Paper Holiday Wreath

A here with a cheap DIY alternative to the traditional evergreen wreath.  This one is made entirely out of paper and staples, making it light weight enough to hang with a suction cup hook.  To make your own, you will need:

• Leftover frozen pizza box (or other lightweight cardboard)
• Five sheets of 12x12 scrapbook paper, or wrapping paper
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Stapler and staples
• Ribbon for hanging

Captain America Tree Skirt

This post is a real first in 'With Our Powers Combined.' This one is legitimately a group project, whereas previous posts have been kind of one-sided, even if they represent a joint interest. So, here's where we walk you through making your very own Captain America tree skirt. One of the fun parts of this thing is it looks like a regular tree skirt when there's presents under there, and then BAM! Maximum nerd stealth as you open the gifts on your holiday of choice.

You'll Need:

• 1 yard red felt (72")
• 1/2 yard white felt (72")
• 1/4 yard blue felt (72")
• 1 dollar store tree skirt (ours was 42" across)
• all of the pins
• star & circle pattern pieces (provided below)

Tea Wreath

A here with another great DIY gift idea!  This one is for the tea drinker in your life.  You know, the one who likes to knit scarves by the fire surrounded by a harem of cats (just kidding, Goose).  Anyway, this wreath is a festive way to keep those tea packets at the ready and not stashed away in the back of the pantry.  To make it you'll need:

• 24 packets of tea
• 24 wooden clothespins
• A leftover box from a full-size frozen pizza
• Patterned papers
• A way of drawing/tracing circles
• Scissors
• Hot glue
• Paper glue (Elmers or Scotch archival glue work great)
• Ribbon

Stone Tile Coasters

 A here with a quick and easy housewarming/Christmas/just because I like you so damn much gift!  The best part is that they're infinitely personalizeable.  Most of the photos for the DIY are of a Christmas set, but that's just because I didn't think to get process shots of my other sets.  To make a set for yourself (or someone else you like) you'll need the following:

4" square stone tiles (available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc.)
Staz-On stamp pad (the brand is important for this project)
Rubber stamps
Paste Wax (Minwax makes it, and it's usually in the floor wax/stain area of a hardware store)
Clean white cloth (I use old T-shirt scraps)
Adhesive backed felt feet, 4 per tile used

WOPC Grab Bag Challenge #1

 

Hey there, fans. We're introducing an idea that we hope to revisit regularly: the Grab Bag Challenge. WOPC GBC #1 is Halloween themed because of course it is. Also, it's what was available for $2 at Michael's. The plan is to pick up this sort of offering periodically and plan at least one project (if not  a couple) using ingredients from the Grab Bag. It's like Chopped, but for crafts.

 

So, what did we get this time? Let's take a look:

Starting from the left, it looks like sparkly Halloween decorations on sticks: couple of skulls, a pumpkin or two, wooden cat cutout, and a large witch hat in orange. Next up, two resin hooks with Qs, some foam wrap tape, and a plethora of vinyl window clings in cartoon Halloween theme. Top center is a feather and My Little Pony-tail headband "costume", a resin cross in rustic bark finish, funfoam ghost kit, and Halloween decoration balls. The last column is Halloween paper crinkles, cupcake/cookie decorating stencils, and two pairs of coasters in navy floral and stripe.

Wow. Just... wow. On the one hand, we appreciate a challenge. On the other hand, I can see how this ended up a $2 grab bag at a craft store. We're formulating a plan. So, here's where you guys come in: We're open to ideas, ways of looking at this bundle of Halloween joy, or techniques you're keen to see us tackle on the blog. What would you do with this bounty? We'll be posting our answer in the next couple weeks, and we can all get together and compare notes.

And you thought we were done with Halloween...

Castlemolds 2: Household Uses

J here with the ongoing drama of Hirst Arts' Castlemolds. As I discussed last time, these are silicon molds that let you make miniature castle parts. But what can we make other than chess boards and (presumably) castles? Well, I'm glad you asked.

As this isn't necessarily a step-by-step tutorial, I'll refrain from the "You Will Need" of our other projects and instead point out that I own maybe seven molds, of which I probably only used parts from four molds in either of these projects. But if you want to build a business card holder or incense burner of your own, follow along!

Hirst Arts' Castlemolds

J here with a product/technique that has some applications pretty much anywhere. Bear with me, it's worth the trip.

I'm by hobby a wargamer. I also like making stuff and think games work better when there's as much appeal as possible. Nice art, sexy boards, good cardstock. You know, added value. So I got into wargame terrain in high school and college, skills that have gone on to help me with some pretty amazing models in my design career for the stage.

But to crank out dungeons and castles for things like D&D, it was a little harder to just mass produce that stuff. These days, a few companies fill that gap, but one lets the designer in you really shine: Hirst Arts Castlemolds.