How to Make Flower Motif Lavender Bags These delightful little lavender bags, decorated with a range of charming cross stitch flower motifs, are quick and easy to make. Filled with aromatic lavender, they can be tucked between freshly laundered sheets or lingerie, to infuse them with a breath of the country. Tie them with […]
How to Make a Cockerel Collage Collect your fabric scraps together, and create a colorful cockerel collage of a farmyard favorite. Our lively rooster, set against a background of bead-strewn millet and blue sky, looks larger than life and ready to crow. His plumage is composed of layers of black velvet and net, with
How to Cover Things With Stamps Even though in this modern day with emails, WhatsApp, Twitter etc stamps are a reminder of a slower pace of life. Stamps, new and used can be bought online or from dealers and 2nd hand shops. We show you here how to cover things with stamps. A rich
How To Do Rubber Stamp Printing To do this Rubber Stamp Printing you use a rubber stamp to print out a leaf design and it is a clean and quick alternative to the more traditional method of printing from real leaves. If you want to draw up your own designs, there are companies who
How to Do Leaf Printing We show you how to do leaf printing so you can avoid spending a fortune on all those expensive hand-printed papers. Why not have a go at making your own? Turn to nature to find an attractive motif and cover sheets of plain brown paper in a riot of
How to Make Paper Window Curtains in 6 Easy Steps These Paper Window Curtains are used as a sun screen and will keep a room cool, with the pattern attractively reflected into the room. It is also a pretty way of providing privacy. The paper window curtains are easy to make and can be
Making a Découpage Box Découpage has transformed this light plywood box into an attractive jewelry box. The pansies have been cut from a sheet of good-quality gift wrap. When choosing a box to decorate with découpage, make sure it has a loose-fitting lid as several layers of varnish brushed over the motifs will
All About Découpage Art Découpage art is a traditional craft in which paper motifs are stuck to objects and then layers of varnish are applied to produce a lacquer-like finish. By carefully arranging motifs, a simple box can be made into something special with decoupage art. Choosing Your Papers Pick your papers for your
Floors, Furniture and Fabric Stencil Magic Stencil decoration on surfaces other than walls has a long history, and painted furniture, floors and even ceiling beams have brought color to traditional homes for centuries. Stencil Furniture Although you might never decorate a valuable or antique piece of furniture, you can use stenciling on everyday
Decorating With Paint Effects Most colorful paint effects, like sponging, dragging, ragging, stippling and color washing, have that marvelous hand-made quality which is ideal for the traditional country look. Their broken color gives a painted surface a unique richness and texture, which you can use to make a place or an object your
Easy Christmas Wrap ups Christmas wrap ups. If you have more dash than cash this Christmas try wrapping up your gifts in these stunning covers. They look as if they cost a million dollars but they can be made on a budget using discarded shoe boxes, plain packing paper and scraps from your sewing
Festive Flair Christmas Napkins Individual Style Delight your guests this Christmas with individually styled Christmas napkins, each one decorated with a winter motif. These napkins will enhance a beautifully laid table and, as each one is made using a different technique, you can either pick the one you prefer and make a matching set
Wood Carving & Sculpture a Craft From Before the Dawn of History The oldest known stone carvings date back more than 25,000 years. Although no examples of prehistoric wood sculpture remain (wood decomposes much faster than stone, usually in a few generations), it is reasonable to suppose that early man began to wood carving
Block Printing on Fabric Fabric printing has been practiced since antiquity, notably in India, Egypt, and China. Throughout the centuries it has evolved from a simple process of pressing inked wood blocks on cloth into modern high-speed textile printing by sophisticated photo-mechanical processes, requiring the combined skills of designers, artists, chemists, and machinists. Mass
A Craft Born of Frugality—Quilting and Patchwork The Start Of Quilting Quilting was carried to Europe in the Middle Ages by the Crusaders, who returned with quilting from the Middle East with padded linings for their armor—sandwiches of two layers of fabric with thick filling between, all stitched together. During the l4th century Europe’s
Spinning From Fiber to Yarn Today hand spinning—the drawing out and twisting of fiber—is still done in the way it was thousands of years ago. Material. Fleece is sold by the pound in three forms: unscoured, or “in the grease;” scoured, or washed; and carded, or “wool top.” Fleece that is not too dirty
How to Paint With Watercolor The step-by-steps on this page show the typical stages in the development of a watercolor landscape. For the landscape shown here the artist used a17- by 22-inch sheet of French hand-made, cold-pressed, 300-pound watercolor paper which, because of its thickness, required no stretching. To introduce a variety of brushstrokes, he
Collage – A contemporary art form Collage, from the French verb coller (“to glue”) is the general term for an artistic arrangement of various materials glued to a surface. See the collage “Cosmos” left by artist Diane Cadrain. Just about any material-fabric, wood, metal can be used in making collages. When more than one type
Candle making the Traditional Way People have been making candles since the times of the ancient Romans, and chances are they will continue to do so, not out of necessity, but because of the wonderful ambiance candles give to any given space. Tallow (rendered cattle or sheep fat) and beeswax have been used in candle
Fruit Preserves All The Basics Equipment and Supplies Needed for Fruit Preserves Any reasonably well equipped kitchen will have most of the utensils needed for preserving fruits. The only essential equipment that may be missing is a supply of mason jars for storing the fruit preserves. A few special utensils are recommended, but you
Sand Art – What is it? History of Glass and Sand Art Glass essentially is made from sand and is a combination of about 75% silicon dioxide (SiO2), sodium oxide (Na2O) from soda ash, lime (CaO). So it is quite fitting that sand artists use glass bottles and glass sheets to create these wonderful works
Make Mortise and Tenon Joints Story & Pictures by Janek Szymanowski © While there are many items that you can use to fasten pieces of wood together, it is essential to choose the right joint for the job at hand. Traditional craftsmen use many different joints, some of which are quite complicated to cut.
How to Make a Miter Box Story & Pictures by Janek Szymanowski © A miter box will help you with the fundamental woodworking principles of keeping work level and square and are vital irrespective of the timber materials you are working with. When it comes to woodwork, you can make a simple tool at
A Few Common Woodworking Joints Story & Pictures by Janek Szymanowski © There are many different ways to join pieces of wood together. In many instances you can use simple joints, particularly when you combine these with good quality wood glue and/or nails, screws and bolts for extra strength. The most common types of woodworking
Introduction to Woodwork Story & Pictures by Janek Szymanowski © Woodworking has different meanings to different people. To some it is building kitchen cabinets, to others it is turning a bowl of rare wood, to still others it is carving sculpture. Carpentry and Cabinetry Wood is an incredibly versatile material that can be used
Origami the Art of Folding Paper We Show You How To Origami is the ancient Japanese art of folding paper into models that represent people, animals, and plants, or into delicate abstract forms. Most traditional models are made without cutting or gluing: the Japanese word origami means “paper folding.” No one knows when or how
How to Do Tie-dyeing Tie-dyeing is a simple process. Areas of the fabric are tied off in accordance with your design. (“Tying” is a general term that includes knotting and sewing.) The fabric is then dyed and rinsed, and the ties are removed. The tied areas resist the dye and remain the color of
How to Train Bonsai Trees – a short DIY Bonsai Course to Get Started Above: This 55 year old Sequoia sempervirens (California Redwood or Coast Redwood) “Informal Upright” style bonsai tree from Brooklyn Botanic Garden, in New York City was photographed by Jeffrey O. Gustafson Bonsai is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers.
A Selection of the Best Decoupage Books Available Decoupage – A Practical Guide to the Art of Decorating Surfaces with Paper Cutouts “Perfect for beginners as well as experienced decoupeurs.”—Victorian Home and Gardens Aptly called “painting with scissors,” the art of decoupage (embellishing surfaces with decorative paper cutouts) is one that requires no formal
A Selection of the Best Mobiles Art Books Available Making Mobiles When observing an especially beautiful mobile, beginning artists often think, Wow, I want to make mobiles like THAT! If you have stood under a mobile by Alexander Calder and entertained such thoughts, this book will help you make one like that. This guide
A Selection of the Best Beadwork Books Available Getting Started Stringing Beads The art of crafting beautiful string and bead creations is explained in this step-by-step guide for novice beaders. Twenty-five quick and simple projects will help build foundational technical skills and result in exciting bead creations such as charm bracelets and chandelier earrings.
A Selection of the Best Batik Books Available Creative Batik This colorful, practical guide explores many different waxing and dyeing techniques, explaining how to create beautiful flowers, trees, birds, animals, landscapes, and abstract designs. Fabric Surface Design Sensational sewing projects demand fabulous fabrics! Fiber artist Cheryl Rezendes shows you how to create an
