A Crafty Week!!

This has been a fairly productive week for me. The craft room was cleaned a few week ago, and since then I've found it easier to slip in and get some crafting done.
Wanna see what I created?
Here ya go!!

These first two are the same piece consisting of one large green focal bead with a few mid-sized black and white beads, a beaded chain on black wire, and a handmade hook closure.


Here's another beaded chain piece that includes a few other beads in aqua, purple, and lime; the beaded chain is made of silver-toned wire and black beads with a silver toggle clasp. The focal point of the necklace is a collaged piece (made by me.)

There are just some button flowers that I'm making to use up some coated wire that I don't really use for anything else.

Here's a beaded chain bracelet made from faceted glass beads and silver-toned wire with a magnetic closure. I'm not sure if this piece is done yet. I'm still thinking of using it as a base for a charm-style bracelet.

This last necklace is my favorite by far. While not done in the same exact same beaded chain as the ones above, it is still the same technique. This one uses copper wire and a variety of beads made of ceramic, wood, plastic, and glass. The closure is a handmade hook and eye. The focal piece is a handmade, lampwork bead that I bought MANY years ago. As such, I cannot remember the maker and I do apologize. It was bought at a bead show in New Orleans probably 5-6 years ago.
In addition to what's above, I also worked on some polymer clay bead making, but wasn't real happy with the results. So, I didn't worry with getting pictures of those.

As you can tell, my current crafty obsession is making bead chains (linking beads with wire to make a chain.)

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the fruits of my labor. I just wish I had more time to get in there and get my craft on!!

"Making Do" with Light Blue Cat's Eye Beads

Yesterday I showed you these beads. They are simple light blue cat's eye beads. I've had them so long I can't remember when, where, or why I bought them. I haven't used cat's eye beads as a major part of my beadwork in quite a while. As such, I needed to go ahead and DO SOMETHING with these.

So, I thought about what I wanted to make and considered chandelier earrings first. But, when I realized how MANY of these I had, I knew a long necklace was in order. I had also already decided on on the colors I wanted to use with them - some neutrals (black and clear) and red.

I gathered my supplies: black, clear, and red seed beads; some 24 gauge black wire; and pliers (needle nose, round nose, and wire cutters).

The necklace was simply a wire link one. I cut short (3-4 inch) lengths of the wire [they don't really need to be this long, but I'm still not very good at making wrapped wire loops, so this was good practice on some longer lengths of wire]; made a loop and twist on one end, added my beads, and started the loop on the other end to look like this:
I attached all the links together as each was made to form a very long beaded chain necklace.

Here's the whole thing together.

And another closer look at it.

I'm pretty happy with the results. It was a good way to use up a lot of the same beads. I suppose it would also be a good way to use up a lot of any kind of beads. You can't really tell in the pictures, but the necklace itself is very subtle and skinny (though long.) It's definitely more of an accent necklace than a focal point necklace. In any case, it's still cool.

After seeing my post yesterday, several of my dear friends mentioned that I should open an Etsy shop. Don't worry - there is one in the works. I just have to stop making jewelry long enough to get started on setting up the shop. I've got a few things I want to work out about the selling and shipping and some other research I need to do. You will SOOOO be informed when the shop is up and running.
Thanks for the confidence in me, it's really given me the gumption to get my butt in gear on the whole jewelry selling front.

Oh, let me know what you think of the above necklace. Was it a success (turning some old, unused beads into something beautiful)? I welcome your comments.

Crafting Feb 23-March 1

I was able to get some pictures taken and loaded today of what I've been working on this week. It's quite a mixture of crafty stuff.

Collage/Soldering:

I started the week working on just one collage/ soldered pendant. I then strung it up with some beads to make this very cool necklace that I'm calling "Fun and Games".This is the 'front' of the pendant.

It is two sided and here's side B.

I went on to work on a few more collages and was able to get them in the glass and copper foiled. They are waiting to be soldered. These are the fronts.

These are their "B sides". I really like old glasses and for some reason used these on the back of all of them. Weird, I know!

Knitting:
I bought a Knifty Knitter kit this week.

In one night I was able to complete a cap with only a few errors.

I then started in a scarf to match, but have since realized that I don't have enough yarn to complete the scarf. It will end up as a pot holder I suppose.

Beading:
I've decided to do a few tutorials here using some of the beads/ other craft materials that I don't know how to work into other projects. I think I'm going to call the series "Making Do" or something along those lines. What do you think? Here are the beads I started with - some light blue cat's eye beads. Check back for the details of what I did with them. It's pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

Pin-Up Halloween Necklace

Woweeee - It's been a while since I've posted here, but I have been working on getting some lists together to post more often. For now, I want to share the Halloween necklace I made and the directions. Check it out. . .

I started with a simple pin-up image and a wooden tag. I found a variety of Halloween images in the Flickr Collage Images group and at Thrifty Collage Artist's free images.

Paint the tag orange with some acrylic paint and glued on the image. [I even put an image on the back of the tag (to make it reversible)]

Embellish the tag with a black paint pen.

Add some rhinestones.

Cover with Diamond Glaze or other sealant.

Gather beads (and other findings) to complete the necklace. I went for a basic palette of black, orange, and silver.

String beads and add a clasp, and you'll end up with a beauty like this:

I'm proud of it anyway!!

You Can Totally Do This

So here's another attempt at sharing some craft links and information. This post includes some crafts that would be easy for both experienced and new crafters. Enjoy!

Reference
About.com has a fairly complete list of a variety of crafts with projects, patterns, and tutorials. The variety of crafts includes everything from weaving and felting to soap and paper making. You could spend a very long time looking through those pages.

Craft Idea
This easy craft can be useful for crafters and non-crafters alike. Outta envelopes, wanna send something special, have a burning desire to use up all the pretty paper and pictures you have sitting around? Making a funky envelope may be just the craft for you. It's even made from some fairly basic supplies that even non-crafty peeps should have just laying around the house.
Recipe
Now that your cool envelopes are made, Avie Designs shares a recipe for envelope glue (scroll down the page to find the instructuions.) I know that this isn't the type of recipe you would usually expect, but hey. . .it does call for edible ingredients and works well with the above project.
Personal Creations
I actually was able to fit in some crafting lat night and this morning.
1. I have been experimenting with coating shrink plastic pieces, just as Dabbled did. My tries at using a spray sealer just made the permanent marker bleed and fade. I did find that some markers (Sharpies) had more staying power than others (Bic), but they all bled to some extent. I have tried both Diamond Glaze and Glossy Accents to coat these instead. While I really like both of these products in general, I found that the thicker-consistency Glossy Accents was easier to control on the Shrink Plastic. Diamond Glaze left a beautiful finish on the plastic, but its thinner consistency just ran over the sides and into the holes (punched for jewelry making) of the plastic. This just made a mess and ended up smearing both sides of the piece. I have yet to try Triple Thick (another sealer I like) on the plastic, but am afraid this may leave streaks (as it needs to be painted on.) For now, the Glossy Accents is the winner for me. I hope to get some pictures up of these trials (or at least the completed projects) soon.
2. I also worked on a embroidery project that has been in progress for some time, but didn't really get much done on that before my hubby was ready to run some errands (including dinner) with me.

That's all for now. I'm trying.

Let's Get This Party Started

So here's my attempt at a solely 'CRAFT" blog.
I've got a TON of blog posts, craft ideas, craft downloads, and tutorials saved and want to share them with the world - or at least with those brave souls who dare venture here. I'm starting at the bottom of one list and will share a few of these at a time. I also plan on posting about the crafts in which I find myself entangled or any craft ideas that come to me.
Please keep in mind that since I'm sharing items I have saved, many are 'older'. If you are a crafter, you may have already seen some of these. But, bear with me and we'll see how this develops. Please feel free to share any feedback, complaints, or suggestions in the comments section. I'm open.

Are you ready for this? Let's see if I am.

Craft Idea

I recently got The Big-Ass Book of Crafts (catchy title huh?) and love this wastebasket made by another crafter using the book.via craftzine.com

What a great way to re-use your own trash. Stylish and environmentally-friendly - yay!!

Recipe
Cooking is also creative, and who can't resist a yummy cupcake. These are made from beer, not just any beer, Guinness!! I haven't had a chance to try these out since baking hasn't been on my to-do list lately, but they do look YUMMY!! Check out the recipe for these beer cupcakes.

Tutorial
If you are looking for some basic bead stitching instructions online, I found that Beads East has a great list of printable and video tutorials. The list includes basic instructions for a variety of beading techniques such as the daisy chain and peyote stitches. It's perfect for beginners and even for long-time beaders who need a refresher. Check it out!

Personal Creations
I had a long beach vacation planned and took two bags of craft supplies with me. However, Hurricane Gustav prompted us to leave early and I wasn't able to get as much accomplished as I had hoped. I did doodle on some shrink plastic, embroider a bit, and start a pair of basic earrings; but NOTHING got finished. As such, I did not take pictures. Hopefully, later posts will include some of my own work.

Send me some feedback on this initial post and what you think. I'm all ears (or eyes, as it a blog.)