Jewelry Crafting

General supplies: Choose your beads plus wire cutters, jewelry pliers and crimp beads.

General directions: Follow this tutorial.

Our necklaces:

• Bob's Necklace (top left) - Use jewelry wire and make 3 or 4 strands of equal length, interspersing slightly larger beads for variety. Thread pendant onto necklace. Attach all strands to a multi-strand clasp.
• Jess' Necklace (top right) - Thread all beads onto jewelry wire and close with a lobster claw clasp. Symmetry is important.
• Stacy's Shell Necklace (above) - Follow directions for Jess' necklace.
• Stacy's Crochet Marker Bracelet (above) - Use six large lobster claw clasps to make crochet markers and attach them to jewelry chain. 
• Stacy's Yarn Spinner Necklace (right) - Attach yarn spinner and beads to a long crocheted strand.

Homemade Ornaments

We used yarn, ribbon, sewing pins and Styrofoam balls
to make these ornaments at a holiday party!

For design #1: Use thick ribbon, tie into 6 knots, close the loop, and add a bell.

For design #2: Pin pieces of three colors of ribbon into place on ball.

For design #3: Wrap three colors of yarn around Styrofoam ball.

For design #4: Wrap yarn around a paper ornament form.

For design #5: Wrap yarn around ball and secure with pins at top and bottom. Add extra pins and wrap yarn around them on side of ornament.

For design #6: Wrap ribbon around Styrofoam ball, securing with hot glue as needed, and finish with pins on top and bottom.

For design #7: Wrap thick ribbon vertically around ball and wrap a thinner ribbon around it.

For design #8: Use small design pins to secure a small bead and a sequin all over ball.

For more inspiration see this example and this other example.

Gifts Post - Gifts in a Jar, Pet Portraits, and Decorated Candles!

Tonight was a choose-your-own-adventure night of crafts.

Gifts-In-A-Jar by Stacy
1-Pint jars she made:

• Mexican Fiesta Dip Mix
• Mexican Hot Cocoa Mix (see recipe below)

1-Quart jars she made:

• Friendship Cookies
• Taco Bean Chili Mix

Candles by Bob
She bought flameless candles** - just as great-smelling as regular candles but zero mess, zero stress. She decorated them by hot-gluing a thicker ribbon and then a thinner ribbon around the candles, finishing with a bow.

Pet Portraits by Jess
The portraits were created using watercolor paint. You can see them by clicking here.

UPDATE: Jess finally made her gifts-in-a-jar too! It took 3 hours (surprisingly long).


*Mexican Hot Cocoa Recipe for Pint-Size Jars

• Ingredients to make 3 jars:
• 5 cups powdered milk
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3 tsp powdered vanilla non-dairy creamer
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• To fill gift jars:
• Mix all ingredients and divide equally among three pint-sized jars
• Use tulle or other fabric on lid of jar and tie on a decorative bow
• To make hot cocoa:
• Combine 2 1/2 tbsp mix per 1 cup boiling water and stir
• Each pint-size jar makes about 6 servings of hot cocoa

For more gift-in-a-jar ideas, see this example and this other example and this further example and yet another example.

**Note: "Flameless candles" are also called "electric candles" or "battery-operated candles." They have an LED light instead of a flame.

Sewing Night: Fleece Socks/Slippers

Socks/Slippers Project: Buy an easy fleece sock/slipper pattern. Alternatively, cut out for each slipper:

• A) Sole - Piece for around the bottom of your foot
• B) Heel - Piece going frombottom of your heel to 4 inches above your ankle
• C) Top - Piece for over the top of your foot going from the tip of your toes to 4 inches above your ankle

Be sure to cut out the pieces so the direction of most stretch runs across them, not top-to-bottom. Now sew the sole piece to the heel piece, right-sides together, along the base of the heel. Next, turn the seam allowances in towards the heel piece and sew, this time using a zigzag stitch. Now, unfold the sole-heel combination and pin to the top piece with wrong-sides facing out. Sew all the way around the outside of the slipper leaving an opening at the top for your foot to enter. Turn the slipper right-side out. The only thing left is sewing the cuff - Fold about one inch of the cuff inside the slipper and sew all the way around the cuff once. Done!

For those who do not know how to load a sewing machine: Here are some general instructions – you will still need your sewing machine’s manual. Turn your machine on. Load thread onto a bobbin using the bobbin-winder on the top of your machine. Now, load the bobbin into the chamber underneath your machine. Next, load your spool of thread on top of your machine and follow your manual’s directions to get it to come out near the sewing needle. For my machine, the thread has to be caught by a little hook at the top of the machine, and then feed down and around a knob, then up and through a hook, then down and through another hook. Next thread your sewing needle from front to back and hook the thread throug the foot. To get the thread from the bobbin underneath up, turn the knob on the side of your machine until the needle comes down and hooks and loops that thread. Keep turning the knob and it will bring up the thread. Pull both of the threads (the one coming from the top and the one coming from underneath) up and away from you and your machine so they won’t slip away. Place the foot down to clamp your fabric under the needle. Begin sewing!

Batik Dying: Skirt and Purse

Skirt project: We used red, purple, and black dye in that order and a paint brush. Before dying the fabric, a design was painted on with wax. After the skirt was dyed red, the excess dye was rinsed out but the wax was left on. Next, more designs were painting on with wax and the skirt was dyed purple. Then too the skirt was rinsed and allowed to dry without removing the wax. Finally, more designs were painted on with wax, and the skirt was dyed black. The skirt was rinsed with water to remove the excess dye, and then run in the washing machine on the hot cycle to remove the wax.

Note: The red dye came out more pink than red, and the black dye came out more purple than black.

Purse project: We used a star stencil, a paintbrush, and blue and yellow dye. Using the stencil as a guide, I painted wax along the inner edge of the stencil. When finished with the design, I added blue dye and yellow dye in a ratio of approx. 2 parts blue to 1 part yellow. Using two colors created a more muted color when the project was finished – I think the more different colors you mix in one dying bath, the more muted the final color of the dyed fabric will be.

Note: Before the wax was hot enough, the painting was more difficult and the wax didn't get into the fabric as well. Try to get your wax really hot so it glides across the fabric.

For those who do not know how to Batik: Get beeswax and heat until it until it's very runny. Meanwhile, you can draw your design on your fabric with a pencil (the marks will wash out). Use paintbrushes to dip into the wax and “paint” with it on your fabric. The areas you paint with wax will not absorb color when dyed. You can also use metal cookie-cutters as stencils. When you are finished painting your design, it’s time to dye the fabric. Get a large bucket. We used an old kitty litter bucket. Fill 3/4 full with water and add dye according to package directions. We used Rid dye – it’s available at Walmart and Michael’s. Immerse fabric and stir several times over the course of 20 minutes. The longer the fabric is in the dye, the richer and darker the color will be. Also, you can combine more than one packet of dye in order to get a mixed and/or more subtle color. Next, toss out the dyed water and rinse your fabric in water in the sink or bathtub to remove the excess dye. Finally, boil water and remove it from the heat source, then put your fabric into the boiled water to remove the wax. You can add a bit of detergent to the boiled water to make removing the wax easier. For us, we chose instead to remove the wax by running the fabric through the washing machine on the hot cycle. However, the wax may clog your washing machine, so weigh that risk when deciding what you do.

Notes: For us batik-dying was a multi-night project. Also, the fabric ended up lighter than when it was first pulled out of the dye bath. Be aware of that when choosing how long to leave your fabric in the dye bath.

Beginner Crochet Projects

Starbucks Cozy project: Crochet a row that is the height you want your finished cup cozy to be. Continue crocheting rows until your cozy can fit snuggly around a cup. To close and finish your project, just crochet into your original row and tie a knot or bow.

Crochet Bracelet project: Crochet about 6 chain stitches to begin this project. That will be the width of your bracelet. Turn and crochet the subsequent rows until the bracelet is a comfortable length for your wrist. To switch colors, just knot the new color of yarn to the old yarn, cut off the old yarn after your knot, and continue to crochet.

For those who do not know how to crochet: Repeatedly make a chain until you have your first row. Now you’re going to crochet the second row from right to left. Make an extra chain stitch. Now dip your needle into the top of the last loop of your first row. You will now have two loops on your needle. Next, hook yarn on your needle and drag that yarn back through only the first loop on your needle. At this point you will have two loops on your crochet hook. Now hook yarn on the end of your needle and drag that yarn through both of your loops. Now you will again have only one loop on your needle. Time to start over! Dip your needle into the top of the next loop to your left so you have two loops your needle and continue by pulling yarn through the first loop only and then through both loops. When you get to the end of your second row, flip your piece 180 degrees so you’re once again starting on your right. Make an extra chain stitch. For your third row, and any row you start after that, dip your needle in under the V-shape of your last regular stitch. You will now have one V and one loop on your needle. Pull yarn under the V only, resutling in two loops on your needle. Pull the yarn through both loops and get ready for your next stitch! Dip in under the next V-shape and continue!!

For those with advanced crochet skills: Check out Stacy's website, Crochet Kitten!

Homemade Bath Oil

Combine the following in a glass container you can seal – makes a great Christmas gift!

• A) 1 cup Jojoba Oil – It’s chemically similar to the natural oils in your skin, so the finished product easily absorbs into your skin


• B) 1/2 cup Avocado Oil – It’s a natural sunscreen, moisturizer, and antioxidant; it’s more potent than olive oil


• C) 1/2 cup Olive Oil – It does the same things as avocado oil but much it’s less expensive


• D) 30 drops Jasmine Essential Oil – It smells pretty, but you can use any essential oil of your choice such as Peppermint or Vanilla

Hair Pins

Get artificial flowers at a craft store like Michael’s. Look for ones that will lie rather flat on your head and avoid those that have a larger round bulb at the point where the flower’s head meets its stem. That way, your pin won’t look like some sort of alien creation sticking up out of your head. Also buy hair clips at a supply store like Sally’s Beauty Supplies. Figure out the flower arrangement you want for your hair clip including leaves, which you will use to camouflage and cover the silver hair clip. Separate your flower(s) and leaves from their stems. Crop the flower very close to its stem so that it will lie as flat as possible on top of the clip. We used gardening clippers. Now open your hair clip and place something in its teeth to catch the excess glue so that your clip will not stick together. We used excess leaves. Next, hot glue your leaves on top of the clip, covering its silver shape completely. Now glue on your flower(s). When the glue was dry we removed and discarded the excess leaves we used to catch glue that seeped through.

Note: If your flower starts to come apart, just glue its bottom layer to the leaves and glue each successive layer to that until you’re done building the flower back up. Also, if you want to do a hair pin with a peacock feather or other non-floral centerpiece instead, you can use scraps of fabric to cover the sliver clip instead of leaves.

For another example of hair pins see this example.