Auteur/autrice : Nicolas

Nicolas Cocquerelle is the owner and creator of the Spunnys brand and website. An avid craft enthusiast, he was first introduced to spun cotton shapes through his grandfather, when he was just a kid. "With Spunnys.com, my goal is to popularize the joy and ease of crafting with spun cotton shapes".
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Fabric covered bead necklace – DIY tutorial

Fabric covered bead necklace tutorial DIY

Follow our tutorial and learn how you can make a beautiful and comfortable Fabric Covered Bead Necklace using spun cotton balls are lightweight fillers.

fabric covered bead necklace how to tutorial
fabric bead necklace

Materials to make one fabric covered bead necklace

  • 14 spun cotton balls, 1.18″ diameter (30mm).
  • A long and narrow, 4.5″ x 90″ (7.5′) strip of silk fabric. You will have to stitch two 4.5″ x 45″ pieces together.
  • Needle and some extra strong thread (or better, a sewing machine if you have one).
  • A long ruler, pencil, scissors, or craft knife, paper clip.
spun cotton balls for necklaces
Spun cotton balls come in many different sizes

Directions

Step 1: Cut a long and narrow strip of fabric (4.5 inches x  7.5 feet)

Fabric covered bead necklace tutorial step 1

At the fabric store, you probably will not find a piece of fabric that is 7.5 feet long. Fabric comes on bolts and bolts are typically 36″, 44″-45″, or 54″ wide. So you may have to sew two pieces of fabric together.

The fabric I bought came on a 45″ wide bolt. So I ended up having to sew two long and narrow strips of fabric together to achieve the required length.

To cut the fabric, I used a long ruler and a craft knife over a piece of plywood. I cut two strips, each measuring 4.5″x 45″. It’s ok to use a pair of scissors if you don’t want to mess with a sharp knife. The cut doesn’t have to be exactly straight.

Before sewing the 2 strips together, I overlapped them by about an inch. [divider_flat]

Step 2: Fold the strip of fabric into a tube shape

Fabric covered bead necklace tutorial step 2

Fold the long piece of fabric in half lengthwise and sew the long edges together. Try to sew small stitches for a more secure seam. This is easy to accomplish but time consuming without a sewing machine.

VERY IMPORTANT: For now, the « good » side of the fabric goes inside the tube. We will turn the tube inside out once the sewing is done.

Once done with sewing, turn the tube inside out with a loop turner or a paper clip.

The paper clip method:  Start by solidly anchoring the paper clip to one end of the tube (it’s ok to poke a hole in the fabric with the paper clip). Then, just slide the clip through the tube from one end to the other. The tube will turn inside out very easily. [divider_flat]

Step 3: Slide in the spun cotton balls and tie the knots

Fabric covered bead necklace tutorial step 3

Tie the first knot where you sewed the two strips of fabric together (to hide the stitches).

Slide a ball down one end of the tube until it reaches the middle of the necklace. Twist the fabric to push the ball as close to the middle as possible and tie a simple knot.

Slide a second ball down the other end of the tube, twist the fabric and tie a new knot.

Do the same with all the balls or until the desired necklace length has been reached.

Step 4: Adding finishing touches to your necklace

Fabric covered bead necklace tutorial step 4

For the endings to look nice, fold the fabric to create a 45 degree angle. Sew along the edges.

Iron your fabric covered bead necklace on low heat to remove all the wrinkles. You are done :)

Fabric covered bead necklace tutorial DIY

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch. Happy crafting!

Note: If you like this tutorial, you may also enjoy my other necklace tutorial: Paper bead necklace DIY.

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How to make your own BLANK KOKESHI DOLLS

Kokeshi doll blank bodies DIY tutorial

In this tutorial, learn how you can make your own blank kokeshi dolls from spun cotton shapes – a fun and creative DIY project for all ages.

Blank Kokeshi Dolls DIY – Project materials

  • Glue gun or tacky glue, both work well.
Blank Kokeshi Dolls

You can also create you own blank Kokeshi dolls by using different shape combinations. Below are a few shapes that you can use together. From left to right: Eggman Figurine Large, Eggman Figurine Small, Eggman Figurine miniature, Figurine Torso Large, Figurine Torso Small, ø 25mm Truncated Ball.

Kokeshi blank bodies spun cotton

Step by step directions

Kokeshi Dolls Blank Bodies DIY step by step
  1. Choose a combination of blank shapes that you like.
  2. Simply glue the shapes together. For a strong hold, make sure to pour glue in the little holes underneath the shapes.
  3. It is now time to get your paintbrushes and paint colors ready :)

Painting Suggestions.

Now that you have created your Kokeshi doll bodies, it is time to grab your paintbrushes. Here are a few painting designs you can use for inspirations.

To paint the blank dolls, I like to use acrylic paint because it dries fast, and it’s easy to work with. However, any paint that works on paper will also work on spun cotton shapes. For your kokeshi dolls to look nice and shiny, you can finish them with a clear coat varnish. Mod podge for example works very well.

You can also check out our « how to paint peg dolls tutorial » for more general painting tips and advice (link).

You can use a pen for the facial features

The last two Kokeshi painting suggestions are a little more elaborate. We used 40mm tall spun cotton eggs for the bodies, ø 45mm spun cotton balls for the heads, and ø 15mm spun cotton balls for the hair buns.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to comment, we are always here to help.

Happy crafting!

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How to paint and decorate Spun Cotton Eggs

Easter egg ornaments pattern ideas

Check out our tutorial and learn how to paint and decorate Spun Cotton Eggs. We’ll also share with you some of our painting projects for inspiration purposes. Decorating eggs is a fun family friendly activity for Easter or anytime of the year.

Painting Spun Cotton Eggs – the basics

Spun Cotton Eggs are made of paper and are very easy to paint and decorate. You can use any acrylic paint that you find at craft stores.

Blank spun cotton egg ornaments

To paint a spun cotton egg, start with inserting a wooden pick (a bamboo skewer for example) at the bottom of the egg (they all have a small hole at the bottom). When this is done, simply hold the bamboo stick in one hand, and your paintbrush in the other hand. This way, you can paint the egg without getting paint on your fingers.

Spun cotton Easter egg ornaments

If you want to paint a straight line around the egg, simply spin the bamboo stick between your fingers while you hold the brush steady against the spun cotton egg.

You can also decorate the eggs with Glitter, trims of paper, Dresden… To do so, you can simply use regular white tacky glue, it works very well.

You can visit our online store Spun Cotton Egg Page to browse through our large collection of sizes and styles.

Project idea #1: Solid color Easter egg ornaments

These are the easiest of all Easter egg ornament projects. We used 60mm spun cotton blank eggs and covered them with one layer of regular acrylic paint. 60mm eggs are a popular size because they are the size of real eggs.

How to paint spun cotton eggs for Easter

Project Idea #2: Solid color eggs with patterns

Below are a few patterns that you can use for inspiration.  

Easter egg ornaments pattern ideas

Project Idea #3: Eggs tied in ribbons!

Easter egg ornaments can be decorated with almost anything: ribbon, paper, fabric, felt, crystals, beads, glitter. For the picture below, I used a simple red ribbon and tied it into a knot.

Easter egg ornaments craft ideas

Project idea #4: Eggs decorated with homemade decals

It is possible to make your own decal, with just a printer and a box of tissues.

Vintage spun cotton egg ornament DIY

Vintage Rabbit decal on 60mm Spun Cotton Egg

Here is the technique:

  • Search the internet for an illustration that you like. Make sure not to use any copyrighted work.
  • Open your image in an image editor. Adjust the size of your image so that it fits the size of your spun cotton egg. Verify that the size is right by printing the image and comparing it to the size of your egg.
  • Tape a tissue (the kind we blow our noses in) onto a piece of printing paper. It is important to use a thin type of tissue, like the ones that come in boxes. Feed this paper to your printer and print your illustration on the tissue side of the paper.
  • DIY spun cotton doll face tissue transfer 1
  • DIY spun cotton doll face tissue transfer 2
  • DIY spun cotton doll face tissue transfer 4
  • Cut out your illustration. To do so, just imagine an oval line going around your image and cut out along this line. Leave about 1/4″ between the edges of your image and the edges of your oval shape.
  • Only use the upper ply of your tissue (the one with the print on).
  • Brush mod podge or tacky glue over your spun cotton shape.
  • Gently lower your print onto the egg.
  • With a clean finger, tap around the print to make sure it is flush against the shape. Be careful not to tap on the ink or you may smear it.
  • Brush a little more mod podge or tacky glue over the tissue. Don’t brush directly onto the ink. It will smear.
  • Brush over the wrinkles to make them disappear.
  • When the mod podge or the glue are dry and clear, you will not see the tissue over the spun cotton egg anymore. Instead, it will look like a decal.

Note: The print transfer technique works with both color and black and white prints.

retro doll head egg spun cotton ornament DIY

Vintage Doll face Decal

Displaying your work of art

You could display your painted eggs in little nests made of straw or small twigs, hang them from a door handle or a kitchen hook, or display them in vases (picture below).

Easter egg ornaments display ideas

We hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found some ideas for your own projects.

Do you have any questions about this page? Please feel free to leave a comment below!

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How to make decorative owl figurines – DIY tutorial

Owl figurine craft DIY tutorial

Follow our tutorial and learn how you can easily make beautiful, decorative owl figurines from our blank figurine shapes.

DIY Owl Figurines – Project Materials

  • SPUNNYS EGGMAN BLANK FIGURINE – large (72mm which is about 2 3/4 inches). The Eggman shape looks like an egg with a flat bottom.
  • Paint and brushes. I used 5 paint colors (Gold, Ivory, light brown, saffron, and black). You can use the same colors or pick your own. Most types of paints work but I typically use acrylic or enamel.
  • A pencil to outline the facial features of the owl prior to painting.
  • A bamboo skewer to hold the blank shapes while you paint and decorate them.

Step by step tutorial 

1: Body painting

Paint the whole spun cotton shape one solid color.

Tip: You can squeeze the paint directly from the tube onto the shape.

  • Spun cotton egg with flat top
  • How to make an owl figurine easy craft idea

2: Paint the face and beak

Outline the face of the owl and the beak with the pencil. Don’t press too hard on the pencil or it may dent the spun cotton (and if you are using a light paint color, the pencil marks may show through). When you are done outlining, you can paint the face and the beak.

Tip 1: For your first owl, I recommend using the paint straight out of the tube (vs making a custom color by mixing two colors). This way if you have to touch up your owl later on, the same exact color can be used again.

Tip 2: A small tiny brush works best for the beak. If you do not have one, a black fine point marker works fine too.

Spun cotton owl figurine DIY

3: get started with the eyes

When the face and the beak are dry, paint two discs (outline first with a pencil).

Blank unpainted owl figurines

4: The irises

When the two discs are dry, paint the eye irises. I painted mine yellow. Without the pupils, the owl figurine looks pretty scary :)

Owl figurine DIY tutorial

5: The pupils.

Finish your owl figurine by painting the eye pupils. I painted mine black so they stand out.

Owl figurine DIY tutorial home decor

You are already done :) A beautiful Homemade Owl Figurine

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I hope you found some inspiration for your own owl figurine projects.

Note that SPUNNYS figurine bodies can be used for many more DIY Craft Projects beside owls. Use them to make penguins, walruses, woodland animals, super heroes, and much more.

  • Penguin peg doll DIY idea
    Penguin Figurines
  • Owl figurine DIY
    Owl Figurines

As  always, if you have a questions, do not hesitate to use the comment section below. Happy crafting!

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How to make adorable penguin figurines – Winter DIY Crafts

penguin figurines

Check out our step by step tutorial and learn how to make adorable little penguin figurines from blank spun cotton shapes.

Penguin Figurines – project materials

The essentials

● 12mm spun cotton balls and 20mm spun cotton eggs.

Spun cotton balls bulk sizes.
Spun Cotton Balls
blank spun cotton eggs
Spun Cotton Eggs

● Some glue. You can use white tacky glue or a glue gun.
● Black paint and a paint brush. Acrylic word well and dries fast. It’s also fine to use a black marker.
● A little piece of orange foam pad for the beak and feet. A piece of cardboard or strong paper painted orange would work too.
● A pair of scissors.

Optional (nice to have but not necessary):

● Bamboo skewers or toothpicks. They make it easy to hold the spun cotton shapes during the painting process.
● A pencil (to outline before painting).
● A fine black marker (to paint the eyes).
● A clear varnish to protect your work. I like to use mod podge because it’s non-toxic.

Directions

1: Paint one ball and one egg with black paint. Leave the belly and face areas blank.

How to make a penguin ornament

It helps to use a toothpick to hold the spun cotton shapes. 

2: When the paint is dry, glue the ball on top of the egg.

3: Draw the eyes with the black pen

4: Cut the feet and the beak in the piece of orange foam and glue them on.

  • Penguin figures DIY
  • How to make penguin ornaments

More Penguin Figurine DIY Craft ideas:

You can also use different type of spun cotton shapes or combine spun cotton shapes and pipe cleaners.

  • pipe cleaner penguins tutorial
    Pipe Cleaner and Spun Cotton Shapes combo
  • How to make penguin ornaments DIY
    « Eggman » Spun Cotton Shape

More Winter DIY craft ideas

You can also use spun cotton shapes to create Polar Bear Figurines. Here are a couple of ideas.

  • Penguin miniature ornaments spun cotton DIY
  • Penguins and polar bears DIY ornament figures

In the above right-side picture, the large penguin and bear are made with 45mm balls for the bodies and 30mm balls for the heads (and 15mm balls for the bear paws)

We hope you enjoyed these penguin craft ideas. As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch or to leave a comment. Happy crafting!

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How to make cake topper figurines with spun cotton shapes

cake topper figurines DIY tutorial

Check out our tutorial and learn how you can easily make your own cake topper figurines from spun cotton figurine shapes. Spun Cotton Shapes are ideal materials to make cake toppers because they are plastic free, easy to paint, and they can be mounted on wooden picks.

blank unpainted cake topper figurines

DIY Cake Topper Figurines – Materials

Only a few materials are required:

  • Spun Cotton Figurine shapes.
  • Paint and brushes. We recommend that you use only non-toxic paint.
  • A non-toxic water based finish such as mod podge.
  • A pencil to outline the cake toppers before painting.
  • A black pen to draw facial features.
  • Toothpicks.

Step by step directions

1: select your spun cotton figurine blanks

Spunnys offer a wide selection of figurine blanks.

2: paint your toppers

You can check out our « how to paint peg dolls tutorials » for a list of tips and advice.

3: display the toppers on the cake or cupcake

Use toothpicks to display the toppers. Spun cotton shapes all have little holes at the bottom.

Painting cake topper figurines – tips and tricks

  • To make painting easier, you can hold the figurine shapes via a wooden pick. A bamboo skewer works great.
  • To rest your painted toppers in a safe position while they dry, simply place the sticks in a container such as a tall glass.
  • Always outline with a pencil before painting.
  • When you draw the eyes, make sure to place them in the middle of the head.
  • peg doll facial features placement
  • How to paint peg people

CAKE TOPPERS – Project examples

wedding cake toppers easy DIY

A cute wedding cake figurine topper DIY idea.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. As usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch or to leave a comment. Happy crafting!

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How to make Crepe Paper Flowers – Streamers Poppies

Paper flower tutorial step by step

Follow our detailed tutorial and learn how you can make beautiful and elegant crepe paper flowers out of streamers. We will use poppies as example and will provide plenty of pictures to help you along the way.

Crepe Paper Poppies – List of Materials

  • Crepe paper streamers – 1 roll (1 – 3/4″ wide). You can make dozens of flowers with a single roll. I recommend white to start because glue spills don’t really show on white.
  • Spun cotton balls – white – 15 mm diameter (.59 inches). 1 ball per flower.
  • Sharp scissors.
  • Pencil.
  • Low temperature glue gun and glue sticks.
  • Stem wire. The wire I used for these flowers is 18 gauge and 18″ long. I found it at Michaels.
  • Floral tape.
  • A small piece of cardboard to make your petal template. Or you can just print my template on regular paper and cut it out (link below).[/threecol_two_last] [divider_flat]

Directions

Note: I recommend a low temperature glue gun so you don’t burn your fingers.

Step 1: Gather all your materials.

Make sure to set up in a location where there is no air circulating (the petals fly off easily).

Step 2: Make one petal template for all your future crepe paper flowers

You can download the template (link below) or just copy from the picture. (It is not an exact science). My petals are 1-11/16″ wide and  1-1/2″ tall.

Click here to Download the petal template. When printing, make sure to set the scale at 100%. 

paper flower materials
handmade paper flowers

Step 3: Cut out 6 identical petals.

Fold the crepe streamer 6 times onto itself. Outline the shape of a petal on the top layer. Cut out all layers at once with a sharp pair of scissors.

paper flowers DIY
paper flower template

Step 4: Glue the spun cotton ball onto the stem wire.

Pour a generous amount of glue over the hole and immediately insert the stem (all spun cotton balls have a little hole). Wait 5 seconds for the glue to become moldable. Quickly, shape the glue into a cone shape with your index and thumb fingers.

spun cotton ball 15 mm
floral stem wire project ideas
paper flower pistil ideas
floral stem wire craft ideas

It is important to create a little « cone » of glue under the ball.
It will make for a nice surface to glue the petals to. 

Step 5: Make the support cone a little bigger

Pour a little more glue all around the cone, wait 5 seconds for the glue to become moldable, press down with your thumb and index fingers to shape as a cone.

floral craft ideas
spun cotton ball flower how to

Step 6: Add petal #1.

Pour a horizontal bead of glue about 3/8″ long right at the junction between the spun cotton ball and the support cone. Line up the bottom of the petal with the bottom of the cone and press the petal against the glue. The petal should cup around the ball.

glue gun flower crafts
DIY paper flowers

Step 7: Add petal #2.

Petal #2 needs to overlap petal #1 by a little bit (about 1/3 « ).

paper flower instructions
tutorial paper flowers

Step 8: Add petal #3.

Petal #3 should fit right between petal #1 and petal #2, overlapping them a little bit on each side. Glue into place using the same technique as for petal #1 and 2. When done, your three first petals should look evenly distributed around the ball.

paper flowers simple instructions
crepe paper poppies

Step 9: Add petal #4.

Pour a 3/4″ horizontal bead of glue across petals #1 and 3. This glue line should be a little bit higher up (maybe 1/4″) than the first 3 petals glue lines. Position petal #4. Press down against the glue. Petal #4 should cup around the ball

how to glue paper flowers
crepe paper flowers

Step 10: Add petal #5.

Following the same technique, glue petal #5 exactly between petals #2 and 3.

paper flower crafts

Step 11: Add petal #6.

Still with the same technique, glue petal #6 exactly between petals #3 and 1.

how to make paper flowers
paper flowers

Step 12: Apply the first piece of floral tape.

We want to give the crepe paper flower a clean look by covering the very bottom of the petals and hiding all the imperfections. Cut a 5″ long piece of tape. Start twisting the tape around the stem at about 1/2″ below the flower. Go about 2 turns. Then work your way up the stem until the tape covers the very bottom of the petals. Stay up for about 3 turns. Work your way down until you run out of tape.

how to use floral tape
make paper flowers
easy paper flowers
tissue paper flowers

Step 13: Finish wrapping up the stem with floral tape.

Cut a 16″ long piece of tape, start where you ended, and work your way down. Maintain a sharp angle and moderate tension.

paper flower DIY

This is it
You made it! 

crepe streamer paper flower tutorial

Try to make another crepe paper flower, you will be an expert in no time. For variety,  you can try different color crepe paper rolls. You can also paint the spun cotton balls.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found some inspiration for your next projects. As usual, do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.

Crepe Paper Flowers – same technique, more project ideas:

  • Fabric flower DIY craft project
    Fabric petals poppy
  • DIY crepe paper flowers easy tutorial
    Wooden sticks
  • crepe paper flowers DIY
    Glittered centers
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How to make Vintage Easter Rabbit and Chicken Ornaments – DIY Crafts

Vintage Easter Ornaments DIY Chicken Rabbit

Follow our tutorial and learn how you can make Vintage Style Easter Ornaments from spun cotton balls and colored card stock.

The templates for the bunny and chicken silhouettes can be downloaded below.

PROJECT MATERIALS

  • Colored stock paper or cardboard (make sure the two sides are colored).
  • 40mm spun cotton balls. The downloadable silhouette templates below are just the right size to work with 40mm balls.
  • A good pair of sharp scissors
  • A pack of Christmas ornament hooks (see picture below). You could also make your own with small gauge metal wire.
  • A few pieces of colored ribbon
  • Paint and paintbrush.
  • A glue gun or tacky glue.
  • A rubber band.
  • A bread knife.
Images are 800 pixels x 800 pixels

STEP BY STEP TUTORIAL

Step 1: Gather all your materials

spun cotton balls 40mm

40mm diameter spun cotton balls

Spun cotton ball ornament hook

A pack of hooks

Step 2: Paint the spun cotton balls. We created our own off-white color by mixing a little bit of yellow paint into white paint.

Ball ornament DIY

A toothpick comes in handy to hold the balls. 

Step 3: Outline the chicken and rabbit silhouettes onto the colored stock paper (you can download our silhouettes or create your own). Once the silhouettes are outlined, carefully cut them out with the pair of scissors.

vintage Easter ornaments handmade

Step 4: Draw ø 40 mm circles on the silhouettes to mark where the balls will ultimately be positioned. Then draw a second smaller circle within the larger circles. Finally draw a vertical line in the middle of your circles.

How to make Easter ornaments

You can use a coffee pod to draw the inner circles.

Step 5: Cut each silhouette in half. Then cut out the inside part of the inner circles.

Chicken and rabbit ornaments DIY

Step 6: Tie a rubber band around a ball so as to create two identical halves. Draw a pencil line along the rubber band, remove the rubber band, and with the bread knife, make a quarter inch incision along the line.

Repeat with the other ball.

Easter ornaments tutorial

Step 7: Pour a little glue in the holes and insert the metal loops. Hold the loops in position for about 15-30 seconds until the glue is dry. If you are using tacky glue, you will have to wait a couple hours for the glue to dry.

Easter ornaments to make

You can re-shape the metal loops a little bit so that they are easier to insert in the holes. 

Step 8: Simply slide the cardboard silhouettes into the incisions.

Vintage Easter ornaments DIY craft ideas chicken rabbit

Step 9: Use little pieces of ribbon to hang your finished ornaments.

Vintage Chicken ornament spun cotton DIY

You are done :)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and and as usual, do not hesitate to send us your questions or use the comment fields below.

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Pipe cleaner hats (minis) – how to make your own

miniature pipe cleaner hats DIY tutorial

Check out our tutorial and learn how you can make your own miniature pipe cleaner hats. With a little bit of practice, you will be able to make pipe cleaner hats in as little as 5 minutes.

You can use miniature hats for decorations, but also to dress up peg dolls and figurines.

One technique – many styles of hats.

You can use our technique to make almost any styles of hats: hats for Santa, elves, pilgrims, leprechauns, wizards, top hats, bucket hats, swinger hats, sun hats, beanie hats, boater hats, cloche hats, and more.

pipe cleaner hats minis miniature ornaments DIY

Pipe Cleaner Hats – Materials needed

  • Each hat requires 4 to 5 strands of pipe cleaners (also known as chenille stems)
  • You will also need a pair of wire cutters and a pair of pliers. No other materials and/or tools are needed.

You can use any type of pipe cleaners: plush pipe cleaner, bump pipe cleaner, glitter pipe cleaner, narrow pipe cleaner… For this tutorial, I used regular pipe cleaner (12″ long, .23″/6mm wide).

Pipe cleaners are pretty affordable, you can buy a few different types and experiment with color combinations and shapes.

Step by step tutorial

To illustrate the technique, we are going to make a simple hat. You can then modify this basic technique to make different styles of hats.

1: Gather 5 strands of pipe cleaners.

2: Cut 2 strands in half.

You are now left with 4 half strands and 3 full strands

3: Build the frame of your hat.

The frame is a 7-arm star, plus an eighth arm longer than the others. To create your star, do the following:

  1. On your workstation, lay out a bunch of 3 half strands perpendicular to one full strand (see picture below)
  2. Grab the full-length strand, loop it around the bunch and pull on both ends to tighten the loop.
  3. Separate the strands from one another to create a star shape.
chenille stem hat DIY

The 7 arm star is the frame of your hat. The 8th arm will be weaved through the frame to build the hat.

4: The weaving of the crown.

Grab the long strand and slowly roll it clockwise around the center of the frame, as if you wanted to create a licorice roll. When you meet the strand just next to it, go under it, then when you meet the next strand, go over it, and then go under the next strand, and then over the next strand, and so on. After a few revolutions, you will have made a disc (the top of the crown)

pipe cleaner hat crown 1

When you are done with the top of the crown, bend all of the 7 arms down and continue weaving.

pipe cleaner hat crown 2
pipe cleaner hat crown 3

When you run out of pipe cleaner, attach a new strand to the old strand and continue weaving until you are satisfied with the size of your crown.

pipe cleaner hat crown 4

5: The weaving of the brim.

When you are done with the crown of the hat, bend the pipe cleaners again to make the brim of the hat. Continue to weave with the similar technique as the one described above until you are happy with the size of the brim.

pipe cleaner hat brim 1

You are almost done. If you want, you can fashion a little pipe cleaner decorative band and wrap it around the crown of the hat.

Very important: before cutting the ends of the pipe cleaner strands, fold them under the brim first, otherwise you will see pieces of metal sticking out of the brim.

You are done :) You can now try to make another hat and experiment a little.

  • Try different kinds of pipe cleaners.
  • Experiment with longer crowns, longer brims
  • Keep the same technique but try to change the shape of your hats: make pointy hats or hats that tapper out

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to use the comment section below. Happy crafting!

Miniature pipe cleaner hats: a few more project ideas

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How to make mushroom necklace pendants from spun cotton mushroom blanks.

homemade Swarovski crystal encrusted mushroom pendant

Check out our tutorial and learn how you can easily make beautiful mushroom necklace pendants from Spun Cotton Mushroom blanks. 

mushroom necklace pendant tutorial

Project materials: 

– Small size Blank spun cotton mushrooms.
– Your choice of acrylic paint colors (any paint that works on paper will also work on spun cotton).
– A high gloss varnish.
– A few jewelry eye pins.
– A jewelry plier set (flat nose, round nose and side cutters). You could get away with just a pair of wire cutters.
– A few toothpicks or bamboo skewers.
– A safety pin.

Step by Step Directions: 

Below is a detailed pictorial followed by written instructions.

mushroom necklace pendant DIY pictures

1/ Gather all your materials.

2/ With a safety pin, pierce the mushrooms from one end to the other.

3/ Slide the eye pins in the holes you just made to make sure they fit.

4/ With the wire cutter, shorten your eye pins. They need to be a little shorter than the mushrooms.

5 to 7/ Grab the cut-off portions of your eye pins. With the round nose plier, make little loops and cut them loose.

8/ Make sure you have all the hardware you need. For 3 mushrooms, you need 3 shortened eye pins and 3 little loops.

9 and 10/ Paint the caps of your mushrooms. I like to use a bamboo skewer to hold the mushrooms while I paint them. The skewers also double as neat resting stands.

11/ When the paint is dry, paint little white dots on each mushrooms.

12 and 13/ When the dots are dry, dip each of the mushrooms into a gloss varnish all the way to the bottom of the stems.

14/ While the varnish is still wet, insert the shortened eye pins into the mushrooms caps. Push down on the pins to make sure the eye parts get in contact with the varnish. While the varnish dries, keep your mushroom as upright as possible otherwise the varnish may be thicker on one side of the cap than on the other.

15/ When the varnish is dry (it may take a few hours, maybe even an entire day depending on what varnish you used) add the little loops to each of your mushrooms. I used two pliers to open and close the loops.

16/ Tear drop finish (OPTIONAL). When you are done, you can dip the bottom of the mushroom pendant into mod podge and let it dry in an upright position. It will cover the hole at the bottom of the mushroom and give it a nice tear drop finish.

mushroom pendant DIY ornament

YOU ARE DONE! 

Project variation: Swarovski crystal mushroom necklace pendant. 

  • Mushroom jewelry swarovski pendant charm DIY
  • homemade swarovski crystal encrusted mushroom pendant fancy

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Note that you can also use the same technique to make mushroom earrings or bracelet charms. Happy crafting and as always, let us know if you have any questions!

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How to make Pipe Cleaner Penguins – Winter DIY crafts

pipe cleaner penguins christmas craft ideas

Check out our easy tutorial and learn how to make these irresistible mini pipe cleaner penguins. They are great to decorate the house during the Holiday season and only require a few inexpensive materials.

Pipe cleaner penguins – List of materials needed

To make one pipe cleaner penguin, you will need:

1) One 10mm diameter Spun Cotton Ball and one 18mm Spun Cotton Egg. The resulting pipe cleaner penguin will be about 1.5 inches tall. For a bigger penguin, you can use larger balls and larger eggs.

2) One small strand of orange pipe cleaner and one small strand of black pipe cleaner.

3) A black ball pen, a dab of orange paint (acrylic is fine), and a very fine paint brush.

4) A pair of wire cutters and a pair of pliers.

The basic technique for this craft is to squeeze spun cotton shapes inside of pipe cleaner strands.

When a piece of pipe cleaner is twisted around a spun cotton shape, it creates pressure around the shape and locks it into place.

penguin winter craft ideas

Step by step instructions

1: Prepare the feet and the head.

For the feet, simply make a doughnut with a small piece of orange pipe cleaner.
For the head, grab a spun cotton ball and draw the eyes with the ball pen and paint a small nose with the orange paint. I used a toothpick to hold the ball.
IMPORTANT: Make sure the ball’s hole is on top of the head, not on the bottom.

spun cotton ball penguin

2: Tighten the pipe cleaner around the penguin’s head

Wrap the pipe cleaner around the head and give it 3 to 4 twists. Make sure the pipe cleaner is tight around the ball before you start twisting. You can use the pliers to help.

penguin figurine tutorial

3: Tighten the pipe cleaner around the penguin’s body and feet

With one hand, hold the feet and the body of your penguin together and with the other hand, twist and tighten the 2 strands of pipe cleaner around them.

TIP: position the portion of the feet where the two ends of the pipe cleaner meet towards the back where it doesn’t show.

penguin figurine DIY

4: Cut off the excess pipe cleaner.

You can also leave the two strands uncut and use them to display your penguin.

DIY pipe cleaner penguins

You are done :)

  • pipe cleaner penguins arctic craft ideas
  • pipe cleaner penguins winter ornaments DIY crafts ideas

hope you enjoyed this tutorial. You can also use the pipe cleaner and spun cotton shape technique to create different pipe cleaner animals such as rabbits or bears – the possibilities are endless.

Thank you for reading, good luck with your penguin projects, and happy crafting!

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How to make mini Christmas Ball Ornaments – Holiday DIY Crafts

DIY mini christmas balls ornaments

Check out our tutorial and learn how you can make your own mini Christmas Ball Ornaments using spun cotton balls as lightweight / shatterproof fillers. Miniature ornaments are perfect to decorate small size Christmas trees or to make your own wreaths.

Mini Christmas Ball Ornaments Tutorial – The short version

To make one mini ball ornament, follow these three easy steps:

(1) Paint a spun cotton ball
(2) Pour glue in the hole
(3) Insert a metal loop.

Tutorial – The long version

Materials:

To make mini Christmas ball ornaments, you will need:

– Small gauge metal wire or a pack of ornament hooks.
– A pair of wire cutters and a pair of round nose pliers.
– 18mm and 20mm Spun cotton balls.
– Paint and a paint brushes.
– Toothpicks.
– A glue gun or some regular white craft glue.
– A glossy finish such as glossy mod podge
– OPTIONAL : glitter

1. Paint the balls.

DIY miniature christmas ball ornaments drying

Balls drying up on bamboo sticks

Mount the spun cotton balls on wooden picks and paint them with solid colors. Spun cotton balls are made of paper and paint very easy.

2. Add a gloss finish

For a shiny look, dip your mini Christmas ball ornaments in glossy mod podge and wait until it hardens.

3. Prepare your hanging loops:

Loop short pieces of metal wire around your round nose pliers and twist the ends together. When done, cut off the excess wire with a wire cutter. If you do not have round nose pliers, you can loop wire around the handle of your painbrush to create the loop.

4. Glue the hanging loops to the balls.

You can use a glue gun or regular white craft glue. Both have pros and cons. With a glue gun, you will work a lot faster, but with regular glue, you won’t leave glue marks on top of the balls.

Pouring hot glue

Pour a small amount of glue in the hole, and insert a metal loop right away. Note that all spun cotton balls have little holes.

You are done :)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Note that spun cotton balls come in plenty of sizes and that you could use the same technique to make regular size Christmas ball ornaments as well.

Happy Holidays to all of you!