So Cool Apple Cupcakes! from Pinterest

Aren't these great! Check out "Make and Takes" "Apple Shaped Cupcakes". Easy for kids. I bet we could make pumpkin cupcakes this way too!

I haven't been making crafts lately (we're house searching and home repairing these days). But I still like to look, so I'm going to start dropping cool craft ideas here at Kids 4 Crafts and at Victoria Lavender. I'll leave a quick note and leave you directions to the website where I found the new idea at. Today this idea comes from Pinterest.

I hope you enjoy the crafts I highlight. And for me it will be fun collecting ideas I can't wait to do after we settle into a new home.

Peace, Victoria

A Halloween Candy Bag

Hello, it's time for a new challenge with The Crafty Pad. This week we are using a Halloween stamp from The Crafty Pad Design Store. A great place to get digi's! I've taken another craft avenue other than cards again this week. A Halloween Candy Bag for my grand daughter, Emma. She's going treat or treating as the vampire in "Adventure Time". I have no idea idea what that is:)

This bag is digital and handmade. The purple frame is borrowed from the internet. The stamp in the center is from The Crafty Pad and it is computer colored with pop tape layering. The words and skulls and eyeballs come from a K & Company Halloween pack. I cut a black and green circle then corner punched the black for a creepy lace curve and did a pinking cut for the edge of the green circle. I cut both in half to create the top and bottom accents on the purple frame. My ribbon at the top of the bag looks like a spider. Cool. There is also a little bow and spider at the bottom. In this bright sunlight it's hard to see just how much stickle glitter has been used. Orange, yellow, black , diamond and red. I love glitter.

So fun to make. Take any bag and dress it up for a Halloween goodies bag. This is a great project to make for your little kids too. Take a second to visit Victoria Lavender, my other crafting blog. Enjoy.

Thanks for the visit, please come by anytime.

We haven't been around much lately

Hi, we're not out of business here. I know things are stagnant. We're a sister's team. Kemi and Vicki. Kemi moved back to Maryland (from Tucson) and our spark hasn't recouped yet on Kids 4 crafts. We may need to get some outside designers here on K4C to keep great kid crafts rolling. I'll start by checking out my cousin pool too.

Meanwhile I've become a card maker. Crafting does keep me outta trouble. If you'd like to see what I'm up to as a solo act then visit "Victoria Lavender".

My Mother's Day Card.

Pumpkins Rock!

Items needed:
Rocks (from your yard)
Base Coat Paint (white spray paint, light colored indoor wall paint, really thick craft paint…)
Orange Craft Paint (it you’re really slick-you might have orange spray paint lying around
from another project)
Medium Paint Brush
Black Sharpie Marker
Green Crepe Paper Roll (or yard twigs)
White Glue

I collected 8 small rocks from my yard. And yes, I carefully picked them for just the right look. I’m weird like that. I washed and let them air dry. Starting with the two smallest rocks I began to paint without an undercoat (silly me, I really should know better). I wanted this project to be quick…..well without a base coat they needed 5 or 6 full coats. That’s just nuts. I had white spray paint, so I used it, and boy it makes quite an improvement. I only needed 2 or 3 coats of orange then. Very easy project, but does take time to dry between coats. So I put them on a cookie tray with a large baggie under them to protect the tray, and placed it on my coffee table. This way I could paint during the TV breaks I took over the day. I left two white rocks for my little buddy to paint when came over the next morning.



Next morning Jake came over and loved the idea of doing some painting with Nana. This 3 year old did a great job and was concerned about covering the rock well. An hour later I took out the Black Sharpie and let him watch me draw on the 8 little pumpkin faces. He especially liked the smallest one because it had a different smile then the rest. Green crepe paper for the stems. I took a 3 inch piece of streamer and folded it in half. Holding with my left hand the folded edge toward my palm, I then twisted it tight from the open torn end down towards the folded end. Stop twisting a little shorter than getting all the way to the end. It creates a little base to glue down at. OR, break off some dried stems from around the yard and glue them on the rock pumpkins, or raffia, you can see where this is going. I just really wanted this project to be a cost free effort. And I love these little guys! I placed them around my rock garden and the pathway lights and few on the porch railing. I already know I need more.


Victoria Swanson

Recycled Christmas Cards

Everyone has Christmas cards from years past. Lets take a new look at them. Kids are great at transforming an older card into a new one. Get out your scissors and punches, glues, glitter, snow, ribbons and string. This family craft is one of the best for "no cost" crafting fun.

The following images are from the work I did last Christmas. I've done cards and tags and the last three are refrigerator magnets, these can make nice gifts too. Enjoy!






















I really love the magnets, comic cards work great!

Take care, I'll try not to be so late with our next craft.

Peace, Victoria Swanson

My New Glitter Box

I love glitter! I have 3 buckets of glitter, Stickles, Embossing powder & glitter and glass beadies. To find the glitter, I’m always empting a bucket out on a table. (Table space? What’s that?)



While shopping at Michael’s, I noticed a nice little box filled with boxes with removable and sliding lids. Like those Tic Tac boxes. The price was $9.99. To me it seemed a little high. I bought it anyway after searching the store trying to find a less expensive substitute. The deal was set when I noticed for sale a 16 piece sample assortment of dark pigment glitters as a cellophane bag set. Ahh, my addiction! Glitter cost: $3.99. Storage box: $9.99. My husband would find this a bit suspicious.



Later that evening I filled the little boxes with the glitter assortment and a few more boxes from my current collection bucket. I think I secretly knew I was loading this box with dark pigments and that I’ll need another storage box as well for my transparent glitters. (The next week ...I bought one more.)

The lids are the greatest. They pull off to fill, or pour. But they also have a sliding hatch. I can control the flow of glitter (during use, of course) as never before. Ten of the boxes in the set are full sized and ten more are molded so there are two halves with a lid on each end.



Glitter is not a very tidy material, even with great boxes like these. Glitter is only as neat as you are. I will still have my original glitter containers in a bucket somewhere, as I will need to refill the boxes. But when I start a project now, I’ll need to just grab the one little box.



Search the internet or your favorite craft store for a nice compact way to keep your glitters portable and neat. I’ve seen boxes filled with capped jars, a cylinder set where the lids twist and stack. Many storage options are available for the crafty crafter.

Martha would say, “It’s a good thing”. I like, “Woo Hoo, Cool Beans!”.

Easy Glitter Easter Egg Craft

(Easter Real Eggs Blown Glitter Craft)

I saw these at the Martha Stewart.com site. They are so pretty. I am a glitter nut and I couldn’t wait to start. Little did I know it would take me a week to prepare enough meals with eggs to get 12 shells. I suggest you make a big round of scrambled eggs or a quiche to get the shells faster than my politely asking everyone in the house to let me know when they are about to use an egg—so that I could blow it for the shell. Although, it was entertaining for the kids watching me blow my brains out blowing an egg.

Needed Items:
EGG SHELLS (cleaned & dried)
WHITE GLUE (or spray adhesive)
PAINT BRUSH
BAMBOO SKEWERS (every crafter needs these)
GLITTER (highly pigmented is best over Transparent)
GLITTER WORK AREA (a large box lid or bowl)
STYROFOAM HUNK (secure to a heavy base)



When your eggs are ready to work with, gently push a skewer into the larger egg hole. Carefully guide the tip through the top and smaller hole. Lightly make snug. (NOTE: One of my eggs had holes too big for the stick to be snug. Wrap a piece of cellophane tape on the stick just outside the egg holes.)





Pick your first glitter color and take the top off the container so it’s ready to use. Water down the glue a little bit and cover paint the whole egg. Don’t get too much on the stick (the glitter will pull off there later.) Start glittering the entire surface. I did the ends before the egg middle. Stick the skewer into your Styrofoam stand and let dry.



When the eggs are dry, use them to decorate around the house. Use a basket or beautiful glasswear. That’s the way they showed the eggs at Martha Stewart. Kids can easily do the glittering (and they love it). But after they dry, the eggs really aren’t a toy to play with and touch a lot. Still they are lovely to display and enjoy. And it’s a lot of fun to say “I made these myself!”.

Sugar Glitter Plastic Eggs

While I was making the Glittered Eggs I realized that the transparent glitters didn’t look as nice on white eggs as I’d hoped. Sitting at the same table where I was crafting on real egg shells, I noticed my little plastic eggs that we use for the Easter hunts. And I thought again about transparent glitter. “Hey these are already colored, I bet they’d look great covered in snow or SUGAR GLITTER!

You’ll Need:
PLASTIC EGGS (this was crafted on pastel colored eggs)
WHITE GLUE (or spray adhesive)
BAMBOO SKEWERS
HOLE MAKER: create holes top and bottom of egg. Use a sharp knife point, ice pick, little drill or Dremel.
CLEAR GLITTER (also called sugar or snow)
STYROFOAM STAND
FILE (nail or Dremel)



Check your plastic eggs for their hole at the top and bottom. Some do, some don’t and mine had holes in other places than desired. Since mine where so difficult, I used my Dremel drill top and bottom to have holes where I wanted them. I also filed off the little hinge on the side of the egg. Put them on the skewer as done with the “Glittered Eggs”. Paint or spray on the glue and cover with glitter. Stick the skewer in to the Styrofoam stand to dry.





I was going to string ribbon through the holes of the plastic eggs and use as a garland. My daughter, Rachel, gave me this great big table basket and I relocated the ceramic rabbit from years ago. I think it all comes together nicely. Happy Easter!

Foamies Glittered Butterfly Wand

During one of my many visits to The Dollar Tree, I saw packages of Butterfly and Star Foamie Wands. Many of the stores are still carrying these on their shelves.



I used:
FOAMIE WAND PACKAGE
WHITE GLUE
LOT’S OF GLITTER
RIBBON
WIRE (6 to 8 inches and something pointy like a ice pick)
PENCIL (use a light stroke when drawing on the foamie)
SMALL TIP PAINTBRUSH (for glue)
MEDIUM TIP PAINTBRUSH (stays dry to push away glitter)

Glitter Station:
1 box lid (larger than 8.5 x 11’s)
2 sheets of paper 8.5 x 11

Trace your foamie wand on a piece of scrap paper. Experiment with drawing some pattern’s till you like the one you will re-draw on the foamie with the light touch of pencil.





After your pattern is on the foamie, create a glitter work station. I use a 12 x 10 box lid. Take and 8.5 x 11 piece of paper and fold up three sides about an inch. This is your left over glitter pan. The glitter that didn’t make back in to the container after use is to be collected for your homemade mixed glitter jar. On top of the glitter pan paper, place the other 8.5 x 11 sheet folded in half. This piece works as your funnel to catch and pour back glitter to it’s container.



To glitter the wand, start from the middle and work your way out to the edges as you change colors. Dab some little dots of glue on the pattern area you’re working on. Use a small paintbrush to “color” in. Carefully cover with a light layer of one glitter color. Repeat for each color used. I still had a little trouble keeping colors where I wanted them. It’s easier to fix color run over with patience. Wait until the wand is completely dry and paint on new glue and glitter to repair areas. Always try to flip the wand over quickly and neatly with a little tapping to shake loose the extra glitter. And letting one side dry before starting the other is advised. Bend the wire in half and bend to taste for the antennae. Poke a hole in the top of the foamie butterfly head with something like a ice pick. Insert the wire with a touch of glue into that hole.



Now, if you still have some time before you give this wand to you princess you might want to think about sealing the glitter so it doesn’t end up all over your house. Easy to do with more white glue. When the item is totally dry, apply a coat of glue evenly over the whole surface of the wand top. Again let dry. But now it will be much more durable and kid safe.

Fairy Princess Crown

Every kid needs a crown! I’ve seen entire craft booths dedicated to fairy princess crowns. They’ll sell for anywhere between $3.00 to $8.00. Let’s make our own. Dig into your left over Christmas decoration box for our main supply needed, Shiny Star Wire Coils. If you don’t have any, go to a Dollar Tree Store. They ALWAYS have some sort of wire garland that will work for you.

You’ll need:

WIRE GARLAND COIL
LOT’S O RIBBON (paper and fabric)
TOUGH SCISSORS

Size a loop around your little one’s head and use it to measure 2 or 3 more loops. Cut and tie off by tightly winding the end piece’s around all 3 or 4 loops. That should keep it tight and strong enough to stay together. For the long flowing ribbon in the veil, I cut 12 four feet lengths of curling ribbon I tied them on using half hitch knots with 2 strands per knot. I also used some scrap ribbon and some left over long gold icicles from Christmas. Please alter to you little princess’s crafty desire.

Glittered Butterfly Wand

Glitter Butterfly Wand

This should be a no cost project. We’ve put together a PDF for you to print with a lovely yellow butterfly. You’ll need a few things:

PDF PRINTOUT Click here to download printout
CARDSTOCK
STRAW (Strong, like a 12” Convenience Store Soda Straw)
WHITE GLUE
DOUBLE SIDED TAPE (But it’s not necessary)
SCISSORS
GLITTERS
PIPE CLEANER
RIBBON

Carefully cut out and trim the two butterfly images.





Mount them back to back on the end of your heavy duty straw. I choose to use double sided tape to secure the butterflies to the straw. I painted white glue between the wings. Let dry. Check to make sure the wings don’t come apart while they are drying.



Glitter your Butterfly any way you want. It may help to let the front dry before starting the back.



Bend the pipe cleaner in half. Twist each end to make the antennae. With a drop of glue, stick the antenna into the top of the soda straw. Tie a pretty ribbon just under the butterfly. In most of the photos you may have notice a fancier straw. I had glued on a thread and glitter, but it crumbled under my touch. It wouldn't have worked for a child, so I removed it.

And there, we have a cute and easy enough wand for your little princess fairy.

Fingerprint Bug Bookmarks at Bookmans

We are doing demonstration's at BOOKMANS again. These events are so much fun for us as well as the children who attend and craft along with us. We made bookmarks, here some we did.