Hey guys!

I'm moving to Tumblr.

Here is the new link:

Tumblr link

Shrinkydink Kiss Studs

Sorry I haven't been posting.  I was in mexico. So that was cool.  But if you need this blog for procrastination purposes (looking at you Nancy) I apologize sincerely.  I really do.  Anyway, One time my friends and I were studying for a test.  Well, sort of studying.  Anyway, we put on lots of lipstick.  It was hot pink.  And we kissed a map I believe India a lot.  It was very pink.  I liked the shape, so today I'm making tiny shrinkydink kiss studs.

First, I just took some shrinkydink paper.

Then, I put on a lot of hot pink lipstick, so that was fun.  Then I kissed the plastic on the shiny side.

Then on the non-shiny side (I'm sure there's a smart word that isn't non-shiny) I traced the lipstick kiss mark with red colored pencil.  Then I used four different colored pencils to color in and shade the plastic.  You can do it however you want.  You can even make it in green.

I cut out the plastic.  If you want, you can cut out the center, but you're going to have to glue on earring backs so I don't know if that will work.

Then I just traced and recolored the same thing on another bit of the plastic.

Then I baked them as the instructions told me to.

Next, I used Elmer's glue to glue on the findings.

I let that dry.  And that's it.

Yay. Okay.  Goodbye.

-Amelia

PS  Nancy, do your HW!

Wood Chevron Necklace

I know I just did a post with wood skewers and leather rope, but I have so much of it, and it's so cheap!  Anyway, I saw a really cute set of metal chevron necklaces on Project Runway.  It's a very inspiring show!  I don't have a way to cast metal, but I do have a lot of cheap wood skewers.  So there you are!

SO take your skewers, and cut them into pieces.  For every chevron section, you will need 6 even sized pieces.  You may have to adjust size a bit later.

Then, use a hot glue gun to glue them together into a chevron shape like the one below.  The easiest way to do this is by making two Vs, then connecting them.

I made two of these, but you can do any number.  In the picture below I have an extra V shape just so you can see that as an option.

Then, just use hot glue to glue a little bit of leather cording to connect the pieces you have.

Just glue on some jump-rings at the top of the necklace.  Add some chain.

And there you are!  Super trendy chevron necklace, at your service!

-Amelia

Plastic Rope Teardrop Necklace

You know how people alway say not to play with fire?  Well guess what we're doing today?  Okay, what I'm writing to tell you how to do today....  Anyway, my point is, we're playing with... wait for it.... FIRE!  What a shocker!  You had no idea, right? So I bought a big thing of that crappy plastic rope at a junk store.  I'm not insulting the store.  It was a store that was full of bins of junk.  Anyway, this big thing of rope cost like two dollars, so I decided to make a necklace.  I grabbed a hot glue gun, a candle, and some blue ribbon (not in the picture below, sorry, I know you're disappointed in me!)

Anyhoo, I first cut the length of rope I wanted.

Next, I lit the candle and put one end of the rope over the flame.  Make sure not to put it right into the flame, cuz it will burn.  If it catches on fire, just blow it out.  Let the plastic rope melt a bit.  Then, roll it on some glass, and then along your finger once it has cooled down.  Then, just heat the other side, and press it onto the first end to make a loop.

Then, do the same thing over again with different lengths or rope to make different sized loops.

Next, use a hot glue gun to attach the loops to each other.

Then, take some ribbon or cloth.  I used a nice blue ribbon.

Then I sewed my ribbons together.  Of course, you may not need to do this, but I did.  I used black thread for stylistic reasons, but you can do whatever you want with the backing.  Next, use a hot glue gun to glue the rope onto the backing.

Then, cut out the charm.  If you had stitches in the backing, make sure to go over the end of the stitches with hot glue so they don't unravel.  I also frayed the edges on mine, but what you should do depends on your fabric.

Then just add a loop of wire at the top and glue it on!

And there we are.  I used the same ribbon from the backing as my chain.

So despite some minor burns, I think playing with fire worked out okay.

-Amelia

SImple Rustic Skewer Necklace

So I just went to Blick art store, and I got some thin basswood skewery things.  I liked them a lot.  I had this idea for a cool negative space, rustic modern necklace.  I took them home, all excited about my cool necklace, and opened a kitchen drawer, and what do I see?  Skewers.  Okay, so they're round, and the ones I got are more rectangular, but still.  Anyway, what's done is done.

So first, I grabbed some of my fancy rectangular skewers.

Next, I cut one of them into four pieces about the size I wanted (only 3 of them are below, deal with it.)

Next, I took one of them and painted just one side of it silver with nail polish.

I really like it because it's a bit sparkly, and not just silver.  I'm not really a glitter girl, but with the rustic vibe I think it balances out.  Then, I just took my four pieces of wood and used a hot glue gun to glue them together.

I like the arrow shape, and the asymmetrical part.  It's a little Katniss, right?  So, next I just cut off the ends where they went on too long, and pulled off the extra glue bits.

Finally, I just added two jump-rings and put it on some cute leather cord I bought.  I also made another charm like this one out of the normal skewers.

I really like them, even though they are a bit different from my normal funky style.

-Amelia