Bruce the Chef

Created in black and white with red accents, this clever kitchen utensil holder is formed from roiled-up magazine pages.

What you’ll need
Magazine pages in black and white
1/4inch wood dowel
Glue stick; metal or cardboard can, such as
a potato stick can Wooden balls to fit the top of the rolled
paper tubes, approximately 3/8 inch Acrylic paints in red and black; paintbrush Scissors; thick white crafts glue Black and white twisted plastic-coated wire

1 Beginning at one corner of the magazine page, roll page diagonally around the dowel and glue the corner in place with glue stick. Remove dowel. Make enough tubes to go around the can. Paint three wood balls red and the remainder black. You will need one ball for each paper tube. Let dry.
Cut the tubes to the same height as the container. Using crafts glue, adhere the tubes around the side of the can. Glue a ball to the top of each tube, placing the red balls randomly in the arrangement.
2 Wrap two bands of wire around the can and knot the ends together.

Pick your favorite photo to make artwork out of a clear glass cutting board.

what you’ll need
Newspapers
8Y2×6V2-inch piece of decorative paper
Spray adhesive
9×7-inch sheet of cork
8×6-inch photo
12×9-inch glass cutting board
Strong adhesive, such as E6000

1  In a well-ventilated work area, cover surface with newspapers. Spray the back of the decorative paper with adhesive. Center the paper on one side of the cork.
2 Spray adhesive on the back of the photo and apply to the center of the decorative paper.
3 Apply glue to the top edges of the cork border and glue to the back of the cutting board. Let the glue dry.

Keep your sewing tools handy with this ciever see-through kit.

what you’ll need
Plastic ice bucket approximately 7 inches across the top and
Vh inches high; 2 yards of %-inch-wide satin ribbon Large tomato pincushion and strawberry emery Measuring tape; 7×14-inch bias strip of calico Scissors; needle; thread; green embroidery floss 5-inch square of green calico Fusible transweb paper; iron 3-inch square scrap of calico to contrast with green 3-inch square of coordinating calico; fabric glue 8×14-inch piece of felt; sewing machine; pinking shears; button

1  To cover ice bucket handle, tie the center of the 2-yard ribbon to one end of the handle. Bring the ribbon ends to the top side and twist, bringing ribbon ends to the back side in a cross. Repeat to cover the handle, securing the ribbon ends at the opposite end of the handle.
2 To cover the pincushion, measure from the center top to the center bottom and add Vi inch for seam at bottom. Measure around pincushion at widest part. Add Vi-inch seam at ends and cut bias strip of fabric this measurement.
3  Seam short ends, right sides facing. Stitch gathering threads at bottom edge. Gather bottom. Secure threads and turn to right side. Cover pincushion. Hand-gather top edge and secure threads. Wrap the pincushion with embroidery floss to make tomato seams; knot on bottom.
4  Trace top patterns, opposite, on transweb paper and cut out. Cut one each from green calico. Cut off strawberry emery from the pincushion stem, leaving string attached to pincushion. Pierce a hole in the center of the green calico for the top and thread string through the hole; fuse green calico to pincushion top. Cut a quarter circle from contrasting calico and seam the straight edges to cover emery. Turn to right side. Cover emery by gathering around top edge. Pierce hole in green calico for strawberry top. Pull string through hole and reattach to emery. Fuse or glue green calico in place.
5 For scissors case, measure scissors length and width. Cut a rectangle of felt that measurement for case front. Cut case back that measurement plus 3 inches longer for flap. Round the corners at the bottom and for the flap.
6  To make the flower design for the flap, trace the pattern, opposite, on transweb paper and cut out. Trace on scrap of calico. Fuse flower to flap. Trim the edge with machine stitches. Cut and stitch a buttonhole in the center of the flower.
7 With wrong sides facing, stitch the case front to the back along the sides and bottom edge using a ‘A-inch seam. Trim the edge just beyond the stitching using pinking shears.
8  Sew on a button for closure.

Liven up linens with braided cord, iace, ribbon, or any trim that matches your decor.

what you’ll need
Purchased day-of-the-week tea towel
1 yard of trim or ribbon; sewing machine; thread

1 Machine-stitch ribbon or trim along the top and bottom edges of the towel design to create a border, turning under the raw edges.

Choose a pretty pair of satin cords to wrap a terra-cotta flowerpot with color.

what you’II need
4-inch terra-cotta flowerpot
Thick white crafts glue; paintbrush
Approximately 3 yards of Vi-inch-wide light green satin cord
Approximately 6 yards of TA-inch-wide rose-color satin cord
2-inch rose-color tassel

1 Brush glue on the pot. Starting with the green cord, wrap the rim of the pot.
Use rose-color cord to wrap the bottom of the pot, starting just below the green and tucking the end of the tassel under the first couple of wraps of the cord. Apply more glue to the ends if needed to secure. Let the glue dry.

Dine in style with this in-bioom table setting.

what you’ll need for place mat
Fabric glue
Stem of small silk dogwoods with leaves
Fabric place mat; scissors

1  Cut flowers and leaves from stem.
2 Arrange and glue flowers across the top of the place mat using dogwood flower as the focal point. Glue some of the leaves from the flowers in and around the dogwoods.
what you’ll need for plate and mug
White ceramic plate and mug; grease pencil
Glass paints, such as Liquitex Glossies, in yellow, white, red, and green
Disposable plate; paintbrushes
Cotton swab

1 Wash and dry the plate and mug. Avoid touching the areas to be painted.
Referring to the photo, below, draw dogwood and leaf shapes on the plate and mug using a grease pencil.
3 On the disposable plate, mix a small amount of yellow paint with white to make a light cream color for the flowers. Paint the flower petals. Add a touch of red to cream color and paint outside edges of petals. Highlight the centers of the petals with pure white.
4 Mix green and red together to form a dark green. Use this color to add stamens and pistils to centers of flowers.
5  Mix some of dark green with the cream color and use to paint veins on petals.
6  For leaves, paint one side of the leaf with the dark green. Add a little yellow to the dark green and paint the remaining side of the leaf. Use the same greens to paint stems.
7  Use a cotton swab to carefully remove any visible grease pencil.
8 Set paint according to directions on paint jar.

Pamper yourself with beautifully bottled, floral-scented bath salts.

what you’ll need
Large bowl
2 cups Epsom salts; 1 cup baking soda
4 drops lavender-scented oil
2×4-inch scrap of white cotton fabric
Food coloring; cookie sheet
Apothecary jar (available in thrift shops)
Vintage baby spoon; 1 yard of ribbon

1  In a large bowl mix 2 cups Epsom salts and 1 cup baking soda. Dab a few drops of scented oil onto cotton fabric and stir through mixture. Repeat with drops of food coloring. Continue mixing scented oil and food coloring until desired scent and color are achieved. If desired, make two colors of salts to layer in jar.
2 Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet for several hours, stirring several times. Wash and dry the jar. Spoon into jar.
3 Tie baby spoon onto jar with ribbon.
4 To use, dissolve several teaspoons of salts in bathwater.

Preserve touch of beauty share it cheery cards.

what you’ll need
Flowers for pressing, such as Queen Anne’s lace
and blue delphinium Heavy book
White spray paint and newspapers, optional Colored paper scraps Scissors; glue stick Paintbrush
1  yard of 1/2 to 1-inch-wide sheer ribbon Thick white crafts glue

i Press flowers in a heavy book overnight or longer until they are well-pressed and fairly dry. If using Queen Anne’s lace and it turns yellower than desired, spray with a light coat of white spray paint in a newspaper-protected, well-ventilated work area. Let it dry.
2 Using the photo, opposite, for inspiration, cut one or more colors of paper into the desired size and fold to make a card. Cut squares of different paper colors and arrange on the front if desired. Glue in place using a glue stick.
3  Paint a small amount of water-thinned crafts glue onto the card where the flowers will be placed. Gently lay flower into wet glue. Let it dry. Brush on a second coat of thinned glue over the entire flower and card front. Let the glue dry.
4  Embellish the card with a coordinating ribbon bow. Glue in place with crafts glue.

Sparkling heart-shape gems and tiny polka dots team up as a striking duo on this bright yellow egg.

what you’ll need for heart egg
Egg
Large needle
Toothpick
Bowl
Acrylic paints in yellow and black
Paintbrush
12-15 red heart-shape gems
Thick white crafts glue

1  Pierce tiny holes on each end of the egg with the needle. Pierce the egg yolk with a toothpick. Blow the egg white and yolk into a bowl. Rinse and dry the egg.
2 Paint the egg yellow. Let the paint dry.
3 Glue the heart gems randomly on the egg. Let the glue dry.
4 Dip the paintbrush handle into black paint and dot on the egg. Continue placing dots between the hearts as desired. Let the paint dry.

Just the right size for a handful of treats, these candy cups are a sweet surprise for those you love.

what you’ll need
Newspapers Acrylic paints in
desired colors Paintbrush
Cone-shape paper cup Paper punch Eyelet tool and eyelets Wood petal shapes 1/2-inch wood apple
shape 3/4 inch wood wheel 1/2-inch wood beads Hot-glue gun and glue sticks Pipe cleaners in desired colors Scissors; pencil

1 Cover work surface with newspapers. Paint cup desired background color. Let dry. Use a contrasting color to paint a dotted line around the rim. Let dry.
2  Use a paper punch to make a hole V2 inch from rim. Make a second hole opposite the first. From outside of cup, insert an eyelet in each hole. Secure using an eyelet tool.
3  Paint six petal shapes. Paint the apple a contrasting color for flower center. Paint the wheel the same color as flower center and a wood bead the color of petals. Let dry. Hot-glue petals and flower center to the front of the cup. Let dry.
4 Thread an unpainted wood bead onto a pipe cleaner that matches the flower center. Twist the pipe cleaner to secure the bead at one end. Snip off the end of the cup. From the inside push the end of the pipe cleaner through the bottom of the cup. The bead holds it in place.
5 Thread the painted wheel and bead onto the pipe cleaner. Twist remaining stem around a pencil to curl.
6 For a handle, twist two contrasting pipe cleaners together. Insert through the eyelets from outside. Fold ends upward to secure.