Simple Ear Cuff Tutorial
What you've all be waiting for... an ear cuff tutorial! I've been making ear cuffs for over a year, but unfortunately haven't had the time to make some of the insanely complicated designs I've dreamed up. This, however, is a very simple ear cuff that takes only a few minutes to master! Ear cuffs (also known as ear clips, cartiliage cuffs, ear vines, and more) are fabulous for people who don't have pierced ears-- or pair them with other earrings for a "double piercing" look. All you need is pliers and some wire (the pictured wires are 20ga blue silver plated copper and 20ga enameled copper in various colors). Begin with 3 inches of wire. Fold at one inch. Fold again, creating a little zigzag. Twist the ends into swirls and pinch the swirls until they touch the center wire. You will need a mandel to form the ear cuff correctly. Push the ends down... The tips of the ends will still be straight. Tada! This brown ear cuff fits both ears. This ear cuff is for the left ear.
How to Make a Beautiful “Love” Necklace {Giveaway}
I’m Kate from Cheap Crafty Mama and I’m so excited to be here to show you how to make this super cool Murano Glass Bead and Freshwater Pearl “Love” Necklace– How to Make a CUTE Necklace Here’s What You’ll Need… • thick silver (or silver-coated) wire • thin silver (or silver-coated) wire • silver chain- cut into 8″ and 6″ sections • 2 beads (I used a murano glass bead and freshwater pearl) • lobster clasp • pliers (round-tipped and needle-nosed) • wire clippers • jewelry hammer (or a hammer with a smooth face) • jewelry hammering block (or thick piece of metal to hammer on) To get started I used the round-tipped pliers to twist the thick wire to spell “love.” When I was done shaping it I hammered it with my jewelry hammer. Next, I made the bead pendants. Using the thin wire, I made a little loop around the tip of my pliers. I clipped off the extra wire from the end of the loop and then slipped the bead on the long part of the wire, then made another loop on the other side of the bead.
DIY Painted Feathers
I’ve always loved the idea of painting fake feathers, and with festival season underway it seemed like the perfect time to do it. I originally thought of these purely as decorations but then it occurred to me that they’d be a great finishing touch for a festival outfit. This is a great activity to do outside on a warm sunny day, and once you start it’s slightly addicting! What you need: fake feathers, paint (I used acrylic paint), and a paint brush. I got this paint from Utrecht and I love it. I added a little bit of water to the paint before applying to the feathers, and they absorbed the paint almost like watercolor. After the entire feather was covered I added some dots and lines with white paint. Get as creative and colorful as you want with the feathers! I wanted to add in some of the smaller brown feathers to my arrangement, so for those I kept it simple and painted them in colorful ombre shades. Arrange your feathers on a wall as beautiful spring artwork! Photos by Julia & Brigette.
DIY Chevron Necklace
Last week Carly at Chic Steals posted her late summer Objects of Desire. I loved this Open Triangle Necklace from ASOS. Normally I wouldn’t DIY a necklace that could be purchased for less than $20, but I already had all of the materials and it only took a few minutes. Remember the nail polish ‘enamel’ necklace? I gave it a couple coats of nail polish and let it dry before using jump rings to attach a brass chain.
Friendship Bracelets
Macraméd friendship bracelets were all the rage when I was growing up in the eighties. All the girls at my school would obsessively make them for one another in a dizzying variety of colors, widths, and patterns. It's amazing, thinking back, that such young girls could make such beautifully intricate accessories. I, of course, tried my hand at making them as well. I would ride my bike down to the five-and-dime store and pick out the most sophisticated color combinations of embroidery floss I could find, but when it came to the actual macramé I never got beyond plain stripes. There was nothing wrong with plain stripes, except that the other girls seemed so much more advanced with their diamonds and chevrons. Fast forward 20 years: Purl Soho started carrying DMC Cotton Embroidery Floss in every conceivable color (including fluorescents! Making friendship bracelets is a surprisingly easy craft, and best of all, in the end you'll have a bunch of cute summer bracelets to give to your pals.
make a mummy necklace!
Hi! It's Monday again! WHEW!! Here are the top three reasons this project rocks like fraggles: 1. 2. 3. You will have to excuse this flash (GASP) photography. Well, you want to make one dont you?? Here is what you need: Glue A square or rectangle piece of wood from the craft wood section (is that a real thing? and the secret ingredient??? Start by drilling a small hole in the top of the wood. add some glue to the wood Start wrapping the thread tape around the square. Then keep wrappin' and wrappin... this photo is where I started noticing during the editing process that the little dude has his eyes following me. Add some glue to the back and kinda sqish it down. next use a tooth pick to find and poke through the hole you drilled See him looking at me?? twist the jump ring open. Add the ball chain and you have yourself a mummy necklace! Please excuse the pictures of these little weirdos. boy child seems to think wearing a mummy necklace means you MUST act like a mummy yeah, he is so strange.
Paper Bead Tutorial & mad mim - Sewing and other craftiness from Miriam Tribe.
One time I was seriously considering buying a pair of sandals because they were offering a free bonus paper bead necklace. I really liked the sandals, but I loved the paper bead necklace. Fast forward to my present phase of jewelry-making. I’ve been haunting Anthropologie’s jewelry page to get ideas for jewelry to make. I came across these dazzling beauties, and did a toe touch from excitement (wouldn’t that be awesome?!) I set my heart on them (stay tuned for a knock-off post/tutorial on those!) What you’ll need: -magazines, colored paper, tissue paper, toilet paper (ok, maybe not) but really. -Elmer’s glue, Modge podge, and some kind of varnish. -scissors, or a rotary blade, quilting ruler and cutting mat (way faster) -round toothpicks -something to stick your toothpicks in like a styrofoam tray or packing materials, or cardboard box. -a paintbrush Before you start cutting, I’ll say a word about paper choice. Cut your strips: Measure 3/8″ from the bottom edge and mark. Now varnish.
Spoon Ring
