Valentine's Day Decoupage Craft for Kids

This decoupage craft is easy for children of all ages. Its collage style lends itself well to imagination, and the box can be filled with a Valentine's gift such as candies, heart shaped cookies, a plush toy animal, candles or "I love you" notes. You might even want to decorate the box to match what you tuck inside or vice versa.

Supplies

• Scissors: Small, sharp school scissors or for young children, round tip safety scissors.

• White glue that dries clear or Modge Podge Decoupage finish (gloss or matt.

• Cardboard box: This could be a recycled gift box, but it should be sturdy. Cardboard hat boxes (round), heart shaped boxes and other sturdy boxes can be found at inexpensive prices at many online crafts stores, as well as offline at large chain stores, such as Michaels.

• Pictures: These can be cut out from magazines, Valentine's cards, gift wrap and from computer print outs. You could use your Paint program to create lettering or designs (like big red hearts). Printed photographs could also be used. Depending on the type of design, you may also want other materials such as doilies.

• Large art brush (for spreading glue).

Before we get started with the directions here are some various designs that could be used for the box. These may help you to think of some of ideas of your own, or you may want to use one of these as is. When you make your box you will be working with pictures, words and/or designs you have cut out. You will be gluing these on like a collage, so keep this in mind while considering your theme.

Puppy Love: This would be a cute Valentine's Day theme for someone who loves dogs or puppies, and who can resist an adorable puppy? You could create a collage of puppy pictures, or you could cover the box with say all pink paper and then add two adorable puppies to the center. Then cut out letters to spell "Puppy Love." Remember, you can cut out letters from magazines, cards or pages printed off the computer.

Victorian Hearts & Lace: In the Victorian style, lots of tiny designs are used, such as romantic flowers, hearts and cupids. For lace, you could use scarps of real lace, lace ribbon or pieces cut from doilies. To get an idea of the Victorian styles, search online for "Victorian Valentines Day Cards" or even "Victorian Decorating." This is a very romantic style.

Flower Power: Get in the groove with this 1960's design. Decorate your box with bright colors like lime green and pink and pictures of mod flowers (like the ones that decorate the Scooby Do gangs van), big hearts and words like "Love" in 60s style lettering. You can find lots of images and ideas online.

Directions

1. Cut out your pictures and letters. You may want to lay them out in front of you to experiment with design ideas, or you may want to create as you go along.

2. One at a time, use the brush to smooth the glue or Mod Podge onto the back of the picture and adhere to the box. Depending on how you want this to look you may want to have some pictures upside down and at different angles, instead of all right side up. When you press each picture to the box, smooth it out so there aren't air bubbles and so that it lies nice and flat. You can have everything overlapping so that none of the box shows, or you can leave spaces. It all depends on the design you want.

3. Continue gluing your pictures and lettering to the box until all the sides, the top of the lid and the sides of the lid are covered. You don't need to do the inside or bottom.

4. Using the brush, dab on the glue or Modge Podge. (If you brush it on with long strokes, the brush strokes will show when it dries.) After this application dries, apply one or two more.

Now, you have a lovely Valentine's box!

Creating with Fimo Acrylic Clay

Fimo is a polymer non-toxic clay that is found in mostly craft stores that is safe and easy to work. It is a clay that is available in many bright colors; making it a great craft material for kids and adults alike.  Creating with Fimo Acrylic Clay is a book filled with collection of 25 projects using Fimo, for ages 11 up.

There are at least three different projects described in each chapter, for a total of more than twenty-five. The illustrations and instructions are clear, and the lists of tools and clay amounts needed is precise.

In this book you will find Lots of creating with Fimo clay ideas:

• Step-by-step instructions describing how to create necklaces, earrings, pins, and more.
• Techniques used include stenciling and marbling.
• General information on the use of Fimo acrylic clay, including colors, tips on working with the clay, baking it, amounts needed, and tools and accessories needed for the projects.
• Five chapters that give instructions in a different technique — cookie cutting, stencil cutting, marbling, petal discing, and hand-building with Fimo clay.
  

  

Elephants, clowns, watermelons, roses – it’s easy and fun to create them all with this clay.

Step-by-step instructions show kids how easy it is to make earrings, necklaces, pins, barrettes and more from brightly colored acrylic clay.

The easy to read layout and simple to follow illustrations make this book enjoyable for most age levels, however please note that a kitchen knife is needed for most projects so use caution when necessary.

Clay crafts are a great way for family fun, quiet play, and more.

Creating with Fimo Acrylic Clay (Kids Can Do It)

Alex Toys Happily Ever Crafter

Alex Toys Happily Ever Crafter is ideal for someone that wants to try a hand on a variety of crafts. Your kid can be exposed to a wide variety of crafts. The young crafter can learn the essentials of crocheting, embroidering, and sewing in one awesome kit. With Alex Toys Happily Ever Crafter you will be able to keep your kid budy with beginner crafts for quite a while. Add this to the mosaic crafts for beginners and some beginners scrapbooking and any homeschooler can be doing crafts for quite a while.

The  Alex Toys Happily Ever Crafter set won the Family Fun magazine Best Toys of the Year Award and Parents’ Choice Approved Award, so you know it is a good set to get for your kid.

The  Alex Toys Happily Ever Crafter includes materials and instructions to make a stuffed dog, coin purse, felt brooch, embroidered bandana, wall hanging, sewing pouch, hair ribbon, bracelets and a scarf. Wow! That will keep for quite a while.

The activities in  Alex Toys Happily Ever Crafter encourage a child’s imagination and learning development. It is a great kit for one child or a small group alike.

The Alex Toys Happily Ever Crafter is a great introduction to several basic tasks appropriate for young girls. With this kit a little girl will learn all the basic techniques for all the “sewing and yarn” crafts that girls very often love. So with this Alex Toys Happily Ever Crafter a little girl will have many hours of happy crafting. (Do not leave the boys out, they may enjoy it as well!)

Have a look at some of the reviews you can find on the Amazon site:

First of all, the craft projects are separately packaged with very clear directions, so it’s easy for my 7 year-old daughter to chose which one she wants to do. The materials are colorful and durable. The rounded chest itself is also impressive. It’s a keeper. I’ve purchased several Alex craft products and I recommend them as a company. This product is one of our favorites

I bought this for my very art and crafty daughter (9) and its pretty neat. Lots of needles though so for sure one has got to be careful – but she likes it a lot

our 10 year old granddaughter loves this product and is carrying it everywhere. It is a well made box, with so many items on the inside that it keeps her fascinated!

So, Go Now And Have A Look At Alex Toys Happily Ever Crafter

A Fun Build a Birdhouse Kit For This Summer

Building a birdhouse for our feathered friends is a lovely idea and I am sure your kids will enjoy constructing it. Not only is it fun to make, but it also attracts different types of birds into your backyard. Birds require shelter to keep them safe from predators but also from adverse weather conditions. They can also serve as nesting places to raise their young. Imagine your kids’ faces when they notice that a bird family has made the birdhouse their new home.

The Build A Birdhouse Kit comes with all the parts necessary to create a home for birds – wood, nails, glue, an instruction booklet as well as paint and a brush. Your kids will take pride in their finished product and enjoy watching birds using it as their new home. The size of the birdhouse is 4” x 6” x 5”.

I think that the Build a Birdhouse Kit is great value for money, and on top of it all, it is great fun to build and will give your kids lots of enjoyment observing birds in your backyard. It would certainly make a great gift for any youngster interested in wildlife.

Bonsai 101 - Bonsai Tool 10-Piece Set

Bonsai 101

While most people associate bonsai with Japan, it probably originated in China. The word "bonsai" is a combination of the Chinese word for pot, "bon," and "sai," which means to plant. During the 8th century A.D., Chinese culture greatly influenced Japan, and this is probably when the Japanese adopted the art. Bonsai are meant to evoke natural beauty on a small scale, and to mimic the characteristics of a mature tree in miniature.

Growing a Bonsai Tree - How to Get Started

Bonsai is a blend of horticulture and art. It can be enjoyed by anyone, whether as a hobby or more time-consuming lifestyle. Before you begin, you will need some equipment. Here are some basics to get started.

1. Bonsai pots of various sizes and styles

2. Flexible mesh screen

3. Copper wire

4. Pruning shears

5. Pruning scissors (for trimming small branches, leaves and shoots)

6. Soil mix of two parts potting soil and one part pea-sized gravel

7. Chopsticks or unsharpened pencil

Now you will need to obtain your bonsai tree, or the raw material to make one. Here are some ideas.

1. Buy a ready-made bonsai from a local nursery or the internet and maintain its design.

2. Collect a small tree from the wild. This is the traditional Japanese method of obtaining bonsai, but it can be tricky in our modern times. Make sure you are authorized by the property's owners. Look for a tree that has an interesting shape and can be easily collected. Trees growing on rocks, with their shallow root systems and twisted shapes, are ideal.

3. Garden center stock makes excellent beginner's specimens. Juniper, cotoneaster, azalea, Japanese holly, and boxwood make good choices.

4. Landscaping cast-offs are another way to obtain bonsai material that is often already mature. When property owners tear out old shrubs such as azalea, boxwood, juniper, and forsythia, try to rescue one to make into a bonsai tree.

Cut to Shape

Once you have obtained your bonsai stock, it's time to trim it to shape. Do not put it in the bonsai pot just yet; turn it and study its shape, looking for the tree-like qualities. Trim away branches from the base to form a bare trunk, and aim for a dense, finely branching crown. Use wire coiled around the trunk or branches to make the shape look like a tree that has grown for decades in the wind or hanging from a rock.

Pot It Up

Once you have the shape you want, gently wiggle the plant free from the pot and shake off as much dirt as you can from the root ball. Using your pruning shears, trim back the roots by about two-thirds. The root system should now be shallow enough to fit into your bonsai pot.

Prepare the pot by covering the pot's holes with small squares cut from the wire mesh. Pour a small amount of potting mix on the bottom of the pot, set your newly-trimmed bonsai on top, then fill in with potting mix. Use the chopstick or pencil to work the soil down among the roots. Water thoroughly.

Maintaining Your Bonsai

Your bonsai is always a work in progress. Keep it trimmed to maintain and refine its shape. Every other year, in the very early spring, remove your bonsai from its pot and re-trim the roots. Remember, bonsai are not houseplants. Keep your bonsai outside.

Bonsai Tool 10-Piece Set

I just love looking at Bonsai trees. They are beautiful, delicate and yet so strong looking. Bonsai is a Japanese art form where trees or even shrubs are put in shallow containers and trained and pruned to look like normal size trees. It takes a lot of patience, love, information and certain tools to help you grow a Bonsai tree.

This very popular Bonsai Tool 10-Piece Set is a great tool set. I like the fact that it is designed for beginners but also for people with more advanced knowledge. The tools have been hand inspected and are made of high quality carbon steel. They are very sturdy and if you keep them lightly oiled, they should last for years to come. Just to name a few of the tools: cutting scissors of various sizes, trimming scissors, wire cutter, rake with spatula and leaf cutter.

Overall, the toolkit comes at a very reasonable price and it should make taking care of your precious Bonsai trees a lot easier.

Beeswax Candles And What You Should Know About Them

Throughout history beeswax has been used for many purposes . The most popular probably has been in candle making so it can be considered one of the most notable uses of beeswax. Beeswax candles have been around for centuries, and they are still frequently used. Here are some facts about beeswax candles that you might not be aware of.

1. History of Beeswax Candles

Beeswax was not the first material used to make candles. That distinction goes to boiled animal fat, also known as tallow, which was used to make candles prior to the Middle Ages. These candles served their purpose, but they had some definite drawbacks. They gave off lots of smoke, their flame was inconsistent, and their odor was unpleasant.

In the Middle Ages, candle makers started experimenting with beeswax. They were pleased to find that beeswax candles created very little smoke, and their scent was light and pleasing. However, beeswax was hard to come by at the time due to the fact that there were no beekeepers in those days. So beeswax candles were used primarily by nobility.

The Catholic Church later began to use beeswax candles. It was eventually written into canon law that the candles burned in any cathedral must contain at least 60 percent beeswax. This law is still in effect today. Fortunately, beeswax is much easier to obtain now.

2. Benefits of Beeswax Candles

The benefits of beeswax candles over those made of tallow are pretty obvious. But even today, with all of the improvements that have been made in the candle making process and new materials being used, beeswax still has numerous advantages. These include:

• The smoke produced by beeswax candles is not harmful to the environment or our health. This cannot be said for most candles, which are made of paraffin.
• Burning beeswax candles can actually be beneficial for allergy sufferers. It can help alleviate asthma and sensitivities to cigarette smoke, carbon dioxide and other pollutants. This is because they emit negative ions when burned, which help to clean the air.
• The scent of beeswax candles has a natural calming effect. Those who suffer from insomnia often sleep better when they burn beeswax candles before going to bed at night.
• Beeswax candles are more expensive than paraffin candles, but they also last much longer. A beeswax candle will burn about five times as long as a paraffin candle of the same size, so it is much more cost-effective.

Beeswax candles have been in existence for centuries, and they are still favorites of many candle lovers. They might be a little bit pricier than most candles, but considering the many benefits they offer, their numerous fans agree that they're worth every penny paid.

Of, course not everyone is interested in candle making, so, maybe you want to look in a different direction for your artistic inclinations. To start you on another craft you may want to have a look at

Beginner Quilt Instructions. Quilting is completely different from candle making. You may prefer working on something that will become a family heirloom and for that quilting is just the thing.