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~~~ CRAFT IDEAS ~~~

PennyWise does not assume responsibility for the advice
given. It is up to each reader to determine if such
advice is safe for his or her own situation.

“Soapy the Snowbaby”
Paula Vogelgesang

2 cups Ivory powdered soap

1/2 cup water

Trims for Snowbaby scarf and hat

Toothpicks

Sticks or chenille stems for arms

Whole cloves for the eyes and mouth

Whole allspice,little buttons or beads
Orange craft paint or marker

I hereby declare January the Month of the Snowmen — or to be “politically correct” Snowpeople!

Christmas is over and there is no other holiday until February when all the hearts show up. Snowmen are good for all winter. January is a month usually filled with snow, so let’s make it Happy Snow. This is a little Snowbaby you can make that is quick and easy to make, and it doesn’t cost much either.

Mix the soap flakes and water till doughy. It looks awfully dirty, but will dry nice and white. Shape the soap into 3 balls with your hands — small, medium and large.

Put a toothpick in the middle of the large ball about halfway and then gently press the middle ball down on that. to stabilize the Snowbaby. Then put a toothpick halfway into the middle ball and insert it into the small ball to stabilize the head to the body.

Use orange craft paint or the marker to paint a toothpick orange, let it dry and then break the end off to make a nose the size you want. Insert the orange toothpick into the head. Push in the eyes, mouth and the buttons on the front. Cut a couple of sticks (I cut twigs off the ash tree in the front yard) and put them in place for arms.

Dress the Snowbaby any way you want. I used a little hat that used to be an ornament, and tore a scrap of fabric for the scarf (there are little hats available at craft stores — look in the ornament section.)

Set the Snowbaby aside and let it dry completely. I set mine on one of those free CD’s that come in the mail. You can glue it down if you need to.

Father’s Day candy feeder

By Paula Vogelgesang

Chick feeder

Quart jar

Bag of candy

An easy gift for Father’s Day is a candy feeder.

You need a chick feeder (found at a Hardware Store for about $3.)

1 Quart glass jar (recycle a mayonnaise jar)

A bag of candy (jelly beans, lemon drops, Lifesavers, peppermint drops, etc.)

Fill the jar with candy, screw on the feeder and flip it over. The candy can be taken out one piece at a time and the whole thing looks good on a desk

Make-It-Yourself Drum Composter

By Paula Vogelgesang

1 garbage can with a tight fitting lid

Electric Drill

Depending on the price of the garbage can, this can cost about $20. The cheapest drum composter I found was $169 PLUS the shipping!

Make sure you use a garbage can with a tight fitting lid or one you can tie down good and solid. Electric Drill: you will need to drill a minimum of 20-30 holes in the sides, top, and bottom of the garbage can. Layer in the materials to be composted. Usually a combination of dry leaves, dried grass clippings, old cow or horse droppings, kitchen waste, shredded paper, etc.

Dampen the whole works and put the lid on the can. Set the can on some bricks so it can drain. Every day or so, tip the can on it’s side and roll it around the yard a couple of times, Return it to it’s spot, take the lid off so it can get some fresh air, and use an old pitchfork to stir the contents around a bit before replacing the lid.

According to the folks that used this, it takes about 4-6 weeks for useable compost.

MINI-TRAVEL DESK

One of those metal cake pans with the sliding/pop-off lid makes a perfect mini-desk for kids and adults on the go.
Fill the inside of the pan with paper, pencils, markers, crayons, and other needed items and store in the car under the seat.
The metal sliding top is perfect as a writing surface and is easily cleaned if markers or crayons miss their mark.

SANTA TRACKS

A reader writes: Here’s a hint I used when my kids were small, and I look forward to using this idea for the grandkids when they spend Christmas with us.

Use a piece of cardboard (a cereal box works well), and trace around a big boot.
Cut out the center boot part to make a stencil of a footprint.
Put some baking soda in a salt shaker and then make SANTA TRACKS across the floor to the Christmas tree.
Just flip the pattern/stencil over for the right and left tracks.
This works well on plain flooring as well as carpeting and is easily cleaned with a damp rag or the vacuum.

VALENTINE WREATH

For a quick and easy Valentine Wreath you can use either of the following ideas, which use a heart-shaped form.

# 1. Cover the shape with red cellophane or tissue paper. Scrunch it for texture and either pin or glue to the form.
Decorate with wrapped chocolates either glued or pinned to the paper. Another variation would be to use 2” wide strips of fabric
(torn, not cut) and wrap the wreath with this before adding the chocolates.

# 2. Use a grapevine heart-shaped form. Tie on small inexpensive red toys with hearts (mine cost 99 cents each and I used two,
a teddy bear and a puppy). Then simply insert valentine sucker sticks in the wreath wherever you wish. Hang and let the kids enjoy.

OLD - FASHIONED ICE CANDLES

You will need:
clean waxed paper juice or milk cartons
ice chips
canning wax from the grocery store, about 1-1/2 boxes or 1-1/2 pounds
a coffee can to melt the wax in
a taper candle (colored)

Melt the wax over a double boiler (be very careful ... wax is extremely flammable).
Center the candle in the middle of the waxed carton and surround the candle with the ice chips to the top of the carton.
Carefully pour the melted wax over the ice until the carton is full of the wax. Let this set for at least 2 hours, then pour out the water, and peel away the waxed carton.
The wax will have holes in it similar to Swiss cheese where the ice chips were ... they look somewhat like lace and are really pretty. Every single one is different.
These can set in the middle of an arrangement; they look beautiful when burning. Some of the colored wax will come out through the ice holes as the candle inside burns.

CHALKBOARD TABLE

All kids love to draw and if paper is not available, they will use the walls, floor or the good tablecloth.
A television decorating show had a child’s chalkboard table for $300 (at that price, the kid wouldn’t be allowed to touch it)! I made one for just $10. Very affordable for parents.

You need:
A little round plywood or masonite decorative end table with 3 dowel legs ($5.88 at a discount store)
A can of chalkboard paint ($ 2.79...same store)
Acrylic craft paint (optional)

Sand the tabletop and legs. I did cut the legs down 5 inches with a
band saw, after taping the legs together so they wouldn’t shift.

I sprayed the tabletop 3 times, sanding between coats. Then I painted
the legs ... one yellow, one blue and one red.

With the addition of a 59 cent box of chalk, I have a toy that is irresistible to
my 2 little neighbor gals (they are 2 years old).

I had a couple of old metal folding chairs I had gotten at an auction years ago. I did repaint them to go with the table, but you can buy the little plastic chairs in the discount store for about $3 each.

HOMEMADE FLOWER PRESS

Pressed flowers are great to use for decorations on stationary, lampshades, jars and bottles full of bath oil or bath salts, but are quite expensive to purchase. The stores do sell kits for making flower presses, but they run about $15 and are nothing more than 2 pieces of board and either twine or maybe big screws and washers......it’s not necessary.

You can make your own pressed flowers with nothing more than an old telephone book and a stack of books.

Pick pansies, Johnny jump ups, wild roses, daisies, ferns of all kinds, tansy leaves, (in other words, any flower or leaf that will press Flat)

Open the phone book about a half-inch from the bottom. Lay in 5 or 6 flowers, allow about another 1/2 inch of phone book pages and repeat until you run out of flowers or the book is about full. Put the phone book of flowers in an out of the way spot...and pile on heavy books...I use 7 or 8 encyclopedia books. Leave undisturbed for a couple of weeks. Then, check to see if the flowers are completely dry. If so, they can be put in a flat box and kept there to use however you want. If they aren’t completely dry, leave them in the book for another week. (daisies and sometimes roses will take longer).

COOL CRAYONS

Those broken bits of crayons the kids bring home from school can be
salvaged quite easily by making larger crayons in candy molds.

Melt the crayons from the same color family .... all yellows, blues,
greens, etc. … in washed vegetable cans. I set the cans in a pan of hot
water set on simmer so they melt slowly.

Then I just swirl the colors around a little, cool to lukewarm, and pour
the resulting mixture into candy molds. Set them aside to cool a few
minutes, then pop the new crayons out.

You can have flowers, animals ... most anything. I have a set of ice cube
trays in the shape of farm animals. These are super for a birthday gift
at the last minute, or save them for stocking-stuffers at Christmas for
the under-5 set. I got my molds at garage sales, but have seen them in
the bargain bins for under a dollar.

JAR FLAT DECORATIONS

This is a great recycling project for scout troops, 4-H clubs, folks in nursing homes, etc.

Items needed include:
Clean used jar flats
Used cards from Easter, Mother’s Day, Birthday, Christmas or photographs.
Glue, glitter, yarn, rick-rack, ribbons, or anything else that will glue on to the flat.

Cut the pictures to fit the size of the jar flat. Glue them to the flat. Let the glue dry and then start decorating with the ribbons, glitter, flat craft jewels, etc.

You can glue two of the flats together so you have decorations on both sides. Glue on a piece of ribbon or yarn to use as a hanger. A hot glue gun works great for this project if safety rules are followed. Several of these decorated photo flats can be glued on a wide ribbon and used as a photo gallery for grandparents or other relatives.

SEA SHELLS REVISITED

If you have some nice-sized shells and some leftover scented candle odds and ends, you can make something beautiful for your bathroom or bedroom at practically no cost.

To begin, you will need to purchase some wicking at the craft store. Around here, it’s about $2 for 10 feet...that’s a lot of candles! I don’t use the little metal wick holders. I just tie the wicking around a washer from my junk drawer...does the same thing and it’s free!

Melt the wax in a clean old tin can in a double boiler. Put the wick tied to the washer in the center and add some melted wax. Let it set up and then add a little more wax. You may have to hold the wick up. I tie the wicking onto a pencil and suspend it between a couple of small drinking glasses. It’s a little unorthodox, but it works.

These also make a nice addition to a bridal shower gift. Purchase some towels on sale and add a few of these candles for extra pizzazz.

BLUE JEANS BONUS

One of my favorite gifts to give small or not so small boys and girls, is a Blue Jeans Quilt. They wear like iron, and when made from recycled jeans, can be quite cost effective. There are several different ways to make them and time usually dictates how they are made in this house.

I cut the squares (about 5”) from the good parts of the jeans over the year as they wear out too much to patch...or someone gives me a pile of old jeans they’ve discarded. To assemble the quilt, I usually just stitch the squares together to get the size I need, add a backing and tie in the middle of the squares with scrap yarn or crochet cotton. I then zig-zag around the outer edges to reinforce it.

My jean quilts are usually sized so they can be carried in the vehicle in the winter...or tossed on the floor and flopped on. In fact, I call ‘em Floor Flops. I have learned though not to put anything in the middle for a batting. I usually use an old blanket for the backing and with anything extra in the middle, they are simply too heavy.

My expense for these quilts is next-to-nothing, usually no more than the cost of the thread and the time it takes to put them together. My quilts are usually made for kids, but they can be made in larger sizes for bigger beds or to use for impromptu picnics. They also work quite well under a sleeping bag as an extra padding.

Ragged blue jeans are easy to obtain. Simply “put out the word,” and chances are you’ll get more than you bargained for.

If you have craft ideas to share, please send them to
paula@smart-penny.com

PennyWise
P.O. Box 518
Kadoka, SD 57543-0518