Mason Jar Pencil Holder

     Okay, so I don't know if this technically counts as a Mason jar.  It's a Zhena's tea jar, but you could craft a similar container from a Mason jar, albeit without the nice little pencil sharpener attachment (which is where the tea's wooden measuring spoon was stored).  That loop where I have my pencil sharpener also works well as a space to set the colored pencil you're working with if you want to put it down for a second.

Materials:
*Zhena's tea jar (or other glass jar)
*Jump ring
*Pencil sharpener with loop at the end
*Two pairs of pliers

Directions:
*Open up the jump ring and loop it through both the loop on the tea container and the loop on the pencil sharpener.  Close the jump ring.
*Add some pencils.  That's it!

Mini Easter Basket

     Transform an old medicine cup into an adorable mini basket.

Materials:
*Plastic medicine cup
*Twine
*All purpose adhesive
*Green tissue paper
*Mini foam eggs
*Ribbon rose
*Scissors

Directions:
*Cut three lengths of twine long enough that they could reach from the bottom of the medicine cup, loop up to form a handle, and reach down to the bottom on the other side.
*Braid the three pieces of twine together and then glue on to form the handle.
*Wrap twine around the medicine cup, gluing down as you go.  Let dry.
*Once you've finished gluing down the twine, embellish with a ribbon rose or other decoration of your choice.
*Wad up some paper (tissue paper would work fine, but you could also use scrap paper) and stuff it in the bottom of the medicine cup.
*Cut very thin strips of green tissue paper to create the Easter "grass."  Layer it atop the paper,
*Add a few teeny eggs and you're ready for your very own mini egg hunt.

Happy egg hunting!

Mini "Crystal" Ball

     Yes, I know Halloween is still months away.  Why do you ask?  While the Halloween bug still is in my system (when isn't it?), my main motivation for making this craft was the fact that it's the middle of the semester.  During this hectic time of year, I need crafts that are super quick to make.  You'd be hard pressed to find a craft that's quicker to make than this one and the end result looks pretty nice.

Materials:
*Clear glass marble

*Bead cap

*All purpose adhesive

Directions:

*Glue bead cap to the marble.  Set aside to dry.  That's it!

Mini "Magic" Wand

     Okay, so I know Halloween is still months away, but I came up with the idea for these adorable mini "magic" wands and I could not wait that long to try it.  The procedure is similar to the one I used to make my full sized prop "magic" wands.  They are the perfect size for Barbie's Halloween shindig, but could work for many other dolls as well.

Materials:
*Toothpicks
*All purpose adhesive
*Plastic crystal bead in the color of your choice
*Paint in the colors of your choice
*Paintbrush

Directions:

*Glue a plastic crystal bead to the end of a toothpick.

*Layer on all purpose adhesive to create a handle for your wand.  You could probably also use hot glue or perhaps other glues to achieve a similar effect.  I wound the glue around the part of the toothpick where I wanted the handle to be in a spiraling motion and then set it aside to dry.

*Paint the handle of the toothpick.  Let dry.

*Paint the remainder of the wand.  Let dry.

Mini Fairy House

     Wait, don't throw that container out!  Empty plastic bottles such as toothpick containers, rounded makeup containers, and aspirin bottles are perfect for making tiny fairy houses.

Materials:
*Empty plastic container (e.g. toothpick holder)
*Toothpicks
*Gold seed bead
*Lots of teeny pebbles
*All purpose adhesive
*Brown paint
*Gray paint
*Red paint
*White paint
*Paintbrush
*Clay

Directions:

*Paint the container gray.  This way, if you end up with small gaps between rocks that are hard to fill in, it will look like there is grout or cement or something similar between the rocks.

*Snip the ends off of three toothpicks and then cut each toothpick in half.  Paint five or six of these toothpick halves brown and set aside to dry.

*Once dry, glue on the painted toothpicks to form a door.

*Glue a gold seed bead onto the toothpicks for a doorknob.

*Glue rocks onto the container, filling in as much of the space as you can.

*Craft a mushroom shaped roof from clay.  Bake or dry following the directions given on the packaging.

*Paint the roof red and then let dry.  Once dry. paint on white spots.  Set aside to dry.

This is what the two pieces looked like before I glued them together.  The mushroom roof really does add to the fairy house's aesthetic.

*Once the roof is completely dry, glue it to the top of the container.

*To make an owl fairy inhabitant, punch two butterfly shapes from cardstock and glue to the back of the bead such that one wing sticks out on either side of the owl bead.

Perler Fuse Bead Floral Wreath Coasters

Materials:
*Fuse beads (e.g. Perler beads)
*Small hexagonal peg board
*Iron

Directions:
*Design your creation by arranging beads on a hexagonal peg board as shown below:

*Cover the designs with a sheet of waxed paper and iron the first side.  Make sure to iron the edges especially well, as the beads may not stick together and may fall off if you don't.

*Remove the fuse bead project from its peg board, cover with waxed paper, and iron the other side.

Spring Shapes Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Bites

     While spring may still be weeks away, and perhaps even further here in Maine, that doesn't mean that you can't make things feel springy inside.  Bring some spring cheer to your snacking with these cinnamon sugar tortilla bites, which are as tasty as they are adorable.

Materials:
*Spring shaped cookie cutters
*Flour tortilla
*Butter
*Cinnamon
*Sugar

Directions:
*Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
*Cut spring shapes from your flour tortilla and place these shapes on a baking sheet.
*Melt butter and brush it across your shapes so that each one has a light coating.
*Sprinkle on some cinnamon sugar.
*Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown.