Tiered Terra Cotta Pot Plant Stand

When it comes to terra cotta pots there is seemingly no end to the sizes they offer at a craft store. From really tiny to humongous the rust-colored pots are timeless. Most people are used to seeing them outside or inside, holding real or fake plants, but generally theyre displayed with their original color. However, when you paint the terra cotta pots you have an entirely new creation thats bolder and more beautiful.

You can make a really unique plant stand by using assorted sizes of terra cotta pots. The tiered stand is made by first selecting the size you want the actual plant pot to be. Only one pot will hold the plant you choose and the other pots will be used to make the tiered stand. Keep in mind that, when choosing the pot you want to hold the plant, it should be somewhat small. Otherwise, when you add the larger and larger pots to form the cone shape youll end up with gigantic pots towards the bottom.

Youll decide how tall you want the cone-shaped plant stand to be by the amount of pots you choose. After selecting a smaller one for the plant, choose the next size larger, and the next size larger than that one, until you have several different sizes. Now youll decide on the designs you want to make on the pots. Paint all the pots the same color, if you want, or make something much more interesting by choosing a different base color for each terra cotta pot. After painting the pots, and allowing them to dry, create dots, stripes and other designs to make each pot different. These accents can be made with paint, markers, stickers, rubber stamping and similar methods. To assemble the tiered plant stand turn the largest pot upside-down. Take the next largest pot, apply hot glue inside the rim, then turn it upside-down onto the first pot. Contine adding another and another pot until the plant stand is as tall as you want it to be. When youve glued all but the final pot onto the stack, turn it right-side-up, and glue it to the previous pot. This final pot, then, will hold the chosen artificial plant or flowers. Make a different design by stacking the upside-down pots, then when you get to the top, glue a small terra cotta saucer on top. Place the final pot, with plant, on the saucer and glue in place. In fact, you can place a saucer between each set of pots, rather than glue the pots to each other, to create a totally different look. The finished, tiered stand is very unique and are appropriate for any room of the house.

How to Make Stand-Up Accordion Cards

When someone gives you a gift, or does something nice for you, its appropriate to send a thank-you card. Theyre all the same, though. A folded card that has images and wording on the outside, then a poem or other message inside. Those are nice but you can do something much more spectacular to tell that special person how much you appreciate them. Make a stand-up accordion card and theyll keep it forever. Theyve probably never seen anything like it so this "thank-you" will be very special, indeed! Use cardstock, poster board, thin cardboard or something similar to make the basic card. Poster board and cardstock come in assorted colors and thats perfect for choosing the design you want for the card. When using cardboard you can simply glue on gift wrap, scrapbook paper or similar coverings.

Use stencils or other methods to spell out a single word or phrase. Draw "THANKS", "I LOVE YOU" or another message. As you draw the letters make sure each one touches the next one. Each letter can adjoin the next by touching it near the bottom, near the top, or along the same side. After youve drawn out the message you want to give simply cut around the letters. Cut them out so that you leave each letter touching the next. So, when youre finished cutting, you have one long piece of paper that has the entire word or phrase connected.

Fold the cutout in an accordion-style manner, making the folds between each set of letters, and folding it right where one letter meets the other. Now all you have to do is stand up the finished card and see how it spells out the message. Fold it back up, make a special envelope, then send it to the recipient. They can stand it on a counter, mantle or other flat area to show it off to friends. You can make the finished card much nicer by using certain craft supplies to embellish it. Use stickers, paint markers, sequin, colored tape, glitter, buttons, fake jewels and similar things to make the design you want. Its nearly guaranteed that the recipient has never seen a card quite like this one. Some different cards you can make include "Graduation", "Anniversary", "Love", "Peace", a childs name or even the name of that childs favorite pet. The messages dont necessarily have to be in the form of gifts for others. Use the unusual technique to make a large centerpiece for a holiday table or just to set on your dresser. There are a lot of different ones you can make and there are many different ways to use them.

Foam Board Furnishings

You might have just gotten a new house or apartment but maybe you cant afford furnishings just yet. Or, you own furnishings but they havent shown up for some reason. Whatever your personal scenario, if you need cheap furnishings now, rush to the nearest craft store! There, youll find sheets of foam board that can help you easily build assorted furnishings you can use until you get the good stuff! With foam board and a glue gun you can make tables, storage bins and much more. Youll have the best luck cutting the foam board if you first draw the lines you want to cut, score across them with a sharp knife, then break the pieces off. Or, score repeatedly until youve cut through the foam board.

Cut four squares of equal size and glue them together to make a square shape. Set a game board, cutting board or similar item on top. These are perfect as plant stands, end tables and night stands.

Cut five squares of foam board - any size you want - but make the fifth square an inch larger, all the way around, than the other four. Glue the four equal-size ones together to make a square shape. Glue these onto the fifth piece. Make these really large or really small, depending upon the type of furnishings you need. Turn these so that the flat side is up and you have an end table or night stand. Turn them the other way and you have a clothing bin, hamper, magazine rack, or even a helpful basket. Make several of the foam board cubes and use them as a makeshift dresser. Stack two cubes side-by-side, and another set on top of those, or a different arrangement. Position them so that the openings face outward rather than up or down. Stack clothing and set them inside the cubes. Or, use these to store CDs, DVDs, books, toys, bath and body supplies and more. Make two of the square boxes as stated above, space them apart, and lay another piece of foam board across both of them. This arrangement can be a coffee table or even a dining table. Or, use the simple table to stack extra clothing, arrange office paperwork or to hold toys. Although the foam board table cant carry tremendous weight it can easily hold place settings, drinks, tv remote and more. Use coasters with the coffee table; youll ruin poster board if you get it wet. When your new furnishings finally arrive you can easily recycle the foam board into wall hangings, decor signs, closet organizers and more. For now, though, foam board is a cheap and easy way to get some furnishings now!

How to Use Crepe Paper for Sewing

Use start out sewing by learning a little about the machine, a little about thread, and a little about simple patterns. That gets you going, but if you plan to become really good at sewing, youll need to learn a lot of different things. Youll learn about setting and adjusting tension, setting the machine to do things like zigzag stitching, and even how to install elastic. Those kinds of things can be taught by someone who already knows, but over time, youll discover sewing tricks on your own, too. As problems or issues arise youll have to come up with solutions in order to finish the sewing project.

Even someone who is no expert at sewing knows that some fabrics are easier to sew than others. Cloth thats not too heavy, not too thin, and not stretchy, can be sewn without difficulty. But material which is wispy, really thick or loosely textured can be problematic. The good news is that you dont have to figure out how to fix those problems on your own. You have help! As you sew, the needle goes into a hole in the metal plate that covers the bobbin, and when sewing certain fabrics, the cloth can get pushed or pulled into that hole as well. Thats not a good thing. You have to stop what youre doing, probably take the needle out, then work on getting the material out of the hole. You can even end up with a hole in the material. Another problem is that are textured in a certain way can get snagged or caught in the feed dog.

Theres a cheap trick you can use when youre sewing challenging fabrics. Sew with crepe paper! You know, that colorful, crinkled paper that people use for decorating at parties. It works great to help difficult fabrics glide right along and sew up perfectly. Crepe paper is cheap so its ideal for working with tricky fabrics. When youre getting ready to sew, lay the crepe paper on top of the material, and align the edges of it with the edges of the cloth. Sew as you normally would to finish the seam. Afterwards, simply rip off the crepe paper. Okay, maybe "simply" isnt the word. Sometimes, the crepe paper will tear away and leave no traces behind. Other times, youll have to take tweezers and pick out small pieces under some - but usually not all - of the stitches. This usually happens when you sew small stitches close together or when you sew stitching such as zigzag. Still, tweezing is a small price to pay for the excellent sewing you can do when you take advantage of the amazing properties of crepe paper!

Walk This Way Birthday Party Game

Dont you love making each birthday party your child has completely different than previous parties? It keeps things fresh and new for yourself as well as the invited kids. When it comes to the games you play kids can get bored if theyve played that game before - whether at your home or the home of another birthday child. This year, get the kids active - indoors or outside - with a fun game that uses things you have around your house as the set-up.

Play "Walk This Way" with many kids or a few. Start by setting up four bases. These can be rocks, folded towels, magazines or something else. Set them up in a diamond shape inside or outdoors. Split the kids into two lines, near anyone of the bases, and that base will become "home".

At the count of three, the first two children will begin walking around the bases. First, tell one line of kids to walk in a clockwise manner and the other group to walk counter-clockwise. After that assignment, the kids in that line can only walk in that direction. Count to three and two kids set off walking, heel to toe, around the bases, with one of the kids going clockwise and the other, counter-clockwise. When they come to the point where they meet each other, the kids stop and quickly play a round of "rock, paper, scissors". The winner of that game continues going around the bases, heel-to-toe, while the other child goes back to his line. While the loser of "rock, paper, scissors" goes back to the line, the next person in his line begins walking, heel-to-toe, around the bases to try to stop the person who has quite advanced by now. When this person meets with the person still walking, another quick game of "rock, paper, scissors" is played. Continue in this manner, sending the loser back to the line, while the winner continues trying to make it "home". When one player makes it to the home base the next two people in line - one from each line - begin a new round, while the team that had the person come "home" receives a point. After everyone has had a turn going around the track, the points so far accumulated then determine the winning team. Some of the great things about playing "Walk This Way" at the birthday party is that it takes no certain objects, like balls or balloons, to play. And, the game can be played inside or out. Plus, "Walk This Way" can be played by really little kids or much older ones. Its the perfect game for a day of fun at your childs birthday party!

Christmas Light Topiary

Topiaries are so beautiful and just perfect to use in many different situations. A pair of topiaries can flank your front door, a single topiary can add a little greenery to a kitchen, or a few topiaries can add a lovely element to a garden. But those topiaries are trees. For Christmas, try making a topiary of lights. When you make a ball of lights you can use it to create a substantial Christmas decoration, inside or out. And your topiary can be a centerpiece, a decoration beside your front door, a garden accent, or anything from your own imagination.Some women shy away from certain crafts, like those that require you to use power tools. They think such a craft is too hard for them. The same might be true of using certain materials. Many women, for example, think theyre not strong enough to bend wire, so they dont take on projects requiring them to work with wire. But when you make a Christmas topiary - using wire - youll find it oh, so simple to do.Purchase wire that bends easily yet holds its shape. Wire is sold on a spool, with a listed "gauge", and thats how you determine how tough it is. If you need help, just ask a clerk at a large home improvement store to assist you in finding an appropriate gauge of wire. Most wire rolls allow you to feel and even bend the end of the wire to check how pliable it is.Using heavy gloves, begin wrapping the wire into a ball shape. The wire should be really easy to bend yet sturdy. Continue wrapping, this way and that, until you create a large ball. The wire shouldnt be wrapped tightly; there should be many open spaces between the wires. Bend the end of the wire over another wire, using needle nose pliers, if needed, to end. Or, tape the end to secure.Take a long strand of Christmas lights and begin wrapping them around the ball, this way and that, in no particular order or pattern. The best lights are white lights on a white cord. As you wrap them around the ball, use bread ties, or tiny pieces of very pliable wire, to attach the lights. If you have no tiny wire pieces you can also use duct tape, available in white.After the ball of wire is surrounded by a ball of lights, you just have to decide where you want to display it. The ball will become a lighted topiary when you set it on a birdbath, or in a garden urn. Or, use it as a centerpiece when you set it on a plate in the middle of the table. The Christmas topiary is a substantial decorator piece that is also cheap and easy to create.Christmas Light Topiary

Closet Door Headboard

Have you ever lived in a place that had those sliding wooden doors over the closet? When they install those doors they smoothly roll from one side to the other, allowing you easy access to your clothes and things. After awhile, though, they can give you a lot of problems. Maybe the hardware becomes loose so the door wobbles rather than glides. Or, the tracks become dirty and the rollers no longer give the door a smooth movement. If youve had about enough of those faulty, non-sliding doors, take them down. Why not give the closet a make-over while creating a unique headboard for the room at the same time. A couple of sliding doors makes a pretty headboard thats easy to hang.After taking the doors down its necessary to remove all of the rollers and hardware. Its a simple matter of unscrewing a few screws. You wont have to worry about any nicks or marks left by the hardware; that side of the doors wont show. Wipe the backside of the doors down with a dry cloth and youll be ready to hang them.Screws or nails can be used to hang the doors but, unless you putty and paint them, youll be able to see them. If the doors are lightweight - which most sliding closet doors are - consider a different method. Using good quality, double-sided tape, or glue strips, you can hang the doors without hardware. Make strips of the tape or glue on the wall then press the doors against them.There are many different headboards you can make with closet doors. Hang just one door, horizontally, or hang two doors, vertically. Place the bottom edge of each door on the floor, or raise them up, and create a much taller headboard. The tall headboard can look regal when you surround it with molding, or even mount wooden or wrought iron embellishments on the top corners. Create a different look by mounting such an embellishment right in the center of the complete headboard.Although the wooden headboard looks lovely you can make it look extremely different by cutting pieces of fabric or wallpaper to be smaller than each door, and glue them onto the wood. Or, cut the material into shapes, like hearts, and create an arrangement on each door. You could even do a rubber stamp design to create a border around the headboard.Youll have a lot of fun making the closet door headboard; it will look lovely on the bed and will give a special element to the entire room. Since it only takes a short amount of time to make it, you wont have to give up your entire weekend for this enjoyable project.

Suitcase Scrapbook

Its crazy how, one minute, something doesnt mean anything to us at all - like Grandmas apron. Suddenly, shes gone, and that apron is a cherished reminder that you would never part with. Over the years, we lose friends, family, and even pets, and its always sad. Some of us put memorials on the graves of our lost loved ones, others collect things that used to belong to a person. If youve got an old suitcase, you can turn it into the most unique and precious scrapbook of all. Make a suitcase scrapbook to cherish the memories of a loved one, or a pet, or make a different type of scrapbook. A suitcase scrapbook can be dedicated to a fun time in life, rather than the loss of a life. No matter what type of scrapbook you want to make, a suitcase is the perfect place to make it.

Use a suitcase as you would a scrapbook. That is, fill it with pictures, awards, postcards, letters, and more. If you want, decoupage fabric or paper on the outside of the suitcase to give it a particular theme. When you cut the material into small squares its easy to glue them, this way and that, to cover the outside of the suitcase, and create an interesting look. You can even decoupage photos on the case.

Inside the case, remove the linings. You can then attach the memorabilia inside. Decide on the way you want the display to look. One display is made by opening a suitcase in the usual manner, and glimpsing the things on the inside of the lid, and of the case itself. A different display is made when you stand the case up on one side, and then open it. That way, it opens like a book. The second type is a nice display for a memorial that will be left in place. Open the suitcase in the manner you want and begin decorating the inside with photos and other things. Align pictures around the inside walls of the case and/or lid. Or, mount a single, large picture on the lid, and fill the rest of the suitcase with things that go along with the particular theme. Use peel-n-stick hangers to hang certain things, like medals or jewelry. Glue on large pockets to hold notes and letters. You can even make shelves, or section dividers, using thin wood or cardboard. The memorial suitcase can be made to remember a lost love but doesnt necessarily have to be for a sad occasion. Make one to celebrate school, the birth of your child, years of vacations, or your life with the person you love. Or, make one to show off your collectibles, like action figures or dolls.

Easy Gingerbread House that Doesnt Get Eaten

Lots of people make gingerbread houses for Christmas. They use the house as a decoration, a table centerpiece and as a treat for kids and adults. If you love making gingerbread houses, but hate it that all the hard work just gets eaten, you can make a gingerbread house that will last for many years! And, its much easier to make than an edible cottage! Instead of making cake to begin your gingerbread house just use cork! Youll find slabs of cork at most any craft store and its perfect for creating a beautiful cottage without the hassle and the mess! There are no foods to clean up after, no dishes and pans to wash, and the cottage can be displayed for many years! Download a gingerbread house template and draw those shapes onto the cork. Decide on a base for the house. It can be a piece of painted cardboard or even a block of wood. The base can be decorated or not. To create the house of your dreams simply glue the house pieces together and glue the cork cottage to the base.

There are so many things you can use to decorate the cork house. First, use white dimensional paint - or another color - to conceal the seams on the cork and to add a decorative touch. If you want, sprinkle glitter onto the wet paint. Use the paint yet again to draw lines across the cork so you create the appearance of wooden planks or logs.

Decorate the roof with things like flat marbles, fake jewels, sequin, pom-poms or other supplies. Create a door by simply cutting three sides of a square. Bend the door on the uncut side and leave it slightly ajar or close it all the way. Make windows by cutting out circles, squares or other shapes around the house. Use the dimensional paint and glitter to create a snowy look around windows and doors. A short list of things you can use to further embellish the gingerbread house includes buttons, ribbon, roping, cord, craft pebbles, craft foam and sand. Simply apply hot glue and attach the objects you want. Cork can even be used to make walkways, a patio or other features for the cottage. Add fake trees or bushes from a craft store, tiny rocks which line the walkways, and similar embellishments to create the finished gingerbread house you want. A cork cottage is perfect because its inexpensive, easy to make, and it wont get eaten! You can set it out, year after year, and enjoy it just as much as you did the first time you saw it! Its a nice way to add a Christmas touch to the dining table or other area of your home.