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Homeschooling Adventures at the Maxwell's
Sunday, May 17, 2009
CRAFT - Carton Wallet
I'm finally back with another craft. I'd stepped down as the craft writer for HSB and now I'll just show crafts whenever I get around to it. I enjoyed being the craft writer, but I was having a hard time keeping up with the weekly deadlines. This craft was from an issue of Family Fun magazine.
TURN A CARTON INTO A WALLET
SUPPLIES
1 (1/2 gallon) milk or juice carton with plastic cap, rinsed
Scissors
Paper towels
Template from Family Fun
Sharpie marker
Ruler
Butter knife
Cut open the carton so it lies flat, put aside the cap for now. Dry the inside with the paper towels.
Cut out the template and tape together. Tape the template onto the carton so that the top circle lines up with the spout.
Mark the outline of the template with the marker. Using firm pressure, trace the dotted lines with the butter knife. A ruler will help you mark the straight lines.
Remove the template and go over the scored lines again using the ruler and butter knife. These need to be done a couple of time in order to get it to fold easily.
Use scissors to cut out the shape from the carton. To make cutting out the circle easier, first make an X with a sharp knife.
Following the fold lines you marked, create an accordion fold on each side of the wallet.
Tightly squeeze the accordion folds.
Fold the top flap down, pushing the spout through the hole. Screw on the cap to keep the flap in place. You may need to trim the hole a little bigger to get it to fit easily onto the spout, but be careful not to make it to big or it will slip off over the cap.
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Friday, January 30, 2009
CRAFT CORNER - Floral Ruler Holder
My family goes through these canisters of sugar-free drink mixes rather quickly, and I always wondered what I could use them for instead of just tossing them. I finally thought of something and quickly went through my stash of crafting supplies and found some things to use with it.
SUPPLIES:
Canister from sugar-free drink mixes (such as Crystal Light)
Decorative paper (premade or make your own)
Adhesives (I used glue dots and a hot glue gun)
Scissors
Fake flowers and greenery
Take the wrapper off of the canister and throw it away. Measure around the canister and along the length and cut your paper to match, making the measurement a little larger for the circumfrence for a slight overlap. Apply glue dots to the two short sides of the paper and line up with edge and glue down then roll the paper around and press to glue the other side.
Pull all the leaves and flowers off the stem and seperate into different piles.
Do any trimming that needs done to make the flowers flush on the back.
Take the glue gun and adhere the greenery around the top of the canister and onto the paper.
Then fill in with the flowers still using the glue gun.
Fill with rulers and you are done. If it seems a little top heavy with the rulers in it, as the canister is very lightweight, fill the bottom of it with a handful of pennies before adding the rulers.
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Thursday, January 29, 2009
CRAFT CORNER - Make Your Own Iron-Ons
My hubby recently tore the front of a pair of his jeans, since the jeans were in otherwise good condition we decided to try to salvage them into work pants. My oldest son had ripped the rear end out of a pair of his jeans so I used them as the source of fabric for the patch to make the repair. It worked great and best of all there was no sewing involved, it was all very quick and easy. I still had loads of the denim fabric left so I decided to design some cute iron-on designs for my daughter. I scrounged around in her drawer for a plain shirt that she never wears. Here's the craft I came up for for this week along with the list of supplies.
SUPPLIES
Scrap fabric (I used denim, but you can use anything that can be ironed)
Shirt (something plain without a design)
Fusible webbing (I used Heat 'n Bond Brand Iron-On Adhesive ULTRAHOLD No-Sew)
Sharpie Marker
Fabric Marker
Iron
Start by cutting out a piece of fabric a little larger than you need. Cut out a piece of the fusible webbing to fit inside this area. Adhere the webbing to the reverse side of the fabric by ironing on the paper side of the webbing. Follow the directions that come with the webbing you purchase, but I used Wool setting on my iron for this. It only takes a few seconds for it to adhere, then let it cool.
On the paper, use the Sharpie marker to draw out whatever design you want. You can use stencils if you like. Remember that whatever design you draw it will be the reverse image you'll end up with. What this means is if you are writing letters or numbers, draw their mirror image on the paper. Once you have the designs you want, cut them out.
Peel the paper from the back and arrange onto the shirt in the order you want them to remain. Iron into place using the same setting as before.
You can leave it as is or embellish the designs with fabric markers. If you want to get real creative, you can use fabric paints, sew on ribbons, or even Bedazzle it. The options are endless and the only real expense you'll have is the cost of the fusible webbing, just recycle unworn shirts and clothes from the rag/donate box. This could even be a fun craft to use in vacation Bible school, day camp, and so on.
Although this shirt was found way at the bottom of my daughters drawer and I cannot recall ever seeing her wear it, she was quick to inform me that I "ruined" her favorite shirt and set out to design decals of her chosing for another shirt. Sigh. |
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Thursday, January 29, 2009
A Cute Valentine Friendship Poem
This is a nice poem to give to a friend for Valentine's Day. I found it in THE BOOK OF VIRTUES by William J. Bennett. No author is credited, if you know who wrote it please let me know so I can give them proper credit.
NEW FRIENDS AND OLD FRIENDS
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
New-made friendships, like new wine,
Age will mellow and refine.
Friendships that have stood the test --
Time and change -- are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray;
Friendship never knows decay.
For 'mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends, alas! may die;
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast --
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
If you'd like a chance to win the valentine this poem is on, check out how on the Company Blog from February 2nd through the 6th. Just remember that the craft and contest won't be posted until February 2nd, but you can go ahead and check out this weeks posts if you'd like, they are all worth the trip. |
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
CRAFT CORNER - Weave a Cloth Basket
With this craft you can make a colorful centerpiece for the family table or a catchall for a growing collection. With this easy fabric-wrapping technique, both kids and adults will enjoy making their own basket.
YOU WILL NEED:
1 1/4 yards of cotton fabric (one color or several to equal this amount) cut or torn into about 20 strips 1 inch wide
Scissors
6 yards of 1/2 inch cotton piping cord
yard stick
Begin by cutting or tearing the fabric into 22 strips 1/2 inch wide. I was lucky that I could skip this step as I'd found some of these rolls of fabric already cut to the right width. If you are using the ribbon like I did, you'll need to cut it into lengths of 1 1/4 yards each.
Start wrapping a fabric strip around the cord, beginning at the cord's tip and overlapping each layer as shown.
After wrapping 4 inches of the cord, fold the wrapped section in half and wind the fabric around it to start the base coil. Make sure you leave a small gap in the end of the loop as you'll need to feed fabric through it.
Continue wrapping and coiling the cord, stopping every 2 inches to secure the coil by looking the fabric strip once around the last fabric-covered ring. When you reach the end of a strip, start the next one using the same overlapping technique.
Once the coil is about 6 inches wide, start building the sides of the basket by positioning the cord on top of the previous ring. Continue to secure the the coil every 2 inches.
To finish the basket (mine was 4 1/2 inches high and 8 inches in diameter), cut the cord at an angle. Loop the fabric strip around the adjacent ring, covering the end of the cord and securing it to the basket. Trim off and tuck in any excess fabric.
Just by luck, mine fit my flower pot perfectly!! Didn't even plan it that way.
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Sunday, January 4, 2009
CRAFT CORNER - Party Mask
I've seen pictures of people going to New Year's Eve costume ball's and that's what made me think of this craft. Of course, if your child likes dress-up or costume play, then this would be great any time of the year.
SUPPLIES:
Water colors in your choice of colors
Paintbrush
Scissors
White glue
Pair of glasses
Pencil
White cardstock or poster board
Glitter Glue
Bendy straw
Tape
Lay a pair of glasses on the cardstock and draw around them.
Add a mask shape around the outlines.
Use the water colors to paint any pattern you like, here is the order I painted this one in:
   
Run a bead of glue around the outline of the mask and where you traced the glasses for the eyeholes.
Dump the glitter onto the mask and shake off the excess. Some of the glitter may stick to any of the watercolors that's still wet, but it should rub off easily once it dries.
Cut out the eyeholes and around the mask once it is totally dry.
Extend and bend the straw. Then, tape the short part to the back of the mask. Tape over the bumpy part to make it stronger.
This is just one design idea, you can have a lot of fun coming up with other clever masks. Animals like a cat with pointy ears or a dog with droopy ears are two ideas. Instead of stripes, perhaps dots. You get the idea. Have fun!! |
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Sunday, January 4, 2009
CRAFT CORNER - Personalized Pencil Toppers
I just love doing things with beads, and this one is fun and easy. This might be an inexpensive gift idea for a child to make for his or her siblings or for a parent to make for the children in their homeschool support group.
SUPPLIES:
pencil eraser heads
pencil
string
alphabet beads
other small beads
white craft glue
Begin by placing the eraser head on a pencil. Put a little white glue around the base of the eraser head but not on the pencil itself. 
Cut a 2 foot lentgth of string. Wrap string around the eraser head, smoothing out the glue as you go. Wrap enough to cover most of the bottom half of the eraser head. 
Let this dry. In the meantime, arrange your beads in the order you want them and feel free to add some decorative beads in with the letters.
Once you have all the beads on the string the way you want them, tie a small bead onto the end to help hold other other beads on.
You can also add other beads in addition to the letters. For example if your child is a sports fan, add beads in shape of a baseball, basketball, etc. You can also add sparkly, shimmery beads for a "be-dazzled" look. These eraser heads can be removed from this pencil and placed on another one. Have fun!
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Sunday, December 14, 2008
CRAFT CORNER - Sweater Tote Bag
If you have sweaters that you know you'll never wear again, make them into a usable tote bag. 
SUPPLIES: Sweater (if using wool, prewash in hot water and dry to shrink) Scissors Marker Yarn Yarn needle 
To begin, use the marker to lightly mark on the sweater where the handles will be located. 
Cut it out making sure the lines are cut off with the scraps. 
After cutting it out, turn it inside out and line up the bottom edge. Thread the needle with the yarn and knot the end. 
Stitch along the bottom edge from end to end and knot at the end. Turn it back right side out. 
Thread more yarn onto the needle and do a running stitch along the cut edges, folding over as you go.
There you go, you have a cute and usable tote bag, and it didn't take me but about an hour to finish it completely. And you don't have to worry about the scrap arms and yoke that you cut out from the sweater. If you have a young child, give the pieces to them and I'm sure they will come up with something. My daughter made herself an outfit by slipping the neckhole around her waist and the cuffs on her thighs making herself a little outfit. She actually wore this for about 2 hours!! 
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Sunday, December 7, 2008
CRAFT CORNER - Pierced Sun Catcher
These colorful, perforated window decorations can really brighten up a room when sunlight shows through all the pinholes. These would also make nice ornaments to hang on your Christmas tree. You could use them to decorate gift bags and boxes with, hang from the mantle and even a lamp shade.
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Colored paper or cardstock (if you only have white cardstock, just give it a quick paint with some watercolors, then let dry)
Stencil (optional)
Pencil (optional)
Corrugated cardboard
Pushpin
Thin string or thread
To begin, cut our a simple shape from the cardstock or use a stencil and pencil if you are more comfortable, then cut it out being careful not to leave any stencil marks showing.
Place the shape on top of the cardbard and pierce the paper with the pushpin, creating a pattern of straight lines and/or swirls.
Loop a piece of string or thread through one of the holes near the top edge of the sun catcher, and it's ready to hang.
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
CRAFT CORNER - Crazy Quilt Ornament
As I was decluttering in my bedroom today I came across a stack of paint samples. I started to toss them since we were no longer considering any of these colors but then decided to try to use them in some sort of craft instead. I thought up this craft and I think it looks pretty darn adorable!!
SUPPLIES:
Paint sample books or cards (from home improvement stores)
Card stock
Fine point black Sharpie marker
Stencil
Glue
Scissors
Hole punch
Yarn, string or ornament hanger
Take a stencil in whatever shape you prefer, I used a star but I think a heart would look great, too. Really, just a square will wind up looking just as nice. Use the marker to trace the stencil onto the card stock.
If you press hard enough the marker will just barely bleed through onto the back of the paper which will make it easier when time to cut it out. If it doesn't bleed through, you can just retrace the stencil on top of the paper scraps later.
Cut the paint samples into various sizes, try to keep the edges very straight. Lay the scraps onto the cardstock until you have a design you like. Start gluing the scraps being careful to not let any of the cardstock show through the cracks and make sure you completely cover the stencil lines.
Once you have it the way you like it, let the glue dry if necessary. If you can see the lines on the back of the cardstock, follow them to cut it out. If you can't see it, then simply retrace the stencil on top of the scraps and cut it out cutting inside the marker line so it doesn't show on the finished ornament.
Use the marker to make a variety of stitch marks everywhere the papers meet up. A crazy quilt uses a variety of decorative stitches, so have a lot of fun with this.
Draw a straight stitch all around the outside edge of the ornament, this really makes it look nice. Turn the ornament over and do these same stitch marks on the back. In the center, write your name or greeting and be sure to date it.
Punch a hole near the top edge of the ornament and tie on some yarn or string. Now it's ready to hang on your tree. |
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