crafts – Page 4 – Gracious Rain

July 20, 2011June 25, 2026

Hula Hoop Tutorial

No, no. I’m not going to show you how to use a Hula Hoop. That would be incredibly humiliating for me and extremely unpleasant for you. No, no–I’m going to show you how to make your very own Hula Hoop. And not one of those silly things that bend the first time someone blinks at it–but a very sturdy, lasts-nearly-forever one. Beat that.

All you need are three simple things:

Polypipe

Connectors

Duct Tape

I went to Home Depot and asked for 10 feet of Polypipe and the man said, “Sorry ma’am. It only comes in 100 ft. rolls.”

Wow. Luckily, it was only $13.00 for the whole 100 foot roll. That’s enough to make 10 Hula Hoops! What a great activity for a little kids birthday party, huh?

Ask the nice HD man to give you 1 connector for each hoop you want to make. They cost about 65 cents each.

Directions:

Measure out about 10 feet of pipe and cut it. If you have pipe cutters, that works best. I didn’t have any handy so I used a bread knife. Be really careful to cut only the pipe!

Dip one end of the pipe in boiling water to soften it up a bit…

then press the connector in and push it to the middle line.

Now do the same thing with the other side–warm it then push it on to the other side of the connector until you almost can’t see the connector at all anymore.

Now tear strips of duct tape and wind it around your hoop. This will add a bit of extra weight and will make your Hula Hoop dang cute.

Keep winding until you have covered the whole hoop and don’t worry about wrinkles in the tape–you’ll never notice them.

Now I’d love to show you our adorable Hula Hoops in action, but alas, Chompy is only 2 and wasn’t quite sure what we wanted her to do so you’ll have to use your imagination.

But be aware…

they do make nice Fairy Rings for the Wood Sprites.

583

June 21, 2011June 20, 2026

Music Stick Tutorial

We’ve always loved hands-on toys around here. You know, the kind that you have to interact with to get it to work. So, I knew when I saw a picture of this pretty little “music stick” that we’d need to give it a try.

The idea is so simple, a two-year-old can use it. It works like this…

Your child slides the washers up to the top of the threaded metal rod then lets them go.

As the washers spin and twirl down to the bottom, they make a lovely, tinkling sound–almost like a rain stick–only softer. Quite pleasant, really.

Now the really nice part. It went together in less than 5 minutes. No kidding. Seriously, the hardest part for me was walking in to Home Depot and trying to act like I knew what I was doing. I finally just handed the list to one of the workers and they gathered up all the stuff for me. :}

You’ll need:

1/2 by 4-inch threaded eyebolt
Teflon plumber’s tape

1/2 inch all-thread rod, 24 or 36 inches long

1/2 inch coupling nut

1/2 inch locknut

10-15 1/2 inch washers

Directions:

1. Wrap a piece of Teflon tape around the end of the eyebolt and both ends of the rod. This will help it all stay screwed together over time.

2. Take the eyebolt…

and screw it to the coupling nut.

3. Screw the rod to the other end of the coupling nut.

4. Slide the washers onto the rod.

5. Secure the locknut to the bottom–and you’re finished.

Now hang it from a post or tree or–in this case–the top of my canopy bed, and turn the kiddos loose with it.

They’ll be enthralled, captivated, amazed and surprised at just how fun it is to play with.

So will you.

612

June 17, 2011June 20, 2026

Daddy’s Dollar Shirt

Growing up in L.A. I spent a ton of time watching kids make incredible things out a simple piece of paper…watching and envying that is. There was this one girl–Donna–who could fold a dollar bill into a man’s dress shirt. She’d do it too…if you gave her a quarter…and brought your own dollar, of course.

So now, my friends–we’re going to totally bypass old Donna, and figure out how to make these cute things by ourselves–for nothing. But you still have to bring your own dollar.

Just in time for Father’s Day.

1~ Fold dollar in half.

2~ Unfold and then fold side edges to the center crease. Crease as precisely as you can, and use a newer bill, if possible. It will hold the shape better than a worn one.

3~ Fold out the corners of the bottom.

4~ Now fold up the bottom so that the crease is just where the flaps end.

5~ Reach into the fold and grab the tip of the corner piece and pull it gently out–but don’t press it. See the crease lines where you folded up the tips in step 3 ?

6~ Tuck the corners down in along the crease line.

7~ Press down flat.

8~ Now do the same thing…

to the other side. These are going to be your “sleeves” in a few minutes.

9~ Flip your bill over…

10~ and fold down about 1/4 inch at the other end.

11~ Turn over again.

12~ Carefully fold in each side at an angle so that the little “collars” touch the center line.

13~ Fold the bottom half up to the “collar.” You’ll see that the shirt front is a bit too long to look normal so….

14~ make an accordion fold in the middle of the bill.

15~ Tuck the sleeve piece under the collar…like this.

Now make a zillion more with your millions and stand them up where ever you want to make a lasting impression on Dad.

Of course, you could always use $50’s…

that would do it too.

Heh, heh….

616

May 31, 2011November 23, 2022

T-Shirt PomPoms

Yes, yes…that’s me. On a bit of a pompom rampage these days. But I triple-dog dare you to tell me–if you can–that these aren’t just adorable.

And the best part is–that you don’t need to buy a dang thing. These are just one more bit of loveliness made from a T-shirt that has seen better days. Seriously, we could write a book. I believe I shall call it “T-shirt Reincarnation.”

Some day…

To make T-shirt pompoms–first, follow the instructions for making T-shirt yarn. Once you have a pile of “yarn” you are ready to begin.

Oh, and I found out something interesting while doing this and it is– that some t-shirt knit will curl when stretched and some will just…stretch. That’s what mine did this time. At first I was bugged, but now I actually love it.

Start winding the knit around your hand and keep winding until you have gone around about 50 times. Now, you may have to adjust your count depending on how thick or thin your knit is. Don’t worry, there is no real right or wrong here. I usually just keep going until I feel like stopping…or until I can’t feel my fingers anymore. You should probably stop before that.

Slide the bundle off your hand carefully and set it on a piece of string or yarn about 12 inches long.

Tie it around the middle really tight. Flip it over and pull it even tighter and tie another knot. Leave the long ends of your string uncut. You’re going to hold onto your pompom with those.

Slide your scissors through the loops and cut them.

Keep going until you’ve found them all.

Your pompom will look a bit wild and uneven. You can certainly leave them like that or you can trim them just like we did the yarn pompoms last week. Just fluff it and trim…fluff it and trim…kinda like a poodle.

You can hang them separately or string them up together.

Either way…brace yourself.

It’s hard to stop at just one.

May 23, 2011June 19, 2026

Quick & Easy Yarn PomPoms

Have you ever wanted to have those pretty little yarn pompoms pop up magically whenever you wanted them? Well, brace yourself. You positively can, and in a matter of minutes…with no fuss. I mean it–and all you need is yarn and a pair of scissors.

Start by taking a piece of your favorite yarn and wrapping around 3 of your fingers. You can make your pompoms larger or smaller by adding or subtracting one finger.

Keep winding until you’ve gone around your fingers about 50 times…

Cut your thread. Now take a 10 inch length of the yarn and slip it between your fingers. This will be the string you use to tie all these threads together.

Tie a loose knot…

and carefully slide the yarn off your fingers.

Tie the string good and tight around the bundle. Take your scissors and cut through all the loops at the top and bottom of your pompom.

Your pompom will be seriously in need of a trim. I used two colors of yarn here–you know, for dramatic effect.

Pinch your bundle in the middle and trim off all the pieces that keep it from looking round. Be careful not to cut the long string that you tied the whole thing together with–it’s what you’ll hold on to while you trim.

After trimming for a few minutes, hold the pompom by the long string and whip it against your hand to fluff it out. You’ll find more threads to trim….