Crafting Budget – How Much Do You Spend on Crafts?
I love being creative and making something fun from random materials that anyone can get a hold of. These days, I try to get free or inexpensive materials for creative projects just for fun. If you missed my previous posts about finding free crafting materials from around the house, please take a look at them and let me know if there is anything that I’ve missed.
While I do try to keep my budget low for crafting, there will be times when I will splash out on quality tools or materials that I know will go a long way. This is especially true for scalpel knives, paper cutters and writing utensils.
Over the years, I’ve certainly piled up quite a collection of paper, paints, adhesives and stationery. Most of my cost went into Japanese chiyogami and washi but I only use them for “special” occasions *^_^* Although everything takes up more space than I prefer, I try my best to keep it neat and organized… so I don’t forget what I have!
I believe that being creative should not have to be expensive, whether it’s just for fun or as a special gift. Also, many people seem to miss the point that crafting shouldn’t be terribly expensive. No matter your skill level or style, it’s possible to make beautiful things that you and others love as well.
That being said, I’m curious to know how much you spend on crafts in a year?
How to Make Fun Candy Garlands from Paper Scaps!
I still have TONS of paper scraps that I want to use, but didn’t have fun ideas for it -until now!
Here is a cute paper craft to make a paper garland that looks like it has a bunch of strung up candies without the sticky mess or the temptation!
Get out your scraps of paper -any will do. If you have different weights and textures, they can add nice depth when you’re finished.
scrap paper pile
Grab one piece of paper and draw out a bunch of circles (I used the middle of a plastic tape dispenser as my circle template.
Draw out simple shapes.
Find a good contrasting colour to make the wrapped candy tips. Make sure to measure the diameter of the circle as the long middle so it’s easy to tape to the back of the circle.
Measure the width to sketch out the candy tips.
Completed mini candies.
For large lollipops, draw out larger circles just like the little wrapped candies.
Draw out larger circles.
Choose several different colours to combine contrasting ones for each lollipop.
Choose several colours for variety.
Choose one colour as the base and one as the top swirl. Take the top colour and cut out a swirl. To do this, just start cutting at one point and follow the circle until you reach the middle.
Cut out a swirl.
To make the swirls thinner, cut along the middle of the strip and cut all the way through the middle. This should now give you two thinner swirls. You can use both swirls for lollipops or use one swirl for other hanging decorations.
Thin out the swirl by cutting along the swirl in the middle.
Glue the swirls down on the plain circles for the lollipop top. Cut out a few sticks and just tape them to the back.
Tape or glue on top of plain circle.
For simple mini heart lollipops, cut out small heart shapes and tape short sticks to the back. Simple!
Hearts and sticks from scraps of paper.
Attach the sticks to the back of the hearts.
I found these fun bright colours and just started cutting out rectangles and trapezoids (essentially a triangle with a cut tip).
Rectangles and trapezoids from scraps.
Glue the trapezoids to the ends of the rectangles to make a simple type of rectangular wrapped candies.
Rectangular candies.
For smaller scraps of paper, try to pair up shades of long thin rectangles together for candy sticks.
Pair up shades for candy sticks.
Take the lighter shades and cut out diagonal strips (width wise). Discard every other strip and glue the rest on the darker strip.
Finished candy sticks.
Once all of the candies are done, arrange them as you like along a string or ribbon. I like to arrange them close together so that the string is barely visible.
Arrange paper candies however you like.
Finished! Isn’t it adorable? I think it’s a great decoration for Birthday parties, children’s play dates, or even just to dress up the house with something colourful and fun!
Finished paper candy garland!
Let me know what you think and please send me your variations so that I can feature them on the site!
Coming up, Paper Candy Garland!
As per usual, I have gone quiet and apologize. I’m preparing an adorable craft that I hope you will all love -a paper candy garland! Please keep an eye out for the post, it’ll be colourful and fun!
Can Candy Making Kits be Educational?
I have subscribed to RRcherrypie on Youtube and can’t help but watch through all of the videos just to see how all of the different candies are made. When I lived in Japan, I noticed all of these different candy making kits but never thought to buy them since they are for kids, but the more I see how fun they are, I realize that I’ve missed opportunities to teach my old class something educational from something fun.
Each candy making kit can easily be a fun science lesson for children of all ages. You can show them how a combination of a powder and liquid can form a solid, you can show colour changes by mixing different colours, teach them to be patient and precise when combining mixtures and you can get the kids excited about making their own “food”.
Luckily, it’s not just restricted to people living in Asia. You can find the same candy making kits on Amazon, I’ve linked to a list here.
If you would like to see just what I’m talking about, here’s one of RRcherrypie’s videos:
More Winter Fun Outdoors
We took some time off to get some hiking and snowshoeing in before the winter ended (and because it felt like a great time to unwind from not-so-fun-stuff from everyday life).
We packed up a few essentials like warm thermals, hot tea, snacks and extra socks for the cold Northern winter and headed out to Algonquin Park (see map here).
Our first day there was absolutely beautiful. The sun was out, the weather was warm (by Canadian winter standards) and our trail was easy to handle.
Beautiful sunny day.
Inukshuk made of ice and snow.
Snowshoeing Trail
Much better to snowshoe than walk through the deep snow.
Slippery bridge over a river.
Peace in nature.
Feeding the adorable chickadees.
I left some seeds behind as we moved along.
Part of a fallen tree we had to crawl under.
Love the ice.
Bridge at the end of a trail.
The second day….could have been nicer but it was lovely snowfall nonetheless.
Bad weather and moose warnings.
Love the rock colours.
Can’t wait for summer!
Tracks
Beautiful sunset.
What do you enjoy doing during winter as a way to unwind from a hectic life? Comment below and share!
