Not only are this week's craft projects fun for all ages, many are great for back-to-school time.

• Decoupaged Paperweight - Find out how easy it is to transform an ordinary rock into a treasured paperweight. This colorful paperweight is not only easy to make, it also would make a great gift.

• Math Rocks - Ellen from Connecticut explains how the make a unique math game using rocks.

• School Fun Paper Crafts - Find out how to make these fun paper crafts submitted by Jan.

• Poetry Magnet Craft - You can buy small, magnetic poetry words at stores for big bucks or you can spend a few dollars and a little time and make your own magnetic poetry.

• Egg Carton Fish - Find out how you can easily create a school of colorful fish to decorate every room in your house, your classroom, or any where else. All you need are some egg carton cups and a few basic craft supplies.

• Personalized Pet Dish Craft - Create a set of personalized pet food dishes and your dog or cat can eat in style with a matching bowl and mat.

• Feather Face Pencil - Everyone will admire your pencils if you dress them up with feathers and wiggle eyes.

Enjoy, and remember, if you complete any of these crafts, take a few moments to send me a picture and it can be featured here too!

(Photo © 2010 Sherri Osborn licensed to About.com, Inc.)

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Enjoy this week's offerings from the crafty bloggers:

• Aileen's Musings - It's Christmas in July and Alieen reminds us that the holidays will be here faster then a blinking twinkle light! Now's the time to start creating gifts to give and to sell!

• Carmi's Art/Life World - Carmi has a Claudine Hellmuth tutorial to share this week!

• Crafty Princess Diaries - Tammy shows you her latest charity crafting project, some crochet washcloths for the Global Knit Haitian Relief Project.

• Eileen - The Artful Crafter - Learn how to make an angelic mini quilted wall hanging.

• Mixed Media Artist - Try using your favorite poem as a starting point for your mixed media art!

(Graphic is courtesy of morgue.com)

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Shhh, don't tell anybody but when I got this book, I had no clue what encaustic art was. Always wanting to learn more about any arts or crafts, I anxiously flipped it open and starting paging through it. This book really opened my eyes and excited me about an art form, also known as hot wax painting, I had never explored before. As it's subtitle suggests, this book definitely seems to be The Complete Guide To Creating Fine Art With Wax.

The author, Lissa Rankin, does a wonderful job educating and instruction with this book. There are 16 chapters that cover everything from the supplies you will need to merging encaustic art with other craft technique most of us have heard of such as collage, printmaking, and sculpture. This book will amaze and inspire the beginner and also offers great advice for the experienced artist.

This book is very educational and the photos are amazing. I paged through this book several times just to look at the pictures. It is truly amazing what some people can create. Of course, the author hopes her book will inspire you to try your hand at creating your own works of art.
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(Cover Art Courtesy of Watson-Guptill)

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I know your kids are probably not ready for summer to end, but these back to school activities and crafts might help make them a little more excited for school to start.

Part of the fun of going back to school is shopping for new school supplies. While you can spend a lot of money to buy fancy school supplies, why not create your own? You can easily jazz up notebooks and other books. Start out with a simple paper book cover or a fabric covered notebook. You can also make your own stretchy book cover and a unique notebook cover using an outgrown pair of jeans! You can easily design your own pens and pencils. Make several of these fun pen and pencil projects to fill your back to school pencil case! You can also use many creative techniques and supplies to decorate or make your own backpacks and tote bags. Another great back to school craft to make is a home-made message board. Make one for at home and also make a smaller one to hang up in your locker.

While you are doing back to school crafting, why not make a gift for your teacher? Customized calendars make great gifts for teachers. Print out calendar pages for September through June (or the entire year if you prefer) and personalize them however you like. Check out these free school related beaded safety pin designs! These beaded safety pin patterns can be used to make fun jewelry to give as a gift to a special teacher. Of course, you can also browse through this list of home-made gift ideas to find the perfect gift to craft for your teacher. Once you make your gift, you can also make a home-made card or gift tag; then, you can use these creative gift wrapping ideas for the perfect finishing touch.

Finally, if you want some fun back to school activities that will help jump start your kid's brain after a long and lazy summer, there are several things you can try. For your kids, you can create a fun back to school coloring book. Make a separate coloring book featuring letters of the alphabet and also one featuring numbers to color. If you think your child needs to brush up on their alphabet, check out these alphabet activities. If you want your child to get into reading, consider creating a Story Sack.

So, let's face it... There comes a time every summer when our thoughts must turn to going back to school. Personally, I usually love the excitement and shopping involved with getting ready for school to start; but, whether you love it or not, by using your creativity, you can make going back to school fun!
RELATED:
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(Photo © 2010 Sherri Osborn licensed to About.com, Inc.)

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