Make Crafts

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 Make a Rickrack Flower

Rickrack isn't just for quilt edging any more. This ribbon is perfect for fashion hair bows, pins and scrapbook embellishments. Create ruffled flowers with rickrack and coordinating buttons in minutes to match any outfit or layout. Rickrack, available at your local craft or fabric store, comes in a variety of widths and colors to experiment with. Make a dramatic statement with the textile charm of rickrack flowers.

Norman Bridwell's Writing Technique

Since 1963, Norman Bridwell has authored over 40 children's books with over 44 million copies still in print. The Kokomo, Indiana native, most widely known as the writer and illustrator of the "Clifford the Big Red Dog" and "The Witch Next Door" book series, has turned his method for crafting children's books into a true science.

Spider Craft With Suckers

Spider sucker crafts are a fun way to get children involved in decorating and learning. Using suckers and black pipe cleaners, your kids can make a "spook-tacular" treat to pass out during a party. Spider sucker crafts can also be used to teach young children about spiders or to provide a visual for a school project.

Lollipop Tree Crafts

Lollipop tree crafts are a cute way to decorate a party table with an eye-catching and inexpensive homemade edible arrangement. Children will love the colorful candies and the fanciful take on a holiday candy dish. Lollipop trees can be made for birthday parties and holidays such as Christmas, Easter and Halloween.

How to Make Trees Out of Fuzzy Sticks

The fuzzy sticks that you can use to create crafts with the whole family are known as pipe cleaners. You can purchase them in a variety of colors, and you can bend and twist them into almost any shape. Around the holidays or for a special project, you can use the pipe cleaners to create a tree. With a few colorful beads, you can easily make a holiday tree. If you make multiple trees, you can easily build an entire miniature forest of fuzzy stick trees.

Scalloped Edge Paver Crafts

Walk through any lawn and garden department, hardware retailer or landscape supply store and one of the prominent items on display are pavers for making walkways, patios and retaining walls. Scalloped-edge pavers are some of the most common. Typically featuring a flat side opposite a scalloped edge, these pavers are favorites for garden edging and walkway accents. With a little creativity and a few supplies, leftover pavers from an outdoor project can become more than just decorative precast concrete. Ideas include doorstops, holiday decor or any number of charming crafts.

How to Make a Flower Out of String

By making an uncomplicated flower loom from corrugated cardboard, you can fashion sturdy flowers from string. Look for thick string and twine at hardware stores for the flowers, which can also be made from worsted weight cotton or wool yarn. The resulting flowers can be used as decorations on hats and can be attached to clothing with safety pins. These string flowers can also be tied together in rows for a string flower border for a bulletin board or wall decoration.

Headband Holder Craft

Headbands abound when the girls in the family need to keep their face clear of hair. Headband styles vary as much as hairstyles. From frills and lace to colored elastic, there is a headband to match every occasion. With so many types of headbands, the clutter becomes overwhelming. Keep everything organized with a headband-holder craft that keeps your hair accessories grouped in one place.

How to Make a String of Flowers

Symbolic of the Hawaiian vacation is the flowered lei, placed around a visitor's neck when he first arrives on one of the islands. Of course, not every tourist receives a lei, yet it is a popular notion. The flower lei is a necklace made from a string of flowers. Dental floss makes a sturdy string for the lei to hold the flowers. Yet, strings of flowers can serve other purposes. Creative crafters use strings of flowers to make streamer-like decorations for a party or hair ornament.

A Handmade Ribbon Holder

No gift is complete without a pretty little ribbon, which means your craft room is likely cluttered with spools of different shades and fabrics. Instead of running around in circles desperately searching for you favorite satin ribbon, opt to make a simple organizer out of household objects and simple crafting supplies. Organizers are inexpensive, functional and an effective way to ensure that you'll never lose a ribbon.

How to Make a Pirate Ship Out of Sticks

Whether you are a student with a class project on pirates or an adult wishing to construct his own stylized miniature ship, wooden craft sticks are an ideal craft supply for making pirate ships. Schooners were a favorite type of boat among buccaneers because of their smaller size and faster speed, which allowed them to move swiftly and stealthily. Craft stick schooners can be assembled quickly and efficiently.

How to Make an Ojibway Dream Catcher With Gemstones and Feathers

A long time ago Asibikaashi, a spider woman, saved her people the Ojibway by bringing the sun back to them. The Objiway made dream catchers to teach their children about their beloved Asibikaashi and the miracle she preformed. Dream catchers are round to symbolize the sun. The web in the circle honors Asibikaashi. The feathers, eagle for courage and owl for wisdom, symbolize the traits of Asibikaashi. The gemstones in the web represent the eventual dispersing of the Objiway clans. The dream catcher web captures bad dreams until the sun can dissolve them. The peaceful dreams pass safely through the web.

How to Make Your Own Craft Molds

Craft molds come in various materials such as plastic, rubber, silicone and plaster. Having a craft mold allows you to create several identical pieces with minimal effort. You can make a three-dimensional mold at home using inexpensive ingredients such as plaster and clay. Select an object you want to replicate and this will be your model or prototype. You can also build your own model in clay, but you need to fire and varnish or glaze it before you start making the mold.

How to Make Folk Art Dolls With Moving Arms and Legs

Folk art is a term that refers to any type of art that is made by someone with little or no formal training, and styles of folk art vary from region to region, reflecting local culture, values and styles. This is also true of folk art dolls, which are dressed and styled to reflect the aesthetic values of the cultures they come from. You might want to try making such a doll yourself. Dolls that are poseable are often more interesting. Making a poseable doll is not difficult, but it needs some planning.

An Opossum Craft

There are more than 60 species of opossum in the world, although the only one found in the United States and Canada is the Virginia or common opossum. Also referred to as "possums," these scavenger marsupials grow to about 2.5 feet from snout to tail and "play dead" when threatened by predators. Create opossum crafts as a method of teaching children about these animals or as part of a series of art projects.

How to Make a Coin Shell

Making a coin shell is a creative way to express your passion for the beach. Build your reservoir of loose change collected from your pockets, couch cushions and coin purses. Try your luck with small shells at first and, as your craft skills increase, use larger conch shells. The trick to making a coin version of a shell is to use an actual shell as a building template. Once your shell is complete, display it on a bedside table or living room mantel to remind you of your love for the sea.

How to Make a Yo-Yo From a Button

Egyptian temples, the Duke of Wellington and Napolean have all had some involvement with yo-yos. Pictures of yo-yos have adorned Egyptian temples, and Napolean and the Duke of Wellington favored this toy. Revel in the history of this toy by making your own yo-yo .