Striped Friendship Bracelet

You will need:

1. Embroidery floss

2. Scissors

3. Clipboard

Directions:

1. Cut two strands of each color to about two to three feet. If you use three colors you will have six pieces of floss in total.  You can add more strands if you want the bracelet to be wider.  Gripping all of the strands together, tie them with a standard knot at the top.  Leave a tail of about two to three inches at the top so you have enough room to tie your bracelet together at the end.
2. Attach your floss to the clipboard and spread out your floss strands. Take the first strand (leftmost strand) and bring it over strand two.  It should image the number four. Then, take the first strand, bring it under strand two, and pull tightly.  This is the first step of the forward knot.  To finish the forward knot, do the same thing again.  The forward knot requires you to do this twice.
3. Continue down the row, doing the forward knot with the remaining four pieces of floss or however many strands you have in your bracelet. When the first row is finished, the first strand you started with should now be the last in the row.  Do the same thing, starting with the new left-most strand.
4. Repeat this until you feel your bracelet is the right length. When the bracelet is ready, tie the remaining strings together, just like the top.  Tie the two ends together so it fits your wrist and wear your bracelet. Tip: The more strands of floss you use, the wider the bracelet will be.

Magazine Frame

You will need:

1. An empty shoe box

2. Magazine paper

3. Craft glue

4. Tape

5. Scissors

Directions:

1. Remove the lid from the shoe box. Measure two inches from each of the sides of the lid and cut out the inner square. This is where the picture will go after the frame is complete.
2. Tear paper from the magazine and cut each piece in half, hot dog style. Roll each page and secure with tape. Cut each rolled paper into approximately two-inch cylinders.
3. Glue each cylinder to the lid of the pre-cut shoe box lid.  Let it sit for 30 minutes to dry. Tip: The more colorful paper you use, the more colorful the finished product will be. Be creative.

Caitlin Wolfarth is a News Editor and Brianna George is a Copy Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.