Crafts

Crafts at HowStuffWorks has hundreds of fun ideas to keep your family entertained. Find free kids' crafts by theme, material and season.

Learn More / Page 3

Brighten up any space with personalized custom wall art. Create a one-of-a-kind gift for a new baby or housewarming, or change the look of any room in your home with this inexpensive and easy project that can be completed in an afternoon.

By Beth Kingston

Yard sale finds and ordinary household items become beautiful home decor projects with just a few simple steps.

By Beth Kingston

Chipboard is a versatile medium that comes pre-cut in a variety of shapes and sizes for your paper crafting projects. If you have a drawer full of fun chipboard shapes but no idea what to do with them, these seven examples will open up a world of creativity!

By Beth Kingston

Advertisement

A ribbon bulletin board, perfect for teen bedrooms, is a great way to showcase photos and memorabilia. Create your own ribbon bulletin board with this simple step-by-step guide.

By the Editors of Publications International, Ltd.

Whether you're looking for a way to spend rainy days at home or hoping to launch a profitable business, crafting is a popular pastime among men, women and children of all ages. But you might need a little help finding the right project. Choose one from this list, and you can't go wrong.

By Bambi Turner

Wearable crafts are popular with kids, so why not let them turn old household items into fun and frugal fashion? Try these ideas for recycled crafts your kids can dress up in.

By Sarah Siddons

Once your kids finish with their juice boxes, don't throw them out -- instead, recycle them to make craft projects together. Try these ideas for recycled juice box art, toys and games.

By Alexander Page

Advertisement

For many birdwatchers, setting up a bird house right next to your home is a favorite pastime. Building one yourself can be even more fun, and using recycled materials lets your creative fancies take flight.

By Heather Kolich

You don't have to understand steampunk to appreciate the Altoids tins created by tinnovator Jake von Slatt. However, learning about this imaginative subculture makes the designer's creations all the more enjoyable.

The compact metal design of the classic Altoids tin inspired designer Kate Pruitt to convert one into a picture frame and portable photo album. With some cardboard, glue and a couple of magnets, you can do the same.

By Josh Clark

It's so obvious. If you need a flashlight, you should make one out of your Altoids tin. How do tinnovators turn a breath mint container into a light source?

By Charles W. Bryant

Advertisement

Artist Desiree McCrorey combines two seemingly disparate media -- polymer clay and Altoids tins -- to create jewelry boxes with their own uniquely eco-friendly style.

For most people, a tin of Altoids is simply a promise of fresh breath. After the mints are gone, the tin goes to the trash. But artists see a gem in that little tin -- art waiting to happen.

By Charles W. Bryant

They say one man's trash is another man's art. Brooklyn artist Lord Kelvin takes that aphorism to another level by converting empty Altoids tins into belt buckles.

By Josh Clark

Artist Kate Pruitt found a quick, easy and innovative way to decorate an Altoids tin -- she converted it into a serene Zen garden.

By Josh Clark

Advertisement

A bag made from bags? It may sound redundant, but it's eco-friendly ingenuity at work. You can also put your bags to work in the garden, bedroom and closet.

By Alia Hoyt

Next time you start to throw away a burned-out light bulb or empty coffee tin, consider using these items to craft Christmas decorations instead. With a little ingenuity and a few materials you can spruce up your tree.

By Emilie Sennebogen & Libby Little

Your new fridge came in a giant cardboard box. Maybe your first thought is to break it down and recycle it. How about turning it into a playhouse or gardening supply?

By Alia Hoyt

You know that old mismatched dinner plate that's hiding in the cupboard? Hide it no more, there's life left in that plate. All you have to do is give it some time, literally -- by turning it into a wall clock.

By Elizabeth Abbess

Advertisement

Whether you're cutting down an old tree or replacing doors and bookshelves, there's a good chance you have some spare wood lying around. So what can you do with it?

By Tom Scheve & Sarah Siddons

Bowls used as sinks, or vessel sinks, as they are known in the interior design trade, are a hot trend in home design and can add a stylish and contemporary twist to traditional bathroom basins.

By Claribel Pope

It displays photos from that magical trip to Paris, next to the lovely postcard your sweetie sent and the takeout menu for that Thai place you've been meaning to try. Since you look at your corkboard every day, why not spruce it up a bit?

By Tom Scheve & Eleanor Duse

Copper is a versatile metal that can be used to make jewelry, sprinklers and mobiles. Whether you find your copper around the house or purchase it from a company, creating artsy crafts from recycled copper is a rewarding do-it-yourself activity.

By Libby Little

Advertisement

The world has millions of mass-produced tin cans -- and thousands of crafters and artisans eager to recycle them into objects of beauty and utility.

By Eleanor Duse

From birthday bashes to romantic dinners, the sparkling shimmer of soft candlelight instantly makes any moment more magical and special. But once you snuff out the candles and the smoke clears, what do you do with those puddles of melted wax?

By Claribel Pope