DIY: Ear Pin

 Need some last minute New Year's Eve jewels, or something simple and pretty to start the new year off right? Well, nothing could be easier than an ear pin. They may be a little confusing at first: as in, "how does that thing even go in your ear?" But, once you get the hang of them you'll want to make a million.

DIY: Quartz Crystal Ring

Materials:

Small raw quartz crystal

Plain ring

Jewelry glue

Tooth picks

DIY: Crystal Ball Earrings

Everybody needs a pair of sparkly earrings, right? So why not make your own!

Materials:

24 small crystal beads

Clear fishing line

Stud earring components

Glue

Optional: beading needles

DIY: Paracord and Crystal Bracelet

If the popular Chan Luu style wrap bracelet and the para-cord friendship bracelet got together and had a baby, I imagine this is what the bracelet would look like. If you have ever made a Chan-Luu style wrap bracelet, this is fairly similar. However, instead of wrapping the thread around the two outer cords, the thread goes through the para-cord.

Materials:

Length of para-cord

Needle; Coordinating thread

Handful of crystal beads or small beads of choice

Scissors; Lighter; Tape

DIY: Agate Bead Ladder Necklace

Pinterest is my number one go to site for inspiration. It is kind of an addiction, actually. When I stumbled over this necklace from Jewel Mint it got my DIY senses tingling. My inspired piece uses beads that are much smaller, and twirly (I don't know how else to say it) bars instead of straight.

Materials:

Chain

22 gauge wire

3 agate beads or beads of choice

4 links of bar chain

Wire cutters; round nose pliers

DIY: Two-tone Chevron Stud Earrings

I have been gone a little longer than I thought I would have been. But, the blog makeover is done... for now. On to crafty things! I have seen a few cool tutorials for earrings made out of clay. But not everyone has some, or wants to buy a big package just to make a few earrings. Here, I introduce to you earrings made out of cardboard! Chances are you have some of that lying around.

Materials:

Two Different Paints; Sealer; Paint Brush

Medium-thickness Dense Cardboard

Stud Earring Components

Strong Glue

Scissors; Tweezers 

DIY: Chevron Tassel Necklace

Happy new year everyone! I hope it has been good to you so far.

 

I made this necklace a little while ago with the idea that it would go perfect with a dress for new years eve. But it is also a great everyday necklace.

DIY: Stretch Pyrite Bracelet

I have been ignoring my blog for a couple of weeks now. With end of semester projects, finals, and holiday preparations it seemed to fall to the bottom of my to-do list. But, now that school is over for the holidays I hope to get back into the habit of making and blogging.

If you need a last minuet gift or a little sparkle for a Christmas party this is the perfect bracelet. Stretch bracelets are perfect for beginners: they require no special tools. They are also great for gift giving because you do not need to know the exact size of the receiver's wrist.

Where to Find Inspiration

The holiday season is coming up, and that means it is time to start thinking about gifts. If you are a DIY'er like me that means it is time to start making gifts. If you are a little lacking in the inspiration department, fear not. I have assembled some of my favorite websites that I often browse to find inspiration.

DIY: Delicate Bead and Chain Bracelet

It is that time of year again. No, not late Halloween or even early Christmas. It is craft fair season! I've been busy fixing up jewelery, perfecting my display, and hand cutting business cards. My hands hurt! But I managed to come up with a little DIY using my favorite stone: goldstone.

 

You can use any kind of stone or small bead in this very versatile bracelet.

DIY: Tiny Spike Ring

Rings are some of my favorite accessories. I own quite a few but almost never wear them. I have got to change that. Starting here with this adorable ring.

Making a ring can be very intimidating, but is actually quite simple. I was so excited when I spotted these spiked beads at Michaels that I bought two packs. Follow for how to make this cute spiked ring.

DIY: Crochet Flower Necklace

A little while ago I made some crochet flower hair clips. And since I had quite a few flowers left over I decided that they would make lovely components for a necklace. Here, I've used two to make a delicate and feminine necklace that would look adorable with anything.

 

My dad is constructing some sort of monstrosity in the backyard and there is plywood everywhere. I took advantage of this opportunity and decided to change up my background.

DIY: Wrapped Bangle

Do you have any ugly, old, or uninteresting bangles sitting around? Its so easy to update them with a little scrap suede and leather cord!

When it comes to crafting I'm always skeptical about using hot glue. For some projects it can be useful, but 99% of the time I'll choose another type of glue over it. But, this is that 1% of the time that I chose to use hot glue.

DIY: Stretch Jewel Rings

I've noticed over the last couple of years stores have opted to make the majority of their rings using stretchy cording. I guess this is in order to appeal to a wider range of finger sizes without having to make different sized rings. It also makes it easier to gift rings if don't know a person's finger size. These rings are made with similar stretchy cord and craft jewels. They are great if you have left over jewels from other projects.

My jewels are cheap plastic ones from Michaels, but glass crystals would really sparkle! These jewels, like most jewels I have come across, have two holes along the sides and the instructions accommodate for that.

DIY: Crochet Flower Hair Clips

Need something super adorable to put in your hair this summer? Well, look no further.

These use pre-made crochet flowers that I found in Michaels. But I'm sure if you're crafty enough with crochet needles you could probably make some yourself.

DIY: Tassel Necklace

The sunshine is finally here! Yay! And so is the sweltering heat; and the sweating; and the skimpy clothing; and the thick slathering of sunscreen. Now I'm not so happy anymore.
How do you take your mind off this beautiful but sometimes uncomfortable paradox? You make stuff. These tassels happened to miraculously appear from somewhere and I have been wondering what to do with them. Because I had three, I didn't want to make earrings and have one left over. So logically, I made a necklace instead.

DIY: Multi-Strand Chain Necklace to Bracelet

Do you have a favorite necklace from your Grandmother (or just a fabulous vintage find)? For me it's hard to choose because my Grandmother gave me so many. I have this one:

 

I like it, but have never worn it because it's not really my style. Also, the main reason I like it is just for the clasp. Which you can't see when you're wearing it. 

 

So, I turned it into a bracelet where the clasp is the focal point. Follow for how to turn a multi-strand chain necklace into a bracelet. 

DIY: Neon Fabric Spray Paint Tee

This DIY has been the first almost-fail in the history of this blog. I have seen some interesting tutorials on the web for at-home screen printing with freezer paper. I wasn't sure what freezer paper was but soon found out that I didn't have any. But it is similar to wax paper, which I did have. I found other tutorials that stated that you could use wax paper for screen printing, the only difference being that you can't directly iron on the wax paper, you have to put another material over it. I tried that and... No matter how hard (or hot) I ironed I could not get the wax paper to stick to the t-shirt. So on to plan B:

DIY: Craft Lace and Box Chain Bracelet

There's no doubting it, this past year has been the year for craft lace. Everyone has seen the ever-popular chain and cobra stitch bracelet. Of course I also had to jump on the band wagon and buy tons of it. Yet I still haven't used it all up (actually I still have A LOT left). But for those of you who have gone craft lace crazy and only have scraps left, this is the bracelet for you.

 

Bright and on trend, just in time for summer.

DIY: Fabric Flower Bud Earrings

I'll tell you something a lot of people probably don't know or even notice about me. I don't have my ears pierced. I also don't have plans to get them pierced any time soon. This is the place where you stare at the screen and go What! How can someone who makes jewelery not even wear one of the most essential pieces? I don't really know. Well for one thing the whole word 'pierced', like with a needle, doesn't really sit well with me. I've survived this long without pierced ears, why change that.

One thing I do know is that not having pierced ears does not stop me from making a whole load of earrings. Mainly to sell, but also for my sister and mother. So now that it's pretty much summer (Yay sunshine, finally), the flowers are starting to bloom. Here I've made some cute earrings inspired by flower buds.