Kids love to do craft projects, there is no doubt about it. But I think children, especially younger children like to have their projects less structured. I totally think this is true because they can be more creative and have more fun that way.

Don't get me wrong, I come up with craft ideas for my grandson and we have a lot of fun with them, but he seems to have more fun creating his own craft ideas.

A few months back I went to our local good will store and bought a ton of craft supplies for very little money. I bought beads, pipe cleaners, glitter, stickers, feathers, yarn, lace, buttons, and just a ton of crafty type stuff. I put it all in a big box with some glue and glue sticks and thus my grandsons crafting box came into existence.

We have since added stickers, markers, cotton balls, sequins, and other stuff we find.

I bought a big tablet of thick paper and thus her "scrapbook" came into existence. He loves to get it out and create different pages of ideas and creations. He cuts pictures out of magazines and adds them to it as well.

Sometimes He just makes his own craft projects out of the materials instead of doing his "scrapbooking" and he has a great time. The only drawback to his scrapbooking is sometimes he uses a lot of glue and we have to wait for it to dry before he can turn the page and move on to his next crafting creation.

So don't always think structured when it comes to craft ideas for younger children. You and they will probably have a lot more fun if you let their imagination rule the project. After all it is their creation so there is no wrong or right to it. They are less likely to become frustrated because they can't make their creations look just like they are suppose to as well.

Crochet Items Can Make Great Gifts

Crochet afghan cover patterns are one of the popular crochet projects enjoyed by both beginners and advanced crocheters. A crocheted afghan is a great gift for family and friends. It can serve as a wrap or shawl as well as a blanket during chilly nights. The term afghan was derived from the textiles that are produced in Afghanistan since they are comparable to the shawls and wraps used in the region.

Crocheted afghan covers can be used in various ways. There are numerous crochet patterns for afghan blankets. An afghan blanket can be used as a comforter and as a bedspread. It is important to select the appropriate pattern that will fit the size of the intended project.

Afghans also make great gifts during birthdays and holidays as different motifs can be incorporated into the design. A Christmas afghan can help warm cold winter nights while personalized baby afghan blankets can become family heirlooms.

Complimentary Crochet Afghan Patterns

Free crochet afghan patterns are a great way to put together a beautiful afghan for gifts or for personal use. Crochet afghan patterns can be very simple or complex depending on the preference of the crocheter.

A crocheter may opt to select a simple crochet afghan pattern that makes use of numerous granny squares that are put together to form the entire blanket. On the other hand, complex crochet afghan patterns may consist of geometric shapes that feature advanced crochet stitches.

Various resources like craft books, crocheting magazines and crafting websites offer complimentary crochet afghan patterns. These patterns provide complete instructions starting from what type of yarn and hook should be used for the project. In most cases, a crochet pattern may also include helpful tips on the differences between yarns.

Crochet afghan patterns can also serve as an inspiration for a crocheter to create their own unique design. Keep in mind that patterns can be adapted to suit the purpose of the project. Crocheters should not restrict themselves strictly to the instructions of the pattern. It is important to exercise some personal judgment that will help enhance the appearance of the project.

Creating an Afghan from Crochet Patterns

Creating an afghan based on crochet patterns is easy. There are numerous crochet patterns for afghan blankets that can be great as gifts or decorations at home. Simple afghan covers can even have a central theme. For example, an afghan pattern may feature a floral design as well as the national flag.

Popular crochet patterns for afghan covers often feature a stained glass design or can be part of a set of patterns. The afghan crochet pattern can be part of a collection that may include patterns for a crocheted pillowcase or coffee table doily. A striped crochet pattern for an afghan cover is another appealing project that both beginners and advanced crocheters will enjoy.

Creating an afghan from crochet patterns can also be the start of a wonderful tradition that a mother can pass on to their daughters. A free crochet pattern for an afghan cover is not only a great way to start, but it is also fun. A mother and daughter can learn how to crochet at the same time by following a simple afghan crochet pattern. Once completed the finished product can be given away to family and friends.

Mothers and especially grandmothers will appreciate a handcrafted afghan cover created by a young girl from a crochet pattern. When selecting a pattern for the afghan be sure to choose a pattern and color scheme that would suit the personality of the intended party. The type of yarn to be used should also be considered, as it will directly affect the weight of the finished product.

Afghan blankets also make great donations for retirement and nursing homes. The elderly will certainly cherish the effort that went into creating the afghan. At the same time, they will appreciate the warmth of an afghan.

Afghans are an ideal project for anyone interested in learning how to crochet. Afghans are relatively easy to put together and are a great way to learn the basic crochet stitches. At the same time, afghan covers make excellent gifts and keepsakes that last a lifetime.

Knitting - A Beginners Guide

Knitting is a fun experience where you can be creative and practical at the same time. For example, you can create practical pieces like scarves, hats and sweaters. Use a fun fashion fabric and the piece becomes fabulous. Keep it for yourself or give it away as a gift that will be much appreciated. Knitting takes practice, so before starting any project always gather all the supplies you need and read the pattern over carefully. Here are some other things to keep in mind when you are first starting out.

Pattern Ratings

Patterns are rated by skill level. There are four different levels: beginner, easy, intermediate and advanced. Before buying a pattern, take note of the skill level. It's best to start with simple patterns and build up your skills from there. This way you won't become overwhelmed and stop knitting before really giving it a chance.

Beginner: These patterns are perfect for first time knitters. Beginner patterns use a limited number of basic stitches, require only minimal shaping and are easy to finish off.

Easy: These patterns build on the basic stitches and repetitive patterns learned in the beginner projects. Easy patterns then go on to introduce simple colour changes and simple ways to shape and finish projects.

Intermediate: Intermediate patterns use a variety of stitches and techniques, which may require using special needles like cable needles. They also build on colour changes in order to create patterns through the use of colour. More shaping and finishing methods are introduced.

Advanced: Advanced patterns are detailed and intricate. They may also be labelled as "Experienced" because you really do need a lot of experience if you are going to tackle these patterns. These patterns use advanced stitches and techniques, detailed shaping and intricate finishing methods.

Supplies Required

Basic knitting supplies include knitting needles and wool. Knitting needles come in a variety of sizes and are made from a variety of material, including wood, aluminum, steel and plastic. The size of the knitting needle will influence the finished size of your project. Wool also comes in a large variety of colours, textures and weight (how thick the wool is). Be sure to read the pattern you have chosen to see what kind of wool and weight it recommends to use. If you use a different wool or needle size then what is recommended, be sure to test the gauge before starting the pattern.

Gauge

Above I mentioned a thing called "gauge". The gauge is the number of stitches and rows that are knitted to produce an inch of finished product. The gauge is determined by the size of the needles and the weight or thickness of the wool used. If you are using a different size of needle or wool weight than the pattern you are following, then it is a must to knit a gauge swatch. Even if you are using the needle or weight recommended, it is still a good idea to knit a gauge swatch.

If the size of the swatch you knitted matches the size given in the pattern, then you are ready to do your pattern. If it doesn't and you knit the pattern anyways, then your finished project will be larger or smaller than it is suppose to be. If you want your finished project to be the size the pattern calls for, then change the wool weight or the size of the knitting needles and redo your gauge swatch. Once it matches, then go ahead and knit the pattern.

To create a gauge swatch, use the needles and yarn you plan to use for the project. Cast on more stitches than the pattern calls for in the gauge swatch. Knit at least four inches and then loosely bind off the stitches. Use a ruler and count the number of stitches going across one inch and the number of stitch going down one inch. If you have more stitches per inch than the gauge of the pattern calls for, you will need to change to larger needles. If you have fewer stitches per inch than the gauge of the pattern calls for, you will need to change to smaller needles

Wire Jewelry Tool Kit

As a beginner to wire jewelry making, you may be a little overwhelmed by the huge variety of tools available for jewelry makers. Many newbies to jewelry making -- and even some of us who've been doing this for awhile get a bit intimidated when it comes to the world of tools.

Costs often range from a few dollars to $70 a pair for pliers that seem exactly the same, and one book seems to say you need a thousand dollars worth of tools to get started, while another touts an entirely different set of tools entirely!

Of course, as a beginner, you want to get started as frugally as possible because this might not be the hobby for you at all once you get into it.

As a thrifty minded gal myself, it actually pains me to see people throw their money away. So if you want to get started with quality tools where it counts, but don't want to waste your hard-earned cash needlessly, here's the tool kit list for you.

Before we get into it, let's briefly talk about what you need tools for. As a wire worker, you need your tools to perform a small number of basic functions. You need shaping tools, cutting tools, flattening, texturing, and hardening tools, and finally you need tools for smoothing sharp bits and polishing and cleaning tarnish and oxidation.

Lisa's best beginner tool list (and a frugal minded one at that) for wire work jewelry:

Shaping tools: A wire worker uses her pliers more than any other type of tool, so spend your money here. You'll need each of these - a pair of flat-nose, chain-nose, round-nose.

Cutting tools: You'll never regret spending a little extra here as well. Give yourself a little love and get a good jeweler quality pair of side flush cutters.

Flattening, texturing, and hardening tools: As a beginner, you may not see the value in these tools yet, but trust me, you'll love what these can do for your jewelry quality and the worlds they open for design possibilities. And because these are so inexpensive, you'd have to be a fool not to get these.

A good, smooth steel plate (scavenged freebies are the best kind - this is a terrific substitute for a steel bench block)
Your basic hardware store hammer
A small nylon or rawhide mallet
Smoothing and Polishing:
A fine flat file (can find this at either the hardware store or a hobby store)
Some fine steel wool (for cleaning and polishing)
And that's it! Happy Shopping!

How To Make Diaper Cakes

I recently came upon a site that teaches you how to make diaper cakes.  I had never seen or even heard of diaper cakes before.

 Anyway I'm really excited to be able to share this with all my fellow crafters.  Below you will find some videos that I ran across that explains in great detail how to make a diaper cake of your own.

 So if you have a baby shower coming up in the near future you should definitely consider this as a unique and thoughtful gift idea.

Reborn Dolls - A Beginner's Guide

Reborn dolls - or reborn baby dolls, as they are also known - are currently a hot topic which causes controversy whenever it comes up in conversation or in the Press.

Opinion is divided into two camps. The first group comprises largely women who enjoy the pastime of either collecting or making reborn dolls. At the other end of the spectrum is an element of the general public -often men - who believe that the first group are crazy for wanting to create or cherish these incredibly realistic dolls!

So what exactly are reborn dolls and why do they polarize opinion?

In simple terms, a reborn doll is an extremely life-like vinyl doll which resembles a newborn baby. The heads, limbs and bodies are usually made of high quality vinyl, although some have soft cloth bodies.

The baby doll's hair is often rooted with mohair, while the limbs, hands and feet have wrinkles, veins, fingernails and toenails, applied using specialist paints and techniques.

How to Make Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses

Graham cracker gingerbread houses are fun to make and delicious to consume. No matter the time of year, these houses are a fun craft to make and a delicious dessert or snack for the whole family. Here's an easy recipe that you and your kids can start with to develop your own gingerbread house ideas.
Graham Cracker Gingerbread House Recipe
Supplies You Will Need:
1 milk carton (Size depends on desired size of gingerbread house)
Adhesive tape
A plate or baking sheet
A large bowl of royal icing
10 graham crackers
Sprinkles
Piping tips
Gallon-size freezer bag
Decorative icing
A bag of M&Ms
Think about how tall you want this house to be, and then measure the height on the milk carton. If the carton is larger than what you need, slice off extra cardboard at the bottom of the carton. Do not slice off the top of the carton: You will need this to make the gingerbread house roof.
Tape the top of the milk carton closed so that it is in a roof-shape and will not move when securing graham crackers. Stick the carton to a base, such as a plate or baking sheet, using adhesive tape. The royal icing is what you will use to attach the graham crackers to the milk carton. Thus, make sure to use it generously. Carefully attach the graham crackers, paying attention to the carton's dimensions. You may need to break the crackers to completely cover the carton. Be sure to attach crackers to the milk carton top.
Once the carton is completely covered, you can begin decorating it. Use the sprinkles and icing to make shingles on the roof, and attach the piping tips to the freezer bag so you can add piping to the walls. The M&Ms make great doorknobs and accents for the house. Play with the time of year: You can make a winter wonderland house, or you can make a haunted house for Halloween.

How To Make A Corsage

The Basic Corsage:

Fresh Flower Corsage Technique





Corsages are actually three boutonnieres you put together.
Use odd numbers for your flowers...you want one, three, or five flowers in your corsage.

Gather your flowers together and tape stem wrap around the stems. Floral tape or stem wrap comes in green and white. Now add your baby's breath, gypsophilia, tiny forget me nots or whatever filler you have chosen. This should be placed sparingly between the flowers. Now place your corsage leaves over the stems below the flowers. You can now wrap it all together with floral tape. Trim your stems if you need to. Add your ribbon bow. Wrap the stems in ribbon if you want. Put a corsage pin into the stems to use later.

You may need to use some wiring techniques to support your flowers heads :
To see more on wiring and taping techniques - See more information on working with fresh flowers
The Basic Corsage:

Silk Flower Corsage Technique:
Use wire cutters to shorten stems.

The wire stem of the flower and green can usually be utilized instead of rewiring and taping. If you need only one, two or three inches of stem, use stem wrap over it first and cut it to the desired length.

If you need the stem to be longer, lighter or more pliable, cut the stem below the flower to three or four inches and tape a floral wire over it.

Filler flowers and greens can be added to each flower with hot glue. Filler flowers can be babies breath, corsage rose leaves or any smaller flowers that will accent the main flower in the corsage.

Single cluster corsage: Add the filler and greens to the flower by wrapping the wire stems of each around the flower. Always add the filler first to surround the flower and the greens last to frame it in. Cut excess wire off after wrapping around twice. This keeps the cluster from getting too heavy

Adding clusters together: Make three to five single clusters. Wrap the stem of one around the next to form the corsage. A bow can be added at any point by wrapping its wire onto a cluster.

Materials needed:
Silk flowers
Green stem wrap tape
Floral wire
Corsage pins and corsage leaves
Ribbons

Wiring preserved rose heads - Pierce Method

This is where the wire substitutes as the stem. The wires are inserted into the base of the flower, folded over to form a hairpin, and acts as an artificial stem. This method is great to use for corsages and boutonnieres Fresh flower corsages need to be used right away. You have no water source so they will start to wilt. To keep them fresh overnight place ia plastic bag (not tightly) and place in your refrigerator. With gardenias I have placed a wet paper towel in a ball in the plastic bag with them and they stay fresh looking for days.

RE: Preserved roseheads: This method of wiring is great for attaching preserved roseheads. See more info on wiring and taping stems.

Push the floral wire through the bottom of the flower. Where the stem would normally be.

Pull the end of the wire through the bottom of the flower again. You are making a wire hair pin.

Twist both wires together to make a wire stem.

How to Make Beaded Jewelry

Beaded jewelry making is a good idea of making your own jewelry out of glass beads. It started almost 3,000 years ago but it was used for denoting wealth and social status that only high class society people are allowed to wear beaded jewelry. Nowadays this jewelry is used by many for fashion purposes. You can make beaded jewelry on your own even though you're not a jewelry designer. If you have the talent then enhance it by creating different kinds of beaded jewelry.

There are different kinds of glass beads that can be used for making necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings. The commonly used glass beads for jewelry making are crystal beads, seed beads, coral beads, plastic beads or even sterling silver and gold beads. You can even make beaded jewelry in different colors like red, blue, yellow, black, white, pink, violet and green. The most common beads used by jewelry designers are the Italian seed beads and Camilla glass beads because these beads has varieties of shapes and designs that can theme your jewelry in different purposes. In order to make amazing jeweleries you must choose the best glass beads.

There are techniques that you need to know such as stitching, stringing, knotting and wire wrapping. These techniques will make your jewelry definitely look extraordinary among the rest. There are also different of strings or thread used like silk, nylon, string, twine and plastics. The C-Lon and nylon are the preferred threads used in this craft because of their quality. Never ever use sewing threads or dental floss in stringing beads for they break easily and they are not appropriate for threading beads as well.

Beaded jewelry making will be successful if you will use the basic materials and follow the procedures carefully. Just create colorful and elegant jeweleries by mixing and matching different shapes and styles of beads. You can also use your extra beads at home to make them into necklaces, bracelets and anklets for accessories. Now that you know all these things about this beautiful craft, get those hands working and start making your own jewelry.

How to Bead a Strawberry

Materials:
15 - 3mm red bicone beads
18 - 4mm red bicone beads
1 - 3mm green bicone bead
1 - 6mm red round bead
Size 11 seed beads: red, green and transparent

1 pc - 70 cm fishing line (for strawberry body)
1 pc - 15 cm fishing line (for leaves)
1 pc - 1.5" head pin

Round nose pliers
Wire cutter


Visit http://mydailybead.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-bead-strawberry.html for full instruction and more.