How to dye buttons, golfballs, feathers & beads

From the good folks at Rit.

How to dye plastic from PinkBird Beads

Paper Fold Font

Cut out and fold these letters. This is a free font.
Punched Out by Tobias Sommer

Paper Doily Christmas

It's spring. Of course I'm thinking of Christmas. Old habits die hard.

Paper doily cone wreath from Dollar Store Crafts.

Paper doily dove from Origami-Instructions.com

This bowl from Marie Claire Idees.

Paper doily snowflake garland from Design Sponge.

Silk Organza Necklace

For the price of a yard of silk organza, some memory wire, and a sterling silver clasp, you can put together your own version of this stylish piece. From Country Living magazine.

Paper houses

One of the first paper model sites I ever visited and still
a favorite is Paper Models of Polyhedra.

Today I saw these printable paper house models.
Houses with vanishing point.


Matryoshka house

Make your own photo kaleidocycles

Online tool from Foldplay. Enjoy your photo kaleidocycles, moving paper sculptures that turn in an endless cycle.

Paper Lanterns

From School Arts Magazine 1922 by Pedro J. Lemos.

Printable Halloween Masks

15 Print-and-Color Halloween Masks from Woman's Day.

Cement Craft

I stumbled across this great book at the Internet Archive. It's aim is to provide craft skills in school and solve the problem of pottery and tile making without a kiln. Portland Cement is the medium but the skills are the same as potters. The tile making is very interesting and easy to do at home. Also of interest are slip techniques in cement. Published in 1922. Pedro Joseph Lemos, Professor of Decorative Design, San Francisco Institute of Art.

Christmas House Ornaments

Printable Putz house ornament patterns from Better Homes & Gardens. Cottage, Cape Cod and Mid-Century styles. 4" tall. Free membership required but the site is well worth it.

Paper Head Wear

This patent drawing is for a headpiece worn by workers at White Castle in the 50's. the top outline could be any shape but the interesting part is the center part that gets cut on each side and folded back in the middle. The slits hold the hairband and cause the piece to curve.

Tempory Body Art

While following a search for paste resist techniques I landed on The Henna Page which is an educational resource devoted to the history, traditions, techniques, science and art of Henna, and is part of a site group devoted to Henna and related arts.

I adore the idea of temporary body art bet wouldn't want henna because it fades. The Henna Page offers a fabulous selection of free PDF books and that's where I found this little gem.

Since I'm always on the lookout for fun activities for and with kids the techniques offered in Gilding, Glitter and Gems look like a blast. There are a variety of recipes for making your own gilding pastes using spikey hair gel, gel and Elmer's washable glue, hair glue, cosmetic glue and a variety of powders from Lumiere to body glitter. The following photos from The Henna Page will give you a small glimpse at the concept.


These designs are removable and inexpensive to make. I think it would make a fun girl's party activity, alternate face painting at festivals, better than temporary tattoo for a girl's softball or swim team. As you read you'll find that some recipes like the hair gel are for short time uses and the hair glue will last longer.
Pastes can be made up ahead of time and stored in cones made from Mylar wrapping paper. Keep it in the refrigerator. Directions and tips for making the cones are here.

There are also techniques for painting using body paint , regular cosmetics (liquid eyeliner), glitter and gems. Many of the supplies are at the beauty supplies store.
The gilding page is here. Halloween is coming! Sparkle up!

Skin safe glue, glitter and face painting supplies available at Silly Farm.

Online Poloroid Maker

Rollip - Create Poloroids from your photos.
Just load your picture and choose from a variety of focus and decoration options.
A gift from the Poloroid Corporation

10.14.09 This morning I saw an announcement that Poloroid is bringing back their instant film and cameras. Yay! I still have my camera and hope that there will be film for it.

Mexican Peasant Dress Instructions

Kathleen Fasanella pays Homage to the humble house dress over on Fashion-Incubator.  I have become a convert to the comfort of dresses. I've been wanting a version of the Mexican peasant dress and blouse.
Cynthia aka redpajamamama has posted some nice instructions for this simple dress style.

Photocopy Printmaking

Tutorial by Claudine Hellmuth on the HGTV Website.