Here, for your enjoyment, is a bunch of random, nifty craft projects to try out. They are well and truly random, but that’s what makes this a fun list!
Craft Projects
1. The Homemade Sun Jar from Not Martha. A frosted jar with lights inside, beautiful in a garden or inside the home.
2. Green Bee has a tutorial for covering Altoid tins in fabric to make cute and convenient cases for sewing supplies or anything else you want to put in them.
3. You can use crayons to tint color detail into your embroidery before stitching in the outlines.
4. ResurrectionFern shows you how to knit a scarfette with vintage buttons.
5. Whether you’ve got a naked basket that could use a nice soft liner or a lined basket whose liner is no longer cleaning up as nice as it once did, you can make your own liner.
You can use all sorts of fabrics, including scraps from around the house or found in a local thrift shop.
6. Make a neckerchief collar for a dog.
7. Make a Mardi Gras necklace entirely out of recycled stuff.
8. How to make a key leash for a handbag.
9. DIY CD cases made out of paper are more eco-friendly than plastic ones, and more personal when you’re giving them away as gifts.
10. A tutorial for a truly flat top knitted hat – this is such a cool project, and the tutorial is so detailed.
11. Or check out this adorable button-tab knitted hat, based on a similar one from Banana Republic.
12. A really easy free pattern for a zigzag lace scarf that’s delicate and gorgeous.
13. A simple tutorial for making a bamboo beach bag.
14. Got an old dining room chair that needs repainting? Or maybe you’re about to spend lots for a new chair because the ones you’ve seen at garage sales need a touch-up?
Here’s how to paint a dining chair the right way, so it’ll truly look like new.
15. The Little Green Bean walks you through turning old sweater scraps into an appliqued pillow.
16. Curbly has complete, photographically illustrated instructions for making CD cases out of standard sheets of typing paper.
17. Doe-c-doe shows you how to take a pair of screwback earrings – the kind you can wear without pierced ears – and convert them into dangling leverback (you could also use french hooks) earrings. Without removing the screwbacks.
18. I never thought of making a wallet out of a cassette tape before, but what a way to re-purpose old cassette tapes! This could be a very cool party favor/stocking stuffer kind of gift, too.
19. Here’s a pattern for making your own water bottle carrier, so you can sling a bottle of water over your shoulder when you’re on the go.
20. Make a magnetized embroidered bookmark that clips to the corner of your page.
21. Linda Permann has a two-part tutorial for crocheting little layered flowers.
22. Angry Chicken made ridiculously easy ribboned hair bands that look like a million bucks. (I just love crafts that are so easy, anyone can do them, yet they look like a big deal.)
23. Make a fabric book cover, to protect your books, or protect yourself against strangers commenting on what you’re reading.
24. MarketingMommy makes a better breast pump bag out of an old towel.
25. Film in the Fridge shares a tutorial for making Reversible Rick Rack napkins.
26. Purlbee’s Super Easy Baby Blanket is soft, warm and inviting.
27. You could pay over $100 for a makeup brush carrier, or make one yourself.
28. Make a handbag that looks like a 12-sided die. So cool!
29. Design Sponge has the tutorial you need to create beautiful paper lanterns.
30. Make a very cute gift package by wrapping it as a Surprise Ball.
31. Hexagonal Stacking Boxes from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. These really look cool, and they’re made mostly from recycled cereal boxes.
32. Make a fake stained glass window.
33. How To Make Roach Clip Memo/Picture Clips – looks like a fun project, with good clear instructions.
34. GreenBee’s gratitude wrap – the actual pattern is on this PDF link. It holds stationary and other writing supplies.
35. UK Lass in US has a wonderful tutorial for making a crayon roll up.
