Active Arts & Crafts Posts
HowTo: Make Soap With Bacon
"Fruity hand soaps, moisturizers, emulsifying lotions, pumice stones, and Loofahs don't cut it. We want to cleanse ourselves with the fat of the sweet, dead pig."
How To: Make six different types of flower rosettes
You probably already have a plethora of white t-shirts and plain blue jeans, and while having outfits you can lean on no matter the time of day or occasion, going with the same neutral tones and combinations gets a bit boring (not to mention visually dull) after a while.
How To: Make strong popsicle stick bridges using a cross hatch pattern
When we were five years old, there was nothing better to do at recess than to whip out a bag full of popsicle sticks of all sizes, some glue, and then piece together the pieces as if solving a puzzle. We'd make forts, bridges, and even stick people.
How To: Make a fashionable crochet hoop earring for left handers
Think all crochet projects produce yuppy granny squares and are only done by elderly cat ladies who live alone? Think again. With stars like Amanda Seyfried proclaiming that knitting is their favorite hobby, crocheting/knitting is once again becoming hot stuff, kind of like designer cupcakes or pilates.
How To: Make Lady Gaga's crystalized spike abstract Grammys headpiece
When we first saw Lady Gaga donning this, well, gaga headpiece at the Grammy Awards, we were wondering what the Fortress of Solitude was doing on her head. The headpiece, composed of what look like stalactites crystalized with thousands of swavorski crystals, looked like an Abstract Expressionist sculpture, and made little sense.
How To: Make cozy fleece pants for a Christmas present
We know how hard it is to buy a present for a woman during the holidays. 99% of the time she's not going to wear what you buy her, and giving her a practical gift like a blender or a new microwave - despite your best intentions - is just cause for a good talkin' to. So how do you indulge that special woman in your life this Christmas without getting slapped?
How To: Construct an edgy floral dress with a zipper front
You really can't go wrong with florals and zippers. The two fashion trends are indeed opposites, with florals being overly dainty and zippers being more punk rock, but when you combine them together you achieve a striking balance.
How To: Solder jump rings for an extra security jewelry closure
The difference between an amateur piece of jewelry and a professional one often lies in the details. Almost anyone can link chains together into a necklace and add small floral baubles, but the professional will take care to make sure the baubles are attached almost imperceptibly and the closure blends in with the rest of the necklace and also won't budge.
How To: Make a scalloped crochet hoop earring
Think all crochet projects produce yuppy granny squares and are only done by elderly cat ladies who live alone? Think again. With stars like Amanda Seyfried proclaiming that knitting is their favorite hobby, crocheting/knitting is once again becoming hot stuff, kind of like designer cupcakes or pilates.
How To: Flatten dollar bills with an iron for origami
It doesn't make common sense for most people to use irons on anything other than cloth, but if you'rea (really) careful you can actually employ irons to flatten and straighten paper products, as well.
How To: Fold a kirigami cherry blossom with five petals
If you're not afraid to stray from your origami craft, then kirigami worth a shot. It's just like origami, but you're allowed to cut the paper, not just fold it. Kirigami makes origami look more mature and more accurate, like when it comes to flowers. This video will show you how much better a kirigami cherry blossom looks! Learn how to make this cherry blossom with five petals.
News: Jewelry From Hell
California native Joji Kojima's jewelry belongs in a Freddy Krueger nightmare. Evocative of death, violence and a macabre fetishism, these accessories aren't for the soft-natured.
How To: Make a woven friendship bracelet
Kiwua demonstrates how to make a woven yarn friendship V bracelet. There are three chapters, click on all of them to see the full tutorial.
How To: Make a beaded bouquet of flowers
Making beaded bouquets of flowers requires tedious work and hundreds of beads. Make a detailed work of beaded art in this free beading video series.
How To: Knit a crochet granny square for left handers using circle to square four
Granny squares are not in fact grannies who can't think out of the box. When it comes to knitting, granny squares is the terminology for a knit square project. They're termed "granny" because they look old and soft and remind us of that stereotypical image of an old cat lady knitting in her home.
How To: Create a penguin patterned friendship bracelet
Do you and your friends live and die by Club Penguin? Profess your love and show it off to the world by crafting penguin patterned friendship bracelets.
How To: Make pinwheel shaped united cranes for beginners
Already mastered folding a crane? Congrats, you're already halfway there to becoming a veritable origami master! Harder origami projects take more time and patience to perfect, but you can begin making impressive origami projects now even if you're just a beginner.
How To: Make an origami flying pterodactyl dinosaur for beginners
Ah, this dinosaur origami project takes us back to the good old days, when Power Rangers was the bomb and all the girls wanted to be pink ranger kelly with her skirted pink costume and pink pterodactyl robot thingy.
How To: Make a 3D origami vampire/bat for beginners
No one would ever fear the sight of a vampire if they were this adorable. Part Dracula and part bat, this is a hybrid origami figure that attempts to intimidate but whose penguin-like figure and cuddliness gives him away as a sweetheart.
How To: Make a 3D origami snail for intermediate origami students
Snails are such cool cats. While we humans labor the day away in a whirlwind of errands and obligations, snails take their time wherever they choose to go. As such, we can learn a bit about taking it easy and relaxing from these small wisdom bearers.
How To: Make a scary origami rabbit monster with ferocious teeth
Bunnies are the last things you'd expect to eat your face off, but behind those cute, beady eyes and fuzzy fur lies a ferocious monster just waiting to get out. Or at least that's the case with this fiendish rabbit monster.
How To: Do a knitting bind off (cast off) on a circular needle
Bind offs, also known as cast offs, are useful tools in knitting because they help you keep one area of your project in place while you work on another section. Bind offs on a circular needle work basically in the same way that bind offs work with straight needles.
How To: Make a Rabbit with Oshibori Origami
An oshibori is a Japanese wet hand towel. With an oshibori you can make all kinds of things, just like origami. Oshibori Origami is the latest Japanese craze sweeping the nation! Instead of paper, we're making origami from wet Japanese hand towels. Oshibori origami is easier than traditional origami, and more fun, too!
How To: Knit a simple garter stitch scarf
Watch and learn the secret behind knitting a simple garter stitch scarf. Garter stitches are great for scarves because all you do is knit every row and both sides are the same. Cast on the number of stitches that you want and just start knitting! Judy Graham, Knitter to the Stars, shows you how it's done!
How To: Origami fireworks
Origami is the timeless art of Japanese paper folding. Watch this origami how to video to learn how to fold fireworks. Origami is a fun craft and your models make nice, homemade gifts. Practice makes perfect.
How To: Create a fun birthday sailboat card
You can easily create a fun birthday sailboat card with just a mere template. Watch how to make this awesome sailing card from HeroArts. This tutorial will take you step-by-step along the way, showing you how to stencil, cut and fold the paper.
How To: Make a French-style fabric memo board for photos and letters
This crafty project is inexpensive, it's easy to do and it's really handy for attaching things like letters, photos and to-do lists. This isn't like a cork memo board, because you won't need any push pins or cork pins! Watch and learn how to make this French memo board. This is the pretty alternative to drab store-bought memo boards.
How To: Tie the snakeskin bar knot
If you need to take up a hobby, you could try taking up making cool, decorative knots. This hobby isn't too hard to take up and can result in beautiful looking pieces of art that you can sell or just giveaway.
How To: Craft a wallet out of duct tape
Forget about dropping tons of cash on a brand new leather wallet when you can make one at home for the cost of a roll of duct tape! In this video, learn step-by-step how to make a highly usable and durable wallet out of duct tape... This wallet is also vegan friendly!
How To: Make a paper sniper rifle replica
Boys and their guns! Make paper replicas of guns is a great way to exude a sense of creativity and have some fun. This video will demonstrate how to create a sniper rifle replica out of paper.
How To: Make a floral bib necklace back to school accessory
Don't worry, just because you're wearing a bib necklace doesn't mean you have uncontrollable drooling urges and drop food out of your mouth like a one-year-old.
How To: Wire wrap a head pin loop
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to wire wrap a head pin loop. Begin by placing the bead on the head pin, or on a 5 inch piece of wire. Then make a bend on the head pin approximately 1/8 inches above the bead to a 90 degree angle. Now wrap the pin around the jaw of the pliers, pulling it slightly to one side. Holding the bead and wire, rotate the pliers back to form a loop. Finish by wrapping the tail of the wire around the exposed part of the headpin as many times as possible. This ...
How To: Create an embossed crochet flower using circle to square four
Granny squares are not in fact grannies who can't think out of the box. When it comes to knitting, granny squares is the terminology for a knit square project. They're termed "granny" because they look old and soft and remind us of that stereotypical image of an old cat lady knitting in her home.
How To: Make a quick & simple Christmas card with Stampin' Up!
This video tutorial is in the Arts & Crafts category where you will learn how to make a quick and simple Christmas card with Stampin' Up! You will need the bashful blue classic ink, a bashful blue cardstock cut at 3" x 4 1/4", a piece of whisper white cut at 4 1/4" x 11" and scored at 5 1/2", a piece of whisper white organza ribbon and scrap cardstock for two snowflakes. Cut out the snowflakes with the jumbo snowflake punch. Stick the bashful blue on the whisper white cardstock. Using the hea...
HowTo: Build a Papercraft NSX Super GT Race Car
Is your love of race cars exceeded only by your love of elaborate papercraft? Do you have easy access to industrial-size printers and a surfeit of clean cardboard? If you answered yes to all of the above, odds are you're the Seiko Epson printer corporation, who recently set about assembling an impressive 1:1-scale 3D cardboard replica of a Honda/Acura NSX Super GT race car for the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon:
How To: Knot pearl beads
This video tutorial is in the Arts & Crafts category where you will learn how to knot pearl beads from Brenda. Pearl knotting is making a simple knot between each pearl on a strand. They not only give a professional look, they also keep the pearls in place and prevent them from rubbing against each other. After you have strung the clamp to the end of the string, tie a double over head knot and string your first pearl. Make a simple knot on the string behind the pearl. Grab the string with a t...
How To: Apply a crimp bead cover
This video tutorial belongs to the Arts & Crafts category in which Maricela is going to show you how to apply a crimp bead cover. First take a crimp bead cover. Now slide it over the crimp bead through the open jaw. Next take your crimp forming tool and applying a slight pressure to close the crimp bead cover around the crimp bead. If too much pressure is not applied, the crimp bead cover will close evenly around the crimp bead and the effect will be that of a seamless round bead. And that's ...
How To: Make an ear wire earring hook
In order to make a hook for an earring, you will need the following: round nose pliers, a wire cutter, a nail file or sand paper, an ink pen, 20-22 gauge wire. With your round nose pliers, make little hook, in the end of the wire. Bend it, until it makes a little loop.
How To: Make a mosaic picture framer with ceramic micro tiles
In this video, we learn how to make a mosaic picture frame with ceramic micro tiles. First, glue on the four gemstones. These will go on all four corners of the frame. Next, place the square mosaics onto the base. You will place these around the edges of the frame that are perfectly square. After this, cut the other squares in half and glue them onto the entire frame in the middle of the squares on the frame. Next, let the frame dry for two hours, then mix the powder together with water and r...
How To: Distress old wallpaper
In this video, we learn how to distress old wallpaper. First, cover your chip board and then take the piece of paper and tear the edges. Tear all the way around, or how you prefer it to look. Next, rub quick dry adhesive onto the back of the paper, then brush it to the ends of the paper. Now, push the paper onto the chip board and start to roll and crinkle it up. Distress the paper first if you want to, then continue pushing the paper until it looks how you like it. Make sure you work quickly...