Browse down this page for descriptions and illustrations of the projects in date order, then select a project and have some crafting fun!
Basics of Quilling (Jul 25, 2022) - Quilling is the art of rolling narrow strips of paper into coils or scrolls, and arranging them to form elegant filigree. In this project, you'll see how to use a toothpick to roll coils and scrolls then pinch, shape, and arrange them into decorative patterns.
EASY
Geometric Solids (Jul 17, 2022) - In this project, make four of the five Platonic solids—cube, tetrahedron, octahedron, and icosahedron. These geometric models can be used for things beyond learning about solid geometry. Decorate them and make a colorful mobile or use them as gift boxes.
EASY to AVERAGE
Love Bugs Friday Fun (July 8, 2022) - Make cute little bugs to give as gifts. They are molded in plastic spoons using plaster of Paris. This craft is great for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and any gift-giving occasion. Children of all ages, even as young as two, will enjoy making these love bugs as pins or magnets.
VERY EASY
Stenciled Flower Pots (Jul 4, 2022) - Turn a plastic flower pot from ordinary to extraordinary with stenciling. In this project, you will learn how to apply acrylic paint stencils to a small plastic flower pot. This technique can then be used to decorate larger plastic flower pots, plastic hanging baskets, plastic wastebaskets, or just about any plastic container.
AVERAGE
Easy Party Favor Bag (Jun 27, 2022) - In this project, learn how to make a small party favor bag that is self-closing. These easy to make bags are ideal for packaging small party favors of food, candy, soaps or jewelry. Choose from four sizes of printable patterns with or without the colorful dot designs.
EASY
Father's Day Gift Bags (Jun 13, 2022) - Make gift bags for Dad using patterns specially designed for Father's Day. Print the black & white patterns on colored paper and the colored patterns on white paper. These bags are in perfect sizes for homemade cookies or brownies.
EASY
Decoupage Box (Jun 6, 2022) - In this project, you will learn the basics of decoupage by decorating a box made from cardstock with images printed on your color printer. The same technique can be used to decoupage wooden boxes, glass vases or plates, etc. With the wealth of images available for downloading and printing, this traditional craft is well-suited for today.
EASY
Catch the Hare Game Board (May 30, 2022) - Make a roll-up game board for the game of Catch the Hare that includes a pocket for storing game pieces. The game board is made of paper and felt using iron-on adhesive, and requires no sewing. This Moorish hunt game is known as Cercar La Liebre in Spain and dates back to the 13th century.
EASY
Flexagon Boxed Set (May 25, 2022) - Make a gift that will fascinate puzzle-minded kids and adults. In this project, you'll make a set of hexaflexagons and a matching hexagonal box for storage. Flexagons are folded paper polygons that have the neat feature of changing faces as they are flexed.
AVERAGE
French Board Solitaire (May 23, 2022) - Patience games come in both card and board versions. In this project, you will make a simple game board for the French version of board solitaire, sometimes called peg solitaire or patience. The rules for playing French board solitaire are included in the project.
VERY EASY
Scalloped Edge Cards (May 16, 2022) - In this greeting card tutorial, learn how to make a fancy edge on your handmade greeting cards using scallops (or waves) and a paper punch. This is a quick and easy way to add a strong design element along the right-side or bottom edges of your card.
EASY
Seed Catalog Garden Friday Fun (May 13, 2022) - Make a make-believe garden anytime of the year by cutting up seed catalogs or magazines—you could even use clip art you download and print. Cutting pictures, making the garden, and playing with it will keep kids busy for hours.
VERY EASY
Dragon Finger Puppet (May 11, 2022) - It's easy to make a dragon finger puppet with an empty toilet paper tube and a printable pattern. Just wrap the tube cover around the cardboard tube, add the ridge tail, legs, and some flames. Your feisty dragon will give the other puppets a scare.
EASY
Toilet Paper Tube Puppets (May 9, 2022) - Use empty toilet paper tubes to make finger puppets, then put on a play that features them. Use the included patterns or make puppets of your own design. The versatility of this puppet making technique is amazing. Give it a try!
EASY
Serendipity Square Cards (Apr 18, 2022) - In this greeting card tutorial, learn how to use leftover scraps of paper and cardstock to make colorful serendipity squares that are then combined in various ways to make beautiful cards. Once you learn how to make serendipity squares, you'll never want to throw away those small scraps of paper again!
EASY
Marbled Eggs Friday Fun (Apr 15, 2022) - Here’s a technique for making marbled eggs that requires no special materials, and produces beautiful results with very little effort.
VERY EASY
Stuffed Felt Animals (Apr 11, 2022) - The project features stuffed felt animals—a chick and a bunny. Beginning sewers will use the overcast stitch to assemble the animals, while more experienced sewers can improvise with stitches and embellishments of their own choosing.
EASY to AVERAGE
Paper Bag Puppets: Cat and Owl (Mar 23, 2022) - Paper bag puppets are great fun and, with just a few cutouts and a bit of drawing, you can make a puppet for just about any animal. In this project, make cat and owl puppets that open and close their eyes as you move the paper bag flap with your hand.
EASY
Foam Ball King Hand Puppet (Mar 21, 2022) - For an easy way to make a hand puppet, start with a styrofoam ball for the puppet head. For the king hand puppet, make the face with felt cutouts, add a felt crown, and drape fabric for clothing and a royal cape. What could be easier?
EASY
Lu-lu, Hawaiian Dice Game (Mar 14, 2022) - Take an imaginary trip to Hawaii by playing the game of lu-lu with dice made in this craft project. The dice in lu-lu are painted 2-sided discs usually fashioned from volcanic stone. In this project, you have the option of making the dice with coiled paper strips or with cardboard discs.
EASY
Shamrock Strip Folding Cards (Mar 9, 2022) - Use printable patterns with shamrocks to create St. Patrick's Day cards. See how to use folded paper strips to give your card added depth with three-dimensional layers.
EASY
3D Paper Circus Trapeze Act (Feb 28, 2022) - In this project, you will make circus trapeze performers and a trapeze. The craft includes printable patterns for four trapeze artists and instructions for making a lightweight trapeze suitable for hard or carpet surfaces. This is the fourth of four craft projects in the Under the Big Top craft series.
EASY to AVERAGE
Strip Folding Tulip Cards (Feb 23, 2022) - See how to use printable strip folding tulip patterns to make a card that features a framed tulip motif. This card uses the strip folding technique introduced in the Strip Folding Heart Cards tutorial.
AVERAGE
Strip Folding Heart Cards (Feb 21, 2022) - In this greeting card tutorial, make a card for a loved one that features a framed heart motif, while learning how to use a strip folding template. Once you learn this technique using the heart template, additional motifs can be made using other templates.
AVERAGE
Valentine Flag Banner Friday Fun (Feb 11, 2022) - In this craft, simple-to-cut flags are decorated with hearts, then strung together with string or yarn to create a banner. Hang the banner in a doorway, over the mantel, or in the window, or use it to decorate a Valentine-themed bulletin board. No pattern required—just cut, glue and string!
VERY EASY
Collapsible Box (Feb 9, 2022) - If you haven't made boxes before, you'll be delighted with how easy it is to make a box in exactly the size needed. This project features a collapsible box with an attached lid. Use these boxes for gifts, as decorative containers, or for storage around the home or craft room. Choose from boxes with several fun designs, including ones for Mother's Day and Valentine's Day.
EASY
Appliqué Heart Valentines (Feb 7, 2022) - These Valentine's Day cards feature heart appliqués made with patterned papers that you can download and print. The project includes details for making six Valentine's Day cards and printable heart templates.
EASY
Simple Valentines Friday Fun (Feb 4, 2022) - This project features quick and easy Valentine designs that are simple to make and perfect for classroom giving! Select from printable Valentine's Day card patterns with either six or nine Valentines to a sheet. You likely have everything on hand needed to make these Valentines!
VERY EASY
Interlocking Curves Box (Feb 2, 2022) - This project features striking boxes with interlocking tops and bottoms. Choose from boxes with two, three or four interlocking curves per side. Bonus instructions are given for drafting a box pattern/template for any size interlocking curves box.
EASY
Valentine's Day Pins Friday Fun (Jan 28, 2022) - Create plaster of Paris pins using simple candy molds, pin backs and paint. Choose a candy mold with heart shapes to create beautiful Valentine's Day pins to give as presents to your loved ones.
EASY