I remember when crafters often turned to bed sheets as a decorating medium.  Not for just beds - of course that is one use for them, and probably the most popular, but how boring!  How unimaginative!  Do you realize all you can do with bed sheets?

I was shopping the other day for some linens.  I saw the new spring line of bedding and I loved the colors!  They are bright, bold, and somewhat retro.  I can think of a thousand uses for those wonderful colors - the ones that caught my eye were turquoise, coral and a celery green.  But I digress. 

Sheets are wonderful fabrics for decorating.  There are the obvious advantages such as the finished edges, but if you buy a high quality sheet, think of the fabric you are getting for a fairly good price.  A very good price, if you catch them on sale.  Some sheets come in 500 thread count and those are fabrics that aren’t going to fade and thin right away.

There are some ideas on this site that I found.  It will be a good start and I do say a start, because this idea will grow as you find more ideas and uses for the beautiful colors and patterns you find in the bedding department.

Bed Sheets For Home Decor

By Adelle Tilton

PartyDelights has a decorative Easter party banner which can be personalized online to your taste :

“Our personalised banners are suitable for indoor/outdoor use, have eyelets fitted and are printed on quality 440gsm all weather vinyl. You can upload your own photograph and preview online : 6ft x 2.5ft £29.99 [$60] or 10ft x 4ft £59.99 [$120].”

Just one suggestion for crafting this Easter. More later.

A Pickle Pucker Jar

A lady called Betsy Hatfield submitted this idea to The Romantic website :

Last year at Valentine’s, I got a big glass pickle jar from a restaurant, scrubbed it clean, and painted the jar with flowers, hearts, sunshine, clouds, etc.

Then I got a bunch of “fancy” doodle pads and began writing reasons & reminders of how & why I love my husband. It didn’t stop there — I began collecting little poems, quotes, and song lyrics to add to the pot.

When my husband is having a rough day he can open the lid and reach in for a “boost”. This jar was easy to make and VERY personal, and he enjoys it year around. I love to collect stuff for the jar as well!

We’ll be looking around for more unusual craft ideas for February 14 in the next two weeks.

For a fun bouquet or just something to add a little pizazz to gift wrapping, these tissue paper carnations are a unique way to give flowers.

The project is incredibly easy and inexpensive. My 12-year-old made these in under half an hour.

The materials are simply:

Colored tissue paper

Decorative pencils

Pencil Eraser Caps

Small elastics

You can use any color of tissue paper, even white - or layer different colors for a rainbow effect. Lay out your tissue paper in layers of 4 - 6 sheets. 4 makes a loosely petaled flower, 6 is a bit tight and harder to work. We found 5 sheets were about right. Then measure a rectangle of about 5 - 6 inches wide and about 10 - 12 inches long. This will determine the size of your flower but the great thing is that it doesn’t really matter if you are exact or if you eyeball it. The edges don’t even have to be particularly straight as when you fan out the paper, these inconsistencies will only make it look more real. This makes it a great project for kids who may not be as meticulous about measurements and straight edges.

Once you have your rectangle, start an accordion fold at one of the ends. Fold on the short side, not the long. Fold over and over as if you were making a fan. Each fold should be about 1 inch width. When you are done, fold it over to find the middle, then unfold and place an elastic around the middle of your now 1 inch wide folded fan.

Take a pencil and wind the elastic on the pencil end, just under the metal band that holds the eraser on. Placing it here keeps it from slipping off easily. To ensure it doesn’t slip off, place a colored eraser cap over the eraser. This also makes the pencil more useful as the owner will be able to erase with it without removing the flower.

Now fan out both sides and grasping the edge of the innermost tissue paper layer, start pulling it up towards the middle. Once you have done that, do the next layer and the next and so forth. Pull each layer on both sides towards the middle until your carnation is formed.

You can make several of these and give them like a bouquet of flowers. Alone, these tissue paper carnations can be attached to gifts instead of bows for a unique decoration.