Crafts

How to Dress Up Like Dr. Seuss Characters

The popular author Dr. Seuss is remembered yearly on his birthday, March 2, also known as "Read Across America" day. Many schools and communities celebrate this day by encouraging kids and adults to dress like Dr. Seuss characters. The planning and execution of the costume may be easier and more fun than you think.

How to Make Wall Tattoos

Contact paper cut into shapes and adhered to your wall makes a modern, stylish wall tattoo. This is the perfect solution if you rent, as the tattoos are completely removable and leave no trace or damage behind. Use shapes for your tattoo, or get more ornate. Whatever you choose, this is a great way to be creative as you decorate.

DIY: Avatar Costumes

The movie "Avatar" is famous because it is one of the first mainstream 3D movies, with a beautiful universe and engaging plot line. The movie centers on an alien race, known as the Navi. The Navi are large, blue humanoid creatures and have spawned many different costume and makeup inspirations since the movie first came out. Although making a homemade Avatar costume is time consuming, the overall effect will be worth the effort.

How to Box Braid Craft Lace for Beginners

Learning to work with craft lace may look difficult to a beginner. Once you begin learning the steps, however, even those with no experience find themselves amazed at the ease of the most basic stitches. The box stitch or square stitch, easiest to learn of all the stitches, will create professional looking lanyards and key chains that you might give as gifts. Once you have learned the basic box stitch, other stitches come easily, and before long you will find yourself making a great variety of goodies for yourself, friends and family.

How to Make a Clay Clock

Polymer clay has a variety of uses for craft projects and other customized projects. You can even use the clay to make a customized clock to use at home, give as a gift or sell. Use a clock mechanism purchased for the purpose of making customized clocks. Make sure the mechanism can glue into place, rather than screw in place, as it is difficult to screw through clay without causing damage to the surface.

Creating Your Own Barbie House

Barbie dolls were introduced in 1959 by the co-founder of Mattel, Ruth Handler. They were hugely popular in their first year -- over 300,000 were sold -- and continue to be adored by young girls and collectors around the world. If you have a daughter who loves playing Barbie, why not help her make a home for her friends?

How to Make a Jousting Stick

Jousting was a medieval sport that tested the skill and accuracy of knights during mounted arms practices. Though it faded into antiquity for practical purposes in the 16th century, modern revivals of jousting competitions span the globe. Organizations that host such competitions often have their own rules for constructing appropriate, non-lethal lances.

How to Paint Windows & Door Trims

The trim of windows and doors can be the hardest part of a home painting project, especially if you haven't wielded a brush before. Rolling is the fun part, but the precision needed to make trim look great takes a bit more preparation and practice. There are two things you can do to make the process flow. First, invest in good masking tape. The better stuff won't leak like cheap tape, so you keep crisp edges. Second, get a good brush. For a few more bucks, you get a much better tool, and that can make a big difference in how the job goes.

A DIY Bigfoot Costume

Bigfoot, also commonly known as Sasquatch, is a hairy creature that resembles an ape yet is much larger. The creature, which walks upright, has been reported as being about 8 or 9 feet tall, with large hands and feet. Although reportedly spotted all over the world, experts and the public aren't convinced the creature exists. Ensure a Bigfoot sighting by putting together a homemade costume to fit your size and comfort level. Even children can pull off a simple Bigfoot costume.

How to Make a Wire Bike

Many bike enthusiasts display bike memorabilia in their homes and at work. An innovative way to make a bike is with wire. The wire is bent into a representational model of the bike displaying the wheels, simplified bike frame, handles and seat. Set aside three to four hours to complete a wire bike project.

How to Color Sunprints

Sunprints are made with heliographic paints. An object is set on a sheet of paper or fabric painted with special paints and exposed to sunlight. The sunlight darkens the exposed areas, and the area of the fabric underneath it turns white. The light sensitive chemical chemically reacts when exposed to sunlight, and the paints darken, while the covered areas turn white.

How to Paint a Pine Ceiling

Pine ceilings have a rustic, old world feel to them, and when painted correctly, they can be a beautiful addition to your home. Paint wiping is a technique used to eliminate excess paint so that the natural grain of the pine wood can show through while still coloring the wood.

How to Bead a Butterfly

Beaded animals and insects can be made into beautiful key chains, belt clips or zipper pulls. Pony beads are strung onto craft lace and weaved within each other to create patterns. Different colored beads within the patterns create artwork that resembles animals. Beading a butterfly is a simple project, ideal for someone learning to create beaded animal patterns. Customize the colors of your butterfly by adding different colored beads while you weave the craft lace.

How to Paint Your Own Superhero Suncatchers

Make your own superhero suncatcher to add some brilliant color to your room. You will need some inexpensive materials that can be found in a home improvement store or where craft supplies are sold.

How to Make a Stem & Leaf Display

A stem and leaf plot, also known as a stem and leaf display, is a simple, clear method of data organization. Stem and leaf plots highlight the distribution of data across a set, and are particularly useful in sets with large quantities of numbers, such as temperature information or sports scores. Even if you don't have a degree in statistics, you can easily create a stem and leaf display to organize and evaluate your data.

How to Make Magic Putty

There is something satisfying about running your fingers through a goopy mixture of magic putty. Whether you call it "oobleck," "magic putty," or some other name, this gooey mixture puts smiles on the faces of young children and adults alike. Rather than heading to the store and buying some sort of dough or putty, its easy to make your own magic putty with materials found around most homes.

How to Braid Gimp

Making crafts from gimp is a childhood memory that many individuals treasure. Also referred to as plastic lace, gimp is a craft material that comes in many colors. Children of all ages can weave lengths of gimp together to create various projects, such as jewelry and lanyards. One way to use gimp is to braid it; while there are many types of braids, the basic three-strand braid is an ideal starting place. The results are attractive and make thoughtful homemade gifts.

How to Make Your Own Fridge Magnets From Photos

Photo magnets are a unique way to display pictures of family and friends. Creating your own photo magnets is often less expensive and faster than ordering photo magnets from a commercial photo center. Regular 4-by-6 inch photos work best for most photo magnet crafts. Less detailed photos or closeups of people and pets work better with smaller magnets.

How to Paint a Sad Clown

Each clown has its own emotion and behavior, which is read very clearly just by looking at its painted face and clothes. The sad clown, such as the Harlequin and Pierrot, is an archetype that was developed from the 16th to 18th century in Commedia dell'Arte performance. The characterization of this sad clown is associated with malaise and depression. When painting a sad clown, three important elements to incorporate are his posture, costume and the colors in which he is painted.

How to Make a Paper Stained-Glass Window

Stained glass windows consist of pieces of colored glass arranged in decorative designs. As sunlight shines through the colored glass, the designs are illuminated and a colorful glow appears. Although stained glass windows are difficult to create and require special equipment, you can get a similar result by decorating a window with pieces of colored tissue paper.