I love fall. The colors are vibrant and fun, the air smells like cinnamon and nutmeg and the best part are the pumpkins. I would say the cooler weather plays a part in it too, but I live in Houston, so that would be a lie. However, last summer while I was touring The Pioneer Woman's lodge - yes... yes.. THAT lodge - I saw adorable wildflower painted craft pumpkins chilling in her supply closet and I fell in love with them. Here's the pumpkins that were at the Pioneer Woman's Lodge: Cute right? And yes, that's a Mackenzie-Child's cake plate just hanging out next to them as if I wouldn't drool … [Read more...]
Stuck at Home with Kids? -Marble Paper with Shaving Cream – The Easiest Craft You’ll Ever Do.
Without a doubt, making marbled paper with shaving cream is one of my favorite things to do. Believe it or not, I keep a stack of this marbled paper in my desk drawer at all times because it's great for making on-the-go Thank You cards to even for writing a pretty grocery store list. Spoiler Alert: There's a video of the process at the bottom of this post. The great news is that this is so easy, you won't believe it but you will want to make it over and over again. You're going to get professional level results with a preschool level activity. Now that's what I consider a hot … [Read more...]
The Secret Weapon to Make Basic Patterns: Printing with Potatoes
Before there were Cricuts or even simple plastic stencils there was printing with potatoes. You can't get more basic than using a potato to make a print but the good news is that the more basic something is, the easier it is. Potato prints are an easy and quick craft that is wonderful for all ages. I have cut potatoes and given them to kids to use as a stamp. Want a really easy Easter craft for kids? Cut a potato in half, let them make egg shapes using it as a stamp and then dot colorful paint on top with q-tips. It makes simple and cute painted Easter eggs. You can also make … [Read more...]
A Few Tips For Preparing for a Hurricane
Hurricane season is showing up early this year, with a storm developing in the Gulf of Mexico while summer is still in full swing. Now more than ever people are looking at how to prepare for a hurricane or storm. It's on everyone's minds, which is a good thing because then they have a better chance of being prepared when a storm is heading toward them. Don't wait to prepare for a hurricane and don't assume that you have enough. One thing we learned after Hurricane Harvey is that we didn't have enough food saved. Preparing for storms could be considered an Olympic sport. It … [Read more...]
From Junk to WOW! Using Alcohol Inks on Recycled Glass Jars
I can't stop staring at these photos. I just can't believe what a little bit of alcohol ink transformed old glass jars into. I know you have a ton of old spaghetti jars and other recycled glass on the top shelf of your kitchen cabinets. Maybe it's time to pull them down and make something. This is a DIY Project using recycled glass that you are going to want to make. Post contains affiliate links. I had been dying to play with alcohol inks for the longest time but they're not the cheapest craft supply. I even looked up recipes for making my own alcohol inks but had never taken that step. … [Read more...]
You Can Make This Super Fun Water Blob! – Using an Iron To Seal The Edges
Many years ago there was a post on this blog that kinda went crazy. Overnight it went viral and The Water Blob was born. Now over a hundred thousand people have searched this blog for "how to make a water blob". But the first water blob used duct tape to seal the edges and was prone to leaks. So now it's time to update it to show you how to make a leakproof water blob using an iron to seal the edges. You might have seen this photo on Pinterest or other places online. Yup, it's the one that started it all. My girls were so little in that picture. Since then … [Read more...]
Tips for Working with Polymer Clay
It's fun to work with polymer clay. Not only do you get to revisit the warm fuzzies from your kindergarten play-doh days but you get to make amazing things that you can bake and keep for ever. It's a win-win situation. Right? But if you've never worked with it before, there's a few tips for working with polymer clay that will help you and keep you from getting frustrated. I don't know about you but nothing ends a great time at my craft table faster than getting frustrated because I don't understand the materials that I'm working with. That's why today I'm going to share with you a … [Read more...]
The BIG Paint Secret You May Not Know
So you're a DIY'er at heart... a McGyver of the crafty community? I am too. Welcome, this is our playground. We have fun here. Make lots of stuff. It's who we are and what we do. But regardless of how long you may or may not have been playing with glitter and glue, there's a few paint secrets that you may not know and they all have to relate to the question.... Can I use this paint on that? The BIG Secret: Paint is Paint: You can use it on pretty much anything. Let me help you out with this. If you walk down that paint aisle at the craft store today you can easily be overwhelmed … [Read more...]
Tips for When Children are Throwing Up
The stomach flu is dreaded and most of the time you have no warning before it hits. However the hardest isn't when you are sick but when you have a kid that is sick. So what do you do when a child has the stomach flu? How do you handle a kid that's throwing up? *This post is one of the oldest and most popular on Clumsy Crafter. It came around because of a child we had with stomach issues. During that time, we reached a professional level at handling throw up in our cars and homes. Now after a week of the stomach bug going through our home, I thought I'd take a second to share this with you … [Read more...]
43 Funny Kitchen Towel Sayings
I love hanging a funny kitchen towel from my oven door. It sets a mood in my kitchen that tells others to be prepared to laugh. I need a spirit of laughter and hilarity for when I pull a smoking cake out of the oven or burn another meatloaf. Now that it's easy to cut vinyl and make funny tea towels or put funny sayings on on kitchen towels, this is a must do project for all crafters. Of course, my favorite funny saying is one that I have made into a custom kitchen towel, "Wicked Chickens Lay Deviled Eggs." Because I love you guys so much, I also made a free cut file so you can cut … [Read more...]
What to do When Kids are Throwing Up – More Tips and Tricks from Readers!
Many years ago I wrote a post titled, "What to do When Kids are Throwing Up" simply because that day my then preschool age daughter was very sick with the stomach bug and I knew that I had some tips and tricks that could help other parents in the same predicament. Fast forward almost 5 years later that that old post is still one of the most popular posts on this blog. The picture is grainy and old as dirt but the advice and comments on that post are worth their weight in gold, especially if you have a sick child. While I still stand by all the advice in that post, if you haven't … [Read more...]
These Are a Few of My Favorite Things – Reading Edition
Raindrops on roses And whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things OK so those are not my favorite things - they happen to be Julie Andrew's from The Sound of Music. But - there are a few things that I'm in love with lately that I need to tell you about. Since this is the Reading Edition (gettin' all fancy on you with my reading knowledge and a few affiliate links included to help you shop) it'll be full of things for book lovers! Are you looking for craftier items? Check here for the … [Read more...]
