Crafts Photography Shack Guide
Earth Friendly Crafts
By Sylvia Adolvana
Are you frustrated by the junk piling up in your house?
Instead of kicking them to the curb and having them
dumped in a landfill site, go through your items and
turn them into attractive and useful crafts for your
home.
Got some empty bottles? Turn them into beautiful candle
holders! Got a pile of clothes that are too ratty to
donate? Give them a new life as pot holders, place mats
or pillow cases. In this article, we’ll show
you how to turn some everyday items into crafts that
you can use around the house.
Practical Craft Project
Tin cans can be used for a number of craft projects
after their contents have been emptied. Turning tuna
or cat food cans into candy containers is a practical
craft project that is so simple that anyone can do it.
After you’ve washed the can thoroughly, paint the outside
white.
Punch two holes near the top edge on opposite sides
and use light weight craft wire or a pipe cleaner to
make a handle. Now the can looks like a little basket.
To cover the wire, you can use felt or pretty ribbon.
To decorate the outside of the can, you can use stamps,
stickers, glitter or more craft paint. Line the inside
with plastic wrap, paper doilies, or colored cellophane.
The candy container will look really pretty and artistic
once you put the candy inside.
Paper Towel Tube Rings For Your Napkins
Napkin rings are an attractive addition to any table
even when you’re having a casual family dinner. Save
your silver napkin rings for formal occasions and make
paper towel tube rings for every day. This is so easy,
and is one of safest crafts for young kids to do.
You’ll need an assortment of dried beans. If you want
a flashier look, you can use plastic gem stones. You’ll
also need an empty paper towel tube, glue and scissors.
Cut empty paper towel tubes into 1-1/4" rings.
Use the glue to attach the beans or gems to the entire
surface area. If you want to make a simpler looking
napkin ring, cover the paper towel roll with shelving
paper in a pretty pattern before cutting the roll into
pieces.
Turning Unwanted CDs And DVDs Into A Letter Holder
CDs and DVDs often end up in landfill sites where it
will take hundreds of years for them to decompose. Because
they are shiny and reflective, they are in fact perfect
for crafts. Here’s how to turn old or unwanted discs
into a high tech letter holder.
You’ll need some foam, three or four discs, fabric
of your choice, gems or flowers to decorate, a serrated
knife, a candle stub or paraffin, a ruler, a wide flat
paintbrush, paper towels, scissors, a glue gun and glue
sticks, and white craft glue. Cut three or four 5-1/2"
squares from the fabric. For each CD, spread a thin
layer of white glue over the label side and smooth a
fabric square over glue.
Let dry and trim the excess fabric. Cut two 1-1/2"
x 12" strips from the fabric. Glue the strips around
the edge of a foam heart, overlapping as needed. Clip
corners and fold excess fabric to bottom and glue to
secure.
To make inserting the discs easier, first cut 3/8"
deep, equally-spaced parallel grooves into the top of
the foam heart. Apply a thin line of white glue along
each CD slit and press discs 1/2" to 3/4"
deep into slit. Glue your choice of decorations to each
side of discs and you’re done!
Educate Your Children About Being Earth Friendly
Kids learn better when they’re having fun, so use special
projects to educate them about the importance of being
earth friendly. Look at everything as possible materials
for craft projects and you’ll have a plethora of things
to work with without spending a cent.
Use acrylic paint to turn an old plant pot into a funky
umbrella holder or cut up an old garden hose and use
it as trim on sharp shelf edges. Crafts are limited
only to your imagination so be green and have fun.
About the Author:
Sylvia Adolvana has written a number of articles on
digital photography and software including Digital
Scrapbooking, For
Scrapbooking, Scrapbooking,
Scrapbooking
Embellishments, Scrapbooking
Ideas, Scrapbooking
Kits, Scrapbooking
Supplies, WWW
Scrapbook Com, Photo
Albums, Photo
Enhancement, Small
Digital Cameras, Create
DVDs, Family
Web Site, Graphic
Design.
Keep a lookout as more articles are added from this
popular author on this website in the near future.
More Crafts Ideas....
Are you looking for a hobby to get your mind off work?
Do you have children that need something to keep them
busy on a day when the weather prevents outside play?
You need to consider crafts as a great hobby for you
and your entire family.
Kids love craft projects. It not only teaches them
patience but it also gives them something to do that
may be challenging. If you are worried about expensive
supplies, do not worry over it. There are many craft
projects that are very simple and cheap.
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