Crafty Marie

A quick and easy activity for St. Patrick's Day is to make some fused bead designs. Perler beads, or Hama as the European version, are great for children and adults. So this is a craft that is ideal as a family session and activity. These St Patrick's Day Perler beads include many Irish themed patterns and motifs including a leprechaun's hat, a rainbow, pot of gold, shamrock, cross and Ireland's flag. You can make up these patterns in school, at home and at scouting and club activities. Younger children from age 4 and up can make use of the larger beads and pegboards which are easier for them to work with: these are called the Biggie Beads in the Perler range and Maxi Beads in the Hama range.

There are lots of reasons why you may want to make some kind of temporary mark on fabric. You might need to: mark around a sewing pattern before cutting it out, draw on a freehand design to embroider or quilt, indicate or show where certain stitches will go, transfer a motif to the fabric, mark out where a buttonhole or dart will go or put down specific pattern symbols. There are some really handy fabric marking pens for quilting and sewing as well as some other tools and techniques which you can use. You can learn about the most popular methods here along with all the tools and equipment needed. Depending on what your actual requirements are, there are many methods to transfer pattern markings to fabric. Knowledge of the different techniques allows you to choose the most suitable way of marking fabric for the sewing task that you need to complete.

One thing that I pick out regularly from my craft toolbox are 3D scrapbook adhesive squares. These self adhesive foam pads are very useful for several paper crafts including card making, scrapbooking and paper tole. I love using 3D adhesive squares because they stop my handmade cards from looking flat and boring. It's good to add some dimension and create greeting card designs that stand out when viewed from different angles. These foam squares help to make greeting card designs look really good. You can learn to successfully use these foam pads in your own paper crafting, whether you prefer to make greeting cards, gift tags or scrapbook journals. Completed projects that have just a little added dimension can create more appealing designs that other people can view and admire. You'll learn how to use these adhesives and how to use them to make 3D cards and other paper craft designs.

Paper mache, also known as papier mache, is the art or craft of sticking together small pieces of torn paper, or paper pulp, with a wet glue adhesive in order to make either flat or three-dimensional paper sculptures. Once the glue has a chance to dry out and harden, the sculpture becomes quite tough and solid. One of the most common uses of paper mache, is to make masks to wear for Halloween and Mardi Gras. It is also used to make sculptures for home decor and art and to upcycle existing decor to create a fresh new look and feel. Come learn more about this craft on this page. Image Credit: Original image shared by izako77 on Pixabay with a CC License

Last spring we decided to create a space in our back yard which would attract birds so that we could enjoy watching them from our kitchen window. Since our garden has no trees and we don't own any of the fencing, we had nowhere convenient where we could hang some feeders. So the first thought was in creating a standing bird table or a feeding station where we could hopefully tempt some small songbirds with some food. Our main challenge was that we also did not have any money to invest in the project which meant that we’d have to opt for a DIY solution. Looking around at various tables and feeder stations, we had a good idea of what we wanted but the prices were really prohibitive. We figured that we’d rather spend that money on supplying good quality seed and treats through the year rather than on what are essentially just bits of wood. Besides, I figured that the birds really would not care what the equipment looks like, just as to whether they could easily and safely get t...

Paper or Papier Mache, as it is also known, requires a significant amount of glue, even for fairly small craft projects. You can use adhesives that are ready made and mix them with a little water to thin them to the desired consistency or you can make your own DIY paper mache glue mixes at home. The benefits of making your own versions of paper mache glue are that it lowers the cost of this paper craft significantly. It also means that you can make up non-toxic pastes that should cause no harm if they happen to be accidentally consumed by a child.  This post explains how to use ready made mixes of adhesive as well as making your own. Included is a recipe for homemade glue with the ratio of ingredients needed.

One theme that I tend to revisit again and again with my crafting, is that of birds. I am a keen backyard watcher of these charming creatures and from there I can get lots of inspiration and ideas from our charming feathered friends. If you buy only just one very good quality rubber stamp that you like or a themed set even, you can really enjoy no end of hours sat paper crafting, making cards, doing scrapbooking and more. I really loved the design featured here in the photo above and it is one I keep coming back to for my cards and crafts because I love it so much.  This one is of a European bird and the stamp is called Blue Tits on Summer Jasmine. You would probably find it hard to get hold of the exact same design although eBay would be a good bet. However, why not choose one based on what you love to look at. I hope you see something that you really love here today and I'll also give you tips on using a bird theme in your own crafting. So let's take a look.