How to crochet a chain silver lame bracelet

I am a BIG fan of making something that is generally made out of one material out of something completely unconventional and unexpected and that is just the project that I fell in love with from the book Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry.

In Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry there is a crocheted chain necklace. I just had to make some crocheted chain! Off to the stash and I found some Lion Brand Silver Lame Metallic Yarn and I went with a size F hook.

I followed the basic stitch pattern and construction in Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry but I made a bracelet.

Confession: I actually brought this project to a meeting and I whipped this bracelet together in 2 hours!

I love it! I will most definitely be making more of these!

If you like making crocheted and stitched jewelry too then I bet you will love:
Handmade at Home: Crocheted and Stitched Jewelry
by
Emi Iwakiri

"Crocheted and Stitched Jewellery is part of a brand new series of craft titles from CICO. Beautifully packaged as a jacketed paperback and printed on woodfree paper, this series brings you a number of popular crafts at a very affordable price. Using traditional Japanese crochet techniques, Emi Iwakiri shows you how to create these adorable designs that include ribbons, beads, bows and even scraps from your sewing box. There are stunning ideas here to suit every occasion, from a classic cream silk pearl necklace to a vintage-style crocheted flower necklace. Try making a luxurious beaded collar to add a touch of glamour to any outfit, an elegant linen flower to wear in your hair or as a corsage or a fun, multi-coloured pompom bracelet for a modern, striking look. Whether you want to create original jewellery for yourself or to give as presents, you are sure to love Emi’s gorgeous Japanese designs. And once you have mastered her simple basic techniques, you will be able to create your own bespoke pieces in no time."

How to make an origami Easter bunny paper garland

Yes, I know it's not even Valentine's Day yet but when I spotted the origami bunny tutorial in Wild and Wonderful Origami: 35 of Your Favorite Wild Animals to Fold in and Instant I just had to try it out right away! So I did. And then I did some more....and well let's just say I made origami bunnies like bunnies make bunnies!
I used some scrap pink, light blue and light green paper and got so good at these cuties I was walkin' around making them. I decided instead of drawing faces on these guys (the paper that comes with this book is pre-printed with the cute details) but since I made so many...well I thought I'd just draw but then I thought about using a tiny pom pom for the nose.

Well, when I started to play with the placement of the pom pom it looked more like the tail! So these little bunnies are bunnies from the back or front either way I think they are just too darn cute.

To turn them into a garland I threaded a piece of pastel thick thread onto a needle and stitched through each of the ears mixing up the colors of the bunnies.

If you too like to fold your fun then I bet you will love the Cico book:
Wild and Wonderful Origami: 35 of Your Favorite Wild Animals to Fold in and Instant
by
Mari Ono and Roshin Ono

"Make your own origami zoo with Mari and Roshin Ono's collection of amazing animals. Whether you love cute and cuddly animals like the baby bear and the cheeky monkeys, or are friends with the feathered variety, you are sure to go wild for any of the 35 innovative designs. There are four great chapters explaining how to really bring your paper to life. Animal Fun has classic designs like the crane and fox, while Safari takes its inspiration from the Serengeti with projects for zebras, giraffes, lions and more. Next is Sea World, home to ocean dwellers including the dolphin, sea turtle and even a blowfish, and the Forest chapter has ideas to transform your paper into a tree-dwelling owl or squirrel. Every project comes with simple step-by-step instructions and clear photographs, as well as helpful arrows showing you where to fold. Each design has also been given a skill rating, so start with a simple one and once you've mastered that move on to something a bit more challenging. 50 specially designed pieces of origami paper are included with the book, meaning you can start folding right away."

Family hand outlines commemorative aprons

I was with lots of family over the holidays and I wanted to commemorate all that togetherness. I had 2 aprons that were promo items from some trade show and I thought they would make a great surface for everyone to trace their hand on.

I painted in the logo a bit so it wasn't quite as much of an advertising piece but left some showing. I brought a couple of packs of Elmer's Paint Markers for everyone to use. I think they all got a little of their creativity going and had fun.

And here's some more crafty goodness for ya!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a bit of Valentine inspiration, tutorials on how to face paint dragon and hydrangea masks, ideas and inspiration from Manga artist Melanie Schober and a recipe for coconut veggie muffins.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Eileen shows how to make a lovely flowered bolster pillow to dress up a room.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi's marbled fabric quilt is hurling towards completion!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Learn how to make a recycled sheer curtain flower fascinator.

About Family Crafts
Play along with the current craft challenge. Make a craft or two using CD cases and submit them!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen shows you how she repurposed a cardboard drink carrier into something beautiful using her new toy a Sizzix BIGKick.

Crafty Princess Diaries
The Crafty Princess shows what she has in the works on her hooks and needles.

RockPaperInk
Class Valedictorian: Modern Dog; Seattle Washington, USA

How to make a recycled curtain flower fascinator

Light blue is one of my favorite colors and when I received a Whimsey box to find the most beautiful shade of light blue DecoArt SoSoft Fine Glitter Fabric Paint nestled in with all the other goodies I new that was what I needed to play with first. So off to the new book Handmade at Home: Button and Bead Jewelry for a bit of inspiration. This recycled curtain flower fascinator is what I came up with. I think it came out pretty darn purdy!
This pretty chiffon flower necklace featured in the book Handmade at Home was my inspiration. It just so happens to be in the same color as my DecoArt Glitter paint from the Whimsey box! All I needed was some flowers. Easy enough with an old curtain and my Sizzix die cutter.
I painted the fabric flowers rather sparsely and rather haphazardly to give them a dimensional look.
To make then actually dimensional I stitched them together as you can see starting from the back and ending on the front ready for the next layer.

When I had all the flower layers together I stitched the bead onto the top center and secured the bead and layers together with an additional stitch. All that was left to do was a few stitches to the headband.

If making pretty jewelry from buttons, beads and fabric is your style then I bet you will love:
Button and Bead Jewelry: 25 Step-By-Step Projects
by
Deborah Schneebell-Morrell

More about the book from the publisher Cico Books:

"Bring to life the undiscovered treasures of your sewing box. Handmade at Home: Button and Bead Jewelry is an essential guide to creating stunning, fashionable jewelry. Craft author Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell shows you how by using a wide variety of materials, from chiffon and lace to copper and moonstone, as well as scraps from past projects, you can make any number of contemporary, eye-catching pieces, each with your own unique twist. Whatever your standard, the 25 delightful projects and variations - from a ribbon choker with velvet flowers to linen heart brooches - will help you make the most of your sewing box. Whether you want to make practical, fun, everyday items or intricate, stylish designs, there is a range of projects to suit your tastes. Complete with step-by-step photographs, helpful explanations of techniques and a comprehensive list of materials, Button and Bead Jewelry will help you on your way to creating exquisite pieces in no time."

Happy 2012!

I hope you all had a fun New Year's Eve celebration! Mine was a trifecta of light. Fire, blue Christmas lights and the moon.

And later the Universal Studios Fireworks to make it a four-pete!

What's with all my sports terms?????

Your Grandmother's Crafts
These ARE your grandmother's crafts. Ya gotta problem with that? I didn't think so.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is fun idea for using a pretty teacup as a doll dress from the new book Creative Pilgrimage, tutorials on how to embroider a backstitch chain and a cable chain, fitting info on different types of pants and a recipe for raw ice box chocolate chip cookies.

Mixed Media Artist
The plans for Cyndi's new marbled fabric quilt are coming together!

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Make some Retrofabulous Pulp Fiction Thank You Cards!

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Add beautiful kaleidoscope effects to your hand made cards with iris folded designs.

Crafty Princess Diaries
The Crafty Princess shows you how to get cozy with your favorite cup of tea.

Craft. You.
Meet the man behind TV host and mid-century modern lifestyle expert Brini Maxwell.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi starts off her year by experimenting with nylon wire mesh...a medium really new to her!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen shows you how she created a patinated copper steampunk necklace using paper!

RockPaperInk
Waste not, Want not: The science and practice of sustainable design

How to re-make old shoes into glitter-tastic new ones

Shoes are most definitely my latest favorite thing to customize, alter and otherwise remake. I took my inspiration for this redo from the fabulous new book Sweat Shop Paris: Lessons from a Sewing Cafe.
This is what the shoes looked like before their transformation, plain dark brown but the folds offered a great way to divide up the space and use different colors.

How I altered the shoes:
I painted several coats of Plaid's Extreme Glitter paint onto the different sections of the shoes. I used red and black.
Then I die cut 4 pairs of scissors out of some silver Mylar making sure I did them in mirror images for the right and left shoes using the Cuttlebug scissor die. One set went on the toes and the other on the outside ankle area.
To glue the scissor on I used Tacky Glue and a toothpick.
Then all that was left to do was add a few coats of Crafty Chica Glossy Gloss Varnish to give them that glitter patten leather look and protect the scissors.

If you are a fan of the "redo" I bet you will live this beautiful and inspiring book!
More about the book from the publisher Andrews McMeel Universal:
Sweat Shop Paris: Lessons from a Sewing Cafe
by
Martena Dusss and Sissi Holleis

Sweat Shop Paris: Lessons from a Sewing Cafe brings the namesake Paris Sweat Shop founded by Martena Duss and Sissi Holleis to North America with more than 50 DIY fashion and home projects, including instructions and more than 200 helpful, inspiring full-color photographs. The first "cafe couture" sewing shop in Paris, the Sweat Shop was named to highlight the questionable nature in which store-bought clothing is sometimes made. Instead of rewarding dubious labor practices, the Sweat Shop and The Sweat Shop Book inspire crafters to make something unique with their own sweat equity and creativity.

Crafters meet at the cafe and share ideas while renting equipment by the hour. In addition, classes teach novices how to sew, knit, crochet, and much more.

In March 2010, Martena Duss and Sissi Holleis opened the Sweat Shop, the first sewing cafe in Paris, near the trendy boutiques of Canal St. Martin. Duss is a Swiss makeup artist. Holleis is from Austria, where she had her own fashion store and label. In addition to carving a niche in Parisian society, the Sweat Shop has been featured in publications such as Vogue, Elle, the New York Times, Le Monde, the Guardian, and Marie Claire.

Christmas tree ornament chain link fence decoration

Back at 4th July time I made an American flag with Christmas ornaments on my chain link gate well did you think I would let my gate go unadorned at Christmas? No sir-e!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a double giveaway featuring books and Styrofoam shapes along with tutorials and patterns for Christmas painting and knitting along with a recipe for vegan nut butter dip and some adorable photos of our newest Amineko.

Rock Paper Ink

Until Covered in Ink Do Us Part

Lindsay Sews
With the holiday ornament swap complete, you can check out photos of the lovely handmade ornaments--including bacon!

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Madge turns some styrofoam and sparkly things into a Retrofabulous Suzy Snowflake Snowlady!

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Madge turns some styrofoam and sparkly things into a Retrofabulous Suzy Snowflake Snowlady!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
How to make a yarn ball and dpn Christmas tree.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen shows you how she took pre made cards and embellished them to make her own Christmas cards she mailed out this year..

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi enters the Friendship Bracelet world and learns a thing or two.

Craft Buds
Turn that old wool sweater into a personalized keepsake. Learn how to make a monogram sweater ornament, embellished with jingle bells.

Craft. You.
Meet Jenny Barnett-Rohrs of Craft Test Dummies this week on Craft. You.!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy is able to spill the beans about a new jewelry business adventure she is exploring.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
"Santa Claus is coming to town." Are you ready for The Artful Crafter's annual Christmas Parade of Crafts?

Rorschach's new Christmas sweater and his yarn ball Christmas tree

Rorschach Amineko got a wonderful Christmas sweater from one of our best friends. I think he looks positively adorable in it. I mean really don't all cats look cute in sweaters, especially crazy Christmas ones! Here he is posing in front of his favorite Christmas tree in the house.

It's made from his mom's stash of green balls of yarn and dpns (double pointed needles). All I did was make a base of yarn and then stack each layer on top of the first securing the balls with the dpns.

And it seemed appropriate to top off this yarn ball tree with a tiny knit sweater.

I do love using my craft supplies in their natural state to make decorations. It will be super easy to dismantle and store back in the boxes as nothing was damaged. If you need to make yourself an Amineko check out this post that features the book I used to make Roy.

Funny headline and product combo from the grocery store check out line

OK does anyone else think that this drink is the perfect beverage to read this article?

If only what we read was true.

Craft Buds
Create H.O.P.E. Designs is making a world of difference through sewing patterns, and Mary stitches up the A+ Art Portfolio.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a fun new video on how to tint gesso with pastels by Traci Bunkers, tutorials on how to draw Christmas trees and poinsettias, tips on cleaning glassware and a yummy recipe for vegan maple bacon doughnuts.

Craft. You.
This week on Craft. You.: Heather Mann of Dollar Store Crafts.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Here's a post about remembering the December birthdays!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen not only offers you a fantabulous Glitzy bleached Christmas tree project but also a giveaway on her blog this week!

About Family Crafts
Play along with the current craft challenge and submit an angel craft or two.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy takes a look at a craft book packed full of projects.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Do you know about yarn bombing? Whimsical hand knit and crocheted art is circling the globe!

Lindsay Sews
He's cute and cuddly, and you can sew him with just one yard of fabric. Take a peek at Hugh Manatee from the new book, Fabric-by-Fabric: One-Yard Wonders.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
It's a video! It's two craft projects with instructions! It's RETROFABULOUS! Yay!

Mixed Media Artist
If you've still got any autumn leaves available, here's a pretty idea for using them up!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Learn how to make a recycled sweater wreath with a candy style bow.

Rock Paper Ink
Jay Calderin discusses getting a handle(bar) on trends.

How to make a recycled sweater with a peppermint candy style bow wreath

My first Christmas wreath of the season. If the wind keeps up here and I have to keep picking up tree dabris it might just be the only one! But it sure came out cute.
I was inspired by this post over at Fave Crafts Blog where there was a sock craft roundup. One of the projects was a wreath made of socks that was adorable! Well as the mistress of sweater surgery my go to material is the almighty sweater so off to the sweater stash!
While not a conventional Christmas color combo I thought this striped sweater would look kinda cool.
How I made my recycled wool felted sweater wreath;

I cut the sleeves off the sweater and up the seam.
I simply whip stitched the sweater strips onto a Styrofoam wreath base. The stitches don't show so it doesn't matter what they look like! I wanted it to be a little more scrunchy so I cut another strip of the sweater from the back as well. So in total it was 3 sections.
To make the candy style bow. I cut 2 strips of the stripes. One was 3 wide with the dark color on the outside and one was 3 stripes wide with the dark stripe on the inside with the two light blue on the outside. Then I folded them in half and coiled them up. This made the center candy part.
To make the "wrapper" side pieces I cut the ribbing section from the base of the sweater and did a running (gather) stitch. I bit of hot glue was used to attach them to the sides of the candy and then onto the wreath.