Design by Night

Recently I got a stash of my grandmom's old plastic bangles that she originally got from the 5 and 10 store. Although I love bangles the years had put a bunch of nicks and dings on them so I decided to give them an facelift. This project is super easy and cheap. One of the best parts is that you can not only use old bangles you can use all those bits and pieces of embroidery floss that you have left over from other projects.   Supplies 2-skeins of embroidery floss* plastic bangle scissors white craft glue *You can use more than 2 colors, I encourage using as many as you want. Tie embroidery floss to the bracelet. Make sure to double not it so it doesn't slip off.  Wrap the embroidery floss around the bracelet making sure to cover the short tail by wrapping the embroidery floss over it.  To change colors tie one color of floss to the other. Make sure to double knot it tightly so the knot doesn't slip (3A). Closely trim the tails of the floss makin...

Need some craft room organization? Look no further than your recycling bin. Instead of purchasing foo foo expensive containers from your local craft store pull out those pickle jars from your recycling. With a few jars, some paper scraps, misc. buttons and a little bit of time you can make very cute (and very free) craft organizers. The above organizers consist of a salsa, pickle and tomato sauce jars.

One of the great things about where I work is that I am surrounded by a group of very creative people who are very open with sharing their ideas. So to give credit where credit is due, the inspiration for this tutorial came from Susan from Sew Country Designs . Supplies: Recycled metal bottle cap Recycled color magazine Scissors White Glue 1 Quarter 1” wide clear tape Recycled magnet (free business card magnets or giveaways will work, if not you can buy magnets at craft stores) Aleene’s Paper Glaze E-6000 Adhesive Ruler Use the quarter to trace a circle around an image from the magazine. Take the tape and carefully place a piece over the circle. Take a small piece from the cover (which is usually a heavier weight paper) and mount it to the back of the traced image with a light coating of glue. Trim out the image circle. Glue the back of the circle and place it in the bottle cap. Place the quarter over the image to stop curling until it is completely dry. Starting along the edge and mov...

Puppy puddle? Chips not strong enough to hold the salsa? Drippy pancake batter? I am constantly reaching for paper towels. Inevitably our recycling bin has it’s fair share of craft paper cylinders that make up the core of paper towels and toilet paper rolls. For years my idea of repurposing the tubes was to use them as an amplifier and howl in them, driving my dogs crazy and earning an eye roll from my husband. However, recently I was struck with an idea. The curve of the cardboard would lend itself well to making paper flowers, hence this tutorial was born. Sorry it is a little lengthy… Tools & Materials 1- paper towel roll core Scissors Button Paper glue Page of paper (can be recycled from an old book or magazine) Brown paper shopping bag 28 gauge wire (or wire that you can bend and manipulate that is heavy enough to hold up a paper flower) Wire cutters White craft paint (optional) Small paint brush (optional) Instructions Cut the paper towel roll lengthwise (fig. A). From the cu...

A month or so ago I posted a coffee filter flower pin and mentioned I would post the directions. Well after several tries I think I have come up with some easy instructions and here they are.... Tools & Materials Nine fluted coffee filters, used, with grounds discarded Ruler Decorative scrapbooking scissors, with scalloped edge Sewing needle and cream-colored thread One large button Hot glue gun Square of felt (enough to make a circle, 3” in diameter) Jewelry pin of your choice Instructions After brewing a pot of coffee, remove the filter and gently clean away coffee grounds.* Lay filter on a flat surface to dry. Repeat until recommended quantity is achieved. Fold filters in half. On five of the filters, mark a spot 2.75” from the center of folded edge of the filter using a ruler. On the remaining four filters, mark a spot 2” from the center folded edge. Using the scalloped scissors, cut the folded filters into semicircles, using the marks as a guide. Leave the filters folded (fig....