FaveCrafts

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

Link Love: How to Throw an Oscars Party

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The Oscars are going down this Sunday night! Who’s excited to see who wins? I love watching the Academy Awards every year, and even though I’ll probably be watching them alone this year, I always dream of hosting an Oscars party complete with themed food, decorations, and voting. I found some cool ideas for Oscars-themed crafty food, Oscar party ideas and decorations, and printables to use at your Oscars viewing party. If you’re not hosting a party this year, bookmark this page to use for next year’s shindig. You can try these party ideas for any Oscars night, no matter who’s nominated. One thing’s for sure: if you host an Oscars viewing party using these crafty ideas, you’ll be nominated for best party host!

  1. Oscars Party Theme and Printables from Hostess with the Mostess
  2. Fantasy Oscars Draft Game from Formal Fringe
  3. Oscars Statue Cookies from Bakerella
  4. Oscars Cupcakes from Namesake Design
  5. Red Carpet Dress Kids Craft from Babble
  6. Popcorn Cupcakes from Give Peas a Chance
  7. Oscar Party Tablescape from Food Network
  8. Ken Doll Oscar Statues from Everyday Celebrating
  9. Printable Ballot from Studio DIY

Easy Made Invitations

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This guest post was written by Lindsay Garret for EasyMadeInvitations.com.

Hi! I’m Lindsay… a wife, a mom and a girl who loves to design homemade invitations!
EasyMadeInvitations.com is a website I’ve created to give DIY’ers the advice and ideas they need to create their own amazing invitations. Like anyone who loves to do things by hand, I love the design and creativity that goes into making a great invitation!

Homemade invitations add a practical, personal and fun touch to any occasion! Creating your own handmade invitations for your parties is a great way to save money and get really creative. And, contrary to belief, they can be really easy. All of your guests are sure to love receiving a fantastic homemade invitation when they’re invited to your party, shower or any celebration.
I’ve been busy creating lots of great new invitation designs and I wanted to share this one with you. I just love the beautiful chartreuse green combined with a crisp white to create this super cute birthday invitation!

The supplies for this invitation are super easy to use and find too! Basically all you need is some cardstock, ribbon, and paper flowers and you’re set! I’ve listed the exact supply list for you below to make it even easier!

Supply List…

{ invitation supplies }

To make this invitation, the process goes much quicker when you cut all the paper first other than your text sheet, which includes the green cardstock. The white cardstock needs to be cut to a size of 8-1/2″x 5-1/2″, which is actually a standard size of paper cut in half. You will be able to make two invitations per each sheet of paper

The next step is to determine a text layout for your invitation. I always use my printshop program to design my layouts, but any computer wordprocessing program should work. Set your page to a horizontal layout. Next, create a text block on the left side of the paper. Determine the wording you will be using. I thought of a cute little rhyme for this invitation since it’s for a little girl’s 4th birthday…

“April showers have brought May flowers

and a birthday once more…

Please join us as

Madison Grace

blooms and turns four!”

I also used a delicate cursive font for the wording and printed it in brown ink so that it blended well with the overall design of the invitation.
Remember to leave a margin at the top and bottom for the ribbon and flowers. I usually use a trial and error printing to determine if my text will work right. Be sure to use an inexpensive printer paper rather than your good cardstock to help save costs!
Once the text layout is correct, copy and paste that text block to the right side to give you two text sheets per one sheet of paper. Then start printing them on the white cardstock.
After the printing is finished, cut your text layer to a size of 8″x 5″.

{ cut-out supplies }

The next step is an easy one! To assemble the invitation, using scrapbook mounting squares, attach the green cardstock to the white cardstock. Be sure to keep it centered so it doesn’t look sloppy.

Next, take a length of ribbon and wrap it around both layers near the bottom leaving about a 1/4″ reveal of green cardstock below it. Attach it with the mounting squares on the back.

Finally, using the jeweled florettes, attach some larger ones on the ribbon on the bottom. I like to place them staggered, like they’re dancing across the paper. Then attach some smaller ones on the top as if they’re cascading down the invitation. You could also use your imagination and come up with different ways to place the flowers!

That’s it! Now all you have to do is mail them out and wait for the party! What a beautiful invitation that really took no time at all!

Let me know what you think about this design! I love to hear everyone’s input! I’d also love to hear about some great invitations you’ve made by hand!

You can visit my website, EasyMadeInvitations.com, to see all the invitations I’ve designed and to get inspiration to create your own! Visit often to see what’s new!

-Lindsay

FaveCrafts 365 Elmer’s Party Round-Up

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This took me way too long, but I finally have a fun slide show and round-up of all our fun during the Elmer’s Twitter Party last month. This video shows off all the cards we made during the party, and I know everyone loved being a part of it. Enjoy!

Miss the Elmer’s Twitter Party FaveCrafts 365 post? Just click HERE.

If you are looking for the products we used during the party you’ll find the supplies at CutRateCrafts.com!

FaveCrafts 365 Craft Party!

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We love a good party here at FaveCrafts.com! Recently, Elmer’s sent us a party package filled with all kinds of goodies. We invited 10 friends to come over and create plus enjoy an awesome lunch. I’ll be posting photos of our party and what we created soon. Plus we tweeted all about it!

Do you follow us on Twitter? We post tips, news, and more! Come follow us!

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FaveCrafts 365 Mardi Gras!

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I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting to see, hear, taste, and enjoy during my first visit to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras, but it was beyond my wildest dreams. What a party! We enjoyed watching many parades from The Muses to a grade school’s march through the town. I have some tips for getting those goodies! Just watch!

Party Crafts!

Mardi Gras Scrapbook Page Layout

How to Make a Mask

Gumball Party Tree

How to: Throw a St. Patrick’s Day Party

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While St. Patrick’s Day is exactly a week away, you may be celebrating this weekend with a night on the town or better yet, a party at your own home. This Saturday and Sunday, many cities will be holding their St. Patrick’s Day parades and festivals. After attending one of these events, invite some friends over for a St. Patrick’s Day party. To help you prepare, I’ve put together some tips on how to throw a St. Patrick’s Day party. Even if you are planning a quiet night at home with the family, you can still get a little festive with these ideas!

St. Patricks Day Party Ideas:

  • Invite friends to wear green to the party. As the party host, make a shamrock pin with felt, crochet or fabric yo-yos. Wear some lovely green and gold beaded jewelry.
  • Replace your outdoor/porch light with a green-tinted light bulb to help direct guests to the right house.
  • Hand out homemade “Kiss me I’m Irish” buttons to party guests, like the one shown above. The buttons make for fun party favors. You can also use the buttons as prizes for party games (see end of list).
  • Make a simple centerpiece with a square box turned into a Leprechaun Hat. Search through old gift boxes for an appropriate sized box. Turn the box over so that the lid forms the brim of the hat. Paint the box bright green. Once dry, remove the box from the lid and paint a band of black around the top. Add a square gold buckle on the front. When dry, replace box on lid.
  • For an even simpler centerpiece, make a Leprechaun’s Pot of Gold. Fill a small black cauldron left over from Halloween with gold chocolate coins. For a bit of fun, paint a rainbow on a large rectangle of paper and hang over the pot of gold.
  • Use a small heart rubber stamp and green ink to create shamrocks for adorning napkins, paper plates and other party accessories. Stamp three hearts with the points nearly connected and painted a curved line for the stem.
  • Cut out felt shamrocks in green, orange and white (the colors of the Irish flag), punch small holes on each side and string onto twine to create a St. Patrick’s Day party garland.
  • String green Christmas lights from the walls or wrap around an indoor tree.
  • Create a green party punch. In a large bunch bowl, mix 1/2 gallon lime sherbet with 2 liters of ginger ale or lemon-lime soda.
  • For those drinking at the party, you can serve a traditional Irish beer, such as Guinness, and a cheap, light beer which you can dye green with a drop or two of green food coloring.
  • Make shamrock cookies with green icing. If you don’t have a shamrock cookie-cutter, connect the points of three hearts together and add a small stem before baking.
  • Get competitive with an Irish Trivia/St. Patrick’s Day party game. For example “When was the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade?” The team with the closest answer wins. Answer: The first St. Patrick’s Day Parades were not in Ireland, but in Boston (1737) and New York (1762).

How to: Craft for New Year Traditions

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The start of a new year is an exciting time, full of possibility and the opportunity for personal renewal. New year traditions help us to celebrate this special time and reconnect with people as we wait for the first minute of the new year. As crafters, we can honor certain new year traditions with homemade decorations, host gifts or even activities that just make us happy to do on our own. Make this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration the best ever! Here are some of my favorite crafts for New Year Traditions:

The Song- “Auld Lang Syne”

The song we sing when the clock strikes midnight  is probably the most common of new year traditions but is not commonly understood. In fact, most people only really know the first two lines and have no idea what the title means. “Auld Lang Syne” is an old Scottish song  from the 1700s, collected by poet Robert Burns.  The best translation of the title is “times gone by.”  Basically, you are drinking together for the times gone by, which is a fitting description of New Year’s. If you are throwing a New Year’s Eve party, print out the words to “Auld Lang” Syne” on pretty cardstock and embellish with stamps, stencils and other decorations. These make great party favors. You can also bring the cards to a New Year’s party as a host gift. Here are the basic words to “Auld Lang Syne” (the song is much longer, but this is generally what people sing) :

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.


New Year Luck

People have many new year traditions revolving around luck. For example, eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is thought to bring prosperity, especially in the Southern U.S. With the help of  crafting, have a little fun with these tiny new year traditions.

  • Use black-eyed peas for simple decorating ideas. Fill shallow glass bowls with black-eyed peas and stand pillar candles up in the bowl. Spell out “Happy New Year” in glue on a sturdy piece of cardstock or cardboard and cover with black-eyed peas. This New Year craft is especially fun for kids.
  • Use strong, double-stick tape or adhesive to create a band around the middle of a pillar candle. Roll in black-eyed peas and press to stick. Arrange these black-eyed candles around your party.
  • Make black-eyed pea ornaments with beige and black felt. You can create a flat felt black-eyed pea, adding the black “eye” with adhesive, or create a stuffed pea with quilt batting. Simply make two identical peas (using glue or stitching to adhere “eye”), place right sides together, hand stitch most of the way around, turn inside out, stuff and stitch up. Easy peasy! (hardy har har)
    • Hang your black-eyed pea ornaments from chair backs, from twigs arranged in a vase, use as place cards or give as party favors.
  • Check out this idea from crafting blog Naughty Secretary Club for making an owl picture with black-eye peas.

Tie-Dye Basket Weaving

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Dear FaveCraft Friends,

I’m so happy to say that I will be blogging over here monthly and sharing information with you regarding the wonderful craft of basket weaving.  Today I want to share with you how I, as a basket weaver, used the Tulip Tie-Dye kit.

Tie-Dye Kit

I used the kit to dye my reed!

tie-dye-reed

The kit comes with 12 delicious colors. That’s great, because my box of mason jars comes 12 to a box as well. That means one color per jar and I won’t have to wash out and re-use the jars for additional colors.

I mixed up the first color according to the directions, color plus 4 oz of water (1/2 cup). I dipped the end of some reed in it and it took the color instantly. The directions said that the color could be lightened by adding more water. I decided to go to one cup of water. The reed still took the color almost instantly and with the same intensity as the first dip test. I decided to stick with one cup of water for each package of color.
Into each jar I put the dye, 1 cup water and 1 1/2 oz to 2 oz of reed. (I weighed it just to be sure.) Then I shook up each jar and placed it on its side to help the reed get maximum coverage in the dye bath. I let the reed stay in the dye bath about 1 hour and would turn and shake the jars about every 10 minutes.

reed2

Did I tell you I did all this outside on my back patio wearing old clothes? Nancy’s Tip: Even under optimum conditions NEVER, I repeat NEVER dye read in the house, or while wearing nice clothing on. The kit comes with rubber gloves as well as a plastic tarp. I used those too while working outside. I do think dying fabric could be less messy because it wouldn’t flip and fling little droplets of dye the way reed can.

When the kit came, the colors on the package just shouted, “It’s party time!” to me. That said, I decided to design and weave little party baskets to hold candy or small favors.

party-baskets

For those of you who have been too timid to try dying your own reed, this is a good way to try dying just a small bit at a time. It really was just one-step.
This month at FaveCrafts, I have posted the pattern for this fun little Party Favor Basket.

If you are in need of additional basket weaving information, be sure to visit my blog at www.basketmasterweavings.blogspot.com for more tips and techniques.

Happy Weaving,

Nancy

Summer Party: Lanterns and Table Decorations

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We are working with a new craft manufacturer called My Mind’s Eye. They make the most amazing scrapbook papers and sent over two “summer party” projects this week. These lanterns, placemats, napkin rings and coasters could easily become permanent fixtures of your home. I know I’d love some paper lanterns hanging around the house.

Summer Party Lanterns

Summer Party: Table Decorations

Crochet

Jewelry

Knitting

Paper

Sewing

Thrifty