>Home>Crafts>Tips

Tips from Our Crafters

Ways to Craft Smarter and Better

Crafters seem to love sharing tips and shortcuts they’ve come up with. And thank goodness; all of the tips you send in are cataloged here in the Tips Section.

I thought some of them are so clever, I’ve started compiling them into a database to organize and share with all our readers.

I hope that these tips help you to work smarter, better and faster. Maybe you'll cut some of your costs too!

Click on a category that interests you and see whether someone has come up with a better way. If not, just click on the "Contact Us" button on the bottom of this page.

Thank you for sharing and, like The Artful Crafter slogan, "Helping Crafters to Be".

View The Top 100 Craft Sites Report - Updated Every 30 Minutes!

The Tip Sheets

Clay Tile Tips

Flattening Clay Tiles
Tips on how to keep clay tiles flat as they dry.

Craft Repairs

Clay & Ceramic Repairs
How to repair damaged clay and ceramic objects.

How to Repair Costume Jewelry
How to repair or renew your jewelry.

Repairing a Smashed Wooden Mask
An advanced craft repair project.

Crochet Tips

22 Crochet Tips
Helpful crochet tips.

Decoupage Tips

Another Decoupage Problem
Tips for dealing with bleeding, air bubbles and lumping in decoupage projects.

Decoupage Methods
Advice and methods on how to make a professional decoupage project.

Decoupage a Bookcase
Some tips on how to decoupage a bookcase using kindergartners' artwork.

Applying Kleer Kote
Getting a smooth finish when using Kleer Kote.

Wood Finishes for Decoupage
Tips on how to prepare wood surfaces for decoupage, plus a discussion of available finishes.

Fabric Tips

Bubble Jet Tips – How to Print on Fabric
How to use Bubble Jet Set & Rinse to treat fabric so that you can print almost anything on it with your computer & printer.

Make Your Own Fabric Wallpaper
How to stiffen fabric to use as a wall covering.

Applying Fabric to Walls Using Starch
Starch makes it easy to apply and remove lightweight fabric from walls.

Hanging Cloth Strips on Walls
Tips on lining up and applying cloth strips as wall decorations.

50 Ways to Use Ribbon to Dress Up Your Crafts
Uses of ribbon from fashions to scrapbooking.

Glue Tips

Tips for Crafting with Glue
Glue is indispensable. Some tips you might not have thought of.

Glue - A Sticky Question
What glue to use to adhere metal soda cans to wood for a collage.

Gourd Tips

Birdhouse Gourds
How to prepare birdhouse gourds.

Cleaning and Preparing Gourds
Getting gourds ready for finishing.

Curing Gourds
The best ways to cure gourds.

Gourd Decorating and Finishing
Ways to prepare a gourd for display.

Scratch Engraved Gourds
How to decorate green gourds.

Jewelry Tips

Cleaning Gemstones
How to keep your gemstones sparkling.

Cleaning Precious Jewelry
How to keep metal jewelry bright and shining.

Special Needs Jewelry
Customize your jewelry to your customers needs.

Holiday Crafts

Christmas Ornament Making Tips
Tips on making colorful Christmas ornaments.

Decorating Easter Eggs
Ways to beautifully decorate Easter Eggs.

Preparing Eggs for Decoration
How to blow out eggs for decoration.

Knitting Tips

Knitting Tips
Some useful tips to help you get started knitting.

Organizing Tips

Craft Idea Book
Use a craft idea book to organize your craft projects.

Craft Room Design
How to put together a great space for crafting.

Declutter Your Craft Room
More tips om organizing your craft workspace.

Helpful Household Hints
Time saving tips for busy crafters.

More Helpful Household Hints
Time saving tips for busy crafters from FlyLady.

Organize Your Craft Work Space
Ways to get yourself organized, especially if you can never find the scissors.

Paper Craft Tips

Advanced Card Making Tips
How to streamline the process of making the Open Door invitation card.

Dry Embossing Tips
Tips on how to do a perfect embossing job, including a review of the ShapeBoss Ultimate Embossing System which makes the project easier than ever.

Deep Debossed Fancy Invitations
How to use your ShapeBoss system to make fancy debossed invitations for weddings and other events.

Greeting Card Folding Techniques
How to get professional results when folding greeting cards.

How To Adjust Patterns Using Your Word Processor
Simple steps to resize your craft patterns.

Label Tricks
How to make any size label from a full sheet.

Photoshop Basics
Tips to shorten the Photoshop learning curve.

A Simple Way to Transfer Images
A low tech way to transfer images for your greeting cards or scrapbook layouts.

Perspective
How to use perspective in your craft projects.

Printing Tips for Print Shop
Tips for printing greeting cards using Print Shop.

Printing Greeting Cards
More tips on how to get the most out of your greeting card program.

Scanning Objects
Use yout scanner to create original backgrounds for printed paper crafts.

Scanning Tips
Smart scanning.

Think Inkjet
Advanced tips to create special effects with your inkjet printer.

Tips for Crafting with Paper
Ideas, some unusual, on what you can do with paper.

Stamping Tips
Tips on the care and feeding of rubber stamps.

Oil Paint over Mod Podge Collage
Are oil paint and Mod Podge compatible.

Raster vs. Vector
Digital graphics tips.

Polymer Clay Tips

Polymer Clay Castle
Using plastic sheeting to create castle walls and floors.

Polymer Clay Tips
Tips on how to use polymer clays, such as Sculpey, with an eye towards a professional result.

Polymer Clay Toxicity? – Not
Research that clears up the notion that polymer clay products are toxic.

Senior Crafts

Limited Dexterity Crafts
Age appropiate crafts for seniors.

Senior Crafts
Crafts to engage seniors with limited dexterity.

Some Sewing Tips

Blind Hemming Silk
Tips to get the best results.

Embroidery Machine Buying Tips
What to look for when buying an embroidery machine.

No Pattern Sewing
How to sew a pair of pants without a pattern.

ter.com/sew.html">Sew Perfect Mitered Strips
How to sew perfect mitered strips.

Sewing Secrets of the Pros - Part One
From picking the right sewing machine to making a perfect corner, lots of tips are included here.

Sewing Secrets of the Pros - Part Two
More sewing tips are included here.

Sewing Velvet
How to get a perfect finish when sewing velvet.

Do It Yourself Sewing Machine Repairs
Written by a sewing machine repairman: try these tips before calling for service.

Sewing Tips: The Right Needle
There’s a needle for every job. See which is best for you.

Sewing Tips: The Right Thread
There a tread for every job. See which is best for you.

Sewing Tips: What to do with Old Thread
Can old thread be saved? Can some threads last longer than others? The answers are here.

A Thread Problem
How to use knotted thread or yarn.

How to Choose a Sewing Machine
Helpful advice if you're in the market for a new sewing machine.

Wine Bag Assembly
Tips for easily sewing a wine bag.

Soap Making Tips

Anybody Can Do This Soap Stuff
Simple, fun crafts made with soap flakes.

Craft Ideas: Soap Making Success
Tips on making glycerin soaps for fun or profit.

Lotion Bar Recipe
Recipe for a rich lotion bar.

Sundials

Adjusting Sundials
How to make your sundial as accurate as possible.

---

Recommended Sites

Rubber Stamp Shack
Your online source for unique and hard to find rubber stamps. Most of our stamps are from Angel Companies and are not found anywhere else on the internet. Free shipping on all US orders over $50! Rubber Stamp Shack

  |Top | Crafts | Home |