I made these paper Mache Valentine Hearts but they are simple enough for children to make.

Here is how I made these. I cut out heart shapes from pieces of salvaged cardboard. A cardboard box works well. Next, I crumpled up newspaper to give the heart volume. Then I used paper Mache techniques to finish the hearts. Basically, you use strips of newspaper that have been dipped into a mixture of flour and water. Squeeze excess water off the strips by pulling the strips between two fingers.

I’ll do a tutorial on paper Mache another time. When you get the shape you want, you are ready to let it dry. I painted mine red after it was completely dry. When the paint dried I painted on a clear varnish. This gives it a glossy look and helps preserve the hearts. I made these hearts about 13 years ago and they are still great.

Have fun!

P.S. Don’t you love our door within a door!? It is perfect kid size.

These neck warmers/ muscle relaxers are especially nice in the winter but are useful all year. Heat one up and put on your shoulders to relax tense muscles. Warm yourself when coming in from the cold or use it to warm up your feet when crawling into bed on chilly nights.

They work well as a cold pack too. Store one in the freezer in a sealed plastic bag. Your kids will likely prefer a cold “rice” pack over a bag of frozen peas. The rice bags are softer and not as cold. You might want to make a smaller bag for this purpose.

Heat it up in the microwave for a minute or two. Check after a minute to see if it is the desired temperature. Don’t over-heat because the filler can burn. Be careful that you don’t overheat because it can burn your skin.

My young students made these for gifts at my recent December “green” craft workshops. This is a great project suitable for beginner sewers.

Think Mother’s day gift, Christmas gift, get well gift…

How to:

Fold and cut. However you fold your fabric, you should end up with a rectangle that is about 18 inches long and 5.5 inches wide. You need a top and a bottom. You can custom make yours longer or shorter.

Sew with good sides touching. Make sure you sew all the way to the edge. You don’t want the rice to fall out the corners! Clip corners.

Turn right side out. Use a knitting needle to gently poke the corners out. Be careful not to poke a hole in the corners while doing this.

Add rice. I use about two pounds of rice for each neck warmer. You can also use oat wheat berries, flaxseeds or dried corn. You can also add a little lavender if you like or scented oils.

Tuck in the raw edges. Pin and then machine sew the opening closed. Hand sew if you prefer.

You can sew it in sections if you like to keep the filler from going all to one side. I don’t think this is necessary however.

There rice bags are also great to use as a hand rest when typing. I love to use it when I’m getting chilly working on the computer.

This one was made by re-purposing the fabric from unwanted flannel PJ’s.

Seating

It is fun to have guests sit randomly around the table: it encourages people to make new friends. To achieve this, have guests as they arrive, pic a card. The cards should be arranged face down. I used cards from an incomplete deck. Creative reuse is better than buying new. The card they choose (B.) can either correspond to card (C.) that is already placed at each place setting. Or have the number on card B match the number on the chess piece.

Name Tags

Also, card B can be made into a name tag and pinned on guests using a safety pin. To make the name tag, use a self-adhesive sticker. Name tags are helpful when you have a lot of guests that don’t know each other. Alternatively, guests can choose their own names such as Tweedle Dee, or Alice…

Game

The number on “A” can also be used in a game. The chess pieces are arranged around the table in numerical order. During random times during the party, the Queen can announce “Switch” and all the guests that have an odd number must move over to the next odd number. Only the odd numbers will rotate. In the book, everyone leaves their dishes and gets new ones- in this version; guests carry their dishes with them. It’s cumbersome, odd and delightfully fun. It also promotes mingling of guests.

This wooden chess set was given to me. It was missing one or two pieces but I kept it because I saw possibilities! I painted the pieces red and glued on a number.

Chairs

Chairs need not match. Use a winged backed chair for the head of the table if you have one.

Key

An antique key like this one is a nice touch. I painted this one gold. Miss-matched tea cups are easy to find at thrift stores. This one was a thrift store find.

Framed Card

The queen of hearts card can easily be framed with a thrifted frame. No mat required.

Painted Roses

Painted roses are easy to make if you are lucky enough to find some second-hand white roses.

Cake Stands

I made this cake stand from a thrift store glass and plate that I glued together. The cards were salvaged from an incomplete deck. Make several of different heights to make a stunning dessert table display.

Vintage Clock

Because you don’t want to be late.

Drink Me

I found this bottle at a thrift store. I washed it carefully and added a label that said “Drink me.” Add a sign near the food that says “Eat me.”

Well that’s all I’m going to post today.

Click here to see more of my tea party ideas such as this purple painted tea pot.

Recently it occurred to me that the tissue paper wrapper of Seventh Generation toilet paper could be used to make awesome tissue paper flowers. I did some experimenting and was happy with the results. These flowers are great for party decorations.

How to:

Stack paper

I used four pieces of the tissue paper wrapper for these flowers.

Fold paper

Fold the paper like a fan: accordion style. Make the first fold (1/2 inch to 1 inch wide) then turn the paper over and fold again keeping the folds approximately the same width. Keep folding and turning until you run out of paper.

Tie

Use a salvaged twist tie to gather in the center. Twist ties can be salvaged from the packaging of bread, lettuce, and even electronics.

Unfold

Pull up the top layer of tissue paper being careful not to rip it.

Pull up the second layer,

the third layer,

and the fourth.

Adjust the layers to make your flower look good.

You can keep the flower fluffy or you can crush the flower long way (not flatten) and then trim off the top of the flower. The flower in the glass was done in this way.

This flower looks nice in a fun bright green thrift store vase.

Perfect to make at a bridal shower in conjunction with toilet paper wedding dresses!

Be creative. These flowers look nice displayed in glasses, directly on the table, and even taped directly to the wall. Be careful what tape you use; however, you don’t want to peel the wall paint.

Having a black and white party? These would be just the thing.

In the past we reused this paper by giving it to our pet rat for nesting material.

Does anyone know of any other toilet paper that is wrapped with usable paper?

I wanted something to decorate the kids table for Christmas dinner this year and this is what I came up with. It is a festive forest of wrapping paper trees with a surprise inside. You can make them too. Hide the treat/ gift inside or place it in the trunk of the tree. If it is inside, kids will have the fun of “unwrapping” the gift. If you place the gift in the trunk, kids can take the tree home as a party favor. You decide.

This is also a great project to do on Christmas day! Use different pieces of wrapping paper after opening your Christmas presents. Let the kids make a lot and decorate the house with these festive trees.

You will need: scrape pieces of wrapping paper or brown packing paper, salvaged paper cups, toilet roll tubes, and some glue or paste. A treat or small toy is optional. If you use new paper cups you are missing the point of this project. I don’t like disposable paper cups but sometimes it is necessary when out. I save those cups for future craft projects like this.

Different cups will make different sized cones. Experiment to see what size paper is needed for the size cup you are using.

They look stylish without a stem too.

Finding and gathering the pine cones is half the fun of this project.

This is what a Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga Canadensis) plant looks like. It is native to some parts of Maryland, as well as, much of New England.

I collected these during a visit to NH.

These are simple to make. Tie the pinecones to a string one at a time; working your way along the string.

I don’t think I captured just how cute these swags are but I think you get the idea.

Make some doves out of recycled plastic and place them on your windows.

They look beautiful and they help prevent birds from hitting your windows.

Find plastic packaging to reuse like in the picture above. I also use white yogurt covers for the smaller doves.

You will find my dove stencils here.

An osage-orange (Maclura pomifera)  is a tree not native to Maryland but can be found growing here. My husband remembers having wars with his friends; they would throw them at each other. Boys!

I call this one the Grinch.

I call this one Oscar the Grouch.

I call this one Dude.

Ever come across some clay while on some outdoor adventure and wish you could make some pottery out of it? You can. I love working with clay and have experimented with both a pit kiln and firing pieces over coals of a campfire. Below are tips on the whole process from finding clay to firing your primitive pottery.

This summer I held a workshop for children which included making pinch pots from locally dug clay.

Here are some of the pieces my students made.

This is what they looked like before being fired.

Finding clay and getting it ready to use

Find

You can often find clay along the banks of a river or stream. You can sometimes find it on local beaches. Look for gray or red stuff that clumps when you squeeze it in your hand. When wet, it should also feel slippery. You might also find it dry.

Gather

Bring along a container. Gather clay while trying to avoid surrounding soil.

Clean

Fill the container about halfway with clay and then fill the remainder with clean water. Remove rocks and sticks and other organic matter. Break up the clumps and mix until completely dissolved. Your mixture is called slip. If you collected dry clay, pound with mortar, reconstitute.

Strain

Put a screen (can be made out of hardware cloth or purchased) on the top of a clean bucket. I made a screen out of a wood frame with stapled wire window screen. Pour your slip into the bucket. The screen will take out any unwanted stuff. If after screening it still feels too gritty (sandy), you can strain it again through an old tee-shirt.

Let it settle

Let the clay settle to the bottom. Scoop or pour off the clear water

Dry more

When it is thick enough, put it on a piece of wood to dry in the sun. The wood helps to absorb the excess water in the clay. Check your clay during this drying time because you don’t want it to become too dry. When the clay is the right consistency to use, scrap it up and put in a plastic bag and seal. Your clay will be even better to use if you wait a couple of weeks.

Wedge and knead the clay before using. You may need to add temper (sand, grit, shell, grog (broken pottery), etc. Add 1/5 -1/3 temper, knead, and wedge. Temper is used to open the pores and make them less likely to crack when subjected to heat. Also reduces shrinkage and warping during drying and firing. This is especially important for large pieces.

Drying pieces

3-10 days, depending on the piece and temperature and humidity etc.

Pit Kiln

Dig a pit with sloping sides about 2 feet in diameter and about eighteen inches deep in the middle. This fits the standard round barbecue grill but you can make your hole to accommodate the amount of material you wish to fire. Find a place to put your pit that is away from trees or other plants that could catch on fire. Next, place a three inch deep layer of sawdust and or manure in the bottom. Put the oven rack on top of this layer. Again, you can adjust your design to accommodate your needs. Then arrange the pieces to be fired on the rack so that there is at least one inch of space around all sides of each piece. Fill any bowls or other containers with sawdust. If there are too may pieces on the rack, you can cover the pieces on the rack with more sawdust (4 inch layer). Remember to put the heavier pieces on the bottom to help avoid breakage. Now cover the pieces with at least twelve inches or more of sawdust. You should fill your pit completely. Add twisted pieces of newspaper in a thin layer. These are to be used to set the fire. Place a cover (like an old trashcan lid) to cover the top of the pit. Place some rocks under the edges of the sides of the lid to hold up the cover and allow air to get in. Light the newspaper. After it is burning well, put the cover on. Flames will come out the gaps for a little while and then you should only see smoke. If the smoke soon stops you should relight. Let the pit kiln burn over-night or at least for 6 to 7 hours. It isn’t necessary to stay with the pit the entire time it is burning. Once the flames have died down, it’s safe to leave. For safety, you may choose to post a warning sign. When the firing is completed, remove the lid carefully (it may still be hot). You could use a potholder or a stick. Carefully dig through the ashes to find your pieces.

Firing in Campfire

Place the pieces on a bed of hot coals. Experiment with the placement of your pieces to determine what will give you the best results. I let the fire go out naturally before taking them out of the ashes. Taking the pieces out while really hot can cause them to crack if they cool too quickly.

Obtained information from experience and from:

Make it in Clay 2nd edition by f. Speight and J. Toki.

The Kids ‘N’ Clay Ceramics Book created by Kevin Nierman and written be E. Arima. This is a nice book that has a lot of cool kid project ideas.

Nature Crafts for Kids: 50 Fantastic Thinks To Make With Mother Nature’s Help. By G. Diehn and Terry Krautwurst.

Science Crafts for Kids: 50 Fantastic Things To Invent and Create. By Gwen Diehn and Terry Krautwurst.

After you enjoy eating a bag of cherries this year, amuse yourself and your family too with these Cherry faces. Save the cherry pits and stems to create some amusing faces. My kids and I “painted” these faces using the computer after I took the pictures but all you will need is a marker to draw on the details.

Wouldn’t these be fun to make into cards? Ideas: Birthday card (smile), encouragement card for a friend dealing with stress (stresses out), sympathy card (sad face), Happy you are my teacher card (happy face)…

Glue the pits (eyes) and the stems (mouth) down on a piece of paper if you want to use it as part of your canvas. Alternatively, don’t glue them down. That way you can rearrange them as much as you want as an amusing way to spend some of you summer vacation time. (Eyes can be reversible: draw on both sides.) Here are a bunch of ideas to get you started.