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General Craft Ideas Table of Contents

Preserve Roses with Sand or Silica Gel

Preserving roses is easy. You only need the head of the flower or bud so first cut off the stems.

Sand Method
The sand must be clean and dry in order to preserve the flowers. To clean the sand place the sand in the cleaning container and pour water over it. Stir the sand so the dirt rises to the top. Let the sand settle and pour off the water. Repeat this again until all the dirt is gone. Spread the sand out in the shallow container and let it dry.

Spread a 2" layer of sand in a sturdy container. Place the roses, petal side up in the container making sure that the flowers aren't touching. Gently pour the sand over the flowers until they are completely covered. Leave the container open.

The roses will dry in 3 to 5 weeks. Remove the roses gently with the slotted spoon and brush off the sand with the paint brush.

Silica Method
Spread a 2" layer of silica gel in a sturdy container. Place the roses, petal side up in the container making sure that the flowers aren't touching. Pour more silica gel over the roses until they are completely covered. Place the lid over the container.

This process takes 3 to 7 days. Be sure to check the roses daily as overdrying will cause the flowers to disintegrate. Remove the roses with the slotted spoon and brush off the silica gel with the paint brush.

You can reuse the silica gel again, let it dry until it turns blue again.

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Easy Flower Preservative

Thoroughly mix the Borax and cornmeal. Place a 3/4" layer of this mixture into the bottom of the box. Cut the stems off the flowers leaving about 1 inch. Place the flowers with the petals down into the preservative. Make sure the flowers aren't touching. Cover the flowers completely. Place the lid on the box and store it at room temperature.

This takes approximately 3 to 5 weeks. Remove the flowers gently and brush them off with a small paint brush.

You can use straight borax as a flower preservative just vary the method a little by lining a coffee can with a plastic bag then place about 1 inch of borax in the bottom. Place your flowers in and completely cover with the borax. You can add more layers of flowers and borax if you want. Seal the bag squeezing as much air out as possible with a wire or string. Place the lid on the can and set aside for at least 4 weeks. Remove the flowers and brush them off with a paint brush.

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Styrofoam Ornaments

Styrofoam when heated in the oven will shrink slightly and become hard. You must use a low setting to achieve this. I usually start at about 170 degrees and increase the temperature in 5 degree intervals a little at a time.

Transfer a design to the Styrofoam using graphite or carbon paper and a very light touch. If you press to hard you will leave marks in the Styrofoam. This may be a desirable effect depending on your design. Paint your design with the acrylic paint. Cut out the ornament. If you wish to put a ribbon in for hanging, punch a hole at the top before you shrink it.

Place the ornament on a floured cookie sheet and place it in the oven. The shrink time will vary depending on the size of the piece and your oven.

You can use these for gift tags, earrings, pins etc...

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Lace Flowers

For each flower cut an 18" length and a 12" length of lace. Trim one long side of the 12" length of lace following the design of the lace. This produces a nice ruffled edge. On the opposite side (the straight edge, run a gathering stitch about 1/8" from the edge. Gather the running stitch tightly and tack the short edges together. Without trimming the 18" length, run a gathering stitch along one edge. Gather the running stitch placing the larger piece of lace around the smaller piece. Tack the short ends together. Fasten about 20 stamens together with floral tape and insert into the center of the smaller piece.

Place a length of stem wire beside the stamen stems and wrap them together with masking tape. Wrap a cotton ball around the base of the flower and wrap the cotton ball with floral tape. Continue wrapping the floral tape around the base of the stem placing 3 to 5 leaves along the stem as you wrap.

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Shrink Plastic Buttons

Click on each image to see a larger view

Sand one side of the shrink plastic with a fine grade sand paper. Sand in all directions. This will allow the colored pencils or acrylic paint to adhere to the plastic.

Lay the shrink plastic with the sanded side facing up over your design. If you are using a ballpoint pen you should trace your design now, for permanent marker you can do it now or wait until the last step.

Color your design in with the colored pencils or acrylic paint. Note if you are using acrylic paint, make sure that your paint is watered down and you are applying a wash. When the plastic shrinks the color will intensify.

If you are using a marker, add the finishing detail outline now.

Cut out the design. Cut a buttonhole using the cuticle scissors. With the point pierce the plastic then cut out the small rectangle from the pattern.

Place design on cookie sheet, sometime it helps to put a little flour on the cookie sheet to make sure the plastic doesn't stick as it's shrinking.

Place in an oven. I usually start at about 175 degrees and slowly increase the temperature up to about 250 degrees. The slower the items shrink the less distortion there is. You may have to play with your oven setting a little. Your design will curl up and when it starts to flatten out you will be tempted to take it out to soon. Make sure the pieces have flattened all the way. If you are working with larger pieces they may curl over and start to adhere to another part of the design. Try and separate them immediately but be careful they are hot. To avoid this, place a wire rack on top of the pieces so that they can't curl up too much.

Click here to get the Flower Button
Click here to get the Ladybug Button
Click here for the Cat Button
Click here for the Teddy Bear Button

Note since all browser display differently and all printers vary, the printed size for "Flower Button" should be about 2 1/2"x 2 1/2" "Ladybug" is about 1" x 2" and "Cat Button" started out at 2" x 2 1/2" and "Teddy Bear" is 2" x 1/12".  If the sizes are different reduce or enlarge with a copy machine. The plastic will shrink about 60%.

Some other "Shrink Plastic" designs can be found here

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Designer Crayon Cloth

Make sure that all the sizing is removed from the fabric by washing it first. Stretch the fabric out on the shirtboard and thumbtack securely in place. Color in your design with crayons. Thick heavier the application of crayons the deeper the color will be. When finished place the design face down on several sheets of newspaper. Mix 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 cup water. Dip a pressing cloth into the vinegar mixture and squeeze out most of the liquid. Place the pressing cloth over the designed cloth and press with a hot iron. Mix  3 tablespoons salt and 1 quart of water. Soak the cloth in this solution for 3 to 4 hours. Gently wash in lukewarm water using a mild soap. After the cloth has dried, the design will become permanent. You can launder from now on in warm water and mild soap.

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Waterproof Ink

Dissolve dye in extract. Mix with glycerin. Dissolve mixture in distilled water. Makes about 3/4 cup. This can be used to stencil or paint directly on fabric. It is waterproof and permanent. Store in a tightly covered jar.

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Marbleized Paper

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Pour mixture into shallow pan and add cold water. Mix oil paints with a bit of turpentine to the consistency of thick cream. Drop a few drops of color into the pan. If the color sinks, it is too thick, thin with a little more turpentine. If the color spreads, it is too thin, add a little more paint. When the right thickness is achieved, drop large spots of color, one at a time onto the solution. With a spoon or a stick, swirl into patterns. Cut a piece of brown paper slightly smaller than the size of the pan. Holding opposite corners of the paper, lower on to the solution. Lift the paper carefully and place right side up on a stack of newspaper to dry. You can use this paper to decorate notebooks, lampshades, wastebaskets and much more.

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