Heart Origami Tutorial

If you are new to origami this origami heart tutorial is super easy and a fun and comes together quickly. It is great for anyone to try and is also friendly for tiny hands too.

What you’ll need:

• Square piece of paper - That’s it!

You can use origami paper if you have it on hand, but I have found that wrapping paper works really well and adds fun colors and designs, but even a post-it note will work!

Step 1

With the color/printed side of your paper facing down, rotate your paper so a corner is facing up (like a diamond) and fold your paper corner to corner.

Rotate it 90 degrees and fold corner to corner again.

Step 2

Take the top corner and fold the tip down to the center where the two folds meet.

Step 3

Take the bottom corner and fold it about halfway past the center where the two folds meet and the corner overlaps the last fold you made.

Step 4

You should now have a piece of paper that looks a little like a crystal laying on it’s side. From here you are going to take each side and fold your paper so the bottom edge lines up with the center fold.

You should have somthing that resembles a “V” now.

Step 5 - 6

Fold back all of the corners at the top of your “V” shaped piece of paper to round them out.

When you flip your paper over it should look like the diagram in step 6.

Step 7

Flip your paper back over and your heart should be complete. You can make more and change up the sizes or paper colors/patterns to get a variety of hearts.

Once you have a couple of hearts you can string them together to make some garland, you can put little notes inside them (think fortune cookie style), put them in your kids lunches, or just use them to decorate a table or wall!

Easy Projects to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Are you looking to become more creative this year? Whether you're an artist or just someone looking to tap into your artistic side, there are many easy projects you can do to get started. Here are 8 ideas to help you boost your creativity in no time:

1.     Sketching or drawing

Sketching or drawing is a great way to develop your artistic skills and creativity. Grab a pencil and paper and start by sketching simple shapes and objects. As you become more comfortable, try sketching more complex subjects like landscapes when you are out walking or traveling or people or animals in your neighborhood.

2.     Collage-making:

Gather a variety of different materials, such as magazines, newspapers, or scraps of fabric, and use them to create a collage on a piece of paper or canvas. This is a fun and easy way to explore color and texture and create a unique piece of art.

3.     Photography:

Take photos of the world around you and experiment with different angles, lighting, and compositions to develop your artistic eye. Even if you don’t have a camera, you can use your smartphone as the cameras on newer phones are really amazing. There are also great resources for learning how shoot iPhone photography online.

4.     Origami:

Fold paper into different shapes and forms to create unique and intricate designs. This is a fun and easy way to create beautiful, three-dimensional art.

5.     Zentangle Art:

Create intricate and repetitive patterns using pen and paper. This can be a relaxing and meditative activity that can help to stimulate creativity.

Image credit visualartspdsf.blogspot.com

6.     Calligraphy:

Learn the art of calligraphy and create beautiful hand-lettered pieces. It is easy to learn the basics and you can use different pens and inks to create different looks. There are several different types of practice books you can purchase to help hone your skills too.

7.     Watercolor painting:

Watercolor painting is a great way to explore color and texture. You can use a small set of watercolors and a pad of watercolor paper to get started. Don’t know where to get started? Try a watercolor kit by Maya x Kiwi!

8.     Sculpting with clay:

Sculpting with clay is a fun and tactile way to create art. You can use air-dry clay, Modeling clay or even play dough to create sculptures and figures. Better yet, you can find a local pottery class where you can meet other creatives.

These are just a few easy artistic projects that you can try if you're looking to become more creative this year. Remember to have fun and don't be afraid to experiment and try new things. With a little bit of practice and patience, you'll be amazed at what you can create!

Celebrate Spring with this DIY Easter Tree Tutorial

Sidney, of GnomeStones, is inspired by nature. You can find her jewelry on Etsy. Just in time for spring, Sidney is sharing this fun Easter tree tutorial. Follow along for all the steps in this fun DIY. Hoppy Spring, y'all!

Making an Easter tree is fun, and you probably have much of what you will need around your home already. Here are the supplies you want to round up:

• Sand
• A large vase
• Spray paint
• Clippers
• Trash bag
• Spring/Easter decorations 

Step One
Find a sturdy, well-branched limb to make your tree

Step Two
Use your clippers to collect your branch

Step Three
Place your vase in the trash bag; put the branch in the vase

Step Four
Fill the vase with sand to keep your "tree" sturdy

Step Five
Be sure the vase is covered with the trash bag and spray paint your "tree" (we used white spray paint)

Step Six
Let the "tree" dry for an hour before bringing it inside to decorate

Step Seven
Add your Easter/Spring themed decorations! 

DIY Valentine's Day Cards for Kids from Kat French Design

We have a really fun DIY Valentine tutorial for you courtesy of Kat French Design. Be sure to check out her smart, hilarious and spot-on stationery in her shop and follow her on Instagram for lots of fun posts. Thank you for letting us share your post with our readers, Kat! ...

As a lover of cards and all things handmade I decided that I wanted my son to make his own Valentine’s Day cards this year.

He is five years old and is at the stage where he loves coloring and cutting with scissors. He needed to be able to make 16 cards to give to his preschool classmates and, at first, I thought that would be way too many cards for a kid that age to make…until I realized that he could make 1 or 2 BIG CARDS and then cut them (which he loves doing) into smaller cards. BINGO.

So here's the process:

 1. Print two of these Valentine’s Day card sheets (8.5″ x 11″). They are double-sided so make sure to print the fronts then run them back through the printer again to print the back sides. I printed on watercolor paper that I trimmed down to size, but it’s not necessary. You can use regular printer paper or card stock.

2. Gather watercolor supplies and let your child go to town. We talked about what colors typically symbolize love (reds, pinks, purples) and I encouraged him to use those…but any bright colors will be just fine. Let dry and flatten with by placing a heavy book on top of them overnight

3. Sign name on card backs.

4. GLITTER! (optional) Apply glue with a cotton swab then sprinkle on glitter. My son got to do the glue and I handled the glitter because that stuff is just a hot mess otherwise. Let dry.

5. Cut cards out along dashed lines.

6. (optional) If your child goes to a school that allows candy or gifts to be attached you can go ahead and use some washi tape to attach a small treat. My son’s class wasn’t allowed to do this (which I am totally thankful for).

This was a fun project that spanned several days for us which was great because it was basically three afternoons worth of crafting. Hallelujah! It also incorporated a ton of fine motor skill builders with painting, cutting and writing.

The only thing I might do differently next time would be to possibly skip the glitter step because I’m pretty sure his teachers and classmates’ parents might hate me after he brings the cards to school and gets glitter on everything. Oops…

Feel free to download the card sheets and make your own. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Join us for Love Letters for Meals on Wheels + how to host your own Love Letters party

We are so excited to see y’all at our Love Letters Challenge event. Every year we team up with Meals on Wheels in Dallas to make Valentine’s Day cards for homebound seniors. This year, we have created a public event so everyone can join us to spread the love around.

Join us at noon on January 27 at Café Izmir in Plano. Food and drink will be available for purchase. Crafts are supplied. Please keep in mind that although this is a family-friendly event, there are a limited number of volunteers to help out so your kids will need your help.

If you can’t attend our event, here are some quick tips to get your own Love Letter Challenge going:

1. Set the date. You’ll want to get your tribe together before Valentine’s Day so the cards make it to Meals on Wheels (or your chosen destination such as a retirement home, hospital, etc.) on time.

2. Get some supplies together.

The fun thing about Valentine’s Day cards is the sky is the limit with creativity and you don’t have to be shy about your abilities. They can be simple and sweet and heartfelt or fancy and flowery!

Ingredients for a nice card:
Assorted construction paper or scrapbooking paper
Ribbon
Scissors
Pencils

Optional:
Glitter
Paper doilies
Stickers
Washi tape
Lace
Stamps

3. Grab some wine and get your friends together. Make it fun! Maybe host a kids party or a mom meet-up. Or host a craft night with your friends. Still need some creative inspiration? Check out this DIY Valentine’s Day card tutorial from The Pig and the Peacock.

4. Spread the love around! Once the cards are finished, deliver them to your chosen destination or mail them to your local Meals on Wheels.

Dallas’ local Meals on Wheels:
VNA Haggerty Center
1440 W. Mockingbird Lane
Dallas, Texas  75247
214-689-2639

Etsy Dallas Craft Party hosted by Mudhen Meat and Greens

We hope you can make it over to Mudhen Meat and Greens from 2 - 4:30 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 9. The annual Etsy Dallas Craft Party features pendants, pompom keychains and leather earrings this year. It's going to be a fun afternoon. And it's free! Let us know you are coming on the Etsy Dallas Craft Party Facebook Event Page. See you this weekend!

DIY sugar skull tutorial

We love this sugar skull DIY from Emily of MushTushy. We are excited to share this with you in time for fall, Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. This tutorial is so fun.

The cool thing about this project is that you can pick anything to paint, whether you want to use a piggy bank, an animal statue or even salt and pepper shakers such as the ones we used here. The options are limitless. For this tutorial, I bought little ceramic salt and pepper shakers from Target for $3 each. The only other supplies you will need are:

- paint pens (my personal favorites are fine point Sharpie oil based ones from Michael's or JoAnn's; be sure to use your coupons too!)
- flat white spray paint primer (my favorite is Rustoleum painters touch 2x cover from Walmart or Home Depot)
- pencil/eraser
- gloss varnish (my favorite is Liquitex gloss medium and varnish from JoAnn's)

I always suggest priming your store-bought statues in order to get the paint to properly adhere. So even if you have a white object, be sure to prime it first, unless it's flat matte white. Be sure to use one thin coat in order to avoid drips, peeling paint and longer dry time. I always try to wait at least a few hours or even overnight before attempting the next steps. 

Once your statue is dry, you can begin drawing your shapes and patterns. The only part I draw on is anything that I want to stay white. For example, for sugar skull patterns with bones, I outline the bones. If you feel more comfortable drawing out your entire design, feel free to do so. But remember the pencil will likely show through your lighter paint colors. Pencil can be erased from the primed surface, so don't be afraid to experiment with designs before using the paint pens.

Look up sugar skull designs, henna patterns, mandala art or any patterns. You can even add words to customize your project. The options for decorating are only limited to your imagination. After I block in the white areas with pencil, I draw my patterns and shapes with the markers. 

Once all your white is outlined and you've filled in the colors, the tedious work begins. Be sure to have a steady hand, and maybe don't attempt this after your 5th coffee of the day. Haha! Use the fine point black Sharpie and start outlining all the shapes with black, and then go back in with the thicker black Sharpie to fill in the remaining background. Once all the black is drawn on, touch up any color areas that have white splotches and then brush on the clear varnish. Don't put it on too thick and don't brush repeatedly in the same areas or color can pull off and the clear may dry a cloudy white.

After it dries, you have your beautiful hand-painted statue ready for display on your mantle, desk, entryway, etc. I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. Please feel free to follow me on Instagram and share photos of your completed projects! 

Full Moon Rug IKEA Hack

Hey friends, Katrina from Rhapsody Letterpress here with a project for you sky watchers and DIYers. My family loves astronomy. I shopped for a moon rug before my son was born but never found one quite right, so we decided to stretch our creative muscles and make one ourselves this week. I put together a short video showing how we did it below using a 51" IKEA ÅDUM rug, a bottle of black liquid Rit dye, bleach, a squirt bottle, and a cloth rag.

We are so pumped about the upcoming eclipse on the 21st, my five year old especially. I hope you fellow moon lovers enjoy!​

Creativity Camp: Jolly Rancher Lollipops

I have a super easy and fun treat for you all today! This was a five star project as rated by my five year old. There is smashing, and sprinkling, and candy licking! You will need foil, skewers (halved) or lollipop sticks, a stapler, Jolly Ranchers, sprinkles, plastic baggies, and a hammer. Gather your supplies, and read on for the tutorial!

Sort your candies by color/flavor, and preheat your oven to 275°F.

Smash them with a hammer inside a plastic bag. 

Roll out several squares of aluminum foil to make the molds, and line a pan with another sheet of foil.

Fold your foil up by half inches all the way up to make a sturdy, pliable mold.

Staple the ends together, being careful to line up the bottom edge of the foil. 

Round the foil molds and fill them with the smashed candies.  Put them in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Pull them out once all the candy has melted. Add sprinkles if you would like them inside your lollipop.

While the candy is still hot, slip the sticks under the foil and twist it into the candy to coat both sides. 

Once the candy has cooled and hardened, break apart the foil mold where you stapled it and peel it off around the sides of the lollipop. Then peel the foil off the bottom.  If you would like to add sprinkles to the outside, dampen the lollipop with water to make it sticky, add sprinkles, and allow it to dry again.

Gift or enjoy! Get creative, and share with us on Instagram @etsydallas #EDCreativityCamp! 

DIY Natural Bug Repellent

Hello Summer! It’s time for the pool, BBQ’s, and all sorts of outdoor fun.  It's also time for mosquitoes, flies, gnats and all kind of other buggy invasions-especially this summer in Texas.

Sabrina & Jenny, of The Pig and the Peacock are here to help you out giving you all natural ways to keep the bugs at bay. Today they are covering essential oils that you can easily get at your local natural grocers that target annoying outdoor bugs. Read on for more info and a recipe to make your own!

Peppermint Oil

With its strong scent and tingly sensation, it is great for repelling lots of different types of bugs. The minty clean aroma of peppermint repels mosquitoes, ants, fleas, beetles,flies. It will even repel spiders! There are a number of ways to use peppermint oil, you can make a spray, burn a candle, or soak cotton balls with the oil.

Lemongrass Oil

Lemongrass is a natural bug repellent. Spend a lot of time in you yard having parties or grilling? Plant some lemongrass around your yard to keep the pests away. You can also make a spray and use this in your home to repel fruit flies (and leave your house smelling oh so citrusy)!

Lavender Oil

If you don’t already have a bottle of Lavender Oil at home, run and get yourself a bottle asap! This magical oil has been used for centuries for a plethora of things, including keeping bugs at bay. In addition to keeping moths out of your closet, it will keep mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks at bay outdoors. Bonus that it smells so good!

Tea Tree Oil

Like Lavender Oil, Tea Tree Oil is another must have around the house with many beneficial properties in addition to repelling bugs. Using Tea Tree Oil either in a spray or on a cotton ball can keep flying insects, spiders, and even lice away.

How to use these oils? The best part about these four Essential Oils besides being easy to find and buy is that they all blend well together.What you’ll need is Lavender and Peppermint Essential Oils, a 2 ounce fine mist spray bottle, witch hazel or vodka,  an eyedropper (if your essential oils did not come with one), and a small bowl or cup. 

To make, take your spray bottle and put it in your bowl or cup to prevent spills. Pour 1 ounce of your witch hazel or vodka into the spray bottle. You could also use rubbing alcohol or a light oil, like sweet almond here too. 

Next, add 10 drops of peppermint oil and 20 drops of lavender oil. If you will be using this on small children, cut the amount of essential oils to 25% as their skin is more sensitive. 

Finally, shake it up to mix it well and put a label on it! Not only will this recipe help keep bugs away but you will smell great too! 

DIY Personalized Notepads with Katrina

Katrina of Rhapsody Letterpress here with a little paper tutorial this morning! Looking for a fun, inexpensive and personal teacher appreciation gift? These homemade monogram notepads are an easy and pretty project you can make with relatively basic supplies you probably already have at home. Pair it with some cute pencils and a nice thank you note, and you will have a personal and practical gift that your kid's teacher would actually use. Check it out!

First, set up your monogram layout on your computer using Word or a design program and print 50 sheets. Remember to print on paper the size you want to make notepads, or cut it down after printing. 4x6 or 5x7 are good standards sizes that most printers can print. I have a guillotine cutter, so I printed on letter paper and cut it down to 4x9 after binding. 

Gather the remainder of your supplies. You will need binder or bulldog clips, cardstock that is cut to the same size as your paper, and rubber cement.

Collate your paper, sandwiching the card stock on the top, the printed paper in the middle, and two pieces of card stock on the bottom. Tap the end of the stack on the table to create a flat edge, then use the binder clips on both sides to secure a tight binding. 

Brush on a liberal layer of rubber cement, and place more binder clips over the area you just glued to keep the edge tightly bound. Allow the rubber cement to dry, and do another layer, placing the binder clips on again to let it dry once more. 

Repeat on each notepad. Allow the cement to dry until it is no longer tacky to the touch, about two hours.  

Once the rubber cement has dried completely and set (overnight or twenty-four hours), carefully peel off the top and bottom layer of card stock, and there you have it! (I used my guillotine to cut mine down in this step.) 

Pat yourself on the back for being so thoughtful and crafty!  Your teachers are going to love it!

Chalkboard Floral Motif Drawing Tutorial

Everyone is working really hard preparing for the Spring Bash on Sunday, myself included. Watch the video below to see one of the many details that goes into making our handmade bashes truly handmade. Can't wait to see you this weekend!

DIY: Valentine's Day Cards

Want to make a thoughtful handmade Valentine's Day card for someone special (or you waited till the last minute and there are zero cards left at the store?) We have a fun and easy tutorial for you today!

Materials needed:

Cardstock - folded in half

Heart cut out of a piece of paper

Embroidery needle

Embroidery floss in your choice of color (or go crazy with several!)

1. Take your heart cutout and trace it lightly on the front of your card - use a pencil for this part
2. Using your embroidery needle poke holes around the heart tracing - be sure to space them out. For the heart on the left you will also need to poke a hole in the center of the heart.
3. Once all the holes have been made, erase the pencil tracing. Select your embroidery floss color.
4. Starting from the top of the heart start making big stitches from each hole to the center.
5. Keep working your way around the heart. You can change colors part way through too.
6. Once complete, tie a knot on the back side of the card to secure the floss and write a message of your choice!

Instead of making stitches through the center you can randomly make stitches all around the hear for a more abstract look, or do lines straight across for a clean look.

Happy Valentine's Day!

DIY: patriotic pinwheels for a sparkly Fourth of July

We've got something festive and sparkly just in time for your Fourth of July. Katrina of Ma Joie Press put together this great DIY. These make great party favors and decorations. Katrina added some to a bouquet of flowers for a holiday centerpiece, and it's adorable. Have a fun, safe and crafty Fourth!

1. What you need: 4.25" cardstock or scrapbook patterned paper squares, flat tacks, chopsticks, scissors, hot glue gun, hole punch, paint brush, glitter, and Elmer's glue.

If you love the paper design in the photos, Katrina was kind enough to share! Here is a letter-size PDF for easy printing. Print one side, then turn it over and print the back.

2. Cut from each corner to about two-thirds to the center of the square.

3. Put a dot of hot glue in the center of the square, and fold a point to the center. Continue dotting the glue and folding until you have a pinwheel.

4. Use your hole punch to make a hole in the center of the pinwheel, right through the dried hot glue.

5. Paint the edges of the pinwheel with Elmer's glue. Add glitter.

6. After the glue is dry, use a tack to secure the pinwheel to a chopstick. Careful not to push it in too tightly or the pinwheel won't spin.

Enjoy!

Etsy Dallas on The Broadcast: DIY Repurposing Picture Frames

Karen from Pinwheel Fair and Kathy from Kathleen Care Jewelry joined the hosts of The Broadcast to show off beautiful ways to recycle your old picture frames. 

Karen makes all kinds of gorgeous chalkboards, pushpins, and pillows in her Etsy shop. We are so happy she shared some of her talent and creative skills with us on the show today and gave us all the details for her Framed Magnet Board. 

Framed Magnet Board:

Supplies:
- Frame

- Sheet metal & tin snips (Home Depot or Loews)

- Ruler & sharpie

- Spray Paint

- Decorative paper or fabric

- Mod Podge & sponge brush

- Foam core

- Duck tape

- Utility knife & cutting mat

- Magnets

1. Remove glass, frame backing and spray paint the frame the color of choice - for best adhesion, lightly sand and prime first.

2. Measure inside of frame from the back - this will be your sheet metal dimensions. If your frame has a glass insert, simply use it as

an easy template to draw onto your sheet metal. Be careful - the sides will be SHARP!

3. "Paint" a thin layer of Mod Podge on to your sheet metal insert and smooth out your decorative paper/fabric carefully removing any air bubbles.  (Don't worry about the overage yet...)

4. Let dry overnight.

5. Cut off paper or fabric edges using your utility knife & a cutting mat to protect work surfaces. 

6. Carefully place your steel insert back into your frame.

7. Cut layers of foam core board to fit, until the frame back is level to the frame.

8. Seal all edges with your duck tape to complete!

Kathy from Kathleen Care Jewelry designs and hand crafts beautiful jewelry. How lovely it would be to make one or two of her display boards to organize all of your jewelry. Here's all the details Kathy shared with us:

Jewelry Display Board: 

Supplies:
- Fabric
- Frame
- Spray Paint
- Cotton batting
- Straight Pins
- Pearl Pins

- Duct or heavy duty tape 

- Double sided tape or glue dots

1. Pick a frame large enough to display your jewelry, hair bows, etc, and make sure the fabric you use extends at least 2 inches on each side.
2. Remove glass, frame backing and spray paint the frame the color of choice
3. Adhere cotton batting to the card board back of your frame. I use either glue dots or double sided tape, cutting off any excess batting.
4. Tautly pull the fabric over your frame backing and secure with either duct tape or framing tape (some people even like to use a heavy duty stapler)
5. Put newly covered frame cardboard back in the frame without the glass.
Done!

See Karen and Kathy in action on The Broadcast!

Save the date: Etsy Craft Party 2014

We are happy to announce our location for the annual Etsy Craft Party is City Craft. The theme this year is all about taking your photographs to new artistic levels. It's BYOP (bring your own photos) but we will have extra photographs for your use, if you don't have prints on hand.

You don't want to miss this little shindig. It's 7 to 9 p.m. on June 6. You can RSVP now for Etsy Craft Party 2014: Recapture. Enjoy an evening of food, drinks and crafty fun. We can't wait to see what you create.

DIY Herb Wreath Tutorial

This morning Regina from Regal Cottage joined Suzy with D the Broadcast to talk about harvesting Fall herbs and making them into a lovely kitchen wreath. This is a great project to store and use your herbs long after you have pruned them back for winter. The herbs will dry on the wreath and you can snip off only what you need for recipes.

Here is the step by step process to making your own.

Step 1: Choose your frame. Pictured here is a lowly coat hanger destined for greatness! I shaped into a circle (sort of). Once the herbs are on, it fills out nicely, so don't worry too much about this. On the show we made two other versions, one used a grapevine wreath and the other an embroidery hoop. The grapevine wreath is best if you don't have tons of herbs to fill it out. You can just place them around the vines, and it looks great without a lot of herbs. 

Step 2: Cut off lengths of herbs in 9-12 inch sections. Bundle several stems together with floral wire. You will need probably 20 or so of these bundles depending on your frame and type of herbs. Our rosemary bushes had become overgrown and it was time to give them a good pruning, so that is what I chose to be the base for this wreath.

Step 3: You want to cover your entire frame. Attach two bundles at once. I used one on the front and one on the back to make sure that the wreath has a nice fullness and the wire doesn't show through.

Step 4: Layer your bundles on the frame to complete the entire circle. 

Step 4: Add in additional herbs strategically around the wreath. Pictured here is fresh basil on top of the rosemary base. You can add to your wreath as you wish. If you wind up later needing to purchase herbs for a recipe, just attach the leftovers to your wreath for later use. The more the better, and they will never go to waste.

Step 5: Finally attach a ribbon hanger. The ribbon I used in this picture is an indoor outdoor material that didn't tie well, so I stapled it together and put the staples to the back.

We would love to see your herb wreaths! Feel free to share them here in the comments, on Instagram (tag @etsydallas), Facebook or Twitter.

Happy crafting!

DIY Hair Clips by Holly: All the Deets!

Here are all the details for the DIY hair clips that Holly and her adorable daughter shared this morning on D: The Broadcast.

If you missed the show, you can catch it here.

Keep it crafty, friends!

Craft Blast from the Past: Puffy Paint Candleholder

Welcome to Craft Blast from the Past, brought to you by Esther from estieMade! When I think of craft supplies from my childhood, puffy paint seems like a staple. I remember making many puffy painted shirts from when I was young and even up to my high school days (for volleyball team spirit). I'm no longer glamming up my shirts with puffy paint, but I'd like to show you how an easy way to use it to make holiday candleholders. It's a fun way to dress up table settings during Christmas!

Materials -small jar (I used a mason jar) -puff paint -Ribbon -battery-powered tealight Steps Take your puffy paint and paint on a design. I found the paint came out most evenly when I squeezed the bottle gently. My mason jars already had X's all along the middle, so I just painted on top of these in different colors. I I alternated between a sparkly gold puff paint and a white one, and ended up with this design. Once you're done with your design, let the paint dry, then cut out a length of ribbon that fits inside your jar. You can glue the ends together if you'd like. Place your battery-powered tealight in the jar, and turn it on. Now admire your new candleholder! Hope you enjoyed this Craft Blast from the Past. Good luck with prepping for the Holidays!

Craft Blast from the Past: Washi Tape Magnets

Esther from estieMade bring us another installment in her awesome Craft Blast from the Past series.

Craft Blast from the Past is back! We're focusing on DIY magnets today. Remember making magnets when you were young? It usually involved gluing circular magnets to some kind of art piece we made, or using magnetic tape on the back of a photo. Today I'm going to teach you to make your own with washi tape and magnetic business cards. It's a quick and easy way to spruce up your fridge or office filing cabinet. I got the inspiration from this tutorial.

Materials

-washi tape

-business card magnets 

-cardstock 

-scissors

Steps

Peel the plastic covering off the magnets to expose the sticky side. 

Place the magnet onto the cardstock and press down firmly. Make sure there are no air bubbles between the magnet and cardstock. Then trim off the excess paper.

Place the washi tape parallel to one of the edges of the business card, then use your scissors and cut along the tape line. Lastly, cut the edges of the magnet. You can either do straight cuts, or you can cut zig zags to mimic the torn edges of washi tape.

Since washi tape is so thin, I thought it'd be fun make a couple magnets with colored paper underneath the tape instead of plain white cardstock. I used sheets from a paper sample book I had at home. (If you're in Texas, you can get these books free from Clampitt for free.)

Since I used pastels, the color underneath came out pretty subtle. I like how it adds just a hint of color to the magnet though. 

Like I said, this is a super-quick project. What will you use your washi tape magnets for?