Black and Green Mermaid Necklace

It's a special time of year - a time of year were it is not only acceptable to play dress up in public, it is rather expected and celebrated. For me - I love playing dress up and embrace pretty much any reason to do so. It also means this girl needs a new costume and all the trimmings (yes, any reason for a new outfit is a good one) and I have been working on the pieces that will make my whole costume complete and will be sharing the process.

I needed a new necklace for to go with my new outfit and decided to use a mermaid charm that I had gotten a few years ago at the Renaissance Faire a few years ago, some green seed beads (yes, the beads from  that package I picked up at the dollar store just keep showing up), and black wire and jewelery making bits.

Oz-Inspired Birthday - Putting It All Together

"Follow the yellow brick road..." to a birthday surprise to even the big girls.


Gathering the Goodies:
* The Yellow Brick Road cake box.
* Yellow tissue paper (I cut in triangles to better fit in my box).
* Ruby Slipper Earrings.
* Oz Bottle Necklace - full of bits of the Emerald City's magic.
* A triangle that fits into the top of the cake box from the card stock (where I wrote my birthday message).
* The Lolly Pop Guild Cake Pop.

Together at Last:
I wrapped the bits of treasures in pieces of yellow tissue paper and placed them carefully inside the tissue paper lined yellow brick road box. Then placed the card on the top then topped it off with the lid.

I left the box with it's goodies at my friend's house before she was out of bed (I was on my way to work). It wasn't too long before I got a text to what she had woken up to.

It doesn't take much to make a person feel special once in awhile - too often we forget that. Do something special for someone - you'll be glad you took the time.

Oz-Inspired Birthday --- Bottle Of Oz

As I continued through my path to bringing a special friend a special bit of "The Wizard of Oz" for her very special birthday - I wanted to give her a piece of the Emerald City to carry with her (and not just as earrings). (And glitter is the way to a girl's heart - at least some of them. It makes the day better. It puts a smile on a girl's face. It sparkles and it shines and lets it be okay.)

I made her a bottle necklace full of bits of Oz. (Magic pieces of sparkling green bits.)



 
Supplies:
* Small glass bottle (from my stash of little glass bottles).
* Chord
* Craft glue
* Loose glitter - I used a fine silver glitter for the lettering and larger flakes of green glitter for inside the bottle.
*Paper or whatever to protect the work area.

I attached the chord to the bottle with a secure knot. Then using the end of a paint brush, I carefully painted the letters "O" and "Z" down the front to spell "OZ," then sprinkled liberally with the loose fine silver glitter. Then let dry. (Completely!)

I made a thick layer of glue to the top of the lid then covered the glue with a thick layer of the silver glitter to match the letters. Then I let dry. Shake off the excess glitter.

After the glue on the glittered letters and top dries - I filled with the inside with loose green glitter.

Celebrate the little bit of Oz and the Emerald City in all of us!

A Friend's Oz-Inspired Birthday --- Dorothy's Slippers

I have a long time friend who LOVES the movie "The Wizard of Oz" and so as she turns a fairly important number this year I wanted to do something special for her. It started with a pair of ruby slipper earrings.

There are few things that can make a girl smile faster than glitter or a a favorite childhood memory - so the best birthday is something that combines the two. (Glitter is the theme with pretty much every aspect of this "Wizard of Oz" themed present.)



Part I: The Ruby Slipper Earrings

I gathered my supplies:
* A pair of plastic Barbie doll size shoes (the color didn't matter because I knew they would be covered - if you can't tell in the picture, mine where pink). (I had a heck of a time finding an inexpensive pair and ended up buying a plastic fashion doll [off brand Barbie] at a dollar store that had a dress and shoes with her. I set the doll aside for a project to be determined later.)
* A set of silver earring hooks.(Or whatever color you prefer - gold, silver, black...)
* Two silver eye pins.
* Silver open jump rings.
* Red seed beads. (Exactly the ones used in many projects before.)
* Red Glitter - loose fine glitter (I bought mine in a package of assorted colors.)
* Spray Adhesive (I used Elmer's spray adhesive - Craft Bond - and I got carded for buying it.)
* A sharp needle - thick enough to create a hole to put the jump rings through.
* Jewelry making pliers. (Mine has wire cutters as a part of them.) (And any other jewelry making supplies that you might need or have on hand.)
* (Optional) straight pins with a round head
* (Optional) Craft glue - the use as touch ups for glitter as needed.
* Paper or anything else needed to protect work area and catch glitter when shaking. 



Now to start:

Pierce a hole in the top back of each show with the needle. Make sure the hole is big enough for the jump ring to go through. (Better to find this out BEFORE you have it covered with glue and glitter.)

Using the straight pins - I held the shoes up and sprayed them well with the the adhesive then covered them liberally with red glitter, shaking off the excess glitter as I went. Let dry completely (the spray adhesive I used was really tacky as it started to dry and I had glitter attached to my finger nails for a few days after no matter how I washed my hands - good thing the red glitter went with my black nail polish). After they dry you might want to touch up a few spots with the craft glue and more red glue.

Using the eye pins and the red seed beads, I created the dangles that would will attach the the earring hooks to the shoes. (I could have used another color for the beads, but I liked the red with the red.) I made the dangles the same length.

Once the shoes were dry, I attached the jump rings through the holes made before they were glittered and then carefully attached the shoes to the red beaded dangles. I hung them up to make sure everything was set before packing them.

Sometimes there really is no place like home.

Ceramics Flashback

This jewelry box was from my eighth grade art class. (I re-found it recently packed away in a box.) Once upon a time it had a square lid with a handle that fit it approximately. The lid seems to be a casualty of time, but the box itself is in one piece. It still is engraved with my last name and class period on the bottom (from before it went in to kiln) as well as my full name, year, and what appears to be y teacher's grade penciled on the bottom of it. (Pretty sure it was an A.)

 It may not have been perfect but for a kid it was my way from the shape to the heart on one side to the rough rainbow on the other and the green and brown glaze.

I have a lot of great memories from that lass... it seems some that even have something to do with art. It was the last art class I took in school choosing to spent my high school arts in music.

SNake Bracelet

This was a gift a friend made. She makes all sort of jewelry designs from wire. (The snake was one of my favorites, without question.)

"Golden" Bracelet

Props and costumes in theater often have to be done on the cheap, and when I say cheap I mean really, REALLY cheap. And often that cheap means for as little as possible. For a production of "The King and I" there were a number of actors portraying wives and royal children all needing to be well dressed this included gold bands for both children and adults The costume designer (which I helped) was able to create a number of gold bands by cutting thick cardboard tubes from rugs into bands Each band was then deorated with glue to give a textural design then sprayed with gold spray paint and let dry. Viola!

 

Jewelry Bowls

We are surrounded by things that can be given new life and made into something else. I made these jewelry themed bowls, the perfect size and theme to hold rings, other jewelry or change on your dressing table or dresser (I love little things like this).

One of the best parts - everything was from stuff I already had around the house. (And it's even recycled! How can you not love?)

This is a rather easy project that uses paper mache' techniques to create, with drying time taking up the most of the time. Just a little patience is all it takes.

Supplies
* a glass bowl or other container, any size (to use as a mold) - (for this project I used small glass bowls from our cupboard that are were about four inches across and often used for dips or fruit in out house)
* plastic wrap (to cover the mold)
* white glue or Mod Podge (something that will dry clear and secure everything together smoothly)
* old paint brush (for use with glue) - paint brushes are awesome to use with paint or decoupage
* desired paper such as magazine pictures or newsprint (I used magazine pictures of jewelry and gem stones from magazine ads)
* scissors or craft knife (as needed) 
 * OPTIONAL: desired embellishments (such as glitter, pearl wire, beads, ribbon, or whatever inspires you) and something to attach (such as the white glue from before or a hot glue gun)

(1) Start with laying plastic wrap across the bowl that you are using as a mold. This will keep the finished project and glue from sticking to the bowl. (You can use other types of plastic, but I preferred the clear plastic wrap so that I could see through as I worked.)

(2) Start layering the paper with glue inside the mold, using the paint brush to spread the white glue or Mod Podge evenly across the pages. Using the glass and clear to position the images on the outside of the creation. Build this up to desired thickness placing multiple layers of paper and glue. I positioned the inside with images like the outside to create a design. Using the paint brush with glue make sure there is a nice smooth layer of glue or Mod Podge to secure the outside edges and give a smooth outer layer. (You don't have to worry about the edges being uneven that an be taken care of later after everything is dry.)

(3) Let dry.

(4) Once the bowls are more set up you can remove from the mold and gently peel off the plastic wrap. Let dry completely.

(5) Apply more layers of white glue or Mod Podge as needed to seal securely. Spread glue on the outside to secure and seal outside edge.

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO LIBERALLY USE YOUR WHITE GLUE OR MOD PODGE TO REALLY SECURE AND SEAL EVERYTHING INTO ON PIECE.

(6) Trim edges with craft knife or scissors for a lean edge.
 Let dry completely.

(7) One everything is COMPLETELY DRY embellish edge as desired. In this case I used a white glue around the edge then dipped in colored glitter for a couple then pearl wire attached with a hot glue gun. (You could leave plain or embellish with whatever you have on hand such as ribbon beads old jewelry pieces or whatever else.)

Great for gifts or to catch your bits and pieces around the house. The options are endless - you an use any size bowl, attach a few together, add legs or another base. Experiment. Decorate. Share. Enjoy. And never forget to let your imagination run wild!

Bottle Cap Locket Instructions - "Peace is Golden"

I love love love trying new things. Jewelry is pretty high on that list. This love brought me to the Bottle Cap Locket. (In my house, getting my hands on bottle caps doesn't seem to be a problem.) I already have some ideas for variations of this.

Supplies (I used):
2 clean bottle caps
Gold thread (for the "chain")
Small bit of gold ribbon, 1 1/2 - 2 inches
Pearl wire
Paper
Craft Glue

Tools (I used):
Pliers (Oh, look! My pink handled needle nose pliers)
Needle and thread
Hot Glue Gun
Scissors

1) Using pliers (found this works better than a hammer, which does often leave the in weird shapes), bend down the sides of the bottle cap to leave a nice edge. For one locket, you will need two bottle caps.

2) Paint outsides of bottle caps to preferance. I used gold spray paint (it sure has been getting a lot of use!). Just for cleanliness factor I usually spray paint things inside of a box. This keeps the over spray and the colored mist from getting on this I would rather it not. Let dry.

3) While the bottle caps were drying I cut my "chain" from the gold thread, taking three pieces of thread cut to the same length and laying them against each other. I placed a knot in the center of the three, connecting them to each other. I then placed two more knots midway between the middle knot and the end for a total of three knots. I wanted the more loose feeling for this, but I could have braided or used macrame knots here instead if I had so desire.

4) Once the bottle caps were dry I carefully attached one end of the golden ribbon inside one of the bottle caps with hot glue (you could use a craft glue instead). Then attached the other end on the inside of the bottle cap with glue as well, leave a small piece in between, maybe 1/2 inch in length. Make sure these are secure and dry/cool before moving on.

5) Fold the bottle caps on the ribbon in half, so that the bottle cap bottoms meet and line up evenly. Taking the needle and thread hand sew across the top of the bottle cap, making the ribbon piece into a loop to hold onto the 'chain'. Knot and tie off when secure. It will look a bit like a clam here.

6) Using pearl wire I hot glued a ring around the edges of the locket and trimmed a few apart to make a design in the center as well. (You can use any kind of embellishment or use a white craft glue instead, but I like hot glue and the immediate bond with short drying time.) You know have what looks like a locket.

7) For this locket, I chose to include pictures on the inside and opted instead for one side to include a peace sign made from the gold thread a piece of paper cut to size with a clear drying white craft glue to secure. For the other side, I have the message "Peace is Golden" secured with and under a good layer of the clear drying white craft glue.

I found my original inspiration for this project at www.cutoutandkeep.net. Make one for yourself or one as a gift.