Zipper Pulls with Memory Beads

Occasionally, friends/family give me beads and other 'stuff' that they don't want but think I can use to make  'something'. Recently, my sister 'gifted' me with two glass bead necklaces from her late mother-in-law. While they were pretty, the style was somewhat old fashioned.  I decided to cut apart the inherited bead strands and incorporate the beads into zipper pulls (loop the cording through zipper tabs to make zipping up easier). Not many supplies were needed to make these zipper pulls except of course assorted beads, looped cording with attachment rings, long headpins, pliers. and metal clippers.  The hardest part of creating these zipper pulls was choosing the beads and placing them in a pleasing arrangement.  Everything you need can be purchased from HM Ben Franklin Crafts or Daiso. To make these zipper pulls even more special is that each one contains a bead from the necklace given to me.  I plan to give my sister and her husband's family some of the zipper pulls with the hope that they will be happy to have a keepsake from Grandma Miyo. I'm sure if you are a crafter, you have a collection of mismatched, loose beads somewhere in your craft supplies. Think about using the beads to make some zipper pulls to give away or use as party favors.  This type of crafting is perfect for doing in front of the TV because it takes very little concentration...basically mindless...perfect for me, the 'junk' magnet crafter. LOL! 

 

Sweet Triple Decker Ice Cream Thanks

It's still hot and I'm still craving a cold, sweet treat.  To avoid consuming more calories, I decided to make myself ice cream cards.  It was fun to create triple scoop ice cream cones using the Lawn Fawn die set, 'I Scream, You Scream'.  I especially love the realistic cone die that even impresses the cone texture.  It was fun to try to make the different ice cream flavors.  I used some distress embossing powder to turn a mint green die cut scoop into chocolate chip mint ice cream.  The middle scoop started with a die cut scoop of swirling print card stock to which I glued on some fake sprinkles.  I got a little messy with the 'chocolate syrup' (made with Bo Bunny pearlescent paint) that I dribbled on the top scoop and decorated with confetti hearts.  The die cut cherry was made more realistic with a coating of Glossy Accents and the addition of a stem made from a piece of leather sewing thread. So yummy!

                                                        

The card blanks were cut to fit the pastel envelopes from Daiso. My We R Memory Keepers corner cropper was used to round the corners of the card blanks and ice cream printed Simple Stories card stock. Because the printed paper was too distracting, I added a piece of striped white vellum paper to the front of the card under the ice cream cones.  A scallop scissors was used to edge the vellum paper to make it look more festive. Finally, a Lawn Fawn script die was used to cut out the foiled paper 'thanks'. 

This was a fun card to make and it did make me feel cooler just looking at it.  Unfortunately, now I definitely need an ice cream treat....just a single scoop?

Art Deco Cameo Necklace Upcycle

Whenever we travel, I try to check out antique/thrift stores and flea market fairs.  I'm always on the  hunt for that bit or bauble that can be upcycled into a one-of-a-kind treasure.  On my last trip to Cape     Cod I discovered an Art Deco style cameo pendant that was missing parts but was made of gold filled metal and had a sweet carved pink shell cameo. It had missing parts but it was attractive and reasonably priced.  It had a place to add a dangling part so I used a gold filled head pin to attach a fresh water pearl. I wonder what kind of dangle was on the pendant originally in the1930's?  To match the pearl dangle, I used 24 gauge gold filled soft round wire to form a pearl chain with ten seed pearls.  The jump ring that came with the pendant was used to attach the pendant to the seed pearl chain. Finally, a purchased silver and gold filled chain with a clasp was cut in the center and the cameo seed pearl chain was attached to the ends.  I am very pleased with the outcome of this upcycled cameo necklace.  I think the whole look of this piece matches the style of the Art Deco period (1920-30).  If you look closely at the cameo carving, you can see that the hairstyle of the lady is one of a flapper from the Art Deco period.  Also the geometric lines of the pendant suggest that it was probably made during the 1920's -1930's.  This makes this 'found' piece almost 100 years old...a true antique! Do I dare to dream that my upcycled cameo necklace will last another 100 years? I can only hope!

 

Yummy Summer Creamsicle Card

With the hot summer days we've been experiencing, I can't help but dream of sweet frozen treats like creamsicles.  When I spied the delightful Simple Stories papers at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, I immediately purchased a bunch of the enticing 12x12 sheets depicting summer treats.  Starting with a standard card blank, I used a We R Memory Keepers corner cropper to round the corners of the card blank and the other card stock pieces that were layered on the card.  After gluing the pieces together, it was simple work to stamp the Lawn Fawn images, color (with Copic pens), die cut them out and adhere them with foam adhesive dots.  For added sparkle, I added fine crystal glitter onto the creamsicles and small acrylic crystal heart stickers. This was a very simple card to put together but now I crave something cold and sweet. LOL!  Have a col summer day!

 

Beekeeper Bear Tags

As soon as I spied the Lawn Fawn 'You're a Keeper' stamp and die sets at HM Ben Franklin Crafts, I knew that I HAD to have them.  If you recall in a previous post, I mentioned that my husband and I are supporters of Alan Wong's Adopt a Beehive Project, so of course I squealed with delight when I saw the new LF products.  Then when I came upon the Carte Bella Paper, ' Happy to Bee Here' in the HM BFC paper session, I was really bursting with creative ideas.  Since I needed some tags for my honey bottles, I took out my Hero Arts Infinity Tag die set. It was easy to stamp, color, and die cut to put together the tags.  

The sage green skinny rafia ribbon and orange-yellow twine were purchased from HM BFC (I think).  After attaching the raffia and twine to the tags, the tags were tied onto the bottles honey.  (A small square of fibrous paper was placed over the bottle tops before the tags were attached.)  I'm really pleased with the overall look of these tags.  They should have been a little smaller to fit the size of the bottles, but big tags allow for a longer message.  LOL!  Since the stamp and die sets are smaller than the usual Lawn Fawn ones, the price was smaller, too. Just imagine what you can create with  Lawn Fawn products....go now...shop for them at HM BFC!

 

Shaker 6th Birthday Card no. 2

Here is the second birthday card made for my twin grandsons. (See previous post.) I made it similar to the first one but different enough that there shouldn't be any jealousy...I hope!  For this one I used Lawn Fawn swim ring images with floating critters wearing sunglasses.  Like on the previous card, I put sunglasses on the animals to give them a bit of sassiness.  For the confetti, I chose some ocean colored bits with some sparkly pieces.  Hopefully, the twin who gets this card will enjoy shaking it and watching the confetti move around.  I must still be a kid because I can't seem to stop shaking these confetti cards. There is something addictive about the sound and movement.  shake, shake, shake...stop me... please!

 

Twin Shaker Birthday Cards

This is one of two birthday cards made for my adorable twin grandsons.  I can't believe they are turning six...where does the time go?  Anyway, because as usual I am in a time crunch, I decided to keep the cards simple.  I thought that filling the card with colorful sparkling confetti would appeal to the boys.  I started with a standard card blank and cut the striped Bo Bunny card stock to fit it.  Using a Heiko cellophane self-sealing bag, I enclosed the card stock and added about a tablespoon of confetti. Choosing just the right confetti is the part I enjoy the most.  (I chose fruit and pearly sparkle confetti for this card.)  After taping the bag tightly around the card, I used double stick tape to attach the confetti packet to the card blank.  

Using the Lawn Fawn stamps and matching dies, I stamped, colored (with Copic pens), and die cut the images.  The Happy Birthday circle (My Favorite Things) was die cut from silver DCWV foil paper.  I chose this foil paper because the '6' sticker I had was a silver foil one.  All the parts were glued down to the confetti card with Fabri-Tac glue and the card was done!  That was easy...one done...one more to do! (See next post, please!)

 

Gemstone Bead and Sterling Silver Tube Bracelets

On a recent trip I purchased a bracelet because it was pretty and uniquely designed.  Upon returning home I inspected the bracelet further and realized that it was fairly simple to make .Also I had most of the supplies in my craft room.  I changed the look of the bracelets a bit to make use of the supplies I already had. The above bracelets are the result of a few hours of work. The gemstones I used were chrysoprase, turquoise, agate, jasper, and amazonite. I am happy with the way the bracelets turned out and I feel the changes I made improved the bracelet's design.  I used a silverplated medium super flexible beading wire which made the bracelets quite a bit more flexible than the original. Because my silver tube beads were a bit shorter than the original ones, I had to add extra silver ball beads. I think this addition worked well with the overall look of the bracelets making the design more cohesive.  Because this bracelet style was so easy and pleasing, I'm sure I'll be making more of them in the future and selling them in my Hilo HM BFC locker box. Please come and take a look!