Thursday, December 30, 2010

Happy Holidays


Holidays especially these at the end of the year are so much fun. Apart from the various festivities it involves so many family activities.
This Christmas we explored a very popular tradition of making Gingerbread house for those families who celebrate Christmas. I say explored because to begin with we had absolutely no clue about it. Just because my daughter wanted to make one (thanks to the discussions in School and Cartoons like Mickey Mouse Christmas special). We being a food fanatic we thought let's make it from scratch. With lot of search on internet (courtsey my husband)and some ideas of our ownwe made this Gingerbread house. It was a bit elaborate one (for the first timers)but really was so much worth it. My daughter had the best time thinking how to decorate it and decorate it with candies, crackers, cereals etc of her choice.
For those interested we used the template from here but somehow after printing it didn't match up so we improvised on it free hand.
The recipe of making gingerbread cookie can be found here.
For royal icing we used Wilton Royal icing mix.
The christmas tree is inverted icecream cone with gum paste leaf and royal icing snow and tree topper.


The gingerbread man and woman have gum paste clothes.
The snow man is Marshmallow and the grass is colored dessicated coconut.
Windows and pond is made of sugar.
If you want to know more feel free to write to us.
There are so many templates available and for decorations you can go wild with your imagination.


Happy Holidays everyone, do try this fun family activity with your kids.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Easy and unique Christmas ornaments you can make



Purple Sparklie Bird Ornament: This is what my daughter calls this creation of ours. Made of glitter foam sheet and a free hand drawing. This christmas ornament is one of the fastest and cutest creations. Don't you agree. This is my daughter's favorite creation so far. She calls it Sparklie Birdie.

Last few days have been really busy. We were so busy with holiday shopping and crafting that could not publish on blog. However, I have been updating as and when I could.My soon to be 3 yr old daughter is very excited about Christmas this year. Since the day we got the Christmas tree in our house, she is talking about Christmas and all the things related to Christmas. The best part till now is making new ornaments with her. Eventhough our Christmas tree is not very big it still has ample space for many more ornaments. We had a few from previous year's Christmas and we converted some of the previous craft creations into ornaments and now we are making one ornament big or small, easy or complicated every day. It is like our own countdown to the D Day.

We are so excited to share some of our creations till now. We will be updating this post with more pictures,tutorials and tips as and when we keep making it.Making ornaments is fun. Do try it and share your experiences. Feel free to ask if you want to know more about making any of these.



The Classic Ball Ornament: The first ornament made by my daughter with her Dad. One fine saturday afternoon when I was busy shopping for craft supplies at Michaels, my toddler and her dad were busy learning how to decorate a transparent round Christmas ornament. Using some glue dots, glitter, some paint pens my daughter made this beautiful ornament with a little help from her Dad.


Glittery Yarn SnowBall: One of the most fun ornaments for kids to make. We used Yarn on a balloon, stiffened it with glue and let it dry. Blew off the balloon and viola we got this cute Snow Ball. We added the shine of the snow using a silver glue pen.



Photo Ornament: This one is the last year's Ornament. Some of you might have already seen the detailed tutorial for this, for other here is the link.



Paper Porcupine Ornament: This one is our take on the fabulous Polish Porcupine Ornament which we came across recently. We made a smaller version, circles we used were 2 5/8" diameter. We used fine silver glitter to add the sparkle. Detailed tutorial at Jessica Jane's blog How about Orange. Thanks to Ann Martin of All things Paper for inspiring us with creations from amazing artists from all over the world.



Butterfly Ball Ornament: This again is one of the most colorful ornament. Glue gun and Martha stewart Butterfly punch is the key element here. Glue gun makes it so quick and strong. We are really proud of our first glue gun application.



Painted Pine Cone Ornament: My daughter's one of the favorite things to do is to collect pine cones. We have atleast dozens of them. She decided that she has to hang one of these on the Christmas tree as it is a tree thing. So here it is, her pine cone painted yellow in her choice of color and hanging happily on the tree. Interestingly, when you paint the pine cone it shrinks and it again comes back to its shape once dry.



Origami Crane Ornament: Long back we shared a tutorial of Origami Crane. We converted those cute paper cranes into adorable paper crane ornaments. For tutorial click here.

4 Days to go...


Lucky Origami Star Ornament: Loved this one for the simplicity of making and the fact that this is lucky. Here is a video of how to make it. We made it with Japanese Washi Paper, which as a matter of fact I bought myself during my Japan Trip from the famous shop Tokyu Hands. This is one of those where multiples look even better. I plan to make more if time permits.

Other than these we have some wrapped candy canes, a lantern made at Children's museum last weekend, Woody of Toy story fame converted into ornament ourselves and some glittery red and golden ball ornaments.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Angel Tree Topper


This year's Christmas is a little special. My daughter is so much excited about Christmas. Thanks to her school and teachers and all the decorations in various shops. Wherever we go there is something going on.
She is so much involved in all the decorations we are doing this year. We selected the tree she liked. It made her all the more excited about decorating the Christmas tree.
We bought a pre-lit 4.5' Christmas tree from Walmart. Wrapped a box and put the tree on it to give it a little more height. Bought some glittered ornaments in red and golden. Decorated it with some ornaments from previous year and are in a process of decorating it more and more everyday. It is so interesting that the more you decorate the tree the more you feel it needs more decoration.
Usually its my daughter who is telling me what to do next. She comes up with some idea or other and I try to involve her in making the next ornament making sure I take something from her imagination.
I will keep posting our journey to the finally fully decorated Christmas tree and how we reached it.

After decorating with what I told earlier it still feels incomplete. My daughter wanted something on the top of the tree. May be she heard me talking to her Dad that we really need a Tree topper. This is our first time decorating the tree so big. I am sure it is smaller than most of you decorate but believe me when you start decorating it you feel 4.5' is also too big.

So here I ended up making the tree topper yesterday. It is a simple DIY Angel tree topper. My daughter wanted it real quick so I took inspiration from one of the templates I found on Martha Stewart's website and frankly drew it free hand and used the material available at my home and here is my version of Angel tree topper.
My daughter helped me throughout the process in the little ways she can.It turned out well. You might want to give it a try. If you make a smaller one, you can use it as a Christmas ornament too.

Supplies you will need:

-Glitter Foam sheet: Silver and Red (Self sticking)
-Wired Holiday Ribbon: Red with gold design or any of your choice
-Ornament for head: Red
-Silver wire
-Tinsel rope for Halo
-Scissors
-Pen

1. Print the template or do free hand drawing like I did, cut it on a cardstock.
2.Put the cardstock on the back side of the red glitter foam sheet, draw the outline using a pen. Cut it.
3.Assemble at the slots. This will make the wings and the body of the Angel tree topper.
4.Now just draw the wings using the cardstock template on back side of silver glitter sheet. Cut it using scissors. Peel off and stick it to the front side of the wings. You now have the body and the wings of Angel tree topper ready.
5. Next using silver wire and the tinsel rope make halo by twisting it as shown.
6. I fixed the red ornament on the top of the body using wire, you can use glue gun too.
7. Also fix the halo.
8. Use ribbon to decorate the body so it looks like Angels dress.

Your Gliterry and beautiful Angel Tree topper is ready to be put on the top of the tree. My daughter loves her Glittery Angel.I hope you liked it too.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Snowflake Craft


Today was the season's first snowfall here. I have always loved the beauty of the first snowfall, when it is pristine. Today my daughter was so excited to see the snowfall. It was really interesting to see her as excited as me.
Then came the idea of making another snowflake. Snowflake craft is one of the most popular winter crafts and there are so many ways everyone tries to make it. My favorite one till date is paper quilled snowflake. There are so many snowflakes people have made which you can find over the internet, but the most satisfaction you get is from the one you create yourself. Do give it a try. It is not as difficult as it seems at first.
If you take care of few things while you make the snowflake you will definitely get a perfect snowflake.

This is what I learned from my attempts of making a perfect snowflake.
- When you look closely you will find that paper quilled snowflake is a geometric shape with some basic simple quilling shapes. Just try to figure out the pattern. Remember perfection is the key here.
- A quilling grid and circle sizer comes handy while making any geometrical pattern like snowflake.
-No matter how perfect you think you can make without a circle grid, you end up making some little mistake and the whole effort of making a perfect snowflake goes waste.
- It helps to design the snowflake first and then put it under a parchment paperwhile making it. That way you can get the guidance needed and save the design for making it later.
- You get better at every attmept of making snowflake, learn from your attempts and try to make better each time.

Paper quilled snowflake is perfect for making a christmas ornament too. A little glitter on it and a silver ribbon, transparent thread or fish line can make your snowflake a perfect christmas ornament to cherish for years to come. Just make sure you handle it carefully and properly store in a box after christmas.

Supplies:
- 1/8 inches of white pre cut paper quilling strips or you can cut your own too.
- Quilling tool or a barbeque stick with a little slit at the top.
-Glue
-Toothpick and brush to apply glue
-Piece of silver or transparent thread if you want to make ornament.
-Glitter (optional)

Snowflake craft tutorial
-Follow the design in the picture and make the basic quilling shapes.
-For a crash course on quilling shapes click here
-Once the shapes are ready glue them using a toothpick or a pointed glue bottle. Let it dry completely.
-Using a brush apply little glue of the surface of snow flake. Slowly add fine glitter in silver or a color of your choice

Tips
-Any white paper of the thickness of normal printing paper or a gift wrap is fine for making your own quilling strips.
-You can use a paper cutter or simply a ruler on cutting mat and a craft knife is also fine.
-Usually scissors are not recommended as it is difficult to get straight cuts with them however if you are confident give it a try.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Thanksgiving Table Centerpiece




Happy Thanksgiving to all. Hope all of you had a wonderful time with family and friends. This year we did loads of shopping and some quick craft too.
It was an improvisation over a craft I made earlier. It did not take much time and it did brighten our little thansgiving table.

Supplies
:

Candle stand
Artificial Fall leaves
Turkey

You can use any Turkey craft you made or any turkey toy at hand. The one I used was made of origami paper using very simple techniques and some self sticking foam sheets. For detailed instructions on how to make Paper Turkey click here.

Simply wind the fall leaves stem around the candle stand. Use a length which is suitable to your candle stand. There are no hard and fast rules here. Just make sure it is away from the flame. Keep the turkey near the candle stand.
Your beautiful and easy Thanksgiving Centerpiece is ready.
If you are interested in knowing more about Thanksgiving in United States click here.
Thanksgiving is celebrated in different countries on different days. For example in Canada, Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October. Thanksgiving is celebrated all around the world to thank Lord for bountiful harvest, His blessings and the prosperity that he bestowed upon us.There are variations in the way it is celebrated and the day it is celebrated. You can read about it here. However, the underlying theme of this wonderful festival remains the same. Thanking God for everything. We use this opportunity to thank God, our family and friends.
Happy TURKEY Day.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Gift wrapping and gift card for baby shower


Baby showers are such special occasions for the expectant parents. Its almost a year since I had mine and I still have wonderful memories of that day.

Any heartfelt gift for the coming baby is special for the parents. And if that gift is wrapped beautifully it makes it all the more special.

Recently I had to attend a baby shower of one of our friends. They are expecting a baby boy. I got all nostalgic about my baby shower last year and thought of creating something beautiful. I had a gift box for the gift already so thought of decorating it with a personalized card.



This card has baby birdie looking at his mother. I simply adore the moment when a child looks at his/her mother There is pure trust and unconditional love, something you experience all the more when you have your own child.

I attached the blue ribbons in crisscross over the gift box for added details. I used blue and white colors as it was for a baby boy. You can use pink and white for a girl, or any other fun color for a surprise.

Supplies needed for this project :

- Blue,White and brown card stock
- Scallop punch from Martha Stewart
- Glue
- Marker for the eyes
- Blue ribbon
- Gift Box

I cut the birdies and the branch freehand. If you find that difficult you can download patterns from internet.

I punched the blue card stock bottom to add the details and glued white card stock in the back to get the blue and white pattern. The blue ribbons on the gift box added to the pulled together look.

I hope my friend loved it as much as I loved making it.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Holiday Theme Gift Box


Like everyone else we are great admirers of a beautifully wrapped gift. Don't you love it when someone takes all the effort to buy a meaningful gift and then present it in a lovely package to make the experience everlasting.

A gift in a uniquely beautiful wrapping leaves a lasting impression,sometimes greater than the gift itself. A beautifully wrapped gift tells the story of how much effort,care and love is behind the gift. It adds a tremendous value to the actual gift inside.

This holiday season we will bring you a series of uniquely beautiful gift wrapping ideas. Do give them a try.They are not as difficult as they sometimes seem to be. We will walk you through it step by step.



The picture aboveis a wonderful example of how a plain white box can be converted into something extra special.

Supplies you will need:
- White paper mache gift box
- Paper doily
- Gold glitter
- Glue
- Double crepe paper red
- Quilling paper green
- Red paper copying paper thickness
- Doily Punch Martha Stewart collection

The white paper Mache box as shown in the above picture are available in many craft stores like Michaels or Hobby Lobby. They are available in various sizes, small, medium and large. To make this punch out doily strips using the Doily Punch from Martha stewart collection. You can use any other punch you like too.
Click here for the paper quilled roses tutorial. The leaves are made with the basic quilling shape of tear drop.

You can use golden doily or apply golden glitter on a white doily and make it look more festive. At the center glue the roses and leaves. Glue or tape the doily laces as shown. With a little bit imagination you can convert a plain simple looking white box into something extra special. Let it dry.

Use this to gift someone this Holiday season. It can be used as a birthday gift box or a Christmas gift shop, as a Diwali gift box or for any other special occasion.
Do give it a try and let us know how it turned out.
Happy Holidays.


Tip: If the white paper mache box is not available , you can spray paint a brown paper mache box with a color of your choice. It is better than using a white paper to first line it and then decorate it.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Happy Birthday "Craft Ideas for All"



Two years ago, this day we started this blog. The idea was to have a portal to share our creativity and in the process inspire and get inspired to create new and beautiful things. We did not know then how much time and energy we will be able to devote, but we were sure about one thing, we wanted to give it a try.

Two years later Craft Ideas for All has become such a special part of our lives. A lot has happened in these two years. One of us has a little baby girl all grown up into a toddler( that too a crafty one), the other has had a baby boy who keeps her on her toes all day... we have had our share of joys and tough times. And in between all these CIFA had been the escape, the place where we both love to share our creativity and get connected with the creative world on web. Both of us live in separate cities , but CIFA has made our bond stronger too. Its so much fun to create something and ping immediately to get feedback from the other(Hoping its positive :)).

We have received so much love and appreciation from our readers and still get excited on each and every of your comments. Hoping that all the love and encouragement from our readers and the support of our family will give wings to our imagination just like this butterfly and we will keep bringing fun and new craft ideas for all of you to enjoy and create.

Happy Birthday CIFA and a very Happy Festive Season to all our readers.

-Amrita and Nimisha

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Happy Diwali Greeting Card


Happy Diwali to all who celebrate Diwali. Diwali is a festival of lights. Diwali or Deepawali is celebrated by decorating houses with lights in various forms. Deepawali's literal meaning is row of Deeps. "Deep(Sanskrit)" or "Diya (Hindi)" as they are called in hindi are small clay lamps integral part of this celebration. They are used during prayers to Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi and also decorating all around the house, inside and out. It signifies the house will prosper and the light from the "Diya" will bring brightness in their lives. This festival signifies the triumph of Good over Evil. For more on Diwali click here. Since, no Diwali is complete without Diyas it is has become the most popular theme of the greeting cards we make or buy for our family and friends. So this year we decided to make one with this theme.

This is a simple greeting card made with very basic quilling shapes. With a little supervision kids can make these too.

Supplies needed

- Paper quilling strips 1/8" 2 yellow, 2 Red

- PVC Glue quick and clear drying

- Markers

- Red paper

- Card stock or plain greeting card

- Martha stewart Punch Doily

I have used basic tear drop shape for the flame of the Diya. The half moon shape which I have pinched a little more in one side to make it more pointed resembles the shape of Diya.
For basics on paper quilling and the basic shapes check out our previous posts on Paper Quilling.

Glue these shapes as shown and glue or tape the punched doily of your choice.

For younger kids you can make the paper quilled shapes and they can enjoy assembling these shapes in the form of Diyas and making their own cards..

Tips:
1.If you do not have pre-cut paper quilling strips you can cut them using scissors or a paper cutter. You can use magazine papers or gift wrap papers.

2.If you do not have a punch, you can use a colorful ribbon instead.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Personalised Greeting Card


Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday

One of my dearest friends birthday falls on Oct 31st. This is to wish her a very very Happy Birthday. We wish her all the very best in this lovely new year in life. Enjoy the life to the fullest. Hope all your dreams come true and that too very soon.
Wishing health and happiness...

This personalised greeting card was created with lot of thought. I wanted to gift her something unique, something she might be able to frame if she choose to. After a lot of thought I decided to make this card a personalised one. So instead of cake or something related to birthday I quilled her nick name and made a card. Her face lits up with amazing joy whenever she hears her nick name esp this one "LITTLE". That's the reason I chose this one.(Yes, she has more than one nick name).



I used basic quilling shapes as you would have known by now from our previous posts.
Also used basic husking technique for the base of alphabet.

The red lace was punched out using one of Martha Stewart's punches. They are amazing. You have to try them out to really appreciate them. Punches from other brands can also be used. They are little cheaper than Martha's tools.Craft punches are easily available in stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby.
I have used pvc glue for sticking quilling pieces and double sided tape for the lace.




Happy Birthday Little !!
This one is especially for you. So happy to be your friend. Have fun.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Fall Leaves Wall Art


Nature offers many avenues of craft. One of the best times of the year for nature craft is the Fall season. The wonderful colors of fall leaves inspire many of us in different ways. Some love to take pictures, some make beautiful painting. Yes, you guessed right. One of our favorites is making fall leaves crafts.

This simple yet elegant piece of wall art was made using fall leaves. With a little care you can also make this beautiful Fall Wall leaves Art.

The technique used here is easy. It is called Botanical Pressing. In simple terms it is collecting the samples and pressing them. The more organized collection of plant specimens are called Herbariums and they can last hundreds of years. Scientists have been using this technique since the Victorian era for botanical studies.

Well, you need not be scientist to create this Fall leaves craft. Kids love this craft. A little supervision can help them make it perfect and long lasting.

Supplies you will need:

-Fall leaves of your choice
-Plant or flower press (optional)
-Old Newsprint or blotting paper or paper towels
-Phone Books or any other heavy books - 3
-White craft glue or spray adhesive for delicate leaves.
-Canvas (preferably stretched on wood) or any base to stick leaves on.

Instructions

1. Collect bright colored leaves.
2. Wipe off the dirt if any using moist kitchen paper towel.
3. Keep the leaf carefully in old newsprint or blotting paper. Prepare other
leaves similarly.
4. Put them in layers and press in plant press or flower press. Tight with
Velcro straps. If your press does not have Velcro straps then put heavy
books over it.
5. If you do not have plant press then you can keep the leaf in blotting paper
or paper towel, place in between pages of a big size book like a phone book.
Put more heavy books over it.
6. Keep these untouched for a week or two depending on how wet the leaves are.
7. If you are using telephone book change the paper towels every few weeks.
8. Do not disturb the assembly as when the leaves are dry they tend to brake.
9. Once dry, glue the leaves on the canvas or any base you chose. For more
delicate leaves use spray adhesive and forceps.
10. Once they are dry, frame them and hang on the wall. Your beautiful fall
leaves wall craft is ready.



Above is the picture of the completed Fall leaf wall art in my house.

Tips
-The basic technique of botanical pressing is to collect samples when they are not dry. They work best when they are moist. It prevents cracking and breaking when pressed.

-Samples should not be wet with rain or dew. Fall leaves that just dropped work fine as they are not dry yet.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Pumpkin bat craft


The cutest PURPLE PUMPKIN BAT CRAFT ever....

This sparkly purple bat is the cutest Pumpkin craft this Halloween season. Finally a Halloween Craft which kids adore.
My 32 month old daughter made it recently at one of the craft workshops at Michaels.
While I was shopping for some clothes for my recent invitation to Oprah show taping, my daughter was busy crafting this lovely and adorable PURPLE PUMPKIN BAT.
By the time I decided what to wear for Oprah show, her craft was ready.I had no clue what they were doing all this time. Thanks to her dad. Both Father and daughter were ecstatic and so proud of this creation.

Recently,my daughter's favorite color has become Purple next to Pink.She was delighted to see the color choice as Purple.

I just wanted to share the picture of this Purple Pumpkin Bat Craft as this is my daughter's first Pumpkin Creation and really this is the cutest thing I have seen this Halloween. My daughter who didn't like the spooky spiders on the Pumpkin that I made this season (she is really scared of them) has fallen in love with her own Pumpkin creation.
I cannot forget the sparkle in her eyes when she told me "Mommy I made it myself". Don't touch it. Let it dry, and so on. She was non-stop explaining all the steps of creating it. After the entire story she said I made it for "ATTA" - for her birthday gift.She is her best friend, I must say. We were about to go to one of our family friend's birthday party the very same evening.

It is a different thing that she wanted her Purple Pumpkin back after two days. So the Pumkin is back with her. A return gift from her favourite ATTA.

The only thing that bothered her most was "The Pumpkin has only two teeth". "But I wanted to make more". One of these days I am going to let her as many teeth as she wants for the PURPLE PUMPKIN. She wants to make as many teeth as she has for the Purple Pumpkin Bat she has made.

The shining (read Glitter) they let her put on the Pumpkin was a big hit. Also, the feathers.
I must say this is a perfect craft for a toddler who loves to craft.
She also told me that Boys were making Pumpkin Spider which was black. But, she made Pumpkin Bat as it is beautiful and it is PURPLE.
Though I have not seen how they created it. I think this is a very interesting and easy craft which a child can make with little help and supervision of an Adult.
I guess this is how you can make it too.

Supplies you will need:
-Craft pumpkin
-Foam Brush
-Purple water based color
-Glue based Glitter Pen -Purple
-Feathers
-Foam sheet purple for ears and wings
-Scissors
-Google eyes large
-Cotton
-Paint brush
-Black water based color
-Cotton ball for nose

Color the Pumpkin. Simply use glue gun to fix the feather, foam sheet ears and wings,google eyes,nose. Kids take help of parents or some Adult while using glue gun. Decorate with glitter and paint the teeth.
It makes great decoration for Halloween. Ours is sitting in the Yard till it does not rain.



Tips: After painiting it in the color of your choice let the Pumpkin Dry.
To make it more exciting use Glow in the Dark Glitter. It is available at Michaels.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Spooky Spiders on Pumpkin



Aren't these spiders SPOOKY !! These crawling spooky spiders on the pumpkin make a perfect centerpiece for Halloween. A great Halloween craft that kids can make.
My daughter thinks they are real Spiders. She says mommy they are so Scary. Well, this is what we want on Halloween. So really happy how this turned out.
Let us all make it this Halloween.


Supplies needed -

For one spider

-Craft Pom poms balls black 2 no.s
-Chenille stems black standard lengths 2 no.s
-Chenille stems black 2 inch piece
-Craft Glue
-Scissors
-Google eyes (optional)

For Pumpkin arrangement

-Craft Pumpkin also called carvable pumpkin

-Spiders 3 no.s



Step by Step Instructions -

1. Refer the pictures to make the spider. Take two pom poms and glue them together.
2. Cut the chenille stems such that you have four equal lengths.
3. Hold these together and using the 2 inch piece of chenille stem tie them together
as shown in the picture above.
4. Now using glue stick the pom poms you prepared in step 1. Let it dry.
5. Make two more spiders following the steps 1 to 4.


Now take the craft pumpkin and decide where you want to place the spiders. Hold one spider in your hand and carefully insert the spider legs in the pumpkin. Since chenille stems have wire inside they are so easy to insert in the craft pumpkin which is usually made of styrofoam or similar kind of material.

Similarly decorate your pumpkin with more spiders. Your spooky spider pumpkin arrangement is ready. You can use it as a centerpiece or as part of a big collection of pumpkins and other halloween crafts.

Happy Halloween !! Happy crafting.


Tips

-Parents supervise younger kids while using scissors.

-If you think your child will pull the pom poms you can secure it better by sewing instead of using glue. They are more sturdy this way.

- Use different colors of chenille stems to make spiders more attractive. Let your child use his imagination.

-If your child loves google eyes on every craft he makes, you can use them on spider as well.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Thank You Readers !

Dear Readers, Followers and Friends,

 Its celebration time for CIFA team ! With your support, encouragement and motivation ,our Blog now has 90 posts and got more than 55,000 hits.Thank you all so very much. Your readership, comments and invaluable suggestions for new projects keep us going.

We are happy to tell you that apart from the readers from around the globe, our creations have been  featured in multiple craft websites as well.  Our search page rankings have improved too and we get excited when our craft work like Pencil Shavings art, Spray painting and Quilling projects appear in top search results.

We have been trying to ,make our blog more interactive and easy to share. We are on Facebook at  Craft Ideas For All . You can follow us on Twitter too. We would love to have your input on improving our blog and any specific projects you want us to try. With upcoming holiday season, we will try to post interesting and relevant craft ideas to keep the festivities going.  Please post a comment or send your suggestions at craftideasforall@gmail.com .

We started this blog to share our creative world with all of you and now it has become something very close to our hearts. Recognition of hard work is the sweetest reward and its very heart warming to receive appreciation from people with whom our only connection is passion  for creating something new and beautiful.

Our heartfelt thanks to all our readers and a small shout out to our hubbies for their support and to our beautiful kids who inspire us to make their world beautiful, one creation at a time.

Keep creating and be happy !

- Amrita and Nimisha

P.S. : Nimisha made this cake for her hubby's birthday and Amrita did not get to eat it  :) .

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Finger Puppets- Dragon and Frog


My daughter's recently developed interest in Puppets, motivated me to create these finger puppets - Darry the Dragon and Frumpy the Frog. This is something easy to make, inexpensive and a sure hit with kids. I have tried and tested it with my 2.5 year old daughter. She was so excited throughout the process of making it. Once completed she had them in her hand and was telling stories the whole day. The fact that they open their mouth when she moves her fingers was fun for her.

Supplies

-A4 sheet paper (white or colored) Red, yellow, green, white or color of your choice.
-Glue
-Double sided tape
-Wiggle eyes 2 pairs
-Scissors (Parents help kids)
-Black Marker

Step-wise Instructions-

Finger Puppet : Darry - The Dragon



1. Take the A4 sheet Papercolor you want for Dragon. I have used Red.
2. Fold it lengthwise as shown in the illustration to divide in 3 equal parts.
3. Fold one edge over other.
4. Seal the edge with double sided tape.
5. Now fold the resulting shape in half and then again is half as shown. You will get
four equal sizes.
6. Fold the paper in accordion fold as shown.
7. Decorate the resulting puppet with the paper cut out and wiggle eyes as shown in
the above illustration. You can glue the cut outs. Use black marker to make nose.
8. Your Finger puppet dragon is ready.

Finger Puppet: Frumpy - The Frog

Follow the same steps as mentioned above 1 to 6 with green colored A4 sheet paper. You can use any other color also if you like.

The paper cut out for Frog's eyes follow the below illustration.

Glue the eyes.
Make nose using marker.

It is easy to make and lots of fun for kids. It is highly recommended to give it a try. Within minutes you can create something which will give hours of fun.

Tips:
-Click on the image to enlarge.
-For younger kids, parents can make them. Instead of wiggle or google eyes use paper cut outs black and white.
-You can make your own designs. Let the bigger kids use their imagination to decorate the finger puppet.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Entry in Craftiest Mom contest of Parents Magazine


Some days back I suddenly came across a contest for Craftiest Mom for the popular Parents magazine.

I was about to make a craft for and with my toddler. Inspired by the contest I thought why not enter for this contest. Though I saw this couple of days before the last date to enter, it was only on the last day that I finally could squeeze the time to create this. I read the rules, they were a little confusing. Though some people do mention their websites and email address it seemed that's not what you are supposed to do. Well, to be on a safer side I didn't mention anything other than how the craft is made.
My daughter really loved the craft and I was so eager to share it with my readers. Well, my craft didn't make the final cut :-( but I am satisfied with my creation.

These contest sometimes surprise me. Some much more deserving crafts don't make it to the finals and some less desrving ones sometimes become the winner. Sometimes networking plays wonders and sometimes pure luck. What I feel is you should definitely participate if you can and give it your best shot. If you enjoyed making it, if your child enjoyed making it and learned something out of it , then the purpose is served. I am not saying this only for my craft but for lot many others too.
Just thought to share with my readers and followers that such contests do exist and it is a good thing to participate. If you have participated in some contests related to craft do share your experiences. We all can learn from each other's experiences. May the best deserving entry wins !!

You can see my creation and all the steps to make this easy to make, green craft, using recycled materials here.

http://www.parents.com/photos/photo-contests-1/craftiest-mom-contest/2124200010/?photoId=2120500014

Click on all the pictures and read the detailed text for materials used and the steps by step instructions for making this useful green craft.
This size is perfect to fit in Fischer Price Easels color holders. Surprisingly perfect for using as jumbo crayon holder.

Tips:
- You can use old newspaper or old magazine papers to make the paper bamboos. Once they are glued and dried paint it with any acrylic color of your choice. A little varnish spray after the color dries wil make it even more durable.
Let your child decorate it whatever way he likes it.

- Using the same concept if you use different size of base container you can make one for different purpose. Like use a taller container for brushes and long tubes of paints or pencils.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Origami Paper Airplane


Give wings to your creativity....

As promised we are back with the step-by-step instructions for making these wonderful origami paper airplanes.
Let us start with this blue airplane. The first one we learned from our mom. Blue is the color of sky and what other color better than this to represent flying in the sky.We have started with this airplane as this is the simplest and does not have many steps to follow. For a beginner this is the best paper airplane to start with. Believe me it flies high and longer too.

So let us start making this beautiful paper airplane.

You will need:

-A4 sheet paper (yes that's about it) in your choice of color.

Instructions :
Follow the step by step instructions and refer to the corresponding pictures as shown below:


1. Take the A4 sheet paper and lay it on a flat surface.

2. Fold the A4 sheet paper in half as shown in picture. Crease and open it.

3. Hold the left corner and bring it to the crease at center. Crease. Repeat for
right corner. The paper will look as in picture step 3.

4. The paper as in step 3 has a pointed end. Hold it and fold it downwards as shown
in step 4. Crease 3 times using finger or back of a spoon.

5. Again take the left end corner and bring it to the center crease line. Press it
firmly using back of spoon or fingers three times. Repeat for right end corner.
It will look like as shown in step 5.



6. Hold the tip of the little upside down triangle as in step 5 and fold it upwards.
Refer step 6.

7. Fold the paper backwards and crease as shown in step 7.

8. Now take the upper part of the flap and fold again and make sharp crease as shown.
Repeat it for the lower flap too.Crease firmly. You can use back of table spoon
to make it easier. These will be the wings of the airplane.

9. Turn it over. Now it will resemble the shape of the airplane.

10.Turn it over again and flatten it by holding at center and rubbing on a flat
surface.

Your paper airplane is ready to take off. Have fun. The more you make the better you get at it.


Tips
-Click on the picture to see bigger image.

-Boys and girls both can have hours of fun playing together. You can even have competitions of whose airplane is faster and whose airplane flies longer.

-You can use old magazines papers as well to make this paper airplane. Also,you can take used gift wrapping paper,cut in A4 size sheet to make it.When these paper airplanes are made from such used papers they make wonderful green crafts and are more colorful and different too.

-You can use different sizes of rectangular papers to make different sizes of these airplanes.

-You can decorate them too, write your names, make your own designs or even write some airlines names too.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Paper Airplanes




Coming Soon...with more photographs and complete instructions.
Paper Airplanes have been our favorite since childhood. I remember making them along with my younger sister (co-blogger). I think our mom introduced us to the world of paper airplanes,boats and origami for that matter. When we first saw it, it was mesmerising.It seemed like magic. How a flat piece of paper can be converted to something so beautiful and 3D. All you have to do is to follow the simple steps. The idea of making the your own toy and that too in any color you want and as many as you want was so fascinating. I have recently made these for my daughter and some of the kids of my friends and they have been a huge hit. Though some of them knew how to make one of those airplanes, they were really excited to know how to make the others. I must say variety is the key with kids. Some of my readers requested to post some crafts for boys. Though all the craft we make here can be made by Boys too, I think this will definitely be a favorite among boys.Paper Airplanes, though sound simple

Friday, July 23, 2010

Handmade Summer Flower Arrangement



Usually I need some inspiration or a reason to create something. I have been thinking of giving something handmade to my sister-in-law since long, but have not been able to do so due to some reason or the other. During the last long weekend when my sister -in-law and her family made a last minute plan to visit us, I thought what better occasion to give a handmade heartfelt creation.Like almost most of my creations this is also one of the creations which I created keeping the receiver and the occasion in mind. Since their marriage anniversary was also there in a couple of weeks I decided making a beautiful clay flower arrangement in bright colors to brighten their day. I decided on rose and hydrangeas as they depict the long lasting love and friendship which is the key to a happy marriage.



Well, time was a limitation this time too but since I had to do it, I had to find a way to do it. Clay flowers do take time and skill to create and this is one craft you cannot sit and do in one go. It does take time and I used any spare time I got during the day and the night.
For this lovely arrangement

Supplies used :
-Ceramic pot
-Deco Clay : white, red, yellow, green
-Foliage
-Wire
-Floral Tape
-Floral foam

Please refer previous posts for the step by step tutorial for the technique used to create rose.Hydrangeas are used as filler flowers along with contrasting foliage. The different shades shown in the flowers are achieved by mixing the basic colors of the deco clay (the japanese air dry clay).



The above pictures show the flower arrangement from various angles and close up too.
I am very pleased with the result and would love to know your opinion too.




p.s.: I am glad that my brother-in-law and sis-in-law also liked it along with my hubby. My hubby was there all along supporting me especially during the last phase of this project. Lucky me.