How to Make a Multi Stand Bracelet, Earrings and Ring! {gift idea!}

Hi Friends! Happy Friday night! I had a lovely time the other day making this easy gift set using some new beading supplies from PandaHall:

Thanks to a few of my viewers who told me that the prongs on the frame of the ring should be pushed down snug around the glass. I pushed them down with my finger but you can use a pencil eraser too. I did not show that in the video but wanted to make sure you knew:)

You can use any beads you like for this but I will include a full supply list below the video if you want exactly what I used.

Supplies:

• Flower Toggle Clasp
• Crimp Beads
• Imitation Jade Beads
• Crystal Glass Beads
• Mixed Bicone Beads
• Mixed Cat’s Eye Beads
• Pendants
• Ring Kits
• Beading Wire
• Other: eye-pins and ear wires
• Tools: Crimping Plies, 3-in-1 pliers, wire cutter

Coupon Codes!
Save $20 on your order of $200+ with coupon code: PHYoutube20
or
Save $10 on your order of $120+ with coupon code: PHYoutube10 valid through May 1, 2015

Thanks to PandaHall for sponsoring today’s video. They are a great source of quality jewelry supplies particularly if you are selling your jewelry and need to get the best prices on your materials. If you want more information on the materials they sent me you can watch my haul video here. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

 

Cheerful Cherry Jewelry! {video}

I had a few minutes the other day and I wanted to make something cheerful and fun:

I had some glass pearls that I got for 40 cents a strand at Micheal’s and I knew they were perfect!

I knew my daughters had leaf shaped beads because I helped them sort their beads last winter, found ‘um!

After experimenting with beads and making one big and one small cherry motif I turned on my camera so you can see how easy it is and sine I have no time to edit you can watch me drop stuff too!

I decided that the big cherries were too big and heavy for earrings so I used them on a necklace instead. Happy Crafting!

Make a Statement {Necklace!}

Happy Saturday folks! First I want to apologize to all of my papercrafters out there since my current jewelry obsession has taken over my blog (as it does whenever I am preparing for a craft fair) but I have some stamping to do today so I am planning on posting a card tomorrow. You see I imagine all of my readers are just waiting with bated breath to read my posts HA HA 😀 ! I had a burst of creativity yesterday morning after coming across a tray full of glass pebbles I had altered months ago (while looking for jewelry price tags) and I was inspired to make this:

It’s a statement necklace and it is super fun! basically you cut a “bib” from felt and you glue anything you like to it such as flowers, buttons, gems, anything! I used silk flowers and the flat backed glass marbles I had altered. Then I added some raveled rose ribbon and added ribbon crimps (see how to video here) a bit of chain and a toggle clasp to the back.

Quick, Easy and Fun and one more item for my craft fair table. I can see myself making more of these. They are eye-catching and a fun accessory! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A Gift Fit For a Time Lord!

Howdy folks! I am still enjoying a fun-filled school vacation but I wanted to share something I made last week for a friend whose birthday was yesterday:

She is a big Doctor Who fan and I have her to thank for my current Doctor Who obsession. I’ll never forget last summer when she said “Hey Lindsay, have you ever watched the show Doctor Who?” Famous. Last. Words.

Sometimes I wonder if my handmade jewelry is a bit too gaudy for anyone to wear, we all receive the well intended gifts from relatives (too-big novelty Christmas sweater or plastic canvas tissue box cozy) so I figured if my necklace is to big and clunky to wear she can hang it out by her garden to scare away any crows (or the odd Dalek) that might come by! 🙂

in case you are wondering where I found that rad Dalek rubber stamp, I made it with my Stampmaker! That’s all for today! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Tutorial: How to make a Toggle Clasp, Split Rings and Jump Rings!

Howdy folks, I just got back from walking my dog in the rain and I think it is just the perfect day to stay inside and make jewelry! But hey, when isn’t right? I ran out of toggle clasps over the weekend and decided to try my hand and making my own. Here is the result on this funky, chunky bracelet:

I used thick colored aluminum wire that I picked up at the Dollar Tree, a great material to experiment with. Just be careful that you don’t mar the surface when you are working the wire, you can see I scratched this one a bit:

Buy, that is OK, I can touch it up later along with the cut ends with a permanent marker. Here is a quick video to show you how to make the toggle clasp and ring used in this project:

Easy huh? The really cool thing about knowing how to make your own findings is that you will never run out as long as you have wire to work with and it is more convenient that stocking every size jump ring in every finish, this way you can make just what you need.  You can use bamboo skewers, knitting needles, drill bits, dowels or anything cylindrical to make jump rings with. Another tip is to my an inexpensive knitting needle gauge (it is a piece of metal of plastic with different size holes punched in it so you can put your needles in it to determine their sizes and they usually have millimeter sizes on them too…or you can use a drill bit guide, I’m sure you have lots of stuff in your home that you can use as jump ring forms if you just have a look!

That’s all for today, I have a lot of projects I want to work on plus a kitting class to prepare for so thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

a Pipe Knot Pendant and Spiral Wire Earrings!

I learned a new skill today! I was idly drinking my coffee this morning and I decided to see if there was anything new to learn in the realm of you-tube jewelry tutorials and indeed there was…pipe knots!

So I watched this video, grabbed a spool of macrame cord and a Pandora style bead and went to town!

It was quick and easy, my type of project, I will totally be whipping up a bunch of these for the craft fair! I made a pair of simple spiral earrings to match. Nifty!

After I made the pendant I knotted the loose ends under the bead but it looked too gaudy (and I should know!) so I untied it and decided to secure my bead with my trusty Gorilla Super Glue…That bead is going nowhere!

I made an adjustable knot cord for the pendant to live on. I have a video tutorial here. and everything was fine-and-cherry-wine 😀 So, what did you learn today? Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend and til next time happy crafting!

WOYWW: Talkin’ ’bout beads!

Happy What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday folks! I have to report that the Easter Bunny was very good to me this year (imagine that, 36 years old and the Easter Bunny still leaves a basket for me at my parents house, I must have been really good this year…no wait, that CAN”T be it LOL!) I got a basket full of beads and 2 more Ultimate Stackers to start filling! With new beads comes sorting and that is what I have been up to:

I also have to send out a lovely hug and thank you to Ginny who saw my WOYWW post last week about my new-to-me sewing machine that did not come with any accessories and low and behold she had spare parts for that model and she sent them to me, for free! She is such a  sweetie and a talented artist as well. Thanks so much Ginny!

So as I was sorting (and beading) I got tot thinking about my upcoming craft fair and remembered all of the questions people had about selling at craft fairs last winter so I decided to answer them in a video blog…I’m thinking about doing a video blog every week and talk about random crafty stuff, what do you think?

I held some of my current projects up to the camera but it is hard to see in a video so here are some photos of this weeks projects so far, basic stringing but it great for showcasing unique beads!

Well that’s it for me, I still have all of those boxes of beads to put away LOL! I get so distracted by them…I’ll just make a few little pretties before I pack them all up, famous last words right? They will probably still be on my desk next week! If you want to see more crafty desks hop over to Julia’s blog for more WOYWW fun and til next time happy crafting!

Instant Jewelry: What to do with un-drilled or broken chip beads

Happy Sunday folks. A usual I was up earlier than everyone else in my family today and I pondered a trip down to my studio for some early morning crafting but then I remembered the terrible state I left it in yesterday. My head has been crammed with ideas to try and all those ideas are spewed around every available surface down stairs, there are even a couple of up-ended crates with precarious piles of jewelry and beads (it has been a miracle that I haven’t knocked them over yet!)  I’d share a pic but I am too ashamed LOL! but if my mess is still there on Wednesday I will post a pic, it’s sad but I have to give my self ultimatums to clean.  😀 Speaking of workdesk Wednesday you still have time to sign up for my stamp giveaway on last Wednesday’s post, I will choose a winner this Wednesday morning so be sure to leave a comment on that post for a chance to win stamps! OK, enough rambling, let’s get the project:

I call it “instant art” because I made it in about 15 seconds! I was working on my tree of life pendants and I came across a semi-precious chip bead mix I bought a few months ago, I thought the random stones would be great for the pendants but you can imaging the surprise when I found out the beads were un-drilled, as in no holes to string them with! well, I only paid 50 cents for the bag of chips so I decided to laugh at my fate and make lemonade so to speak and I grabbed a ring blank with a lip (50 cents at bead shop) filled it with Aleen’s Jewelry & Metal Glue and dropped in a bunch of bead chips. I pressed them in well to ensure a bond and set it upright to fully dry. I think it looks cool and if I am ever in a bar fight these bead shards will be more effective than brass knuckles LOL! Great sparkle too! I have even been saving broken chip beads for this! Well, that’s it for today. An remember if a craft is not going the way you expect make lemonade or a bar-fight ring! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Tutorial: How to attach ribbon ends

Howdy folks! With all of the wire wrapped pendents I have been making lately I needed a simple way to showcase them. I am going to sell them at a craft fair but I would rather sell a necklace than just the pendent on it’s own. Also I did not want to put anything on them that would detract from the pendant. The answer: Ribbon!

 

So with ribbon you can just tie the ends together with an overhand knot (I do when using crinkled seam binding), make an adjustable knot or in the case of this velvet ribbon I used ribbon ends and a clasp. They are inexpensive (a 36 pack was a couple bucks at Joanns), they look elegant and they are easy to use.

Here is a video to show you how:

I really like how you can use any clasp you like with the ribbon ends and you can use any ribbon you have that is moderately thick, not so good for sheer ribbon unless you were using a double strand I think as the teeth need something to grab. Also I found a new tree pendant tutorial to make this simpler tree, I’m not sure what one I like better, on this pendant you start by wrapping 6 strands or wire at the top and adding beads for leaves then twisting the trunk together.

Well, that’s all for today! I am looking forward to working in my studio today after 2 days of the kids home from school due to the snowstorm. I might even get around to filming the original tree of life pendant tutorial that was requested:) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!