1. Parenting & Family

Button Heart Craft

Button Heart Craft

Anne Davies explains how you can use buttons and wire to make this heart craft.

More Related Crafts
Family Crafts Spotlight10

Spotlight Crafts - Piggy Bank, Graduation Caps, More

Saturday May 19, 2012
This week you can learn how to make a piggy bank, a teepee in your garden, a photo magnet, and much more. Which craft will you try first?
  • How to Make a Piggy Bank - This craft how-to video will show how you and your child can make an adorable piggy bank that will dazzle the change right out of your pocket.
  • String Bean Teepee - Sheila Ellison explains how to create a teepee in your garden using string beans. What better place to hide from the summer sun and imagine lands unknown than inside a teepee covered with green vines?
  • Printmaking with Cardboard - Find out how you can use cardboard to make fun prints. Use these ideas to make gifts, t-shirts, wrapping paper, and more.
  • Flat Marble Photo Magnet Craft - Discover how you can create fun photo magnets using flat glass marbles. The magnet looks like a little bubble that magnifies your picture just a little and shows it off!
  • Re-Fashioned Bangle Bracelet Craft - I love this project submitted by Sangeetha from India. She shares her technique for giving new life to a bangle bracelet she had that was broken.
  • Kite Mobile Craft - Discover how you can make this neat kite mobile using paper, a wire coat hanger, and a few other supplies.
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 © 2012 Sherri Osborn licensed to About.com, Inc.)

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How to Recycle Plastic Bags

Friday May 18, 2012
Despite having reusable bags to use when I have to go shopping, I do sometimes end up with mounds of plastic bags. (Mainly because I have such a horrible memory and forget to bring my reusable bags!) I also save plastic bead bags, produce bags, etc. So, what do you do when you have way too many plastic bags? You make crafts!

Believe it or not, you can make a large variety of crafts using plastic bags. You can use crochet techniques to make a plastic bag hat or a fashionable tote bag. You can make some home decor items, such as a wreath or a comfy ped bed. You can find these and many more craft ideas when you browse through this collection of plastic bag crafts. Check out all of the crafts in the collection and then you can even submit your ideas to be published using this simple form.

RELATED:
- Paper Bag Crafts
- Recycling Crafts
- Save Money on Craft Supplies

(Image © 2012 Sherri Osborn licensed to About.com, Inc.)

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Fast Craft: How to Grow a Necklace

Thursday May 17, 2012
This week, I am working in my garden, planting the last of my vegetables. That is what inspired this week's fast craft project! Kids, young and old, will love making a necklace that they can watch grow.

All you need for this craft is an empty pill bottle (or other small, see-through container), some cotton balls, a piece of yarn about 24-inches long, and a flower or vegetable seed. I chose a green bean seed because it was large and easy to see through the container and it started growing fast. You can read the back of the seed packages to see how fast the seed will grow.

Start off by putting one or two cotton balls into the pill bottle. Sprinkle a little bit of water on the cototn balls, and then place a seed on the cotton balls. Top it off with one more cotton ball. Moisten that cotton ball with a little more water. Tie the center of your piece of yarn around the top of the pill bottle, and then tie the two ends together so you can wear it!

You can wear your necklace and watch it as it changes and grows. When you aren't wearing it, you can easily hang it in a sunny window. Make sure you keep the cotton balls moist, but make sure you don't add too much water. Once the plant ourgrows the pill bottle, you can transplant it into a larger pot or the ground and then add another seed to the necklace!

I hope you enjoy this fast craft. If you have a fun, fast craft to share, please take a moment to submit it using this simple form.

RELATED:
- More Fast Crafts
- Flower and Garden Craft
- Pill Bottle Crafts

(Image © 2012 Sherri Osborn licensed to About.com, Inc.)

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Graduation Planning

Wednesday May 16, 2012
Graduation is a very special event in a child's life (and also in the life of the parents and other adults in that child's life. Whether it is graduation from preschool, 6th grade, high school, or any other grade, it symbolizes a major accomplishment for that child.

Check out my creative ideas to help celebrate this special accomplishment. You can try making these special gradution crafts for parties, gifts, and decorations. You can also submit your graduation crafts to be published here.

RELATED:
- Free Graduation Cards
- Homemade Graduation Gifts
- Submit a Craft

(Image © 2012 Sherri Osborn licensed to About.com, Inc.)

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