Monday, November 29, 2010

Thanksgiving Table Centerpiece




Happy Thanksgiving to all. Hope all of you had a wonderful time with family and friends. This year we did loads of shopping and some quick craft too.
It was an improvisation over a craft I made earlier. It did not take much time and it did brighten our little thansgiving table.

Supplies
:

Candle stand
Artificial Fall leaves
Turkey

You can use any Turkey craft you made or any turkey toy at hand. The one I used was made of origami paper using very simple techniques and some self sticking foam sheets. For detailed instructions on how to make Paper Turkey click here.

Simply wind the fall leaves stem around the candle stand. Use a length which is suitable to your candle stand. There are no hard and fast rules here. Just make sure it is away from the flame. Keep the turkey near the candle stand.
Your beautiful and easy Thanksgiving Centerpiece is ready.
If you are interested in knowing more about Thanksgiving in United States click here.
Thanksgiving is celebrated in different countries on different days. For example in Canada, Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October. Thanksgiving is celebrated all around the world to thank Lord for bountiful harvest, His blessings and the prosperity that he bestowed upon us.There are variations in the way it is celebrated and the day it is celebrated. You can read about it here. However, the underlying theme of this wonderful festival remains the same. Thanking God for everything. We use this opportunity to thank God, our family and friends.
Happy TURKEY Day.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Gift wrapping and gift card for baby shower


Baby showers are such special occasions for the expectant parents. Its almost a year since I had mine and I still have wonderful memories of that day.

Any heartfelt gift for the coming baby is special for the parents. And if that gift is wrapped beautifully it makes it all the more special.

Recently I had to attend a baby shower of one of our friends. They are expecting a baby boy. I got all nostalgic about my baby shower last year and thought of creating something beautiful. I had a gift box for the gift already so thought of decorating it with a personalized card.



This card has baby birdie looking at his mother. I simply adore the moment when a child looks at his/her mother There is pure trust and unconditional love, something you experience all the more when you have your own child.

I attached the blue ribbons in crisscross over the gift box for added details. I used blue and white colors as it was for a baby boy. You can use pink and white for a girl, or any other fun color for a surprise.

Supplies needed for this project :

- Blue,White and brown card stock
- Scallop punch from Martha Stewart
- Glue
- Marker for the eyes
- Blue ribbon
- Gift Box

I cut the birdies and the branch freehand. If you find that difficult you can download patterns from internet.

I punched the blue card stock bottom to add the details and glued white card stock in the back to get the blue and white pattern. The blue ribbons on the gift box added to the pulled together look.

I hope my friend loved it as much as I loved making it.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Holiday Theme Gift Box


Like everyone else we are great admirers of a beautifully wrapped gift. Don't you love it when someone takes all the effort to buy a meaningful gift and then present it in a lovely package to make the experience everlasting.

A gift in a uniquely beautiful wrapping leaves a lasting impression,sometimes greater than the gift itself. A beautifully wrapped gift tells the story of how much effort,care and love is behind the gift. It adds a tremendous value to the actual gift inside.

This holiday season we will bring you a series of uniquely beautiful gift wrapping ideas. Do give them a try.They are not as difficult as they sometimes seem to be. We will walk you through it step by step.



The picture aboveis a wonderful example of how a plain white box can be converted into something extra special.

Supplies you will need:
- White paper mache gift box
- Paper doily
- Gold glitter
- Glue
- Double crepe paper red
- Quilling paper green
- Red paper copying paper thickness
- Doily Punch Martha Stewart collection

The white paper Mache box as shown in the above picture are available in many craft stores like Michaels or Hobby Lobby. They are available in various sizes, small, medium and large. To make this punch out doily strips using the Doily Punch from Martha stewart collection. You can use any other punch you like too.
Click here for the paper quilled roses tutorial. The leaves are made with the basic quilling shape of tear drop.

You can use golden doily or apply golden glitter on a white doily and make it look more festive. At the center glue the roses and leaves. Glue or tape the doily laces as shown. With a little bit imagination you can convert a plain simple looking white box into something extra special. Let it dry.

Use this to gift someone this Holiday season. It can be used as a birthday gift box or a Christmas gift shop, as a Diwali gift box or for any other special occasion.
Do give it a try and let us know how it turned out.
Happy Holidays.


Tip: If the white paper mache box is not available , you can spray paint a brown paper mache box with a color of your choice. It is better than using a white paper to first line it and then decorate it.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Happy Birthday "Craft Ideas for All"



Two years ago, this day we started this blog. The idea was to have a portal to share our creativity and in the process inspire and get inspired to create new and beautiful things. We did not know then how much time and energy we will be able to devote, but we were sure about one thing, we wanted to give it a try.

Two years later Craft Ideas for All has become such a special part of our lives. A lot has happened in these two years. One of us has a little baby girl all grown up into a toddler( that too a crafty one), the other has had a baby boy who keeps her on her toes all day... we have had our share of joys and tough times. And in between all these CIFA had been the escape, the place where we both love to share our creativity and get connected with the creative world on web. Both of us live in separate cities , but CIFA has made our bond stronger too. Its so much fun to create something and ping immediately to get feedback from the other(Hoping its positive :)).

We have received so much love and appreciation from our readers and still get excited on each and every of your comments. Hoping that all the love and encouragement from our readers and the support of our family will give wings to our imagination just like this butterfly and we will keep bringing fun and new craft ideas for all of you to enjoy and create.

Happy Birthday CIFA and a very Happy Festive Season to all our readers.

-Amrita and Nimisha

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Happy Diwali Greeting Card


Happy Diwali to all who celebrate Diwali. Diwali is a festival of lights. Diwali or Deepawali is celebrated by decorating houses with lights in various forms. Deepawali's literal meaning is row of Deeps. "Deep(Sanskrit)" or "Diya (Hindi)" as they are called in hindi are small clay lamps integral part of this celebration. They are used during prayers to Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi and also decorating all around the house, inside and out. It signifies the house will prosper and the light from the "Diya" will bring brightness in their lives. This festival signifies the triumph of Good over Evil. For more on Diwali click here. Since, no Diwali is complete without Diyas it is has become the most popular theme of the greeting cards we make or buy for our family and friends. So this year we decided to make one with this theme.

This is a simple greeting card made with very basic quilling shapes. With a little supervision kids can make these too.

Supplies needed

- Paper quilling strips 1/8" 2 yellow, 2 Red

- PVC Glue quick and clear drying

- Markers

- Red paper

- Card stock or plain greeting card

- Martha stewart Punch Doily

I have used basic tear drop shape for the flame of the Diya. The half moon shape which I have pinched a little more in one side to make it more pointed resembles the shape of Diya.
For basics on paper quilling and the basic shapes check out our previous posts on Paper Quilling.

Glue these shapes as shown and glue or tape the punched doily of your choice.

For younger kids you can make the paper quilled shapes and they can enjoy assembling these shapes in the form of Diyas and making their own cards..

Tips:
1.If you do not have pre-cut paper quilling strips you can cut them using scissors or a paper cutter. You can use magazine papers or gift wrap papers.

2.If you do not have a punch, you can use a colorful ribbon instead.