same way. Simple directions below.

Supplies:
Paper - any color
Small hole punch - any shape
Wax paper

Punch out some shapes.

Place a tea towel down over ironing board. Place shapes between two pieces of wax paper. Don't place them too close or the wax paper will not seal well. Place another tea towel on top.

Iron on medium to high heat until wax paper seals together. This is what it will look like once it's done. Sometimes it comes out a little bumpy, that's okay.

Wrap up your gift. Done. The wax paper wrinkles up quick so do your best to wrap the item in one try.

We gave this little package of cookies along with this card to the kids' teachers for Teacher Appreciation Day.

I told my son about the card which reads "thanks a latte" with a coffee gift card included. Here's the conversation that followed:

Evan: Why is there a joke on the card?

Me: Because there's a coffee gift card with it. Get it?

Evan: Oh, I get it. How much is the gift card for?

Me: $5

Evan: Why so cheap?

You know, sometimes I appreciate the honesty that comes from my children. This time, not so much. And I should add, there were some homemade cookies that came with the gift card, sheesh! Please tell me it's the thought that counts. But, it did get me thinking about what other people give for Teacher Appreciation day. Do you give your teachers something? If so, what? Would love to hear your ideas and thoughts.

Washi Tape Gallery

Screen shot from mt Gallery

Anytime I post about Japanese masking tape (washi tape), one of the big questions I get is, "What can I make with it?". There are a lot of washi tape tutorials online but today I thought I would share about the mt Gallery . The mt Gallery can be found on the mt masking tape site. The mt gallery consists of masking tape projects submitted from fans. I've found the gallery to be a great source for inspiration and project ideas. If you've got a couple minutes to spare, check it out and tell me what you think.

Kid Craft: Mother's Day Pendants

Move over macaroni necklace, there's a new piece of jewelry to make for Mother's Day. Not that I have anything against the macaroni necklace, I've made a few in my day. But if you're looking for a more updated mother's day kid craft, this is it. Much like the macaroni necklace, this pendant is also made out of humble supplies. The metal base is actually the end of a crescent roll container!

I recommend this craft for children 5 and up. It definitely requires adult supervision and depending on the age, you may need to do some of the steps. That said, try to make it the child's project as much as possible. Let them pick out the images and accents for the pendant. Don't forget to have fun!

Supplies:
Aleene's Paper Glaze - you could also use Diamond Glaze or Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
Metal lids from crescent roll containers - pictured above
Jewelry Bails - easy to find at the craft store
Decorative paper - scrapbook paper, magazine clippings, clip art
Embellishments - rhinestones, beads, buttons, etc. . .
Cardboard - from a cereal box or other packaging
E6000 Glue
Decoupage glue
Paint brush
Scissors
Place metal lid on cardboard. Trace onto cardboard. Cut out. Glue inside metal lid.

Create and glue a mini collage on top of cardboard. Cover with a light coat of decoupage. Let dry.

Once dry, add a light coat of paper glaze on top. Spread out with tip of container or a paint brush. Remove any bubbles by poking them with a pin. Let dry overnight.

If you add too much paper glaze it will dry cloudy and not clear (pictured above). This was one of my prototypes for this project.

Glue jewelry bail on back of pendant with E6000 glue. Let dry overnight. This step should be done by an adult.

Eiffel Tower image from The Graphics Fairy

There are a lot of possibilities with these pendants. Make magnets, pins, cards and whatever else you can think of with them. They're not just for Mother's Day.