Hot Arts & Crafts Posts

How To: Sew a great DIY cosplay costume

Sewing your own cosplay costume requires a massive investment of time, energy, and sewing skills. Before you get started, you should watch all of this three-part video tutorial on sewing cosplay costumes. It covers everything from buying fabric to the actual sewing and everything in between, and should have you ready for you next anime convention in no time.

How To: Make fun pixelated fuse bead coasters

Remember the heyday of video games during the '80s when all video games were 8 bit and super pixelated? While we're glad to have video games that look so real we mistake them for reality sometimes, pixelation is still a cool way to add retro flair to any crafts project.

How To: Choose the right character to make a costume for and cosplay as

Cosplay is a fine art these days, and if you want to get into it, deciding which of the thousands of characters you have to choose from to cosplay as can be tough. Making a good costume is hard work, so you want to make sure you choose the right character for you before you invest your time and money. This video features several regular cosplayers giving you all sorts of tips and advice for picking your character based on body type, personality, and other factors.

How To: Craft a shrink plastic cherry necklace and accessories

If your little girl loves jewelry making but you're scared she's going to poke her eye out with a wire when you're not looking, sleep soundly at night by teaching her how to craft shrink plastic jewelry. Perhaps the safest and easiest forms of jewelry making, it involves only shrink plastic and a mini oven (which you would help out with).

How To: Thread a Singer Finishing Touch serger sewing machine with differential feed

Sewing with a serger sewing machine can be quite difficult, if you're lucky enough to own one. Even threading the beastly sewing machine can be pretty tricky. But this two-part video tutorial should help you to properly thread one. This covers the threading of a Singer Differential-Feed Finishing Touch serger sewing machine (14SH654), which has 4/3 thread capability. Singer also has a PDF available with detailed threading instructions.

How To: Make furry gloves for a fursuit

If you want to go furry, don't want to spend the money on a professionally-made fursuit, and have some sewing skills, you've come to the right place. This video will help you get your costume started by showing you how to make a pair of fursuit gloves yourself. They are durable, easy to move around in, and super cute.

How To: Use and get the right materials for making a fursuit or other costume

Cosplay-friendly conventions are going through a sort of renaissance right now. AnimeExpo, ComiCon, A-Kon, PAX. All over the country people are dressing up as anime characters and furry animals and filling exhibition halls to mingle. If you want to have a really badass costume, you're going to need the right materials. In this video, a semi-professional costume-maker will walk you through the materials you need to make a great fursuit or other elaborate costume and where to get them.

How To: Do a single crochet going through back loops only

In this video, we learn how to do a single crochet going through back loops only. First, do your foundation crochet, then start doing single crochets. With the chain, there is two loops, the back and front. To the back loop, you would go through these with your crochet hook, then pull on the yarn to continue to crochet. Make sure you find the difference between these so you know which loop to go through. Start to do back loop crochets and continue until you reach the end of the line. Make sur...

How To: Use French wire when jewelry making

In this video, we learn how to use French wire when jewelry making. First, you want to take your wire and cut it to the length you need, using wire cutters. After this, you will place a stopper next to the pendant or bead that you are applying inside the necklace. Next, string on the clasp to the wire and then bend the end of the wire to the inside of the stopper, then cut the end of that with wire cutters. When finished, your clasp should be secure at the end of the wire and ready to hook on...

How To: Crochet a headband for winter

In this video, we learn how to crochet a headband for winter. You will need yarn and a size 10 crochet hook to do this. To start, make a slipknot, then hook your needle into it. Start making a simple chain stitch, after you finish this row, stick your needle into the first stitch and make a single crochet all the way down. Continue to do this for several rows, until the headband is thick enough to go around your head the way you want it to fit. When finished, tie it off with a knot at the end...

How To: Make a double flap card with Stampin' Up!

In this video, we learn how to make a double flap card with Stampin' Up!. First, cut out the card in green, then add a creamy caramel color to the top of a white piece of paper. Now, add a green piece of paper that is slightly smaller to the top of the caramel color paper. Add another piece of white on top of the green, then layer then together on the card. Add in a walrus and a little kid stamp to the cards and place them onto scalloped punches. On the bottom, apply striped paper, then apply...

How To: Make a snowflake card using Cricut Winter Woodland

In this video, we learn how to make a snowflake card using Cricut Winter Woodland. You can find the snowflake on page 35 of the manual, then cut it at 3.5", cutting it four times to make it thick and chunky. The top of the card can be run through the Cuttlebug with a snowflake design, and the bottom can have a holiday snowflake print. The sentiment should say "let it snow" and you can place a green bow in the center next to the thick snowflake you make. You can write what you wish on the insi...

How To: Make a pop-up box card

Connie Brad teaches us how to make a pop-up box card in this tutorial. First, you need to take a scoring board and draw 1 cm increments down the center of it. Now, take a sheet of card stock and score the sheet 2 cm from one end, then continue down until you reach the bottom 3/4's of the paper. Now, fold your card along all of the score lines up until the last line. Next, line this up on a cutting mat and cut 3 cm on each side until the end of each score line. Now when you set this up, it wil...

How To: Make a jingle bell card using Cricut Storybook

In this video, we learn how to make a jingle bell card using Cricut Storybook. you will need the Cricut Storybook cartridge and Cuttlebug Music Notes folder to do this card. First, you will take a cut out of the word "jingle" that has a bell attached to the bottom of it. You can find this in your Cricut crafting books. Next, apply a checkered green paper over a forest green card stock. Next, grab a holiday embossed white paper and apply a ribbon to it, then glue this onto the checkered paper....

How To: Use a yarn bowl when knitting

In this tutorial, we learn how to use a yarn bowl when knitting. The side of the bowl will have a slit in it where you can place your yarn while you are working on a project. Use hand wound balls or any other type. First place the yarn in the bowl and then string it through the slit, feeding it through as you do your project. If you have a larger ball, set it on the side and use it the same way. The bowl is glossy and smooth so the ball will roll around and won't get stuck inside. There's als...

How To: Make an adjustable cable necklace

In order to make an adjustable cable necklace, you will need the following: 20 inch adjustable cable chain, a slide bead frame, 2 head pins, 8 mm bi-cone, 8 mm crystal, 2 6-mm round rondells, 2 7-mm jump rings, a pair of nipper tools, a pair of round nose pliers, and a pair of chain nose pliers.

How To: Do stockinette stitch

In this video, we learn how to do a stockinette stitch. This is where you knit one row and stitch the row after that. This will curl up if you don't stitch on the side of it as well. When you're on the right side, you will do a knit row making it as large or as small as you want it to be. After this, turn your work around and you will see the wrong side of the work. Now your next row will be purl stitches. Continue to do these until you finish, this is a simple and easy way to learn stitching!

How To: Make a Cricut "you rock" birthday card

Mary shows us how to make a Cricut "you rock" birthday card in this video. Use the Cricut paper dolls cartridge to find a little boy and the clothes that go on him. Cut all the pieces at four inches, then use the joy cartridge to cut out a star that will go behind the paper boy. Next, place a sentiment that says "you rock!" on it, then use a gel pen to make tufts in the hair. Use chalk and ink to go around the clothes and cheeks to make a hairy look. This makes a great unique birthday card fo...

How To: Knit double motifs

In this video, we learn how to knit double motifs. First, make a grid so that you have an even number of stitches all the way around your motif. After this, cast two colors onto the needle, making sure they stay in order. Cast on a total of twenty stitches, which will be just one side of the square for your motif. After this, start to stitch the rows until you reach the middle where your shape will be. Exchange the colors so the pattern in the middle looks how you want it to. After this, bind...

How To: Start crocheting a beanie

In this video, we learn how to start a beanie. During this, you will increase the number of single crochet stitches in a chain. Start off with a chain three, then join them by crocheting a single stitch in the first stitch you made. Do this by pushing the hook through and pulling the yard over, then pulling through. After this, you will have a circle. Start to crochet inside of this by using your circle and inserting the hook into the circle. Crochet around the tail of the circle, then yarn o...

How To: Crochet a triangle-shaped bikini beanie hat

In this video, we learn how to crochet a triangle-shaped bikini beanie hat. First, crochet nine single crochets through a simple loop. After this, join with the beginning single crochet and work a single crochet three times. next, work one single crochets in each of the next two, then three single crochets in the next stitch. Now, go join with the first single crochet. Continue to go around until you have a large circle shape, going down on the sides to make the entire beanie shape. After thi...

How To: Cut acrylic on the Cricut Expression

In this video, we learn how to cut acrylic on the Cricut Expression. First, you will need to have an acrylic cutter installed on your Cricut Expression. Now, place the acrylic on the mat and insert the mat into your machine. After this, choose the type of cut you want, then make sure the blade depth is at six and the pressure is at maximum. Now you can start to cut the acrylic, and when it's finished, it will pop back out of the machine and be finished! You can then use the acrylic for what p...

How To: Make a cool four-sided boomerang that works

What's better than one origami boomerang that comes back to you all cool-like? Two origami boomerangs taped together, of course! Now of course you're thinking, "but that's not a boomerang at all and it won't come back to you!," but check out this video and you'll see there's a way to put together two boomerangs so that they'll create a super large and sexy boomerang.