I don't think it is unusual for people to be attracted to the rows upon rows of paint chips at the home-improvement store.  So many colors!  So many intriguing names for the colors!  Maybe you have collected a few of these paint chips for redecorating purposes, but now, let's re-purpose those paint chips!

I found this tutorial, Punched Paint Chip Cards.   I loved the idea, so I immediately set out to make one for myself.  However, since my chips weren't quite the right size for a card, I decided to make a bookmark.  You can never have too many bookmarks, in my opinion.  It is just odd that I always wind up using recipe cards.

Bookmarks or card, these are fun to make for Mother's Day! The cards for saying how much you love your mom and the bookmarks as a gift.

Taneil Linschied enjoys crafting of all sorts.  You can visit her Defective Compositions.

Are you ready for a field trip, or two?  Well, sit back and relax as you click your way to some of the most important craft elements, and their websites.

Crayola ~ You just can't do without crayons, and who does it better than Crayola?  Drawing and coloring a craft adds just the right touch of personalization.  There is a little bit of history, quite a few games, and America's favorite colors can be found at Crayola.com.  Here is a video that shows, basically, how crayons are made. 

Erasers ~ Such a small little member of the writing or drawing entourage, but sometimes so vitally important.  Without erasers our work would be sloppy and full of mistakes, with them, wonderful things are possible!  Watch this fascinating video to see how erasers are made.

Taneil Linschied enjoys crafts of all kinds.  You can find her blogging at Defective Compositions.

For some reason, people, and children especially, like to take care of things that grow and change.  Plants are a wonderful way to do this, and Egg-Head's are super-duper fun! 

DIY Network has a good tutorial on growing grass in an egg.  This is such a fun idea, because you can decorate your egg in various ways, and each one will be different.  It will also be fun for children to cut their egg's "hair", when it gets long.  You can have short, spiky hair, or long, fine hair.  It is up to you! 

Taneil Linschied enjoys crafts of all kinds.  You can find her blogging at Defective Compositions.

As you wander around your homeschool conventions, conferences, and book fairs you may find yourself wishing for a tote bag that has a pocket in just the right place.  Or, maybe, you sometimes desire a shoulder strap, but other times require shorter handles.  The solution to this puzzling problem?  Make your own tote bag!

The first tutorial has been previously posted on the Porch, and you can find that post HERE.  I must say, that this tutorial was very easy, as my own mother, who can hardly sew at all, was able to create this tote bag. 

I also found this other tutorial, that I liked a little better, at Not So Fancy Nancy.  Now, back when my mother was quite pleased with the success of her first tote, she bought some fabric to make another one for me.  However, as time went by, and interest waned, it was forgotten.  When I thought of making a tote bag, that was the material I decided to use.  Here you can see my new bag, in all of its unique glory, as well as our Siamese cat, Minnie Mouse.

You will notice that it has both a shoulder strap, and short handles.  The bag is also deep and wide, which will be useful for library trips, or book fairs.  I made a few adjustments, by adding some interfacing to make it a little stronger, and making it 5 inches smaller  than the tutorial specifies.  The bag was easy to make, and I love the result!  So, now, off you all go to your sewing machines, to make one for yourself.

Taneil Linschied enjoys crafts of all kinds.  You can find her blogging at Defective Compositions.

Well, Easter is coming up, so here is a craft to help us remember what the Lord has done for us.  It is also quite pretty!

Stained Glass Cross

What you need:

Black Construction Paper

Bits of different colored tissue paper

Glue

Scissors

Colored Pencil ~ White

Instructions

1. Figure out a design, and then use the white pencil to draw it onto your construction paper.  This can be as elaborate, or as simple as you like.  Just remember that later you have to cut your design out.

2.  Cut out your design.

3. Start to glue your tissue down.  Try not to overlap in the cut out parts.  You have to mostly cut the tissue to shape.

4. If you like, you can cut two pieces of construction paper to look exactly alike, and glue them together.  This way, when you tape your work to the window, it looks good from inside and out. As you can see, I did put some tissue in the lower part of the cross, but when you look at the next picture, it will look like I didn't finish the project. The tissue paper was too light colored to see well in the photo with the lighting and angle from which I took the picture.

5. Tape it to a window, and enjoy!

Taneil Linschied enjoys crafts of all kinds.  You can find her blogging at Defective Compositions.

I like things to look like they belong to me.  Highly personalized is the way to go!  So, when I got myself a sketchbook a while back, a new cover had to be found.  This is what I did. 

What you need:

• Magazines ~  The subject of the magazine matters.  If you are decorating a nature notebook, then gardening magazines would be quite the thing.
• Scissors
• Clear-drying adhesive ~ I used puzzle glue, but I am sure that other kinds would work as well.
• Notebook or sketchbook 

Taking the magazines, find all of the pictures that strike your fancy.  Cut them out.  Then, lay all of your pieces out and design your cover.  Start glueing each piece down.  Once all of the separate pieces are glued, then slather another layer of adhesive over the top.  This is to protect your cover.  I have also heard that once the front is dry, you should put a layer of glue on the backside of the cover.  It is supposed to stop the cover from bowing at the edges.

This is a fun project that will turn out differently every time you do it.  Have fun!

Taneil Linschied enjoys crafts of all kinds.  You can find her blogging at Defective Compositions.

I found an entire Wikipedia page about Rain Sticks.  I even learned that rain sticks are generally believed to have originated in the country of Chile. 

Here are a couple of pictures of the decorations that I did on the outside of my rainstick.  It looks kind of like a Maypole.  Or, would that be a Marchpole?  I painted an aluminum foil tube, then glued a strip of fabric in a spiral around the tube, and then attemted to fray the edges.  You can definitely get creative with your decorating, so have fun!

Taneil Linschied enjoys crafts of all kinds.  You can find her blogging at Defective Compositions.