With Easter right around the corner, my kids are bugging me to buy them some Easter Egg dying kits. However, this year, I might try the natural way! EcoCrazy Mom has posted all about dying Easter Eggs the natural way. Commercial Easter Egg dyes sometimes contain harmful colorings and have been linked to hyperactivity disorder and allergic reactions. I know that my daughter is very sensitive to certain colorings.

 

To make the natural dyes you will use up to 4 cups for vegetable solids and 3-4 tablespoons for spices per quart. Fruits should be mashed. I am not going to give you the details on how to make the dyes, EcoCrazy Mom does a great job – follow here directions here.

Here are some of the items that you can use to make natural dyes (full list at Eco-Crazy Mom).

Canned Cherries with Juice
Carrots (boiled)
Paprika
Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled)
Celery Seed (boiled)
Spinach Leaves (boiled)
Fresh Basil (boiled)
Large Amount of Purple Grape Juice
Red Wine
Red Zinger Tea bags (Celestial Seasoning brand)

This sounds like a great Cub Scout project as well! I can’t wait to try this with my kids.

This year, I am looking around for some cute St. Patrick’s Day sewing crafts and I found a few that I would like to share.  Do you have a favorite St. Patrick’s Day Craft?

Make a End of the Rainbow pot and fill it with gold coins or chocolate coins!

 

Don’t have any green clothes to wear? Make this cute pin to clip to your hair.

 

Sew up a Shamrock Wall Hanging using Ribbons you have on hand.

 

Make these cute Baby Leg Warmers from Women’s Knee Socks

I came across these great Valentine Crafts that you can make for under $5 a piece.  Each project can be made with materials you have on hand, or items that will be easy to purchase.  Happy Crafting and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Woven Heart Baskets

Rice Krispy Suckers

Bee My Valentine Blocks

String Art Stenciled Heart Bulletin Board

Heart Stenciled Shirt

Valentine Rose Wreath

Heart HexNut Necklace

Heart Mobile

Valentine Gumball Machine

My favorite – Sweetheart Blocks

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and I found some great Valentine Craft ideas on Pinterest. If you are looking for a craft to do with your kids, here are some fantastic creations!

I really love this crayon idea. Who doesn’t have a bunch of old crayons lying around the house!

 

Great idea for toilet paper rolls!

 

Love this cupcake idea.

 

Make a Valentine tic tac toe.

 

Boys would love this! It is just Rolo packs, rolled in red paper.

 

For the truly adventurous!

 

Perfect for class parties!

 

Absolutely Adorable!

Last night, I got together with a bunch of women from my church and we created a number of crafts for the holidays. My favorite was the Canvas Photograph.

Supplies Needed:

8×10 Canvas ($4 – $7) NOTE: some canvas have staples on the side, get the one that is smooth on the sides.
Mod Podge (you can use the brushstroke matte or regular matte, $7.99)
Sponge paintbrush
Black Craft Paint (such as Plaid – Apple Barrel)
8×10 photograph (print them at Walmart for $3.00)

Instructions:

1. Find a photograph that you want to print. It should be a high quality print right from your camera. I used a picture of my daughter.
2. If you want words on your picture, use a program such as Paint.net (free download) to add the words to the full size picture. Save the picture in a .jpg format. Do not resize the photograph.
3. Upload the picture to a photo site, such as Walmart and ask for an 8×10 print. Mine was ready in one hour.
4. Trim the edges of the photo slightly (the result will be close to 7 3/4″ x 9 3/4″ photo).
5. Put a light coat of Mod Podge on the canvas and the back of the photo. Center the photo on the canvas and make sure that you press lightly around all the edges. There will be some white canvas showing around the photo. Let dry.
6. If the Mod Podge seems a little thick, add some to a bowl with a SMALL amount of water. If the Mod Podge is too thick, it won’t go on smoothly on top of your photograph, if it is too thin, it might cause the photo to bubble.
7. Paint a light coat of Mod Podge over the photo going in the vertical direction. Let dry. Paint another light coat of Mod Podge over the photo going in the horizontal direction. Let dry.
8. When the photo is completely dry, paint the edges of the canvas black (you can use another color is you wish). Also paint around the photo with a little more in the corners to give it a vintage look.

This was a fast and easy project that took very little time. My daughter is thinking of making one for her friend with a picture of the two of them for Christmas.

I love crafting and Halloween is a great time to do it. Here are my favorite Halloween Crafts that I have found this year:

If you love to craft and haven’t yet discovered the DIY Dish you are in for a treat! Hosts Kim and Kris (who are identical twin sisters) share fun do it yourself projects that are easy and affordable! This episode is all about Valentine’s Day and I love the placemats they make.

I love to craft and so do my kids! When I shop for craft supplies, I sometimes buy the same products that I always use and I sometimes try new products. I recently received crafting supplies from Elmer’s. They are about more than glue! Elmer’s has two types of crafting products: Elmer’s CraftBond and X-ACTO Designer Series.

Elmer’s CraftBond includes an assortment of quality glue sticks, glue pens, gel pens, sticky spots, tape dispensers and runners and more! The products are affordable, ranging in price from $2 to $9 and the adhesives are acid-free and archival safe. My favorite is the Clear Dual Tip Glue Pen. The pen has two tips – a precision tip and a wide spreader tip, perfect for any size project. Visit facebook.com/Elmers to learn more.

The X-ACTO Designer Series products are an assortment of top quality scissors, trimmers, rulers, punches, knives and cutting mats. I have always loved the X-ACTO knife and now there are even more products to try. Visit facebook.com/XACTO to learn more.

If you are interested in finding crafting ideas, sign up for Craft It! with Elmer’s Club. It is free and easy to sign up and you will receive crafting tips and ideas. Each project on the website is rated from easy to hard to make it easy to choose the project that is just right for you.

I received free product from BzzAgent to help facilitate my review.

Do you plan on making any holiday crafts this year for Christmas? Now is a good time to visit various websites to get ideas. I often make holiday crafts for teachers, friends and families. I also make my own homemade cards using supplies from my Stampin’ Up! business. This year, Punch Needle Patterns have caught my eye and I thought it would be a fun project to do with my daughters.

I also love getting my hands on new quilting patterns. It is often easy to find Quilt Kits online that include fabric and the pattern.

I also love to make fabric bags. You can find tons of patterns online for simple bags to more complicated bags.

If you are planning on making handmade gifts this season, here are some tips:

• Find an appropriate pattern. Make a list of materials that you will need.
• Establish a time line for completing the project. Realistically set a time each day or week that you can work on the project.
• Set aside a place that you can work on the project without having to put it away each time.
• Make duplicates of the same project. This way you can complete each step at the same time.
• Finish one project before you move on to the next. Otherwise you will not get any of them finished.

Have fun making your holiday projects this year!

When school is finally out (only 12 more days for us), I need to keep my kids busy. I don’t want them to sit in front of the television all day, so I make a list of fun activities that we can do together. Fortunately, my kids love to craft! Recently, I was introduced to a new blog by FedEx – Out of Office. The FedEx blog features all different kinds of projects – projects for business, kids and even holidays.

One of my favorite ideas from the blog is Creating a Family Journal. What a great idea for a yearly project that includes pictures and updates on each family member!

Don’t forget to check out the Templates and Tools section too! My kids made two bookmarks using the bookmark template from this site. Now we are going to head over to FedEx and get the bookmarks laminated. This will be great for their summer reading books.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of FedEx Office and received the items necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.