DIY Wrap Bracelet You should all know by now that we are all about stacking bracelets on our wrists. The more, the better. In fact . . . the most, the best! You’ll need (for a double wrapped bracelet) :* Lengths will vary depending on the size of your wrist (see comments for suggestions). Fold the length of leather cording in half to form a loop. Place the ball chain along the leather cording with the end of the chain meeting the end of the wrap. Continue wrapping while checking it for fit around the wrist. When you have reached the end of the ball chain wrap the linen cording around the leather strands 2-3 more times. Thread the hex nut through the strands and tie a second knot. Trim with scissors and your wrap bracelet is finished!! The materials are listed for a double wrap bracelet. It’s a party! (tutorial adapted from Ornamentea; top image via Jak & Jil, rest of image by Honestly…WTF)
How to make a solar iPod/iPhone charger -aka MightyMintyBoost I wanted a charger for my iPodTouch and the MintyBoost was definitely my first choice. I wanted to take it a bit further and make it not only rechargeable but also solar powered. The other issue is that the iPhone and iPodTouch have large batteries in them and will deplete the two AA batteries in the MintyBoost rather quickly so I wanted to increase the battery power as well. What I really wanted was a MightyMintyBoost! Apple has sold over 30 million iPodTouch/iPhone units- imagine charging all of them via solar power.... There are some really nice features about this charger: It's solar powered! Building this is really easy and straightforward- it only took me around an hour so follow along and build one for yourself! Safety note and general disclaimer: Be careful cutting the Altoids tin as it can have some really sharp edges- file them smooth if necessary.
Perfect Box Pouch Tutorial « Make it Modern How insanely fabulous is this pouch? I can’t decide if I love it so much because a) it is made from glittery elephant fabric, b) of it’s small but perfectly proportioned size, c) it holds my on the go quilting supplies or d) all of the above. If you’d like to make your own see how below. You will need: 2 pieces of exterior fabric measuring 8 inches by 6 inches. Things that will come in handy: rotary cuttercutting matshearscraft scissorsclear ruler Step 1: Choose and cut your fabric- is it just me or is this oftentime the hardest part? I like to use a right angle ruler (“borrowed” from my husband) to make sure my fabric pieces are nice and square. Step 2: Layer your pieces. Step 3: Stitch the layers together 1/4 in from the edge. Step 4: Places both sets of fabric with the pressed under edges on top of the zipper and sew together. Step 5: Fold the two sides right sides of the exterior fabric together. Step 7: Move your zipper pull to the center and stitch a quarter inch seam on both sides.
Make a Frame Loom for Weaving This past spring, I spent a couple of weeks vacationing on one of the Gulf Islands. The islands are home to a lot of artist and the place I stayed at was showcasing some of their work in the dinning area and lobby. One piece that caught my eye was a woven tapestry, it was quite stunning. It occurred to me that I didn't know a thing about weaving. When I got home I did a bit of Google searching and payed a visit to the library to try to learn more about weaving. I actually did not find a lot of information for beginners wanting learn how to weave online and the library books were old and had to be retrieved from storage, but I did figure out how to make a simple frame loom and weave on it. Here is my instructable on How to Weave on a Frame Loom. I included a glossary to help with the weaving terminology. The following links were particularly helpful:
How to Make an Origami Heart using a Dollar Video Here, I’ll show you how to make an origami heart out of a dollar. There are many different patterns out there and this one is sometimes called change of heart. You’ll need a dollar bill or any U.S. paper currency. For this video however I’m going to be using a piece of paper approximately twice the size of a dollar so you can see what's going on more clearly. I want the pink side of this paper to show so I’m going to start by flipping it over. If you have trouble pinching in the sides to form the water bomb base, you can flip this over. When you do this, it kind of looks like a kite and now we’re going to squash these triangles down. Bra Materials:fabric with at least a side-to-side stretchasymmetrical lingerie elastic for edgingstrap elasticunderwireshooks & eyesa little knit interfacingoptionally, stretch lace for decorationoptionally, ribbon for decorative bowsoptionally, plastic hardware for adjusting the straps - but I leave this out b/c I can make the straps the exact right length without need for adjustments!You can buy underwires in some fabric stores or online, but if you have some old bras that need to be tossed out, reclaim the underwires from them first. Do your best to get an underwire of the correct size (hold it up under your breast and check that it fits snugly but without poking into your breast). They can be bent a little bit but they're actually made of flat metal in a U shape, not round wire, so as to hold shape better.
little guiding stars Since the new year has started I’ve been trying to think of ways to be more kind to my self. Especially when that nasty gremlins try to creep in and stump me. I remembered this origami star video on You Tube and had to get them involved in my plan. I thought it would be fun to make a whole bunch with kind words and “you are….” phrases inside. I made 60 of them, enough to last me the whole year if I open one a week, plus a few extra just in case. I used 12 x 12 inch scrapbook paper and cut 1/2 x 12″ strips, then followed the video HERE*. *UPDATE! Be Sociable, Share! The Digi Nails – A Hybrid Manicure I’ve been seeing lots of outrageous nail art lately on pinterest. One hot new product that’s really caught my eye is adhesive nail polish strips. I love the funky designs and bold colors with these products, but they’re usually a little spendy for me. I have a great alternative and I’m super-excited to share with you a really fun, new way to use digital scrapbooking supplies! To begin with, you will need the following: light color nail polish (white, light pink, cream, pale green, light turquoise, you get the idea….)rubbing alcoholsmall cup (I used a medicine cup.)digital supplies (laser print or copy)nail polish topcoat 1) Before getting started, quickly measure your fingernails. 2) Open a new Photoshop document and create for yourself 10-15 boxes that are a little larger than your nails. 3) Find some great papers that you’d like to have on your nails. You will likely want to reduce the scale of your paper so that the design will better fit your nails. 4) Print your page. A few thoughts:
Tissue Flowers Tutorial, No.2 - gingerandgeorge A couple of months ago, Jenny - the very lovely editor of PaperCraft Inspirations - asked me to work up a feature on different ways to use tissue paper. You can see the results in the September issue (on sale right about now), and alongside ruffles, twists, layers, buttons and twirly skirts, there's a miniature version of an old tissue-paper favourite. I made these flowers for Halloween a couple of years ago, and although the large scale can look fantastic on card projects, it doesn't leave room for very much else. By scaling it down, you create a much more versatile embellishment and your tissue supplies will stretch a little further, too. This is especially useful if you're using patterned tissue (e.g. Tissue paper (plain or patterned) Scissors Ruler Pencil Thin wire (e.g. fuse or jewellery wire) Small button or circle of card PVA glue Measure and cut out two strips of tissue paper, each around 20cm long and 5-6cm wide. Repeat on the other side of the strip, to create a complete flower-head.
Song Lyric Wall Art / D.I.Y. Project A couple weeks ago, I found a paint-by-number at an unbeatable price. I can't pass these things up even though I already owned this particular design. I thought that I could maybe use it to make a fun D.I.Y., but my new rule is that all thrifts that I purchase with the intent of restyling need to get done right away. I have way too many half finished projects in my life. With that little bit of motivation I came up with a fun D.I.Y. to display some of my favorite song lyrcis in our newlywed home. Here's how I did it... I displayed our piece in our bedroom, on Jeremy's side of the bed. A couple weeks ago, I found a paint-by-number at an unbeatable price.