Vintage Necklace

Heather and I may be miles apart but for some reason our brains are on the same wavelength because both of us made necklaces last week. Not the same but very similar. I have been wanting a mustard colored necklace for some time now and after searching on Etsy with little luck I decided to make one myself. I love this ONE, but I just don't have the money to spend $40 on a necklace for myself. So I used it as an idea and came up with a cheaper version that I love.

I don't have a lot of experience with jewelry making so I decided to start easy and use brown, leather cording instead of chains. I found these amazing mustard colored beads at Hobby Lobby for just $1.99. Then I spent a little extra on the bronze bird ($3.99) but I wanted it to be vintage looking and add something special to it. Then I made the rolled rose out of some chiffon scraps that I already had in my stash. I tied a knot in between each bead to hold it in place and added a flat bead to the end which is my base for my flower. Next I hot glued some felt to the back of the flower and hot glued the flower to the bead. I finished off the necklace by layering the cording to give it some stability and added a clasp to the back. Total cost of the necklace: around $10.





This project turned out so well I think I might have to try making some more jewelry. Maybe a necklace with a clay flower or a fun bangle.

I'm linking up HERE

Accessorize your Flip Flops

What is the easiest way to dress up a flip flop? Add a simple shoe accessory. These clips are great on any shoes but I love the way they make a regular flip flop fun.

BOWS:

Take a piece of fabric and cut two rectangular pieces equal in size. Then cut two smaller strips, these will be the center of the bows. Fold the rectangles in half wrong sides together and sew down one end and one side. Repeat with the other rectangle and the strips. Then flip all of the pieces right side out. Sew up the open side of the rectangles by hand so you have 2 rectangles with no openings. Next you will take your strips and fold them around the middle of each rectangle until you like the center of the bow. Sew the strip together with the closed end over the top of the open end. Finally glue an alligator clip through the center of the bow in order to clip it onto your shoes.

FLOWERS

Cut two circles out of felt the size you want your flowers. Use this as your guide to cut out your circles for your flower. Cut about 10 to 12 circles for each flower. Take one circle and fold it into a pie piece. Sew the tip of the pie piece to the center of the felt circle.
Continue to sew all the tips to the felt circle in a circular motion. This is a layering process. Continue to sew them until you have enough to cover the entire felt piece and your flower is full. Sew alligator clips to the back of the felt and place on your flip flop.

A Necklace from Home Depot?

I am being a little selfish this week because all my projects are for MEEE. But I think that sometimes moms need some special attention, even if it is from themselves. I was inspired by WIWW to create some projects to pump up my wardrobe and make me feel pretty.

I got this idea a long time ago and actually made it with the young women of my church. It was originally just a one washer necklace with scrap paper mod podged to the outside. I thought it would be fun to take several washers and make a chain out of them. It is so easy and fun to make, plus very cost wise since it only costs about $3. (I am all about being thirfty these days.)

All you need is some washers from Home Depot or another hardware store
Ribbon
Scrapfabric
Glue gun

I bought 3 bags of washers in varying sizes. Mind you that the larger the washer the heavier the necklace will be. I laid the washers out on the table and rearranged them until I saw a pattern that I liked. Then I took some ribbon I already owned and started weaving it through each washer hole making sure to overlap the washers so they stay in place. Sorry I don't have pictures but I did find this site that had a similar idea HERE a year ago. Once I was done with the weaving I made a few rolled roses. Then I glued the roses to some felt and glued that to the end washers. One tip I have is to make sure all your washers are facing the same way, there is a shiny side and a dull side.

I wore it yesterday and I can't believe how many people complimented me on it. It is fun and creative and you will definitely be noticed when you are out and about. I think it would be fun to add scrap paper to the outside of the washers or even break up the roses so they are on both sides. There are so many options.

Fun Find Friday-Zipper Flowers

I know, another flower tutorial. What can I say, I am a girly girl and I LOVE flowers and ruffles. These flowers are a little more edgy which I really like. And I love the contrast of the fabric and the metal. It is a really creative way to use some old zippers as accessories. I like to collect zippers (among other craft items, don't get me started on my button obsession) when I go to craft fairs or the flea market.

material girls
snips and spice
craftaholics anonymous


Here is my take on the idea.



I would like to offer a few words of advise.
1. It is not as easy as it looks. Take your time and practice.
2. Use upholstery zippers. I tried using a coverall zipper and it was not thick enough. I had nothing to grab onto for the gluing. Which brings me to my next point.
3. BE CAREFUL. I know all of us have hot glue wounds but this was an excessive hot glue burn project. I swear between cooking and crafting I have burned myself so many times I think my nerves have lost feeling in my finger tips.

I am not totally happy with the way my flower turned out but I think with more practice and the right size zipper I could really make some beautiful zipper roses.

Clothing Embellishments

Do you ever get bored with your current wardrobe? I do all the TIME! However being a stay at home mom of two I don't really have the time or the money to be shopping for new clothing. So this week I decided to get a little inventive and start trying to do some embellishments on my current clothes. I have a lot of ideas for these type of changes however I started simple.

I love these sweaters. I see them everywhere ranging from $78.00 at JCrew (the picture below) to most recently $25 at Target. However I can do one better. I bought this cardigan from the Gap on sale for $15, 2 years ago and had some sheer satin ribbon in my ribbon collection. Added it to the outside of the sweater and presto. Same look for $0 out of my pocket.

JCrew Sweater

My Version

I also played around with rolled roses this week. I found this skirt for my daughter on sale at Old Navy for $9. I decided to dress it up with a few white and cream rolled roses. Now it is one of a kind.


There are a ton of these type of projects online. One that I really love is on See Kate Sew. http://seekatesew.blogspot.com/2011/01/diy-ruffle-hoodie-self-portrait-style.html
She takes an old hoodie, adds a little ruffle, and creates something super cute and comfy.

Stay tuned for more clothing make-over projects.

FUN FIND FRIDAY-More Flowers

In honor of FUN FIND FRIDAY I decided to find some more tutorials on flower making. I am just learning this myself so I have been trying to find a lot of different types of flowers and how to create them. The best part about these flowers in there is no sewing machine neccessary so anyone can make them with a little fabric, a needle, and some thread. Here are a few that I found:

http://www.madebylex.com/2009/09/flower-pin-tutorial.html
http://creationcorner.blogspot.com/2010/03/flower-headband-and-pin-tutorial.html

http://portabellopixie.typepad.com/portabellopixie/2008/07/rolled-roses.html

Flowers are great for so many items:
purses
hair accessories
sprucing up an old sweater
picture frames
additions to any handmade item like skirts or dresses

I have played around with flowers a lot. Here are some of the items I added flowers to:

This was a dress that I made for my sister-in-laws wedding. I loved it so much so I decided to lose the sash (a little too bridesmaid for me) and add some cute muslin flowers to the neckline. I love it and always get compliments when I wear it.

The best part is you can't mess them up. Just play around and see what you can create.

Vintage Flowers

Fabric flowers are so popular right now. Flower hair accessories, flower necklaces, flowers pins, flower embellishments on tshirts or sweaters. If it has flowers it is on trend. I am very inexperienced at flowers. Mainly I just make it up as I go and try to make them look cute. Most of the time unsuccessfully might I add. However these simple vintage flowers are so easy to make you can't mess it up.

Simply cute out the flower shape you want out of some kind of satin, silk, or muslin type fabric. I cut circles making each one a little smaller than the previous one. Then take each circle and burn the edges with a candle or lighter until the circle curls to the size you want. Finally layer them on top of each other and sew together either using a button or just plain thread. (If you choose not to use a button I would advise that you cover up your thread with a gem or something). Last attach it to whatever you want and enjoy. You can also add netting, or any other embellishments to make it your own.