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rainbowsandunicornscrafts:
DIY Sand Casting Tutorial. This is a really easy and cheap project (I did this as a child using a milk carton, then carved the Plaster of Paris creating an abstract sculpture I still have). Tutorial from Honest to Nod here.
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DIY Beginner Level Pendant Jewelry. Beyond easy tutorial from How to Nest for Less here. *Also included are the free downloads of all the really nice artwork you see above (that I would actually wear).
sirinthada:
One of my drawings brought to life! As an unabashed crafter myself, I was utterly delighted to see this turned into a project in the awesome spirit of DIY. Thanks to Erika Glover and truebluemeandyou.tumblr.com.
See Erika’s post and make one for yourself:
http://erikaglover.tumblr.com/post/13747988320/rock-paper-scissors-tin
Truebluemeandyou: Thank you for mentioning my blog! Yes, I did suggest making this into a “real object” using an altoids tin here way way back when. I still think it would make a wonderful small graduation gift - whether it be your wonderful poster print or the actual object! For my Altoids Tin I’d go in one of three directions: antique Steampunk, post-apocalyptic with a scratched metal finish, or really scrapbooky. *But Erika’s tutorial is really cute.
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rainbowsandunicornscrafts:
DIY Knockoff Sweet Shop Necklace Tutorial. Photo Left: Sweet Shop Necklace by Hannah Makes Things for ModCloth here, Photo Right: DIY by Quiet Lion Creations here. *She found her mini bottle in the nail art section of the Dollar Store.
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DIY Felt Sewing Travel Kit with Kitty Cover Tutorial. Detailed but so doable tutorial from Sew4Home here (patterns, good instructions, etc…). *At first I thought the yellow eyed cat looked sinister, but then I remembered I have a sinister looking yellow eyed black cat!
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Roundup of Thirty Seven Gifts and Food in a Jar by Tip Junkie here. Something I’m filing away for holidays and special occasion. Photos Clockwise: Babble, Fiskarscraft, Mommy Knows, and funkytime.
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DIY Wire and Pearl Knitted Cuff. Love this tutorial because instructions are given for three different types of wire and their corresponding gauges (sterling, galvanized steel and gold filled with copper core). Also, the cuff is knit on big needles: #9 or #11 and Ravelry users rated it as very easy or easy. Tutorial and easy PDF pattern by COCO Knits here.
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DIY Two Easy Bead and Crystal Bracelet Tutorials with a Clever Closure. Top Photos: Tutorial for Bead Bracelets by Wobisobi here, Bottom Photos: Tutorial for crystal bracelets by Wobisobi here. *You pull the cords through the square knots to snug up the bracelet on your wrist.If you have any questions about the closure, go to Ornamentea and watch their video here.
truebluemeandyou: Crafty or Thoughtful Gifts for College. Dollar Store Crafts just got asked this very same question here (where you can see her readers’ suggestions) and I commented using some of my readers’ suggestions (making many many grammatical errors as it’s 2:30am and I’m sleepy). Any new suggestions?
fuxwitutoo asked you: 2012-02-21 16:29
So my little sister is graduating high school soon and I wanted to get a jump on making her a present. I wanted to make her something that she might actually be able to use at college though, not just something pretty. Do you have any ideas for a pretty but still useful thing for a new college kid?
My answer:
I emailed some friends in college and their moms because I was stumped by this question. Also, I don’t know what your skill set is crafting wise. Their suggestions:
- Throw pillow for dorm bed. You could iron on anything you wanted using an injet printer and inkjet fusible fabric.
- Laundry sack - a good drawstring bag tutorial just came up yesterday by The Gunny Sack and has the trendy red cross on it here.
- Some sort of decorative carrier for toiletries since you have to schelp them to the bathroom. You could buy a generic one from the Dollar Store (even one to hold cleaning supplies) and paint it, add stickers, etc…
- Small Decorative bulletin board/white erase board you can buy at the Dollar Store and then decorate.
- One mom said she bought her daughter “Stay Calm and Carry on” stuff because her daughter is always so stressed out. You could generate your own with the keep calm generator I posted about here, and again use fusible fabric (from staples, Michaels, etc…) you run through your inkjet printer to put on pillows, laundry bags etc…
- Small Jewelry Box/Makeup Organizer. Look in hardware stores (small tackle boxes are good), Michaels etc… and personalize it.
- Small Photo Album of friends, family and pets she’ll miss - also Dollar Store or Michaels with coupon.
Suggestions from my incredibly crafty Tumblr friends:
- sherlockcat answered: Fleece knotted fringe blankets in her new college colors. The kind where you take two layers of polar fleece, fringe the edges and knot!
- maniacalmadhra said: Patchwork quilt are always cute and very home like :) my friend is making one for me when I move.
- beatingheart answered: Paint or mod podge a wood storage box (shoebox size to trunk size) & fill w/ her favorite goodies. Then she can reuse for her own purposes.
- coraforest answered: Photo calendars are a great way to display photos, they can be made online, or you can design and print it yourself with a Word template. *Really cheap online right now with coupons/buy 1 get 2 free etc…
- clearlyunclear answered: Make sure to put some cute flipflops in the caddy! An over the door storage hanger! with small gifts like tissues and highlighters in it!
- 4-get-me-not answered: Cute laptop/bookbags are always a handy, stylish gift. :)
- procraftinate said: Printer ink. Or detergent Drops!
- laquinn answered: something for her jewelry…
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DIY Cheap Silk Scarf Shirt. I like this silk scarf shirt better than some of the others I’ve seen because it isn’t so voluminous. So easy to make and another tutorial I like from Talk2TheTrees (I love this blog!).
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DIY Secret in a Bottle. I’d make the edges of the paper gold with a metallic pen, hand tear the paper, either use antique looking paper or dip it in coffee or tea, and seal the ribbon (not tied in a bow) with a dot of red candle wax. Beyond easy tutorial from Happy Hour Projects here.
