Active Arts & Crafts Posts
How To: Use the V stitch for your next crochet project
This tutorial is for those who are at least intermediate crocheters. Make sure you have the basics down before attempting this crochet stitch, called the V stitch, which uses a 13 + 3 stitching pattern and produces an elegant finished project.
How To: Recycle your old clothes into a trendy fringe scarf
This is a great DIY project you can do without having to sew. Find a knit garment you don't wear anymore, like a dress or a t-shirt, and then follow the steps in this video to quickly and easily make your own trendy fringed scarf.
How To: Make a beautiful mini Christmas scrapbook out of paper bags
Start with a stack of plain brown paper lunch bags. Then, follow the steps outlined in this video to make a beautiful Christmas keepsake scrapbook album. A great gift for a loved one, or keep it yourself as a memory of the year.
How To: Make a beautiful handmade gift box for your Christmas presents
All you need is some stiff paper, like craft paper or card stock. Then follow this video to fold two pieces (make sure they are roughly the same size) into a lovely and easy gift box. Then wrap it and stick it under the tree!
How To: Make a strawberry out of 3-D origami
Make sure that you already know the basics of 3-D origami - the folding of triangles. Once you have enough red, white and green triangles, you can form them into a fat, juicy strawberry! Practice also rounding out your corners.
How To: Make a juicy lemon out of 3-D origami
You will need to have mastered the art of folding the triangles and a base before attempting this. If you have, then follow along and learn how to make your own lemon halves out of yellow and white origami paper!
How To: Fold a Christmas tree fairy or angel with origami
Why buy an expensive tree topper when you can fold your own lovely Christmas tree fairy or angel? This also makes a great ornament! Start with a piece of origami paper, 18 cm by 18 cm, and follow the folding instructions in this video.
How To: Crochet a Christmas trivet for serving hot holiday dishes
A trivet is something that you put a hot dish on top of, to protect your counter or table from damage. This trivet uses bottlecops covered in crocheted yarn to make an effective and cute holiday trivet. Use it yourself, or give it as a gift!
How To: Make a mini album for Christmas out of paper bags
You don't have to be a scrapbooking wizard to make this! All you need are 32 brown paper lunch bags, and a small collection of paper crafting supplies. Make your own seasonal Christmas album, and record every day of the month!
How To: Upcycle an old A-line skirt into a "Harry Potter" wizard cape
When it comes to "Harry Potter" movie premieres, it seems that you just can't get through one without wondering if the movie theater you're at has turned into Hogwarts. The true fans always dress up in their wizarding best, from long cloaks to striped ties to Harry's famous glasses and lightning bolt scar.
How To: Craft a "Harry Potter" style wand that lights up
With the first installment of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" out, don't be surprised if you find yourself more than ever wanting to whip out a twelve inch phoenix feather wand and wrist twirl your way to defeating your own personal Voldemort. While this video won't teach you how to do magic (so sad), it will teach you how to craft a very cool-looking "Harry Potter" wand that can do the "lumos" spell.
How To: Make a chain out of Starburst or other candy wrappers for jewelry
Starburst are famous both for their amazing flavor and their colorful but ecologically-reprehensible wrappers. Don't throw them away! Make stuff out of them! Watch this video for instructions on making chains out of Starburst wrappers, which can then be used to make jewelery or for other decorations.
How To: Sew an urban chic pattern lined hoodie
Plain hoodies are among the most versatile pieces of clothing you can own. But while they're comfortable and chic, plain hoodies can also look a little dull, especially if all you're wearing is sweats or blue jeans with them.
How To: Make a holiday lace ornament with thread crochet
This is a great craft project to dress up your plain Christmas tree ornaments! Take a basic round holiday ornament, measure it, and then use some sturdy white thread to crochet a lace cover with beaded flowers around it. A beautiful addition to any tree!
How To: Create an "I Love You" Valentine's Day card
Want to show your love in a creative and heartfelt way? Make a handmade I Love You card using Ippity stamps! This tutorial shows you how to make a basic, flowery card to show the people you love how you feel about them.
How To: Make a little paper pilgrim out of a Top Note die and cardstock
You can use this little paper pilgrim to decorate scrapbooks, as place cards or to include with thank-you notes. You will need a Top Note die cutter, card stock in black, white, beige and brown and a few paper craft supplies as well.
How To: Make a paper Christmas wreath as an embellishment for a greeting card
This tutorial shows you how to make a lovely Christmas wreath out of cardstock, a few gems and some ribbon. You can include this as an embellishment to your handmade holiday cards, or include it in one of your scrapbooks.
How To: Quilt a Thanksgiving turkey wall hanging or throw
Looking for a good quilting idea for a wall hanging? This tutorial shows you how to quilt together a turkey, using a layer cake (or collection of fall-colored fabrics) and a Dresden ruler. End up with a lovely piece you can use as a wall hanging or other decoration.
How To: Make a sweet treat turkey out of paper and jelly beans
By using the Sweet Treat cups, cardstock and a few extra crafting supplies, you can incorproate delicious jelly beans (or any other small, autumn-colored candy) into a crafted paper turkey. This is a great little decoration to put on the kids' table this Thanksigving season!
How To: Make a mini basket for Thanksgiving as a table decoration or favor
The basket in this tutorial says 'Give Thanks', but you can always change the lettering and turn it into a place card instead. It's a mini basket that you can fill with anything, and give away as a favor or use as a table decoration.
How To: Make a Thanksgiving turkey from beads and jewelry wire
This is a great project, especially for older or preteen children. You will need flatnose pliers, needlenose pliers, wire cutters, gold bugle beads, seed beads, a large bead for the body and 24 gauge jewelry wire in bronze or copper.
How To: Draw wings with anime drawing instructor Mark Crilley
Mark Crilley demonstrates how to draw wings. Mark Crilley is one of the best anime drawing instructors on the web. Search Mark Crilley on WonderHowTo for more videos from this master.
How To: Make an origami boomerang
Take an A4 SIZED paper. The paper is A4 size and it should be an INSTRUCTION paper. The paper size should be maximum, so that it will fly. Twist the papers into halves. Thus 2 papers are formed using folding. Put the papers horizontally. Fold them into half. So the papers are TWO HALF sized papers. Fold each OF the 2 halves again into 2 FOLDS. So the paper is divided into 1/4 papers. So the paper is divided horizontally 4 times. A line DIVIDES the paper in THE MIDDLE. This is arranged in such...
How To: Knit a picot cast off or a picot bind off
In this video, you'll learn how to knit a picot cast off, or a picot bind off from expert knitter Judy. This sort of casting off is great for things like baby blankets, and you can expand your repertoire with the picot cast off to other projects.
News: Super Low-Cal, Paper Light Breakfast
You don't have to worry about packing on the pounds with a breakfast like this. Have all the donuts you like... as long as they're papercraft. Created by Paper Donut.
How To: Make the triple crochet stitch
Missing the pure fundamentals when it comes to crocheting? Well, this video will teach you one very important method— triple crochet. Listen closely and follow along to learn the proper technique of stitching the triple crochet. You just need your crochet hook and some yarn.
How To: Make easy and sturdy limbs in 3-D origami
Make sure you have perfected the triangle before moving onto this part of 3-D origami. This tutorial shows you how to make limbs (or any other kind of appendage or protrusion) sturdy and easily for your next 3-D origami project.
How To: Make a specialty chisel tool for "papel picado" paper crafts
Papel picado is a traditional Mexican paper crafting (perforated paper), and it can sometimes be difficult to cut, especially when you are trying to cut fifty layers at once. To make cutting easy, you can use a chisel, and this video shows you how to make one with papel picado in mind.
How To: Make authentic (and totally eco-friendly) Mexican papier mâché paste
Forget using glue or wallpaper paste, the best recipe for paper mache uses nothing more than flour and water. There's no set ratio, just mix what you think looks right. The key to this recipe is boiling the paste after you have mixed it.
How To: Make the basic single crochet once you've completed a chain
The single crochet (abbreviated SC) is one of the easiest, yet most important stitches you'll perform when crocheting. If you don't have the single crochet down, they you need to hurry up and learn it! Luckily, this video shows you exactly how to make the single crochet. Listen closely and follow along to learn the proper technique of stitching the single crochet. You just need your crochet hook and some yarn.
How To: Make the basic double crochet once you've completed a chain
It's sometimes referred to as simply DC— the double crochet. It's about twice the height of single crochet, and is very popular for creating a looser feel. This video will show you the steps to making a double crochet. Just listen closely and follow along to learn the proper crocheting technique. You just need your crochet hook and some yarn.
How To: Fold a little paper origami steamer boat
This is a good folding tutorial on a traditional origami steamer boat. To fold this steamer ship, you'll need any square piece of paper with a minimum dimension of 10 x 10 centimeters. It's a simple steamer that anybody could fold.
How To: Dress up a clutch bag by adding studs and rhinestones
Want to give a tired old clutch purse a much needed facelift? You can improve the look of any handbag by using studs and rhinestones. This tutorial shows you how to pick, arrange and attach the best studs for your accessories.
How To: Cut out intricate shapes on your Craft Robo with an SD card
While you can hook up your Craft Robo to a computer, you might sometimes want a little extra mobility. You can load your designs onto an SD card and cut out your favorite shapes directly from the card. No cords needed!
How To: Join a crochet round together seamlessly
So you've been working on a crochet project for a round piece, and now you are at the end. How to join the two edges together seamlessly? This tutorial shows you an easy and simple way to join your rounds together.
How To: Make a loom-knitted snowy sparkle scarf (aka Crystal scarf)
Join Mikey from the Crochet Crowd as he walks you through knitting a sparkle scarf, also called the Crystal scarf. If you want to learn how to make this fabulous scarf using a loom, just watch! It looks like a feather boa, and it can be made in virtually no time at all. You can design it anyway you want by mixing up your colors. Eyelash or boa yarn will really make this magnificent!
How To: Craft a spooky "Boo'd" Halloween box
Halloween just isn't Halloween without your fair share of spooks, frights, and spine-tingling delights. If you're planning to host a Halloween party this year, why not craft your own favor boxes? It's really not as hard as you think.
How To: Fold a five pointed shooting star out of origami paper
Make a wish! I wish... I knew how to fold a falling star out of origami. Well, now your wish is granted! This is an easy and fun tutorial that shows you how to fold a five pointed shooting star from origami paper!
How To: Knit a shag scarf using a knitting loom
This craft is exceptionally easy to do on a knitting loomm, even though the shag style might look difficult to create. This tutorial shows you how to create your own shag scarfs using a loom and a few simple stitches.
How To: Crochet a simple but fabulous center piece
This is a fabulous center piece that's actually quite easy to do. The ruffles help it stand up, making it a great holder for large candles or vases. Make it out of a solid color, or add some stripes for variety!