Getting crafty is a fun way to spice up cold winter days. Art and craft projects are a great way to get the kids together and create pieces that you’ll cherish for years. There are a number of craft ideas that are suitable for kids of all ages, so let your imagination go wild. In this article, we’ve got some fun and easy craft projects to get you through the cold weather.
Christmas cards don’t have to be just for Christmas. They are so beautiful that they can be used for a variety of art and craft pieces. Collect cards that have beautiful winter scenes on them and turn them into scented sachets that are decorative enough for any room. To make the sachets, simply glue the bottom and side edges of the card together and then slip a small amount of potpourri or cotton balls dampened with your favorite scent into the space. Use a hole punch to make two holes on the top edge, through which you can thread a pretty ribbon before tying a bow. Leftover or recycled ribbon from Christmas is ideal. If you leave a loop in the ribbon, the sachets can be hung on door handles, coat hooks or hangers.
Is it possible to turn a pile of old Christmas cards into cash? You bet it is. Craft fairs are a great place to make extra money and you don’t have to invest a lot of time into making ornate items. All you need is some basic art and craft supplies and some imagination and you can turn almost anything into a marketable craft project. In this article, we’ll show you how to make simple but beautiful items that you can sell at craft shows for extra cash.
Simple bookmarks can now cost as much as $10 at a bookstore! You can make them yourself by recycling greeting cards you have received. All you need is old cards, some poster board or cardboard, some felt tip markers, and glue. Cut a strip from the poster board or thin cardboard about 8″ x 2″. Cut strips from the greeting card with the same dimensions and glue them to the cardboard on both sides. If the bookmark is a gift, you can write a message on it. To make the bookmark more durable, cover it with clear contact paper or laminate it. For added decoration, use a hole puncher to make a hole at the top of the bookmark and thread a piece of bright yarn or ribbon through it. You can use the same process to make beautiful gift tags. Just make the strips shorter!
Mother’s Day is almost here, so you know it won’t be long until the crafters will come out in force to design gifts for their moms. That means many of them will be looking for free vintage Mother’s day greeting cards, which will allow them to incorporate vintage art into their creations. Many crafty types prefer vintage, because it gives a time-honored feel that naturally goes together with celebrating our moms.
The same principle goes for scrapbooking. Whether the scrapbook is traditional paper or digital, vintage art makes them more beautiful. Take for example, these vintage flower border embellishments. They were a staple in Victorian days and could be found in the scrapbooks of genteel ladies. They were often hand drawn and used to ring the word “Mother” as a means of honoring the matriarch of the family. That tradition lives on as scrapbookers of today seek ways to honor their moms.
Of course, the same scrapbooking embellishments that work so well to honor Mom can also make unique hand-crafted Mother’s Day cards. The gorgeous flowers, are a perfect centerpiece in a Mother’s Day card. They also are perfect as a dimensionalembellishment. If the border is printed on card stock, the inside and outside edges can be cut out and layered over another element, such as a photo of Mom. Her photo will show through, and the result will be the paper equivalent of a Victorian picture frame.
