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    Happy Fridays: DIY Craft Projects!

    August 26, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    I sometimes wish I had a million dollars, could quit my job, and just craft all day long. We can dream can’t we :) In all seriousness, I am a sucker for DIY craft projects. Not only are they usually a great deal cheaper they are also more special because it is something you made! I find that Pinterest is a great resource for all things crafty. If you are looking to do any sort of side project or makeover in your house, yard, work, etc, definitely check there first! So many ideas with a lot of materials you probably already have and may have been thinking of throwing away. DIY projects can also be a great way to make something with the kids, which I have highlighted in the example below. But first, some pretty images of my fave projects from this week!

    Clockwise from top left: Flower vases out of old light bulbs, Pinwheels from colorful paper, Chalk painted mason jars for spices, and cotton and tulle fabric flowers!

    Project – Patterned fabric from dye that exposes in the sun

    I had never heard of such a thing before I saw this on the How About Orange blog earlier today! This is special dye that you can paint onto fabric and then expose in the sun to make it as dark as you want or as light as you want. But the best part, only the areas exposed to the sun will get darker, so you can create patterns by laying objects on top of it during exposure. In the above example they chose to use safety pins, but you could cut out shapes from paper, use lace, string – just about anything you can think of! This is a great project to do with kids. Ask them to pick objects they like and then use the patterned fabric to make pillows for their room, or a new little nap sack, even a T-shirt if you are ambitious!

    The dye works on several other objects as well. Check out a few other ways to use it below:

    Happy crafting…and Happy Friday!!

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays: Valentines Day Crafts!

    February 11, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    So for this Happy Friday post I wanted to do something a little different. Every time I feature one of these really great craft projects I am dieing to try them myself  :) Valentines Day gave me the perfect opportunity! Valentines Day can be a tricky holiday because traditionally it can be all about the chocolate and the flowers, but your kids aren’t really interested in either of those.  I went through photos of several projects and picked 2 that would be perfect for a whole family, or just the kids! I also picked projects that were cheap and quick…both important things for busy working parents. Each project is also a great way to recycle a certain art supply that usually gets thrown away: crayons! How many times have you tossed away the little left over crayon nubs at the bottom of the box that are too small to color with? Or maybe a crayon breaks and can no longer be used? Now you have a solution! No excuses this weekend…it’s time to get crafting!

    PROJECT #1 CRAYON HEARTS

    Supplies: metal heart shaped baking pan, old crayons, sharp knife or scissors

    1) This first project is a great way to give your child the freedom to create whatever crayon color they want! First, gather your supplies. You will need to gather bits of old crayons together and perhaps brand new ones to mix and match. You will need enough crayons to fill each mold of the heart shaped tin. I found a tin at Michael’s Crafts on sale for $4! It had twelve heart shaped molds that were about 1.5″ x 1.5″. Perfect size!

    2) Once you have your supplies, you will need to start chopping up the larger crayon bits. I chopped mine up very fine because it helps them to heat up more evenly. However, if you want a more multicolored crayon I suggest mixing larger pieces together.

    2) Once chopped up, set in piles on a table along with the tin. Let your kids decide which colors they want to mix together. I mixed mostly like colors for mine, adding a little white to each. The white helps create a gradient effect so that the color of the crayon changes as you color.

    4) Have your oven heated to about 200 degrees. Place the tin inside for about 10-15 minutes. I have a gas oven so the crayons melted very quickly for me. If you leave them in longer the colored waxes tend to run together into a muddier solid color which isn’t very fun :( Remove the baking tin and let it cool for about 20 minutes to be safe. The crayons will dry and re-harden much faster, but the tin will still be very hot.

    5) Time to enjoy! Let your kids go to town coloring all kinds of new pictures! The really fun crayons were the ones I made with several colors mixed together!

    PROJECT #2 TRANSPARENT WINDOW HEARTS

    Supplies: Crayon shavings, wax paper, craft paper or thin towel, iron, scissors, thin ribbon or twine

    1) You will need about a 12″ x 20″ sheet of wax paper. Now fold this in half length wise. You will only be covering half of the sheet with crayon shavings. Lay the wax paper on either a thin towel or a sheet of craft paper (brown paper).

    2) You will need about 7-8 crayons worth of shavings to coat the entire sheet. Maybe more or less depending on the the type of crayons you want to use. I used only the pinks, reds and oranges, but feel free to let your kids use whatever color they like. You can use a crayon sharpener, but I actually found that an eye pencil sharpener worked best! Go figure :)

    3) Once the sheet is mostly covered, fold the wax paper in half. Cinch the edges by making a 1/8″ fold on the other 3 sides. Place another sheet of craft paper on top, or a thin towel. I say thin because if you use a thick bath towel (like I did at first) the iron will not be able to melt the shavings. You will need to run the iron over the towel or paper a few times. Make sure to check every few seconds to see if the shavings have completely melted.

    4) Let the wax paper cool and the crayon wax harden for a few minutes. Now trace hearts, or other Valentines day shapes, onto the wax paper. Be careful when cutting out shapes not to rip the wax paper.

    5) You can hole punch and string each one or do what I did and tape the string to the back of each heart. My hearts weren’t large enough to hole punch :)

    6) Hang in a well lit window!

    I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines Day…Happy Friday everyone!

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Fourth of July Food and Fun!

    July 2, 2010 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    Hello everyone! Looking for some Fourth of July weekend fun? Check out the recipes and crafts below for
    a little inspiration. And of course, have a happy and safe holiday!

    Craft Project : Confetti Shaker!
    Total craft time: 1-2 hours
    Find detailed instructions here

    Recipe: Star Studded Blueberry Pie
    Total prep time: 1-2 hours

    Ingredients:

    - FILLING:
    6 cups blueberries
    2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
    2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    3/4 cup sugar
    1 unbaked piecrust (recipe below) plus extra dough

    - CRUST:
    2 cups all-purpose flour
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
    4 or 5 tablespoons cold milk
    Extra flour, as needed, for rolling the dough

    Instructions:

    For the crust

    Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Cut the butter into slices with a dinner knife and scatter the pieces on top of the flour.

    Pulse the flour and butter until they are combined and the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the milk a tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough sticks to itself when gently squeezed.

    Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to shape it into two balls, one twice as large as the other. Using extra flour as needed to prevent sticking, roll the larger ball to fit a 9- or 10-inch pie pan. Wrap the smaller piece of dough tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use. Makes a 9- or 10-inch piecrust, plus extra for a decorative top crust.

    Creating the filling and assembling the pie:

    Heat the oven to 375º F. Place the blueberries in a large bowl, and sprinkle with the lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, and sugar. Toss gently until the berries are evenly coated.

    Line a 9- or 10-inch pie pan with the rolled piecrust dough and crimp the edges. Pour the filling into the crust. Let your kids cut the extra dough into shapes with cookie cutters. Lay the shapes, touching one another, on top of the filling. Press any pieces that meet the sides of the crust into the edges.

    Place the pie pan on a foil-lined tray (to catch any spills) and bake in the lower third of the oven for 45 minutes or until the filling is bubbly around the edges and the crust is lightly browned. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. Serves 8.

    You can check out Family Fun’s site for more great ideas!
    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Getting Crafty for Father’s Day!

    June 7, 2010 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    Hello everyone! Wanted to share a few great ideas for some fun Father’s Day themed craft projects!
    These are the perfect solutions to any Father’s day gift woes…and they are easy on the piggy bank as well!

    ALL PHOTOS ARE PROPERTY OF MARTHA STEWART

    The links for each project can be found below (left to right, top to bottom). Feel free to visit
    www.marthastewart.com for plenty of other crafty Father’s Day Projects!

    Craft 1, Craft 2, Craft 3, Craft 4

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