Bella Dia

Cereal Box House Tutorial

I have had this tutorial on my mind for so long!
I love little houses and creating wee villages, definitely
a carry over from my childhood, and have been wanting
to make some of my own to play decorate with. I figured
I could make houses from all the cardboard boxes in
my recycling so now I have finally taken pictures and
written up a tutorial to share with you!
There are a lot of pictures but the tutorial is actually
very simple. Once the house is made it can be painted
or covered with paper or even left plain. You can also
leave one flap open and use it as a gift box, part of an
advent, or just a hiding place for treasures :)

Supplies:
cardboard box from the pantry
straight edge
pencil
scissors
thick white glue
something to score with

Optional:
clamp, clothespins, or painter's
tape for holding pieces until
they dry

*click on pictures to enlarge*

#1: undo all the seams and lay your box out flat with the
unprinted side facing up

#2: draw a line across the box at least
one inch below the mid line

#3: cut the original vertical fold lines from the top to
the marked line; lines to cut are marked with a
white dot in the picture

#4: score across the box on top of your drawn line

#5: cut off the little flap at the arrow; cut off two of the
top flaps - where the X's are in the picture

#6: turn over and apply glue to the small side seam flap

#7: fold up box in reverse and clamp or hold
until side seam is dry

#8: fold and glue the bottom of the box

#9: here's the box all glued up in reverse and the top is
cut and ready to make the roof

#10: fold all four sides down on the score line you made
earlier in #4 then fold back up straight
 #11: apply glue to the small flap at the top of the short
side panel (see arrow in picture #10); put glue on the
unprinted side and glue together as above

#12: lay box on its side, then mark and score angled
roof edges against the front and back panels of
the box (all four angles)

#13: cut off top section of each front and back panel
at the peak of the roof

#14: cut side panels along the angled roof line about
3/8" away from your marked and scored line
(do this for all four angles)

#15: cut off an angled tip at the peak of the
sides (four times)

#16: fold all four flaps that you just cut towards the
box; apply glue on all the flaps and tuck into the roof

#17: here's your house all glued and
ready to be decorated!


Experiment with a variety of boxes; the small house
in the middle is made from two pudding boxes glued
together and the square house on the right is from a
tea box. You can also change the height of the roof by
adjusting the length of the four vertical
cuts you made in #3.


These houses were all taped instead of being glued and
then I covered them with paper.


These houses were painted with acrylic paint. They can
be drawn on after they have dried. The little house with
the green roof is made from an allergy medicine box.

I hope you'll try to make some houses. They are
easy enough for older kids to do and younger kids
can have someone else make the house and then
enjoy the painting and decorating.
Have fun with it!

Pocket Stitch Book

I created this little Pocket Stitch Book for Sew, Mama, Sew's
Month of Hand Sewing. It features 7 different stitcheswith
illustrations and how-to's. The book is one page to print out, then
folded to create a convenient little book that can be
slipped into your sewing basket!

I'm trying to get back to blogging here at Bella Dia on a more
regular basis. I've got lots to share - thrift shop finds, books, WIPs
and FOs,and even a tutorial or two.

I'm blogging at The Crafty Crow five days a week and it keeps me
really busy but I'm anxious to catch up on my postings here as well.

Button Clips

 
This probably says something about how my gift making is
going but here is another last minute gift that is quick and
easy to make. Buttons and paperclips glued together with hot
glue make button clips! They can still be used as paperclips
but the large ones make cute bookmarks as well. 

The view from the back. You can use a shank button or a
button with holes. Lay the paperclip over the middle of the back
of the button and add some hot glue. These look really cute with
the novelty type buttons and it's a great craft for kids too!

Rocks +Transfers = Easy Last Minute Gifts

I love that scrapbooking has brought so many products into
the crafting world that can be used in other ways. I know rub-on
transfers have been around for awhile but now they come in so
many beautiful and fun designs and that's what I found on my
last trip to the scrapbook store.  Of course, I wanted to try them
out right away and since these stones were within arm's reach
this is what I did. These small ones look like they've been
stitched together and would be just right for paperweights.

This larger rock would make a nice doorstop. Did you need
last minute gifts or stocking stuffers? Here you go!

Glittery Newspaper Tree

I saw this tree on the Martha Stewart site and almost
immediately set to making it.  I'm planning on doing a whole 
landscape of recycled trees this year for a holiday display so
this fit the bill perfectly. I have a few tips for you if you decide
to make one as well. 

* I made the polymer clay base exactly as the instructions and
it came out perfectly only I used a bamboo skewer instead of
a knitting needle for the support.

* I have a large paper cutter and I am *so* glad I did! 

* Cut out all the newspaper ahead of time so you use the
same amount of each size. 

* We used a small newspaper cone for the top instead of a
star since ours is just a regular tree in the woods
and not a Christmas tree.

* I used Elmer's spray adhesive for the glitter. The glitter is
actually small opalescent flakes - a brand new bag
that I got while thrifting, woot!

* It is surprisingly sturdy and I plan to keep if for next
year so we'll see if it stores well.

* My kids were very much involved and could easily do it
on their own but it does take awhile so you may want to
have them switch out if they get bored.

Handprint Turkey Softie and Tutorial

For me, the hand print turkey is the quintessential
Thanksgiving kids craft and it is one of my favorites. I thought
it would be fun to have a more permanent version so I decided
to make a softie version. I'll be the first to say that the following
tutorial is very spare (because I'm really supposed to be working
on other things) but I had this on my mind and just had to make it!

You'll need:

*two layers of fabric large enough to accommodate your child's
hand with at least one inch to spare all the way around

*a few pins

*disappearing fabric marker or pencil

*sewing machine & coordinating thread

*scissors

*poly-fil or other stuffing

*pencil with eraser for help with stuffing

*scraps of felt (wool preferable)for feathers, wings, eyes, beak,
and wattle; I used red, orange, gold, yellow, and beige

*fabric glue, like Fabri-Tac

How-to:

With right sides of fabric together, trace your child's
hand with the marker/pencil.

Pin the fabric together and sew over marked lines
leaving the wrist area open.

Trim within about 1/8" of stitch line.

Snip between the fingers and around any curves.

Turn right side out and poke out fingers.

Using only small bits of stuffing at a time, stuff the
fingers then the hand.

Tuck in the bottom opening and edge stitch to close or hand
stitch if you've got time - I didn't.

Feathers should be about the length of the fingers. I didn't
use a pattern but cut them freehand. I used five different colors
and cut two feathers from each one for a total of ten. Snip
along one edge of the feather.

Apply glue only at the base of the feather and attach to the turkey.

Cut two wings, apply glue on one forward end only
and place appropriately.

Cut a little triangle for the beak and a little rounded strip
for the wattle and glue in place.

Take a little bit of felt and roll it between your fingers to make
the eye then glue in place and repeat for the other side.

Tip: If you don't want to machine sew then make the body from
felt. Leave a little more room around the edges of the tracing
for hand sewing and there's no need to turn it inside out.
Continue as above with the stuffing and feathers.

Your done! That was simple right?  Enjoy!

*This post includes an affiliate link. If you make a purchase 
through this link I will receive a small commission. I only 
recommend products that I like and think that you 
will like too. Thank you for your support!

Fishbowl Pumpkin Tutorial

These fishbowl pumpkins are a fun and inexpensive way to add
some Halloween atmosphere to your home! Working around
the face is a little tedious so I would leave that for the adult to
do but kids can get in on the rest of the action. They look best
with a variety of sizes and different expressions!

You'll need:

any sized fishbowl - I got mine at the thrift store for $1
orange and yellow tissue paper
Mod Podge
paint brush
dish of water
pencil

Tear the yellow tissue into a variety of sizes

I thinned down the Mod Podge with a little bit of water in a dish.

Paint a smallish area of the bowl with Mod Podge and lay on
the tissue  then cover with more Mod Podge.

Repeat until you have covered the whole bowl in about two
layers of yellow.  I didn't do the bottom and don't worry if you
go over the top edge, you can trim that later.

After the yellow layer has dried (maybe about 20 minutes) take
a pencil and very lightly draw on the Jack-O-Lantern's face.

Tear the orange tissue into different sizes but also cut with
scissors some small straight edge pieces to work around your design.

Cover the whole bowl with two layers of orange tissue.

After it has dried, trim the top edge with scissors.

Put in a candle and admire your work!  As always,
never leave a lit candle unattended!

How to Write A Tutorial (Also, How To Make A Daisy Chain)

Now, I gotta say right off - I might be really stepping in it here: writing a tutorial on how to write a tutorial?!  Who do I think I am?  Well, I'm just  someone who loves and appreciates a good craft tutorial and would like to see more of them in the world! 

I've been involved in craft blogging for 3½ years now and have seen many, many tutorials in the blog world; also, since starting The Crafty Crow two months ago, I have been on a one-woman mission looking at children's craft tutorials and have seen 100's just in the last few months.  Besides writing my own tutorials here at Bella Dia, I've had experience in contributing patterns and instructions to books and all this leads me to tell you - a good tutorial takes a lot of work and is hard to do!  So this tutorial about how to write a tutorial is well, double jeopardy?!  Mostly, I am trying to share what I look for in a tutorial and what I think makes a good tutorial.  I sure don't want to sound like I'm the know all end all here - it's just my opinion and what I've learned from my last few years of doing this. 
So here goes!

Note: I am going to be using
a new tutorial of mine about how to make a daisy chain for my example (in blue). Since I don't have any daisies but I do have lots (and lots and lots) of dandelions
I'll be using them as my flower of choice.

How To Write A Tutorial

1. Specific Title.  Be specific in the title of your tutorial versus a cute but mysterious title that no one will know what you are talking about until they read the post.

How To Make A Daisy Chain instead of Daisy Daisy Give Me Your Answer Do

Optionally: Give a cute title but with a specific subtitle.

Daisy Daisy Give Me Your Answer Do: How To Make A Daisy Chain

By naming your tutorial in the title it will make it easier for people to search for it in your blog archives and easier for search engines to find it too. 

2.  Begin with a picture of the completed project.  Yep, right at the beginning so everyone can see what they are
going to make :) 

3.  Give an overall description of the project.  How long did it take (hours, minutes, days), what is it good for (gifts, recycling, just plain fun, etc.), age range or ages of who did the project (adults, kids with adult help, 3+, etc.) and the difficulty level, any tips (messy, outside, ventilate, etc.), any materials that are hard to find or unusual and where to find them.

Daisy (dandelion) chains are a fun last minute activity that children of almost any age can make.  I didn't have any daisies on hand but any sturdy-stemmed flower will do and if you're lucky like me you'll have a whole backyard full of dandelions just waiting to be made into beautiful garlands! ;)

4.  Materials and tools list.  Make a list of everything you will need to complete the project.  If you use a particular brand I'd love to know that too.  You know what makes a materials and tools list even better?  A picture!   

Materials:  as many sturdy-stemmed flowers as you want

Tools: fingernails

Special Note Regarding Pictures:  The more pictures in your tutorial the better but you need to have at least one for each different step. Clear pictures with a clean and contrasting background.  Close-up views and sometimes a picture of the whole work space for perspective.

*click on pictures for a larger view*

5.  Procedure.  This is the hardest part.  Depending on how complicated the tutorial is, try to break it down into clear easy steps, numbering is helpful, and add the obligatory picture for each step.  Using bold and italic typefaces can indicate new steps or important tips.  Different colors can be helpful too but don't go overboard because it will make it more confusing.  Definitely add any precautions or pointers or "don't do what I did" kind of help.  Watch your vocabulary and try to be consistent with
the words you use.

Step 1: Gather your flowers; stems need to be thick enough and strong enough to hold together after making a vertical cut within the stem.

Step 2: Make a small split in the stem with your fingernails.  It only needs to be big enough to slide in another flower stem.  The split pictured is about one inch below the flower head but you can vary this as you please.  The closer the split to the flower head then the closer together the flowers will be on the garland and the further away from the flower head then the further away the flowers will be from each other on the garland. 

Step 3:  Slide the stem end of another flower through the split until it stops at the flower head.  You may trim off the first stem about 1/2" behind the split. 

Step 4:  Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until your daisy chain is the length you want or you run out of flowers.

Step 5:  If you want to make a crown then slide the very last stem through the split of the very first flower and pull so the circle is complete.

6. Review.  Check for errors.  Read it through several times to see that it makes sense and proceeds logically. If possible, have someone else read it and give you some feedback. 

Here are some examples of
great tutorials:

Crafty Pod's button pendant
Sycamore Stirring's coffee filter butterflies
Future Girl's fabric lining for a crocheted bag

If you have any other suggestions
for what you think makes a great tutorial please leave them in the comments.  Thanks so much for indulging me here and I hope this helps some of you put together your own tutorials :)

Now I'm off to check out the tutorials
in my archives...