Many people find that getting elderly family members interested in craftsisn’t very difficult; however, finding crafts for elderly family or tenants with limited mobility isn’t the same. After finding an electric mobility scooter that suits your family member best, many crafts are fun for seniors. Try this one:

What You Need:

2 Pine Cones

Yarn

Shortening

Cornmeal or Oatmeal

Bird Seed

(Optional) Dried Fruit, –raisins, dehydrated fruit.

What To Do:

Step 1. Tie a few feet of yarn to each pine cone, allowing for however low or high you want to hang the bird feeders, and in which tree. You can make a lot of these around Christmas, and the look especially attractive in fir trees.

Step 2. Mix  1 cup of shortening with five cups of cornmeal, or oatmeal, and spread it thick over the pine cones, using a spatula, or spoon.

Step 3. Fill a bowl with dried fruit and bird seeds, and mix well together.

Step 4. Coat each pine cone well in the the seed and fruit mixture, being sure the seeds and fruit are packed well into the shortening mixture.

Step 5. Hang each or many pinecone bird feeders wherever you like, in trees, off the porch, or near windows. Birds love high energy foods like sunflower seeds especially.

I am looking for new inspiration for future posts, and am inviting you to enter my “Christmas in July” Give-Away. It’s easy to enter…just comment to this post with a craft project for which you would like to see a tutorial.

It can be any thing! Something you have wanted to learn for a long time, something you just saw yesterday!

All comments which include a future craft post idea or request, and are posted before 11:59pm on July 31st, will be eligible. Winner will be chosen and notified on August 1st. The project suggestion that is chosen will be featured in one of my future posts, and on my personal blog Creative Origins (entries accepted there, also). PLUS! The submitter will receive a “Homemade Holiday” Gift Package filled with handcrafted holiday gifts.

See a sneak peek of gift package you will receive here.

Even though he’s too nice to admit it, I’m sure my husband has wondered why he ever bought me the sewing machine I begged him for!  I would do an occasional project, but for the most part, it sat unused on my craft table for months at a time.  But not anymore!  I have found a ton of easy summer sewing patterns online.  Plus, I heard through flickr that WalMart is getting rid of their fabric departments so there will be lots of fabric sales this summer.  Anyway, here is a run down of some patterns that should be simple enough for sewing novices like me!

Turn a men’s shirt into a cute fitted cap-sleeve top with the help of this tutorial on craftster.org.  I haven’t tried this one yet, but I raided my husband’s old clothes and have a shirt to use for it.

Another one on Craftster that uses a men’s shirt is this adorable button down shirt into a toddler dress tutorial.  This one I have done, and my daughter loves it!  I was able to do the whole thing during her naptime.  I took a couple of quick photos of her this morning:

Here’s another one that I want to try as soon as I get some grosgrain ribbon to match my fabric…this easy circle skirt tutorial.

This last one might be a little bit more complicated (at least, it will be for me!) but I definitely want to try it.  There is a tutorial for making a shirred top for yourself and a shirred sundress for a little girl.

I think the best part about finding these tutorials online is the fact that so many people leave helpful hints and discussions in the comments.  I am NOT good at sewing, not at all, so these tutorials are much easier to understand than patterns!

watch how I did this at dqb and tell me if you like it. Is very simple and cheap arrangement.

please visit dqb-dqb.blogspot.com and watch a very humble tutorial on how to make your favorite fabric bias tape.

hugs, Dominique