Friday the 13th! Quick, a Craft!

Who could waste a perfect title like that?  Great time to share a quick craft with you too.  It’s easy, low cost and fun to do!

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All you need is

  1. My FREE HALLOWEEN PRINTOUTS HERE (pictured above) that
  2. Paper and/or paper lunch bags
  3. Scissors & Glue
  4. String (any kind – yarn, thread, fishing line)
  5. One cup hook or large head screw
  6. A small branch from a shrub or tree

Could this be any easier?  Below are two “Done” ones

 

Halloween Handout  Bags

HANDOUT Bags for HALLOWEEN

 

See the “TO DO’s”  HERE and HERE.

Find LOTS Fall projects by going up to the search bar & typing in the following words (one at a time) .

  1. Fall and/or Autumn
  2. EZ-PZ
  3. Mums

That’s it for this freaky Friday 😀

Whatever you do, don’t stress out … just start!

Later – Cheryl

 

 

 

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Ready for VALENTINE Projects?

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Hi, all.  Can you believe it’s almost time for a holiday again? By now, I’m actually glad for another little spruce up opportunity, though.  Christmas is gone and with all of Winter’s white, windy weather, things need some sparkle again.  But, because it isn’t so friendly outside, now is a good time for one of my EZ-PZ projects.

This one is super easy, using things you’ll already have around the house.  AND you don’t need any fancy tools!

SUPPLIES

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PAINT SAMPLE CARDS and TISSUE BOXES are two of my favorite recycled/reuse craft items. They have beautiful colors and designs and are a great weight for cut-outs.

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This project I also used WRAPPING PAPER CUTOUTS & A RED FELT PLACEMAT from among my post-season stash. The mat had a whopping $0.24 price tag. Though I did use a few punches here, I also did many things the old fashioned way … folding and cutting out larger heart shapes to use.

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The wonderful set of punches featured in some of these projects – are not mine. They were on loan from my daughter. I mention this so people won’t be discouraged. Most of my work is done with ordinary, everyday items like scissors, exacto knife and salvaged papers. Same goes for glue. You don’t have to have a hot glue gun or a glue wheel for everything. Less expensive double-sided tapes, tacky glue or elmer’s are available everywhere, and get the job done just fine.

(Not pictured is a small tension-rod for your window. If you don’t have one, they are found in curtain departments and are very inexpensive.)

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SIMPLE STEPS:

Cut five pieces of string. I used twine here. A number of things work; yarn, curling ribbon or fish line. You it light weight enough to have a bit of movement as it hangs down. I cut my longest piece at 25”. Two more pieces were cut at 20” and finally, two pieces at 17”.

TIP: You’ll want to measure your window and see how long you want your pieces. REMEMBER that longer is better, so you have enough to tie to your rod, and more is always good because too much is better than not enough.

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Here I laid out my string. Tops are held down with fun-tac putty and I’ve added my jingle bells at the bottom to help straighten out the twine. Trying a few dry design placements with my cutouts, when satisfied, I began to glue items to the twine.

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NOTE: The paper shapes are all doubled. You NEED TWO IDENTICAL PIECES for each display on your string. When applying, you will lay one cutout FACE DOWN, then place your string over it, and glue the matching cutout over the top. As well as helping the pieces adhere to the string, this gives you a pretty view from either side.

Valentine’s Day is winter of course, so your window will be closed. But you’ll still get movement and in my example, I’ll have lots of movement since this window is above a heat register. In summer, you’ll get breeze from the open window.

Now all I have to do is tie my strings to the curtain rod.

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In my Christmas Window Project SEEN HERE I used coordinating wrapping paper to make a sleeve for the rod. For today’s project, I simply tacked some matching ribbon to the front of the rod so I could hang it higher in the window.

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See you soon for more fun.

As always, try not to stress about it, just start your project.

Later – Cheryl

This original article “VALENTINE Projects” appeared first on Artzzle.com. No included content or photography can be used elsewhere without specific permission from said originators.

Copyright © 2013-2017 Artzzle All Rights Reserved

Yes … Tomorrow is Halloween

Here are some last minute, EZ=PZ’s for tomorrow!

Just Click the Pics and Find the Fun

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PROJECTS

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PROJECTS

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Have a fun and safe Halloween.

Look for much more frequent posts in the weeks to come.

Later – Cheryl

EZ PZ Fall Decor for Whatever … Wednesday #3

EZ PZ décor projects this Wednesday. You can accomplish these with everyday items and just 15 minutes of your time – or less!

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Autumn is the theme today, as we decorate a grapevine wreath.
But colors and pieces can easily be changed up closer to Halloween,
for all you tricksters out there. This is a Make-Do project for me.

Last spring a friend gave me two grapevine wreaths from a yard sale.
One was huge, the other smaller but a bit misshapen.
You know how I love things that are a little imperfect,
“whonky” if you will, so I’m using the small wreath today.

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Last week I cut hips (orange berries) from my fading rose bushes, and I also found some cute mini gourds at a garage sale … 25 cents each or 5 for a dollar. My ribbon stock is slim on Fall colors, but I thought this bright metallic gold would work.

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And finally, two sheets of fun patterned paper from my stash.

Which way is up? Now I had to decide how to hang the wreath. A more horizontal position worked better because of its’ “Whonky-ness”

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Next the ribbon was secured, winding it through some of the branches,
with the end tab on the back side.

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Then, it was easy, wrapping the ribbon around the wreath,

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and gluing the two end tabs together, again on the back of the wreath. ARTZZLE.com ARTZZLE.com

Now I played with the berries and gourds,
deciding where I wanted to place them on the wreath.
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Continuing, I pierced each gourd with the wooden skewers;

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one for the smaller pieces, and two skewers for the larger, heavier piece.

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After those were attached, I simply wove in stems of the rose hip berries
wherever they seemed pleasing.

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You don’t have to be a florist or packaging genius to make a decent bow.

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Here I chose this approach, because I didn’t have a lot of ribbon left to use.  If you want a different look, just google BOW MAKING INSTRUCTIONS for oodles of other ideas.

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Just follow the pictures. I used twist ties to tighten the ends.
These never hold on garbage bags but they work great for things like this!

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Once secured, just play with the ribbon to fluff up the bow.
This is wired ribbon, but the process will work with most other types as well.

After attaching the bow, I wanted to add a bit more color and interest.

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Shapes and little flowers in Fall colors, were cut from the paper
and attached with a dab of glue.

Voila, the finished project, hanging on the front door.  The photo isn’t true to the paper cutouts colors.  They’re more orange and greens.  They look dark pink and tans here.

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NOW REMEMBER … this is a HOW-TO post and I’m making do with what I have already at home.  You may not care for these colors or materials but now you have the process down, and you’ll be using what you have available, making it personal to your style.

At the gourd garage sale, I also found tons of other fun. Like this metallic gold star. I am crazy about star shapes, and not just at Christmas. Just adding it with these glass pieces on my piano, turned out lovely, especially in the morning sunshine!

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You may remember the wreath I made last Fall..

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Below is the 2014 version.  ARTZZLE.com

You can get complete instructions here.

A couple very easy projects here, and the rag wreath for those long, cool evenings that will soon be here!

So don’t stress about it, round up your stuff and start one!
And ya know how I love hearing from you so leave a comment.
Be sure to check “follow this post” so you can receive and see my reply.

Later – Cheryl

Valentines Cards . . . EZ-PZ Make-do Project

Don't forget to decorate and make matching envelopes

Don’t forget to decorate and make matching envelopes

Hi All.

Today begins my mini-marathon of fun projects for Valentine’s celecbrations.

Starting off with some very simple, make-do cards. Remember, my make-do projects are done with no extra shopping, just using what I have available in my stash at home. These turned out nicely.

Here’s my SUPPLY LIST:
1. Heavy card stock or construction paper for the actual card (8 1/2 x 11″ sheets)
2. Pretty papers to decorate the card – here I used wrapping paper and paint sample cards.
3. Decorative scissors and/or punches. I used both.
4. Glue – I used both Tacky Glue and my Glue Wheel. The wheel is cleaner.
5. Invitation size envelopes – I have these on hand, but you can purchase anywhere. Invitation size is 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″.

MAKING CARDS: Wrapping paper scraps, paint color and color range cards

MAKING CARDS: Wrapping paper scraps, paint color and color range cards

TIP: During my post-season shopping this year, I got some great deals on beautiful wrapping paper, in generic colors that can be used all year round. These cost $1.00 each a roll, opposed to the $4 – $5 seasonal price. So I got all five rolls for the price of one originally!

Paint sample cards available FREE at any paint department or store

Paint sample cards available FREE at any paint department or store

Any store with a paint department has various paint sample cards and sheets and they’re FREE.

Paint color range cards.  Use the colors seperately or cut shapes across two colors for a fun look

Paint color range cards. Use the colors seperately or cut shapes across two colors for a fun look

Decorative Punches.  You can also just cut out your own shapes.

Decorative Punches. You can also just cut out your own shapes.

INSTRUCTIONS are so easy.

Take your sheet of card stock and cut it in half, so you have two pieces 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ diameters.

A half sheet heavy paper (half of an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet) An invitation sized envelope (4 1/4 x 5 1/2")

A half sheet heavy paper (half of an 8 1/2 x 11″ sheet)
An invitation sized envelope (4 1/4 x 5 1/2″)

Now BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR PERMANENT FOLD, loosely hold the edges together and trim with a decorative scissors, cutting both at the same time. Or just fashion a design with regular scissors.

1/2 sheet with top/bottom edges trimmed.

1/2 sheet with top/bottom edges trimmed.

Once trimmed, make your permanent FOLD. Here, I wanted a tongue fold but you can just do a normal 1/2 fold if you want. I like the tongue fold because the inside hangs out below in the front and you get to see pretty decorations on the inside as well as just the front.

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I sat for a time and just punched out various sizes and shapes of designs. Then I played with shapes and laid out various designs.

Layout your design

Layout your design

Then just glue things on. I prefer a glue wheel, because it doesn’t get any overlap glue on the front of your card and decorations. But tacky glue works too, you just have to be more careful.

Glue onto card with tacky glue OR a dry-glue wheel.

Glue onto card with tacky glue OR a dry-glue wheel.

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For your message, you can handwrite a message. I often use metallic colored markers for this. Or as in the picture below, I just type a little verse in a fun font, cut it out and pasted it in. I thought this card’s front looked like eyes in glasses frames and I had used stars so I said “Your Love has me Seeing Stars”.

Inside, you can type up a little verser or write a message with a pretty marker (metallic colors are nice)

Inside, you can type up a little verse or write a message with a pretty marker (metallic colors are nice)

That’s it for today, but watch for another project soon.

As always, don’t stress, just start that project.

Later -Cheryl

This original article “Valentines Cards…an EZ-PZ Make-do Project” appeared first on Artzzle.com. No included content or photography can be used elsewhere without specific permission from said originators.

Copyright © 2013-2014 Artzzle All Rights Reserved