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Jul 16

Create Something Saturdays- The Scratched CD Disco Ball

Moving from one place to another usually means there is a lot to throw away and a lot you need, all at the same time. After moving I realized I had tons of CDs from back in kindergarten days that were so scratched, any CD player that could play them would be a pure miracle. And let’s be honest; CDs are SO 1995. I also realized, I needed to decorate my apartment.  Which realizations like these are the perfect inspirational Create Something Saturday Moments.

Me, being the music fanatic that I am, made sure I had a back up MP3 version of each of the CDs and decided to turn them into an expression of my love for music, and something that looks cool in my new place.

Enter: The Scratched CD Disco Ball

Materials:

  • Scratched CDs
  • Glue Gun
  • Really Good Scissors
  • Styrofoam Ball
  • String
  • Skewer

Directions:


-Never underestimate the power of CDs. Try to find a good pair of gardening gloves that you can wear while cutting your CD because trust me, it takes a little bit of elbow grease. Cut all of the CDs into little squares. Don’t worry if they are not all the exact same size.


-Poke the Skewer through the Styrofoam ball and lead both ends of the string through. Make sure the string is as long as you want the disco ball to be hung. Once you have both ends through, pull the loop remaining at the other end over one of your squares and glue in to place.

-Start from the middle and work your way out, gluing squares around the Styrofoam ball. Keep going until you have covered the entire ball with little CD squares.

-Mount a hook in your ceiling and hang your Scratched CD Disco Ball accordingly. You can even buy different sizes of Styrofoam balls and hang them in different lengths next to each other to make a hanging piece of art.

Did you make one? Post a pic on our Facebook or on Twitter!

Crafts

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Jun 18

Create Something Saturday’s- Toilet Paper Roll Wall Art


Toilet Paper Roll Wall Art

Article By: Sara Lopez

I am a firm believer in that if you do not let your creativity out every now and again- you start to lose that artist’s touch. So for several months now I have been doing something called “Create Something Saturday’s”. I set time aside each Saturday to either paint, or write, or knit or any craft you could think of.

Recently I have moved into my very own apartment, (first time I am living alone with no family or roommates), and now that I am all unpacked- it is time to start making my apartment look cool!

In my front room I painted an accent wall eggplant that my sister-in-law helped me pick out. Although I was nervous about a purple wall- it contrasts perfectly against my green couch and hardwood floors! I love the color, but I knew I also wanted a little bit more character on the eggplant to break up the solid color.

So this week I made a Toilet Paper Wall Art installation that is not only made out of recyclable materials, but is also easy enough that anyone can do it!

Materials:

Toilet Paper rolls
Scissors
White glue
Paint + brushes
Laundry pins
Directions:

Cut the toilet paper rolls into four pieces that are roughly the same size. How many toilet paper rolls you use depends on how big you want your wall art.
Pinch the ends of the toilet paper roll pieces to make an almond shape.

Lay the almond-shaped pieces out in a design that is pleasing to the eye. And make sure to do it somewhere where your dog cannot walk through it after it is all completed and send them flying across your hardwood floor. (Learn from my mistakes.)


Glue the places where the toilet paper roll pieces touch and clip together with a clothespin to allow dry.
Continue to do this until you have created the design you desire. (The glue should dry fairly quickly so you should be able to unclip them and clip them on in the freshly glued spots as you go.)


Once the glue is dry you can now paint your design! This is where you can really let your artsy self shine. I personally wanted a simple light green accent to tie the couch in with the wall even more.
Once the paint is dry, hammer in some nails to support the design in different places.


Final step is to get the most adorable dog in the world to sit in front of it so you can take a picture and post it on the internet. (Check!)

If you decided to make this let me know! It is also simple enough to do with children if you want to do a craft time. How did yours turn out? Post a picture on my Facebook or shoot it to me on Twitter!

Make sure to stay tuned for more Create Something Saturday Ideas!

Crafts

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May 4

Great Crafts to Make for Mother’s Day!

As Mother’s Day quickly approaches remember that any gift-giving holiday can be a great time to teach kids about the customization and personalization of a gift. So daddies- this is a great time to step up to the plate and help the kiddies make something awesome for Mother’s Day!

And even I still get all excited to make something for my mama on Mother’s Day. I am 24 and the feeling of nostalgia that making a macaroni shell frame for her never goes away! After all, it is a great way to remind her that no matter where we go- we will always be mama’s little girl/boy.

Here are a few crafts that will be sure to make any Mother’s Day special.

Memory Keeper
By WomansDay.com Staff
Materials

  • Small/Medium box
  • Long colored paper/ construction paper
  • Photos
  • Markers
  • Glue
  1. Find a small box. Then cut a piece of paper the width of the box and 20 inches long.
  2. Fold paper accordion-style into 5 equal-size sections.
  3. Add photos or paper cutouts to each section.
  4. Glue the first section of paper into the box bottom, and the last section to the lid.
  5. Let dry, and close box with paper folded inside.

Curlicue Card
By WomansDay.com Staff
Materials

  • Colored Construction Paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Cardboard
  • Decorative Ribbon
  1. Cut colored construction paper into 1/4″ strips. Roll the strips into round shapes.
  2. Glue the end of each strip to its roll so it doesn’t unwind.
  3. Arrange the shapes on a piece of colored cardboard as desired and glue into place.

Love Note Flip-Book
By Disney Family Fun Staff
Materials

  • Colored 3- by 5-inch index cards
  • Hole punch
  • Scissors
  • Card stock
  • Small metal binder rings
  1. Fill a number of colored 3- by 5-inch index cards with poems, drawings, and heartfelt messages. Use a hole punch to make 2 holes at the top of each card, making sure the holes in all the cards line up.
  2. To prepare a stand (above, right), cut a piece of colorful card stock into a 5- by 10-inch rectangle, then fold the rectangle in half widthwise. Punch 2 holes just below the fold, using one of your punched index cards as a guide. Fold each end of the card stock 2 inches in from the edge, then use scissors to cut a 1-inch slit in the center of each flap.
  3. Stack together all of the cards, placing the folded card stock at the bottom of the pile, then bind together all of the pieces using 2 small metal binder rings (available at office supply stores). To set up the flip-book, just interlock the slits in the flaps of the card stock to create a triangular display stand.

Now that you have made the perfect gift for Mother’s Day make sure to share your pictures with us! You can send them off on Twitter or post them on our Facebook Fan Page!

Also, are you looking for the perfect recipe to make for Mother’s Day? Check out our amazing selection of simple recipes here!

Crafts

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Apr 21

Paper Mache Recycled Hanging Suns!

I know my sun looks a little crazy. :0) But it was fun to make and I love
how it turned out!

Know what tomorrow is?!?

That’s right! The 40th Anniversary of Earth Day!

I get so excited for this holiday every year because it means several things:

  1. Spring is here!
  2. We get to celebrate our amazing planet!
  3. I get to make recycled crafts with all of the kids in my family!

I try to get together the younger kids in my family like my nieces and nephews to teach them the importance of appreciating our environment and caring for it!

Craft: Recycled Hanging Suns

What you will need:

  • Colored pipe cleaners
  • An old newspaper
  • White flour (I cup)
  • Water (1 cup)
  • Paints
  • Paintbrushes
  • Rafia Twine (you can get this from any Craft Store)
  • Balloon/s

Directions (be sure to read this with your kids):

  1. Blow a balloon to your preferred size (keep in mind this will be the size of the globe of your sun)
  2. Mix the water and flour together in a bowl to make a paste to paper mache your balloon
  3. Tear the old newspaper into long thin strips
  4. Dip the strips of newspaper in the paste and start covering your balloon
  5. Make sure you have covered the entire balloon with strips of paper and paste. You do not want any gaps except for at the knot of the balloon. Make sure to layer the paper mache two or three times so that it will be strong.
  6. Let the paper mache balloon dry over night.

1. Now the fun part! Paint your paper mache balloon yellow (or whathever color that inspires you) so you have the globe of your sun. tip: hold the balloon by the knot while you paint the globe so you don’t get your hands too covered in paint. Here’s where you can let loose and paint whatever you want on the sun: a face , or flames, symbols, a mural of all things happy and fun! It’s your sun, have at it.

2. After the sun has dried, have an adult help you poke holes around the side of your paper mache sun with a pin. This will pop the balloon inside, which you can throw away afterwards

3. Bend the pipe cleaners in zig zags or swirls and insert into the holes to make sunshine.

4. Once you have added as many pipe cleaner “flames” as you like- take some of the raffia twine, fold in half, and tie a knot at the fold. Place this knot inside your sun and it should be large enough to stay in place.

5. Pick a place to hang your sun! Wherever you need to brighten your day! These also make great Mother’s Day gifts.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

What are you doing for Earth Day? Make sure to let us know on Twitter or on our Facebook page! We are always looking for cool recycled crafts that we can do with the children in our lives.

Can’t get enough sun? Neither can we! Make sure to enter our Draw Your Own Sun Contest to have a chance of winning $1,000 in art supplies for a K-12 school of your choice and to be featured on our new packaging! There will be 100 winners- that’s $100,000 in art supplies! Enter Now!

Crafts

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Feb 6

Cupid’s 8th Continent 12 Days of Valentines- Day 8

Oh my goodness! Only eight days left!?!

What are you to do? Well, I have offered you crafts, recipes, playalists, and you still don’t know what to do?!? Shame on you.

What is the best way to solve this problem? Buy something from someone else who does make things with their hands. This sounds like a job from my friends at Etsy!

I have gathered the cutest most nauseatingly adorable pieces of art, jewelry and clothing from some of my favorite Etsy artists. Since these are all handmade unique things, you may want to act fast, quite often there is only one of each item made.

Just click on the picture and shop away!

Love Suits You

Hearts and Stars Necklace

Unicycles

I love the Way You Love Me

Better Loving Through Chemistry

Do What You Like (Love)

Love Like the Bunnies

Love is Spoken Here

Love and Be Loved

You are My Deer

Graffiti Love

My Heart

Warm Your Heart

Wear Your Heart on Your Coffee Sleeve

Fishing For Love

Mending Your Heart

Love You Deer

Still haven’t found what you are looking for even after seeing all of these awesome items? No worries! 8th Continent Soymilk and I want you to be all set for the big day of love, so we will continue to give you ideas until Feb 14th!

Have you shown your love yet on Facebook or Twitter? You should, it is that time of year.

Also Check out the other ideas I have posted so far!

Day 12- Make an awesome pop-up Valentine’s Day card all out of recycled materials!

Day 11- Make a delicious heart-shaped vegan chocolate cake!

Day 10- A great DIY project-  “U Complete Me” Pillowcases.

Day 9- The perfect Playlists! One for pro-love and one for anti-love!

Sara Lopez

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Feb 4

Cupid’s 8th Continent 12 Days of Valentines!- Day 10

Hello there 8th Continent Soymilk Lovers! So, here you are again… back to my blog on day 10- this can only mean one thing. You still don’t know what to get the brighter half of your heart for Valentine’s day.

Don’t you fear! Lopez and Cupid are here! Well, at least me, Lopez, pretending to be Cupid. I should totally buy myself a pair of wings.

Anywho!

Today is an awesome craft that I got from my friends over at Creature Comforts.

You will need:

  • Two pillowcases (light colors will work best)
  • Iron-on Transfer Paper for light colored fabrics. (tee-shirt transfer paper).  Be sure that it is the correct type for your color printer.  You will need two sheets.
  • Color printer
  • Scissors
  • Iron (no steam)

How to:

Download Free valentine iron-on transfer

  1. Print the PDF onto transfer paper.  Cut out carefully around the text, leaving the letters attached with a small amount of the transfer paper (see image one for how I did it).  Be careful not to scratch the surface of your transfer paper while working.  Note: the text will print backwards.  It will read correctly when applied to your pillowcases.
  2. Lay your pillowcases out on a flat surface and line the words and letters up on your pillowcases with the paper-backing facing up (be sure that both sides of your text will line up to read correctly once the pillows are in use).  To give yourself an easy guide for lining up the two sections of text simply fold pillowcases in half lengthwise and insert a pin to mark where the center is.
  3. A trick for ensuring that your text is straight before ironing, is to fold the lower half of your pillowcase up to the center (where you inserted the pin).  The bottom edge is now a nice straight guideline for you to arrange your words along.  I arranged my letters approximately 2 inches away from the outside edge so that when the pillowcase was stuffed the text would still be visible.  Once everything is straight iron your text following directions for use found inside your iron-on transfer paper packaging.
  4. Allow design to cool for 2 minutes before carefully removing the paper backing.  For optimum usability and softness, wash before use.

And how do you give this awesome gift to the one that makes your heart got thumpety thump?

How about this:

I’m picturing vanilla scented candles, rose petals, vegan chocolate fondue, the first mix-tape you ever made each other playing softly in the background… and as that special loved one looks at the bed they see the pillow cases. “U Complete Me” The tears start welling up in the eyes, the fingers tremble, and there is a carton of 8th Continent chocolate soymilk in a silver bucket being chilled. You meet each other’s gazes and then you softly whisper in a Dr. Evil voice. “You complete me.”

And that is how you ruin a moment on Valentine’s Day Lopez style.

Or you could do everything besides the Dr. Evil impersonation and have a fabulously romantic Valentine’s Day!

Keep tuning back in for some more awesome ideas on what to do/make for Valentine’s Day!

And why don’t we go ahead and connect on Facebook and Twitter too? Ok? Deal!

Crafts Sara Lopez

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