Snow days are great, but when the kids tire of snowball fights, sledding and building snowmen, it’s nice to have a few indoor activities to keep young hands and minds occupied.
And if you’re snowed in and can’t get to the craft store, never fear. Here are a couple of projects that call for materials you probably have in the house already.
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Most of us have at least one of those Danish butter cookie tins left over from the holidays, and if you do crafting of any kind on a regular basis, you’ll likely have some fabric remnants and pieces of trim, decorative paper and craft foam (or cardboard), not to mention glue, paint and brushes, decoupage medium, scissors and other basics.
To make our first project, a candle reflector/holder, you’ll need the bottom of a cookie tin, a small piece of fabric or decorative paper, some decorative trim, decoupage medium and quick-dry tacky glue.
Begin by washing and thoroughly drying the cookie tin, making sure to remove all fingerprints and grease smudges from the inside so that it sparkles.
Next, cut a strip of fabric or decorative paper to wrap around the outside of the tin. Apply decoupage medium to the fabric strip and attach it to the cookie tin, pressing out all bubbles and bumps; let dry.
Using quick-dry tacky glue, attach a strip of decorative trim around the top and bottom edges of the fabric strip to finish; let dry.
Check the inside of the tin once more to make sure all smudges and other marks are gone and the surface is shiny bright.
Place a small votive candle in a holder and attach it to the bottom inside of the tin. You can use glue (hot glue will probably be best for this task) or a few pieces of that sticky clay-like stuff that holds posters on the wall, to secure the holder in place.
If you set the candle reflector/holder on a shelf, be sure to anchor it somehow so that it won’t roll from side to side while lit. A couple pieces of poster clay (as mentioned above), one on either side of the tin, should do the trick.
Or you can make a hanging holder by punching two small holes at the very top of the tin base (above the candle) and running a piece of medium-weight wire through to make a loop.
Use an awl or small nail and hammer to punch the holes.
For the second project, a faux-tile picture, you’ll need the cookie tin lid, a picture, some craft foam (or cardboard), glue, decoupage medium, paint and some decorative trim.
To begin, select a picture from an old calendar or magazine and cut it just a bit smaller than the inside of the lid – about 1/8-inch around should be about right.
Next, cut the picture into squares (tiles) and glue each piece onto a piece of craft foam (or cardboard) and let dry completely.
Cut “tiles” out of the foam (or cardboard) so that the edges are flush with the edges of the picture pieces.
Then cut a piece of foam (or cardboard) that just fits the inside of the lid and glue in place to form a smooth backing for your tiles.
Glue the picture tiles onto the foam (or cardboard) backing in order with small spaces between each tile and let dry completely.
Spread a layer of decoupage medium over the tiles and let dry, then paint between the tiles and along each edge of each tile with black paint. Let dry completely and apply another layer of decoupage medium.
Using quick-dry tacky glue, add a strip of decorative trim around the outside and inside rim of the lid and let dry.
Make a loop of ribbon or string and secure it to the back of the lid with masking tape at the top to form a hanger.
This faux-tile technique can be used to make a variety of items, and we’ll be featuring it in Craft Corner columns soon.
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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