How-To Guides about Arts & Crafts

Stained Glass for Beginners: How to Make Your First Panel

12 3D Printing Projects That Are Perfect For Beginners

Reviewed by: Y. Garcia

Reviewed by: Y. Garcia

Reviewed by: Y. Garcia

Got leftover wood scraps cluttering your workshop? This holiday season, those offcuts can turn into meaningful gifts that show you care. Scrap wood projects have gained significant momentum in the DIY community, with woodworkers drawn to repurposing leftovers instead of tossing them. That interest gives gift-makers a real edge, the personal touch that only handcrafted items carry.

You know that wonderful feeling when you receive something handmade? That spark when you realize someone carved out time just for you. Mason jars provide a perfect canvas for DIY gifts that capture exactly that sentiment. They're versatile, charming, and surprisingly affordable to work with.

Difficulty: Novice Time: 15-45 minutes per jar Cost: $3-15 per gift

Difficulty: Novice Time: 15 minutes Cost: ~$8

Difficulty: Novice Time: 15 minutes (plus reservation call) Cost: Free

Difficulty: Novice Time: 10-15 minutes Cost: Free (with optional Canva Pro features)

Reviewed by Jame Jimenez

This paper airplane doesn't just fly — it comes back to you like a boomerang.

If your paper airplanes usually nosedive or stall, the Super Arrow is your fix.

With its sharp angles and sleek design, this stealth-inspired paper plane is built for speed and style.

This is no ordinary paper airplane — it's a detailed model of the legendary F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Ever wonder how to cast on with work in progress when knitting? Well, wonder no more with this knitting demonstration video!

Learn how to create a flat panel on a circular knitting loom. The flat panel demonstrated shows the use of a garter stitch to prevent the curling that occurs when knitting a stockinette panel. To learn how, watch the video on YouTube from user PurlingSprite.

Have you ever been curious about how glass beads are made? Or are you interested in getting started in the glass bead business? In this video, see how one bead maker creates beautiful glass beads.

One important part of jewelery making involves properly attaching clasps. This how-to video jewelry making tutorial demonstrates the proper way to attach them. Begin by threading the crimp bead and the clasp onto the bead wire. Using chain nose pliers feed the thread around and loop it back around through the crimp bead. Use the pliers to hold the crimp bead tight. Crimp the bead down securing the wire and clasp.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to fold and assemble an MP40 gun out of paper. Using just paper, scissors and tape, you can make a toy replica gun with working parts. (Of course, it will lack the firepower of a real MP40!)

Learn to make soap logs, ribbon-shaped, and other embeds for candles.

Un-dull your crocheted sweater with a little creativity. Adding some decorative details and features to your clothing will do wonders for fashion, and could hide unsightly holes! Embellishing with crochet can be a creative way to repair a piece of clothing, and it can add flair to a piece by inserting a neckline or a hem.

These videos show you how to make soap curls for use in molded soap cavities. Create colorful, fun boutique-style soaps for gift giving.

This is a great project for beginners - sew your own knife edge pillow with a zipper. If you can, use a rotary cutter instead of scissors to get better, cleaner lines for your project. Also get a sturdy zipper.

Improve your crocheting skills by creating fun holiday shapes. This how-to video is a tutorial that will show you how to crochet an angel halo. Crochet several angels and halos to decorate your house during the holidays.

In this video, the author teaches us how to cast on with serenity: wrap your material around twice, grab the back and then up (around your fingers) forming a slipknot. To start off, we will focus on the inside of the loom, pulling the material towards the outside (using a grochet hook). Take needle between two pegs, pulling material through and put the needle down and pull up (rotating towards you) and repeat. This forms a tier duct and if this is done properly, you should be able to do this...

Cameras can be pretty pricey, but this one only costs a buck, though it's pretty limited in its functionality. That's because it's no ordinary camera, but an origami one made using nothing but a dollar bill.

When making these knit newborn mittens use 2 strings at the same time for warmth. Wrap the string around your finger twice to create a slip knot (back loop over the forward, and then pull it down to leave the loop). Use only 7 pegs from the 24 peg loom. Use the anchor as the starting point. Put the slip knot over the first peg. If you're right-handed, work towards the left; and likewise, if you're left-handed, work towards the right. Now, wrap over and back down the peg beside your first peg....

This video origami tutorial shows how to fold up dollar bills and attach them onto a lei necklace to create a Hawaiian money lei. Watch, follow along, and never give a cheap, boring gift again.

The very first banknotes were used by the Chinese in the 7th century, during the Tang Dynasty. Before it was used as an actual currency, paper money was part of a deposit system in which merchants would leave large amounts of coins with a trusted associate and receive a paper receipt for the transaction. The reason was simple — the copper coins used as currency then were heavy.

Bugle cords are used as elaborate ornamental leashes on bugles and trumpets, but they are also used as snazzy ornamentation, called aiguillettes (a type of fourragère), on uniforms worn by certain members of the military. While you could buy one pre-made, you could also make one yourself. But this should not be confused with the infantry blue cord of the U.S. Army, which is another type of fourragère only with more elaborate knotting.

Keep the kids learning and entertained with this fun pinwheel project. Summer is a great time for family activities, and these Fourth of July pinwheels are a math lesson, craft project and decoration-making session all-in-one.

If your little youngster is celebrity his first Fourth of July and you want to get him decked out for the occasion without posing any potential choking hazard with beaded necklaces or bracelets, then this fuzzy hat is the perfect way to get him in the spirit.

To play off Gertrude Stein's famous quote, a rose is a rose is a magic paper cube. And with this paper folder's guide, you'll learn how to make your very own magic rose cube from paper using the Japanese art of origami. This design by Valerie Vann, and folded by YouTuber German Fernandez, is great for Valentine's Day or any other day where a paper puzzle rose is needed. Just be prepared... it's a not just a puzzle origami rose, it's a puzzle folding it.

Valentine's Day is a day for love, but it also just happens to be the time when every flower shop in town hikes up their prices. Chocolates are still relatively cheap, but I never understood why you have to give the gift of bigger love handles when something more creative gets the job done at a much cheaper price.