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
making these dangly earrings was both hard and easy… the concept is simple enough… it is the steady hand and patience that might make you want to scream… okay…. make me scream…
first you gather up your tools and materials… you need wire (not too soft), wire cutters and some rounded needle nose pliers… pick out the type of post you want to use, and some charms … and I added some beads…
I did my best to make the wire tight when is circled/knotted through the circles of the post and the charm… and wow was that a pain in the arse… but if you have time, a steady hand, and the ability not to get aggravated… you can make your own jewelry, no matter what type of pretties you want to accent your outfit… even better, you can find post in different shades of metal, and (not 100% sure) I think you can find gold/or gold plated posts… very cool….
I have another piece in the works, one that is a little more complex, but it isn’t done yet… I may have to finish it next week… right now it is driving me crazy…
some time ago I went to DragonCon… one of the venders had a necklace with a pendant that I just had to have…
it is a little hard to see in this photo, but it is a dragon in a circle… I would love to learn how to make something similar…
lol… I told you all my horrible first attempts at working with polymer clay… who knew that overcooked clay will blacken and grow, looking like large lumps of clay-coal… very frightening… and the smoke/fumes… omg… I am just happy that I thought ahead and started my project in the garage…
so here is my first successful attempt at making my own little dragon…
lol… I love him… but I would have used different colors if I knew that it would work this time… or maybe tried to have him in a different position… frankly, I thought I would end up with another clay-coal-rock… but now I just need to coat him in a clear resin to make him sturdier… but I think I will keep him for myself, not making him into a pendant … 😛 kinda like pinning my first dollar on the wall… woo who… later guys, tracey
here a few more bracelets … a little greenish blue, mostly in very light shades
I love the leaves… for the first bracelet, I used some of my wooden beads, a few of the smaller greenish/blue beads, and those cute little glass leaves…
this piece just screamed for a silver connector… and I have to admit, these circular silver connectors are my favorite… I have lots of different connectors, but my hand seems to stray to silver more often than the gold or brass…
see how the brass goes so much better with the purple beads… even though I love the silver connectors, the color of the beads plays a big part in my choices… so even though I love the silver circles, I would use it with my lighter beads before picking it up for one of my darker beaded pieces… later guys, tracey
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)
this is another friendship bracelet… but extra long so that you can wrap it around your wrist twice…
I really like the twisty look… best of all… when you are first starting it is easier to go with the twisty look… that means when you are lacing the string, you only have to remember one side of the string to go on top… otherwise (for a flat look) you have to alternate which side goes on top…
also… when making a bracelet long enough to wrap around your wrist twice, I suggest using the embroidery thread… it is more flexible… but I haven’t tried this with the hemp yet… who knows… I may change my mind… lol… that is what is great about art… each time you try something new, you find something else that you will either love or hate…
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… 😛
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…
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
how great is this little guy… I think I might love my octopus more, but still, this little guys is just soooo dang cute… and so easy to make… just like with the octopus, you use a loom…
since I wanted the teddy bear to be small, I used my next to smallest loom… one that most people would use for socks … and then I tried it out with my smallest… one used for bows…
you wrap you yarn around the loom twice, pull the bottom loops over the top, push the remainder down, and wrap your yarn around again, and repeat… when you have a length that would equal your head and your body, then you cinch the yarn… you do this by taking your yarn needle and threading it though the loops (they will come off the pegs as you go) and on the last peg you pull it tight…
for a boy bear, I cinch the yarn tub inside out… so the bear is bald, but for a girl I go ahead and cinch it like it is as it comes off the loom.. and then add some knots and frayed strands for hair… and of course … use the needle to add some ears…
next you add some stuffing (less for the head, and more for the body) and then cinch the bottom and add a tail… now you just need to add some legs…
the legs are easy if you don’t mind them curling… you just use three of the pegs on your loom and loop left-to-right, not using the entire circle… once the leg is the desired length, use the needle to put a knot in the last loop so your work wont unravel, and then sow it onto your bear… and ta-da… you have your bear… I am thinking of adding some eyes and a mouth next time, but his little guy was destined for a house that would have a toddler and I didn’t what her eating the eyes…
clark arts and crafts 