Fun Swag Crafts…

soooo … I have been doing a Blog Block Party with RRBC (Rave Reviews Book Club)… great post by bloggers, authors, and all manner of peeps… and I wanted to offer something new as a prize this time… over course I have some of my bracelets and earrings to pick from, but I wanted to add some new fun swag…

I broke out my tools, added some keychain rings and some chain…. and wha-la…

so far I have five keychains with various charms… I just need to add sayings in the bottle cap charms…

so that has been my art project this month… if you guys want a chance to win a keychain or bracelet/earrings, I am scheduled as one of the stops on the RRBC block party on the 29th, over at my book blog Finder’s Keepers Series … I will have a character interview with Marin from my Finder’s Keepers Series… Makayla (also from the books) did an interview on the 5th over on my author site Finder’s Keepers – Author Tracey Clark …

but I’m not the only one will cool prizes and posts… check out the RRBC Block Party line up… there are stops every day this month… alright guys… that’s all for now…

Pretty in Pink

muhahaha… I am not usually a pink gal, but I found these big marble pieces to work with… but I didn’t want to make bracelets made only of them… so I used them as connector pieces…

the hole is big enough that I could thread the string through the hole when I finished the first strand, and started on the second…

later guys, tracey

Soothing Creations

I love for my beads to have that marbled look… it opens up the possibilities to mix them with both light and dark colors… each bracelet I make has some element that speaks to me… if it looks cheap or boring to me, why in the heck would I expect someone to buy it… I wouldn’t… and if I wont wear it, and no one else is picking up for a gift or for themselves, then I am just wasting my time…

always makes something that you love… I know that everyone has differing likes and dislikes, but I can only make what appeals to me on some level… it’s like a chef… if they love food, they want it to taste delicious, and their best dish will be something they have been making over and over again for themselves… know what you like, try to branch out, and always try new things… in the end you will make something that you and everyone else will love…

keep it simple, mix and match, add some connector and decorative items… playing with your beads can be stressful or soothing, hopefully more soothing than anything else… make sure you have enough light to work by, cause low lighting makes those tiny holes a pain in the arse to get your elastic string through…

have fun, and create … later guys, tracey

Making the most

okay… you guys are probably tired of my beaded bracelet posts… lol… but they are my go to art project when I want to relax… after this one, I promise… just one more on beaded bracelets this month…

this one is about making the most out of the beads you cant see making an entire bracelet out of … hmmmm … why would you even buy these??? especially when you can make simple and easy???

those bracelets are beautiful, but having something a little different can be just as inspiring… plus… different stands out… if you can make something that is different and beautiful, you have made something great

I took beads that I would choose to wear by themselves… but once I mixed them with some other beads and used them as connectors, I had bracelets that I loved and would be happy to wear…

later guys, tracey…

Mix and Match

Mix and match your bracelet designs… if you have been to your local arts and crafts store, you know that the variety of beads is heady… there are so many to choose from… mom wanted a simple feel, but look at the wavy clear beads… those are so cool, and yet very simple… since these bracelets were made for mom’s taste, there isn’t a lot of varying beads thrown in, and still they look great…

when you work on your bracelets, just remember to have fun with the beads… like this one…

get the wild, the plain, the sparkle, and the solids… and mix them until you see something you love… later guys…tracey

Purples are always best

okay I’m biased, but I do love purple… I have to stop myself from making everything in my favorite shade…

I also love using a connector … but not all of my bracelets have been all purple… it is hard to steer away from my favorite color, but no matter the color I always make something that I would like to wear myself… okay… maybe a few of the childish bracelets I might pass on… lol

nope… I would probably wear those too… 😛

I really like the necklaces… and pairing them with some of the bracelets… I will have to make some more of those… necklaces are a lot of fun… plus… I just elastic sting, so even the shorter necklaces can be pulled over your head… (which basically means I haven’t mastered the clasp yet… lol)

later guys… tracey

Friendship bracelets

as you can see with some of my pictures, I am not a photographer… shaky hands… grrr… but I wanted to share a new type of bracelet… fun and easy…

beads, and either hemp or regular string… easy peezee…. so far I have learned how to make flat bracelets and ones that twist…

the hemp makes a thicker bracelet… the embroidery thread comes out thinner… the second bracelet in the first picture (the pink one) was made of embroidery thread… cute but barely there….

as for the instructions ??? make sure your starter thread comes with a friendship bracelet guide… personally, I got more out of the pictures than the words… for a flat bracelet, you are lacing up your shoes, but switching off which side (string) is on top when you lace and pull tight… I will try to remember to take some pics of the instructions, but really… lol… my photography is so back you would be better off grapping some string with your own instructions…

adding beads is simple, and the string pulls so tight that it looks like they were made as a part of the string, no bumping around… friendship bracelets are tied onto the wrist… and when they finally fall off, you make a wish… and go out and get another one… lol… later guys, tracey

Personalize your trinkets

Mom and I found these cute letters that you can stick on your bling (or any art project really)

this piece is great because I found these clear shiny disks to connect the beads (no metal needed) mom mostly likes her bracelets without the connector, but I like to add a little extra to my work… with this disk, I had a piece that was beautiful and had a flat surface that was perfect for the stick on initials… I don’t know if I should make more of these with random initials or if I should use the letters for something that will remind the wearer of the book event they were at when they purchase the bracelet, or … really there are a lot of possibilities…

if I adhere the letters before the event instead of allowing the readers to pick their own letters… I have a resin that provide a protective coating, making sure the letters last longer…see… decisions, decisions… 😛

bling baby

these are some of my favorites… I designed these for mom for Christmas…

she was going through a gray and silver phase in her outfits… me?? I wear a lot of purple… but mom has color modes… I wanted her to feel fancy with her winter wear… an allergy that both mom and I share is to most metals… that means that most of the cute/inexpensive jewelry out there is a no go for us…

I started making necklaces and bracelets with little to no metal so that mom and I could decorate our outfits when and how we wanted… if metal is needed, we have found that if you coat the back (the part touching your skin) with clear nail polish, you can enjoy your trinkets… sometimes we even have to coat parts of our glasses… especially when the thin protective coating on our eyewear starts to flake off… you cant see if your glasses are breaking out your face… ewww….

with some nail polish, we can see without red whelps and we can wear just about anything… mom even coats the back of her watch so that she can tell the time without pain… 😛 later guys…

momma’s got game… :P

turns out that may is gonna be extremely busy, but I want to add a few art projects for everyone this month… may need to schedule them but they will get added… muhahahaha…

to start off, I want to share some of the bracelets mom made… she is hilarious… she decided she wanted to help me build the number of bracelets I had to sell at book signings but she loves colors as much as I do… we have been wearing our favorite outfits as we head out to Hobby Lobby, JoAnn’s, and Michael’s to check out their glass beads… that way we can match bead choice to outfit… the end result??? momma’s got bling…

I like to mix things up, while mom loves similar beads but simplicity and beauty… but the dang things can get expensive… always look for sales when you go bead hunting… even with a good sale, there are so many beads out there that if your not careful it is easy to spend more than you had planned… if you are like me, and always have that evil piece of plastic in your purse/wallet, you can get in real trouble… lol… if you can make yourself head out with just a twenty in your pocket (in theory) that would be less expensive… lol

this is one of my favorite pieces that mom put together, but if you look close, there is a bead that appears to be wrapped in thin sting… it is a beautiful effect buttttttt…. the string on one of the beads has already started to unwrap…. not sure how to make sure this doesn’t happen…. but be careful, peeps… I hope to be able to use a clear sealant to fix the bead… fingers crossed…

finally… this is a piece I made for mom for Christmas so that she could feel decked out while wearing her cream colored outfit… if you hit the sales and play around with bead choice, anyone can put together something beautiful for their loved ones… this is a hobby that can be overwhelmingly expensive, but it doesn’t have to be… a handmade gift can be affordable, and the thought behind the creation will have ten times the meaning of something bought off the rack… have fun with it peeps… tracey