Sunday, July 29, 2012

K-Cup Poinsettia Ornament




If you are looking for K-Cup crafts, then you’ve come to the right place.  I am a coffee-aholic and K-cups just seem to pile up.  Do I toss them in the trash?  Not on your life.  I use them to create all sorts of things.  It’s July already and in less than 6 months Christmas will be here, so it’s not too early to create some easy and pretty much free ornaments for your tree, using, yes K-Cups.

You will need:

One K-Cup, washed with filter removed

Ruler

Pencil

Small pointed scissors

Red spray paint for plastic

Scraps of yellow and red felt

Several yellow size E seed beads

Tacky Craft glue

Six inches gold cord

1/8” hole punch

1.     Remove the top lip of the K-cup with the scissors.



2.     Using the ruler, measure 3/4” increments making hash marks with the pencil around the top of the K-cup.


3.     Use the pencil marks as a guide and cut slits almost to the base of the K-Cup. You will have seven sections. Bend each section down with your fingers.




4.     Cut the edges at an angle and cut a curved shape near the base on both sides of each section.  See photo. 


5.     Work in a well-ventilated area or outside to spray paint both sides of the prepared K-cup with red spray paint.  Let dry completely.


6.     Cut a circle of yellow felt to fit on the interior of the poinsettia and attach with some tacky glue.  Dot some more glue in the center and add some yellow seed beads.  Let dry.


7.     Cut another circle of felt from the red piece and glue to the back of the poinsettia and let dry.  Punch a hole in the top of one of the petals and loop a length of gold cord for hanging. 








Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Binder Pencil Pouch from Duct Tape and a storage bag




Back to school is almost upon us.  You could buy one of those ready-made pencil pouches that fit in a binder—or you could use some duct tape (there are tons of prints and colors) and a regular old storage bag to make a stylish personalized one of a kind.  Easy enough for kids but parents will want to get in on the fun too!

You will need:

One gallon sized slider style storage bag

Duct tape in desired print or color

Plastic cutting mat-- optional (helps with cutting the duct tape)

Ruler, marker, scissors

Three-hole punch or regular hole punch

1.     Measure and cut 3 inches off the bottom edge of the storage bag.  Discard the cut off piece.


2.     Measure and cut 5 pieces of duct tape to 10 ½” each.

Cutting duct tape is easy to measure on a plastic cutting mat

3.     Starting at the upper edge attach a 10 ½” piece of duct tape over the plastic of the bag and across. Press to adhere.  Repeat with three more pieces of duct tape overlapping just a bit where the edges meet to cover the bag. Overlap the bottom edge of the final piece and press to the opposite side.




4.     Turn over to cover the other side.  Cut 4 pieces of duct tape to 12” each.  Start as you did on the first side except fold the extra length on each side (about ½” on each side) to the back. (Already covered side) 




5.     When you have completely covered the bag, you will need to reinforce the sides and bottom edge.  To do this cut 2 pieces of duct tape 7 ¾” each.  Press half the tape on one side covering any uneven edges and turn the excess to the opposite side.  Repeat on the other end.  For the bottom, cut another piece of duct tape 10 ½” and attach part to one side and fold the rest to the other side. (Bottom reinforced)


6.     Use a three-hole punch to make holes for the loose-leaf binder along the bottom edge.  If you do not have a three-hole punch, use a piece of loose-leaf paper to trace where the holes should be and punch with a regular hole punch.








Sunday, July 22, 2012

Snowflake Frame K-Cup Ornament



It's July and the perfect time to start your Christmas crafting.  Start saving those K-cups and by the time Christmas rolls around you will have enough to decorate the whole tree.  So let's get crafting
K-Cup style with Christmas up-style K-Cup crafts. Grab the kids and some glue and get crafting.

You will need:

White K-Cup cleaned with filter removed

Snowflake paper punch

1/8” hole punch

Tiny hole punch

Ruler, scissors, pencil

Tacky glue

Crystal sparkle dimensional fabric pant

6 inches gold thread for hanging

Silver, gold or pearl beads

Scrap of white felt

1.     Cut the top off of the K-cup.


2.      Remove the top lip of the K-cup with the scissors.



3.     Using the ruler, measure 3/4” increments making hash marks with the pencil around the top of the K-cup.

4.     Use the pencil marks as a guide and cut slits almost to the base of the K-Cup.  Bend each section down with your fingers.



5.      Use the snowflake paper punch bottom side up so you can place it properly.  Center and punch out a snowflake on each section.  Continue by making holes with the 1/8” and tiny punches on each segment.  Cut the edges at an angle to slightly round. (See photo)  You can save the punched plastic snowflakes in an envelope and include as confetti with your Christmas cards!






6.     After you have punched each section, line each one with a bead of Crystal sparkle dimensional fabric paint and let dry.


7.     Snip off the raised area so that it will be flat in the middle.  This is where you will add your photo.  Print out a photo on your computer or use a school photo. Trim the photo to fit the center of the snowflake and attach with a bit of tacky glue. Glue some mini faux pearls around the photo for added bling.  Cut a circle of white felt to fit the back and adhere with a bit of tack glue. Attach a piece of gold thread through a punched hole in one of the segments for hanging.




Save the punched snowflakes as confetti to add to cards and letters





Thursday, July 19, 2012

Recycled CD and/or Duct Tape Puzzle Earrings




Old CD’s make the best craft material, especially for earrings.  They are lightweight and flashy.  This time go one better and use any colorful duct tape for the back.  Then, you choose whether your earrings will show the glitz and shine of the CD or the Color and pattern of the Duct Tape.

You will need:

Old CD’s

Small scrap puzzle piece (raid your kid’s toy bin)

Wood burning tool

Any color or pattern Duct tape

Fine point sharpie marker

Scissors

Jump rings, two for each earring, one larger than the other

Fish hook ear wires

Needle nosed pliers, one or two pairs

Piece of glass from an old picture frame

Note:  Since this project uses a high heat wood-burning tool I do not recommend it for use with children. Cut out your shape slowly and work on a scrap piece of glass.

1.     Choose a puzzle piece.  Attach a strip of duct tape to the non-shiny side of the CD.  Use the sharpie marker to trace around the puzzle piece on the applied duct tape.  Trace again for a total of two puzzle shapes.






2.     While you are tracing, plug in your wood-burning tool and allow it to heat up. Be careful when you are using the tool since the tip is extremely hot.

3.     Working on a piece of glass placed on your work surface, begin to trace around the traced design with the wood-burning tool.  Work slowly. When you have completely traced the design, pop out the motif.  If you have traced around it completely it should pop out easily.  If some of the CD residue builds up on the tip, wipe it off on a piece of heavy cardboard. Carefully use the tip of the wood burner tool to poke a hole in the top center of the CD earring.  Repeat this step for the other earring. Trim any tiny fuzzy pieces around the edges with scissors.







4.     Use the needle nosed pliers to twist open rather than pull apart the larger of the two jump rings.  Thread through the hole you made in the top of the earring.  Twist it back closed.  Open the smaller jump ring in the same way and add to the larger jump ring, but before you close it add a fishhook ear wire. Make sure the ear wire is facing in the direction you would like your earring --colorful duct tape side or shiny CD side. Twist closed.  Repeat for the other earring. (While you may use only one needle nosed pliers, you may find it helpful to use two pairs twisting each pair in opposite directions to open and close the jump rings.)