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Archive for April, 2012

Deal of the Week: Triangle Storage Spinner

Monday, April 30th, 2012

When it comes to storage, a plastic bin just doesn’t cut it sometimes. You want your craft supplies well organized and easily accessible. This week’s Deal of the Week, the Triangle Storage Spinner, does just that! This unique organizer is designed for sitting on a craft table or countertop in your craft room. With an open top and a spinning base, the Triangle Storage Spinner will become an indispensable fixture in your craft room.

The Triangle Storage Spinner keeps all your craft supplies close at hand so you never have to hunt down a pair of scissors or a special tool while you are in the middle of a craft project. The triangular center of the organizer features several soft dividers so you can separate tools like paintbrushes, glue guns, jewelry pliers, and more. The dividers will keep them in an upright position, so you can grab them right out of the organizer, ready to use! The spinning base also makes it incredibly easy to find what you are looking for. If you need a tool that’s in an opposite corner of the triangle, just give it a whirl and your tool is within reach!

In addition to the center triangular compartment, the Triangle Storage Spinner features pockets on all three sides that hold three plastic storage cases for smaller items. Each storage box is divided into five compartments, so you can organize craft supplies like beads, embroidery floss, rhinestones, buttons, and more. The storage cases snap closed for secure storage, making them easy to travel with. Leave the Triangle Storage Spinner on your craft table, and bring along the plastic storage cases whenever you need to craft on the go!

The Triangle Storage Spinner comes in a durable, easy to clean nylon material, and you can choose to order your Spinner in purple, green, pink, purple, or blue. If you order your Triangle Storage Spinner this week, you’ll get $6.00 discount, which is 38% off the original price. Get your Triangle Storage Spinner today for only $9.00!

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Tags: deal of the week, organizers, product review, storage
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5 Great Crochet Books to Buy Today!

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

So you’re taking the big step from needles to hooks and you’re finally going to learn how to crochet. Once you get the hang of it, crocheting is a lot of fun and not as difficult as it may seem! To help you along the way, here are 5 great crochet books that offer simple and fun projects that you can make with ease.

Cute & Easy Crochet

Cute & Easy Crochet is a must have guide for beginners. Filled with 35 patterns, ranging from home decor to fashion accessories, this easy to follow book will help you decorate your closet, kitchen, bathroom, and living room with fun and easy crochet projects.

201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Projects, and Ideas

This book is filled with great projects for crochet lovers of all skill levels. Create fun home accessories with these easy to follow patterns, and work your way up to crocheting sweaters and detailed afghans. If you’re not hooked on crochet yet, you will be after reading 201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Projects and Ideas!

100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet

Flowers are some of the easiest things to crochet, and with 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet by your side, you’ll be able to make beautiful blooms that you can add to hats, purses, hair accessories, jewelry, and much more! Even if you’re somewhat intimitated by crochet, there are also plenty of patterns in this book that are knitter friendly.

Amazing Crochet Lace

These aren’t your grandma’s lace patterns. Amazing Crochet Lace contains 20 fresh designs that satisfy everyone, from beginners to advanced crocheters. These patterns are inspired by vintage textiles and, since all the patterns are designed and worked from top to bottom, there’s little to know finishing or sewing required! Easy breezy lace patterns were never so easy and stylish!

You Can Do It!: 20 Projects with Simple Knit or Crochet Squares

You Can Do It!, a book from Red Heart Yarn, is perfect for beginning knitters and crocheters. In this guide you’ll find 20 projects made from simple knit or crochet squares, one of the easiest things to make in either category. Afghans, scarves, hats, and more are included here…and best of all, they use Red Heart’s Super Saver yarn, which is inexpensive and comes in a bunch of colors!

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Tags: craft book, crochet book review, crochet products
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Deal of the Week: 150 Colors of Embroidery Floss

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

Most of my childhood crafting memories are closely associated with my mom’s boxes of embroidery floss. Impeccably organized and radiant with every color of the rainbow, the rows of cardboard spools held so much possibility. I learned to cross-stitch with individual plies from each strand of floss, used my favorite colors to make friendship bracelets, and decorated my sewing projects with embroidery designs. To a crafty, domesticated child like me, a box of embroidery floss was better than a box of crayons. If you too find yourself more excited by a spectrum of threads than by a case of markers or a set of paints, then this Deal of the Week is for you! For the next seven days only, you can get a giant pack of 150 different skeins of embroidery floss for only $11.95. You can’t get a better deal!

This package of 150 Embroidery Floss Skeins includes everything you need to start your own collection of embroidery floss. Each skein is 8 meters of 100% cotton thread, and each thread is made up of six strands, so you can use as many strands as you need to create delicate or bold designs. The package also includes white cardboard spools for winding the floss. Take a cue from my incredibly organized mother and write the number of the shade on top of each spool. Since many cross-stitch and embroidery patterns are coded for specific colors, writing the code on the spools will make it much easier to find the color you need!

If you bought each of these skeins of embroidery floss individually, you could spend up to $150! That’s an outrageous amount to spend on just thread, especially when you can get this package of 150 threads for only $11.95. That’s 40% off the original price and a savings of $8.00. This deal is only running until the end of the week, so make sure you order your Super Giant Pack of Embroidery Floss today!

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Tags: cross-stitch, deal of the week, embroidery, jewelry making, product review, thread
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Deal of the Week: Deluxe Scrapbook Kit

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Preserving priceless memories doesn’t have to cost much! With our Deal of the Week, a Deluxe Scrapbook Kit from Westrim, you can capture your best memories in 10 fun scrapbook layouts. This week only, the Deluxe Scrapbook Kit sells for $16.99 — that’s $11.00 less than the original price! The kit includes a three-ring scrapbook binder, five page protectors, 10 double-sided scrapbook papers, 190 die cuts, a glue stick, a pair of scalloped scissors, and an instruction manual, among other things. Even if you’ve never scrapbooked a single page in your life, this kit will provide everything you need to make your first scrapbook!

The Deluxe Scrapbook Kit is a great way to get into scrapbooking if you haven’t already tried this craft. It includes all the basic supplies you will need for scrapbooking and gives you the materials for making one complete scrapbook. Make a personalized photo album without ever setting foot in an overpriced and overwhelming scrapbook store! Order your Deluxe Scrapbook Kit today, and you’ll get to try your hand at arranging photos, die cuts, and colored papers to showcase your memories perfectly. See if you have the creative knack to become a serious scrapbooker.

Even if you’re already an experienced crafter yourself, the Deluxe Scrapbook Kit is a great gift for a young crafter who hasn’t tried scrapbooking yet. The brightly colored papers, decorative scissors, and oodles of die cuts will be so much fun for a little artist! Let your kids make scrapbook layouts to commemorate their birthday parties, vacations, or other exciting events. When they’re finished, they’ll have something handmade to help them cherish their memories for years to come!

If you’re thinking about learning to scrapbook or teaching your kids your beloved craft, order your Deluxe Scrapbook Kit today! For just the next seven days, the Deluxe Scrapbook Kit is almost 40% off, so make sure you take advantage of this deal and get yours soon!

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Tags: deal of the week, papercrafts, product review, scrapbooking
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How to Make a Mini Drawer Set

Friday, April 13th, 2012

Have you seen this cute Mini Drawer Storage System on FaveCrafts? It’s a super cute and easy organizational project and it’s great for storing everything from paper and craft embellishments to jewelry and hardware. With a few basic items (like paper, scissors, and glue), you can have your own colorful mini drawer storage system to help get yourself organized!

First thing’s first, you’re going to need a set of drawers. Drawer sets like this come in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on what you need them for. These Beyond the Page Mini Drawers are perfect for jewelry or small hardware and this Beyond the Page Storage Box is better for storing your embellishments and other scrapbooking supplies. For our purposes, I’m going to suggest the Beyond the Page MDF Storage Drawers. They’re just the right size for storing my little beads, paper embellishments, and fabric scraps.

Once you have your drawer set, you’ll need to paint the wooden box that holds your mini drawers. I really like this Studio Semi-Gloss Acrylic Paint in Teal. It’s great for spring! If you don’t want to paint, you can also decoupage the wooden box or just leave it as is.

For your drawers, you can mix and match paper scraps and decoupage them on the front of each drawer. You could also paint them if you’d like. I happen to love This & That’s Graceful Collection Paper Kit. The colors are bright and I love all the different patterns available. Plus it comes with bonus embellishments! It also comes with alphabet stickers so, if I wanted, I could say what’s in each box by adding stickers to the front. You could also write it on there with a marker.

Besides some Mod Podge and scissors, that’s about all you’ll need to create these cute storage drawers. There are tons of ways you can put this storage unit to use! Scrapbook supplies, seed organization, hardware organization, kitchen storage, jewelry storage, and organizing illustration supplies are just some of the options! So find some paper you like and make your very own mini drawer storage system!

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Tags: art supplies, craft storage, Melissa Conner, paper crafting
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Scrappy Solutions for Spring Cleaning

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

If there’s one thing that’s good about spring cleaning, it’s that you get to dig through all your craft supplies and see what odds and ends you come up with. Why is this a good thing, you ask? Well, if you’re anything like me, you hate making extra trips to the craft store and would much rather make something out of what you have lying around the house.

That’s where stashbuster crafts come in. These are fun projects that you can make from your paper scraps, leftover yarn, you name it!

In honor of the spring cleaning season, I’ve decided to round up a few of my favorite stashbuster crafts and share them with you today. I hope you’ll take advantage of these ideas after you raid your supply closet this spring!

Don’t you hate when you finish a crochet project and you have extra yarn left over? It’s frustrating because you want to make use of it… you did pay for it after all! That’s where this fun Crochet Party Chain comes in! This super simple crochet pattern allows you to use different strands of colored yarn to create each link of the chain. String this up for a party and you’re ready to celebrate!

Don’t you just love the colors on these cute Cell Phone Pouches? I’m sure you have a bunch of extra fabric lying around the house somewhere, so just gather some in a bunch of different colors and you’re ready to start sewing these bright and beautiful carrying cases!

If your walls are looking a little bare, there’s a quick and crafty way to fix that… and it also will help use up all those extra scraps of paper from your scrapbooking projects! This cool, modern-looking Paper Scrap Art piece is really easy to put together (it only takes 5 steps!), so even if you’ve never made wall decor before, give this project a shot! You don’t have to be Picasso to create neat artwork!

See, spring cleaning can be a good thing! Sorting through leftover craft supplies has always inspired me to create fun, new projects and I hope it will do the same for you this season!

While we’re talking spring cleaning, I wanted to mention that I’ve found some really great organizers over on CutRateCrafts.com, so if you’re looking for ways to stash your supplies, check out the handy collection they’ve put together! I really love this Quilted Cotton Organizer in particular because it can hold all sorts of different supplies. Plus it’s soft and easy to carry, so you don’t have to worry about lugging a box around with you if you need to craft on the go!

That’s just one of my favorites… there are plenty of organizers for every type of craft and craft supply, from yarn to thread to paper and so much more. Be sure to check out all of the awesome organization options while you have spring cleaning on the brain! You’ll be glad you did!

Tell me: Have you ever crafted with scraps before? What did you make?

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Tags: craft storage, organizer, scraps, spring, stashbuster, yarn
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Deal of the Week: Elegant Roses Latch Hook Kit

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Make a beautiful hooked rug to decorate your home with this Elegant Roses Latch Hook Kit! This design is for romantics who love the lush beauty of roses and floral arrangements. You can buy pictures and wall hangings with roses on them anywhere, but with this kit, you’ll take pride in knowing that your house is decorated with your own gorgeous handiwork. The Elegant Roses Latch Hook Kit is our Deal of the Week, so you can get it for less than two-thirds of the original price if you order today!

If you’ve never hooked your own rug before, now is the time to start! This craft is simple and relaxing; it’s even easy enough for a child to do! With a Wonderart latch hook kit, your canvas will come printed with the Elegant Roses design and will include all of the pre-cut pieces of yarn you need to make the rug. All you need to do is match the correct yarns to the colors on the design and hook them onto the canvas to create the rug.

The Elegant Roses Latch Hook Kit can be used for an almost endless variety of home decor projects. Make this hooked rug as an actual rug for a doorway or bathroom. Or, if you’d rather not have people stepping on your beautiful creation, make it as a decorative wall hanging. You can also stitch the canvas to backing fabric to make a pillow cover or a fluffy tote bag.

If the colors in the Elegant Roses Latch Hook Kit don’t match your decor, but you love the design, feel free to substitute your own yarns. With a few balls of craft yarn, you can use the pre-printed canvas to make the Elegant Roses rug in whichever colors you like.

This week only, the Elegant Roses Latch Hook Kit from Wonderart is $12.00 less than the original price on CutRateCrafts.com! If you order this week, you’ll get the kit for 30% off. Don’t wait; order yours today!

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Tags: deal of the week, product review, rug-hooking
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Introducing the MVCs: Our Most Valuable Crafts!

Friday, April 6th, 2012

As you probably know, we have a ton of craft projects — literally thousands! — on our sister sites like FaveCrafts and AllFreeCrochet. From sewing tutorials to crochet patterns to jewelry making instructions, we have enough craft ideas that even if you tried one every day for the next ten years, you still wouldn’t run out of projects!

While this is super exciting — who wouldn’t want a plethora of amazing free craft tutorials right at their fingertips?! — sometimes it can get a little bit overwhelming. How do you choose which project to try first?

Well, first of all, we’ve tried to help you out by compiling lists of our most popular crafts each month. These are the crafts that readers like you loved the most, so you know they’ve gotta be good.

Here are a couple of our MVCs (aka Most Valuable Crafts), and a couple of our popular craft roundups for you to check out. I hope you like them!

Plus, be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom of this post to see what’s hot on CutRateCrafts.com! You won’t believe what your fellow crafters have been stocking up on lately!

Our Most Valuable Craft Tutorials:

This pretty Soda Can Butterfly Pin was voted one of the best crafts of December 2011.

This beautifully crocheted Papillon Scarf made it to the top of the list of the best crochet patterns of February.

This Fabulous Wreath from Toilet Paper Rolls was one of our top reader picks from March.

This tutorial for how to make a cool fabric storage box was one of the most popular sewing projects this past January.

Now wasn’t that fun? I hope these projects and roundups of our most popular crafts have inspired you and given you some new things to try! At least now you’re not wandering in a sea of craft projects; you have direction and a whole roster of crafter-approved tutorials to start on!

Before you head off to your craft room, I wanted to share one more thing with you. Remember earlier when I said you might be surprised by what crafters have been buying lately on CutRateCrafts.com? Well, check out these fun items that have been flying off our shelves!

This Easy Knitting Round Loom Set has been really popular, especially this spring. Knitters love how easily transportable it is, and you’ve gotta love those bright neon colors!

This Lion Brand Yarn Tote is the ultimate bag for knitters and crocheters. Seriously, whoever designed this tote is a genius! Not only does this roomy bag have pockets specifically designed for crochet hooks, knitting needles and pattern charts, it also has super sturdy handles, secure zipper and snap closures, and TONS of storage space! Not to mention the awesome dirt-resistant canvas, which makes this tote great for everyday use.

Well there you have it: the hottest projects and supplies of the moment! Now tell us…

Will you try any of these tutorials? What’s next on your craft to-do list?

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Tags: crochet, green crafting, popular, sewing, tutorial
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Relax and Indulge with Scented Yarns from Bernat!

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

Do you remember the smell of your grandfather’s cologne? What about what your first car smelled like? Or the smell of your favorite book?

It’s pretty common knowledge that scent is one of our most powerful and influential senses. It can remind us of a favorite memory, a certain time and place, and can completely change our mood in a matter of seconds. So when Bernat decided to come out with a line of scented yarns for crafting, I was eager to try them out!

With soft pastels and subtle scents, Bernat’s Cotton Scents collection is perfect for all your knitting and crocheting projects. Here are a few of my favorites!

Of all the scented yarns from Bernat, I would have to say that Lavender is my favorite. I love the color and the smell, and mixed with another scented yarn, like Vanilla Bouquet, I can create something that looks and smells wonderful! Since lavender is a scent meant to relax you, this yarn would make a wonderful afghan for a living room or bedroom. This Basketweave Twists Afghan would be a great pattern for this yarn. If the scent becomes too overpowering for you, you could always mix it with an unscented yarn.

For your kitchen and bathroom projects, like these Cotton Stripes Dishcloths for example, you could use Bernat’s Powder scented yarn. This soft and relaxing scent works well in smaller places, like bathrooms and laundry rooms, as well as bigger spaces, like your kitchen. It’s perfect if you’re looking for that fresh clean laundry smell!

For new babies, there’s Bernat’s camomile scented yarn. This yarn is a very soft cream color and would make a beautiful baby jacket or Baby Booties. The scent isn’t overpowering at all, but if you’re worried about it being too strong, try mixing it with a pastel pink or blue.

I love the color of Bernat’s Aloe Vera yarn! How beautiful is that? This soft scent would be perfect in your kitchen or bathroom. I think this is the best yarn to make these Crocheted Curtains, that way whenever the wind blows through my windows, there’s a soft scent that fills my living room!

There are several other Bernat Scented Yarns to choose from on CutRateCrafts.com! You could also check out our great selection of crochet projects and knitted projects for ideas on what to make with your new scented yarn!

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Tags: bernat, free crochet patterns, free knitting patterns, Melissa Conner, scented yarn
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Deal of the Week: Omnigrid Cutting Mat

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

As the editor of FaveQuilts.com, I couldn’t be more excited about our current Deal of the Week on CutRateCrafts.com! This week’s special deal is an 18″ x 24″ Omnigrid Cutting Mat for less than two-thirds of the original price, meant just for quilters!

If you don’t currently use a gridded cutting mat for cutting and piecing, then let me tell you a little bit about why a cutting mat is such a great tool to have in your craft supply closet. First of all, if you are going to use a rotary cutter, you absolutely have to use a self-healing cutting mat to protect your countertops and tables. If you’re going to be cutting on a mat, it might as well have grid lines to make measuring and cutting precisely much easier. Like many other cutting mats, the Omnigrid Gridded Mat has a grid of one-inch intervals printed in yellow on the entire surface of the dark green mat. It also marks each 1/8 of an inch along the edges of the mat, so you can make more precise measurements using a straight-edge and the markings along the edges of the mat. These gridlines especially come in handy when you are squaring up quilt blocks or cutting strips for sashing and borders.

The Omnigrid Gridded Cutting Mat also includes two 45-degree angle lines going in each direction, so you can easily cut half square triangles and other angled shapes. Since half-square triangles form the foundation of many beautiful quilt block patterns, the 45-degree angle lines are indispensable in quilting. No quilter would purchase a self-healing mat without them!

For quilters who eschew piecework for the free-form creativity of applique, the Omnigrid Gridded Cutting Mat also has a plain grey side. On the flipside of the mat, you’ll be able to cut appliques and other shapes without being distracted by the grid lines. The grey side of the mat still has the protective cushioning that will keep your cutting surfaces safe from sharp rotary cutter blades.

If you’re serious about learning to quilt, order your Omnigrid Gridded Cutting Mat for only $17.69 today. You won’t be able to make a beautiful, high-quality quilt without it!

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Tags: deal of the week, product review, quilting
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