Hello all... its been awhile since I have posted anything... but saw this post and had to put my two cents in... I have all was been "old fashion" as my children would say... I enjoyed making things.. for my children, husband, family, and so on... oh and for myself and home... I love learning new things... from making homemade dumplins to quilting... I was a stay at home mom and wife until all my children went to school.. then my husband got laid off and I had to go work outside the home... worked for many years.. I no longer work outside the home.. I am a stay at home grandma now... to keep sane I craft... I started making things for my 5 month old granddaughter... simple things like pillowcase dresses, hair bows, bow holders.blankets...all kinds of baby stuff... friends started asking for me to make them some..... I don't mind but when they ask how much I am going to charge... that makes me nerves... just because I never know if I am charging enough or not enough... now my friend wants to get a booth at out local twice a year show thing... not sure how to discribe it.. anyway... I was excited cause I use to sell stuff with my dad yearsssssss ago... I loved it cause I am a people person... I would talk to everyone and most of the time they would buy something... my dad did woodcraft stuff... I would most of the time paint them items... but loved going to different events and meeting people of seeing other vendors for other events... the thing I learned in the past is to sell with pride... sell items that are useful.. sell items that you would buy... sell items that you would buy for others... they main thing is that YOU have to "SELLIT".. you cant just sit there with your arms and legs crossed wondering why no one is buying your stuff... you have to be a saleman and sellit!... Boy did I go way off the topic.. lol... I am proud that I love to craft... I think my family is too... cause they are always asking me to make stuff..which makes me proud... Sorry no new ideas just proud to craft! Missy11

I don't know if this is a "new" idea or not, but it's the first I've seen it... I was looking through YouTube on how to marble-swirl nail art. You fill a small bowl with with water, drip drops of nail polish into it, swirl with a toothpick, then push your nail over it. Then I thought - OH! - you could do this on objects for decorations. And I found on YouTube someone swirling paint (the kind that comes in the little squeeze bottles at JoAnn's or WalMart) in a bowl of water. Then she dipped clear plastic or glass Christmas balls into it. They were awesome! Green, Red and Gold marbleized ornaments for the tree. or whatever colors you want - even for Valentine's Day. I suppose you could use nail polish as well but I don't know what would happen if the polish came in contact with a Christmas light, probably nothing more than would happen with the acrylic paint. I don't know. I also saw a video of someone swirling the paint on the INSIDE of the balls, but I much prefer the ones with the marbleizing on the outside. It comes out finer and way more marbleized. Anyway, it would be cheap enough to try it and it's also something kids could do with supervision. Fun! And I also saw someone (you'd have to check it out on YouTube) marbleizing FAKE nails. You know, the press-on type. If you're looking for a craft to sell, you could make up some sets of those and see how they sell. Just a thought. Women are wearing some crazy fun colors on their nails! You could make up sets for each holiday. Orange and black swirl for Halloween, pink red and white for Valentine's, green cranberry and gold or silver for Christmas, etc. Post pics if you decide to try it. I think I might.

Sure, caanei, I'm just not sure how well I can explain it. Decide on tail length, and if you want more 2 or 4 tails. If you want two, leave a single length before starting the loops. At the end you'll leave another length which will become the 2nd tail. If you want 4, then start with a big loop which will later be cut to make tails, and you'll finish with another big loop which will become tails 3 and 4. There is, of course, option here for many tails and I often will use a 5th. So with the big length hanging down, now make the 1st loop which will become the bow. Pinch and wrap twice with 24 gauge wire, Make another loop, pinch into place and wrap with wire and tighten. This will be the centre of the bow. I hold the tails in my right hand with my baby and ring finger, pinch with my thumb and forefinger, and lay the paddle wire over the back of my pinching hand. The other hand works the loops. Then just keep making the loops, working around the first two loops, pinching into place and wrapping tight with wire. With 2.5" ribbon, 7-9 loops makes a pretty nice sized bow. Narrower ribbon requires more loops. I like smaller looped bows better than long but that's just my preference. At the end, leave a length for the 2nd tail (or a big loop for the 3rd & 4th tail, or a loop and a length for 5 tails). Give it a final 2 wraps of wire and tighten. Fluff starting from the middle and work out. Cut the big loops to make the tails. And that's it - hope I explained it well enough.

Very nice, I always loved making crafts but there just does seem much interest anymore. I am sure it is all these imports from China that killed crafting. But, if you have any interesting patterns that you would like to share, I would love to see them.