MEMORY WIRE WITH TUBING
Materials:

• 1 memory wire bracelet
• 3 x 8mm filigree ebads
• 6  x 6mm filigree beads
• 1 butterfly drops
• 1 memory wire end cap/bead (half drilled)
• Rubber tubing for memory wire in black: 8 x 4cm and 2 x 10cm

Place a 8mm filigree bead in the middle of the wire, then 2 x 4cm rubber tubing on either side, then a 6mm filigree bead on either side, then another 4cm length of rubber tubing, then 8mm filigree bead, then 4cm length rubber tubing, then 6mm filigree bead, etc.

Finish each end with 10cms of rubber tubing. Make a loop on one end of the wire making sure the butterfly drop is placed within the loop so it can hang. On the other end, glue a half drilled bead.

Article submit by:

Bea
 
 
www.justbeads.co.uk
Cheshire Bead Fair, Nantwich Civic Hall - Sunday 20th May 2007
Beads Up North, Haydock Park Racecourse - Sunday 29th July 2007
Scottish Bead Fair, Perth Concert Hall - Sunday 9th September 2007
Christmas Bead & Jewellery Fair, Chester Racecourse, Chester - Sunday 18th November 2007
 

Safety Procedures for making candles

Making candles is similar to cooking in many ways, and, as with cooking, there is the potential element of messiness, and the possibility of unforeseen accidents. To cut down on these, and to be ready for any mishap, please read the following carefully. Always wear old clothes, cover work surfaces with newspaper and move or cover rugs and carpets.
• Keep a pile of old newspapers close by in case of spillage.
• Always give yourself plenty of room to work in and keep your work space clean and tidy.
• Have all the materials and equipment to hand for whatever project you are working on.
• Keep all equipment clean and keep unused materials in containers away from dust and dirt.

USING WAX

When using wax, treat it as you would cooking oil. Below 100C (212F) it is fairly safe. Higher than this it is likely to catch fire as the wax is turning to vapour. Remember wax will not boil just continue to get hotter and hotter.

Always place your thermometer in the saucepan at the beginning of the melting process. This will not only ensure your reading is accurate, but will prevent you inadvertently overheating the wax.

Never leave melting wax unattended
After use, do not be tempted to pour excess molten wax down the sink as it will set and block your pipes. Instead, pour it into an old baking tray and cut into cubes before it hardens. This can be used to make chunk candles at a later date.

IN CASE OF SPILLAGE

For wax on carpets and items of clothing: Scrape off the excess wax and remove the rest by placing brown paper or paper towel over the stained area and pressing with a hot iron. This will transfer the wax to the towel.

For wax on metal or plastic objects: Place in the freezer for an hour to make the wax brittle. It then becomes easy to simply crumble the hardened wax away. Alternatively, dip the object into boiling water and allow the wax to melt and float to the surface.

SHOULD THE WORST HAPPEN…
• Switch off the heat
• Do not move the pan
• Smother flames with the saucepan lid or a damp cloth/towel.
• On no account attempt to douse with water. This will only spread the fire.
• If wax is overheating, it begins to smoke and gives off an acrid smell. If this happens turn off the heat source immediately and allow the wax to cool.
PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU ATTEMPT TO MAKE CANDLES THE ADVICE GIVEN IS ONLY A OPNION. UKCRAFTWEBSITES AND THE WRITER OF THIS ARTICLE CAN NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CASUED BY MAKING ANY CRAFTS ON THIS SITE.

Just seen these cool pink / purple Leaves…

Almost a cheats way to make cards hehehe.. Stick them on the front and your done

Always found Skeleton Leaves so interesting.. I remeber finding them when I was a kid..

hmmm .. these could defo work with many a crafty item.. scrapbooks, cards…….

Pefect for young kids crafts you could make some great looking but “simple” items with the Leaves!

For other Leaves try http://www.nattynetty.co.uk/acatalog/Po_Leaves.html 

:D

The site own came on the forum today looking for a review and of course to see if some craft people would add some ideas to the site..

10,000 wow..

Anyway I had a quick look and found this article of how to make a snowflake from … yep plastic bags..

Here a picture of what it looks like

The guide has 6 simple steps..

Here is the intro:

Snowflakes are great fun to crochet and really easy to adapt to your own style. These six-pointed snowflakes are simply created using plastic bag ‘yarn’ and with basic crochet stitches. 

Full article and more:
http://www.10000greatideas.com/ideadet.php?iid=638

Came accross these funky cards of at swirlyarts today and thought It well worth a blog..

My Fav is the Funky teenagers cards. The pink one that works well with the forums colours

Site is easy to nav so well worth a look around if you like the real hand made touch!.

Cool example :

Have a looky:
http://www.swirlyarts.com/teenage_birthday.htm

Model Earth

Planet Earth consists of four different layers. There is an inner core, an outer core, a mantel and a crust. By following the recipe below, you can make your own edible model of our planet. Before you start making your own little Earth, it is important to learn how deep each layer should be in comparison to the other layers. The earth’s crust is only 20 miles deep while the mantle is over 4,000 miles deep! The outer core is 2,200 miles deep and the inner core is 800 miles deep.  

You will need:
One clear glass bowl with a 10 inch diameter
4 bowls to mix your ingredients in
A plastic bag
Utensils to stir things with

8 oz. pkg. black cherry gelatine dessert
4 oz. pkg. raspberry gelatine dessert
4 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding
Water according to the manufacturers instructions
(Some companies sell vanilla pudding that should be mixed with milk; in that case you will of course need milk too.)

12 graham crackers
½ cup of melted margarine
¼ granulated sugar

How to make an edible Earth desert:

1. Prepare black cherry gelatine and raspberry gelatine desert; each in their own bowl. Always follow the instructions from the manufacturer, since the exact instructions can vary somewhat between different companies. You may need to boil some of the water.
2. Prepare the vanilla pudding following the instructions from the manufacturer.
3. Place the three desert bowls in the refrigerator to set. This will take roughly 2 hours.
4. Place the graham crackers in the plastic bag and crush them into fine crumbs.
5. Melt the margarine and measure it to make sure that you have ½ a cup of melted margarine. 
6. Mix crushed graham crackers, melted margarine and granulated sugar in a bowl.
7. Press the graham mixture onto the bottom and along the sides of the 10” glass bowl to create the Earths’ crust. 
8. Take out the deserts from the refrigerator and spoon the black cherry desert into the graham cracker crust. Leave a pocket in the middle of the bowl. The black cherry desert will symbolise the 4000 mile deep mantle.  
9. Spoon vanilla pudding into the hole, but leave small hole in the middle. The vanilla pudding symbolises the 2,200 mile deep outer core.
10. Spoon the raspberry gelatine dessert into the small hole. The raspberry gelatine dessert symbolises the 800 mile deep inner core.

Crafts for Kids – Fall Activities

Harvest Feast Place Cards

Celebrating this years harvest at the end of the summer season is an ancient tradition in many parts of the world. In fall, the storages would hopefully be filled after the fruitful summer season. Fall also brings an abundance of fruits, berries and mushrooms. Below, you will learn how you can make beautiful place cards for this years harvest feast. You will need pencils, scissors, glue, popping corn (not popped) and heavy-duty construction paper in green + any other colour or other green shade. The green construction paper will be used for the “corn husk”.

1. Ideally make this place card at least one day in advance since the glue need time to set. If you use the place card too early, the glue may leak down under the decoration.
2. Take a piece of construction paper and cut out a rectangle that is roughly 5 x 6 inches. (Do not use the corn husk paper.)
3. Turn the rectangle into a place card by folding it in half and then unfolding it. It is important that the paper is sturdy enough to stand on its own.
4. Take the green construction paper and fold it in two. Cut out an oval with pointy ends. Since the paper is folded, you will get two identical ovals. The oval should be roughly half the length of your place card, i.e. 3 inches.
5. Take one of the ovals and glue it to the front side of your place card.
6. Cut the remaining oval in halves the long way.
7. Cover the green oval on your place card in glue, but leave an outer edge of roughly ¼ inch free of any glue.
8. Place popping corn in the glue and push them until they are securely fastened. The corns will resemble an ear of corn.
9. Use the cut green oval to make husks for your ear of corn. Glue them on at a slight angle and only use glue for the outer edges, the rest will stick up over the ear of corn.
10. Write the name of your guest on the place card.
11. Leave the glue to set while the place card is resting flat on a table or similar. If you leave the card “standing up”, the glue may leak down under the ear of corn.
12. Put the place card at its proper place at the harvest feast table.