With our wallets getting a bit thinner, and our budgets getting tighter, this holiday season, its trendy to look at gift giving with our budgets in mind; it is now “chic” to be frugal and “re-gift,!”
Unleash your creativity at home by making wonderful crafts or baked goods, turning them into adorable goodies worth gifting. From handcrafted hair bows, to handmade jewelry, soaps, handmade candles, the possibilities are endless.
Gift Wrapping Idea: Use Scrap Fabric - Great for hard to wrap gift items.
Chances are you may not even have to purchase these items from the store. About eighty percent of these items may be “hiding in plain site” in your home.
Take a look around. Didn’t you notice that satin ribbon “fraying” from your beautiful summer dress that is so “ten seasons ago!” Rip it off and turn it into a bow! Adorn a piece of handmade soap with it, or attach a pendant and make a necklace out of it.
Perhaps you have too many mugs in your kitchen and too few people to drink from them! Grab one and give it a make-over. You can decoupage it, paint it, or even cover it in fabric! This can make a great teacher gift to be used as a pencil holder!
Billion of dollars are wasted every year purchasing, wrapping papers, gift cards, plastic ribbons, tapes etc., and these items are then generally turned into landfill, becoming environmental waste.
Instead of spending money fancy wraps, search your house for items that can be used as gift wrap. Use recyclable shopping bags, then the wrap becomes a second gift! You can find some great frugal and green gift wrap ideas, go to www.bowdabrablog.com
Another excuse for your to get together with friends, have a “re-gifting” party! Tell all of your friends to bring one gift they have had in their closet, perhaps that worst gift, might be perfect for your to give to your mother-in-law!
About the Author:
Sandy Sandler is the founder of bowdabrablog.com and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and easy. Contact Sandy at bowdabra@mac.com
Our Bowdabra Designers created some amazing and unique Halloween Decor Tutorials last week. I think we all love Halloween because it is such a fun and silly holiday where anything goes; craft scary, silly, or chic it does not matter!
Bowdabra Designer, Danielle is always finding ways to create something gorgeous out of inexpensive items. She designed a beautiful wall plate using simple items but the results were grand! For the complete tutorial click here.
Bowdabra Designer, Sarah Forhan gets creative with ribbon! Don’t you just love the colors of candy corn! The orange, yellow, and white are the perfect compliments to each other. Create candy corn inspired ribbon lollipops. Add the ribbon lollipops to floral decorations or give them away as party favors. For the full tutorial click here.
Bowdabra Designer, Katie loves Halloween and all the spook and fright that goes with it. We knew that we were in for a frightful tutorial and she delivered! Follow Katie’s easy tutorial for making a Dead Floral Arrangement. For the full tutorial click here.
Bowdabra Designer, Shannon, provides a step-by-step tutorial for making a paper mach witch hat. The hat is the perfect addition to a vignette. This is a great craft tutorial for someone who is looking to make classic Halloween decor. For the full tutorial click here.
Lastly, Bowdabra Designer Besty kicked off the week with a gorgeous Made-to-Match Halloween Bow & Tutu. Besty is our official Made-to-Match Bow Making Designer and we are always so impressed with her creativity and her easy to follow tutorials. For the full tutorial click here.
On the Bowdabra Blog this week the designers focused on women’s fashion trends and easy to make craft projects.
Learn how to make gorgeous women’s hair bows using Bowdabra Bow Making Craft Tools. Feathers in women’s hair is the latest hair accessory craze. Add feathers to your own hair bows. Visit the Bowdabra Blog Tutorial to learn how.
Preparing for back-to-school can be difficult and expensive. Here are classroom craft ideas and back-to-school fashion projects to help children get ready for school and make it less costly for you!
I iLovetoCreate shares an easy to make Tic Tac Tote on Crafters 4 Kids. Visit Crafters 4 Kids and download the instructions to make this fun tote for school.
Create a Homework Monster Journal by adding construction paper and glue dots to a plain notebook. Visit Crafters 4 Kids for the full tutorial.
Transform an empty Altoid Tin into the perfect little treasure box for holding small back-to-school supplies like: cap erasers, paper clips, elastics, and lunch money. Visit Crafters 4 Kids for full tutorial.
This week on the Bowdabra Blog, our Bowdabra Design Team shared some amazing and creative back-to-school craft ideas!
Danielle, shares how to transform a plain t-shirt into a glam and gorgeous shirt. She completes the back-to-school outfit with a Mini Bowdabra Hair Bow!
Sarah Forhan, shows how to make fun silly pencil toppers. This is a wonderful kids craft to get children excited about school and writing in their classroom.
Back-to-School Shopping Tip: by Renee Ursem, Get It Together, LLC Simple, practical organization
Shop Back to School sales effectively. Check your supply box to see what you need and make a list. Too many people end up with their fourth box of staples just because they were on sale. Save money and space by shopping with a list.
Photo by Crafters 4 Kids Sand Castle Candle Tutorial
Those dreaded words that cause parents to cringe; “I am bored, and there is nothing to do.” Summertime or rainy day boredom can be hard on both kids and parents!
Here are some easy summertime kids craft ideas to keep those little ones active and entertained. From my own experiences, I have found once the craft is complete kids will often use their final craft projects to entertain each other and themselves with pretend play.
Crafters 4 Kids is a wonderful resource to download craft projects that you and your children can make together. Crafters 4 Kids (http://c4k555.org) is a non-profit that compiles donated craft projects from crafters for you to download and create with your kids! Visit Crafters 4 Kids and their Summertime Category for great project ideas.
Help children create a pipe cleaner zoo and watch in delight as they play for hours with their own craft creations.
Photo by Crafters 4 Kids Pipe Cleaner Zoo Animals
While at the beach make sand castle candles. Have children help make the sand castle candles during the day and then light the candles on the beach at night.
Photo by Crafters 4 Kids Sand Castle Candle Tutorial
This week on our Bowdabra Blog it was Kids Craft Week. Follow these craft tutorials from our Bowdabra Blog to design more amazing crafts with your children.
Follow the easy step-by-step tutorial with picture to make Clothespin Fairies. Kids can put on a play or run through the yard with their flying fairies in tow.
Design ribbon bouncy balls and have children create a game with their own rules on how to play with the balls. Use hulu hoops as targets and try to bounce the ball into the hoops. Or see how many times you can throw the ribbon ball back and forth without it dropping. Or see who can throw it in the air the highest and watch the ribbon tails sail down towards you.
Make ribbon rings for yourself, mom, aunts, grandma, and friends. Children will love creating their own patterns with Perler Beads and Morex Bobbin Ribbon.
Recycle Capri Sun boxes and transform them into little girl fashion purses with matching hair bows. Use the purses, bows, ribbon rings, and pretend play clothes to create a fashion show!
Talk about the worst trip I have ever taken…. you will have an idea when I explain the events that took place in order to have writing this blog entry from my hospital bed in Hong Kong.
My trip started Wednesday when I left Las Vegas to fly and connect two hours later in San Francisco on a non stop flight to Hong Kong.
Everything was running very smoothly, I arrived in SFO, early with plenty of time to catch my connection to Hong Kong….. that’s where things went from bad to worse and didn’t seem to stop!
We boarded our United flight to Hong Kong. They were having mechanical difficulties, so we sat on the plane and waited for over two hours before they “made the decision” to cancel because it had defects they couldn’t fix. A hydraulic oil leak and two windows were broken. They said the good news was they had another plane and they board us soon and we would depart two hours later to Hong Kong..
Well, after about 1 1/2 hours, they informed us that the second plane had a mechanical issues, they would give us a decision in another hour about when we would fly….never good when they announce, they will make a decision! And yes, you guessed it, the water system wasn’t working, so they had to cancel that flight.
By this time it was too late to get a flight on another airline, so they had to book all of us into hotels and most were sold out, so it was two more hours finding a room.
I finally got to the hotel 15 hours after my flight left in the morning from Las Vegas. Because there were so many of us on the full 747, they asked us not please leave our luggage in the containers so that we could board and take off quickly in the morning, sounded like a good plan. Thank goodness I had changes of clothes, etc. in my carry-on.
I checked into my room which was on the second floor right above the freeway. So it was extremely noisy, but there were no other options to change rooms, so I hoped I would sleep on the plane.
Thursday morning, to be certain there were no problems catching the flight at 10am, I left the hotel at 7:30am. Got to the gate boarded…..
and guess what?… a minor technical problem, they fixed it so we were ready to push off about 10:30am.
We pulled from gate to runway, sat there for about an hour and we were told that there was a passenger who didn’t board the flight and so we had to get his bag off, so back to the gate we went.
It took about an hour to pull the bag and push off of the gate, finally on our way taxiing back to the runway, and,. just as we were about to take off, a smoke detector went off…..so back to the gate. By this time, we also needed to refuel…… finally about 2 hours later we closed the door…. taxied out and actually took off.
The Captain said in his 32 years of flying he never had anything as bad as this experience with the flights.
About 13 1/2 hours Later, we finally arrived in Hong Kong, around 6:30 pm, July 1st, and got to the hotel around 8pm. I quickly Unpacked and since I love Hong Kong at night, I decided to go for a walk. About 15 minutes into my walk, I tripped and fell and literally ripped my knee straight across and the entire width of my knee and it was open and my knee joint was totally exposed. It looked like it was surgically cut.
I actually walked 20 minutes with it like that to get back to the Sheraton because I knew the hotel could help me. I didn’t realize how bad my knee actually was and my leggings acted like a strong bandage, or I would have really been in trouble.
The hotel called an ambulance that took me to a public government hospital and it was horrible. No one except the doctors and one or two nurses understood me. Thank goodness the hotel sent a security man with me to translate, the problem was he didn’t really speak English so we had to keep calling the hotel to translate.
Then they put me on the orthopedic ward with the beds only a foot apart from each other in big ward, over 40 or 50 patients in the one room. One person with leg amputated was crawling around on the floor, and the doctor treating me was just an intern. I panicked and insisted on going to a private hospital. It took me until 4am for them to release me and we took a taxi to the private hospital. An experience I hope I never have again.
I am in a much better hospital now, so I am well cared for. I was also very lucky because I have a very nice woman from India who speaks English, in the bed next to mine. She lent me her phone to call my parents and my boyfriend because since my cell phone wouldn’t work here, it was double scary because I had no way to contact anyone. She and her family have been incredible to me and helped me when I was so worried.
I had the hotel send some of my things including my laptop so I can communicate and let everyone know what happened.
I will start catching up on emails as I can. They performed surgery this morning and I will have to wait to see when I can go home. I will probably stop in San Francisco and stay a little while with my parents in Walnut Creek because I can’t drive and will have to keep the stitches in for 14 days.
Thank you for allowing me to share what I have been going through.
Guess it’s God’s way of making me slow down (literally).
Father’s Day is June 19, 2011 and there is still time to make Dad something special. Visit Crafters 4 Kids (http://c4k555.org) for our huge selection of step-by-step tutorials that kids can make for Father’s Day.
Using our easy to follow craft tutorials adults can help children make homemade gifts for Dad.
Luggage Tag – It is so hard to travel and be away from your family. Make Dad something that will not only be useful but will make him think of home when he grabs his suitcase at the airport. Children will have so much fun sewing two pieces of plastic canvas together with Bowdabra Bow Wire or yarn.
#1 Dad Medal- Show Dad how much you love and care for him with an Olympic Size Medal. Create the medal from sparkly foam and add ribbon.
Photo Frame – Is Dad a golfer? Create him a one of a kind frame with scrapbooking paper, bobbin ribbon, and golf tees.
Desk Organizer- Help Dad organize his desk. Recycle 3 different sized metal cans, wrap them with ribbon to make them colorful, and then tie them together for the perfect inexpensive “Eco-friendly” desk organizer.
Luggage Handle Cover- Dad will always know which suitcase is his with this homemade luggage handle cover. Children can choose the ribbon combination and create unique one-of-a-kind suitcase handle covers. He will never have to tie yarn or bandannas to make his luggage stand out, again.
About the Author: Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at http://sandysandler.com
Reprint Policy: You may reprint this article in its entirety but must include the above “about the author” paragraph and active return links to Crafters 4 Kids (http://c4k555.org) and Sandy Sandler Blog (http://sandysandler.com).
At the end of the school year it is always nice to give your child’s teacher a gift of appreciation. Teachers deserve recognition for their hard work and dedication and what better way then with a handmade gift made with love from their students.
Crafters 4 Kids (http://c4k555.org), a non-profit organization has some outstanding kid-friendly craft tutorials.
Give your teacher a piece of artwork made from felt.
Design an easy to make garden kneeler; help your teacher garden in comfort.
Make your teacher a Watermelon Sun Hat so that she can sit on the beach and read without the sun in her eyes.
Give your teacher a book with a handmade bookmark wrapped in ribbon.
Make your teacher magnets to keep important notes on the fridge.
Lastly, visit our Bowdabra Blog to learn how create a “Best Teacher” Award.
A handmade gift is a great way for a child to show their teacher kindness and gratitude.
About the Author: Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at http://sandysandler.com
Reprint Policy: You may reprint this article in its entirety but must include the above “about the author” paragraph and active return links to Crafters 4 Kids (http://c4k555.org) and Sandy Sandler Blog (http://sandysandler.com).
Moms are the strong steady influences that are always there for their children. A mom puts everyone before herself and gives selflessly of her time, love, and attention…. because that is what they do!
I am so lucky to have an amazing mother, so for me, every day is Mother’s Day! Yet still, on Mother’s day I sit back and realize how fortunate I am to have a mom who has supported me and given me everything that makes me who I am today.
I am so excited to be able to use our mother’s day newsletter to introduce our new Bowdabra Blog and our Bowdabra Facebook page! We are busy updating both of these pages daily with great content that I know you will love!
Our entire Bowdabra Team wished you a wonderful Mother’s Day and we hope you will be able to take some time to appreciate not only your own mothers, but the exceptional ways that you are a mother yourself!
In honor, of Mother’s Day we will be holding a contest on our blog to win a Hair Bow Making Gift Package valued at $50.00. The winner will receive our newest product the Hair Bow Tool & Ruler, the Mini Bowdabra, Bowdabra Bow Wire, and a variety pack of large width Morex Ribbon.
· The Hair Bow Tool & Ruler is our newest Bowdabra Product. The Hair Bow Tool & Ruler fits easily over the Mini Bowdabra and allows you to create perfect hair bows every time. The ruler also comes with an Interactive CD to make 70 different hair bows including cheer bows, baby bows, pet bows, formal bows, and so much more.
· The Mini Bowdabra acts as a third hand holding your ribbon for you as you create bow loops. The spring-loaded moving towers help to pinch your ribbon and create beautiful ribbon creases.
· Bowdabra Bow Wire is a malleable wire perfect for hair bow making. The wire holds your bow tightly while still allowing you to move and adjust loops. The extra Bowdabra Bow Wire is used to attach your bow to every style hair clip including headbands, alligator clips, snap clips, French clips, and plastic barrettes.
· Bowdabra Ribbons Crafts & Things Store is now carrying a huge selection of Morex Ribbon. Morex ribbon is perfect for making hair bows, as well as, bows for wreaths, home décor, and the bobbin ribbon is a must for scrapbooking!
Visit our new Bowdabra Blog and follow the contest instructions to be entered in our giveaway.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Sandy Sandler and the bowdabra team
Looking for creative ways to gift wrap for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Birthdays? Crafters 4 Kids (http://c4k555.org) a non-profit site dedicated to providing arts and crafts for children and their parents has some very clever ideas for summertime gift wrapping.
Use a recycled ice cream carton wrapped in yarn, rope, or ribbon for an easy recycled gift box. Clean and dry a small ice cream carton then using tacky glue decorate the outside and lid for the perfect gift box! This style gift box is perfect for any occasion!
Decorate a canvas bag with ribbon or even paint. Fill the bag with beach themed items like towels, sunscreen, hats, or flip flops for the perfect summer gift! Children can get creative with paint or even use fabric glue to attach ribbon to the bag. Add a clear plastic badge that kids can insert their picture into for a personalized gift for Grandma or Grandpa.
Use an old necktie and wrap it around a gift box instead of ribbon. Tie the necktie into a bow for a fun finish to Dad’s gift.
Have children paint and decorate the outside of a summer beach bucket. Wrap your gift in tissue paper and place it inside of the bucket for a fun summertime birthday gift.
Gift wrapping can sometimes be just as expensive as the gift you are giving. Use Crafters 4 Kids (http://c4k555.org) as a resource to get creative, have fun, personalize your gifts, and gift wrap them frugally!
About the Author: Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at http://sandysandler.com
Reprint Policy: You may reprint this article in its entirety but must include the above “about the author” paragraph and active return links to Crafters 4 Kids (http://c4k555.org) and Sandy Sandler Blog (http://sandysandler.com).
It seems like Christmas just happened and now Valentine’s is merely a few weeks away! And, if you know anything about me, you already know that I have some creative and gorgeous crafts that you and your kids can create together. I’ll be posting a few new craft ideas for Valentine’s Day, each week up until Valentine’s Day, so stay tuned for new ideas!
Today, I have some adorable little Valentine’s Day gift ideas that are a cinch to make – and they are very inexpensive, too! You can find instructions on the Crafters 4 Kids website that will guide you and your child (or children) through each step of the craft creating process, with pictures to help visualize what you are supposed to be doing, too.
So, grab your Bowdabra and gather your children…
When you are filling this Valentine’s pillow with the fiberfill, you could also add some sweet-smelling potpourri to give it a unique scent and add some pizazz! Add it to one of your (or your daughter’s) drawers in the bedroom or give it as a gift to a teacher or grandma. You can find the instructions for this puffy Valentine’s pillow here.
A dainty bag of bath salts is a fabulous gift for Valentine’s Day! This is the perfect way to say, “Pamper yourself!” to someone. It’s simple, yet classy – and you can make several at the same time, if you and your child know a few women who could use some pampering. You can find the simple instructions here.
Here’s a great idea for your daughter to pass out to her girl friends in her class at school, or even at church. She’ll enjoy making the bracelets and the girls at school will love receiving their fashionable Valentine’s Day gifts! If you purchase the beads in bulk, each bracelet could cost less than a few dollars and you’ll be helping your daughter spread the love! You can find the instructions for this sweet Valentine’s Day bracelet here.
These are just a few Valentine’s craft ideas to get you started this year. Be sure to check back next week for a few more Valentine’s Day crafts. You can also take a peek through the Crafters 4 Kids website for more ideas before then.
Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular days to propose (or get married) in the U.S.! It’s a day that symbolizes love, of course, so it makes sense that people would want to get engaged or tie the knot on Valentine’s Day. Here are a few neat little statistics on weddings*:
2.3 million couples tie the knot each year
the average number of guests on a wedding invite list is 178
the average budget for weddings is nearly $20,000
Despite the fact that Valentine’s Day falls in February, only 7% of all wedding during the year occur in February (That is still 161,000 wedding, though!)
Due to the fact that 30% of all weddings are now paid for by the bride and groom, rather than traditionally paid for by the bride’s parents*, people are now looking for ways to cut the budget and save some money. If you are looking for last minute, economical wedding favor ideas, you’ve come to the right place! You could even recruit your nieces for help with making them…or host a wedding favor making party weeks before the ceremony. The Crafters 4 Kids website is chock full of craft ideas that are not only easy to create, but also economical, too (they all cost less than $5 each to make). Not to mention, every craft on the website is also absolutely adorable and quite versatile, depending on how creative you are.
Wedding Favors
The Valentine Bath Salts is the perfect little favor! You can set it with the place settings to add that final touch. Your friends will love the care that you put into crafting these little packages as well as the fact that they can go home and relax with their new bath salts while they reminisce about the fun that they had at your wedding reception!
This mason jar with tea bags nestled inside is another sweet wedding favor you could add to a place setting. Add tea bags with flavors like jasmine green tea, which produce a romantic aroma when the mason jar is opened.
If you don’t think the bath salts or tea ideas are romantic enough for your wedding favors, you could make this “sequined” pillar candle! After your wedding ceremony, your guests can bring home their wedding favor candles and light up their own romantic dinner or evening.
You can find all three of these crafts, step-by-step instructions to make them and images to guide your through their creation on the Crafters 4 Kids Valentines Day Projects page. If you try out any of these wedding favor craft ideas, please come back and tell me how they come out and if you used them for your wedding! Next week, I will highlight more wedding craft ideas, so be sure to check back.
*Statistics gathered from http://www.soundvision.com/info/weddings/statistics.asp
If you’re crafty – or your mom is crafty, or your sister, or even your friends – you might want to consider making your own decor for your wedding! From centerpieces to napkin holders, from hair bows to place cards, it’s fun to make your own Valentine’s wedding decor…and easy too! Needless to say, you could reduce the size of that wedding budget by making some (or all) of these items, also.
This gorgeous centerpiece, filled with Hot Tamales is sure to make your wedding tables hot! The glass bowl is elegant, the ribbon smothered in lips and the tea light candle, combined, is the perfect mixture of items to symbolize romance and love. If you’re looking for unique and eye-catching, this centerpiece could be the one for your Valentine’s wedding!
These dainty, but festive napkin holders, encircling Valentine’s Day color-schemed napkins, are adorned with gems and satiny ribbon. You can wrap the napkin holders around plain white napkins to spruce them up or you can use napkins similar to the ones seen in the picture, sprinkled with paints or embellishments to add to the festive appeal.
Valentine’s wreaths like this could be used as decor on the walls or entrance doors of the reception center. They would match the Valentine’s decor, if you choose to deck out your wedding day with the Valentine’s Day theme.
These would be adorable set next to the place settings, on the tables, as personalized name cards. They are crafty and cute and may not be as elegant as store-bought name cards. However, a wedding is a personal event, so why not design your own place cards? You can find the previous four crafts and their instructions on the Crafters 4 Kids website.
You can also use your Bowdabra to create your very own hand-made hair bows for the bridesmaids and flower girls. You can find a plethora of hair bow ribbons at the Bowdabra store with all kinds of colors and textures to design the hair bows to your liking. If you have decided that red is just too overwhelming, you can surrounding your Valentine’s Day wedding decor around the color pink. This Organdy Lite Pink ribbon (found in the Bowdabra store) would make a classy and elegant choice for hair bows:
In addition, all of the crafts that you see above could easily be changed from the color red to the color pink for a softer appeal.
If you’re simply not the crafty type, gather your girlfriends and host a wedding craft decor making party. Make sure you have enough supplies to create enough of each craft item that you are interested in using for your wedding plans and then cater the little get-together with some punch and hors d’oeuvres. Besides having a whole bunch of fun with your girl friends, you will also stir up some excitement for your wedding day!
Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples! It’s also for children and grandparents and friends…and pets! Anyone who knows me knows that Nouvelle won’t miss out on Valentine’s Day this year! She, like the rest of us, deserves to be shown that she is loved, too!
You can include your pet in the Valentine’s love by creating some of these crafts and giving them as gifts on Valentine’s Day. If you don’t have a pet, surely you have a family member or a friend that you can either make these crafts for or share the ideas with. These crafts are fun to make and they’ll keep pets busy and happy for hours!
If you know anything about dogs, you know that they love pull-and-tug toys! This braided fleece dog toy is safe for your dog and can be made with the colors that signify Valentine’s Day, if you desire. Beware, though! This toy might inspire your dog to come to you every five seconds to play tug-of-war and catch-the-rope! There’s no doubt that he will love it, though!
Cats love to bat and swing at toys like this fishing pole cat toy. Made simply with colorful pipe cleaners, this toy is sure to catch a cat’s attention! Tie it up on a ledge, where they can bat and swing at it or let them play with it on the floor. This toy is sure to bring you a few laughs; watching your cat’s shenanigans as it plays with it’s new fishing pole toy.
Another fleece dog toy! This one is perfect for playing throw and catch and the fleece is soft on the teeth, so you do not have to worry about broken or worn down teeth when they are chewing on it. This, too can be designed with Valentine’s Day colors.
The pet sock toy can be given to both the cats and the dogs! It’s colorful and fun and will provide hours of fun for either pet. If you have multiple pets, it’s a blast to watch them play tug-of-war together!
Another toy perfect for cats! This little furry creature – your cat’s favorite thing to chase (a mouse!) – will inspire your cat to pounce and play for hours!
Who says that dogs and cats can’t be a part of Valentine’s Day? You can find these crafts and the step-by-step instructions on the Crafters 4 Kids website. They are quick, easy, and fun to make. They are also inexpensive craft projects for you and exciting toys for your pets!
As I mentioned last week, there are quite a few craft ideas for toys for pets on the Crafters 4 Kids website. This week, I am going to introduce you to some more cute crafting ideas for your pets. These are not toys like the crafts that were in last week’s post, but they are more adorable ideas for gifts for your pet – or pets! – for Valentine’s day. They are easy enough for you to sit down and craft with your children and they won’t cost much to create, either, so it’s a win-win-win situation for everyone!
Here’s an idea that you can get creative and decorate for Valentine’s Day. Simply replace the green with red and the dog houses with hearts. This craft is extremely versatile. You can get the instructions and basic concept from the here and then modify each aspect as you desire to make it perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Let your dog be the Valentine’s Day Princess with this adorable bow-enhanced bandana. It is already created with the right colors for Valentine’s Day – and it’s perfect for pictures! I don’t know if your male dog will be thrilled about wearing a bow, but your female dog will be a Little Diva as she prances around in her new Valentine’s Day Bandana.
Again, you can choose Valentine’s Day ribbon to create this bow for your dog, and I wouldn’t necessarily suggest that you put a bow on your male dog. He might not be too happy with you! But, you can adorn your precious female dog with this easy-to-make bow and let her act like she is Queen for the Day as you celebrate the day of love with her. Pinks and reds in satin and lace are absolutely fabulous for Valentine’s Day bows.
This place mat for pets is a useful and helpful item, as it will prevent spills from getting all over your floor. It also looks cute under the dog or cat bowl, as decoration. With this craft, you can use the pinks and reds for Valentine’s Day and customize as many as you want so you can swap them out as the holidays or seasons change, because they are very inexpensive!
You will find all of the instructions, with pictures to guide you as you make them, on the crafts for your pet page on the Crafters 4 Kids website. Remember, Valentine’s Day isn’t just for people! You can show your pets how much you love them, too!
Teachers and parents, Valentine’s is just around the corner…and what do children love to do? Pass out Valentine’s cards to each other! So, I have the perfect solution that goes beyond decorating paper bags and boxes for Valentine’s Card Holders and it’s just as inexpensive and easy! Below, you will find step by step instructions to help you make this gorgeous Valentine’s Card Holder craft.
Step 1: Cut off about 1/3 of the top of two heavy duty paper plates, like this:
Step 2: Using a hole-punch, you will need to cut holes about an inch apart, all the way around the border of the paper plates. Because these heavy duty paper plates are so thick and tough to punch holes through, you might want to do one at a time. Punch holes into the first one and then, to make the plates line up perfectly, attach the two plates with tape at the top and use the holes that you punched out of the first plate as a template for the second one. If you are making several of these at a time, you can use one template plate for all of the plates that you need.
Step 3: Choose a thin-width ribbon and weave it in and out of the holes, all the way around. Make sure that you leave 12″ extra on each end to make the handles.
Step 4: To create the bow: Cut and fold in half a 24″ piece of bow wire, then lay it into the Mini Bowdabra. If you do this right, you will have two loose ends coming out of one side of the Mini Bowdabra and a loop coming out of the other end.
Step 5: Cut a short piece of ribbon for the bow’s tails and dovetails the ends. (This is simply done by folding the ribbon in half, length-wise and cutting the end at a 45 degree angle. The outer edge should be the longest part of the dovetail.) Then, lay the bow tail part of the ribbon onto the Mini Bowdabra.
Step 6: Lay the ribbon that you will use for the bow into the Mini Bowdabra. Decide which size you want your loops to be and then fold the ribbon and press it into the Mini Bowdabra to make the desired size loop.
Step 7: Fold the ribbon back and forth through the Mini Bowdabra until you have created as many loops as you would like.
Step 8: Using the Mini Bowdabra wand, scrunch the ribbon down tightly.
Step 9: While the bow is in the Mini Bowdabra, take the two loose ends of the bow wire and thread them through the loop end.
Step 10: Pull the bow wire tightly while the bow is still inside the Mini Bowdabra.
Step 11: Gently remove the box from the Mini Bowdabra, separate the loose ends of the bow wire, and pull them around to the back of the bow. To tie of the bow: pinch the Bowdabra bow wire against the bow securely and then twist the bow 4-6 times in a clockwise direction.
Step 12: Separate your bow loops out to the desired fluffiness and then tie the box onto the ends of the thin ribbon that is attached to the plates to create a handle. Use adhesive backed foam and gems or other Valentine’s type embellishments to decorate the front plate.
This Valentine’s Car Holder Craft is perfect for day cares, schools and Sunday schools, where children exchange Valentine’s Day cards with each other. The kids will have a blast decorating them and you will love the fact that they cost very little to make!
With every holiday comes millions of recipes, and Valentine’s Day is no different! I’ve gathered some recipes for you and your kids to enjoy this Valentine’s Day…they’re made with the colors of Valentine’s, they’re easy for kids to make and they’re yummy to eat, too!
No Bake Cherry Cheesecake
*Jello No-Bake Cheesecake box
*1 can of pie cherries
*cup cake papers
Place the cup cake papers into muffin tin. Lightly spray cupcake papers so the cheesecake will not stick to the paper. Mix the graham cracker crust and cheesecake as directed. Add graham cracker crust to bottom of each cup cake paper, then add the cheesecake, filled to just under the top of the cup cake papers. Let sit for the time allocated on the instructions and then add 5-6 cherries to the top of the cheesecake and enjoy!
Valentine’s Sugar Cookies
*Package of pre-made sugar cookie dough
*frosting in pink, red and white
*red, pink and white sprinkles
*red hots
*any other Valentine’s colored decor for cookies
This is really simple – basically, just bake the cookies and then let them cool. (You could use a cookie cutter to make them heart-shaped if you would like.) Then, you and the children can decorate to your *heart’s* content. Help the children frost the cookies and then let them add the decorations that they desire.
Valentine’s Whoopie Pies
*Dutch Cocoa Cookies
*1 1/2 stick butter
*1 1/2 c. Crisco
*3 c. confectioners sugar
*3 tsp. vanilla
*9 tsp. marshmallow fluff
This is the easy way to make whoopie pies! Whip up some Dutch Cocoa cookies first. Let cool. As the cookies are cooling, beat the butter, Crisco, sugar and vanilla with the electric hand mixer. Carefully fold in the marshmallow fluff and spread it thickly on a cookie. Top the filling with another cookie – and you have a delicious dutch chocolate whoopie pie for Valentine’s Day!
“Hot” Chocolate Slushy
*Packages of hot chocolate
*Milk or water (for the hot chocolate)
*ice
*whip cream
*Valentine’s sprinkles
This is one the kids are sure to enjoy…made with one of the world’s favorite things for Valentine’s Day: Chocolate! Only, this is a different kind of hot chocolate. This time, you mix the hot chocolate, throw it in the blender and blend in some ice. Pour into mugs, top with whip cream and sprinkles. The kids will love it!
I hope you make some time to bake (or no-bake) some of these recipes with your kids this year! Baking (or no-baking) with children teaches them to read directions and follow them. The results of following directions, in this case, is delicious treats for Valentine’s Day that they will have fun creating and eating!
If you’re looking for a project that will get that Bowdabra out of the box and make it useful for Valentine’s Day, I have some excellent solutions for you! Bows are extremely versatile and can be used in or on almost any type of project or craft. Here are some ideas to get you on the right track with dusting off that Bowdabra and putting it to good use:
*Design bows to top off all of the Valentine’s presents that you will be giving out this year. You can use your Mini Bowdabra for the little gifts and the regular Bowdabra to make bows to adorn the larger gifts with.
*Make a bunch of Valentine’s hair bows with your daughter using your Mini Bowdabra. She can pass them out to her girl friends at school or at church. The girls are sure to love receiving a present for Valentine’s Day! And, they will all look cute wearing the pretty little hair bows that you and your daughter design.
*Don’t leave the boys out on Valentine’s Day! You can make little bookmarks with mini bows on them so that they get a gift when the girls get their hairbows. Make the bows small with long tails. The long tails would be used as the bookmark, while the bow rests nicely on the outside of the book. To make these bookmarks male-friendly, you could use white ribbon instead of the pinks and reds.
*Who says Christmas is the only time to go all out and decorate? Design some new decorations for the house for Valentine’s Day with your Bowdabra. You can make a Valentine’s Day wreath, decked completely out with bows of all sizes or add a red, white and pink bow to a centerpiece on your kitchen table. Tie some big, fluffy bows to the headboard on your bed create a romantic appeal. Add bows to your tall living room lamps or door knobs.
*Get some ribbon embellished with red lips or hearts and make a small bow for the top of your car’s antenna.
*Every year, children across the country make a list of their friends – or the children in their class – and either personalize store-bought cards or make cards at home. This year, help your children make home made Valentine’s cards and then add some mini bows to your children’s creations and designs. Their cards will be unique and the other children will wonder why their parents didn’t come up with the idea of adding bows to their cards.
This is simply as short list of ideas to get you started using your Bowdabra again. So, now that you have some ideas, get that Bowdabra out and get creative! Once the creative juices start flowing, you’ll probably come up with even more ways to make Valentine’s Day Bowdabra-rific!
One way to memorialize your Valentine’s Day is to design your own scrapbook. Whether you are getting married, celebrating many years with your husband, or enjoying just another Valentine’s Day with your family and kids, a scrapbook is a fabulous way to document your day and create a keepsake to add to for years to come. Each year, you can pull out the Valentine’s Day scrapbook that you make and add more pictures, fabrics and embellishments to it. Here are some ideas to put into your Valentine’s Day scrapbook.
1) Take a picture of your children, dressed in their reds, whites and pinks and decorate the page to match – or not match. It is, after all, a scrapbook! After years of adding annual pictures of the children, it will be sweet to look back and see how much they have grown and changed! If you only have one child, you could dress him/her up in red, then white, then pink (of course, if you have a girl!) and take pictures of each outfit to make a cute, Valentine’s colored collage. If you have several children, you can dress each one in a different Valentine’s themed color to create a collage.
2) Take a picture of you and your husband. Again, you can add more decor to the page. Just like with the children, you can add a new picture each year to demonstrate the love you have for each other throughout all of the years.
3) Have the children “scrapbook” a page of their own each year, with their very own picture in the middle of the page. You will find that children LOVE to craft – and scrapbooking is no different! They will come up with ideas that you haven’t even thought of!
4) Make Valentine’s Day crafts, gifts, decorations or treats to eat and take pictures of the process. Include the children in the crafting and baking for an afternoon of fun. Then, you can use various pictures of the crafts and treats to put into your Valentine’s Day scrapbook. Let the children pick out their favorite pictures and decorate their own pages to personalize the memories for years to come.
5) Take pictures of items that are red, pink and white around the house, the neighborhood and the community. Make a collage on a page with all of the pictures, combining the items and colors to make up the Valentine’s theme.
6) Along the same lines as idea #5, take pictures of letters around the house and the community that spell the words, “Love”, “Share”, “Red”, “Pink”, “Valentine’s”, “Sweet”, “Kiss”, “Be Mine” and “Candy”. You can make a whole page with just pictures that make up one of these words.
There are so many ways that you can memorialize Valentine’s Day, but a scrapbook, made by you and your k will be a book full of love that can be added to year after year. In addition, you can look back each year at the scrapbook that you made and remember the fun times that you had! You will be thankful that you took the time to create your Valentine’s scrapbook, especially when your children are all grown up and have children of their own. (Then, you will want to scrapbook with your grandchildren!)
I love to decorate my banister according to a current holiday or season. First and foremost, I want something that I can easily put up and take down without ruining my banister. Secondly, I want something that just makes me happy every time I see it! ~ Sarah Forhan
I am a Bowdabra designer and I use my Bowdabra to make all of my bows. I decided to make some simple loopy bows first, next stack some green wire garland on top to form a four-leaf clover, and lastly I added a green pom pom for the center. The greatest thing about this bow is that I was able to make it all in one easy step inside of my Bowdabra.
1. To begin cut and dove-tail the ends of two strands of ribbon long enough to fit the length of your banister, with tails hanging down.
2. Next, place a 24″ strand of Bowdabra Bow Wire folded in half into the Bowdabra. Then place the two ribbons into the Bowdabra at the spot that you want your first bow to be located.
3. Then using the same ribbons or coordinating ribbons make several loops using the Bowdabra to hold it all in place.
4. Then using green wire garland place it into the Bowdabra so that you have two loops. Place more wire green garland into the Bowdabra to form two more additional loops for a total of four wire loops.
5. Next, place a green yarn pom pom in the center of the Bowdabra. Yes, the yarn pom pom fits great into the Bowdabra! It makes the perfect centerpiece for your bow!
6. Scrunch the bow down with your Bowdabra and then tie it all together with your Bowdabra Bow Wire. Thread the two Bowdabra Bow Wire tails through the wire loop and pull tightly to hold your bow firmly together.
7. Take the bow out of the Bowdabra and twist and tie the Bowdabra Bow Wire. Fluff the bow and form the garland clover. To form the clover; take each garland loop and place it north, east, south, and west. Next, press with your finger into the center of the garland wire forming a heart.
8. Make an additional bow for the other side of the banister. Place the ribbon tails into the Bowdabra at the point you want to start your next bow.
9. Attach your bows to the banister using the left-over Bowdabra Bow Wire on the back of each bow.
Use different colored ribbons depending on the season.
This is a really simple craft that is perfect for adults and children. It is one of those crafts I pull out on a whim because it is always materials I have on hand. It also always seems to entertain my children and myself!
~ Sarah Forhan
Materials Needed:
Yarn
2 Dowels
Scissors
Instructions:
STEP 1:
Mark the center of each dowel and then tie them together in the form of an “X” using yarn, leave the yarn on its spool. They should be tied firmly together.
STEP 2:
Using the tail of the yarn, place the yarn to your left. Next, loop the yarn around the front of the dowel and continue to loop around each dowel the same way.
STEP 3:
Continue looping the yarn around the dowels. If you would like to change yarn color just tie one end of the yarn to the other.
In honor of National Craft Month, Sandy Sandler is bringing you a new post each day for the month of March.
I love working with marabou. Though it can be a little messing (all those little feathers come loose when you cut it) it makes such a bold statement.
To make this pretty marabou birthday package bow I used marabou, a sequin accent, and my trusty bow making tool the: Mini Bowdabra® – Sarah Forhan
To make the marabou bow for the birthday package: Cut a 24” piece of Bowdabra Bow Wire and fold it in half. Lay it into the Mini Bowdabra. You’ll have a loop at one end and two loose pieces at the opposite end.
Lay your marabou into the Mini Bowdabra. To make your first loop, fold the ribbon and press into the Mini Bowdabra. Continue folding the marabou back and forth.
Add a different colored marabou into the Mini Bowdabra , fold the marabou back and forth and press it into the Mini Bowdabra.
Scrunch ribbon down with the Mini Bowdabra Wand.
While the bow is still in the Mini Bowdabra, thread the two loose ends of the Bowdabra Bow Wire through the loop at the other end.
Pull the Bowdabra Bow Wire tightly while the bow is still in the Mini Bowdabra.
Gently pull the bow out of the Mini Bowdabra. Separate the two loose ends of the Bowdabra Bow Wire and bring them around to the back of the bow. To tie off the bow, pinch the Bowdabra Bow Wire securely against the bow. Twist the bow 4 to 6 times in a clockwise direction. Cut away extra wire.
Hot glue a sequin accent onto the marabou bow.
Use pop-up glue dots to attach the bow to the birthday package.
Have you seen the tissue paper pom poms that Martha Stewart has on her site? I love the look of them! Today, I experimented with my Bowdabra® to see if the tissue paper pom poms were something that I could make quicker and simpler with my Bowdabra®.
When I first began I noticed the tissue papers kept tearing as I was placing them into my Bowdabra®. The Bowdabra® towers that hold ribbon so tightly and perfectly were working against me when I was placing tissue paper inside of them. To eliminate the problem of tearing tissue paper I placed my Bowdabra Wand into the center of the towers to open them a little bit. I then placed a piece of Bowdabra Bow Wire folded in half into the Bowdabra. Because I am using the wire to hang my tissue paper pom poms I made it extra long.
By opening the towers slightly I was able to easily place my tissue paper into the Bowdabra and fold it down in an accordion like style. I used four standard sized tissue papers that I fold in half lengthwise and cut along the fold.
Once I placed all the tissue paper into the Bowdabra. I threaded my Bowdabra Bow Wire tails through the loop that was formed when I folded the wire in half. I then pulled the wire tightly and lifted the tissue paper from the Bowdabra.
Next, I brought the wire around to the center and knotted it. This will be the top of my flower.
Lastly, I started to open the flower by slowly pulling the tissue papers apart from one another.
I then used the Bowdabra Bow Wire to hang my tissue paper pom poms.
Use all the same colored tissue paper like Martha Stewart or mix and match colored tissue paper, for a more festive look like the ones I designed.
Tulle is a neat ribbon to work with it. It is very lightweight, looks great stacked, and bends easily. I like working with tulle especially when it comes to making flowers. I have designed simple to make tulle flowers with a large pin center. The flowers can be placed into Styrofoam circles, blocks, discs, or wreath forms.
Materials:
Pink Tulle Item
Sparkle Tulle Apple Green
Corsage Pins 2.5″ Silver Bowdabra Bow Wire
Pearlized White Stamens
Floral Leaves Item
Instructions:
1. Begin by cutting squares of pink and silver tulle.
2. To make the center of the flower fold two pink tulle squares in half and then thread each one onto a corsage pin.
3. Next, place four stamens folded in half around the pinhead. Pull the tulle up around the stamens and tie it tightly together with Bowdabra Bow Wire. Leave the strands of Bowdabra Bow Wire.
4. To make the outside of the flower, thread about 5 full squares of pink tulle onto the large pin.
5. To finish the flower thread four full squares of silver tulle, onto the pin.
6. Hold the flower at the base and tie Bowdabra Bow Wire tightly around it.
7. Once the Bowdabra Bow Wire is tied tightly and knotted. Use the wire tails to tie floral leaves along the sides. Bend the ends of the floral leaves onto the underneath of each leaf. Trim away excess the Bowdabra Bow Wire.
8. Once, the flower is completed twirl the Bowdabra Bow Wire in the center of the flower with a pencil to make fun ringlets.
9. Follow these simple instructions to make several of these tulle flowers for arrangements.
For a very simple hanging arrangement place a hole through the center of a small Styrofoam ball. I used a chopstick to make my hole. Thread a pipe cleaner through it and make a loop at one end.
Pin the tulle flowers to the front of the Styrofoam ball. Then add a strand of ribbon to the pipe cleaner loop, for hanging.
Lastly, hang the tulle flower arrangement in a window, wall, mantle, or door handle.
Who says wood has to be painted? How about covering wooden shapes with aluminum foil! It is easy and fun for kids. I love all of the wood cut-out shapes that are available. They are a fairly inexpensive craft item and come in a variety of shapes. However, as a parent of young children I don’t always want to break-out the paints when we are crafting. Sometimes it is nice to just have a simple almost mess-free craft.
To make a St. Patrick’s Day Frame with your children, you will need a picture frame, any frame will do. First, before children handle the frame take the glass and backing off the frame just leaving the outside perimeter of the frame. Next, have children wrap the outside of the frame in aluminum foil.
I purchased very inexpensive wood cut-out hearts, I found them at a craft store for .39cents each. Have children wrap three hearts in aluminum foil.
Using glue dots attach the hearts to the corner of the frame to form a clover.
Next, have children color the frame with markers. This is where it can get a little messy. Children will color the aluminum foil and then rub the marker off with a paper towel. The marker will tint the aluminum foil and leave a nice light green finish. Add the back of the frame and the glass if you wish. I chose to leave the glass off of our frame.
Lastly, add a some St. Patrick’s Day themed ribbon along the side of the frame and on the clover. Use glue dots to hold the ribbon in place. Add your favorite picture to the inside of the frame.
A baby shower decoration that can also be used once the baby is born- awesome! I designed this decorative diaper wreath so that it can easily be taken apart after the shower and the infant diapers can be used. Diapers are so expensive it seems a shame to waste even one. – Sarah Forhan
1. Begin by gathering all your materials you will need for this project. Chose size 1 infant diapers, pay close attention to the design of the diapers. You don’t want any colors and designs that will clash with your wreath theme.
2. Next, cut a piece of either Bowdabra Bow Wire or curly ribbon about 36″ long and fold it in half and place it into the center of the Bowdabra. I chose to use curling ribbon because I though the yellow would stand out more on the wreath but Bowdabra Wire will work just, as well.
3. Place the 6″ tulle down into the center of the Bowdabra in an accordion like fashion. You will need approximately 36″ of tulle.
4. Cut the ribbon away from the ribbon spool and scrunch down with your Bowdabra Wand. Next, thread the two ends of the curling ribbon through the loop that was formed when you folded it in half.
5. Pull the curling ribbon tightly and lift the bow out of the Bowdabra. Bring the curling ribbon around the back of the bow and tie.
6. Tie the tulle bow to the center of the metal wreath frame.
7. Fold an infant diaper by bringing the top to the center and the bottom to the center. Tie the diaper in place with curling ribbon.
8. Attach the cute little pacifier beads to the curling ribbon. Next, run scissors over the curling ribbon to make it curl. Or when using the Bowdabra Bow Wire just twist the wire around a pencil, it holds its shape easily.
9. Make several of these diaper bows and attach them to the metal wreath.
10. Lastly, using the Bowdabra make a large loopy bow and attach it to the top of the Baby Shower Diaper Wreath.
This diaper wreath is very easy to make and even easier to take apart. After the baby shower just cut away either the curling ribbon or Bowdabra Bow Wire and diapers are ready to use.
First Posted at: Crafts Unleashed by Sarah Forhan, Craft Designer
St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday filled with magical fun for children. We designed several easy crafts that would be great to make in the classroom, for classroom parties, crafts for home-schoolers, or just a fun afternoon of “craft time” with a parent.
Create a Leprechaun Snack Cup with cardstock and a small plastic cup. Attach cardstock around a small plastic cup and hold it in place with tape. Add a circular bottom to the plastic cup to form the Leprechaun’s Hat. Finish the hat with ribbon or marker. Children can then use the Leprechaun’s hat to hold their snack. Optional: Add a little clover on the side of the hat made with a green chenille stem.
Make a St. Patrick’s Day Wand with chenille stems, cardstock, and ribbon. Twist the chenille stems to form the wand and then using glue dots or tape attach a green four-leaf clover to the end of the chenille stems. Finish by adding some green and orange ribbon. This is an easy mess-free craft that is perfect for the classroom.
Perfect gift for a teacher or parent this St. Patrick’s Day; is a sweet gift. Using tulle or cloth, wrap Hershey Kisses inside and then finish with a bow. Attach a little note that reads, “Kiss Me I am Irish!”
Every knows that Leprechauns have a chests full of treasure! Cover a paper mache box with gold sticky paper, foil, or even paint! Fill the treasure box with candy, costume jewelry, and other little treasures. Then give children clues on how to find the Leprechaun’s treasure box. Make the game as elaborate or as simple as you want depending on the age group.
To accompany the Saint Patrick’s Day craft projects we recommend “Jack and the Leprechaun” by Ivan Robertson. The illustrations are amazing and the book is very informative. Children will learn about Irish folklore, Irish sayings, and the history of St. Patrick’s Day! This book is also perfect for homeschoolers to include in their lesson plan along with some of our fun crafts.
Easy to make pom poms using the Bowdabra. Pom poms can have many uses; attach to hats, decorations, where on shoes, attach to backpacks, even add to key rings. Try losing your keys with a big pom pom attached? Impossible!
1. Cut an 18” piece of Bowdabra Bow Wire and fold it in half. Lay it into the Bowdabra. You’ll have a loop at one end and two loose pieces at the opposite end.
2.. To begin place the end of scrap yarn into the Bowdabra.
3. Form a loop with the yarn.
4. Continue forming yarn loops.
5. Add some scrap strands of ribbon.
6. Continue adding ribbon and yarn.
7. Fill the Bowdabra towers half way full of scrap yarn and ribbon.
8. Scrunch down the ribbon with the Bowdabra Wand.
9. While the bow is still in the Bowdabra, thread the two loose ends of the Bowdabra Bow Wire through the loop at the other end.
10. Pull the Bowdabra Bow Wire tightly while the bow is still in the Bowdabra.
11. Gently pull the bow out of the Bowdabra. Separate the two loose ends of the Bowdabra Bow Wire and bring them around to the back of the bow and knot.
12. Fluff bow and attach key ring to the pom pom with Bowdabra Bow Wire.
13. Make several pom poms with scrap yarn and scrap ribbon.
Need a last minute birthday card with envelope? Want to make your own thank you cards? Use our attached pattern to make your own envelope with card. Use cardstock and ribbon to make a card and envelope for any occasion. This is a perfect craft for both children and adults.
Right Click on the envelope pattern below and choose “Save As”. Save the pattern and then print. Trace the pattern onto cardstock, cut, and fold along the dotted lines. To make your greeting card fold a piece of cardstock in half and cut to size.
Embellish both the greeting card and envelope with bobbin ribbons.
Why paint wood when you can finish it with beautiful colorful ribbon! We embellished a chalkboard with ribbon and then added handmade magnets to the top of the chalkboard. Friends can leave messages or attach notes. The chalkboard with magnets is perfect for lockers, dorm rooms, or hang on child’s bedroom door and parents and siblings can leave encouraging notes every day.
Purchase an unfinished chalkboard (small chalkboard for hanging on a door) and glue ribbon along the trim for an amazing look.
To hang your chalkboard glue bobbin ribbon along the edge and attach a loop along the top. Easy and perfect, to hang your chalkboard.
Next, add adhesive magnetic strips to the top of the chalkboard to attach magnets.
To make the homemade magnets, line clothes-pins with ribbon, add a fun button to the front of each clothespin, use chenille stems for fun ringlets along the side, and add an adhesive magnet strip to the back.
Use your homemade magnets on the fridge or attach them to your ribbon embellished chalkboard.
Coordinate outfits with matching hair bows. Use the Mini Bowdabra Hair Bow Tool & Ruler to make easy hair bows to match all of your daughter’s clothes. The Hair Bow Tool & Ruler comes with interactive software to make 70 different hair bow styles. The interactive software gives step-by-step instructions with pictures, an easy to follow material list, a ribbon length chart for all standard bows, helpful hints, and frequently asked hair bow making questions.
I wanted to make my daughter some special hair bows for school. I started by lining two snap clips with 3/8” grosgrain ribbon.
How to line snap clips:
1. First begin by hot gluing the 3/8″ wide ribbon to the end of the snap clip. Place the ribbon onto the top of the snap clip and hot glue it in place.
2. Wrap the ribbon tightly around one side of the snap clip. Hot glue the ribbon onto the clip to hold it in place.
3. Next, wrap the ribbon around the point of the snap clip, got glue and pinch the ribbon together. Bring the ribbon around to the other side.
4. Wrap the other side of the snap clip tightly and hot glue the ribbon end. Make two matching snap clips.
5. Using the Hair Bow Tool and Ruler’s interactive CD follow the simple instructions to make a Quad Pinwheel Bow using 7/8″ wide Grosgrain Ribbon and add a small Boutique Bow using the same 3/8′ wide ribbon that you lined the snap clips with.
6. Make two matching bows using the Mini Bowdabra, Hair Bow Tool and Ruler, and Bowdabra Bow Wire.
Trim away extra Bowdabra Bow Wire, hot glue a finishing ribbon onto the bows, and then hot glue the bows onto the metal ends of the lined snap clips.
Make several bows using different colored ribbon to match your daughter’s outfits.
Use the Hair Bow Tool and Ruler interactive CD to make loads of different styled bows, even the hard to make baby bows. The interactive CD gives step-by-step instructions for hair bow making from start to finish. Learn how to attach bows to alligator clips, combs, hair elastics, and headbands. Follow the easy tutorials for finishing the bows with ribbon, finishing knots, beads, even buttons!
I wanted to design a headband for my daughter. My daughter is young and very particular on what she puts in her hair, her main concern is comfort. So I knew that the headband had to be comfortable especially behind her ears. I spent a lot of time designing it so that the ends of the headband with tucked into each other and there was no sharp edges.
Materials Needed:
Unfinished Plastic Headband (any size)
3 colors of 3/8″ wide grosgrain ribbon
Hot Glue Gun
Lighter or Clear Nail Polish
Instructions:
1. Cut about 1yd of each of the three strips of ribbon.
2. Seal the ends of the ribbon with a lighter, gently running the blue part of the flame against the tip of the ribbon.
3. Hot glue the three ends of the ribbon together.
4. Hot glue the ends of the ribbon to the inside of the headband.
5. Bring the ribbon to the front of the headband and braid once.
6. Bring the left then the right ribbon across the inside of the headband and around to the front. (Notice the purple is now on the left and the green is now on the right.)
7. Continue to braid the front and then cross the side ribbons on the inside of the headband and back to the front again for another braid.
8. To finish the headband bring the side pieces across the back, hot glue the top front strand to the headband, and hot glue the two underneath strands to the headband on the inside.
9. Trim away the excess ribbon leaving just a little bit, seal the ends of the ribbon with a lighter.
10. Hot glue the side pieces one on top of the other to the front, bring the front (green strand) piece around to the back tuck it under the other ribbon and hot glue in place. (Picture shows: inside view of the headband, top piece folded over to the inside and hot glued and tucked into the other ribbon)
We love the Ribbon Notebook at Crafters 4 Kids! Adding woven ribbon to a notebook, textbook, or binder is a really fun way to jazz up otherwise boring school stuff! We here at Bowdabra decided to follow Crafters 4 Kids step-by-step picture tutorial to make our very own notebook. However, we decided to take it one step further and add hair bows to the woven ribbon. This craft will make the perfect Easter gift: a notebook, to use as a journal, that also holds your hair bows, genius!
We started with a very inexpensive simple notebook, we then began to weave ribbon on the front and back of the notebook. (The Crafters 4 Kids Ribbon Notebook Tutorial gives you step-by-step instructions on how to do this.)
Then with our Mini Bowdabra and Hair Bow Tool and Ruler we followed the instructions on the Interactive CD to make several hair bows attached to alligator clips. For more information on the Hair Bow Tool & Ruler visit Bowdabra.com
To finish the notebook we just attached the bows to the ribbon using the alligator clips. The bows easily un-clip from the notebook whenever you need them!
I love to reuse and recycle and find new and exciting ways to use something that would have been otherwise trash. I transformed a Tropicana Carton into an Easter Basket. – Sarah Forhan
Use a Tropicana carton that is empty, rinsed, and dry.
Next, measure 4” inches from the bottom up all around the carton, mark with a pen. Also, mark a 1” handle from the center, up to the top of the carton, on two opposite sides.
Carefully, cut along the lines you have marked.
Staple the handle ends together in the center.
Attach a 1 ½ inch piece of ribbon from the underneath of the carton, across the handle, and to the underneath of the other side (I used tape on each end of the ribbon to hold it in place).
Next, using the 1 ½ inch ribbon attach it to the two other sides in the middle. Fold the ribbon inside the basket and tape down and run it along the underneath of the carton and fold and tape it on the other side.
Do the same process of folding, taping, running it along the bottom, to the other side with 3/8 inch ribbon on all four sides (using two strands on each side).
To begin weaving the ribbon start first with 7/8 inch ribbon glue dot one end down, weave it, and then glue dot the other end in place.
For all the ribbon to fit perfectly in the 4” space use 3 strands of 7/8 inch ribbon and 4 strands of 3/8 inch ribbon. This also allows the ribbon to fold down slightly over the bottom edge of the carton.
I filled the basket with shredded paper and placed last year’s plastic eggs that I recycled into little Easter Bunnies, inside.
Click here to go to the tutorial on making Easter Bunnies using Plastic Easter Eggs.
We at Bowdabra love Crafters 4 Kids! Crafters 4 Kids is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing arts and crafts to children and teens. For National Craft Month, Crafters 4 Kids provided a free tutorial for making a ribbon belt. To download the free step-by-step picture tutorial click here. We thought the project was so cool so we decided to make our own ribbon belt and add a matching hair bow!
We first began by pre-cutting Morex Satin ribbon. For our ribbon belt we chose, 1.5″ Morex Satin ribbon with a 7/8″ Morex Satin ribbon glued on top. For glue we used Aleene’s No-Sew Fabric Glue.
While the glue was drying we made our matching hair bow. Using Bowdabra’s Hair Bow Tool & Ruler we made a Boutique Bow with a Quad Loop Pinwheel bow stacked on top, with the same ribbon we pre-cut for the belt. We finished the hair bow by attaching it to an alligator clip. The Hair Bow Tool and Ruler comes with an interactive CD that explains how to make both of these style bows along with tons of other bows!
Once the glue on the belt was dry we attached 2 D-Rings at the end of the belt. We found the D-Rings at our local craft store.
Then using the 7/8″ Morex Satin Ribbon we glued a belt loop for the belt tail to slide into and also as a place to attach our hair bow.
When wearing your ribbon belt you will want to twist the ribbon as you slide it through the d-rings so that the front of the ribbon is on top. Once your belt is on just attach your hair bow to the belt loop. Wear the bow in your hair on your belt!
Crafters 4 Kids has some cute felt skull teen crafts! Those creative crafters over at Crafters 4 Kids made a ribbon belt with felt skull and a felt skull key chain. We were so inspired by their teen felt skull crafts we designed a felt skull for the centerpiece of one of our hair bows.
To make the skull we first cut out two shapes using stiff craft felt. The first piece of felt had the skull and the bones while the other piece just had the skull.
Next, we wanted to add some stitching onto the top of the skull. We wanted something that “looked” like embroidery stitching but was quick and easy. We used a thin tip Black Elmer’s Opaque Acrylic Marker. They are really easy to work, are quick, and look awesome on felt! Faux stitching in seconds!
Once, we added our faux stitching we hot glued the top of the skull to the bottom of the skull. The hot pink and the black really complimented each other!
To make our bow we used our Mini Bowdabra and our Hair Bow Tool and Ruler. To purchase our Hair Bow Creator Pack visit Bowdabra’s Ribbon Crafts & Things Store. The Hair Bow Creator Pack will give you everything you need to start making hair bows right away. It comes with an interactive CD that gives you step-by-step instructions for making 70 different bows including how to make the bow picture below. The bow picture below has ribbon sprays, a 4″ twisted bow, another ribbon spray, topped with a smaller 2″ wide twisted bow.
Once bow is formed on the Hair Bow Tool & Ruler use your Bowdabra Bow Wire to hold the bow tightly together.
Final steps include attaching your hair bow to a barrette and hot gluing the skull onto the center of the bow.
Thank you Crafters 4 Kids for inspiring such a fun hair bow with your skull ribbon belt and your skull key chain!
Ribbon has so many uses it can even be used when decoupaging to add glam and fun to your home decor. We wanted to jazz up an unfinished wooden tray with a little ribbon art. Bowdabra Designers love ribbon and we are always looking for creative ways to showcase it.
We first began by painting an unfinished wooden tray in an acrylic gold paint.
Next, we chose several spools of sheer ribbons for our background! So many pretty Morex Sheer Ribbons it was tough at first to choose which colors we wanted.
We finally decided on some green and blue hues for an outside hills and clouds feel. We cut the ribbon into 1″ strips and using Mod Podge began to decoupage the ribbon onto the tray. We first spread Mod Podge all along the bottom of tray with a foam brush and then with a paint brush slowly started to press the sheer ribbon onto the tray and add another layer of Mod Podge.
Once the first layer was dry we added the next layer; gingham flowers. Yes, cute little gingham bobbin ribbon flowers. We first cut the ribbon to make the flower shapes.
Once the ribbon was cut we began to decoupage the flowers onto the tray.
We decoupaged four flowers onto the tray and then waited for it to dry.
We were so happy when it dried, too cute!
We couldn’t wait to add some jewelry to our new decoupaged ribbon tray.
Visit Crafters 4 Kids for a free step-by-step tutorial for painting a jewelry tray with homemade stencils.
Bobbin ribbon is perfect for adding those extra touches to your scrapbooking pages. With Springtime comes; those darling photos of soccer and baseball games. We love to catch those action shots of our children hitting a baseball or kicking a soccer ball!
How about those pictures of our children on the playground? Do you run to the bottom of the slide and try to catch that perfect photograph of them zipping down? I love those smiling faces as they slide down slides or swing high on swings. Or how about those fun Spring nature walks, bug catching, or even those great days relaxing in the front yard just taking in the warmth of the sun.
Whatever your Springtime activity Morex Bobbin Ribbon has the ribbon theme to match! Even jazz up your scrapbooking pages with handmade small little bitty bows. Small little bows are made quick and easy using the Mini Bowdabra and the Hair Bow Tool & Ruler. Visit Bowdabra Ribbons Crafts & Things Store for a huge selection of Bobbin Ribbon Roll Packs.
Searching for the perfect springtime recipe: Citrus Salsa! The salsa has all my favorite springtime colors and tastes great.
I placed half of the salsa that I made into a canning jar and will be giving it as a hostess gift. The other half I will be putting out with chips for an appetizer before Easter dinner.
The best thing about this recipe is that children can help make it!. Children can help by peeling the oranges, tearing cilantro into small pieces, pouring in the liquid ingredients, sprinkling the Splenda, and peeling the skin from the tomatoes that were blanched.
How to blanch tomatoes: Cut a small “X” at the bottom of a tomato. Place the 4 tomatoes in boiling water. Keep tomatoes in boiling water for only 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon remove tomatoes from boiling water and immediately place them in a large bowl of ice water. Let tomatoes cool. Then slowly peel the skin off the tomato starting at the “X”
Ingredients
• 4 roma tomatoes
• 2 large oranges, peeled and diced
• 1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• ¼ cup fresh orange juice
• 3 packets SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Bring small saucepan of water to a boil. Blanch tomatoes for 30 seconds, and then rinse with cold water. Peel and chop tomatoes.
2. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until mixed thoroughly. Allow to stand at room temperature for one hour. Mix and serve. Refrigerate any unused salsa.
Serving Size: 1 cup salsa. Serve Citrus Salsa with baked tortilla chips or on top of grilled chicken or fish.
It is just a matter of months before gardens will be in full bloom. Many of us have started seedlings indoors but what to do with all those extra seeds? Seed packets often come with way more seeds than the average gardener really needs. Why not give those extra seeds as gifts?
Children will have fun sorting seeds and designing seed packets for a present for Mother’s Day, teacher’s gift, grandparent’s gift, or the perfect gift for friends and neighbors.
Materials Needed:
Small Clear Sealable Plastic Bags
Extra Seeds
Scrapbooking Paper
Stapler
Glue Stick
Scrapbooking Embellishments & Brads (optional)
Instructions:
1. Divide and sort seeds into clear plastic sealable bags. Be sure to sort the seeds and bags in such a way that you know which seeds are which. Helpful Hint: Use small pieces of paper laid on top of the bags for a temporary label.
2. Cut a square of scrapbooking paper out. Fold the edge of the paper over the bag and staple it in place. Helpful Hint: Staple above the bag’s seal so that the staples can be taken off by the gift recipient but bag still stays sealed.
3. Cut another piece of scrapbooking paper, glue it on the front for the seed’s label. Label the name of the seeds and planting instructions. Helpful Hint: Photocopy a portion of the seed packet (sowing and planting instructions) and glue the instructions onto the homemade label.
4. Hole punch the label and attach a brad and chipboard to it for some extra fun. Children can easily use brads and the little extra embellishments make this gift extra special.
5. Seeds can be started indoors and then the seedlings can be transplanted outside when there is no danger of an overnight frost.
I hope that everyone is having a wonderful day full of tricks and fun! Did anyone fall victim to a prank today? Crossing my fingers I haven’t yet. I sure hope my family and friends are good to me and it is only an innocent silly prank, nothing messy!
Are you curious about the history of April Fool’s Day? Visit History.Com for an explanation of this day in history along with an informative video. Below is an excerpt of their essay:
Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.
Looking for more than just the history of April Fool’s Day? How about a little laugh! I found this adorable video of a teacher playing a prank on his students. Well done, sir!
Earth Day is one of those remarkable holidays! It is remarkable because it started with one man’s vision and grew into something that is recognized and respected globally. Senator Nelson, Founder of Earth Day, was perplexed and bothered that the state of the environment was not an important issue in politics. How could the conservation of our planet not be at the forefront of everyone’s mind and hearts?
In 1963, Senator Nelson persuades John F. Kennedy to make a nationwide conservation tour. And though, President Kennedy made several speeches on conservation it drew very little media attention.
Then in 1969, Senator Nelson had the idea to have a “teach-in” on the environment. The idea was sparked from the anti-Vietnam War “teach-ins” that college campuses had to protest the war. Nelson wrote letters to colleges and even sent a letter to Scholastic Magazine to tell young students about the special day he had planned.
The grass-roots effort for Earth Day was exceptional and on April 22, 1970 the first Earth Day was held. An estimated twenty million people participated in educational activities and community events demonstrating their interest in the environment. Congress recessed for the day so that House and Senate members could speak about the environment and attend community events. Earth Day was a success!
One man’s persistence and dedication to preserving our planet created a national day of conservation.
I am inspired by the history of Earth Day and knowing that one person’s perseverance can create a ripple effect that inspires others to make a difference.
Please visit Crafters 4 Kids a non-profit organization that I founded to bring craft projects to children that might not otherwise, have the opportunity to express themselves creatively through art. Our Family Craft Night Category has some crafts that kid’s can make from recycled materials like the piggy bank and swan made from recycled water bottles.
I am so proud of the Scrap Ribbon Cuff Bracelet that I inspired at Bowdabra Blog. Sarah Forhan, Bowdabra’s Chief Crafting Guru was visiting the Bowdabra office a few weeks ago and I asked her to design several tutorials for Earth Day. I knew that I wanted one project to be a cuff bracelet made from a cardboard toilet paper roll. I wanted to upcycle a material that I knew everyone would have on hand. And, really who doesn’t have cardboard toilet paper rolls! Why not take those ugly cardboard rolls and turn them into something beautiful, like jewelry!
I challenged Sarah to come up with a creative way to make a cuff using a cardboard roll and boy did she deliver!
This craft is perfect for children to make for Mother’s Day, teens to make for themselves and friends, or anyone who has scrap ribbon that they are not sure what to do with.
With Mother’s Day right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to encourage kids to make a gift for Mom!
There is nothing a mother loves more than a handmade gift made by her children.
Giving children the impetus to make crafts is the perfect way to make mom the present of her dreams!
Encourage dad to spend a Saturday or Sunday creating crafts with the kids a week or two before Mother’s Day? In fact, send mom out for a day of shopping with friends. She will never even know that these crafts have been created while she was out of the house.
Crafting mother’s day gifts is also a perfect idea for teachers. They simply need to set aside a bit of time to teach kids how to make these projects. All of these types of crafts can easily be made either at home or in the classroom.
One great idea is to make bottles of infused vinegar. Kids can place herbs like basil in a white wine vinegar bottle. The bottle can then be decorated with ribbons, flowers, and anything else that strikes your children’s fancy. These handcrafted bottles look lovely sitting on a kitchen counter.
2. Crafty Cinnamon sticks
Decorated cinnamon sticks are also great fragrant presents for moms. Cinnamon sticks are extremely cost effective and they can be decorated with beads, ribbons and pipe cleaners.
3. Creative necklaces
What mother doesn’t love a necklace? Kids can use lacing cord and beads to make colorful necklaces and bracelets for moms.
4. Flower bouquets
How about a lovely spring bouquet made out of lollipops? This is a fabulous way to tie the spring season into the mother’s day.
To make these types of spring lollipop bouquets, children can use scrapbooking shapes, lollipops and pipe cleaners. Out of these materials, you can make a full bouquet of flowers or even just one lollipop flower.
Another creative and fun way to make flower bouquets is to make them out of pens. You can always keep the materials simple and cost effective by using things like shells, buttons, faux flowers, colored paper, Popsicle sticks, and ribbons.
Make Mother’s Day a Day to Remember…
When mother’s day arrives, children can even plan a special breakfast in bed where they present mom with a breakfast tray that includes their gifts.
Mom will love unwrapping her handcrafted necklace, decorated vinegar bottle or seeing her floral bouquet made out of pens or lollipops.
These are the types of gifts that mothers will cherish for a lifetime.
Teaching children to create their own mother’s day gifts shows them how to be resourceful and use their imaginations. Kids will also have a tremendous sense of pride when they see their mother “ooh” and “ah” over the gifts they have made!
As many of you are aware I am the founder of Crafters 4 Kids. Crafters 4 Kids, also known as C4K555.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing arts and crafts to children. I am always looking for new and exciting kid’s craft ideas. I especially enjoy kid’s crafts from recycled materials. Plastic water bottles are a lot of fun to work with; we have transformed a water bottle into a piggy bank and a swan.
Today we are using a water bottle to make an Easter egg! I was looking at a water bottle the other day and it dawned on me that it looks just like an egg! The particular water bottle I saw was from Poland Spring and it is called “Aqua Pod”.
Easter Egg Vase Instructions:
Once, the water bottle was empty we removed the plastic sleeve. At this point if you would like to run a little sand paper of the bottle to make it easier to paint you can.
Next, we covered the water bottle in white acrylic paint. We painted two coats and let them dry. Once the white paint was dry using brightly colored paints we designed our Easter egg pattern. Let dry, again.
Using either spray adhesive or white craft glue we added Easter basket grass along the bottom of the egg.
Lastly, we filled our Easter egg vase with water and add some flowers.
A variation of this craft is decorating the water bottle in a more ornate Fabergé egg style and eliminating the Easter basket grass. This more ornate style egg would be perfect for older children to paint and would make a great Mother’s Day gift.
Spring Break is just around the corner; a week spent with children home from school looking for ways to have fun and be creative. As a parent you want their time spent at home to be quality family time. Plan fun frugal activities ahead of time so that when those adorable faces are staring at you begging for something to do you have a game plan.
1. Visit Crafters 4 Kids Online (http://c4k555.org)- We have some creative frugal kids’ crafts that do not require a lot of time or craft materials. For instance, make a pet mouse using a rock, pipe cleaners, googley eyes, and a pom pom nose. Children can even take it a step further and design some fake cheese or even make a tiny shoebox home.
2. Head outside – Take a walk outside and explore your surroundings. Have children identify different tree, plants, and bugs. Or collect small sticks or branches on your walk and bring them home to paint. Use your painted branches as a table centerpiece.
3. Visit your local library – Libraries are a wonderful resource for kids’ activities. Take advantage of your libraries resources including story-time, book clubs, and craft activities.
4. Plant a garden – Get the soil ready to plant a garden or if you are in area that you still run the risk of frost, start the little seedlings indoors. Children will have a wonderful time starting the garden, deciding which vegetables and fruits to grow, and designing a diagram of where to place plants. Help children even create a gardening journal to keep track of their plants progress.
5. Visit your local park – Parks are so much fun, children can easily get their energy out and visit with fellow classmates and neighborhood children. Plan a play-date at the park with friends and have a picnic lunch while you are there!
6. Pretend Play – Have children make their own masks and put on a play. Get creative designing the set and props, too.
7. Family Board Game Night- Have children design their own board game with their own rules and game pieces. Then play the board game at night after dinner as a family.
8. Plan a bike trip – Plan a small bike trip with children. Have children decorate their handlebars with stickers and ribbons. Children can also decorate their helmets with stickers and adhesive craft foam.
Planning ahead and coming up with creative frugal ways to spend time with your children this Spring Break will make the week spent together that much more enjoyable.
About the Author
Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com
Recycle plastic eggs after Easter and make this very simple fun kid’s craft. Kid’s can easily re-purpose their Easter eggs to create an amazing little bookworm by weaving a lacing cord through the top plastic egg shells. The bookworm can wiggle and move while they read their favorite book.
Materials Needed:
Plastic Lacing Cord
Newer Style Plastic Easter Eggs with two holes on the top and bottom
Googly Eyes
Instructions:
Knot the end of a strand of plastic lacing cord about 30 to 36 inches long.
Thread the plastic lacing cord through one of the top shell openings. Continue threading the lacing cord through the top shells alternating the left and right holes as you go.
Knot the end of the lacing cord when you have threaded all the top egg shells.
Decorate the worm’s head using the bottom of one of the eggs. Attach googly eyes for the worm’s face. Then just snap it in place on the last top shell.
Bend and move your new recycled Easter Egg Bookworm.
Backpack clips are a fun and simple way for children to express themselves and decorate their backpacks with their own personal style. These bunny backpack clips are not only perfect for Easter baskets but also a cute soft little accessory for children to place on their backpack.
Materials Needed:
Felt
Yarn Needle
Embroidery Thread
Button
Lanyard Hook
Craft Glue
Instructions:
1. Begin by tracing a similar bunny pattern onto paper.
2. Place the bunny pattern over two pieces of felt and cut out the pattern. Keep the two felt pieces together with a pin.
3. Sew the two pieces together along the edges with a yarn needle and embroidery thread. Attach a button onto the bunny either by sewing or using craft glue.
4. Sew little lanyard hooks between the bunny’s ears. Attach to your school backpack.
I am very excited to be presenting, Crafters 4 Kids (http://c4k555.org) Easter Craft Project Ideas on the Morning Blend! Nouvelle and I will be visiting Shawn Tempesta and Dao Vu of the Morning Blend Vegas, on April 20th starting at 9am on Channel 13. We will be featuring easy Easter and Springtime crafts that children can make with their parents.
For more information on the Easter crafts featured please view the links and pictures below:
Make an Easter Egg Vase using a recycled Aqua Pod Poland Spring Bottle. Isn’t the bottle the perfect shape for an Easter egg! Click here for step-by-step instructions.
Design an Easter Card for a teacher, friend, or family member. Embellish the card with fun paper, ribbon, and bows. For step-by-step tutorial please click here.
Make a bookworm by reusing plastic Easter eggs woven together with lacing cord. Children can move and wiggle the bookworm while reading their favorite book.
Make little tulip hair bow clips and display them on a gift card. This craft is perfect for an Easter basket, birthday gift, or as party favors. Click here for tutorial.
Parents and children can design a spring wreath together. Even add small little lights for extra fun! Click here for more information.
Make a fun Easter bunny hair clip. Use in your hair or even as a pin. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
Sew soft cute little felt bunnies together for cool bunny backpack clips. Click here for tutorial.
Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com
Weddings are a time to celebrate the love and devotion of two people. Weddings can be a mementos occasion without resulting in huge debt and regret. To create a wedding on a budget think of sentimental ways to celebrate the event and include your guests in the celebration.
Money Saving Tips:
DIY Wedding Projects – Make your own table centerpieces, guest book, invitations, and party favors. Designing your own invitations can be a big help to cut wedding costs. Create your invitations and invite guest to bring a photo of you and them together to place inside of the guest book. Guests can place the photo along with a caption in the guest book and your guest book can double as your first family album. For more information about DIY Wedding project ideas visit Bowdabrablog.com and Bowdabra.com
Get Creative with the Date – Chose a day, time, or month that won’t be in high demand. There are just not enough Saturday nights in the week! Try working with a different day of the week – Friday night, Sunday brunch? How about a Thursday night or Saturday afternoon? Sure, everyone dreams of being a June Bride, but a January through March bride will save a lot more money. By working with off months and off days of the week, many vendors (including caterers and musicians) will be a lot more flexible with their pricing.
Save Money on Location – Plan a wedding close to home. Destination weddings are very expensive for both the wedding party and the guests. Choosing a venue that is meaningful and special to you locally. It can be in a church, a backyard, or even a park. To cut costs significantly chose a location that will work for both the procession and the celebration.
Tailor the Menu - Don’t assume a buffet will be less expensive. There may be less staff involved, but there is a lot more food, thus increasing the caterer’s costs and therefore your costs. A seated luncheon or dinner of appetizer, salad, entrée and wedding cake will be plenty. If you have a sweet tooth – skip the salad and opt for an extra dessert.
Save on photography– There are ways to save money on wedding documentation but choose the person or persons carefully. Make sure the photographer you choose is reliable and equipped to photograph your wedding. You can ask a friend or acquaintance that is a photographer either by trade or hobby. Or ask around a local college arts campus. Many college photography students are willing to take pictures of your wedding to build their portfolio.
Shop Sample Racks for a Wedding Gown – Take some time to find the perfect wedding dress while looking at sample racks or even clearance sections. You can find many designers dresses marked down. Plan several trips to find the perfect dress on your budget. Ask friends and family to be on the look out of sales and bridal dress promotions.
Ask Friends and Family to Get Involved – Your loved ones will appreciate being invited to contribute to your wedding, show their creativity, have fun and save you money to boot. Most importantly, you’ll make your loved ones feel honored by and important to you.
Sandy Sandler is creator of the QVC best-seller the Bowdabra. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com
Does Mom enjoy gardening? Brighten her special day with homemade gardening gifts from her children.
There is an immeasurable value in doing arts and crafts with your children. I hope parents and teachers will use the free Mother’s Day garden gift making instructions on the Crafters 4 Kids website to help children create amazing gardening gifts for Mom this Mother’s Day.
Here are just a few ideas:
Garden Kneeler: Gardening is so hard on the knees! Garden kneelers are the perfect cushion for your knees because of all the kneeling down to pull weeds and tend to the plants. Help children create this easy garden kneeler with Sunday’s newspaper and duct tape!
Painted Watering Can: Create a beautiful keepsake that will make Mom smile every time she waters her plants. Paint a metal watering can with acrylic paints. Use lines, swirls, and circles to create an easy pattern.
Garden Gift: Children will have so much fun decorating a terra cotta pot and adding seed packets for the perfect gardening gift.
Garden Fence Artwork: Green Garden fencing comes on huge rolls. Usually after adding fencing around your garden there is still several feet leftover. Help children to upcycle the fencing into a beautiful piece of ribbon artwork.
Garden Plant Stakes: It is so important to label your garden seedlings. Children can create unique garden stakes for the garden to give as a gift for mom this Mother’s Day.
Make Mother’s Day extra special this year by making homemade gifts for mom this year. For more Mother’s Day gift ideas visit Crafters 4 Kids (http://c4k555.org).
Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and creator of the QVC best seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org. Contact Sandy at jaimevivre@mac.com
way to memorialize your Valentine’s Day is to design your own scrapbook. Whether you are getting married, celebrating many years with your husband, or enjoying just another Valentine’s Day with your family and kids, a scrapbook is a fabulous way to document your day and create a keepsake to add to for years to come. Each year, you can pull out the Valentine’s Day scrapbook that you make and add more pictures, fabrics and embellishments to it. Here are some ideas to put into your Valentine’s Day scrapbook.
making flowers. I have designed simple to make tulle flowers with a large pin center. The flowers can be placed into Styrofoam circles, blocks, discs, or wreath forms.
A baby shower decoration that can also be used once the baby is born- awesome! I designed this decorative diaper wreath so that it can easily be taken apart after the shower and the infant diapers can be used. Diapers are so expensive it seems a shame to waste even one. – 
