After Sun Lotion

4 tablespoons glycerin
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cup distilled water
4 tablespoons rosewater
2 tbsp. ground oatmeal
1/2 cup Aloe Vera gel
20 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops calendula essential oil
2 Vitamin E capsules

Mix glycerin, cornstarch, distilled water, rosewater and oatmeal in an ovenproof glass bowl or pitcher. Heat until bowling and thick, about 1 to 2 minutes in the microwave on High (stirring every 30 seconds) (or use a double boiler over the stove). The lotion will be clear and jelly like; stir thoroughly. Add the Aloe Vera gel. Keep mixing until thoroughly combined. Cool completely. When the lotion is cool, add the lavender essential oil, calendula essential oil and Vitamin E capsules. Mix and pour in a clean airtight container. If your lotion becomes too thick, you can thin it by adding water, one tablespoon at a time and stirring thoroughly.
Yields: 20 ounces

Lip Balm

4-tablespoons oil
(olive, almond, sunflower, jojoba, castor, coconut)
1-tablespoon beeswax
15 drops of essential oil
(peppermint, orange, lime, tangerine, lemon)
Vitamin E optional


Melt beeswax in the oil over gentle heat. When melted, check consistency of the balm. Add the essential oil to the jar you want to put the lip balm in. Add the oil / wax mixture to the jar and stir gently. Let cool and seal.

Options:
For extra moisturizing: add 4 drops of Vitamin E or contents of 2 capsules into the melted oil / wax mixture. To sweeten: heat 1-teaspoon honey and whisk into the melted oil / wax mixture. To color:
add a chunk of your favorite lipstick to be melted into the oil / wax mixture. I have also used this recipe to make a chest rub for my son when he had bronchitis. I used the same oil and wax proportions and then added eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils.

Liquid Shampoo and Shower Gel Base
Liquid Shampoo and Shower Gel Base and Gel Shampoo Base provide the basis for the following recipe. Makes 8 ounces
3/4 cup distilled water
1/4 cup shampoo concentrate {or substitute with 1/2 cup unscented shampoo and increase salt to 1 teaspoon}
1/2 teaspoon table salt

Chicken Pox Pin


Materials:
Yellow foam sheets
Orange 20lb paper scraps
Red permanent marker
Black permanent marker
Exacto knife/scissors
Hot glue and gun
Pin backings

1.Start by using your Exacto knife or scissors to cut out an oval body shape and wings from craft foam.
2. Now, take the pin backing and glue the wings vertically to back of body.
3. Then open the pin backing and glue the wings horizontally over the base of the pin backing.
4. Turn the pin over and dot with red marker to make the chicken's poxes. Make face eyes using the black marker.
5. Then make a small diamond shape cut out of orange paper and fold in the center to make a beak for your chicken and glue in place.
This is a great way to cheer up a child itching and scratching their way through the chicken pox's. You can add this cute saying to the pin that Shirley at Craftsayings.com has come up with.
http://www.craftsayings.com/crafters/sharon/index.shtml

Apple Yo-Yo

Materials:
Scrap red material
Cardboard
Piece of brown felt
Two leaves or pieces of green felt cut like leaves
Needle and thread
Hot glue and gun

1. Cut a circle about 4 inches in diameter out of the red material.
2. Cut a circle about 2½ inches in diameter out of cardboard.
3. Using your thread and needle sew a straight stitch about the outside of the red material circle so it will be easily pulled into a yo-yo in the middle.
4. Place the cardboard piece in the center of red yo-yo and pull closed tight then knot closed.
5. Then hot glue on a tiny rectangle of brown felt for stem.
6. Finally, glue on your leaves.
7. You could add a magnet to the back, string them together in a decoration, or use them to accent other crafts you make.

Bird Feed Treats

Materials:
Day old bread crumbled
1-cup suet
½ peanut butter
Variety of seeds


1. Crumble bread into pieces and set aside.
2. In a saucepan melt suet and then slowly add peanut butter just until blended then remove from heat.
3. add bread crumbs to mixture and when cool enough to handle mold into balls about the size of a small orange.
4. Roll ball into the seeds.
5. Take a pipe cleaner and wrap around outside of ball just tight enough to twist at top and leave a piece to hang from.
6. Then wrap in clear wrap and place in freezer.
7. When solid you can hang it from the window and watch the birds have a treat while they entertain you.

Lacey Bunny

Materials:
Small Piece of muslin
Pink and Black embroidery thread
Poly-fill
Needle
Potpourri
Small rectangular piece of scrap material
Piece of eyelet lace
Two buttons
Some small flowers
Glue gun and glue

1. Start by using pattern shape provided and cut out of muslin two bunny bodies and two bunny ears. Pattern piece( bunnybody.jpg) & (bunnyears.jpg)
2. Using Pink thread start to stitch the two pieces together until you reach the top of the head and then leave a space open.
3. Fill the bunny body with a little bit of Poly-fill stuffing in arms and legs.
4. Then put a bit of crushed Potpourri into the middle of bunny and stuff the rest with poly-fill until full.
5. Sew the head closed with pink embroidery thread.
6. Take Bunny ears and stitch the two pieces together with pink thread. Then sew to top of head.
7. Take the black thread and stitch on eyes, nose and whiskers.
8. Take a small scrap of pretty material and gather to make a skirt for bunny.
9. Take some eyelet lace and sew around neck as a collar.
10. Sew on two buttons one to collar and one to the tummy.
11. Glue a few pink flowers to top of bunnies head were ears are sewn on.
12. You can hang him on the wall by sewing on a bit of thread looped to his back or just sit him somewhere special.

Holiday Straw Wreath

Materials:
One straw wreath
Several wired pinecones
Red bows
Wired red berries
4 Candy Canes
Dried flowers
Small Santa's or other figures
Glue gun and glue

1. Start by inserting the wired pinecones and berries into wreath. Try to follow a pattern so they are symmetrically placed.
2. Then glue on the tiny bows and glue a Santa in the middle of each one, on either side.
3. Take two candy canes and glue down one at a time so they cross each other.
4. More Bows or garnish can be added like natural colored dried flowers or larger bows.
5. Then place a nice glass candleholder and candle in the center. This makes a very simple centerpiece that takes no time at all to make.

No Sew Bunny

Use fuzzy fur and adapt the pattern and instructions here: http://www.poly-fil.com/crafts/archive/CraftProject-9804.html to no-sew. Hot glue ears, arms and feet together back to back with fuzzy sides out. Glue heavy felt to fuzzy fur ears. Tuck the ends of ears between the layers of the head and then seal head pieces together. Tuck ends of arms inside the body as you glue the body together so that arms are glued in also. Glue each foot to the outside of the body as shown. Stuff thru slit (as shown in linked directions) with poly-fil and rice in the bottom to make him sit nicely. Decorating instructions are at the link.

Fuzzy Bunny

Please take me into your home.
I'll sit there nice and sweet,
and entertain all your guests...
showing off my carrot feet!

© 2002 by Shirley Thomas@ CraftSayings.com

Stick Snowmen

These are so simple! A great kids craft!
Paint Popsicle sticks with white paint and let dry.
Cut a felt rectangle to wrap and glue around his head for a hat. Tie off the top of hat with a piece of yarn to make a tuft. Make snips down to the tied off part to form a "pom".
Draw face on with a black Sharpie marker pen. Draw nose with a red Sharpie pen. Using a marker (or tiny poms) put "buttons" down the front.
Tie a few more pieces of yarn around the neck for a scarf.
Glue a loop of yarn to back for hanger.
Add poem.
"Skinny Snowman
I'm a little snowman,
skinny as can be.
Hang me up front so
I'm not lost in the tree!
© 2002 by Shirley Thomas@ CraftSayings.com "

Yo-yo Chicken Straw Hat

Materials:
One small straw hat (3 ½ inch wide)
Lace and Ribbon
Scrap of white material
Red and off white felt
Black permanent marker
Cardboard
Spanish moss
Tiny white ribbon roses
Hot glue gun and glue
White tack glue
1. Cut a circle about 4 inches in diameter out of the white material.
2. Then a circle about 2½ inches in diameter out of cardboard.
3. Using your thread and needle sew a straight stitch about the outside of the white material circle so it will be easily pulled into a yo-yo in the middle.
4. Place the cardboard piece in the center of white yo-yo and pull closed tight then knot closed
5. Using your red felt cut out a small comb and beak for your chicken and glue on to white yo-yo.
6. With off white felt cut out a set of wings and glue to the back of your yo-yo.
7. Take your black marker and draw on two eyes. Then set chicken aside.
8. Glue lace around rim of straw hat.
9. With a bit of white glue moss on hat. Let dry.
10. Glue a ribbon bow to bottom of hat.
11. Decorate with a few tiny white ribbon flowers glued on here and there.
12. Tie a loop of ribbon and glue to back of straw hat as a hanger.
13. Finally, Glue your chicken to the center of hat.

Cow Spotted Wooden Hanger

Materials:
1 wooden hanger
Black and white acrylics
Sealer finishing spray or varnish

1. Start by painting the entire hanger with black acrylics.
2. Allow drying time.
3. Then begin to paint on random white spots until you feel it looks full enough.
4. Allow drying time.
5. Seal with a finishing spray (perhaps two coats to make sure) or a varnish.
6. Then allow drying 24 hours.
7. This is a cute hanger that can be used as display or to hang guest's coats.

Gardener's Helping Hand

Materials:
One gardening glove new
Poly-fill
Moss
Wire
One flowery yo-yo circle 2 inches in diameter
One yellow yo-yo circle 1½ inch in diameter
One wooden circle
Half small straw hat
Two buttons
Green ribbon
Raffia
Small flowers
Glue gun and glue
Needle and thread (white)
Green, white and black acrylic paint

1. Start by stuffing the glove with poly-fill.
2. Then sew closed with needle and thread.
3. Take flowery fabric yo-yo and glue smaller yellow yo-yo in center.
4. Take wooden circle and paint green and them add on eyes with black and white paint. Set your pea head aside to dry.
5. When dry glue to center of yellow yo-yo.
6. Take the half straw hat and glue just over top of wooden green pea head.
7. You can add flowers to top of straw hat for decoration.
8. Glue entire Yo-yo Pea to palm of gardener glove.
9. Sew buttons on to cuff of glove.
10. Take a bit of moss and glue in cuff of glove and tie with green ribbon.
11. Take some wire and twist around a pencil to get a loopy look. Then glue onto back of glove.
12. Tie a piece of raffia to top of wire hanger.
13. Then you can add this little poem and it makes a cute craft for any gardener friends you may have.

Christmas Mice

Materials:
Styro-foam flat circle 10 inches in diameter
3 black plastic head straight pins
White felt
Hot glue and gun
Red bows
Holly
Red ribbon
Exacto knife

1. Cut the 10-inch circle of styro foam into 4 pie pieces.
2. Carve a bit on edges to make sides even and a bit smoother.
3. Cut two teardrop shapes ears and one long piece for the tail out of white felt.
4. Lightly use hot glue, as it will melt the foam.
5. Glue Ears on to top and tail to the back of mouse body.
6. Apply a bit of glue then insert pins for eyes and nose.
7. Glue on red bow to front and a bit of holly to front near tail.
8. Glue Ribbon to top to hang.

Brown Paper Gift Bags

This Christmas I had a request for dozens of cookies for gifts and came up with this personal and inexpensive way to present them. Once I got started they were really lots of fun to make and you can be as creative as you like with your materials. Here's how I did mine!

Materials:
Brown Paper Bag (lunch bags)
Acrylic paints
Permanent markers or gel pens
Scraps of material, buttons, colored paper

1. Started by opening and checking that each bag was in good shape. Sometimes they can be formed funny or stuck together on the inside.
2. Then laying them flat draw out your designs lightly with a 2hb pencil. Coloring books have great ideas if you can't think of one or even tracing cookie cutter shapes.
3. Paint in the main body of color and let dry.
4. Then painted the outlines and details on.
5. When that is dry, use gel pens in gold and silver on outside of design to give it a shimmer look.
6. Using the permanent marker write a greeting on the bag.
7. Adding on scarps of material, buttons or paper gives it a country kind of look.
8. Line your bags with a thin plastic gift bag, I found some at the dollar store in packages of 30 with cute holiday designs. This stops the cookies from leaving oily looking stains on the brown paper bag
9. Bake a dozen cookies to fill bag and staple closed with a gift tag at the back

Shortbread Cookies

4 cups flour
1 lb butter
1-¼ cups icing sugar
A jar of maraschino cherries
Mix flour and icing sugar together. Work in the softened butter. When dough is completely mixed, form into teaspoon size balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten each ball with the bottom of a drinking glass and add a half maraschino cherry to each cookie center. Cook in 325o oven until the top just starts to turn light beige in color. Remove the Shortbread from the oven. Cool (5 minutes).

Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups butter
2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 cups flour
5 cups oatmeal
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 pkg. chocolate chips
3 cups nuts of your choice

Measure oatmeal into a blender and blend to a fine powder. Cream the butter and sugars in a bowl. Then mix in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda to the mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Roll mixture into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375oF.

Spring Display

Find a log about 2 1/2" to "3" wide. Cut off an even slice, about an inch thick, to use as the base.
Drill a small hole where you would like the small stick branch to go. Hot glue the branch into the hole.
Decorate with flowers, leaves and moss.
Glue a bit of moss to the branch and glue a small bird onto it.

Earth Angel

Use pattern and general idea found here:
http://www.poly-fil.com/crafts/archive/CraftProject-9806.html to make the Earth Angel body.
Hot glue bay leaves for the hands, moss for hair and a grape vine for halo.
Sew raffia into the bottom.
Glue on peppercorns for eyes and paper ribbon for wings.
Print and pin on poem.

"Earth Angels Author Unknown
I'm a little Earth Angel
Sent to bless the seeds you sow...
To watch over and protect them,
So they'll flourish and they'll grow!
I'll be here to guide you
As you water and you weed,
And we'll grow the miracles made
Of each and every seed!"

Ewe Friend

Cut two circles of cardboard for body (drinking glass may be used as a pattern). Cut a smaller circle of cardboard for the face (silver dollar size). Cover both body circles with fuzzy fur. Glue four cinnamon sticks and a gold string hanger inside one circle. Hot glue the other one to it so that the legs are sandwiched in between. Cover the head piece of cardboard with flesh colored felt. Glue a tuft of fuzzy fur to top of face. Cut two small round ears and glue to head on each side of tuft. Glue two small black bead eyes to face as shown in picture. Glue a small bow to top of head. Glue another small bow and a bell under chin.

"Ewe are a Friend!
I'm glad to have
a friend like ewe,
cause good friends
like ewe are few!"

© 2002 by Shirley Thomas@ CraftSayings.com

Felt Snowman

Materials:
Off white felt (Body)
Small piece of black velvet (Hat)
Plaid fabric strip (Scarf)
Stuffing
Buttons
Small flowers
Embroidery thread

Instructions:
Cut two of the body as well as two hat pieces. Note: Hat pattern is in center of snowman pattern. Whipstitch the two body pieces together and stuff before closing. Embroider eyes, nose and mouth onto face. Tie the fabric strip around neck as a scarf and tack in place. Hot glue the front and back pieces of hat together on top of the head. Glue buttons down the front. Glue flower to hat and a ribbon hanger under the scarf at the back.

"Cold Loving Snowman
Author Unknown

I'm just a little snowman,
made with love you see.
Wear me when it's cold
and I'm happy as can be.

I'm happy in a blizzard,
I smile through a storm,
I laugh when it is freezing,
but cry when it is warm!"

Candle Jars

Materials:
Preserve jar clean and dry
A heart cut from card stock
Acrylic paints red or blue and white Wide soft bush
Old Toothbrush
Finishing spray
Glue stick
1. Glue the heart cutout lightly to the jar with glue stick.
2. Then with a wide soft bush start to apply an even coat of red or blue paints all over outside of jar. Allow drying.
3. Apply a second coat of paint brushing in opposite direction of 1st coat. Allow drying.
4. Take a toothbrush and dip in a bit of white paint then splatter jar white paint by pushing back bristles and letting them go. Do this all over jar until you get desired effect.
5. Using a bit of white paint outline your heart cutout.
6. Remove heart cutout from front of jar and clean up glue spots with a Q-tip and a bit of rubbing alcohol.
7. Apply a finishing spray to jar and allow drying time.
8. When done drying you can place a lit tea light or candle in bottom of jar and it will give a light hue of the color of your jar. It gives a wonderful atmosphere to a darkened room.