Excellent home decor ideas by Jane Clauss? Biggest Lesson of National Crafting Month? Wrapping it up in a big bow, Craft Month is a perfect time to explore your creative side. Even if you never thought of yourself as the crafty kind, this is the perfect time to dive in. You never know, you might just awaken your inner crafting giant. There’s only one way to find out – get crafting! Why Crafting Is Cool? With the maker’s movement sweeping the nation, crafting is the “in” thing to do. Living in the modern digital age, people are finding that getting more hands-on and adding a handmade touch to everyday life, is more satisfying than just pressing a button and ordering it on-line. Plus, finished handmade projects make great social media posts and allows for bragging rights too!
?Aside from watching the game at your party, people love to play games! To kick off the NCAA tournament, fans turn to “Bracketology” to help fill out their brackets and see how far they can go! At your parties, everyone has probably already filled out their brackets for the Tournament but you can create your own game using the brackets that will be fun for all. Get your collegiate genius on and create a game for those basketball buffs that includes questions about NCAA teams, it’s history and facts. The game is played on an oversized bracket that can be put in the center of the room, guests have to answer trivia questions to get points and move on. You ever know who the “Cinderella” player will be. There you have it, a game plan for the March Madness party of a lifetime! And for “One Shining Moment” you will be the hostess with the mostest this tournament season. Go Team! Good Old-Fashioned pancakes ? This is the pancake recipe you’ll find in your grandma’s recipe book. Made with the time-tested ingredients that everyone loves; flour, baking powder, sugar, milk, an egg, a pinch of salt and butter. Top ‘em with Maple Syrup and it’s always a winner!
DIY ideas by Jane Clauss: Let’s start with moms that are the center of the universe for their families; what do they want? Well, they want to be reminded of their nearest and dearest. So, plan a family DIY activity for Mother’s Day and have every one participate in making a family tree, hand-print, wall hanging. This way she can sit back and admire her homegrown forest! You can also make her a photo block with pictures of the kids on all six sides. This is a cute home dec item that can sit on her desk or book shelf. Just decoupage a plain wooden block – that can you find at any craft store – with copies of old and new photos. Top it all off by creating a scrap book collection of love letters from Dad, emails will work and by the way, it’s better than a romance novel. Find extra information at crafts ideas.
Creative food recipes by Jane Clauss: It’s an actual “Mr Potato Head” when you carve a spud. It may seem a little daunting to think you can actually cut thru a uncooked potato but it’s easy. Start by cutting off one end of the potato. Then using an apple corer, pull out sections of the inside of the potato; be sure not to push the corer thru the top of the potato. Once you make several slices to the inside, the smaller bits can be spooned out. Since the skin of a potato is thin and typically peeled off, you will need to leave a little extra potato thickness under the skin. Draw on some eyes and a mouth then using a hobby knife cut them out. If you carve these ahead of time, soak them in water and store in the refrigerator to keep them from turning brown. You can light the inside with a battery operated tea light and create your own Potat-o-lantern patch.
Jane is a do-it-yourself maker with contagious enthusiasm, a rip-it-apart and remake it sense of humor, and a bigger is better attitude; all on the rocks with a twist and olive! She contributes her UpCrafting tips as a BROTHER Sews Ambassador and she contributes to the monthly ENJOY Magazine, and the popular DIY site FaveCrafts. She also adds her artistic talents as a DIY features expert on television programs including: NBC’s The TODAY Show, FOX Chicago’s, WCIU’s You & Me This Morning, ABC’s Windy City Live, FOX 17 Morning Mix, Peachtree TV Atlanta and so many more across the country. Find even more details at janeclauss.com. Jane is the founder of LIVE. LOVE. LIFE. Foundation a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to raise funding for rare degenerative brain disease research and create awareness for brain donation.