serendipity

serendipity: Designer Crafts Connection: First Monday - Quick-n-Ez Jewelry

"Words form the thread on which we string our experiences."  -- Aldous Huxley

This is a quick and easy bangle bracelet to create.  Make one or make several. Each takes less than an hour and may be customized to match any outfit you have in mind.  Go glam with metallic threads or keep it colorful and simple as in the case of this example.  I've been living in my raincoat these last few days, so I chose a water theme.

To get started you need the following:

MATERIALS

wood bangle bracelet - I used one from DIY Bangles that is 1/4" x 3" with a flat exterior shape.

#3 perle cotton  - I chose 4 colors of DMC Perle Cotton in 798, 943, 955, 966

1 large eye needle 

scissors

 

DIRECTIONS

Undo the first skein of floss and cut an 18" length of thread.  If you are right handed, place the tail ontop of the bracelet with the tail facing to the left and held securely by your left hand.  If you are left handed follow these instructions in reverse beginning with the tail facing to the right and held by your right hand.

With the tail securely held, proceed to wrap from right to left over the tail pulling firmly as you go.

Continue wrapping until you have covered a desired amount.

Thread your needle with the remainder and tuck it under the portion you have wrapped.

Pull the needle through and trim away excess thread.  Trim away any tail that may still be seen.

Proceed to the next color repeating the same procedure, beginning with cutting an 18" length of thread.

Continue working in the same manner with each color in sequence.  

I worked a 4 color repeat 4 times.  I didn't concern myself with each wrapped section being equal in length, though you can certainly measure by counting wraps or using a ruler.   

Keep for yourself or gift as a gift.  This bodascious bangle bracelet is a colorful delight.  

For more jewelry ideas, checkout the work in the Designer Crafts Connection webring wherever you see this logo.

Each blog in the hop is written by a designer associated with the Craft and Hobby Assocition.  We each have unique styles, so be sure to hop through to see what each is doing with this month's theme of Quick-n-Ez Jewelry.

free pattern: Dotty Necklace

"Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly."  --  Epictetus

I wanted a colorful accessory, something simple and not fussy - enter Dotty Necklace.  The colors reflect my love for spring, the soft greens of ferns and moss.  Each bead was needle felted following my pancake bead pattern. The directions I provide are for an 18" necklace.    

MATERIALS

16 pancake beads made from Clover's Natural Wool Roving in Chocolate, Mint, Moss Green and Off White

tiger tail or other bead stringing wire

2 silver crimp beads

2 glass beads to match roving

2  silver 5mm jump rings 

1 heart toggle closure

flush cutters

needle nose pliers

milliner's needle

 

DIRECTIONS

Using the milliner's needle, poke a hole through the center of each wool bead.

Cut a 24" piece of tiger tail.

Open one jump ring, slip one half of the toggle clasp onto it and then close the ring.

Thread the tiger tail through one crimp bead and the jump ring and then back through the crimp bead.

Squeeze the crimp bead using your crimp pliers.  Give it a quarter turn to round the bead.

Clip off excess wire.

Add a glass bead to the wire. 

Thread your milliner's needle with the wire and proceed to add the wool beads.

Remove the milliner's needle.

Add the final glass bead.

Attach the other jump ring to the 2nd half of the toggle clasp.

Thread the tiger tail through one crimp bead and the jump ring and then back through the crimp bead.

Squeeze the crimp bead using your crimp pliers.  Give it a quarter turn to round the bead.

Clip off excess wire.

beaded button bracelet

"Jewelry takes people's minds off your wrinkles." -- Sonja Henie

Simple, but elegant.  A crochet rope the length of a bracelet with a scattering of beaded buttons.   Sometimes I take my design inspiration directly from the materials.   In this case it was the buttons I received as a gift from a friend.  Sheila owns One World Button Supply Company.  The buttons she sells, many which of she has designed, are beyond belief gorgeous.  She sent some blue and green beaded buttons that I am itching to work into a necklace.  

To add strength to the bracelet and to allow for easy attachment of the clasp, a length of stringing wire runs through the center of the rope.  Sterling silver bead caps finish the ends with a basic ball-end (in this case a heart) and toggle clasp.  A dangle of crystal adds just a dash of extra flash.  

Thank you to Larry Sanders for the great photo!

making a needle-felted pancake bead

"Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment."  --  Claude Monet

I love making these felted beads.  They are quick to make, easy to do and can be used in a variety of jewelry projects.  They are an offshoot of my other felting experiments and a nice alternative to the more common ball-shaped bead.  

For this particular group, I chose a woodsy palette in shades of green, chocolate and cream.  To get started you will need the following:

Materials

1 package each of Clover's Natural Wool Roving in Chocolate, Mint, Moss Green and Off White

1 Clover Needle Felting Claw & Mat Cleaner

1 Clover Needle Felting Mat (small)

1 Clover Pen Style Needle Felting Tool

1 1" biscuit cutter

Put your biscuit cutter on the mat and press it slightly into the surface to keep it stable.  Pull a tuft of the roving . Gently roll it into a ball shape and stuff it into your biscuit cutter.  

Using your needle felting tool, begin punching down the roving.  Move from the center to the edge of the circle and back.  I hold the biscuit cutter with one hand while punching with the other. (In the case of this photo, I was using my left hand to take the photo!)  Once you have a fairly uniform surface, lift up the biscuit cutter and flip it over and felt from the other side using the same process.  Continue until the bead is flat like a pancake and about 1/4 inch thick..

Remove the biscuit cutter form.  Hold the bead in place with the claw in one hand and continue felting with the tool along the edge of the bead to firm up the sides.

When the bead feels dense and firm, pull a thin tuft of a contrasting color and lay it across the surface.

Remove one of the needles from the needle felting tool.  Punch down in the center of the tuft to begin attaching it to the bead.  Twirl the tuft of roving around the needle and continue punching it into place.

It will soon form a dot.  Continue punching around the edge until the dot it is round and dense.

You now have a bead!  You may add another dot to the flip side if you wish.  

Glue your new creation on a pin.  Thread it onto a cord.  Add it to a jacket zipper. There are many possibilities!  

craft fair season + thankful

"Each day comes bearing its own gifts.  Untie the ribbons."  

--Ruth Ann Schabacker

It's craft fair season and I am busy in the studio.  The DIY Trunk Show broke all expectations! Thank you to all who stopped by my booth to say hello.  Your smiles were a great gift.  And to all who made a purchase, thank you again.  I woke up last week to find a giant puddle of water in the basement.  The leak was more than a leak.  Evidently everytime I turned on the bathroom sink, a huge waterfall came cascading down my basement wall.  What normally would have caused a major panic was offsett by such great sales and knowing I could easily pay the plumber.  So a mighty THANK YOU!

You can next find my work at the Out of the Box Holiday Gift Market (see image above).  I will be there 12/10, 12/11, 12/17 & 12/18 selling my beanies, berets, and bags as well as new charming paper ornaments made with vintage papers and colorful felted hats pins.

In the meantime, I am busy knitting more of the red "thread."  I picked up another 68 donated hats, so I guess that means another 68 yds of i-cord to knit over the holiday weekend.  Yeah!

My daughter and I have a tradition.  We make pumpkin pancakes followed by either pumpkin pizza or homemade pumkin ravioli (in a sage and brown butter sauce) followed by pumpkin pie.  Yes, being a vegetarian, it's a pumpkin theme around here rather than the focus on a turkey.  When completely full and barely able to move, we head out to the movies to watch the latest chick flick.  Unfortunately there aren't any chick flicks on offer, so I think it will be the latest Muppet movie.  While I will miss family in St. Louis, I am thankful for the down time we have together, giving us a chance to recharge the energy levels before holiday season swings into high gear.

 Wishing all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

CHA Summer Trade Show, Designer Showcase

The Possible's slow fuse is lit
By the Imagination.
~Emily Dickinson

The last few days have flown by in a craft-filled whirl.  Oodles of inspiration, fab new products, reconnection with friends, I had a great time!  

This is only my second participation in a Craft & Hobby Association trade show, and my first time participating in the Designer Showcase.  For me, the event was 100% amazing.  I met publishers, writers, and firmed up connections with several companies.  Folks always ask me if such events are worth it and I have to give this one my double thumbs up.  If anything, the professional development workshops make attending worthwhile.  I learned tips from a PBS producer and two tv craft hosts on how to present my work for consideration, let alone how to be natural in front of the camera.  No, I'm not going on tv anytime soon (well, maybe YouTube...), but I stored the knowledge for future use.  

For me half the fun is in the preparation.  I had a blast designing what I presented.  Over the course of the next few months I will be posting full project sheets so you can make them too if you wish.  So stay tuned for them!   (See I'm getting the hang of tv lingo....)

The other half of the fun was seeing what everyone else has been doing.  My background is in textiles, but I am seriously tempted by all the mixed media that's happening.  Check out the work of Shannon M. Bielke of Sha & Co, www.shaandco.net.  

I love her journals.  They were shaped like houses and unfolded like one would take a tour through a home.  Too amazing!

Here's Laura Foster Nicholson of LFN Textiles, www.lfntextiles.com, at her booth.  She designed every bit of paper, fabric and ribbon featured on the table.  She's even wearing a jacket she made from one of her fabrics!  One of these days I really need to try Spoonflower.

getting ready

My studio looks like a tornado has ripped through it.  Fabric, beads and mini pompoms are everywhere.  I'm getting ready for the Craft & Hobby Association's summer trade show which comes to the Chicago region in just a few weeks.  ACK!  Every morning I wake up with a list of things to accomplish and by nightfall the list has gotten longer.  How does that happen?  It equals the mystery of the Washing Machine Sock Monster.

I admit to having Multiple Idea Disorder, also known as MID.  I get an idea.  I sketch it out.  If it seems feasible, I act upon it.  Then I get another idea....  In short order, I have a 1/2 dozen or so projects going on my craft table.  The challenge is to finish them before skipping off to start yet another new project.  

I know it will all come together, if only because the deadline is looming.  That's me in my booth at the January show. I look so calm and serene.  Ha!  I had about 5 hours of sleep in me, but a little red lipstick, an IV coffee drip and I was good to go.  

Thank you Rebeca of Blue Buddha Boutique for the image!

chicago craft social

"I affirm - simply, surely, and unequivocally - that I am a creative person."

 --  Eric Maisel

I love to make for the sake of making.  The process is like a journey with few signposts to guide you. Playing, puttering, sketching, dreaming, they are all a part of creativity.  

I came to fall in love with needle felting simply by giving it a try.   Since those first few studies, it's become a passion.  With just a few tools, I can fashion sculptures from roving.  I can embellish a beret or purse.  And I can make light weight, chunky colorful pendants.  

March 26th from 1-4, you will find me at the Chicago Craft Social.  I am so excited!  Clover USA is sponsoring my pendant making workshop, supplying all the necessary tools.  YEAH!  I used to sell oodles of Clover products back when I owned the Weaving Workshop, so it is a special thrill to be working with them in this capacity.  

You need to check out all the other wonderful workshops happening at the Chicago Craft Social.  There is time to take three workshops within the afternoon. Learn to make coin purses from duck tape or headbands from t-shirts, all while hanging out with friends and meeting new folks.  

friends helping friends

"But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end."
~William Shakespeare

In preparation for the trade show, I've been running around tying up loose ends.  It is at times like this that make me ever so grateful for the friends and colleagues in my life.  

Today I condensed several errands into one when I stopped by Girl Metro.  Girl Metro's stationary is gorgeous!  Think luxurious, that wonderful creamy paper begging for the scribbles of a fountain pen.  I wanted to purchase some for business notes.   When running late and needing to make another stop at a paper store, Richelle, fellow member of the Chicago Craft Mafia and the proprietor of Girl Metro, offered some from her own stash.  It was perhaps a small gesture, but it meant a ton to me.  One less stop, great advice on trade shows, plus wonderful paper and stationary.  I love these win-win moments in life.  

Earlier in the day, my old pal Kate rang with answers to a few questions I had emailed her.  She and her business partner Jamie took their business Egg2Cake to the New York Stationary Show last spring, so she's been a great source for info.  You have to check out their product line.  They say it is playful, I say it's downright funny.  If you are a mom (and even if you aren't), you'll love their Momglish™ Dictionary.

If you can't tell, I'm excited about the show.  To illustrate a bit of what I can do, I've been making new items.  The piece above is a pin, for hat or lapel, needle felted with merino.  I love its colorful simplicity.

Photo Credit: Larry Sanders 

rose petal necklace

"If I had a rose for every time I thought of you, I'd be picking roses for lifetime."  -- Swedish Proverb

Another floral inspired necklace.  A pendant the color and shape of a rose petal. The white beads are the last from my stash of vintage Czech beads.  I love their luster.   They have a sophisticated sheen rather than a flashy sparkle.  A sprinkling of Czech lampwork beads and Swarovski crystals with a sterling silver heart toggle clasp to finish it. 

Photo Credit:  Larry Sanders