Photo © Terri Mauro

School is back in session - yippee! Time to cover those precious books. Here’s an easy, step by step template for paper or paper bags from About.com. If you’re crafty with glue or sewing machine, you can also use this as a basic fabric pattern - a fabric with some spandex in it would be perfect! But don’t stop there - match the fabric or paper to your personality!

If the fear of knitting needles and learning intricate jargon such as, “Knit one, pearl two,” kept you from hooking up with the latest knitting craze, The Butterfly Loom has the perfect, no-fail, you-can-do-it product: The Magic Board. The Magic Board is a hand held, easy-as-pie weaver, made of rigid wood to produce different knitting and crocheting results without a lick of traditional knitting or crocheting involved.

Using The Butterfly Loom’s unique Wrap & Knot”© technique, The Magic Board can be used to create afghans, throws, rugs, jackets, bags, scarves, ponchos, purses and much more, with a variety of yarns – everything from Kid Mohair to Wooltops – with no knitting or crocheting experience. Available in five sizes from small to large and even rectangle shapes, the design of the board allows even the sight impaired and those with handicaps or arthritis to easily create fabulous knitted crafts with minimal effort and zero frustration.

“The Magic Board is truly addictive and just plain fun,” said owner and inventor Carolyn Jenner. “It’s unbelievable how quickly you can produce an actual knitted piece. And absolutely anyone – from children to grandparents of any age, any skill level – can use the product with great success.” Available for purchase online at www.thebutterflyloom.com, The Butterfly Loom’s web site also offers how-to demonstrations and inspirational “we-did-it” images from crafters around the world. About: Created in 2001, The Magic Board has appeared on DIY TV and on the hit show Big Brother in which 960 squares were created in 3 days and joined together to make a 9ft square Afghan.

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Posted by the Crafty Folks at Anna Bella Fine Stationery.

I went looking for some cool ideas for making fabric flowers as embellishments for this bag I am making. So far, all I’ve done is bought the pattern and the fabric, but at least those are steps in the right direction to getting the project completed. I came across this great tutorial on Wise Craft for fabric flowers and it seems really simple and I the the fluttery effect of the flowers.

I loved The Lorax by Dr. Seuss as a kid, as I am sure many of you did, but never, ever, ever in all my crafty years did I desire to actually knit a Thneed. Apparently somebody did though, because there is a pattern for it. I discovered this craziness on Threadbared.com, a site devoted to poking snarky fun at vintage patterns from the 40’s to the 80’s.