I’m Duncan Cairncross, your new Craftmaster here at Craftmodo, the place to be for all things crafty.

I just want to introduce myself and explain how I’m going to go about this job of bringing you the best of craftage and craft commerce, especially in the runup to Christmas, when we’re all looking for great gifts for our craft-conscious friends and acquaintances.

First, thanks to my predecessor, Adelle Tilton, for writing some great stuff on the female side of crafting. There’s lots to see in the archives if you appreciate that.

I want to tilt the balance a little at first by covering a few typically male crafts that are often ignored in our society. Men need crafts too, you know. We don’t just stand around watching you girls create the world around us.

John (our editor) thought it would be a good idea if I started out reviewing the craft bits of The Dangerous Book for Boys. This is a British book which has taken the market by storm in the UK. I’ll be looking at that in my next post.

Keep crafting.

Summer is a fun time to do crafts as a family.  It is also a good time to think about crafts for decorating in the fall and as gifts for the holidays.  Many crafts can be put together by the materials we gather from evening walks; summer brings us a large and very available craft shop - the great outdoors provides us with a lot of materials at no cost at all (but don’t pick your neighbor’s flowers!)

This romantic and cheery wreath will fit into many decors.  It isn’t difficult to make and just requires a few supplies, some imagination, and a little bit of time.  It can be used outdoors or inside.  Have fun and try some different ideas for totally different looks.  I know you will be happy with the results.

Spanish Moss Wreath

Nothing to do this weekend?  It is still hot; I think it is hot everywhere now and staying inside in the air conditioning and doing some family crafts seems right up my alley.  Brave the heat long enough to go up to the hardware store and pick out some pretty tiles.  Get large enough ones to work on the surface, say a foot square or so, and then head to the craft store and pick up some decoupage and a clear sealant.  The rest is going to come from things in your own home and your imagination.

Old photographs are a nice touch on these tiles.  Glue the photograph down and run your hand or something over it to remove any bubbles.  Many decoupages are meant to use as the glue and will bubble less; I prefer those.  Just be sure to remove the air bubbles from under the picture.  You can use magazine photos, antique photographs, seed packets (just the front layer)… anything you like. 

Once it is sealed on, follow the instructions on the decoupage bottle and then on the sealant container.  Be sure you are in a well ventilated room.  Then you can attach hangers and display your work or you can use them as trivets for hot plates (don’t put anything too hot on it to protect the photograph if it means a great deal to you).  I would recommend if the photograph is one of a kind and cannot be replaced, that you spend a few dollars and have it photostated by a professional photocopying service and save the original in a safe place.

These tiles will make great gifts and a great memory of a fun day.  These crafts are easy, inexpensive and totally individual to each crafter. 

Now this is a great idea!  I wish I had thought of it.  If you buy CD’s and don’t leave them in the original case, but put them in a larger binder or whatever, you probably have wondered what you could do with all of those cases.  They seem like a craft just needing to happen.  I keep my CD’s in a big leather binder and I have often wondered that but unfortunately didn’t keep them!  Now I see what could have been done with them.  Get the family, Girl Scout Troop, class, Sunday school members, or whoever together to turn these CD cases into photo frames!

This is a wonderful craft for kids.  It is also a fun one for adults.  It is quick, easy, inexpensive, and would be so enjoyed by so many.  Kids could make these for grandparents or people who reside in nursing homes to remind them they are not forgotten.  A graduating class of elementary school kids could make these with a collage of their friend’s pictures.  And what a great gift for a teacher that would be!  No excuse for the lack of a Mother’s Day present now!  Make a little nature scene out of things you find on the beach or on a hike.

There are so many ideas for this that I am sure you will come up with even more.  What is best is that this is essentially a free craft; the CD case probably would have been thrown out and all of the trims and paints you will already have.  Instead you will be recycling something into a meaningful and quite charming gift.