It’s not quite Halloween time yet, but if you use your imagination, I’m confident you can come up with a gazillion variations for this basic, kid-friendly project. A cute pail like this could be used to hold almost anything, from fresh-cut flowers to pens and pencils to the bits and bobs that tend to gather on your furniture’s surfaces. You might start by finding something that needs to be “contained,” then design the pail around it’s contents!
Click here to download the free, full-color project sheet, which includes this variation. Author, Sue Astroth used the pail technique to create a pirate’s spyglass. She says:
With an old kaleidoscope (I found one at a thrift shop for 25¢), a little fabric, and a cool skull medallion—you’re set!
This project is an excerpt from Super-Simple Creative Costumes by Sue Astroth, which includes tons of Easy sew and no-sew costumes from sweet to scary.
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March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
New quilters about to make their first quilt and experts looking for a quick charity quilt design alike will love this super-easy appliqué quilt. This project sheet download includes instructions for three different sizes and images of three different colorways.
This project is an excerpt from Super Simple Quilts #4 by Alex Anderson and Liz Aneloski which includes 9 appliqué projects to sew with or without a machine.
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March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
Finished size: 5½ ˝ × 5½ ˝
You should know by now that Lutradur® is a fabulously versatile art material that’s described as a cross between paper and fabric. This mixed media project is all about Lutradur and incorporates painting, collaging, burning, and lacing techniques.
Read what Jenn Mason, this project’s designer had to say about working with Lutradur:
The Lutradur was a challenge to work with, because it falls somewhere between fabric and paper. I loved how the paint was absorbed but didn’t bleed, which allowed me to go crazy with my colors while still keeping a bright, unmuddied palette. The kid in me also enjoyed melting the Lutradur, and it took all my willpower to keep from watching the whole piece melt away.
—Jenn Mason, project designer
Click here to download the free project sheet, which includes instructions for the lacing and burning techniques.
This project is an excerpt from Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur by Lesley Riley, which includes 27 mixed media techniques and 14 projects that implement them.
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March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
A pet pencil
Carefully coaxed
Will write you
A very nice
Poem.
Nothing brightens up a room like flowers. These are easy to make with kids and a fun way to use scraps. Make a bouquet or a table centerpiece or string them together for a flower garland or other wall decor. Use the patterns included in this PDF project download, or create new blossoms.
The download also includes the below Lily Pad or Poinsettia Centerpiece. You will make these the same as the flowers except layer the smaller flowers inside the bigger flowers. Make a lily pad or napkin base.
You will also find general directions for fast2fuse fusible interfacing in the download, complete with a list of three shortcuts that are sure to save you time!
This project is an excerpt from 100+ No-Sew fabric Crafts for Kids by Mary Link which includes oodles of projects you can do with kids and for kids, including bookmarks, coasters, mobiles, games and toys, party goods, room décor, and holiday goodies.
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March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
Paradise is more out of reach than ever these days it seems, so why not use this project to create your own little slice right in your own home. There are plenty of options with this project—it is bordered in an oval frame and could be used as a centerpiece for a quilt, pillow, or handbag.
Click here to download the full project sheet PDF, which includes patterns for the poppies. The finished quilt is 16″ by 20″.
This project is an excerpt from Paradise Stitched—Sashiko & Appliqué Quilts by Sylvia Pippen, which includes 6 vivid quilts inspired by tropical flora and fauna.
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March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
Do you love C&T Publishing books and products? Always looking for new ways to be inspired? Sign up to join the C&T Creative Troupe’s Reviewer Program and earn free eBooks. It’s just one more perk of C&T Creative Troupe membership.
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Here’s how the Book Review Program works:
- If you are not already a member, join the C&T Creative Troupe.
- Browse through the current C&T Catalog.
- Let us know which books that interest you. You can request one book at a time—you will receive an electronic version (not a hard copy).
- Enjoy the book and post your review on the book’s product page at Amazon, C&T’s website, and at least one of the following websites: Goodreads, LibraryThing, BookSpot, Barnes & Noble, & Borders.
- Within two weeks of receiving the eBook, email meganw@ctpub.com with links to the reviews. Then request your next book.
It has been about a year since we launched the C&T Creative Troupe. We have been so impressed and thrilled by the excitement around the Creative Troupe and the amazing talent our troupers posses, that we have decided to add a few more incentives and rewards to it’s members. The first new feature of the Creative Troupe is the Pay for Publication Program. A program that pays Creative Troupe members to promote C&T Products in the media.
Get Paid to Play! If you are a member of the C&T Creative Troupe, you are already creating beautiful art with our books and products, why not get paid for it? If you haven’t joined the Creative Troupe yet, what are you waiting for? Become a member of our creative family today!
We have listed all the details of the program below, but the concept is simple. Get a project made with C&T products published in the media, and we will pay you.
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Editor’s Note: Today’s craft month project of the day is the first post in an exciting new series called Junk to Jewel by C&T author and editorial team member, Sue Astroth. Junk to Jewel will chronicle Sue’s upcycling adventures with thrift store finds.
Unlike our other craft month projects, this post doesn’t offer a specific materials list or step-by-step instructions. What it does offer is a look inside the mind of C&T’s resident upcycling queen, and the inspiration needed for you to set out on your own thrift store expedition and find that perfect piece of junk to turn into a jewel.
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Once a week my friend and I go thrift store shopping…what a blast! As we help each other select our purchases, we brew up all sorts of creative uses for our finds. There’s nothing more exciting than visualizing the transformation of an item into something completely different! I thought I’d chronicle my journey of altering and upcycling thrift store items here on the C&T blog.
The Junk
At lunch time a few weeks ago, I headed to the thrift store. I went through the housewares section and nothing was jumping out at me. I even went through the clothes to see if I could be tempted by a designer shirt for a fabulous price…but no such luck. I was about to gather my friend and leave the store when I saw IT.
Lying there on the pile of old notebooks and tupperware containers was a wooden tennis racket and frame. Now I wasn’t too interested in the tennis racket, but the frame…boy did I instantly see the possibilities. An oversize “pincushion” of sorts, it can hold notes, objects of inspiration, jewelry, and anything else you can tack to it. I just loved how the wooden frame was held together with a screw in each corner. So simple, honest and clean-looking.
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Laura Wasilowski is doing something very interesting and cool over at her blog called Thread-u-cation Thursdays, where each week she introduces and demonstrates a new stitch with how-to photos and written instructions.
Laura is kindly letting us borrow some of her content for this week’s Technique Tuesday Craft Month blog post! The technique we are featuring today is Laura Wasilowki’s Blanket Stitch, and at the end of this post you’ll be able to download a free PDF with some additional stitching techniques.
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Laura Wasilowski’s Thread-u-cation Thursday: Blanket Stitch
The Blanket Stitch always gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling. It tucks in around a fabric edge holding it safe and neatly outlining the shape. But it can also act as a decorative stitch across the surface of fabric creating rows of UUUU or MMMM depending upon orientation.
Here’s how I make my Blanket Stitches: With the thread on top at A, place the tip of the needle about 1/4″ up and to the right of point A. Insert the needle at B and exit at C, about 1/4″ to the right of A. Trap the thread coming out of A under the needle tip and draw the needle and thread slowly through the fabric.
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