Thando Mavimbela asked:




Swaziland is well known for having the greatest tourist attractions. Amongst the many attractions that Swaziland offers is the craftwork, which is a marvel to behold. Available in roadside outlets and specialist’s stores, the handcraft ranges from decorative features, natural jewelery, clothing, glassware, tableware, giftware, Swazi candles and many more.
Initially the Swazi handcraft craft industry was driven by the need for survival but in recent years it has experienced a shift and now is used, amongst other various reasons, to carry messages that are meant to create HIV/AIDS awareness. There has also been the Africanism factor, which has contributed to the booming handcraft industry both in Swaziland and the rest of Africa. This has seen a shift in consumer demand; People are now opting for more ethnic objects and are celebrating their African heritage which provides a ready market in the Kingdom.

Swaziland is a very resourceful country. Most of the crafts they produced are mainly from grass weaving. Swazi people use grass to weave baskets for any use, floor and sleeping mats, tableware, grass curtains, chicken nests and more. In making this craftwork, a special type of grass (lutindzi) is sourced from rocky mountains. The grass is very tough and has a waxy cuticle which makes it an excellent material for place mats as you can wipe them clean.

The process starts by harvesting the grass, arranging it and then painting it with the desired colors after which the grass is weaved. For all the stages of production, professionals are required, people who know how to cut the grass and not destroy it. Dominating the grass weaving are women who work from their homes or in the developed cooperatives.

Wendy Pan asked:




Printable paper crafts can offer an easy and inexpensive way to craft cards, boxes, bags, tags and toys, to name a few. The basic supplies you need are a computer, printer and card stock to initially print your craft. There are many sites available that offer free printing of many designs. Most projects require little more than cutting, folding and gluing. If you have a special little gift that needs a box, tag and card, simply print a matching gift set and put it together in a matter of minutes.

These simple crafts can be left as printed or enhanced with glitter, paint and markers. Make a pattern from the printed craft and cut out blanks to stamp and stencil how ever you would like. If you prefer more dimension to be added to your finished project, you could add ribbon, bows and buttons. Layer additional printed items, such as, flowers that have been cut out and glued on top of colored card stock. Leave a border around the cut flowers and cut the flowers out again. Scrape the edge of the flower petals against the scissor blade to give each petal a slight curl and dimension.
If you are planning a children’s party, printable paper crafts are a wonderful way to cut expenses without looking like you did. Decorations, party supplies, gift packaging, favors and even a craft for the kids, can all be printed straight from your computer. To make the anticipation of the special day more meaningful, have the child of honer help with the preparations. The craft templates for these projects are very easy to use and are usually kid friendly. If mistakes are made, it’s only paper and can be printed again with no trouble.

There are great sites that allow for adding your own message, names and dates, if you would like a more personalized craft. Imagine how much money could be saved for a wedding if you made you own favors using printable paper crafts. With many styles and images to choose from, you are sure to find one with your chosen theme, style or color. Printing boxes for favors or printing stickers to attach to generic items, are just a few examples to cut your wedding budget costs. You may even be able to do more than what you expected, with the money you save.

Create special family keepsakes by crafting recipe cards with matching boxes, labels for jars and notebooks. Copy all those special recipes from Grandma, Aunt Sally, and Cousin Ruth. The result will be a much sought after gift the whole family will be clamouring for and with everyone looking for ways to save money, this will be a gift that gives a lot of bang for your buck.

Printable paper crafts are also a great resource for teachers. Printing origami projects, are a great way to teach geometry and algebra lessons. The kids receive a hands on alternative to book study and most cases will make for a more interesting experience. Create dimensional crafts for special bulletin boards, games, lesson plans or for decorating the classroom for holidays and special events.

Linda Dunkelberger asked:




Summer time is a great time to discover heat transfer paper crafts. On a hot summer day spend some cool time inside with this useful environment paper product craft idea.

Personalized Camp Totes

Summer camp is right around the corner. Kids need a huge tote bag to carry all their things to and from camp every day. You can imagine how many things get lost or misplaced between campers. By using a simple computer program (power point, word, or graphic program), quality environment paper and a large cotton tote bag you be able to customize your own personal camp tote to keep your camper more organized. You can choose to do this environment paper project on your own or suggest it as a camp craft.

Supplies

Computer/Printer heat transfer paper Cotton Tote Heat Source (Iron or Press)

On your computer, design what you want to have on the tote. I would suggest that you somehow include the camper’s name, camp name, group name, or even photo, some type of identification so that totes are easier distinguish between campers. Then you can customize it with fun clip art.

Following the instructions on the environment paper, print your pages on the printer. Cut out your designs and arrange them on the flat cotton tote. Following the instruction on the environment paper for application and using the heat source, iron the design on the tote.

This heat transfer paper craft idea is one of many summer craft ideas using environment paper. heat transfer paper is fun and easy to use. Use this idea or create your own personalized summer time craft with a environment product.

Emily G Cartwright asked:




Summer is here, you know what that means; you’re kids are going to be home all day every day for about 8 weeks. I know for sure that kids love crafts, especially when having a sleepover or maybe as just a fun project on a rainy day. I have gathered a pair of killer crafts for summer!

Coloring pages are great, little kids love to color their own little masterpiece, all you’ll need is a coloring book, some crayons or markers, or some other type of artsy coloring utensils. If you can’t find a satisfying page for the tot, try printing one out. The most exiting thing to a young child is to save up all of their drawings or coloring pages and make their own coloring book, just add a piece of copy paper to the front, staple, let them decorate the copy paper as a book cover!

Another adorable craft: a personalized journal. This is great for a girl’s sleepover, they are cute, fun, and are great for the creative mind. All that you will need is a composition journal, glue/tape, ribbon, buttons, scissors, decorative paper, stamps, etc. All that you will have to do is help them prepare and set up a work space that is neat and easy to reach everything. This is also a great bonding activity to do with your little girl, what girl wouldn’t want their very own creative personal diary? That’s right, almost every girl on earth will want one!

A great younger boy’s craft, great for the rowdy little tots who are still into playing with power rangers and toy cars. Your child will go fanatic over having a hand made sock puppet, imagine the endless possibilities, a pet dog, a dinosaur, a monster, a boy, a teddy bear, a dragon, a knight in shining armor, a bear, a cat, a fish, a snake, need I go on? All you will need is some felt glue, a colorful sock (color depending on the desired character), Googly eyes, colored felt, and some yarn if your planning on doing a dog or a boy, or anything that needs hair, you might also want some other small trinkets like a ribbon if you are making a dog collar for your son’s pup, or maybe a cute straw hat for a little bear, or anything else his heart desires. This is actually quite an easy craft, all that you need to do is maybe help him glue it all together, it helps to have him arrange it on the sock first, and then glue them down. Have fun creating!

Is your daughter going to camp this summer? If so, this is something she will definitely want to get her hands on, literally! She will be in-fashion this summer, showing off her handmade friendship bracelet! All that is needed is embroidery floss, or any other string product you find suits your daughter more, tape (scotch and masking works best), and beads (optional). Your daughter will need to know how to braid and how to tie a simple knot. If she doesn’t know how to braid, twisting is cute too! Just cut three strands in multi colored embroidery floss, all of the same length, which is about the size of her wrist. Now tie them together in a knot in the top of all of the three strands. Next, start braiding, you can add a bead here and there to add a flash of bling. These will surely make your daughter feel like a supermodel!

Here is a bit of a more challenging craft that will involve some effort on your behalf also, but it really brings a smile to a child’s face to be able to pick and water plants or flowers from their own garden, the materials you will need is a few packets of seeds, vegetable, fruit, or flower, it’s completely up to you, a growing area preferably outside, but if not available outside, a cute windowsill garden will work also, potting soil or dirt, water, and a lot of patience. First you will make sure there is dirt in your desired space, lots of nutrient rich dirt. Next you will get out your seeds, poke your finger down to make a small hole to place your seed in, do this for each seed. Now you will put a seed in each hole, cover the whole up with dirt, and water it. Wait a couple of days and see the sprouts of your child’s first accomplishment.

Last but not least is the most common easy craft for any age. This summer do you plan on visiting the beach? Do you plan on having a luau? Well even if you don’t plan on any of those, you can still make a decorated beach ball. Materials you will need are sharpie markers in rainbow colors, fun foam stickers, and anything else you can think of, and of course a beach ball of any size. Simple, quick, fun, and easy, draw, and write on your beach ball, put the foam stickers on to add personal flair. This takes about 10 minutes and after your children can have a fun game to play!

These are super fun, super easy summer crafts for your whole family. When making these, use your imagination and have fun with it!! Get you whole family to join in and have a blast at family night! Even wow the other moms on the block when your kids have such a fun filled summer. Have fun with your family!

Sherry Frewerd asked:




Summer will be here soon enough, and your kids will be thrilled with being out of school and playing outside. Well, at least for a few days anyway. Once the newness of summer has worn off and the reality of boredom sinks in, your once happy campers can turn into ‘mom I’m bored’ monsters. What’s a parent to do to help ease the pain of ‘nothing to do’? Planning summer craft projects in advance is an idea that smart parents may make use of. Who knows, perhaps the kiddos will even learn a thing or two at the same time.

Since the weather is perfect for getting out and exploring nature, kids can find objects like seeds, leaves, grass, flowers and other items to use in making a nature collage. All they have to do is glue the found craft bits onto a stiff piece of cardboard. They can add any other items they want to make the collage colorful and interesting. Spraying the collage with paint can add color and variety too. How about spraying some glue on and then sprinkling glitter on the collage? Another idea for using the nature items they collect is to arrange dried flowers into special arrangements for mom.

Naturally, if kids collect wild flowers they’ll need a wonderful homemade vase to arrange them in. Making a simple vase is a great summer craft idea. Kids can make a nice, simple vase from a recycled tin can. Soup cans and small coffee cans work well for homemade vases. The best tin cans have smooth outsides and aren’t too wide. Make sure you trim off any sharp points or edges that may still be on the can opening. Kids can cut a piece of colorful construction paper to fit around the outside of the can and then glue it to the can after they’ve decorated it in anyway they wish. Stickers, markers, crayons, paint, glue and glitter…the list goes on. A great idea for decorating the vase is by drawing a wonderful summer scene on the construction paper. They can also add their name, glue dried pasta, beans or seeds on the paper. Let it all dry well before gluing to the can. However they may want to decorate their vase is up to them. All that’s left is adding some water and flowers or their dried wildflowers.

Kids can make containers and vases from empty jars as well. Canning jars make great vases, but any old recycled jar works well. Make sure to clean it really well. Let the kiddos get their hands wet by cleaning the jars themselves. After the jar is dry, add pretty ribbon around the mouth. Kids will love painting on the glass jar and maybe adding glitter, beads and buttons too.

Tin can and glass jar vases have multiple uses other than containers for flowers. Kids can put in pencils, pens and markers or any small item they want to put add.

These are just a few basic and simple craft ideas that you can help your kids make this summer. There are literally boundless ideas for summer kid crafting. You can spend some fun time with your children while preventing the boredom monster from showing itself too soon. Not only will you and your kids have fun, but you’ll have some adorable items to display in your home or give as gifts to family and friends. Your kids can learn some new crafting skills and have the satisfaction of accomplishment at the same time. Stay cool and happy crafting this summer!

Summer N Banks asked:




The stamp collecting hobby is normally broken up into two style of collecting. There are collectors that choose the single stamps to purchase for their collections and those who prefer to cash in on entire lots. In Asia, collection lots can be comprised of as little as 2 stamps as as many as 100 or more. Lot stamp collecting can be more expensive than single stamp collecting but the end result is far more in terms of worth and total stamps added to the collection.

When choosing to purchased a collection lot of Asia stamps, it is important to verify the age of the stamps, the condition of the stamps and the worth of the stamps before purchasing the collection lot. The stamps in the collection lot will be graded based upon their rarity and condition. With some falling into the MINT category and others into the USED category. Stamps will also be graded as Superb, Extremely Fine, Very Fine, Fine/Very Fine, Fine, Good, or Poor condition. The stamps falling into the higher grades will often carry a higher price.

When choosing the right collection lot of stamps for your collection, the stamps will most often fall into one of the five most common categories. These categories are Worldwide (stamps from all over the world), Topicals (stamps with a specific subject, i.e…Elvis), By Country (stamps offered based upon the country of origin), First Day Covers (stamps issued to represent a specific historical event), and Specialized (falling into a specific category such as airmail).

June Campbell asked:




Pergamano Parchment Craft is a popular, new craft rooted in an art form that stems back almost two thousand years. Today’s parchment craft projects are delicately beautiful, lacy designs created by a combination of techniques including embossing, stippling, perforating, cutting and coloring.

According to historians, Turks from Bergama, Turkey invented parchment in approximately 500 AD. (Bergama is Pergamum in Latin). The Turks developed parchment as a substitute for papyrus. Because of wars underway, they were unable to import the ingredients needed to make papyrus – a type of paper made from stems of a plant named sedge. Instead, they created early versions of parchment from the skin of a goat or sheep.

Although in the beginning, people used parchment primarily as a surface on which to write, parchment craft appeared in Europe in the 15th or 16th centuries. At that time, parchment craft entailed creating lace-like designs on sheets of paper. In those early days of parchment craft, most of the designs were religious in nature and had significant Catholic overtones. Over time, these traditional techniques developed into newer approaches and new techniques.

Parchment craft did not spread rapidly during the 15th century, as many forms of card making were mechanized following the invention of the printing press in 1445. However, parchment craft experienced a revival during the 18th century. At that time, the handwork became more intricate and decorative, with wavy borders and perforations being introduced.

With the advent of French romanticism in the 19th century, parchment crafters began incorporating floral themes, cherubs and portraits. They also added embossing as a technique, resulting in attractive raised effects with white or gray undertones.

During the 16th century, parchment craft appeared primarily in Europe. However, in the early 1500s, European missionaries from monasteries and convents introduced the craft to South American countries, where it flourished among craft persons in religious communities. For example, young South American girls receiving their First Communion often received parchment craft items as gifts.

Later, in Columbia, cottage industries sprung up as people began selling hand made parchment greeting cards and invitations. One such highly talented Columbian woman, Martha Ospina moved to the Netherlands in 1986. In 1987, Martha and her partner Tiemen Venema began showing their intricate cards at events such as flower arranging workshops. Interest grew.

In 1988, Martha created the well known Pergamano brand, in an effort to make the tools and supplies available worldwide. Today, Pergamao International owns the brand and continues to produce and distribute these products, which now include parchment paper, tools, paints and other coloring agents, inks, paint brushes, pens, books, magazines and DVDs. The Pergamano Design Group (consisting of Martha and three other crafters) continue to create new designs.

Martha also founded the International Parchment Craft Academy, an institution that educates people to become registered Pergamano teachers.

Made from cellulose or cotton fibres, today’s parchment paper is translucent with a smooth surface and light gray color. Parchment is also available in various colors and textures.

Although initially parchment craft was used primarily in the creation of greeting cards, it has many other applications. Today’s crafters make beautiful bookmarks, scrapbook embellishments, gift boxes, gift tags, flowers, lampshades, fans and various other decorations.

Pergamano Parchment Craft is popular primarily in South America and Europe. However, it is becoming increasingly popular in North America as well. As paper crafters discover this elegant, beautiful craft, many are eager to add it to their repertoire.

Jamie Jefferson asked:




Girls seem to be naturally attracted to arts and crafts, but boys are sometimes a different matter. If you’re running a summer camp, holding a crafts party or just want to get your sons involved in a neat project, you may be scratching your head when it comes to craft ideas. Fortunately, there are several categories of crafts that attract boys of all ages.

Nature Crafts

Nature crafts are a good choice for boys. This allows them to go out into the wilderness and gather the materials.

A great nature craft idea is “Forest Friends.” These crafts are easy to make and will allow the boys to work off some of that excess energy. Take them to the park and ask them to gather leaves, twigs and pinecones.

When you return back home from the park, let the boys decorate their finds with googly eyes and puff balls. Use Gorilla Glue or another multi-purpose glue that will adhere to the natural surfaces. Make faces on the leaves and pinecones, and then attach the twigs for bodies. You can make limbs from construction paper and the boys will have nature-inspired puppets to play with for the rest of the day.

Character Crafts

Boys like creating crafts that help them pretend they are their favorite heroes and characters. Pirates are very popular these days, so any pirate-related crafts will be well received. You can provide the supplies to make a construction paper or sewn felt eye patches, depending on the age of the boys.

Every pirate needs a parrot, so there’s another simple craft idea. Use old toilet paper tubes, feathers and markers so each boy can have a personal parrot sidekick. Boys will also enjoy making treasure chests from old shoeboxes and treasure maps to find their loot from paper bags and markers.

Science Crafts.

If you have an older group of boys to entertain with crafts, don’t underestimate the power of science-themed crafts. These crafts are part science experiment, part craft. One example of a science themed craft is invisible writing. For this craft, you’ll need a laxative tablet, one tablespoon of rubbing alcohol, cotton balls and ammonia.

Crush the tablet into a container and then add the alcohol. Have the boys use paintbrushes to create their secret messages. As the ink dries, it will disappear. To see the message, simple have them rub the pieces of paper with cotton balls soaked in ammonia. It’s not the most pleasant smelling craft, but it sure is a lot of fun!

As long as you keep boys active and engaged, they’ll have as much fun with crafts as girls do. Although they aren’t patient enough for beaded lanyards, they have activities and interests that can engage them just as much. So before you assume that boys and crafts just don’t mix, try some of these ideas.

Candice Sabrina asked:




Rainy days and summer vacations always cause mothers and teachers a moment of dismay. How to entertain the children if they can’t go outside and play? Better yet, what kinds of children crafts will help to break up a day filled with lesson plans, errands and other responsibilities?

Children crafts are as varied as the types of children they’re meant to entertain. For younger kids, crayons, coloring books and plastic figurines will keep kids busy for hours, but many parents and teachers prefer a more ‘hands-on’ approach to crafts.

In the old days, our parents made us play clay out of flour, salt and water. That was great stuff, but today, Play Doh is more popular than ever and is a cheap craft that kids from 2 to 10 will enjoy playing with. Many of these types of dough, including sculpturing clay, will allow children to create animals, monsters and anything in between.

Children crafts can be created with simple ingredients like paper, glue, scissors and crayons or markers. Designing cards, masterpieces or just scribbling will keep various age groups entertained, and only imagination is the limit to what children can produce if given the opportunity.

Watercolors and paintbrushes are also a favorite with kids, and finger-painting is still as popular as it was thirty or forty years ago. If you don’t want the mess of paints, crayons or markers, try beads, yarn and plastic needles to help your kids create construction paper animals or pockets for letters, chores or homework assignments.

Children crafts are an important part of your child’s life and help to encourage creativity and ingenuity. There are no right or wrong crafts to choose for kids, other than making sure that they are age appropriate. Younger children may need supervision and help at times, but older children are fine in creating and designing things out of whatever craft supplies you have on hand.

A child, a box and a box of crayons can be turned into fun children crafts when making spaceships or forts, and encouraging children to use their imagination provides ample stimulation for their creativity. Lacing beads, yarns and glues and old socks can be turned into animals that will delight your children and give them a sense of pride and accomplishment when they see what they can create from a few spare parts.

Children love to draw, and large pads of drawing paper placed on an easel will provide ample opportunities for your child to discover the joys of pencil, crayon, marker, watercolors and paints. Remember, even Michelangelo had to start somewhere!

No matter that type of children crafts you choose, make sure that floor space is protected to eliminate stress for already busy Mom’s and Dad’s, and that any craft supplies that you have gathered for your children are age appropriate. Offering praise, even if you don’t know what you’re looking at when your child shows you his or her masterpiece, is a great way to instill confidence and pride in accomplishment with children.

Robert Grazian asked:




Imagine the convenience of gifts, crafts or decorations you can “whip up” from home, using little more than your computer, printer and a handful of paper. Is the meteorologist calling for a rainy day? Are you dreading an afternoon of children going stir-crazy, wishing they were outside? Or perhaps you just remembered that it’s your best friend’s birthday, or the boss is stopping by for a drink in 45 minutes.

The crafting resources available on the World Wide Web are almost limitless. With a few clicks of the mouse, you can navigate to printable paper crafts for just about every occasion. Print out a Father’s Day card and have the kids add the finishing touches. Find thematic place cards or wineglass markers for your next holiday table. Select a gift box template to assemble by hand and hold your choice of edible goodies.

While the kids may fight over their turn on the computer, a few minutes of guided searching using your family’s favorite search-engine can turn up armloads of crafts for kids too. A great place to start is by typing in the keyword “printables” or the phrase “printable paper crafts” in your search window. Try narrowing your search with the name of your child’s favorite cartoon or current hobby. Here are just a few of the creative and fun crafts out there waiting to be discovered online:

*Elaborate origami projects
*Fun hats & masks
*Toys
*Paper dolls
*Coloring pages
*Mobiles

For avid scrap-bookers, there is a wealth of patterned paper that you can print from home. Tags, fonts, borders, clip art, printable stickers, and more are also readily available.

For classroom teachers, online templates can be printed in black and white, making them easy to mass-produce for the classroom. Some sites also offer reproducible materials with no copyright concerns.

One of the wonderful things about printable paper crafts is that many are free or can be had for a very reasonable price. Locating crafts on the web also saves you a trip to the art store, card shop, or teacher’s resource center, thus guarding your valuable time.

With the high quality of printing available to the general public by today’s desk-top printers, your completed paper crafts can look polished and professional. What’s more, even if your first attempt turns out less-than-perfect, it’s easy to print out one more copy and try, try again!

To make the most of your online crafting experience, here are a few tools you’ll want to consider having on hand for that rainy day:

*An ample supply of white computer paper
*A pack of white cardstock for projects requiring a stiffer surface
*Scissors
*Tape & glue
*A small table-top paper cutter

Printable paper crafts are one of the true goodies that the internet has made possible. In the case of each craft out there, someone else has already done the hard work of design. Why reinvent the wheel? Take advantage of the treasure-trove of cards, decorations, toys and more available at your fingertips.