Crocheted Valentines

These crocheted valentines are cute and fun to make, plus a new way to use crochet!


What YOu Need:

# 1 ball Rowan 4 ply cotton in Orchid
# 1 ball Rowan 4 ply cotton in Bloom
# 1 crochet hook, size B
# paper scissors
# 12 pre-cut 3.5-inch x 5-inch cards or card stock in assorted colors.
# 1/8-inch hole punch

Method:

Create a Template


Fold a small piece of scrap paper (I used a paper bag) in half and draw half a heart on the fold. The heart should be about 2-inches tall.


Cut out your template.


Prepare The Card

Fold one of the cards in half width wise and place your template at the top of the fold. Make sure that the template actually goes a little beyond the fold, so you can keep both sides of the card together.



Trace around the template.


Cut out the heart shape.



Using your 1/8th-inch hole punch, punch holes all the way around the front of the heart card. Try to get the holes fairly close to the edge and fairly close together



Crochet the Edge

Working on the outside of the card, pull a loop through a hole with the crochet hook
Crochet with a slip stitch through the holes as shown below.



Stick your hook through the next hole,




pull this yarn loop through the hole



and then pull it through your first loop.



Do this all the way around the front of the card.



When you get back to where you started pull the live loop to the wrong side of the card. Cut your yarn and pull it through the loop. Tape the ends down and you're done!

Organdi Flower Roses

Materials:

1. Organdi Cloth (Different colours)
2. Green Crape Paper
3. Green Tape
4. Aliminium wire

Method:

1. Firstly select the colour of cloth you want to make flowers then cut the cloth in the size of 7cm x 7cm piece.

2. Now make petals by folding it into four as shown in the picture below.




3. Now roll the three edges of the cloth to make peatl shape as shown.



4. In the same way make 6-7 petals for one Rose, continue the same process for making more flowers.

5. Cover the aluminium wire with green tape.

6. Make leaves using green crape paper.

I hope everyone will try out this beautiful flower making.

Here is a basket full of beautiful roses.

Flyaway Plant Pokes Craft

Make the flyaway plant pokes craft and you'll have lively, lovely handmade birds mingling with the real birds that visit your garden.






What You'll Need:
* Craft foam in red and blue
* Scissors
* Low-temperature glue gun
* Glue sticks
* Polyester fiberfill
* Two wood dowels,12 inches each
* Acrylic paint in yellow and white
* Paintbrush
* Black permanent felt-tip marker
* 18-inch lengths plastic-coated wire in 18-gauge blue and 22-gauge red
* Wire cutters

How to make the flyaway plant pokes craft:

Step 1: Download and print the pattern. Use the cardinal pattern to cut out two cardinal bodies and two cardinal wings from red craft foam. Repeat with the bluebird pattern and blue craft foam.




Step 2: Glue the body patterns together, leaving a 1-inch opening in the bottom. Lightly stuff the inside of the foam birds with fiberfill. Poke a dowel inside the opening, and glue closed.




Step 3: Glue the wings to each side of the birds' bodies. Paint the beaks yellow. Use the end of the paintbrush to add white dots on the body and wings of the bluebird.

Paint a group of three small yellow dots on the body and wings of the cardinal. Draw eyes on both birds with a black marker.




Step 4: Bend the plastic-coated wire around each bird's neck into the shape of a bow. Poke the end of the sticks into a plant.

Polka-Dot Vase

Reminiscent of kindergarten projects, this basket starts out as a quart-size milk container. The waterproof carton is well-suited to be a vase. Water-soaked floral foam makes it easy to poke in an arrangement of -miniature carnations or flowers from your garden.

You will need:

* 1-quart drink carton
* Ruler
* Marker or pen
* Scissors
* Card stock: blue, green, yellow, pink, white
* White glue (or spray glue)
* Fiskars paper crimper
* Large-hole punch

Instructions:

1. Measure and mark 4 inches from the bottom on all sides of the carton; cut off the portion above the line. For the handle, cut a 1/2-inch-wide piece from three sides of the upper part of the carton.

2. Glue blue card stock to the basket, neatly piecing the paper if necessary to cover.

3. Cut a 1/2x10-inch handle from blue card stock and feed it through the paper crimper. Glue the blue crimped paper to the carton handle; trim excess paper. Glue the handle to the basket.

4. For polka dots, punch circles from card stock; glue the dots to the basket.

5. Cut three 3/4x11-inch pieces of green paper and feed them through the paper crimper. From one of the pieces cut a 6-inch length and a 3-inch length. Glue the ends of the 6-inch length together to make a ring. Wrap the 3-inch length around the center of the ring to form a bow. Glue the remaining two 11-inch pieces around the basket; trim excess. Glue the bow in place.

Bright Painted Flowers

What you'll need:

* Empty toilet-paper tubes
* Ruler
* Pencil
* Kid-friendly scissors
* Bamboo skewers
* Paint
* Paintbrush
* Green card stock
* Glue
* Tissue paper


Instructions for Bright Painted Flowers

.1. Draw a ring 2 inches from the end of the tube. Repeat at other end. From each ring, draw lines every 1/2 inch. Snip along each line to make petals







.

2. Fold the petals back to create a flower. Paint the flower and bamboo skewers; let dry. Cut out green leaves and glue to the skewers








.

3. Push the skewer through one end of the flower's center until it just touches the other end. Crumple an 8-inch square of tissue paper and glue in the center

Cutie Pie Pot Holders

What you'll need:

* Felted wool sweater
* Rotary cutter and cutting pad
* One 7-inch square of woven cotton fabric
* One 1x6-inch strip of cotton jersey
* Extra-long straight pins
* Size 16 yarn darner needle
* Persian wool or embroidery floss


Instructions for Cutie-Pie Pot Holders

1. For each pot holder, cut a 7-inch square from both the felted sweater and the woven cotton fabric. If the felt is thin, cut two or three squares to increase the thickness of the finished pot holder.

2. Place the wool and cotton squares wrong sides together with the cotton fabric on top. If you are using more than one wool square, stack them, carefully matching edges, and add the cotton square to the pile, right side up.

3. To make a loop for hanging the pot holder, fold the 1x6-inch rectangle of cotton jersey in half, short ends together. Insert 1-1/2 inches of the two short ends in one corner between the layered squares.

4. Pin all four corners in place, being careful that you have caught both ends of the hanging loop.

5. Thread your needle with a 2-yard length of Persian wool or embroidery floss. Beginning at the corner with the hanging loop, insert your needle under the cotton top layer and push down through the hanger and the wool bottom layers of fabric. Pull yarn through the bottom of the pot holder, concealing the knot under the top layer.


6. Make a reinforced X stitch through the hanger and all layers in that corner. Stitches should be neat and strong and can show on both sides of the pot holder. This stitch will anchor the hanger and keep the layers in place.

7. Finish your X stitch with thread coming out of the fabric about 1/2 inch in from the cut edges of the layers, and begin to blanket stitch around the edges of the pot holder. Be sure you are catching all the layers with each stitch. Keep your corners neat and square by double stitching the first and last stitches of each side seam

8. When you are back to where you started, tie an overhand knot close to the surface of the material. Run the needle and yarn between the layers about 1 inch to conceal it. Snip the yarn off at the surface of the pot holder.

9. Iron the finished pot holder with lots of steam to make it flat.


Once you've mastered the single-square pot holder, you can create a playful look by patching together a variety of fabrics. Begin with four 7-inch squares. Cut one of the 7-inch squares into four shapes and use these as your patterns to cut the others. Now mix and match your pieces to get a patchwork look, and form a completed square. Join the pieces with either a ladder stitch variation or edge-to-edge X stitch to make a new set of four pot holder tops. Complete the pot holders by finishing steps 2 though 9 again.

Woven-Ribbon Vase

Striped ribbons are artfully woven up the sides of the vase, giving a light and airy feel to the arrangement.




What You Need:

* A plain vase
* 12 lengths of 5/8-inch-wide striped ribbon
* 1 1/2-inch-wide solid ribbon
* Assortment of flowers
* Hot-glue gun
* Dry foam
* Spanish moss
* Greening pins
* Wooden wired picks
* Scissors


Instructions:

1. Measure your container and add 11/2 inches to the measurement. Cut 12 lengths of 5/8-inch-wide ribbon. Using a hot-glue gun, attach three vertical ribbons to one side of the bottom and top of the container. Continue on the remaining three sides. Allow the glue to cool. Weave coordinating ribbon horizontally through and around the container. Cut and glue the woven ribbon, overlapping the ends to secure. Do not pre-cut the horizontal ribbons. The lengths will vary.

2. Make a 6-loop bow from a coordinating 11/2-inch-wide ribbon. Leave ample length for the tails. Hot glue the bow to one corner of the container and wrap the tails loosely to the opposite bottom corner of the container. Make a smaller 3-loop bow and glue it to the container.

3. Fill the container with dry foam. Cover the dry foam with Spanish moss and secure with greening pins. Cut the stems of three dominant flowers to 4 inches and push them into the dry foam to establish the shape of the arrangement.

4. Cut the stems of the secondary flowers. Insert the smaller flowers, allowing them to fall over the edge of the container in free form. Continue to place the secondary flowers between the dominant flowers.

5. Add small 3-inch pieces of greenery to the top of the arrangement. Cut filler flowers, attach them to 3-inch wooden wired picks, and insert into the arrangement, letting them remain longer to create a loose, airy feeling.

9 Ways to Revamp Plain Lamps

Brighten boring lampshades and bases with stickers, paper, paint, ribbon, and thread. These creative ideas add personality to any room!

Paper Mosaic



Get the look of broken tile without the mess and fuss of traditional mosaic. Cut irregular squares and rectangles from patterned paper, fit the pieces together on the base, and adhere them with decoupage medium

Dimensional Stickers



For a quick and cheap lamp base design that really shines, apply dimensional stickers. Position a trio of flower stickers on the base and create stems with adhesive gems. Coat the base in a clear adhesive to keep the stickers in place.

Flower Mask



Use a mask to create stylish flowers on a lamp base. Made of flexible plastic, a mask is opposite of a stencil and is easily applied to the base. Attach the mask to the lamp, then spray-paint the entire base. Remove the mask, immediately after spraying, to reveal the graphic design.

Adhesive-Backed Paper Letters



Make decorating a lampshade quick and easy by using a computer to print letters onto adhesive-backed paper. Cut out the letters and adhere them along the bottom of the shade.Straight-cut Computer-Printed Letters adhered to a curved lampshade create a playful design that is ideal for a child's room.

Colorful Chain-Stitched Swirls




Make lampshade stitching pop by choosing contrasting and complementary colors. Here, bright orange and subdued purple swirls enhance blue swirls.Chain-stitched swirls in orange, blue, and lavender add a whimsical punch of color to a plain white lampshade. Lightly draw swirls on the shade with a pencil, then use an awl to carefully punch holes approximately 1/4 inch apart along the lines. Use embroidery floss to chain-stitch through the holes.

Decorative Paper Overlay



After adhering patterned paper to a lampshade, add grosgrain ribbon to the top and bottom edges. Keep the ribbon in place with small stitches or clear double-sided tape.Use a large sheet of decorative paper to make a pretty overlay for a plain lampshade. Roll the shade on the back of the paper sheet and trace along the edges. Cut out the pattern 1 inch outside the traced lines. Apply spray adhesive to secure the paper to the shade, wrapping the extra paper over the top and bottom edges.

Garden-Style Lampshade



Paper flowers found in the scrapbooking aisle of a crafts store give this shade garden appeal. Pick flowers in a unifying color scheme and hot-glue the arrangement to the sides of the shade.Before adhering paper flowers to a lampshade, poke a hole in the center of each one and add a colorful brad. Brads in contrasting colors make flower centers stand out and are a quick and easy design enhancement.

Playful Zigzag Ribbon




Add pizzazz to a bland lampshade with fun zigzag ribbon stripes. Cut two ribbon lengths for each zigzag and wrap the ends around the shade edges, hot-gluing them in place.Determine the placement of each ribbon zigzag by measuring the circumference of the shade and dividing it by the number of desired motifs. The end product will be perfectly placed ribbon accents.

Laser-Cut Felt Wrap



Add personality to a ho-hum lampshade with laser-cut felt ribbon available by the roll. Simply measure the circumference of your shade, cut the felt to length, remove the paper backing, and stick in place.Found an ideal ribbon design but it's not the right width? No problem. Trim or stack ribbon to suit your lampshade needs.

Easy Seashell Crafts

Whether found on the beach or bought in a craft store, shells can add a touch of seaside flair to any room.

Beach Detailed Flower Holder



Repurpose a tin can with beach finds. Glue fabric or paper around the clean can. Add desired beach details. To use on a chair back, cut a hole near the top and the bottom of the back of the can, then tie with ribbon threaded through the holes. Or set decorated tin on the table as a centerpiece.


Beach Memory Jars



Bring home beach memories to store in a jar. Collect clear jars and bottles. Put shells and sand inside. Label each container with rub-ons or stickers to spell out the name of the destination.

Beach Treasure Box



The lid of a cardboard or papier-mache box is the ideal place to display a few prized specimens. Paint the sides and lid of the box with artist's acrylic paint in a color found on some of the shells, such as the raw sienna shown. After the paint is dry, arrange the shells on the lid, take a digital photo, then remove all shells.

Referring to the photo, glue each shell in place one at a time, largest to smallest. Then plan the design for the box sides, leaving the lid on. To make feet, glue same-size shells to the bottom of the box at the corners. (We used a strong adhesive called Household Goop. Be sure to use Goop in a well-ventilated area, and allow several hours for it to set up.)

Shell-Rimmed Mirror



Perhaps the only thing more beautiful than a single shell is a collection of them. To balance the composition of this heavily adorned mirror and simplify the process of arranging the shells, work in layers. Arrange the largest shells on the mirror frame first, then, working from largest to smallest, fit shells into the remaining spaces until the frame is covered.
A bagged assortment of shells provides enough variety in size and species to achieve a stunning look. First, group the shells by size. Position the largest shells at even intervals around the frame, then fill in with the next smallest shells. One at a time, pick up each shell and glue it down. Layer on smaller shells until even the tiniest areas are covered. (We used a strong adhesive called Household Goop. Be sure to use Goop in a well-ventilated area, and allow several hours for it to set up.)

Hanging Shell Wall Art



Create wall art from natural finds. Drill several holes in a long piece of driftwood. Pull twine, approximately 30 inches long each, through the holes and tie at the top. If shells have natural holes, pull twine through them. Tie knots to hold shells in place. If necessary, drill through shells to create holes.

Shell-Edged Place Mat



Here's a showy mat you can complete in less than 10 minutes. Trace a round dinner plate on stiff felt; cut out. Starting in the center of the circle, hot-glue jute in a coil until the entire felt piece is covered. Hot-glue shells evenly spaced around the edge.

Shell Card Embellishments



A trip to the ocean provides shells for this project. Glue the shells to the card, and then stitch over them for added embellishment

Greeting Card with Bookplates Cover



Construct a warm greeting card to hold bookplates. Print the front and inside messages on a piece of card stock. Cut out a square window using a crafts knife or square punch. Accent the cutout with a mat of kraft paper, then mount a piece of vellum with a slightly larger cutout to the front using spray adhesive.Greeting Card and Bookplates Inside:



Hot-glue a miniature sand dollar and a raffia-trimmed pocket inside. For the bookplates, run adhesive labels with a preprinted striped design through a color printer. Decorate each with a miniature starfish.


Dress it up With Shells



A discount-store composition shelf is taken up a notch with artfully arranged shell embellishments. The do-it-yourself shelf is now an elaborate display for collectibles. This seashell sconce would be fabulous in any room.
How to Make It:
1. Plan the shell placement following the lines of the sconce.
2. Adhere the shells to the sconce with maximum-strength epoxy. (Mix up only the amount you can work with right away.)
3. Hold the shells in place until the epoxy sets.

Seashell Candles



Clean shells and let dry. Melt small chunks of a paraffin block or old candle stubs in the top of a double boiler. Cover the work surface with plastic or newspaper. Slowly and carefully pour melted wax into shells. Quickly put a wick in the center of the wax. Let cool about 30 minutes. Never leave burning candles unattended.

Seasonal Glow Wreath



Shells hold votives on a lightly flocked coffee table wreath accented with starfish and coral. To turn the display into a fancy centerpiece, add a hurricane or a pillar candle to the center. Never leave a burning candle unattended.

Sea Shell Drawer Pulls



You don't need a beach house to enjoy this cottage-style dresser. Shell pulls add a touch of whimsy and interest to an ordinary dresser.
How to Make It:
1. Paint a chest of drawers soft white.
2. Using maximum-strength epoxy, adhere shells to flat drawer pulls.
3. Choose shells with flat surfaces at least as large as those on the pulls for good adhesion.