Enjoy planting time using garden tools with hand-wrapped seed-packet handles.
what you’ll need
Empty seed packets
Pinking shears
Garden tool
Thick white crafts glue; paintbrush
Scraps of 1-inch-wide grosgrain ribbon; pencil
Scissors
Scraps of narrow ribbon or rickrack
1 Cut out the front of seed packets using pinking shears. Arrange on tool handle as desired, allowing 1 inch at the top and bottom for ribbon. Glue in place using water-thinned crafts glue. Let dry.
2 Apply two coats of thinned glue over seed packets, allowing to dry between coats.
3 Trace around end of tool handle on 1-inch-wide grosgrain ribbon. Cut out circle. Glue to end of handle using crafts glue. Glue short lengths of ribbon at the top and bottom of the handle. Let dry.
4 Glue short lengths of narrow ribbon or rickrack over the
grosgrain ribbon. Let dry. 5 Coat the entire handle with thinned glue. Let dry.
Be a winner all year long with canning jars trimmed with artificial fruits and vegetables.
what you’ll need
Artificial fruits or vegetables
Additional canning jar lid
Thick white crafts glue
Jar filled with canned fruit or vegetables
1 Glue artificial fruits or vegetables to the top of an extra canning jar lid and allow the glue to dry.
2 Glue the topper to the lid of your canned produce, gluing to the rim of the lid. Remove the topper before opening
the jar.
With just a few supplies and a coupie of quick steps, you can create tiny candlehoiders for each of your picnic guests.
what you’ll need
Glass salt and pepper shakers
Colored sand
Glass adhesive
Small candles
1 Fill the salt and pepper shakers with colored sand.
2 To stack shakers, adhere together using glass adhesive. Let the adhesive dry.
3 Place a candle in the top of each holder.
Show your love of country with these recycled-license-plate
what you’ll need
Sandpaper
Old license plate
Soft cloth; newspapers; white spray primer
Acrylic paints in navy, red, and white; paintbrush
Star stencil
Matte clear acrylic sealer
Drill and bit; 20-gauge wire; wire cutters
24-inch-long piece of 3/e-inch dowel; pencil
1 Lightly sand front of license plate. Wipe clean with soft cloth.
2 In a well-ventilated work area, cover work surface with newspapers. Spray the plate with white primer. Let dry.
3 Paint various flag patterns as shown, below. Use star stencil to paint stars. Let dry.
4 Spray the plate with acrylic sealer.
5 Drill holes in the plate and dowel. Wire the plate to the dowel, leaving long ends. Curl the wire ends by wrapping several times around a pencil.
Biend paint with your fingertips and press onto a clock frame to make a school of delightful fish.
what you’ll need
Disposable plate
Acrylic paints in desired colors
Clock with frame
Fine paintbrush
1 Place small amounts of paint on a disposable plate. To make fish bodies, dip fingers and thumb into paints, blending colors if desired. Press fingers and thumb onto surface of clock frame as shown in the photo, opposite. Continue making fingerprints on the clock frame until approximately two-thirds of the frame is covered. Let the paint dry.
2 Paint details on the fish, such as fins, eyes, and smiles, using desired colors of paint and a fine paintbrush. Let the paint dry.
Turn any meal into a celebration by presenting summer’s best in bowls wrapped in bright papers.
what you’ll need
Newspapers; wood bowl (available in thrift shops)
White spray primer
Acrylic paint in desired color
Paintbrush
Papers in several colors
Scissors; paper punch
Decoupage medium, such as Mod Podge
Glass or plastic liner, optional
1 In a well-ventilated work area, cover work surface with newspapers. Spray bowl with primer. Let dry. Paint the bowl the desired color. Let dry.
2 Cut paper strips and squares. Punch circles with a paper punch. Paint decoupage medium onto the bowl and arrange the paper shapes on the bowl. Paint two more coats of decoupage medium over the bowl. Let it dry.
3 Place a glass or plastic liner in the bowl if using it for food.
Unexpected materiais enhance an unassuming bottle, transforming it into a kitchen treasure.
what you’ll need
Plastic net bag (from grocery store produce)
Bottle with cork
Glue gun and low-melt glue
Artificial fruit
12 inches of metallic gold cord
1 Slip the plastic net bag over the bottle. Use low-melt glue and a glue gun to glue the net to the bottom of the bottle. Let the glue dry. Tie the netting around the neck of the bottle.
2 Wrap and bend a stem of fruit and leaves around the neck of the bottle. Tie gold cord around the neck. Knot cord ends.
Use your imagination to create a stepping-stone for your backyard oasis.
what you’ll need
Plastic tub for mixing
Trowel
Cement mix
10-inch-diameter disposable round plastic planter tray
One 25/8-inch square green tile
4 tiny terra-cotta flowerpots
4 iridescent purple marbles
Fourteen 1%-inch square red tiles
Large spoon
Brown sand
1 In the plastic tub, mix the cement with the trowel using small amounts of cement mix and water. It should be the consistency of a pourable dough, thin enough to pour slowly without running from the container. Mix a little more than what you think you need.
2 Pour the cement into the planter tray, filling it to the top. Shake the tray from side to side and tap firmly to settle the cement. Smooth the surface with the trowel.
3 Place items in cement in desired arrangement. Tap the items with the back of a spoon until they are firmly in place and settled to the desired depth. For container items, such as the tiny terra-cotta pots, spoon cement into the hollowed portion to stabilize the piece.
4 Pour sand on top of wet cement, covering the entire stone.
5 Leave stone stationary for 24 hours. Let it dry. Pour off the excess sand and wash off any remaining cement from embedded items, wiping with dry cloth. Gently turn stone over to remove it from the tray.
Hit the toolbox, not your jewelry box, the next time you need to jazz up an outfit with some dangling chains.
what you’ll need
20-inch-long board; 2 nails; ruler; hammer 15-foot-long piece of bathtub chain; scissors Wire cutters; masking tape; fishing line 2 silver cap beads; 2 silver flat beads; 2 silver round beads; 24 inches of narrow black cord Thick white crafts glue; 2 small silver beads
1 On the board, pound two nails 18 inches apart. Cut length of chain into two equal pieces. Tape the end of one piece to the end of the board near one nail. Wind chain around nails to create loops. Tape the end of the chain to the board. Repeat for second piece of chain.
3 Tie an 18-inch piece of fishing line around loops of chain at each nail. Make a double knot. Remove tape and slip loops off nails, allowing ends to dangle. Thread a cap bead onto fishing line at each end of necklace and double-knot the fishing line.
4 Thread a flat bead and then a round bead onto the fishing line. Slip both ends of the fishing line back through the round bead only, leaving two loops of fishing line at the top of the bead. Repeat for the other necklace end.
5 Cut black cord in half; knot one end of each cord. Slip knotted end through the fishing line loop. Pull loose ends of fishing line to close loop around knotted cord. Thread line through flat bead; tie line into a double knot under the flat bead. Apply glue to knot; cut off excess line. Repeat for other end.
6 Add small silver bead to end of each cord; knot. Gather four loose strands of chain; tie together in an overhand knot centered in the other chain loops.
Accented with trims from the hardware store, this fashionable purse is made from the leg of an old pair of jeans.
what you’ll need
Old jeans; scissors; ruler; sewing machine; thread
Approximately 32—3/16-inch washers
Jewelry glue; pliers
2 feet of twisted nickel chain; carpet thread; needle
Two 3/4 inch-diameter circular closures, such as Velcro
1 Cut 91/2 inches off the end of one jean leg. If the hem is frayed, cut it off and turn the edge over to the front, turning under the raw edge. Stitch.
2 Turn the jean leg wrong side out. Line up the outside and inside seams so they run down the center.
3 titch across the bottom cut edge using a l/t-inch seam. Clip the corners and turn right side out. ‘ Glue washers in offset rows on the front of the purse.
4 Open the last links on each end of the chain and slip a washer on each link. Pinch the link closed. Hand-stitch washers to the top corners of the purse with carpet thread.
5 Glue closures to the inside edges of the purse.
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