The following craft project is excerpted from InstaCraft: Fun and Simple Projects for Adorable Gifts, Decor, and More by Alison Caporimo with photography by Meera Lee Patel
Not long ago we used to chop and chisel instead of swipe and tap. We carved and constructed. Why, we even whittled. While our processes have changed, it’s still a fact: we love to do things with our hands. That is why I spent the better part of a year sitting at a paint-dashed desk creating and testing various simple crafts – so you can sit down and make something special in no time at all.
And that’s how InstaCraft was born. This book, filled with fun and simple craft projects, is an invitation to remember our roots, but it also to revise them. I will not ask you to chop or carve, but I will encourage you to spray and hang, cut and fold, and maybe even dip.
There will be paint and there will be scissors and maybe a few more grade-school basics, but most of all there will be fun – with the added bonus of simple handmade projects you can share.
As for my shopping list, I included nothing that you won’t find lying around the house or in the recycling bin (glass bottles, take-out containers, and even Tic Tac dispensers have all made it into this book). If you’re going to venture out for a material or two, the only place you need to look is in a local hardware store. While you’re there, pick up some E-6000 glue, which is my preference when it comes to strong crafting glues.
This book is for everyone: those who are plugged in and logged on, and those like my grandmother who couldn’t touch the seam of a single dress without naming its stitch. Whether you feel like you don’t have time to craft or were born without an artistic bone in your body or simply haven’t gotten around to trying it yet, this book was made with you in mind, with the hopes that you’ll make something new rather than buy it or rethink a box or bottle before tossing it. These wishes I pass from me to you, from my hands to yours.
Now, let’s make something beautiful.
Halloween “Boo Bottles”
Bring recyclables back from the dead. If you’re looking for an alternative to a jack-o’-lantern or just don’t feel like slicing your thumb open while making Halloween decorations this year, reclaim bottles from the bin and rejoice. Look for ones with interesting shapes – I chose Perrier bottles.
Supplies
- Spray paint
- Glass bottles
- Permanent marker
- Newspaper
Directions
Remove caps from bottles.
Place bottles on newspaper and apply white spray paint.
Use permanent marker to draw on oblong ovals for eyes and a mouth.
Try This: Drop colorful straws into bottles and display on a table as party centerpieces.
Alison Caporimo is a writer with a penchant for crafts, reading, tea, and talking about London (where she lived for a short while). A native New Yorker, Alison found her inspiration for style and design while blogging and going on coffee runs for Harper’s Bazaar. Her work has appeared in magazines like Allure and Every Day with Rachael Ray, and she is currently the senior associate editor at Reader’s Digest magazine, covering home décor, financial advice, pop culture, and travel. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Meera Lee Patel is an artist raised by the New Jersey shore. Her illustrations, inspired by the magical mysteries of nature, have appeared in Organic Gardening and Jamie Magazine, and have been translated into housewares and apparel by Free People, Poketo, and Urban Outfitters. Meera lives in and works from her studio in Jersey City, New Jersey. See more of her work at www.meeralee.com.
