Get a sewing machine for the holidays? Buying one for yourself? Like any machine, a sewing machine needs some basic maintenance to keep running properly. Make sure lint doesn't build up around the feed dogs, and oil the parts once a year to keep things running smoothly.
Now that Valentine's Day is only a month away, it's time to start thinking about how you're going to be surprising your sweetheart. While a bouquet of red roses and a box o' chocolates is always a good call, you can make your gift much more personal by adorning a package or a card with one of these origami roses.
Lip plumpers can sometimes get expensive, but you can make your own at home! A great handmade gift, or just to use for yourself! This shows you how to create your own lip gloss or lip plumper using cinnamon and peppermint oils.
You can use nearly any colors or ply of yarn and any size crochet hook for this tutorial. Just pick your two favorite colors and follow along with the tutorial to make a cute heart that can be given as a sweet Valentine's Day gift.
The perfect gift for new or expecting parents! This tutorial shows you how you can crochet a cute little baby cap, complete with ear flaps, out of 3-ply yarn and a size G crochet hook. It even shows you how to make this a two-tone cap.
This tutorial shows you how to crochet a baby beanie cap, and has been specifically designed for left handed crochet artists. All you need to do is pick your favorite color and then follow the instructions to create a lovely gift for the new parents in your life!
This is a great gift for anyone in your life who enjoys cooking. Crochet them a pot holder. This tutorial shows you how to incorporate a ring into the pattern so it can be easily hung from a hook or an oven door.
This is a good tutorial for someone who has just started crochet and is looking for a challenging but still doable project. Crochet a fun and beautiful snowflake - use as a doily, give as a gift or turn into a decoration!
Make some fun Christmas tree ornaments for this holiday season and impress your friends and family with your creative skills! FOr this project, you will need styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners, scissors, glue gun and snowflake stickers. Keltie Colleen from Mahalo gets in touch with her resourceful side and shows you how.
Learn to play "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" on guitar and entertain friends & family with your guitar skills this holiday season! Thomas Gilbert shows you how in this informative video, demonstrating the chords and strumming style to properly perform this timeless classic.
Feeling the holiday blues? Then perk up your day - and prepare for the busy work year ahead of you - by mixing up this little sucker.
These earrings, bracelets, and necklaces look expensive, but they're actually homemade and totally doable on a budget. With Christmas just a few days away, if you're looking to stay within your budget while giving out beautiful gifts then this may be the perfect craft for you.
Want to make the perfect gift for your green thumb gardener? This crafty little light bulb terrarium is the thing to make. It's cost-effective, and perfect even for the non-gardener to make. Watch this video, and create the perfect little green oasis for your friends or family.
Magically get a hardboiled egg into (and out of) a bottle, make a star using toothpicks and challenge someone in a brain teaser using wooden matches. Mr. G demonstrates how in this video tutorial and, for all the eager students whose brains are brimming with curiosity, explains the science behind it all.
Spread some warm holiday cheer at parties and gatherings this Christmas season by playing this timeless classic on your acoustic guitar. Learn to play "O Holy Night" by following along with this informative and instructional video from Mahalo/Radius guitarist Thomas Gilbert.
These make great embellishments for scrapbooks, garlands, presents or even as jewelry! All you need are some festive holiday beads or faux pearls, some flexible, thin wire to string them on, a sharp wire cutter and several pairs of various jewelry pliers.
Got an hour or two free this winter holiday? Then that's all the time you need to craft several of these pretty no-sew red velvet Christmas ornaments. Made of silver and white fabric scraps and silver sequins, it''ll shine bright on your Christmas tree and is super easy and quick to make.
Silhouettes are the hottest thing in the indie craft world right now, and are as widely embraced in craft blogs as embroidered hickory wood slabs and baker's twine.
This is such an elegant, exquisite Christmas card. Even if you live in California and snow is pretty much nonexistant during the holidays, this wintry, frosty scene will transport you - and whoever you give it to - to your very own miniature White Christmas.
During the holidays, usually one of the hardest decisions you'll ever make when decorating your tree is whether you want to top it all off with a star or an angel. If an angel is your tree topper of choice this year, why not make it extra special by making it yourself?
Whether you are using Adobe CS3, CS4 or CS5, this tutorial will still work. This is a very basic holiday greeting, where the phrase 'Merry Christmas' (or whatever else you want to say) is animated to appear slowly over a blue, snow filled background.
More likely than not this holiday season you'll either be buying a poinsettia plant or will receive one as a hostess present. Rather than letting yours wither away and die as you forget repeatedly that it may need a little water to survive, check out this gardening tip video to learn how to take care of them year round.
Given that Christmas is just two weeks away, you're sure to have a lot of time on your hands once your holiday break begins. Instead of twiddling your thumbs through two weeks of utter boredom, why not be a little productive instead?
Besides crushed velvet clothing and accessories and anything with a lot of sparkly sequins, tribal jewelry is very in this holiday season. While it isn't necessarily as festive or as glitzy as the other fashion trends, it's uniquely, naturally beautiful and really makes a statement.
What would Halloween be without its fair share of spooky goblins and wicked green witches! Get into the spooktacular mood of the macabre holiday by baking and decorating these evil green witch cupcakes with your kids.
If you're baking cupcakes for Christmas, don't just take the easy route and spatula on some canned frosting from the store! Make your cupcakes truly spectacular this holiday season by decorating them with fondant.
What would Christmas be without Santa Claus? Well, it would be a very Christmas indeed, because without Santa there would be no presents (which, for many little kiddies, equals no joy on Christmas morning).
Wreaths and poinsettias are traditional Christmas greenery used as home decorations during the holidays, but did you know you can use them in cake decorating as well? We're not talking nomming on a wreath (ew), but rather decorating cupcakes with wreath and poinsettia shapes.
When it comes to the holidays or times when your kids need a costume urgently for their dance recital or play fast, sewing projects take far too much time. When time is an issue, why not make these no-sew cute headbands with pom poms?
Love to fold awesome origami designs? Then there's no better way to spend a holiday afternoon with a cup of hot chocolate and this easy and gorgeous Christmas craft.
You can make this lovely brooch out of some scrap felt, or any other stiff fabric in your basket (you can stiffen some fabrics by adding interfacing), and a large button. Attach it to a hat, coat or anywhere else you want to add a little holiday cheer to!
You can make these stars out of wrapping paper scraps, designer paper or any other festive paper that catches your eye. Turn them into 3-D crafts that you can hang from your tree, attach as extras to gifts or use as decorations.
You can make these lovely whimsical charms out of Friendly Plastic - a non toxic plastic that gets soft in hot water or when exposed to heat. You can mold and shape Friendly Plastic using tiny cookie cutters to make fun wine glass charms!
The holidays are all about giving and glitz and glamour, so combine them all together by crafting this cute modern Christmas tree card. A very geometric 3D Christmas tree stands out from its red background, adorned with sparkly glitter dots.
This is a great gift for a baby - crochet a small afghan for them! This tutorial shows you how to use the slanted shell technique, and has been designed for use by those who prefer to use their left hand to crochet.
This is an easy and fun craft you can use for just about any gift, and can be made with any fabric and to any size. Just start with two pieces of cut fabric, and follow along with this tutorial to end with a traditional Danish heart basket!
This makes a great gift for anyone who is into recycled crafts. Start with a lightweight scarf you don't use anymore (square or rectangular) and some cording or ribbon, and then follow this quick sewing tutorial to transform it into an eco-friendly produce bag.
Start with a basic wicker round, and then use scraps of recycled fabric to make holiday rosettes. This tutorial uses red and white fabric, but you can make your wreath using any festive, colorful cloth or trim in your scrap basket.
You know all those t-shirts that you accumulate randomly? Like that XXL t-shirt you got from Subway during their holiday promotion, or that Key Club t-shirt you wore once and never touched again?
Have a steampunk Christmas this year! This tutorial shows you how to use a collection of brass and steel buttons and gears to create a series of neo-Victorian ornaments. These are great to use yourself or include in gifts to friends and loved ones.
