Author Archives: Jennifer

How to Decorate Like Martha Stewart

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Wouldn’t be great if we all had places that looked like they were decorated by Martha Stewart?

The biggest source of Martha Stewart crafts is of course, her flagship magazine Martha Stewart Living. Every issue has a section devoted to unique Martha Stewart crafts depending on the season. For instance, Martha Stewart’s snowmen and igloos created out of white miniature marshmallows are always a big hit during the Xmas season.

Perhaps the most famous of Martha Stewart crafts is her gum drop wreath which is created using sugar coated multi-colored gum drops that can be purchased in any confectionery or supermarket. The gumdrops are affixed with glue or pins to a circular or heart shaped Styrofoam armature that can be purchased at any craft supply store or a Wal-Mart. Wreathes made out of red gum drops are ideal for Valentine’s Day. Orange and black gumdrops can be used to create a Halloween wreath and green and red gumdrops can be used to create a Christmas wreath. Words to the wise don’t fix these wreaths to your front door unless you enjoy being ambushed by birds and other wildlife. Gumdrop wreathes are best suited for indoor use, either placed on a mantelpiece or used a centerpiece that surrounds a glowing candle.

Many Martha Stewart crafts are created from natural objects. One of her favorite natural accessories is the acorn. She often gathers acorns in the fall for Thanksgiving projects. One of her more gorgeous projects is the acorn mirror which features multiple rows of acorns glued to the frame of a round mirror. Another Martha Stewart craft made from acorns is her Acorn Napkin ring which involves drilling two small holes into the caps of two acorn caps and attaching the two acorns into a 16 inch wire. The wire is then wrapped with brown or green floral tape to resemble a tree branch and the wire coiled so that it is the appropriate shape to hold a napkin.

Martha Stewart is also famous for her button crafts. In the Martha Stewart crafts section of her site at www.marthastewart.com you will find dozens of suggestions as to how to recycle favorite old buttons. One suggestion is to hot glue them to the back of fridge magnets.

One of the simplest of Martha Stewart crafts that is sure to entertain the kids is her bubble wand that is created out of wire hangers. With a few twists of wire, you can make fantastic bubble wands and spend long, lazy days practicing your technique. According to Martha the best bubble solution is 10 cups water to 4 cups dishwashing liquid, plus 1 cup Karo corn syrup. To create large wands, you’ll need plastic-coated wire coat hangers. Hold the hook at the top of the hanger, and pull the bottom down so that it forms a circle. Bend the wire into a lollipop shape. These bubble blowers make large long bubbles that will entertain the kids for hours.

How to Decorate With Wood Hollow Crafts

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Wood Hollow Crafts is a company that sells unique handcrafted welcome signs that can be hung on a door (usually the front door!) These wood hollow crafts are famous world wide amongst animal and pet lovers because each sign features some kind of creature dangling from the welcome plaque.

The product is actually not that complex either in design or concept. Basically, a wood hollow craft is a hand-painted wooden animal, which resembles a flat puppet with movable arms and legs that is created in the image of a dog, cat, bear, tiger, koala bear, elephant and just about every other kind of animal that ever boarded Noah’s ark.

However, if that isn’t quaint enough, these charming wood hollow craft animals also come with interchangeable outfits that can be added and removed from the wooden figure. This means that you can dress up your wood hollow craft frog, dog or hog as Santa for Christmas or as a Yankee Soldier on July 4th.

The tiny outfits are attached to the wooden slats used to create the animals with tiny strips of Velcro. This way when it is rains, you can dress up your wood hollow animal in a raincoat and when it is sunny, attach a swimsuit and sunglasses. Some people become very fond of wood hollow craft animals as they almost become avatars of your own mood or personality to the outside world.

Wood Hollow Crafts also features specialty outfits that suit occupations, hobbyists or sports. This allows you to dress up your favorite totem animal as a postman, policeman, nurse, fireman, football player, tennis player or baseball player. Your choice of outfits for your wood hollow craft animal is as unlimited as your imagination.

Teddy Bears with interchangeable outfits are also a specialty of Wood Hollow crafts. The teddy bear wood hollow products have only been around since 1998 but they have been a big hit with the public. These smiling bears have been seen adorning everything from outhouses to nursery room doors.

The company also specializes in providing stock wood hollow welcome signs that feature just about every kind of dog breed that you can imagine – from basset hounds to dachshunds to Labradors. The company also promises that if they do not have a wood hollow likeness of your pet, that they will create one especially for you. All you have to do is send them a good clear photo of your favorite four-legged friend and they will customize your welcome sign for you so that it is an exact recreation of your pet. If you suggest some of the dog’s favorite activities, they will also customize the wooden clothing to suit your pet’s personality.