FaveCrafts

1000s of free craft projects, home decor ideas and DIY tips

How to Make a Hoppy Easter Banner

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

Easter is fast approaching! I’m excited to share this project with you because I feel it’s the best banner I’ve ever made. Start with simple white paper and layer other colors.

Materials:

  • Cardstock
  • Patterned paper
  • Adhesive
  • Die cutting machine or templates
  • Ribbon
  • Gemstones
  • Sewing machine (optional)

Instructions:

Start off by either die cutting or using a template for all of your pieces. I chose four shapes from Silhouette for my banner.

Next, you can start layering the pieces. This one was banner piece, bracket topper, fancy egg and then the letters were attached with 3D squares for dimension.

I prefer sewing my banners together, but you can also use a stapler for this part.

Finish the banner off with a couple buttons on the crosses and a small gemstone on the bracket toppers. Hang with pride!

Say Hello To Spring With Handmade Greeting Cards

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

Hello crafters! Spring is finally here and I’m excited to start crafting for Easter. I love sending cards to friends – it’s a great way to add a smile to their mailboxes! I’ve been die cutting lots of patterned paper into super fun flowers, which I love doing. This creates visual interest when the main image is the pattern. Here is the card set I’ve created for you today.

Materials:

  • Solid cardstock (both color and white)
  • Patterned paper
  • Die Cutting machine (I used a Silhouette)
  • Border punch
  • 3D adhesive
  • Buttons
  • Glossy Accents
  • Stamps or sentiment stickers (Mine are SRM Stickers)
  • Sewing machine (optional)

These cards are super easy to make. You pretty much create a simple base and let the die cut flower do all the talking. First, choose your cardstock and patterned paper.

Cut first piece of patterned paper down to 5” X 3.75”, border punch the bottom and adhere to card front.

Next trim down a piece white cardstock to 4.25” X 3.25”, add sentiment sticker and then add 3D adhesive to the back. Adhere this to your card front.

Next using more 3D adhesive adhere your die cut flower to the white cardstock.

Get your liquid adhesive and add a button to the flower center.

Lastly finish the card off with a single line of stitching above the scallop.

Just For Kids! Adorable Easter Craft Ideas

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This post is brought to you by Mary Egan from CraftFoxes

The next big holiday is Easter! Easter is a time of new beginnings after a long winter. The holiday is a great time to educate kids about spring, flowers, and everything turning green again! The best way to teach kids these ideas is through creative, interactive crafts. There are lots of great how-tos and crafting projects for Easter on the CraftFoxes website. From cute hair accessories to springtime snacks, CraftFoxes has many options for  crafts to make with your kids. Here are four projects you can work on with your kids to teach them all about the spring season. Get ready to have some fun as the weather gets warmer.

 

Felt Butterfly Sewing Pattern

When the weather warms up, kids are likely to see butterflies in the garden. Why not have them create and decorate some butterflies of their own? All you’ll need for this simple and fun craft is felt in bright, springtime colors, embroidery thread, an embroidery needle, along with other fun decorations. Sew the felt together to create the shape of a butterfly. Once the butterfly is constructed, let your kids join the crafting fun to decorate. Offer up glitter, sequins, buttons, beads, and anything else you may have on hand for them to use. This butterfly can be stuck to windows or even on the fridge with a magnet.

You can learn more about this Easter craft for kids at CraftFoxes. 

 

Chocolate Bunny Rice Krispie Treats

Kids love snacks and Easter offers lots of different (and yummy) ideas for treats. This bunny is adorable, and the use of Cocoa Krispies will make it extra tasty! This recipe, which can be found on CraftFoxes, also includes chocolate morsels for that added kick of cocoa. Once you’ve made a batch of chocolate Rice Krispie treats, simply use a large circle-shaped cookie cutter to create the body of the bunny and a smaller circle to create the head. Then shape the mixture into ears for the bunny as well. Once you have everything prepared, call in the kids and have them help out in assembling the bunny rabbit and then decorating him.

Learn more about the Chocolate Bunny Rice Krispies Treats Easter recipe!

 

Duck Tape Easter Egg Photo Frame

Do you love duct tape crafts? This adorable photo frame is made entirely with tape and would make a great Easter gift for grandparents, aunts, or uncles. The frame is a simple craft, but it does involve a crafting knife so you’ll need to help your kids with it. You’ll also need a ruler, a picture of your child, a craft board, and differently colored Duck Tape. Because this is an egg frame, you might want to use pastel colors associated with Easter and springtime. Cut an egg shape out of some construction paper, and ask your kids for creative input — what designs would they like to put on the photo frame? Then, simply cut shapes out of your Duck Tape and decorate the photo frame.

Learn more about this Easter Egg photo frame.

 

Nest Headband

Here is an easy sewing project for kids to try. If you’ve got a young child who’s interested in crafting and is old enough to try out sewing for kids, this would be a great crafting project for them to start with. You’ll need embroidery floss, a needle, a rectangle of felt, yarn, a crochet hook, and some other decorations to use. The bird’s nest made from yarn is simple enough, and you simply need to attach some beads for the “bird’s eggs.” Once the nest is affixed to the felt, close up the felt with a blanket stitch so that it’s wound around a ribbon to create a headband. Make sure the ribbon fits around the head of whomever wants to wear it, then close it up with elastic. Not only is this a fun sewing project for kids, it’s also a lovely hair accessory to wear during spring and Easter.

You can learn more about this craft at CraftFoxes.

Stick It: Make Creative Candy Pops For Valentine’s Day

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This tutorial is brought to you by Maria del Pinto.

These adorable candy pops are one of my favorite Valentine’s Day treats because they’re easy to make and sweet to eat. Bring a little sweet indulgence to your Valentine’s Day fun by making these great no-bake Valentine Marshmallow Peeps Candy Pops.

Materials:

  • Peeps Strawberry Crème Marshmallow Hearts.
  • Peeps Dark Chocolate Covered Raspberry Heart shaped marshmallow
  • Peeps Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Crème Flavored Chicks.
  • White Chocolate Candy Melts or Wilton’s candy melts
  • Brach’s Conversation Hearts
  • Lollipop sticks
  • Cello bags
  • Heat safe bowl
  • Skewer
  • Plastic baggy or other container to melt chocolate in

Instructions:

Place the Peeps Marshmallow hearts and chick on some parchment. Take each Peep and use a skewer to make a hole big enough to put the lollipop sticks into. Then insert skewers into the hearts and chick.

Boil some water and place in glass measuring cup. Place a small amount of white chocolate in the plastic baggy and seal tight. Place in the hot water until it melts.

Then cut the tip off the plastic baggy and use it as a piping bag by squeezing it to drizzle the chocolate onto the Peeps Marshmallow Hearts to personalize them with a name or a word. If you want to secure the lollipop sticks, then use a bit of the melted chocolate to secure the sticks. Place aside and to allow chocolate to harden.

Once chocolate has hardened, you can place the candy pops into individual cello bags to gift them or display them on a cake pop holder.

 

What’s the best Valentine’s Day gift you’ve ever received?

 

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth & Make This Edible Valentine’s Day Craft

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This tutorial is brought to you by Maria del Pinto.

What goes together better than chocolate and marshmallows?! Say “I Love You!” with fun DIY Heart Shaped Peeps and added brownie to your treat.

Supplies You’ll Need:

  • Peeps Strawberry Crème Marshmallow Hearts
  • Brach’s Heartlines Conversation Hearts
  • Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix
  • White Chocolate Candy Melts
  • Heart Shaped Cookie Cutters
  • Parchment or wax paper
  • Plastic baggy

 

Prepare and bake brownies in a 10” x 10” pan, according to the manufacturers directions.  Allow brownies to cool.

Place the Peeps Marshmallow hearts onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. Boil some water and place in heat resistant container.  Place a small amount of the white chocolate candy melts in the plastic baggy and seal tight.

Place in the hot water until it melts then remove.

Then cut the tip off the plastic baggy and use it as a piping bag by squeezing it to drizzle the chocolate or to personalize the Peeps Marshmallow Hearts with words. Place aside and to allow chocolate to harden. Don’t be afraid to use the hearts without any personalization.  I think they are really cute plain too.

Then cut the brownies into 4” x 4” pieces.  Take a heart shaped cookie cutter in approximately the same size as the Peeps Heart and cut out the center of the
brownie.  Remove the center and replace with the Peeps Marshmallow Heart.

To finish the Brownie, you can personalize the brownie by adding more candy hearts, dusting it with white sugar, or by drizzling it with the white chocolate.

 

What’s your favorite Valentine’s Day treat?

 

Give a Homemade Valentine’s Day Gift Box & Spread Some Love

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This tutorial is brought to you by Maria Del Pinto.

You don’t need sugar to celebrate being a romantic at heart. Make this darling Sugar Free Peeps gift to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Candy Decorating Supplies:

  • Peeps Sugar-Free Marshmallow Hearts
  • Sugar-Free White Chocolate Block
  • Plastic Wrap
  • Plastic Baggy
  • Wax paper or parchment paper

Box Supplies:

  • Card Stock
  • Assorted Embellishment
  • Duck Brand Glitter Crafting Tape in red
  • Aleene’s Tacky Glue
  • Martha Stewart Daisy Field Punch
  • Scissors

 

Boil some water and place in glass measuring cup.  Place a small amount of chopped-up sugar-free white chocolate in the plastic baggy and seal tight.  Place in the hot water until it melts.

Then cut the tip off the plastic baggy and use it as a piping bag by squeezing it to drizzle the chocolate or to personalize the Peeps Marshmallow Hearts with a name or a word.  Note: You may want to practice on a piece of parchment.   Place aside and to allow chocolate to harden.

Measure the circumference of the Peeps Sugar-Free Marshmallow Heart box. Add an inch for overlap and then cut a piece of card stock to fit.  Mine was  8-1/2” by 6-1/2”.

Cut strips of the Red Glitter Duck Tape to cover the cardstock.

Place the Duck Tape covered card stock onto the Daisy Field Punch base, align the punch and then punch down.  Move the card stock and align using the preset markings and punch two more times.

Once you have punched out the images, then fold the card stock to fit around the Peeps Plastic packaging base and glue to overlapping edges together.  Decorate the cover with the embellishments of your choice.  Finish by inserting the plastic tray in the finished cover.

 

What Valentine’s Day crafts are you making this year?

 

Use Clip-On Earrings to Update Any Outfit In 5 Minutes

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This post is brought to you by Brianna Balesso.

Clip-on earrings have so many uses. Okay, I know what you’re thinking- “Really, clip-on earrings?” Yes! Clip-on earrings are making a huge comeback and best of all, you can make a pair yourself without ever leaving home!

 

If you’re ready to start creating your own fabulous accessories but don’t have any clip-on earrings, don’t worry! I usually get an old pair from my grandmother or mom, but have also found some great hidden vintage treasures at garage sales and thrift stores.  If buying used isn’t your thing, the website Emitations offers affordable clip-on earrings in current and trendy styles.

To make your own trendy clip-ons, you’ll need:

  • Needle-nose pliers
  • An old pair of clip-on earrings

Using pliers, simply bend the clip to make it as flush as possible to the earring back.  If the clip is not flush with the back, you may experience some uncomfortable rubbing.

Add your new clip-ons to:

  • Heels / Wedges
  • Scarves
  • Shirt collars
  • Waist belts
  • Clutch / Purse

 

What clothing items would you decorate with sparkly clip-ons?

clip-on-earrings-uses

Brianna is a recent college graduate working on expanding her portfolio.  While studying to obtain her undergraduate degree, she became an avid crafter and DIY-er in order to stretch her budget as far as it could go.

How To Make Pretty Paper Valentines Day Cards

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

Can you believe it’s almost February? The time is flying and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. I’ve made a resolution to send more cards in the mail. Yes the mail- not an email, not a text, actual mailman mail. I just love the thought of a little surprise in a friend’s mailbox. So I cranked out this fun little card set for a few friends.

Materials:

  • DCWV gemstones
  • Bazzill white cardstock
  • Studio Calico wood veneer hearts
  • Freckled Fawn wood veneer hearts
  • Echo Park yours truly collection
  • Pink Paislee Cupid collection
  • Pebbles With Love collection
  • Freckled Fawn Hearts washi tape
  • May Arts Ribbon
  • Scrapbook Adhesives 3D squares
  • Tombow adhesive runner

 

I’ve created a short photo tutorial for you to see how easy it is to make these cards.

valentines3

valentines4


Get out some supplies today and brighten someone’s mailbox this Valentine’s Day!

What Valentine’s Day crafts are you making this year?

 

Get Kids Crafting & Make These Gifts for Valentine’s Day

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This post is brought to you by Rachel Thomas.

When it comes to Valentine’s Day, handmade gifts really stand out. Even if the artwork is reminiscent to a sleep-deprived Picasso, the final product can easily warm the heart. Helping your children create scented waxy hearts can be quite easy if you have the tools on hand.

Image via Parenting.com

Ways to Make Homemade Candles for Valentine’s Day

Collecting the Wax – When the wick is too short to light, scented wax from the candle can be easy to retrieve. If the wax is in a jar, you can heat it up in order to help  it liquefy. Using a spoon, you could scrape the wax out of these jars. If you’re looking to make these in mass quantities, you can also find scented wax cubes or cheap candles at local dollar stores.

Heart-Shaped Designs – You can find a myriad of heart-shaped cookie cutters that will work great for cooling the wax. These will help you turn the collection of scented material into a work of art. Virtually any heart-shaped mold will do for Valentine’s Day.

Oil – To help separate the wax from the heart mold, many people add a small amount of oil to the inside of the shape. This will help prevent the wax from sticking to the heart mold. A thin layer of oil can help you retrieve the wax without a breaking heart – unless that is your goal.

Wax Paper or Tin Foil – Lastly, you’ll need wax paper, tin foil, or other covering that the wax will be easy to retrieve from. As you’ll be filling the heart mold with scented wax, you want to have a semi-tight seal between the shape and the material.

Putting it Together

Combining the materials to create the scented wax heart isn’t difficult to do. While you may want to help your children handle the hot material, the actual work is quite easy.

  • Lay your paper or other material on a flat surface. You can also use a cookie sheet if you’re careful about using a spatula to pick up the heart.
  • Place your heart mold securely on the paper.
  • Carefully pour the melted wax into the heart mold. You don’t want to splash hot wax everywhere as it could make an unsightly mess.
  • Let the wax cool before retrieving it from the mold. Depending on the size of the heart-shaped mold, it could take anywhere from five minutes to more than 30 in order for the wax to be stable enough to remove it from the area.

Don’t be afraid to add a bit of flare to the design. Layered colors can be easily accomplished if you let each harden before pouring in the next. The end result is a magnificent work of scented art that can be carved by your children to include dates or initials.

What would be your favorite scent to turn into a Valentine?

 

Rachel is an ex-babysitting pro as well as a professional writer and blogger. She is a graduate from Iowa State University and currently writes for www.babysitting.net. She welcomes questions/comments which can be sent to rachelthomas.author @ gmail.com.

Warm and Toasty Winter Craft Ideas (Plus Coookies!)

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This post is brought to you by Mary Egan of CraftFoxes.com.

Now that brisk winter weather is here, you may be feeling a bit of cabin fever from being all cooped up in your house. Why not put a positive spin on all that time you have to spend indoors? With these winter crafting ideas from CraftFoxes, you can spend some snowy days making delicious winter-themed snacks, holiday decorations or winter clothing like sweater knitting patterns and boot cuffs. When it’s blustery outside, snuggle up in a sweater and do some crafting! Here are four ideas from the CraftFoxes website for awesome winter crafts.

Winter Maxi Skirt

When I think of long, flowing maxi skirts, I tend to think of summer outfits. But this winter maxi skirt can be worn with thick tights or leggings underneath for some extra warmth and a fashionable flair. To make this maxi skirt, you’ll need a section of stretch knit fabric about 60 inches wide, as well as other assorted sewing materials. Using your measurements, cut and sew the fabric as directed in this tutorial. This is a great statement piece to have in your wardrobe, and should keep you warm when paired with some tights or leggings. You can make your maxi skirt whichever color you’d like — a frosty, winter blue or some holiday red and green!

 

Snowflake Ornament

Even if it doesn’t snow where you live, the snowflake is often recognized as the quintessential symbol of winter. This embroidered snowflake ornament makes use of the snowflake in a really cute and commemorative way. To make this ornament, which you can hang on a Christmas tree or anywhere in your home during the winter holidays, you’ll need the template from CraftFoxes, an embroidery hoop, fabric, needle and thread, and other sundry materials. In addition to the snowflake, you can also embroider the date on your ornament. It might be a cute idea to embroider one of these ornaments every year, to commemorate your family’s celebration of the holiday season.

 

Knitted Nordic Mittens

When the weather outside is frightful, it’s easiest and most comfortable to just stay indoors. But sometimes you have to leave the house when it’s downright freezing! If you have to go out and brave the cold weather, you might want to take along a pair of these Nordic mittens. To make these knitted Nordic mittens, you’ll need some yarn in red and white (or any colors of your choice), as well as a stitch marker and one set each of sizes 3 and 5 (3.25 and 3.75mm) double-pointed needles. You can follow the knitting pattern on CraftFoxes. This pattern makes mittens for a hand circumference of 7-1/2 inches /19cm, but can be adjusted.

 

Bacon Banana Cookies and Melted Snowman Cookies

These absolutely delicious cookies are the perfect treat for your kids when they get home from school, or when they’ve just started their winter break! How can you go wrong with bacon banana and cinnamon cookies?

For another creative wintertime snack, try out this recipe for melted snowman cookies. The cookies are made from regular, old sugar cookie dough, so you can use any recipe that you have on hand. Then you’ll need lots of icing to add in your melting snowman. You can use a piping bag full of icing or edible icing pens for this step. When you’re finished, you’ll have an adorable, wintery snack!

 

What’s your favorite wintertime craft?

Crochet

Jewelry

Knitting

Paper

Sewing

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