embroidery thread

Whoops, life kind of got in the way of any type of crafting for a couple days there...

One supply that's really easy to accumulate is embroidery thread. It's so cheap! And comes in so many fun colors! But it's not like I do all that much embroidery...

 (Sadly, that is pretty much what my stash looks like, stored 

in a Ziploc bag. Need to work on organization for that one!)

Luckily there are friendship bracelet tutorials going around, a great way to use some of that thread. And give your hands something to do while you're watching TV.

I followed this tutorial, which just leaves the ends long so the bracelets can be tied on. But doing that by yourself is nigh unto impossible, so I tried a couple solutions. I braided the ends of one and added some ribbon clasps I had left over from another project. On another I added a bead to one end and made a loop with the other.

 
Still not super easy to put on without assistance (or elegant looking), but that's just how bracelets go sometimes... Any other brilliant solutions out there?

bits & bobs

With all the yard work, traveling, working, and so on that's been going on around here, there hasn't been a whole lot of time for crafting. ALSO: I have started work on sewing my first pattern (an a-line skirt), and it is taking an eternity. First I had to let the supplies sit for a couple weeks. Then I had to watch a bunch of YouTube tutorials to figure out if I was supposed to cut out the pattern itself (answer is yes) and then what to do from there. Then I had to Google fabric grain, and now finally I've got everything laid out so I can trace and cut. At this rate, the skirt should be ready for wearing in the fall.

But here are a few odds & ends (or bits & bobs, as my colleague in the UK would say... delightful) of copy-crafts that I posted ideas for earlier and have gotten around to.

Paper flowers (from Jones Design Company tutorial). These were so fun and easy (and didn't require any shopping for supplies) that I whipped up a bunch. I plan to stick some of them on wire to make a little bouquet, but I also used them to pretty up the envelopes for mothers day cards.

Wrapped bangle (see also these ones from Martha). I had an old cheapy one that wasn't getting much use, so I restyled it into this with some embroidery thread. I am really into coral right now, so this was a perfect (and cheap) way to add some coral to my jewelry box.

This was as easy as it sounds - just attach the thread to inside of bracelet with a dab of glue and wrap; to end, leave a tail long enough to thread a needle in order to pull the tail under the wrapped thread on the inside of the bracelet to secure it.

 before

after

bow projects

I'm kind of in love with my bow tee right now... If you like big bows too, here's a round up of projects for you:

Wearable:
A while ago I made this jaunty bow necklace out of a piece of leather and a chain.

Momtastic sewed this cute fabric bow belt.

I Still Love You has a tutorial for a fun leather bow cuff.

And of course there are lots of ways to make a bow headband - here's a simple ribbon bow headband from M&J Trimming plus a genius bow headband from ripped tights idea from Megan Nielsen.

For the home:
Say Yes to Hoboken made this adorable bow pillow; the bow is a modification of the tutorials I followed on the tee - i.e. it's achievable for beginner sewers! (Also, while we're on the subject of bow pillows, you have to check out this adorable one on Etsy.)

 How easy and fun is this bow napkin from Martha Stewart?!

 [all photos from source listed above them]

i could make that

I know we all see items in stores or online that we could make for cheaper... Frankly, sometimes I'd rather just buy the store version (lazy?), but with some things it's fun to have a personal touch or choose my own colors. So not that I ever get around to all my grand ideas, but here are a few recents I've bookmarked to make at home:

Urban Outfitters thread wrap bangle bracelets - $19.99Make at home with thread and a cheap-o set of bangles (I have a set that's tarnishing and needs to be revamped anyway); you can get these at places like Forever 21 (example set for $5.80, or thinner ones for $2.80).

Pottery Barn homescent candle pot - $12.99 eachMake at home with $2.99 Ikea candles and alphabet stamps, which I happen to have on hand (similar).

Faux bois lamp shade via Amazon - $99.91Make at home version could be rigged up with an Ikea shade ($10) and this gift wrap ($7.49) from the Container Store.

leather wrap bracelet

I finally got around to my first Project ReStyle project this weekend... One item I've been wanting to restyle into something new was my leather gloves, because one day while I was in the shower, the dog managed to get into my purse and do this to one of them:

Now that one of my gloves was not so much usable as a glove, I thought I'd repurpose the material into a wrap bracelet.

First I removed the fuzzy lining and then used a straight edge and rotary cutter to cut loops. After detaching the stitching to turn the loops into strips, I attached three of them with grommets, and then added more grommets for embellishment.

After that I put a ribbon clamp on one end, wrapped around my wrist to determine the right length, trimmed a little off the leather, and then added the other clamp with clasp.

felt fan necklace

Here's another necklace I made recently, inspired by this one from Anthropologie:
I thought it was kind of whimsical, and something I could definitely pull together very inexpensively with all the scraps from my felt flower mania.

Supplies:

• Felt
  
• Beads
• Chain
• Jump rings/clasp
• Glue gun

To start, cut out felt circles from three different colors; I used a spool of thread as my template for size. You'll need 5 of each.

Using one of the circles as a base, fold a circle and glue half of it to the base; repeat on the other side of the base with another folded circle, leaving a small channel between them. With the last two circles, put a very thin line of glue down the center so they hold their fold but still fan out a bit. After placing the chain between the circles that are glued to the base, glue the two folded circles on top.
Add a bead on either side and repeat with the other felt colors. Finish with another bead on either end, cut the chain to desired length, and add jump ring/clasp.
(I think the original has a spherical fan of felt. I decided to go with a flat back so it lays nicely, but it would be easy to add 4 more circles to the back to make it into more of a ball....)

bow necklace

I think it might be the month of jewelry making around here, since I am participating in Kendi Everyday's 30 for 30 challenge in which I have to make new outfits out of my 30 items (not including accessories) for the month, plus there's no shopping allowed.

But that shopping ban doesn't carry over to craft stores... and so it's a perfect time to finally make some of the necklaces I've been planning for a while as new accessories are handy in putting together interesting new outfits.
My inspiration (I hope not plagiarism - but this blog is COPY-craft) for this one is from these absolutely adorable necklaces from Etsy seller ulala. I almost bought one of hers, except for the aforementioned shopping ban - plus I had several of the supplies on hand already, so I thought I'd try my own.

Supplies:

• Suede scrap (got this one in jewelry aisle at Michaels)
• Bow template (got mine by doing a Google image search for "bow silhouette")
• Scissors/hole punch
• Chain
• Jump rings
• Clasp
• Wire cutters

I started by tracing my bow shape onto the back of the suede piece, and then cutting it out and punching a tiny hole in each top corner. Then I figured out how long I wanted the necklace to hang and cut two lengths of chain accordingly.

Attach a jump ring (these just twist open pretty easily with your fingers, if you haven't used them before) to each hole along with the piece of chain and close the ring. Attach a jump ring to the other end of both chain pieces as well, and add the clasp to one of them before closing.

And that's it!

hand-made christmas

Now that I've given all my gifts, I can finally share what I've been up to! Here are the hand-made presents I did this year:

For Peter's brother and sister-in-law, monogrammed napkins for each family member. The napkins come in 4-packs, so I did cute little fruits on the remaining ones, which can be used by guests or any particularly messy family member who has soiled his own (and I say "his" because with 4 of the 5 family members being male, and 3 of those males being little boys, it's bound to happen...).

For Peter's sister, a fun bracelet:

For my Grandma Judy, a poinsettia pillow cover:

For Ginger the puppy, embellished microfiber cloths. She loves to go out in any weather, so she's been coming back inside a bit wet lately with all the snow romping. These will be handy to keep by the door for some quick wipe-downs:

And for all the ladies in my life (grandmas, aunts, moms, cousins, sisters), I made felt flower pins (tutorial examples here and here). I printed "merry christmas from anne" on 5X7 cardstock and cut them in half; then I punched 2 small holes to thread the pin through. There were a variety of flower pin colors so the ladies could choose their favorite color or the one that would look best with their coat...

stacked beaded bracelet

My mom came across some great bracelets at a store recently and thought they would be something we could easily replicate while I was home over Thanksgiving. And they were easy - once we managed to finally decide on which beads we wanted to use!

the inspiration piece

Supplies:

• Memory wire (coiled wire that holds its shape)
• Selection of beads
• Wire cutter
• Needle-nosed pliers

First, select beads in a variety of sizes and shapes for interest - you'll need need enough of each type to wrap once around your wrist, and you'll want 7-10 types, depending on how big you want the bracelet. You can line them up on the table to get an idea of what order will look nice.
Then, cut a section of wire that will fit the beads you've selected (one coil per bead type) and make a loop at one end with the pliers. Slide the beads on, making a full circle of each type, so that when you finish it will look like several separate bracelets.

Once all the beads are on, cut off any excess wire and then make a loop at the end.

There's obviously a huge range of bracelets you can make with this, depending on the beads. My first one was more bold and my second a bit more subdued.
My mom made a really fun one with more variety of colors.

These could be a great Christmas gift - especially if you catch beads half off at Michael's or Hobby Lobby like we did. We estimated $12-$15 per bracelet we made. I love them both so much that they will be hard to part with, but one is going to go to someone on my Christmas list....