Good evening friends! Have you given thought to this years mother’s day gift? Maybe you want to help your kids craft something special for grandma (or the grand kids craft something special for mom.) This project is easy and all you need is some 20-24 gauge wire, beads and 3-in-1 pliers (or round nose pliers and a wire cutter.) Watch the video and see how easy it is to make these pea pod pendants:
I recommend placing a bead for each child in the pendant, you could even use birthstone colors if you like.
Want more Mother’s Day Jewelry ideas? How about a bird’s nest pendant? (time required: 30 minutes, skill level beginner)
Or the Tree of life pendant (time required: 1 hour, skill level intermediate/advanced)
Wire working is fun and I hope these tutorials inspire you to create something beautiful for mom this year. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Howdy friends! I finally get to see season 7 of Doctor Who, I am on the 2nd episode watching it on Hulu plus, that in and of it self was worth the $8 a month LOL! So I am not caught up with the episodes so please no spoilers in the comments OK? With the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who coming up I thought I’d share this craft perfect for any Whovian out there, TARDIS earrings! You can also use the charm for key chains and zipper pulls. Watch the video to see how to make them:
I found the clip art of the TARDIS here free to download. I used Matte Shrink plastic by Graffix, a Copenhagen blue Prismacolor marker, 2 jump rings and 2 ear wires. If you have any questions let me know and I will get back to you! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
…and it’s probably because I wore this heavy necklace the last two days:
Usually when I make a chunky necklace I mix in some acrylic beads to cut down on the weight but I had these gorgeous foil glass beads that I wanted to use and I like the repetition of them all together so I threw caution to the wind. The flower focal drop I made from resin, it was an ugly speckled white because my white paint I colored the resin with did not mix well so I painted it green. I enjoy olive green because it seems to flatter so many skin tones.
I call it elegant steampunk…and heavy…really freaking heavy…
It’s still pretty though, but I think I will only wear it for short amounts of time and not all day again. That’s all for today! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Howdy folks! Does your art and crafts reflect your environment? Mine always seems to. My son was off to camp this week so it was just me and the girls during the day, we hung out in the craft room creating and watching the show “Once Upon A Time” on Netflix. They worked on dozens of pearler bead coasters and I made these:
Well a lot more actually, they are addicting and very easy to make. But if flowers aren’t your thing you can use whatever beads, charms or embellishments you like. Here is how I made the rings and earrings too!
I only used the leaf beads on one because I could not get them to hold tight without wiggling.
I think these will sell well at my next craft fair, they will look great with my enchanted fairy bubble wands I think! All the beads I used (except the leaves which were from a kit in the dollar bin at Joann fabrics) were from Fire Mountain Gems.
And since I used acrylic beads the earrings are very light, light enough for children to wear!
I hope you give this project a try! Let me know if you have any questions and til next time happy crafting!
Did you miss me yesterday? Well, I’m telling you the lazy days of summer are not LOL! OK, I have to be honest, they are a bit lazy because I have had time to whip up these beauties using my hubby’s stash of parachute cord:
The best thing is that my kids love making these too! I’ll be showing you a paracord bracelet with a feminine twist later this week, maybe even tomorrow if I have my act together;) Paracord is very easy to work with, it is strong which means our paracord creations can be undone in a survival situation and you have several feet of rope at your disposal and the cord is durable, it won’t fray if you burn the ends and it has a bit of “slip” to it so it is great to learn knot tying and macrame techniques. It is also easier to handle then braiding cord for young jewelry makers. Also, it is rugged and manly, boys won’t mind a “survival” bracelet, key-chain or zipper pull! Now that I have sold you on the power or paracord here is a quick tutorial to show you how to make a paracord ball key-chain:
When you are buying paracord don’t go to the craft store unless you want to get ripped off. Go to a military supply store where it is much cheaper (100 feet for about $7 vs. Joann 16 feet for $2.49) Joann also sells the little balls we just made for $3 each. Aren’t you glad you saw this before you bought one;)
So if you want to make a necklace leave an 8″ tail when you make your ball. After the ball is made hold the cord around your neck to determine the length you want and cut both ends to length. Burn one end (remember this is a adult only job and use the blue part of the lighter flame so you don’t discolor the cord) and quickly attach a small ribbon end. I am really excited because I have a use for all of the small ribbon ends I have leftover from the Blue Moon multipacks I buy, I always use up the larger ones but not the little ones, yay!
Attaching the clasp is another adult job, not that is is dangerous but if you are anything like me you will be using language you do not want your children to hear when attaching the small barrel clasps and split rings. Why barrel clasps and split rings then, you ask? Here’s why, A split ring is like a jump ring on steroids, it has two wraps of wire (like a teeny key ring) so there is no open area or weak spot. If I used a jump ring on the ribbon end chances are the thin metal loop would wiggle it’s way through the split in the ring. Also where the split ring attaches to the swivel loop on the barrel clasp you want the thickness of the 2 wraps to keep that from slipping off as well. Why a barrel clasp? Well, honestly I don’t care for them very much but I always seem to have a ton of them, they come in jewelry grab bags and finding kits and I am pretty sure they breed and multiply in my storage box when I am not looking. Also the barrel clasp is very small, easy to close and plain so good for these unisex necklaces. I highly recommend investing in a pair of split ring pliers if you plan on using split rings very often, or if you need to open key rings a lot to save wear and tear on your fingernails. I bought mine at Joann with a coupon, it was the bead buddy brand and it was only $10 regular price. No need to spend a ton. They are worth their weight in rescued fingernails! 😀
So here is the way I attached the clap to the necklace, sorry about the above tangent…
Burn ends of cord and attach ribbon ends with nylon jaw pliers.
Attach split rings to each ribbon end.
Open loops on barrel clasp by twisting with small pliers (the same way you open a jumpring) and attach to the split ring, close the loops and make sure they are secure.
I explain how to attach the ball to a key ring in the video. To finish the key ring trim the cord 1/4″ from knot, burn ends and press into knot to secure by melting. If you notice some of the white core of the cord showing you can touch it up with a permanent marker. Classy.
I think I will get some white and dark green cord and make 2 toned necklaces in girl scout colors and school colors too. I love the look of the neon cord too, a very “in” trend in jewelry and fashion this year not to mention that nautical inspired jewelry is very hot right now, I think I need to find some anchor clasps and charms! Oh the possibilities of paracord!
Let me know if you have any questions and til next time happy crafting!
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!
Unless a movie contains aliens or hobbits I not likely to be really excited about it but seeing the previews of the new version The Great Gatsby has me swooning, not because of any of the leading men but because of the gorgeous clothes and jewelry the ladies are wearing!
Oh the sparkle, the pearls, the art-deco lines! My inner glamour girl is in jewelry making heaven! So, when someone asked me to make a custom necklace to wear to a wedding this weekend I had to put a little Gatsby in it!
The thing I really like about this set is the clasp on the necklace. I picked up a pack of these at Joann Fabrics they are by Blue Moon Beads and I will definitely be buying more. The neat thing about these clasps (besides the Art Deco design) is that there is a loop on the back perfect for hanging dangles from!
Beaded tassels will be a big trend I think with this move coming out, the three dangles off the clasps echos this without being too “trendy” I think. The necklace can be worn frontward or backwards, the lady I designed this for has a cute shot haircut so the clasp and dangles will be a lovely accent at the back of the neck. It is also pretty for long hair worn up.
I am seeing a lot of glass pearls and crystals being used too, some bead companies are even packaging their glass pearls with coordinating crystals. Crystals give you a lot more sparkle that regular faceted pressed glass because they are cut, not molded and those sharp flat edges reflect the light better. That is also why they are more expensive, more work involved…when you think about it beads are a bargain!
I admit the triangle earring are a little more “groovy” that “Gatsby” but I had two scraps of Tiger-tail wire left after trimming the necklace and rather than toss them out I strung on some beads and made earrings. Changing the shape and adding a millefiori bead completely changes the feel of the jewelry. See how it doesn’t take much to change the look and feel of your beadwork.
That’s all for me today! I am working on the last painting for the children’s book I am illustrating, I can’t wait to share more of this with you. I will be really excited when I can hold a copy of the book in my hands! Have a great weekend everybody and till next time happy crafting!
Howdy folks! Man, I just love it when I can start the day giving away something! Today I get to draw a winner for the About Art Accent stamp featured in Last Tuesdays blog post and with the help pf Random.org the winner is Cindy Roberts!!! Woo hoo! Congrats Cindy, check your email for details;)
OK, last week I told you that I got a spool (French) knitter, well, it was so beautiful out the other day (too nice to be hold-op in my art dungeon) so I sat on the porch and tried it out, I made this nifty bracelet.
I used gold crochet cotton (Royale) and “E” glass beads. I wanted my first try to be with inexpensive materials in case I messed it up but still be kinda elegant if it turned out OK. 😀
I used the 6 peg top on my Clover french knitter. I did not bother with the directions because it works just like a knitting loom. I strung on pink, champagne and white beads in the same pattern until I had a lot on there because you don’t want to run out and because 3 is a multiple of 6 so the pattern worked out. If you want a pattern just string on the beads in a multiple of the number of pegs your spool has, easy math yay!
All was almost lost though when I went to make this into a bracelet, I put the string ends through an end cone, then through a clasp and went to knot it (I could glue the knot and slide it under the cone, or so I thought!) I made such a mess of it that the knot was too big and I could not shove it in the cone and I was all like “Epic Craft Fail!” but then I was all like, “wait, get the scissors” but I did not have enough string after cutting to use a matching cone so I got a smaller one, slipped it on, I tied it off and glued it after it was snugly inside the cone, I literally filled that cone with glue, it is never coming apart LOL! To deal with the mismatched ends I added some bead dangles and wire wrapping and slid a heart frame on to (secured with a jump ring) for good measure so it looks like it is asymmetrical on purpose.
And that’s how you deal with an Epic Craft Fail LOL! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
So, the other day I had a bit of a freak-out that I would not have enough product for my craft fair table (not the case BTW, I completely filled a table and 3 display stands AND had to flip a storage tote over for another surface) and I remembered some covered button kits I had in my stash so naturally I made a bunch of earrings with them!
The kits were from Dritz and you don’t need any tools. You cut a circle from fabric using the provided template (great for scraps!) and then center your button top on the wrong side of the fabric and pull the fabric to the back and hook it to the teeth on the back then snap the back of the button on! I cut off the shank on the back and glued on an earring post with one part epoxy.
For the earring cards I cut scrapbook paper 3″x4″ and scored the piece at 1″, 2″ & 3 3/4″ and folded it in a triangle and glued it on the bottom with the smaller flap tucked under. Before I glued it I added an embossed punched shape (cut in half) and poked holes for the earrings and placed the earrings in and ear-nuts on the back. They remind me of something Jackie O would wear!
I guess I better get going, I managed to get my booth 99% set up last night but of course I want to tweak it a bit 😉 and I promised to make a sign for my daughters Brownie fundraiser booth and I have a list of stuff I forgot last night I need to round up too! I will take a photo of my set-up and share it with you tomorrow and let you know how I did, till then happy crafting!
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