Brainwaves weekly: creative crafts

My husband John and I decided to turn some old timber into a window box. John cut the wood to the correct length, primed it and painted the inside. Once everything had dried, he screwed the timber together to form the window box. Then he drilled drainage holes and varnished the outside. Finally, we added soil and potted some plants — lovely! Caroline Hutchings, Chichester, W Sussex

Frustrated at always losing my glasses around the house, I had a bright idea to keep them handy. I pulled the two loops of hanging ribbon out of the inside of my top and threaded the arms of my glasses through them. The ribbons were long enough to stay in place when I popped my specs on. I'll never cut those ribbons out of my tops again! Yvonne Black, Inverness

As I had some leftover wool, I decided to make myself some fingerless mittens. First, I knitted two wool squares that were the size of my hands. Then I folded them in half and stitched the edges together to form a tube, leaving a hole for my thumb. They were so simple to make, and they keep my hands nice and warm too — perfect for winter! Susan Beck, Plymouth, Devon

My daughters love painting nails, but they're too young to paint their own and they can't do mine every day. So I came up with an idea. I grabbed some spare bits of card and drew around my hand four times. After this I cut out my hand shapes. Then I gave two each to my daughters. Now they can paint nails whenever they want! Katy Williams, St Blazey, Cornwall

I needed to find a way to put my fat balls out for the birds, without the squirrels having a go at them. So I saved the nets some of my fruit and veg came in and popped a fat ball in each one, before securing the open end with an elastic band. Finally, I attached all the nets to my bird feeder. Now the birds can still peck at them, but they're safe from hungry squirrels. Diane Williams, Bodmin, Cornwall

It was my seven-year-old son Aiden's birthday. He doesn't like cake, but I still wanted him to blow out his candles. So I covered a sheet of polystyrene in blue wrapping paper. Then I laid out his favourite sweets in the shape of a seven. I added a block of polystyrene, which I'd covered in wrapping paper, and I stuck his candles into that. Once he'd blown them out, everyone took home a paper cup of sweets instead of a slice of cake. Kathryn Harker, Wakefield, W Yorks