To begin drying your roses, fill up a container (such as a plastic shoe box) with an inch-deep even layer of silica gel. Cut the flower’s stem leaving only one inch. Place a multi-pedaled flower face up in the gel. Single-layer pedaled flowers such as daisies must be positioned face down on top of the silica gel. Long-stalk flowers should be laid lengthwise in the container. Buds of roses and peonies must be laid horizontally in the silica gel.

Use a small spoon to scoop the silica crystals to cover the blossoms. Start from the outer parts of the flower and working your way toward the center. Make sure to sprinkle the crystals in between the petals to so the flowers will maintain their shape throughout the drying procedure.

Cover the container with its lid or a sheet of tin foil taped securely in place. Don’t allow the flowers to stay longer than seven days in the silica gel or the petals will turn brittle. You will know if they’re “done” if they feel crisp. If the flowers are still limp, leave them again for a day or two. Gently lift out the flower and shake off the crystals lightly. To display the dried roses or peonies upright, insert the branches onto a florist’s foam. You could also use an egg carton filled with sand and tuck a flower in each cup. To preserve dried flowers during winter, just place them in a storage box with a couple of mothballs and a few spoonfuls of the silica gel to keep bugs and humidity away.
More Tips for Drying Flowers
1. Flowers plucked to be air-dried should be and moisture-free and as perfect as possible.

2. Flowers intended for drying should not be plucked too early in the morning to allow the sun to evaporate the dew first. After which, you may then remove leaves from the stems to facilitate quick drying.

3. The quicker the flowers dry, the better they preserve their colors.

4. Gather flowers in bunches and fasten the stems with elastic bands. Hang the flowers inverted on a hook in a dry area, away from light.

5. Most flowers are most effectively air-dried when hung upside-down.

6. Dried materials can remain hanging at long periods of time, as long as they’re hanging in a dry, area away from moisture and humidity.

7. After the flowers have dried up, arrange them between layers of tissue paper inside cardboard boxes.

1.Share your craft expertise at the local level. Offer to teach your craft at your local college as a noncredit course. Ask for a certain percentage of the enrollment fees as your payment. You could do this on an ongoing basis and make quite a nice supplemental income. Alternatively, you could set up a similar arrangement with your local craft store and offer a variety of craft classes on an continuing basis. This is a much needed service in most communities and can be quite lucrative for you.

2. Share your craft design expertise online. Consider producing a DVD showing how you make your craft and sell it from your website or on Ebay. This could open up a whole new market for your craft design expertise. There’s a large demand for new crafting ideas and techniques and people often don’t have the time to take a class at their local craft store. You give them the opportunity to learn a new crafting technique at home.

3. Publish your craft expertise in the form of books and magazines. You could either self publish your own books and ebooks on your crafting technique or you could write how to articles for magazines some of the crafting magazines. Publishers such as Lark Publishing are always looking for talented craft designers to write books relating to their particular are of craft expertise.

4. Market your craft designs in kit form. With so many people pressed for time these days, there’s a large market for craft kits. Could you modify and simplify your designs a bit and offer them in kit form to crafters who don’t have time to shop for supplies? You would be reaching man entirely new and potentially lucrative market. You could market your craft design kits via a website and through local craft stores.

5. Sell bead and jewelry making supplies. If you currently sell your crafts, chances are you’re buying your supplies wholesale. Why not supplement your income selling your excess supplies? You could parlay this into a separate business by arranging with wholesalers and manufacturers to buy in larger quantities. You could then sell crafting supplies to beaders via a website. This would not only allow you to establish a supplemental business, but would increase the profit margin on your existing craft design business by allowing you to buy in larger quantities.

6 . Become a craft marketing consultant. Starting a new craft business can be overwhelming for the beginner. You could offer your services as a craft marketing consultant and help new craft businesses find a market for their handmade designs. Are you a proat the craft show circuit? You could help beginners design effective craft booths. (I know there’s lots of uncertainty and confusion on how to do this). You could also help fledgling crafters get started in the craft home party business if you have experience in this area.

7. Start a craft co-op. If you have a good location available with foot traffic, you could start a small craft co-op. You would charge crafters a small fee to rent out space in the co-op to exhibit their designs. They would also be required to work at least one day a month to provide employee coverage. You would also have the opportunity to display your own crafts in the co-op, plus earn a little extra money as a bonus!

8. Publish a newsletter. If you enjoy writing, you could publish a newsletter for beginning crafters. Fill it with specialized tips, techniques, and projects. You could also publish a newsletter on marketing crafts which is sure to have receptive audience. As you can see, there are lots of options available to supplement your craft income. These supplemental businesses give you the opportunity to expand into new markets and reach new audiences for both your services and your handmade crafts. Why not give them a try?

Yarn
Many craft enthusiasts have extra pieces of yarn lying around; my puppy makes me very aware of how much random pieces of yarn I own. You can use these leftover yarn scraps to make a unique border when creating a scrapbook. Yarn is a wonderful tool because you can cut it into various lengths to make different patterns. When using yarn remember to utilize its flexibility by shaping it in fun patterns and designs as a border for your scrapbook.
Wallpaper
Wallpaper is sometimes very expensive and it is a shame to waste any leftover pieces of wallpaper; instead use these recycled materials to create a border in your scrapbook. You can combine various pieces, or simply cut certain images out of the wallpaper to create a border. You can even find wallpaper sample books for free at some hardware stores, and you can use these recycled wallpaper scraps for many purposes when creating scrapbook crafts.
Old Mail
Everyone gets mail, and many people end up throwing out the majority of their mail, but your old mail can be very useful when creating a scrapbook border. Check your mail for stamps, postmarks, and other interesting items before throwing it in the trash. These items make great borders for scrapbook crafts, and it is better the recycle them than waste them.
Buttons
Before you get rid of your old clothes check for extra buttons; they are usually sewn into seams or ends of shirts, and they can be very useful when recycled into scrapbook crafts. You can use buttons to form patterns along a border. Buttons can represent very meaningful things so they are perfect for scrapbook crafts, and they also are unique and interesting which will add detail and charm to your scrapbook crafts.
Toothpicks
People have made very interesting things out of toothpicks, and they can also be a great recycled addition to your scrapbook crafts. Try creating a one of a kind border for your scrapbook by gluing toothpicks in different patterns and designs. You can also color toothpicks with markers to change the look of them before you add them to your scrapbook crafts.
Scrapbook crafts are a great pastime, and there are many recycled materials you can utilize when having fun with scrapbook crafts. Try to use more recycled materials when creating your scrapbook and this will make your scrapbook much more unique and personal.

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Scrapbooking Supplies

Scrapbooking has become an all time favorite hobby for millions of people! What started out with just the basic supplies of decorative paper, stickers and borders, has grown into a wide range of scrapbooking supplies! Supplies can be purchased at craft/hobby stores, retail stores, hobby shows, or online, as well as found around your home. Whether you’re a novice or a pro, there are some supplies that you’ll want to keep on hand. Scrapbooking Supplies

Scrapbooking has become an all time favorite hobby for millions of people! What started out with just the basic supplies of decorative paper, stickers and borders, has grown into a wide range of scrapbooking supplies! Supplies can be purchased at craft/hobby stores, retail stores, hobby shows, or online, as well as found around your home. Whether you’re a novice or a pro, there are some supplies that you’ll want to keep on hand. Scrapbooking Kits Make Scrapbooking Easy

Are you looking for a fun way to organize your wedding pictures or pictures of your baby? Have you ever looked at someone’s scrapbook album and thought, “I could never do that”? Scrapbooking kits might just be the answer. Scrapbooking Kits Make Scrapbooking Easy

Are you looking for a fun way to organize your wedding pictures or pictures of your baby? Have you ever looked at someone’s scrapbook album and thought, I could never do that”? Scrapbooking kits might just be the answer. Whereas all these new-fangled computerized ways use to be the domain of geeks and techno-nerds, they have currently branched out to the follow of scrapbooking. Individuals of all ages from anywhere in the planet currently have access to many things to help them produce their own special scrapbooks. As a result of of the net and heaps of scrapbook oriented websites, the options have skyrocketed. Never in the past may somebody do as much as they will now. Another facet of digital scrapbooking fits in very nicely with the globe of social networking. Sites like Myspace and Facebook are a good match for displaying your scrapbooking skills.
Over the years, scrapbooking has gone from a hobby for elitists to these days where it’s a viable commercial activity. Each brick-and-mortar locations and websites have mushroomed into what you see today.
It was once a small scale activity but now it is expanding day by day. With all the new entries into the scrapbooking business, there are new scrapbooking techniques and tons of them. As a result of the myriad of choices for scrapbooking, it’s onerous to pigeonhole particular scrapbooking techniques. There really isn’t any right or wrong way to decorate a scrapbook. This ends up in new and distinctive scrapbooking techniques every day. Do not get me wrong, there are scrapbook techniques that can definitely benefit your presentation but a little bit of imagination with a smidgeon of creativity can go an extended way.
Thus where will one go to look for new and completely different scrapbooking techniques? There are websites, books, and friends who conjointly scrapbook. Scrapbooking is a learning experience and whereas you’re creating your masterpiece, you’ll see interesting techniques you will not have thought of within the past. Go ahead use them and share them with your friends. Get them to share their scrapbooking techniques too.
When you intend your scrapbook, take a while and assume the whole method through to the finished project. You begin out with the most necessary portion of the scrapbook; the paper. Paper should be durable with a long life and be acid-free. You wish your work around for a very long time and the right paper is essential for long life. As you intend the planning of your scrapbook, keep mental notes regarding completely different supplies needed. Supplies like pens, inks and stencils should be fastidiously planned for to make your project. Go into each scrapbook with the correct coming up with and you’ll realize it easier to precise your thoughts and finish up with lovely presentations.
A lot of scrapbooking techniques highlight the need to own index pages or highlight pages. They will inform you regarding where to find them and the way to show them. These special pages should be instantly noticeable as special pages with unique colors and symbols. Another manner to differentiate pages is with bookmarks with tassels. Tassels are both decorative and purposeful during a scrapbook.
There are a number of elements to the art of decoration. Decoration shouldn’t be overdone because it can create your project look gaudy. The correct kind of decoration is vital in scrapbooking techniques. Select decoration rigorously with planning before you start. Visualize it and then keep company with it. There are many decisions you can use. Stamps, elaborations, rub-ons, stickers, snow globes etc. will really glitz up your scrapbook if not done to excess. Choose rigorously and use every appropriately.
Want more versatility for your scrapbook? Here are some ways in which to feature impact to your project. You’ll be able to add pop-up pages, trinkets that are connected to pages, punch craft, peek-a-boo and panoramic pages to create your scrapbook unique and wonderful. Scrapbook techniques are limitless and terribly diverse. Go ahead and explore these techniques and add versatility to your scrapbooks.

Cotton Off the Stalk
Cotton Leaves
Cotton Buds
Large Bead for Head
Ribbon
Doll Hair
Fake Gold Ring Band
Hot Glue and Gun

Instructions:

Cut the cotton off the stalk

Around the top of it, find some leaves for the wings, and some of the buds for the arms. You have to be creative here, and just play around with it. I think all of mine turned out different with this part.

I used pearl balls for the head. I got these at Michael’s and they were on a stalk. There were about 24 on the stalk for 69 cents. Can you say cheap project?

I added different color ribbon under the head. Gold and silver are very pretty.

I added curly doll hair to the top with hot glue. And I added a gold halo (those cheap gold wedding rings in the wedding section at Michaels).

Finally, I added a hanger on the back the same color of ribbon as under the chin area.

Pasta Angel
Materials Needed:

Elbow Macaroni
Bowtie Pasta
Ziti Noodle (this looks like a giant macaroni with groves on the outside with an arch in it)
Gold Pipe Cleaner
White and Gold Paint
Medium sized clear faceted balls or round wooden balls with a face
Glue gun and glue sticks
Paintbrush
Glitter (optional)
Ribbon ( to hang as a decoration)

Instructions:

Paint the elcow and ziti white
Paint bowties gold or glittery silver
Cut each gold pipe cleaner into four equal parts
Make loop and twist ends together – this should look like a halo.
Stick twisted ends into the hole at the top of the ball – this should look like the halo over a head
Take a length of ribbon and make a loop big enough to fit over the tree branch or the place where it will hang.
Glue it to the bowtie, and then glue the wings on the ziti in the small arch.
Glue two elbows to sides but letting them touch the front of the angel.
Put glue on upper mouth of ziti (the one closest to the wings) and attach the head

LET DRY and Taaahaahhh – You have a Pasta Angel!!!

Foam

An easy back to school backpack craft for young kids uses foam sheets. For this craft you will also need scissors, a hot glue gun, hot glue sticks, fabric paint, a pen, and a backpack. Help young kids write their name on the foam sheets using the pen.

Then help kids use the scissors to cut out the letters. After the letters are cut out, help kids trace their name on the foam letters using the fabric paint. They can add patterns to the shapes as well if they like by using the fabric paints.

Allow the foam letters to dry. Help kids glue the letters to the back pack. This back to school craft is a fun way to help your kid keep track of his backpack.

Paint Markers

Another back to school craft that kids will enjoy is a paint marker patterned backpack. For this craft you will need paint markers in variety of colors, and a pencil. This craft is good for middle school and high school students.

Start this back to school, backpack craft by using the pencil to draw an image, pattern, or design on the backpack. If the backpack is a dark color, chalk can be used to initially draw the preferred pattern or image. Then help kids color in the images and patterns using the paint markers. Remember to allow paint to dry before using a new color marker.

Patches

This back to school craft is a great way to get kids involved in designing their back packs. This is an appropriate craft for kids that are young and old. For this craft you will need fabric glue, straight pins, and patches. If the kids are older you can allow them to use an iron for iron-on patches. Younger kids will practice motor skills by using fabric glue.

Start by picking out several patches that your kids like. Then place them in various spots on the backpack. When your kids are happy with where the patches are placed you can apply the glue or iron. If using glue add the straight pins after the glue is already applied. If ironing the patches on the backpack, use the straight pins to hold the patches in place when ironing.

Back to school backpack craft are a great way to help kids personalize their backpacks. You can create these crafts with your kids easily and inexpensively. Backpacks are an essential item for back to school. They are also a great way to have fun with your kids.

It’s a good idea to have a lot of craft ideas on hand for the children in your life and a craft book for kids is a great way to do this. With a great kids’ craft book, you can get awesome ideas such as creating bookmarks, marble painting, mirror image painting, sun catchers, and much more.

You can choose from projects for younger children like preschool age all the way up to older kids. A good craft book for kids will have projects designed for different age levels so that older children can get more of a challenge but younger children will be able to do much of it on their own.

A great craft book for kids will provide easy project ideas for kids to make at home.
Related Coverage
DIY Craft Book Publisher – Easier Than You Think

Many people think they can write a craft book – and why not? Really there’s not much more to it than explaining what you do – and how you do it – to a friend. Then you just write that down. All you need is a pc and a free program like OpenOffice! The problem people then have is getting that book into print. How do you get yourself a craft book publisher? Eco Friendly Kids Crafts Idea

I was thinking of a good craft for kids that will also start to teach them a little bit about being eco friendly. This idea popped into mind. Allowing children to decorate a cotton drawstring bag. These bags can be purchased blank, and the children can design their little hearts out. Baby Bookends

Bookends are nothing but book shelves used to store books for your kids. Baby bookends are used at homes where there are children. This is the best way to store books as your kids will love the way they have been kept. This will also increase their reading time as they will love taking out books from this shelf. Babysitter Crafts For Kids, Children and Toddlers

Kids’ crafts are creative and fun hand works. They could be paintings, sewing activities, paper works, and art designs. There are several ideas you can make use of while teaching your kids about crafts making. Animal kids projects are for preschool, kindergarten and elementary school children. Kids love to make animal crafts such as bird, mammal and many more. There are several tips helpful for parents or baby-sitters while helping kids create different stuff. Ideal projects will contain simple ingredients that you can find at home or easily pick up at a store for cheap. Many of them have great ideas for how you can recycle items that you already have in your home such as toilet paper rolls or used CDs.

The craft book for kids should supply step by step instructions from start to finish on how to successfully complete your project. This might contain projects you can do with your kids or also those that your kids can do on their own to give you a break and to keep them occupied during the summer, weekends or just a rainy day.

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How to sell your ideas, using marketing ideas

Being a sales person means that you have to come up with marketing ideas and then you have to learn how to apply them to your own sales pitch. When you are looking for ways to sell your ideas and make your marketing a success, you need to be open to fresh and new ideas. Marketing is one thing that you have to learn to be good at. Give it your best shot and do not give up until you have found the ideas that make it all worthwhile. It is all about whom you are and what you want to do for your own personal growth. Save Money and Time By Shopping Online Your Greeting Card Occasions

From birthdays to Christmas, it seems like there is always an event or holiday to celebrate. As these occasions arise, it can become expensive and tiresome to purchase individual cards for each of these occasions. There is so much time and money put into buying cards at the last minute for these special events, and it can spoil the importance of that particular festivity. Holiday Greeting Photo Cards Guide

Sending warm holiday greetings can bridge the gap of time and distance between friends, family, and loved ones. Imagine the slow smiles that glide across faces when they see beautiful photos of the people they’ve missed so much. Add Spice To Life With Well Designed Greeting Cards

A beautifully made greeting card is a quintessence of your feelings, thoughts and ideas. It helps you to convey your emotions to the loved ones in the most unforgettable manner. You give cards to your loved ones on many occasions like New Year Eve, Easter, birthdays, Christmas and much more. A well-made card to your near and dear ones can work wonders. Glue a small magnet on the back.
5. Coat and Sweater Pins. Cut out some small pretty designs from your cards. Glue a 1″ pin closure onto the back.
6. Recipe Cards. Cut down your card to measure 3″x 5″ in size. Write your favorite holiday recipes on the blank backside. You can hand them out at your holiday party or at your cookie exchange party.
7. Wall Decorations. You can mat and frame your greeting cards.
8. Scrapbooking and Cardmaking. To make your items archival safe, lightly spray them with Archival Mist.
9. Bookmarks. Cut your card to a 1 1/2″ by 7″ size. Use a hole punch to punch a hole near the top edge. Attach a ribbon or tassel through the hole.
10. Gift Bag and Package Tags. Cut down to a 1″ by 3″ size. Hole punch a hole in the left upper corner so that you can attach the tag to the package with ribbon.
11.
Tree Ornaments. Cut out 3″ and 4″ diameter designs. Hole punch a hole near the top center. Use ribbon to make a hanger.
12. Jar Lid Toppers. If you are making gift mixes to give as Holiday gifts, cut out a circle design to fit the top of your jar lid. Glue to the jar lid using all-purpose crafting glue or a scrapbooking glue stick.
13. Holiday Placemats. Cut a sheet of poster board to desired placement length. Glue card fronts onto poster board. Seal both sides of poster board with clear contact paper.
14. Charm Tags. Cut out 2″ diameter circles. Hole punch a hole near the two center edge. Using a key chain finding, insert chain through hole. Instant way to dress up your purse, backpack, and key chains for the holidays.
15. CD/DVD Jewel Case Covers. Dress up those holiday self-made DVD’s and CD’s by making your own jewel case covers. Cut down greeting cards to fit inside the case, using the case as a template.
I hope these 15 crafty ideas have inspired your own creative ideas. Remember, don’t throw them away. It’s time to Recycle and Reuse those greeting cards!

Learning how to bead and make your own jewelry is no secret, it just takes a little patience and finding the right resources. Making your own jewelry is one of the hottest new hobbies, and the best thing is, you can do it for pleasure, or profit, or both. In this article, I will show you step by step how to make a simple bracelet. The Age-Old Craft – Evil Eye Jewelry Making

The evil eye jewelry making business is a flourishing one. In the past and up until now, the trade involving jewelry and the beads that are used to make them have been and remained quite lively. The art of evil eye jewelry making can be traced back to the ancient Romans, which started the trend of using jewelries with the protective eye to guard them against the curse brought by the evil eye. Making Beaded Jewelry

Creating your own beaded jewelry is awfully rewarding. It’s a way to show how creative you are. Your emotions show in each of your designs and they express your view towards art. More Basic Bead Stringing

Once you’ve chosen a basic bead stringing material from the endless list of options out there in the beading world, you then have to consider some of the other components of bead stringing. Learn about how to choose a beading needle, a string-beading surface, and the best method for your project.
Once you’ve completed a few projects, if you find you’re enjoying yourself, a minimal investment can get you fully outfitted with various “tools of the trade” that veterans of bead craft employ in the execution of their ideas.
Once you’ve determined that bead craft is your kind of hobby, you’ll invariably want to search out increasingly exotic beads for your projects. This is where the specialty shops will become important. A specialty shop will carry exotics like Czech glass beads, a variety of faceted beads in a multitude of sizes and colors, and a good selection of semi-precious stones, and other surprises besides.
After you have gained a bit of design experience, and especially if you decide you’d like to start giving your creations as gifts or selling them for profit, you’ll likely find yourself relying more and more on specialty shops.
Ideally, you’ll have one of these in your local area, but if not, there are a number of reputable vendors online who carry impressive inventories of beading supplies.
Start simple, start small, and if you decide bead craft is for you, there are tons of resources available, both on and off line!
To learn more about this and related topics, see Bead Craft

Water Balloon

Water balloons are a great medium for bee themed summer crafts for kids. For this craft you will need two yellow water balloons, a black marker, construction paper, glue, scissors, and a pipe cleaner. Start this summer craft by helping kids blow up one of the balloons all the way. Then blow up the other balloon only enough to make a small ball shape.

Use the ends of the balloons tie the balloons together tightly. Then help kids use the marker to color black zigzag lines around the body of the bee. Add a line around the small balloon as well, and add eyes and a mouth to this balloon as well.

Help kids fold a small piece of paper in half and cut a tear drop shape from the paper. Make sure the pointed end of the wings is on the folded side of the paper. It is important because the wings will need to remain together during this project.

Cut a piece of pipe cleaner about 6 inches long. Fold it in half and twist it around the place where the balloons are tied together. Bend the ends up towards the head and curl the ends to make fun antennas. Place the folded part of the wings on top of the place where the pipe cleaners are twisted and glue them in place. When the glue has dried this bee themed summer craft is done.

Foam Tray

A foam tray is a great medium for making bee themed summer crafts with kids. For this craft you will need a white foam tray, yellow paint, a paintbrush, black construction paper, scissors, a pen, a pipe cleaner.

Start by drawing a bee body onto the foam tray. This is done by drawing a circle for the head. Then add an oval shape for the body, and a point for the stinger. Help kids cut out the bee shape. Allow them to paint the entire shape yellow, and let it dry.

While the bee body is drying it is time to make the details for this summer craft. Help kids cut a zigzag line out of the construction paper. Also help them cut two small tear drop shapes out of the paper for wings. Bend the pipe cleaner in half and curl the ends around the pen to create antenna. You may want to make the paper cleaner a little smaller first.

When the paint is dry help kids assemble the bee themed summer craft. Glue the antenna to the head. Add an eye and a mouth with the pen. Then add the zigzag pattern to the body. Trim extra paper off of the sides. Glue the wings on to finish this bee craft.

Making bee themed crafts with kids is a great project for summer. These crafts are easy and fun; try these bee themed summer crafts with your kids!