No Sew Accent Pillow Pattern with New Michaels Fabric

July 9, 2013 by FaveCraftsBlog

In celebration of the new pre-cut fabric line at Michaels Stores, we have a fun and simple new home decor project to share. This is a project you can easily whip up in just a few minutes. The new Michaels fabric comes pre-cut and this project uses just that pre-cut piece to create a simple project to add a personalized touch to any room. You can use a pillow form you can purchase at the store or even jazz up an old pillow to match your new decor.

This is a great project to get the house ready for guests or change out your home decor for the holidays or seasons.

Materials List

One yard of pre-cut Michaels fabric
16 inch pillow form
Safety Pins
Two yards of wide ribbon
Scissors

Instructions

Lay out your pre-cut Michaels fabric and center your pillow form.
Fold the fabric the long way and secure it with safety pins. No one will see this part of the pillow, the pins are simply there to hold the fabric in place.
Fold the long ends into somewhat of a point being sure to pull the fabric taut and fold the corners sharply to create an edge on the front of the pillow.
Pull both ends and tie them in a knot as tightly as you can.
Add a wide ribbon tied to the pillow for an accent on the front.

Voila! It’s just that simple. So, if you are having guests over this summer, add a little personal pizzaz with a new accent pillow. Stay tuned, we have one more fun home decor project idea using the new Michaels Fabrics that you won’t want to miss.

You can also find lots of great ideas on Michaels Pinterest page or by following AllFreeSewing for great fabric ideas.

ScrapKins Soaring Summer Craft for Kids

June 19, 2013 by AllFreeKidsCrafts

Fly & Soar! A Summer Recycled Art Project for Kids

This post is brought to you by Brian Yanish, creative director/founder of ScrapKins

It’s summer. You need activities. You want the kids out of the house enjoying “offline” time. How do you compete with iPads and video games during the summer? Make stuff that flies! We’re all about using what we already have lying around the house; it’s free, and you end up consuming less.

I’m the creator of a recycled art program called ScrapKins, which follows the adventures of six recycled monsters! (Fun fact: The ScrapKins characters are based on drawings I did when I was a kid. Thanks Mom!) To kick off our “Fly & Soar” project, I’m going to turn over the blog to Swooper, the chief ScrapKins engineer.

Hi there, builders! I’m Swooper, and I’m going to share all the steps to “Scrap-vent” your own Parachute Escape Pod from a plastic bag, string, and a cardboard tube. This one is great for an adventure in the park or even in your own backyard! When you launch your “pod” it will float. (Hint: It floats even better on a windy day when a gust of wind may make it soar!)

Let’s get started.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Materials:

1 toilet paper tube (each tube can make 2 pods!)
1 plastic shopping bag
1 small piece of thin cardboard (like a cereal box)
String
Glue
Hole punch
Tape
Markers/crayons
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors

Instructions:

1) Flatten your tube and cut it in half.
2) Place tube on top of cardboard and draw a circle a little bigger than your tube. Cut out the circle.
3) Glue the circle to the bottom of your tube.
4) Use the hole punch to punch 1 hole on each side of the tube near the top.
5) Measure and cut 2 pieces of string 24” long.
6) Cut off the bottom half of plastic bag.
7) Thread 1 piece of string through 1 hole. Repeat with the other hole and string.
8) Lay down bag. Start with one side first. Tape one string end INSIDE the bag near the edge. Tape the other end across from it. Flip bag over and tape other 2 ends.
9) Tuck the parachute inside tube. Use markers and crayons to design your pod. You can also cut shapes from colored paper and glue them on.

How to Fly Your Pod:

1) Take parachute out of tube and untangle.
2) Loosely grasp tube and bag together.
3) Toss it in the air or drop it from a high place.

You are free to use this project at home. If you’d like to use it in the classroom, please use this FREE downloadable worksheet that credits us. Thanks and Happy Flying!

Want to make more of our interactive recycled art projects?
Check out our ScrapKins Build-It Book!

Upcycled Camera Strap Cover Tutorial Plus Earth Week Giveaway!

April 26, 2013 by AllFreeSewing

It’s amazing what you can do with leftover materials lying around your house. Your closet, for example, is a treasure trove of material perfect for refashion projects. This Earth Week, celebrate by creating upcycled projects that are totally simple to make and useful. Reusing fabric and material you have on hand will not only help you make awesome new projects, it will help reduce your carbon footprint. FaveCrafts is happy to offer up crafty ideas that will inspire you to create with the earth in mind!

Day five of our special Earth Week celebration includes a tutorial for an Upcycled DSLR Camera Strap Cover. With just a few supplies and these easy steps, you can make yourself a lovely little cover free of a heavy price tag. And since we’re celebrating all things Mother Earth, this project calls for shirt material you already own. It’s time to reduce, reuse and refashion with our friend Calley, from The Eco Chic.

Upcycled DSLR Camera Strap Cover

Materials:

Scissors
Measuring tape
Sewing machine
Pins
Fabric measuring approx. 27”X8”
Optional: Padding and/or extra fabric for lens pocket

Instructions:

Step 1: Cut a piece of fabric approx. 27”X8” and option lens pocket (to desired size).

Step 2: Place the lens pocket in place at one end of the fabric (on half of the fabric only). Sew around 3 sides of pocket leaving the top open.

Step 3: If you prefer a padded strap you can add the padding to the back at this time. Hem both ends (the 8” width) of the strap cover about 1/2”.

Step 4: Fold the 27” length in half with fronts facing each other and pocket on the inside (it should be folded to approx 27”X4” at this time). Using your lens cap as a guide, measure the desired width and pin both sides of the strap cover. Sew along the length of the fabric being sure to leave the short ends open on each end.

Step 5: Trim the edges and flip so that the right-side of the fabric is now facing out with the pocket at the bottom of one end. Iron flat and feed your camera strap through the cover.

Step 6: You are now a trendy photographer! When taking pictures you’ll never lose your lens cap again because it will be stored safely inside the pocket. Depending on how wide your pocket, you may be able to fit your cell phone in the pocket also.

Note: The sample shown here was not padded but some photographers prefer padded straps. Also, adding elastic to each hemmed end will help keep your strap cover in place.

About the author: Calley is an eco-junkie and mom of 2. I love crafting with repurposed or upcycled materials and have recently taken up photography along with my numerous other hobbies. For more upcycled crafting projects please visit my blog The Eco Chic.

Earth Week Giveaway

Return daily to comment on the blog for your chance to win one of the two Earth Week prizes. One lucky winner will win a Wool Felt Bug Kit and an Art Journal Kit from Arterro, and another lucky winner will win two hanks of At the Bahamas: Multi Colored Recycled Sari Silk Ribbon Yarn from Darn Good Yarn.

Bonus! As a gift to all Earth Week participants, when shopping with Arterro enter the coupon code FAVE20 for 20% off any order through May 1st.

OFFICIAL RULES

There is a maximum of one entry per person per day. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied. You can comment once a day on each blog post.
Winners will be selected at random from the comments on the Earth Week blog posts.
Winners will be announced here on the blog on April 29th as well as contacted by the email address provided.
You have until April 28th, 2013 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on any of the Earth Week posts. Comments posted after that will not be counted.
Contest open to anyone 18+ in US and/or Canada.

What’s the most creative thing you’ve made with an old shirt?

Recycled Milk Carton Pirate Ship Plus Earth Week Giveaway!

April 25, 2013 by AllFreeKidsCrafts

Yes, yes, Earth Day has come and gone, but we here at FaveCrafts.com think that the Earth is important enough to deserve at least a whole week or celebration. That’s why we’ve been honoring the Earth with special recycled and upcycled projects that help keep a little less out of the landfills. We want you to craft green to help the Earth and help yourselves save a little green. This small challenge comes with big reward. Return daily to enter to win one of two exciting Earth Week prizes. Find the contest rules and enter below.

*This giveaway is now over. Please enjoy the free tutorial below.

Today’s project is graciously brought to you by Scrapkins! They are a New York city based brand for kids art and crafting that focuses on using recycled materials – teaching kids to be creative and Eco-conscious at the same time! This project is an adorable, easy, and fun craft to make with your kids that not only helps recycle some household items

Scrapkins Milk Carton Pirate Ship

Materials:

Clean and dry milk or juice carton (any size will do)
1 toilet paper tube (or paper towel tube cut in half)
1 Egg carton
1 drinking straws
Scissors
Stapler
Hole Punch
Tape
Markers/Crayons
Pencil
Paints or Colored Paper

Steps:

Let’s begin mateys! Cut the top 1/3″ off the milk carton. You can ask an adult for help cutting.
Trim the corners off the front of the top piece along the lines so it has a triangular end.
Using a pencil carefully poke a hole in the center of the top piece for your mast.
Use scissors to make 2 tiny snips in the end of the straw. Pull apart the 2 ends of the straw along the cuts so your straw has 2 flaps.
Raise the Mast! Put the end of the straw through the hole in the top ship piece and fold down the 2 ends of the straw. Use a stapler to staple each end flat to the top piece so you mast is standing straight and secure.
Place the top piece inside the bottom piece so the mast is up. Put 2 staples along each side to secure the top piece to the bottom. Now you have the hull of your ship with a Mast!
Make a Sail! Cut along the edge of a toilet paper tube so you can open it flat.
Use markers or crayons to design and decorate the sail.
Use the hole punch to punch one hole at the top of your sail in the middle and one hole at the bottom.
Attach the Sail! Slide the end of the mast through the 2 holes in the sail.
Make a Crow’s Nest! Use scissors to cut off 1 egg cup from the egg carton so it looks like a little bowl.
Use a pencil to gently poke a hole in the bottom of the Crow’s Nest. Slide the Crow’s Nest on the mast above the sail.
Extras: Use paint to decorate the hull of the ship or cut out shapes of colored paper to glue on. You can make a flag out of a piece of paper and attach it to your sail. Try making more than one sail.
Sail Your Ship! Place your ship in water and watch it float.

Wasn’t that easy? Thanks to Scrapkins for providing such a fun project. You can actually find this project and many more like it in their book, Scrapkins Build It Book: 12 Things You Can Make from Junk!

Having a pirate party with your kids? Check out these other great projects from AllFreeKidsCrafts!

Earth Week Giveaway

Bonus! As a gift to all Earth Week participants, when shopping with Arterro enter the coupon code FAVE20 for 20% off any order through May 1st.

OFFICIAL RULES

There is a maximum of one entry per person per day. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied. You can comment once a day on each blog post.
Winners will be selected at random from the comments on the Earth Week blog posts.
Winners will be announced here on the blog on April 29th as well as contacted by the email address provided.
You have until April 28th, 2013 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on any of the Earth Week posts. Comments posted after that will not be counted.
Contest open to anyone 18+ in US and/or Canada.

What household items do you keep to craft with?

Upcycled Chair with Yarn Plus Earth Week Giveaway!

April 24, 2013 by FaveCrafts

One way to cut down on the waste cluttering our planet is to use what you already have in your house or that you can easily get, but you also don’t have to fill your house with old things. Upcycled crafts are the perfect way to renew and reuse things that you might think are out of style or useless. Giving a used item a makeover is a fun way to exercise your creativity, save some money, and show respect for our planet. Today, FaveCraft.com’s celebration of our lovely blue planet continues with another innovative, Earth-friendly craft.

*This contest is now over. Please enjoy the free tutorial below.

Day three of Earth Week brings us to a fantastic tutorial involving a chair. Nicole from Darn Good Yarn walks us through the surprisingly easy process of giving an old chair a new look. With a couple of simple materials you can create a fun and funky chair for your household.

Refurbish An Old Chair With Yarn

Materials:

4.5 skeins of 4-ply Sari Ribbon Rope
1 Reclaimed Silk Scarf
Scissors
Glue

Instructions:

1. Cut the yarn into strips and tie them where you want them. For my chair, I wrapped the yarn around the chair legs and tied them, then tacked it down with a dab of glue.

2. I popped off the seat cushion and reupholstered it with one of my Reclaimed Silk Scarves. You can also re-foam the chair if you need to.

Thanks again to Nicole from Darn Good Yarn for allowing us to share this tutorial!

Looking for more ways to use yarn and ways to refurbish other items in your home? You’re in luck!

Earth Week Giveaway

Bonus! As a gift to all Earth Week participants, when shopping with Arterro enter the coupon code FAVE20 for 20% off any order through May 1st.

OFFICIAL RULES

There is a maximum of one entry per person per day. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied. You can comment once a day on each blog post.
Winners will be selected at random from the comments on the Earth Week blog posts.
Winners will be announced here on the blog on April 29th as well as contacted by the email address provided.
You have until April 28th, 2013 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on any of the Earth Week posts. Comments posted after that will not be counted.
Contest open to anyone 18+ in US and/or Canada.

What is your favorite way to upcycle items?

Upcycled Embroidery Floss Spools Tutorial and Earth Week Giveaway

April 22, 2013 by FaveCrafts

Green crafting is a trend that has taken the artsy world by storm, and rightfully so. Not only do recycled and upcycled crafts save you green, but they also ensure that our lovely planet will stay green for decades to come. As they say, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure”, or “one person’s recycling bin is another’s supply store.” To honor the Earth and all that it encompasses, FaveCrafts.com and its sister sites are challenging you to craft green. This small challenge comes with big reward. Return daily to enter to win one of two exciting Earth Week prizes. Find the contest rules and enter below.

*This giveaway is now over. Please enjoy the free tutorial below.

Today is day one of Earth Week, and we’re starting out strong with a lovely and useful recycled craft from Crafting a Green World. With this tutorial from Julie Finn, you’ll learn how to turn recycled cardboard into Embroidery Floss Spools. This wonderful idea keeps money in your wallet and grass on the ground.

Upcycled Embroidery Floss Spools

Materials:

Centimeter-gridded graph paper or old embroidery spools
Recycled cardboard (cereal box, record case etc)
Scissors

Instructions:

1. Create a template. If you already own some embroidery floss spools that you like, just trace them. Graphing your own pattern on centimeter-gridded graph paper is really easy, however. A template drawn on graph paper is easy to make symmetrical, and you can fancy it up however you wish.

2. Fussy cut from cardboard. To fussy cut something means to cut it specifically to include a certain exact detail, often from a novelty print. You can fussy cut your embroidery floss spools by placing your template over something awesome, like Art Garfunkel’s face or Toucan Sam’s beak.

Note: If you cut your spools out of plain cardboard, you can still embellish them with ink pens–just make VERY sure that nothing you use will rub off on the floss.

3. Wrap and store! Finally wrap all of your floss nicely and neatly and organize it (in rainbow order, obviously!).

Thanks again to Julie Finn for Crafting a Green World for allowing us to share this tutorial!

Love embroidery floss projects? Check out these great embroidery and friendship bracelet tutorials!

Hand Embroidered Baby Bib
Vintage Embroidered Table Runner
Delicate Flowers Embroidery Pattern
Sequins Embellished Felt Flowers
Embroidery Hoop Art
Mason Jar Dish Towel Pattern
How to Make Friendship Bracelets: 12 Fun Friendship Bracelet Patterns! free eBook

Earth Week Giveaway

Bonus! As a gift to all Earth Week participants, when shopping with Arterro enter the coupon code FAVE20 for 20% off any order through May 1st.

OFFICIAL RULES

There is a maximum of one entry per person per day. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied. You can comment once a day on each blog post.
Winners will be selected at random from the comments on the Earth Week blog posts.
Winners will be announced here on the blog on April 29th as well as contacted by the email address provided.
You have until April 28th, 2013 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on any of the Earth Week posts. Comments posted after that will not be counted.
Contest open to anyone 18+ in US and/or Canada.

What crafts have you made from recycled cardboard?

Make Chores Fun With a DIY Clipboard Chart

March 18, 2013 by FaveCrafts

This tutorial is brought to you by Latrice Murphy from Any Occasion.

If you’re like me and you have kids between the ages of three and eight, you know that they are not super helpful unless there is a set goal. I have tried different version of chore charts, behavior charts and more, but then I’m stuck trying to remember to give stickers or keep it updated. I searched Pinterest for ideas and found one idea that got my wheel turning… a chalkboard chore chart that they can mark off!!

I thought I could totally do that. My two older kiddos have five tasks they have to do every week besides having good behavior. They can earn more stickers (like money to them) if they complete all six tasks by the end of the week. I decided to create a clipboard using the chalkboard idea.

Materials:

Plain clipboards
Chalkboard paint
Sticker paper
Die cutting machine
Washi tape
Chalk
Reward cards

Instructions:

Mask off the clip part of the clipboard to prevent it from getting paint on it.
Spray the entire clipboard with chalkboard paint, letting it dry between coats about 20 minutes. I did three coats. I did not spray the back.
While your paint is drying head over to your die cutting machine and die cut small circle, list items and name.
Now you’re ready to assemble. Starting at the bottom adhere all the words and circles with Washi tape lines in between.
Make your reward cards from thick cardstock, washi tape and staples. Clip these to the top.

chalkboard2

The bottom row of circles is for parents only. You will mark here when the days items are completed.

This is a really is an easy DIY project that your kids will love and it will get you a teensy bit more organized. I know I need it!

How to Decorate Glass Bottles With Fiskars Border Punches

January 30, 2013 by FaveCrafts

This tutorial is brought to you by Jade Harrington aka Jaderbomb.

Be sure to check out her review for another Fiskars product, the ProCision Rotary Bypass Trimmer.

Howdy Jaderbugs! I am so excited to share this tutorial with you today. I will be showing you some of Fiskars’ amazing boarder punches which I already know will make you go “Ohhhh and Ahhh” over.

Let’s get started. The things you will need are:

1. Glass Bottles
2. Tape
3. Scrapbook paper
4. Fiskar’s Border Punches

I will be using the Lacy Doubles Interchangeable Border Punch Cartridge for this tutorial.

“Fiskars- Use this Interchangeable Border Punch Cartridge with our Interchangeable Border Punch Starter Set base (sold separately) to add a variety of decorative borders to paper craft projects. Simply snap the cartridge into the starter set base, punch your craft material and switch cartridges to add a new design to another edge or your next big project. The interchangeable cartridges stack conveniently to save space in your craft room and make taking them to crops easier than ever. Must be used with our Interchangeable Border Punch Starter Set base.”

When you are ready to start using your punch you will notice there is a picture of the design on the front of the cartridge. Look at my arrows because this is where you want to start your paper. It’s pretty easy once you do it one or two times. Make sure when press down that you do it one good time to ensure the blades go completely through the paper.

Look how gorgeous. I decided to do both sides to make it look really fancy. By the way, I just used different size strips of paper that I had for this project.

This is how it will look when you complete both sides. I love the accuracy of this product.

I simply wrapped my strips of laced paper around my bottles and secured them in the back with a piece of tape.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I know once you do one you will have a HUGE collection of interchangeable punches in your craft space. Be creative because you can do so much with these punches. Bye!

How to Make a Decorative Travel Mug Using Fiskars Border Punches

January 23, 2013 by FaveCrafts

This tutorial is brought to you by Jade Harrington aka Jaderbomb. Check out her review for another Fiskars product, the ProCision Rotary Bypass Trimmer.

Do you love coffee as much as I do? Do you travel places with your coffee because you are always on the go?
DO you wish you could decorate your “travel” mug to reflect your personality? If so then I just know you will love the tutorial I have for you today!

Let’s get started, you will need:

-Scrapbook paper
-Travel Mug
-Spray Adhesive or Double Stick Tape
–Fiskars Border Punches

These are the interchangeable punches I used:

–Daisy Chain
–Banners Away
–Groovy Rainbow

“Fiskars- Our easy-to-use Border Punches, Interchangeable Border Punches and AdvantEdge™ Border Punch System add eye-catching flair to the edges of scrapbook pages, homemade cards and much more. An easy-to-use design with an alignment grid makes creating a perfectly spaced border fun and hassle free. Try our exclusive AdvantEdge™ Border Punch System for larger border designs and perfect alignment.”

You can buy a starter set that will come with the base (which you can use for all of the interchangeable punches) and one cartridge. You will notice when you purchase this that you can also purchase the base and cartridge individually if you prefer.

When you start you want to flip the two plastic flaps open from the bottom of the cartridge. This will help you align your print when you start punching.

When you are ready get your travel mug, take out the paper insert and trace on the back of the decorative paper. Cut it out and you will have the same shape that came with the mug.

Cut another piece of scrapbook paper into squares and start punching the edges. I wanted a variety of designs so I used a few different punches. You can glue these pieces down or use spray adhesive. Whichever you prefer. Depending on how thick your paper that you are adding is, you might want to use hot glue to ensure that it will stay.
Now that you are done punching the sides you can add a photo to the middle. You can make your squares smaller or bigger depending on how many pictures you want to display.

I am very pleased with the way it turned out! I love this project because you can really show off your loved ones and your personal style.

Drinking coffee has never looked cooler! I hope to see lot’s of people walking around with decorative travel mugs now! BYE!

How to Make an Abstract Greeting Card Using a Fiskars ProCision Rotary Bypass Trimmer

January 15, 2013 by FaveCrafts

This tutorial is brought to you by Jade Harrington aka Jaderbomb. Also, be sure to check out a full review of the Fiskars ProCision Rotary Bypass Trimmer.

I love getting cards in the mail. It’s not often that happens because we have so much technology. BUT, what if you changed that! Once a month you should make ONE card and send it to someone special. That’s not hard right? Once I show you this tutorial you might end up doing 5 cards a month because it’s super chic, contemporary and cute.

Let’s get started, you will need:

–Fiskars – ProCision – 12 Inch Rotary Bypass Trimmer
-Scrapbook Paper
-Craft Knife
-Tape

Use paper that makes you smile. If you know who you are sending it to you could even design the card completely around them!

Get the paper that you want to use for the card. I used a piece of paper that looks like a notebook. I did this because I wanted it to look neat when I wrote inside. Simply fold your sheet of paper (8×10) in half, then fold it again in half.

Use your cutter and cut different size strips.

Start by making a small incision with your craft knife to the end of your paper. You want to be careful when doing this because you don’t want to cut a strip too big. You will slide your strips of paper through the slits then tape the back. I love this project because you can be super creative and overlap your paper as much as you like.

I made an abstract initial, a T. I then added different strips along the top to dress it up. Don’t be afraid to create a beautiful abstract card. Enjoy! I hope in return you will get a card in the mail, it’s super fun and brings you back to how things used to be.

BYE!

Fly & Soar! A Summer Recycled Art Project for Kids

This post is brought to you by Brian Yanish, creative director/founder of ScrapKins

Materials:

Instructions:

How to Fly Your Pod:

Upcycled DSLR Camera Strap Cover

Earth Week Giveaway

What’s the most creative thing you’ve made with an old shirt?

Scrapkins Milk Carton Pirate Ship

Having a pirate party with your kids? Check out these other great projects from AllFreeKidsCrafts!

Earth Week Giveaway

What household items do you keep to craft with?

Refurbish An Old Chair With Yarn

Looking for more ways to use yarn and ways to refurbish other items in your home? You’re in luck!

Earth Week Giveaway

What is your favorite way to upcycle items?

Upcycled Embroidery Floss Spools

Love embroidery floss projects? Check out these great embroidery and friendship bracelet tutorials!

Earth Week Giveaway

What crafts have you made from recycled cardboard?

This tutorial is brought to you by Latrice Murphy from Any Occasion.

Materials:

Instructions:

This tutorial is brought to you by Jade Harrington aka Jaderbomb.

Be sure to check out her review for another Fiskars product, the ProCision Rotary Bypass Trimmer.

This tutorial is brought to you by Jade Harrington aka Jaderbomb. Also, be sure to check out a full review of the Fiskars ProCision Rotary Bypass Trimmer.

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