10 Summer Craft Ideas and Garden Crafts for Summer

Have fun in the sun with great crafts from this FREE e-book! Prepare yourself for some serious gardening and beach bumming with our favorite, fun crafts for summer.

Bonus: Get our newsletter & special offers for free. We will not share or sell your email address. View our Privacy Policy

Latest Comments

msdeb21

"Wow, these are so cute, and they are no-sew! I can make them. I'm heading to the re-sale shop to look for some cheap sweaters in fall patterns or colors. How nice, I don't have to worry what size they are. I love the blue one in the photo. I'm into making my fall decor in shades of blue this year."

msdeb21

"I am torn between making my pumpkins gold with gold glitter, or bright colors with silver glitter. I think I will make both, then display them in different parts of my house. I think a turquoise pumpkin and a hot pink pumpkin with silver glitter will be beautiful! Fall decor is fun, and who says it has to be traditional colors!"

royegreen066 0839253

"Tried this craft? What did you think?"

paver2

"I agree, hand made soaps really are nice and can be good for your skin. I think making something like this with your own homemade soap would be an awesome craft. I haven't tried it, but I am inspired! Soap on a rope like this would make a nice and thoughtful gift for a lot of people, too."

msdeb21

"I will be making several of these to give as gifts. Mason Jars go on sale a lot during the holidays. I love a snowman Christmas theme because they can stay out for decor into January. These make great gift holders because you can change up what you put inside to fit the recipient."

Artful Halloween: 31 Frightfully Elegant Projects

Artful Halloween: 31 Frightfully Elegant Projects
By Susan Wasinger
Gifted by Lark Crafts
larkcrafts.com
Reviewed by Jessica Nichols, Editor of AllFreeHolidayCrafts.com

Artful Halloween: 31 Frightfully Elegant Projects by Susan Wasinger is about escaping the commercialism of Halloween and making your own Halloween decorations that draw on the creepy cool history of the holiday. Wasinger presents readers with instructions and examples for 31 handmade Halloween crafts that save money and give your festivities a personal touch.

Wasinger introduces Artful Halloween with her own take on the creepiest holiday. She rejects the plastic decorations and and cliched costumes sold in every party store for a creative, personalized approach to Halloween decorating. She insists that her Halloween crafts be not only haunting, but also beautiful. Drawing on spooky sources of inspiration like Medieval weapons and alchemists' labs, Wasinger sets forth her ideal of Halloween crafts that express the eerie essence of Halloween while still adding a bit of elegance to the home.

Artful Halloween provides a variety of projects to help you celebrate All Hallow's Eve, including wearable crafts, decorations for inside and outside, and a whole section on creative ways to embellish pumpkins. Wasinger uses all kinds of classic creepy motifs to evoke the sinister feel of Halloween. Severed hands, plucked-out eyeballs, and glowing specters remind readers of the true origins of All Hallow's Eve as the one day a year when the dead return to earth. Creepy creatures like bats, owls, and spiders play on our phobias, while black lace and blood-spattered flowers give the haunting impression of something beautiful defiled by evil. The patch of decorated pumpkins towards the end of the book eschews the traditional carving for more out-of-the-box embellishments. Paint, thread, ribbons, and jeweled thumbtacks transform these gourds into elegant, long-lasting Halloween decorations.