Get a Head Start on Holiday Crafting

Hello, everyone I am Terry Yo, the spokesperson for the Craft and Hobby Association and now is the time to celebrate the season and the better way to do that, is by being creative. So, let me show you some great ideas and you can get started. First of all, we are all in to taking digital pictures right now but you know what you can do, you can pick yourself up a printer. This is the newest printer from HP and you can print paper that is 13 x 19 inches in size and that is amazing. It is large enough to take your pictures and some of your favorite sayings, special dates, names, and print out wrapping paper for your guest. Or, you can personalize cards, you can do just about anything that you can but now you can do it better because you have more room with a bigger paper. Who could not ask for more?

Okay, another idea is to take a special kind of paper, this is by graphics and you can run this paper through your printer and then you can personalize rub-ons. What do you use rub-ons for? Well, basically you use them to rub on to products like paper, glass, plastic but the cool thing about this is that you can personalize it for a special day, a special person, and when the holiday is over, you just wash it off or scrape it off and use it again for another holiday.

Now, taking your table top to a new level is something that I always enjoyed doing and you can do that so easily by painting your own Duraware. I know it sounds impossible but it is very easy to do because you use a special paint. This is a paint called Porcelaine from PBO Paint it is literally a marker. You just simple maybe trace the plate or your pattern with a graphite paper on to your plate here. Designer Cindy Rippy actually created this for us and you put the marker on and then you bake it and it is solid. It is there, you can even put it in the dishwasher afterwards.

You can also create some beautiful plate settings with this special paper. This is just a 12 x 12 piece of scrap booking paper but it is called paintables from Prima Marketing and you can paint your own colors so that way you can add to your table top palette throughout your whole housing and customize it.

And, if you want to give away something special, I love this idea, this is a product from Terra Bella and it allows you to take place. This is a simple glass plate, paint the back of it in special colors, you can crackle it, you can do a different texture, and you can create some beautiful serving platters or give them as a gift and put some cookies on it, something like that.

Now, we all like to go green right now, so elements this is a new product by Art Glitter and it is the new glitter and it is all organic. It comes from the earth so you can create beautiful designs with products from the earth and all of these beautiful earthy colors. You can go organic, you can do it on bags, cards, whatever you can think of you can use this new organic glitter, love the idea.

Now, if you want to use some tools, they are fun. This is a gwamick kit from making memories and it just helps you add a little special touch to maybe a simple paper bag and it is so beautiful and it is so simple to do with some scrap booking paper and you got a beautiful gift bag. You wanted to add a little table top decor. I love this, this is a stock tree and it is well basically made out of Styrofoam and it comes flat and the pieces are already cut. It allows you stock all the pieces on top of each other. You can paint it, you can decorate it, and it comes out really fun and funky.

Now, if you want to involve the kids in the holidays pick up some chalk ink markers. They are so easy to use, you can actually apply them to your dishes, this is a placemat, and when you are all finish you just simply wipe it off and start all over again. Put some really fun ideas here from Duncan Paint. This is some glow in the dark paints and some boutique paints that will allow you to take recyclables and enhance them with some fun paints and papers and really have a great time.

And I just do not want you to forget about this, I love this, remember this when we are kids? Snow globes, you can make your own snow globes, personalize them, add your own pictures from the holidays and give them away as a gift or the kids can make them, themselves.

So, it is time to celebrate the season and if you want to know more just log on to craftplace.org.