Acorn Earrings

With fall at our doorstep, I wanted to share these earrings I made last year. I was waiting for my family to pick up me and staring at the ground where there were these adorable little acorns.

I stuffed a bunch in my pocked not knowing what I'd do with them... they ended up being just about the same size as beads I had at home so I popped the top off and drilled a small whole in the top.

Then took a beed pulled it together with the cap.

I think they look cute and are a nice fall touch of whimsey...

G Clef Earrings

While I wasn't blogging... I was still being creative. I can't really turn that creativity thing off and survive.

I did manage to document a few projects, not always the process, but often the finished pieces. So I'll be posting a few of my favorites... these in particular I've remade on more than a few occasions so perhaps one of these times, I'll pull together some pictures of the process.

I ended up taking orders for this last Christmas through friends and family. For some, I went with a distressed hammered look, others wanted them smooth.

The most challenging part of these was that I love wearing what I make, but I'm not musical at all and it felt wrong to wear a symbol of music while having NO musical talent at all.

Baseball Bracelet

I have a baseball boy... he would eat, sleep and breath baseball if it worked. He loves all sports, but baseball really is his love.

He's also fidgety little thing and with second grade starting next week I was hoping to make a bracelet that he could fidget with in class that would be less of a distraction. I had 2 ideas for bracelets, this is the one I thought he'd like best so I started with it.

It is really quite simple, all you need is a baseball and knife of some kind. Each ball will yield 2 medium bracelets.

Very carefully cut around each side of the stitches. In design school we had to cut boards, mattes and all kind of materials, they taught us it was better to strike several light cuts than to try and muscle through a material with a single cut. Cutting a ball seemed like an opportunity to take this advice and not end up dragging 2 kids to the emergency room to have my thumb reattached. Thankfully, no thumbs were severed during this project.

Then peel back the leather from the ball. I started with the larger sections which made the sections with the laces much easier to remove.

This is where I got confused. How on earth did they tie the knots of the red laces INSIDE the baseball. Mind blown.

Untie the magic laces and begin to unravel them.

Then cut the leather so you have one long-wavy snake... If you work with the leather to warm it up, pull it straight, it will relax some of the curl. But after just 2 hours of wearing the actual bracelet there is hardly any curl left in it anyway.

Continue unraveling the laces until you have about 2-3" of thread at each end. Then cut the leather in half and unravel the laces at the other end.

I used a safety pink to attach the bracelet to my jeans so I could braid the ends of the laces together.

And then tied the bracelet on my boy... who I thought was going to be thrilled. He was not.

Thankfully, it seems to be growing on him a bit and I have caught him fidgeting with it, which is just what he's supposed to do... Hopefully he'll stick with it and save his second grade teacher the torture of trying to deal with my fidgety britches.

Mardi Gras Jewelry

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I took a trip to New Orleans, we just missed Mardi Gras, but that's ok - Mardi Gras isn't really our scene. But we loved New Orleans. This was my 4th trip there and his first. I have a friend there who told us all the spots to see and she was 100% right, she picked just the right things for us. 

While Mardi Gras might not be for us, the city of New Orleans and Mardi Gras is what she is all about. And I wanted to do something as a thank you - so I created these bracelet and earrings for her. 

 Here are the supplies to create this set:

•  A variety of gold, green and purple beads
• Stretch magic 
• 10mm gold jump rings
• Gold tone crimp tubes
• Ribbon
• Jewelry tools including a needle & crimper
• Tape

Step 1 - Arrange the beads as you'd like them for the strands of the bracelet. 

Step 2 - Cut a length of stretch magic to the length of bracelet plus 4". Then put a piece of tape 2" from the end of your stretch magic.

Step 3 - Then string your beads onto the strand. 

Step 4 - And then attach each of the strands to the jump rings. 

And then loop a length of ribbon through the loops and you've got a bracelet! 

And I'll admit - I liked this set so much, I made one for myself... just because I don't like the wild side of Mardi Gras, doesn't mean I don't want to celebrate it with my own style. 

Bridesmaids Jewelry

I was so flattered, and a bit terrified, to be asked to design and create the jewelry for the bridesmaids in an upcoming wedding. The bride and I went to pick out the materials last week, and tomorrow I'm showing her the "1st draft."

This won't be what the girls wear, this was just a starting point so that we had something to work from. Which means I'll likely get to keep this one - something I'm not at all disappointed about.

The necklace has a black satin ribbon that ties behind the neck with 3 strands of cream, champaign and beige glass beads. One strand is straight strung on wire, another has the beads on eye pins attached to a silver chain and the third has the beads strung on a silk rope with hand tied knots between them...

The hand tied strand. My first attempt at something like this. 

I'm really nervous about showing this to her tomorrow - do me a favor and cross your fingers that she likes it. 

Earring Box

I've loved giving the earrings I've made as gifts, and the favor boxes have almost been the perfect boxes for them. The only problem has been securing the earrings in the boxes so they aren't just rattling around or getting lost in a mile of tissue paper.

But - I've found the solution in a simple square of scrapbook paper.

Simply cut a square of paper the same width as the box and about 1" longer.

Then fold the extra 1" or so of the paper.

Then cut the number of slits you need at the fold.

Slip the earrings into the slits and if you'd like, secure on the back with a piece of tape.

There you go - the perfect way to secure the earrings in the box. And it actually works for any sort of jewelry. You can thread the ends of a necklace or bracelet through 2 slits.

Multi Strand Bracelet - Handmade Holidays & Giveaways

I started making these bracelets about 6 weeks ago and I can't stop.

Interested in making your own? Here is what you need:

• Various beads, I like to mix at least 3-5 types.
• Stretch magic elastic
• 2 10mm jump rings
• 6 Crimp tubes
• 6" length of ribbon
• Scotch tape
• Beading tray - not really required, but it helps

Step 1 - start planning out what you think you want to do with your 3 strands... Some things work, and some won't. Just keep playing with it - taking into account your desired length. I wanted one that was my wrist plus about 3/4".

Step 2- Cut 3 pieces of stretch magic that is the length of your finished bracelet plus about 3-4". Then secure one end with tape, this will keep the beads that your stringing on from falling off.

Step 3 - String the beads the onto the elastic, if you like, you can use a needle like this, it really helps get the beads onto the elastic.

Keep going and measuring along as you go. The beads will string different than they lay in the tray so sometimes what planned out to be 7" will string shorter or longer. When you get the length you want, tape the end while you move onto the other 2 strands.

Step 4 - Time to secure the ends of the bracelet to the jump rings.

Slide one of the crimp tubes to the elastic.

Then slide a jump ring onto the elastic.

Then loop the elastic over the ring and thread the end through the crimp tube again.

Sorry for the blurry picture, I hope you can see that I've tightened the elastic, tight but not too tight around the jump ring.

Then crimp.

You can either use pliers or a neat little tool like this. One notch crimps, the other folds it over on itself.

Then do the other end of the strand.

Repeat with the other 2 strands.

You'll see I added a little detail to this bracelet, a little word to inspire me...

Take your ribbon and fold it in half then thread the folded end through the jump rings. Pull the tail ends through your loop and you're bracelet is a bracelet.

You can secure it straight, or twist the strand prior to securing it with the ribbon.

I hope this tutorial inspires you to try one of your own - but if you LOVE love love one of the above bracelets and can't live without it... simply leave a comment here, and you'll be entered to win one of them! You've got 'till November 22nd at 6:00 pm to enter. If you'd like another chance, mention the giveaways on your blog on on twitter and leave a second comment.