Basic Principles for Organizing an Art and Craft Event (part 1)

 

You know that a well-organized art and craft event can leave a long-lasting memory and can even help build lifetime customers for your business.  The local craft fair or Saturday market are great places to showcase your crafting work; however, organizing your own event can provide a unique environment for attendees to connect with your business, resulting in more customers and sales. Although it’s certainly not as easy as opening your front door, if you follow these basic principles, it will not be too difficult but very effective and fulfilling.

  1. Involve your community

Involving the community around can help you reach out to more people than you have ever imagined. Your art and craft event can be just only you or as many of your friends as you like. Remember that the more the merrier and you can provide the attendees with a variety of options by connecting with your local art and craft community.

  1. Find the anchor

Every event should have a well-known artist to pull people in – the anchor artist. If you are not the anchor artist in your community, try to connect with one to participate in your event. This will establish buzz and credibility for your event.

  1. Create a catchy name

The name of your event says it all!  Therefore, you have to create a catchy name for it. It should be intriguing, descriptive meanwhile showing that it is a local community event so people around you can relate. For example, The Fall City Stimulus Art Fair name not only describes the event but also intrigues and invites everyone to come to support their community.

  1. Connect with your local organizations

A great way to spread the word is to connect with your local organizations and invite them to help and collaborate with you. You can connect with your local charities and help to raise donations during your art and craft event. Another great way is to have a local business sponsor your event such as offering coffee and snacks for the attendees.

 

 

 

Fun and Amazing Craft Room Ideas (part 2)

  1. A Lazy Susan craft supplies holder

A Lazy Susan is really helpful when you are looking for something just fun to use. It makes us feel like kids again. You can display a Lazy Susan on your work table and put any smaller craft supplies in it.

  1. Multipurpose storage pieces

Multipurpose storage pieces help you keep your craft room neat, organized, and stylish. You can put your minimal craft supplies in the open cubbies.

  1. Erasable chalkboard labels 

These labels are cute and useful if you want to change around your organization and drawers sometimes. They are also easy to DIY.

  1. Tension rod wrapping paper holder

Your wrapping process can be easier by using tension rods to secure your rolls, helping you unroll and cut at ease. It is even more efficient if you put your ribbon right under another tension rod.

  1. Chalkboard flower station

A craft space with a chalkboard flower station is exactly focused for the type of people who are always found fixing flowers for their own houses, for hostess gifts, or any other occasion. There is nothing better than fresh flowers in our house.

  1. Glitter drawer organizer

You can try using clear jewelry drawer organizers or silverware organizers to keep glitter or paint in your drawers. It helps you not to end up with one of the scary junk drawers and glitter flying everywhere.

  1. Magnetic wall

We love the idea of a magnetic wall to display our ongoing craft ideas and projects, or any other artwork. It creates a creative and modern feel to our craft room.

  1. Yarn cubbies

Diamond-shaped cubbies can display all of your brightly-hued yarn in a fun way. Just keep them stuffed full for all kind of yarn you want.

  1. Button jars

Make your buttons part of your craft room décor by keeping them color-coded and stored in clear jars. You can also use these jars to store ribbon scraps or other odds and ends.

Fun and Amazing Craft Room Ideas (part 1)

 

Crafting is not only for the little ones. Some take it seriously while the others just like to dabble every now and then. However, there is something that everyone can agree on – a wonderful craft room will not be left unused by us. We all dream of a creative space which is complete with all the supplies we need, displayed in a beautiful and functional way. No matter what your style is, there are some fun and amazing tips and tricks for you to create the perfect craft room.

  1. Colorful pegboard wall

A pegboard is one of the most versatile things you should have in your craft room. You can create your pegboard wall colorful and full of your favorite things. It’s also a great starting point for craft storage.

  1. Colored pencils wall display

Why not display your craft supplies like art? It makes a stunning and beautiful wall statement, therefore, you can keep the rest of the room crisp and simple. Remember to stock up on the colored pencils!

  1. Custom wrapping station

We love a custom station for all of the wrapping supplies we need. Ribbon, wrapping paper, bags, and drawers for tissue paper. It contains all we need in a pretty package!

  1. Refurbished file cabinet

Reuse an old metal file cabinet by painting it with chalkboard spray paint, for example, with white trim, for vintage and fresh feel. Then write the labels and store whatever you want!

  1. Hanging scissors and fabric space

Set up a little charming and bright space to hang scissors and store fabric. If you usually play around with sewing and fabrics, you surely need scissors and plenty of fabric options on hand.

  1. Large sturdy work table

We crafters all love to have a well-organized craft room with a large and rustic work table at the center. It creates a well-defined flow to the craft room and also makes us want to get down to business.

The relationship between sport and art

 

Sport and art seem to be very different disciplines. Is there any connection between them?

When being young, Roald Bradstock had an interest in both sport and art. Later, he became an Olympic javelin thrower, who represented Great Britain in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, and also gained a degree in art. However, he explained that these activities were very different and not very compatible on day two of the Peace and Sports Forum in Monaco. 

This lack of compatibility of these activities caused him some difficulties. He spent years struggling with being both an athlete and an artist – both two disciplines take a lot of time and energy.

However, that has changed now. Nicknamed as “the Olympic Picasso”, Roald Bradstock produces creative colorful representations of equipment and depictions of sporting scenes.

His attitude changed around the year 2000 when he took part in a competition held by the United States Olympic Committee. “Struggle for Perfection”, his painting, was chosen as the winner and then featured in the Olympic Museum in Switzerland.

He did more research and discovered that co-founder of the modern Olympic Games Pierre de Coubertin was an artist. Coubertin himself designed the Olympic rings and also won a poetry competition in 1912.

Mark Spitz, nine-time Olympic swimming champion, one of Bradstock’s idols, was a painter. Muhammed Ali and Pele used to paint, too.

You could find further connections between sport and art if you look at major sporting events. Tickets are sold not only for the sporting events themselves but also for the opening and closing ceremonies. For example, the Super Bowl contains a heavily anticipated half-time show.

Bradstock realized that art is everywhere in sport – logos, mascots, typography, medals, and cups – all have to be designed by someone. These discoveries changed his viewpoint and he started to combine sport and art in his life.

He painted his outfits, javelins and javelin runways. He threw all kinds of objects and broke some records – “some official, some unofficial and some highly questionable”. He became famous for his eccentric outfits that people started to want to know what he would wear, do, and throw next.

Now, he believes that sport and art are perfect partners. They can be a powerful combination to be used in advocacy and development programmes.

“Combining sport and art in a new way is a fantastic tool. They are two universal languages to create platform to unite everyone for peace.”

How to Make Yarn Pom-Poms (part 2)

Wrap the Yarn Until the Ring Is Full

Wrap the cardboard ring with yarn until it is full.

  • If you want to create a round and full pom-pom, you need to wrap the yarn around the ring so that the ring is plump and the center smaller circle is nearly filled in.
  • If you want to create a floppy and loose pom-pom, you can stop wrapping the yarn sooner.

Cut Around the Edge of the Ring

Trim the wrapped yarn, start snipping all the wrapped yarn through along the edge of the ring. Make sure to cut through every strand of yarn. Using pom-pom with a small point helps to do this part easier.

When cutting the yarn, you must be careful in order not to let the cut pieces to come out through the opening or push to one side.

Tie the Cut Yarn Pieces Together

When you have snipped all the edges of the ring, cut a length of yarn to tie around the pom-pom’s middle, close to the cardboard ring. Tie it once then wrap it around the other side and finally tie a double knot.

Pull the yarn as tight as possible without breaking it to secure the pom- pom firmly. Leave the ends of yarn long.

After finishing, remove the cardboard template.

Shape the Pom-Pom

Your pom-pom probably still looks a little odd and misshaped. In order to fix this, trim the yarn until out the shape. It’s like giving the pom-pom a haircut!

Hold the long yarn ties and do this around the pom-pom. Keep turning it when trimming so that it doesn’t end up lopsided.

Fluff the Pom-Pom and Finish Trimming

When the pom-pom looks shaped and fixed, roll it in your hands gently. This can fluff the pom-pom and reveal any areas that need to be trimmed more.

Trim and repeat if needed.

Use the long ties of yarn to attach the pom-pom to your craft project.

Bobby Bowling Paper Craft

With the sports events coming up in the year 2019 and the new favorite sport of my 4 years old boy being bowling, I thought that I would start doing some crafts related to this sport for my beloved kid to enjoy.

The color scheme of Bobby Bowling was made with Great Britain for first, however, it would also work for the USA, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Cuba, the Netherlands, Dominican Republic, the Cook Islands or Vietnam. Remember that you can print the templates in black and white, then color them creatively in whatever way you like!

I realize that bowling isn’t an Olympic sport. But it is a sport that is quite simple and many people, especially kids, love!  In addition, I figured that it’s the sport that many children have done with their family or their friends at birthday parties.

Materials:

  • printer
  • paper
  • a pair of scissors
  • glue
  • something to color with such as markers, pencils, crayons, and paint (for B&W version)

Craft Instructions:

Step 1: Print out the template you choose (if you want to make it less coloring, you can mix and match the color versions and the black and white version).

Step 2: Color the template pieces if you choose to use the black and white version – you can freely use different materials for coloring them to add the creativity or personality to the project (markers, pencils, crayons, and paint are all fun choices).

Step 3: Cut the template pieces out (you should help the younger children with this step).

Step 4: Glue the pieces of the bowling buddy together:

  • Glue his head on his neck (shirt)
  • Glue his face on his bowling head
  • Glue his arms under his shirt sleeves
  • Glue his pants under his shirt
  • Glue his bowling pin into one of his hands
  • Glue his legs under his shorts

 

How to Make Yarn Pom-Poms (part 1)

 

Pom-poms create a fun pop of texture and color for knitting projects and other fun crafts. They’re also easy to make without any special tools or supplies.

Making pom-poms by yourself is helpful because you can match the type of the yarn to your projects. It’s also a useful and easy way to use leftover yardage. For example, you can knit a simple hat with a big pom-pom topper or add to the ends of a scarf a row of small pom-poms. Whenever you use them, these colorful and fluffy accessories add fun.

Pom-Pom Making Supplies

You can buy pom-pom making supplies at any craft stores. If you’re planning to make lots of pom-poms, you should invest in different sizes. But if you’re planning to make just a few of pom-poms, you can create your own pom-pom making supplies with a piece of cardboard.

Materials Needed

  • Cardboard
  • Circular items to trace (small glass, lids, DVD case, etc)
  • Pen
  • Scissors
  • Yarn

Make Cardboard Pom-Pom Templates

Use the lids or other circular items to trace circles on the cardboard. Then, trace a smaller circle inside them. The larger circle outside help determine the diameter of your pom-pom.

You can make several sizes of pom-poms by making different sizes of templates.

Cut out the larger circles. Then, cut a slit to get to the smaller circle inside and cut away the smaller circle. You can make it easier to pass the yarn through by widening the slit a tiny amount.

Start Wrapping Yarn Around the Template

Start wrapping the yarn around the cut ring. Hold the end of the yarn while wrapping over the end, which secures it.

Keep wrapping the yarn around the entire ring, filling in all if there are any gaps.

You can do the wrapping near the slit of the ring, but you must be sure that it doesn’t get too close to slip off the ends of the cardboard ring.

20 Useful Crafting Tips (part 2)

 

Sharpen Punches with Tin Foil

Craft punches are very useful but it’s not easy to keep them sharp. There is an effective and useful way to do it is to punch aluminum foil. You should punch several times and the punch will cut better than ever!

Eliminate Hot Glue Gun Strands with a Hair Dryer

Another way to get rid of hot glue strands is to use a hair dryer with the project is done. That will make them melt away.

Mini Bolt Fabric Storage

Wrap small fabric pieces around the cut pieces of a cereal box to store them easily. Then you can set them up in a drawer to easily sort through them.

Use a Magnet to Pick Up Pins

It is hard and so tired to pick up a ton of pins dropped on the carpet after a late night sewing session. Use a strong magnet to easily pick them up!

Paper Towel Ribbon Storage

If you find it difficult to store and access ribbon to do crafting, try using a paper towel holder. Just push down the roll onto the holder and layer them, especially for cardboard rolls.

Protect Your Knitting Needle Tips

Putting wine corks at your knitting needles’ end to protect yourself and the others from an accidental stabbing.

Paint Brush Storage in a Chip Container

Use an old chip container to store brushes and other long crafting items like chenille stems.

Plastic Lid to Paint Palette

Use a plastic lid as a makeshift paint palette. When finishing, you can rinse the lid and save it to use for the next time.

Soften an Old Tape Roll

If you have any tape roll which you haven’t used in a while, it’s difficult to peel the end off. Just put it in the microwave for 10 seconds to loosen it up.

Put Nails in Straight with a Comb

It’s not easy to make sure that a nail goes in straight sometimes. A comb can help guide the nail when you hammer, and when the nail is secure, simply slide off.

 

 

20 Useful Crafting Tips (part 1)

Binder Clip to Yarn Guide

Using a binder clip on the edge of a jar helps not only to direct your yarn but also to prevent your balls from going over the place. Remember to set this up before starting knitting!

Sharpen Scissors with Sandpaper

You can sharpen your scissors easily just by cutting through sandpaper several times. Medium grit works best for this tip.

Pick Up Glitter with a Lint Roller

This is one of the most favored and useful crafting tips because it’s really hard to pick up glitter. If you have the glitter that can’t be easily cleaned, use a lint roller to pick it up.

Cardboard Box Spray Paint Booth

If you live in a small place, you may not have enough space to spray paint outdoor. If this is the case, use a cartoon box stood up on its long side to spray paint. It’s a great idea for the winter in your garage, too!

Store Glue in a Glass

Store the glue upside down in a glass so it is right there in the bottle when you need to use it.

Paint Chips from Popsicle Sticks

It’s not easy to define the color of acrylic paint by looking at it in the bottle. Therefore, make paint chips by using popsicle sticks so you can color match easily.

Cut Duct Tape Easily

To cut duct tape more easily, wipe your scissors with a baby wipe. This can prevent the duct tape from sticking to the blades.

Freezer Prevents Stringy Glue Sticks

Keeping glue sticks in the freezer before using can help them from stringing as much.

Store Really Small Items in Ice Cube Trays

Using a plastic ice tray is a perfect way to hold tiny items which have no other place to go. Moreover, you don’t have to buy many storage containers.

Make Sewing Patterns from Newspaper

If you want to make your own sewing patterns, for example, the recycling bin – the newspaper is perfect!

 

 

Homemade Playdough for Kids

Many parents love to get their children Play-Doh for birthdays or Christmas. It always makes kids happy. It is a good thing for your children to use their hands to be creative in their play with dough.

However, there’s a problem with Play-Doh: the green and orange mesh into a mess, the soft yellow mixes with the bright purple, and before we can realize what’s happening, we have been stuck with five cans of murky pink Play-Doh.

And as if this isn’t enough, our kids tend to drop significant percentages of dough on the floor. Before they finish playing, half of their Play-Doh has been dried out and must be swept up.

As a result, I don’t often buy dough for my kids. It is not necessary to spend money on things that won’t last long. Although store-bought play dough comes with amazing colors and cool playsets, we can make it so cheaply at home.

There are some recipes for homemade Play-Doh. But here is the simplest possible recipe because many recipes contain ingredients that you may not typically have on hand.

Ingredients

1 cup of flour (whatever kind you have)

½ cup of water

¼ cup of salt

3 to 5 drops of natural food coloring

Instructions

Step 1: Mix the flour and the salt together.

Step 2: Add a few drops of food coloring into ½ cup of warm water.

Step 3: Pour the water slowly into the flour and salt mixture, stir as you pour until combined. Use your hands to knead with until the flour is completely absorbed. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour until it doesn’t stick anymore.

 

This homemade playdough is natural, simple, and perfect for entertaining kids. Your children will enjoy helping you make it as much as enjoy playing with it! And they can play with this soft homemade playdough for hours.