Gifts

	Journal Craft What you will need: fabric, decorated construction paper, or wall paper samples, string to bind the book, feathers, beads, sticks, etc. to decorate the book, typing paper, poster board, hole punch, and tacky glue. What to do: Decide what size journal you want to make. A half a sheet of typing paper or a quarter sheet of typing paper is a good size. You can recycle used paper by using the back side of the paper. Cut up the paper to desired size and punch holes in one side where you want to bind the book. Decide what you want to use for a cover. You can decorate a sheet of construction paper. Collect natural items such as leaves, pine needles, and seeds. Dip them in different colors of paint and press them onto the paper to make an imprint. If the items are too thin to hold, glue them on wood blocks to make a stamp and then dip them in paint. If you put your paint on a folded up paper towel on a dish, sometimes that makes it easier to cover the whole stamp. Cut a piece of poster board for the cover to fit over your paper so that it is about 1/4" bigger on the 3 unfolded sides. Fold your cover material in half and cut it at least 1" bigger than the poster board on all three unfolded sides so that you will be able to fold it over the poster board. Glue the cover material onto the poster board. Fold over the edges and glue them down. Now cut another piece of paper to cover the inside of the cover and glue it in place. Punch holes in the cover to match the holes you punched in the papers. Now you are ready to bind the book. You can use string, leather strips, or any thing you have available. Decorate the binding with beads, feathers or other natural items. You can tie a bead onto the front cover and glue a loop of braided string onto the back cover so that when you close the book you can bring the loop around to hold onto the bead to keep your journal closed. You can also glue a long braided string onto the inside top cover to use as a book mark. Check out the beautiful beat a leaf journal they made at FamilyFunMagazine has a beat a leaf journal that's another fun idea.

	Pretty Pincushion What You Need Empty tuna or cat food can, Piece of fabric 6 inches by 6 inches, Fiberfill or cotton balls to fill the can, Decorations for the side of the can - ribbons, lace, fabric, construction paper, buttons, etc., Craft glue, Scissors, Lemon juice How To Make It Clean the tuna fish can well - some lemon juice will help kill the smell. Fill the can with fiberfill (or cotton balls) so that it makes a small mound in the center . Cut a circle about 1" larger than the can out of the fabric. Put the circle on top of the fiberfill, tucking the edges into the can all around. Be careful of sharp edges when you do this. Carefully glue the fabric to the inside top edge of the can. Decorate the outside of the can with paper, fabric, ribbons, lace, etc. Let it dry, then wrap!

Make this Craft and we will send you some free stickers!	Simple Stationery Materials Needed: Crayons, Markers, or Colored Pencils, Computer Paper Instructions: Take some crayons, markers, and (or) colored pencils and the computer paper and draw many pretty and "cool" designs on them, for example pictures of hearts, stars, moons, cats, dogs, or little lines in different varieties. You may also write your name in different colors at the top or in the middle of the page for more decoration. You are now ready to write letters! You may write letters to family or even write the grocery list with this. Children love doing this and they can trade stationary with their friends.

Make this Craft and we will send you some free stickers!	Simple Shaped Soap Bars Materials: Mild Bar of Soap (I prefer Ivory), Warm water, Cookie cutters Instructions: Grate 1 cup of soap off the bar. Pour it in medium sized mixing bowl. Start with 1/2 cut of warm water. Pour into the grated soap and knead to mix. Add more warm water, a little at a time, and continue to knead until all soap mixes in and it is the consistancy of thick dough. If you want to make colored bars of soap, mix food coloring in with the water. Once your water and soap is well blended, press mixture into cookies cutters. Set the cookie cutter on it's side so the soap dries on both sides, or flip it often. Put in a dry place to dry for about 24 hours. Gently pop your soap out of the cookie cutter. More: Instead of using cookie cutters, you can make miniature bars of home-made soap by pressing your mixtures into ice cube trays or small candy or soap molds from the craft store. You can also roll them into balls. For a simple gift, tie a ribbon around the home-made bars of soap, or fill a small gift basket!

	Personal Tote Bags Materials Needed: Canvas Tote Bag, Fabric Paint, Mirror Instructions: Using a canvas tote bag, washable fabric paint, brushes, and fabric markers create a special bag for Mother's Day. This is a very messy project so be very careful! Paint one of your hands with fabric paint and "stamp" your handprint onto the tote bag. Keep your fingers together and it looks somewhat like a tulip. Add leaves and a stem with paint. Then write Happy Mother's Day - or other appropriate message - with the year at the top of the bag with the markers and sign your name. These take a while to dry well so make sure you allow enough time

Make this Craft and we will send you some free stickers!	Photo Bookmark Materials Needed: Pencil, Ruler, Scissors, Old or blurry photographs Instructions: Collect your old or blurry photographs, mark off 1/2" or 3/4" along the short sides on top and bottom, then draw the lines along the length of the photo. Cut the photo along the lines, and round off the corners. Voila! -- now you have a paperback bookmark. You don't even have to seal it, since it is already glossy. Happy reading!

Make this Craft and we will send you some free stickers!	Tiny Gift Box Materials Needed: Egg cartons, Paint, Stickers or glitter to decorate, Clear tape or masking tape, Tissues, Piece of jewelry or any small gift item Instructions: First, cut out 2 egg carton pieces. Next, tape the 2 egg carton pieces together only on one part of the back. ( so it makes a hinge.) Then, paint the box with any color and wait 'till the paint dries. Next, put stickers or glitter on to decorate. Then, stuff tissues inside the little round gift giving box. Finally, put your small gift item or piece of jewelry into the box. And....... Your Done!!! (Give your gift in this small gift box made with love

Make this Craft and we will send you some free stickers!	Dried Flower Sachets Materials Needed: Flowers, String, Felt, Glue, Lace, Material, Piece of Lace, Perfume Instructions: Cut out the felt and lace material into whatever shape you want your sachet to be (hearts are fun, but any simple shape will work. The size you make will defepend on how many flowers you have. You will want your sachet 'pillow' to be full, but not too big (probably 6 inches maximum size). Put glue around the edge of your felt shape, but leave a small section without glue. This is where you will stuff your dreid flowers in. A hot glue gun works well, but any sort of thick, tacky glue will work also. Set your lace shape on the glue. Be careful to match the edges as best as you can. Set it aside for the glue to dry. Once the glue and flowers are both dry, carefully stick the petal of the dried flowers into the opening you left in your felt/lace shape. Once full, glue the opening shut. Caefully put a dab of glue around the edge of your shape, on the lace side. Carefully stick the edge of the piece of lace onto the glue. Set aside to dry. Once your glue is dry, your sachet is pretty much ready! Put a small amount of purfume on the back of your felt so your sachet smells great. These make great gifts, and are perfect for making drawers, closets, and other small areas smell sweet!

	“Dad, I’m nuts about You.” Jar of Nuts What you will need: Jar with a lid, sand paper, epoxy glue, tacky glue, peanuts or other nuts, paper glue (rubber cement) and gold spray paint. What to do: If you are using a metal lid, sand it to make it ruff. Have an adult spread the epoxy glue over the top of the lid and then put small amounts of glue on the peanuts and stick them to the top of the lid. Let the glue dry. Use tacky glue (a child can do this part) to glue the rest of the nuts on the top making a pile of nuts. Let the glue dry and then paint with gold or other color of paint. Draw a label on a piece of paper and write, “Dad, I’m nuts about you! Decorate the label and glue it onto the jar

	Surprise Packages Craft What you will need: Toilet paper tubes, wrapping or tissue paper, tape, chenille wires, index cards, markers stickers, small candies, gum or toys. What to do: Have each child print a message on an index card and then decorate the card. Fold or roll it to fit in the tube; then fill with candy and wrap with paper and tie ends with the chenille wires (like the English cracker style).

Make this Craft and we will send you some free stickers!	Pencil Holder for Dad You will need: a tin can or a jar craft ribbon colored paper, wallpaper, or cloth scraps buttons, jewels, stickers, craft paint, etc. for decorating Begin by wrapping paper around the can if you are using a tin can. Decorate the can or jar by gluing on jewels, buttons or other decorations. Let dry and give to dad for father's day!

	Refrigerator Magnets All you need to do is buy some small hand soap or candy molds and Plaster of Paris and follow the directions on the package. After you pour the plaster, press one round magnet into the wet plaster and it will dry in place. If you forget to put the magnet in, just use hot melt glue to glue a magnet onto the back when you are done. Use acrylic craft paint to paint the magnets or use glitter to decorate them. Let dry and seal with an acrylic sealer. Enjoy!

	Hand Print Picture Mother’s Day Craft What you will need: typing paper, construction paper, ink pads or paint, markers of crayons, clear embossing powder (optional) What to do: Print out the pattern, trim it so the sides are even all the way around, and glue it to a piece of construction paper using rubber cement. Have the children put a hand print on the paper using paint or ink. You may want to emboss the hand prints if you are using the ink. Sprinkle clear embossing powder over the print before it dries. Shake off the excess powder saving it for the next picture. Put the whole paper in a warm toaster oven until the powder melts. The embossing powder brings out the details of the hand print and puts a raised plastic coating on top. You can find embossing powder in a craft store next to the rubber stamps and ink pads. To finish have the children color the frame and write the child’s name and date on the bottom of the picture.

	Pot holder Craft for Mother’s Day What you will need: White pot holders or material to make potholders. Permanent markers or Opaque Paint Markers. What to do: 1. Decide on a design for the potholder. You may want to draw the picture first on a piece of paper and then copy it onto the potholder. 2. Use permanent markers to draw the picture onto the potholed or write a letter to your Mom. Make sure to put the date on the back

	Decorated Soap Craft This craft is very easy to make, although pins can be dangerous for small children. Children as young as four will enjoy this craft, but make sure they are well supervised. Great craft for Mother’s Day. What you will need: Soap (square soap works best), felt, lace, or other pretty material, rick rack, lace, ribbon, buttons, sequins, small silk flowers, beads, etc. (Anything you can find that will look pretty on the soap.) Short straight pins with big round heads and some with small flat heads, glue. What to do: Cut the felt, lace, or material to fit the soap. Wrap the material around the soap and secure it to the soap on the back with some straight pins with the flat heads so that the pins don’t stick out. You can cover the to sides of the soap if you would like or just leave open. Turn the soap over and decorate the tops and sides with the flowers, ribbon, sequins, etc. using the straight pins with the rounded heads

	Gift Bags with gift tags Craft What you will need: Brown or white lunch bags or grocery bags (depending on how big you want to make them), paint (use washable paint with small children), glitter, sequins, or anything else you want to use to decorate the bags: ribbon, stickers, sponges cut into Christmas shapes, rubber stamps, Christmas scenes cut from material or old Christmas cards are just a few suggestions. What to do: Decorate the bags with whatever you would like. Make a matching gift tag. When the paint is dry, fold over the top edge about two inches and punch two holes at the top. Lace ribbon through the holes and attach a gift card. Tie the ribbon in a bow