Pinspire Me Monday: Cracked Marble Pendant

Happy Monday!

Time for another...dum da dum dum...

Are you growing to love Monday's?  I think I am.

So here's this week's pin:

Source: craftster.org

Aren't those purty!

When I read how to do this, I just had to try it for myself--it seemed too easy to be true.

I baked mine at 325 for 20 minutes and plopped them into a bowl of cold water.  It worked, though I don't think I achieved quite the same faceted effect as the gorgeous ones above.

I topped it with a bead cap into which I inserted a rounded wire and threaded it onto a satin rope.

I'll be playing with this just a bit more to see if I can get more cracks in my marbles.  Just what I need, right--more cracks in my marbles!

ETA: go ahead and cook them up at 500 degrees for 30 minutes to get more 'crackage.'

If you've been pinspired by something you pinned on Pinterest, please link it up in the sidebar.

Happy Creating!

A Cuff and a Cozy {and a giveaway}

 I am so grateful for the boundless array of crochet patterns that people so readily share on their blogs and on sites such as Ravelry.  When I sit down to crochet, I feel like I am channeling a bit of my ancestral heritage, that maybe my grandmother and her grandmother before her sat in much the same way, rocking in a chair sipping tea in between rounds of crochet.  And then I think how fortunate I am to be living in the age of Google and Pinterest and to have access to the huge assortment of designs and tutorials, most of which are free. So to all of you who share your patterns with the world, I thank you from the bottom of my little  crocheting heart.

A Cuff

I used this pattern to make a cute cuff bracelet, just the perfect little accessory to some jeans and a t-shirt.  And now I think I've got the hang of foundation single crochet without having to watch the video a hundred times!  Thanks, Alice!

A Cozy

Not that my iPod needed another cozy--this thing almost has more cases than I have outfits--but I just loved the shell stripes of this adorable pattern from Shweta.

And a Giveaway

Yesterday kicked off Day #1 of Big Picture Scrapbooking's 2011 Big Idea Festival: 

You can still sign up to play along.  

So what does this have to do with anything?  Well, yesterday's word was "Share" and today, since I'm feeling grateful to those who share their talents online, I would like to share a bit of my "talent" (using this term loosely here) and give away a cuff bracelet like the one pictured above.  

To enter, leave a comment with a note about what you are feeling grateful for these days.  I'll pick one at random and stitch you up a little cuff to fit your wrist.

Floral Bib Necklace

The other night I watched Marion Smith's Bib necklace tutorial and was totally drooling.  Could something so gorgeous really be that easy.  Well, guess, what?  It was (almost). A trip to 2 craft stores (sans kiddos!) and only one burn from the hot glue gun later and voila:

I am so in love with this!  A huge thank you to Marion for inspiring me.  And hey, check out Lolly Chops' gorgeous teal one.  Now go watch the vid, get yourself some yummy Prima, and whip one up for yourself!

A few more flower projects

The Flower Power Crop is still going strong at Scrapbook Heaven, and projects are pouring into the gallery daily.  Go check them out!

Here are a few more I wrapped up last night:

Paper: DCWV and My Mind's Eye; buttons: unknown,  letter stickers: AC Thickers; stamp: Autumn Leaves

This page uses  Scrapbook Heaven's Friday sketch.  The button flowers are from this tutorial for the Flower Power Crop.  With the sketch and the button flowers I had already made, this page literally took 15 minutes from start to finish.  Another one of those no-time-to-scrapbook busters!

These little earrings had me so excited while I was making them last night (and I don't even wear earrings!).  They go together in a flash (less than 10 minutes each).  And all you need is some colored wire (you'll see the color in the center of the flower), some seed beads in the color(s) of your choice, and some earring fixtures.  You can read through the tutorial linked above, but I will throw in some of my own tips.

1. cut about a 1 foot length of wire
2. thread 1" of beads onto the wire leaving an inch or 2 of wire at the end
3. curve the wire into a petal shape keeping the beads taught, give a twist
4. thread another 1" of beads onto the wire and curve into a petal
5. wrap the long length of wire around the base of the petal
6. continue threading the beads and wrapping the wire until you have 4 petals
7. on the fifth petal, thread just under a 1/2" of beads
8. slip on earring hook
9. thread rest of beads until you have 1" in total
10. form into petal and wrap wire
11. wrap short end of wire between petals to form a nice center (use the leftover length as well)
12. twist to finish in back and trim excess.
13. repeat for other earring

I'm thinking these would make adorable slides for a chain or leather cord necklace, too.

The last project for today is this cute little drawer box. I am hoping to do a quick tutorial to share with you tomorrow.

box open

Washer Pendant How To

Thank you Pinterest for making this one of my most viewed posts!  If you like crafty tutorials, be sure to check out my other fun projects linked above.

Wow, where does a week go? I finally had a chance yesterday to make a few more washer pendants and snap some photos along the way. So roll up your sleeves, here goes.

You will need:
The washers I used were 1 3/4" and 1 3/8" zinc-plated.

Step One:
Clean the washer with a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol to remove any dirt and oils.

Step Two:
Place drops of alcohol ink randomly over the surface of the washer.

Step Three:
Use an applicator (Ranger makes one specifically for this, but I don't have it--yet, so I just used a basic cosmetic sponge I had in my stash) with a bit of Blending Solution and dab at the washer to lighten and mix the inks. Add more droplets as needed to create a design that you love. There is no right or wrong here, and what I loved most was how forgiving the inks and blending solution are. If it's too dark lighten with solution; too light, add more ink.

Step Four:
Wrap a piece of wire (mine was 24 gauge) around your washer. Start the wire in the back, and be sure to cover over the end as you wrap around. With each pass through the center, thread 1-3 beads onto the wire. Keep wrapping and threading until you like. Snip off the end and thread it beneath the wires in the back. On the smaller washer, I skipped the wire wrapping and glued on some tiny rhinestones. Forgot to snap a photo of it.
Step Five:
Add a hanger and you are done. I used a premade leather cording that already had the fasteners, but you could use ribbon, string, jute, yarn, chain, and add your own closure, or simply tie it large enough to slip over your head.

I couldn't believe how quickly these came together. You could lay out a bunch at once and work simultaneously on them. I think they would make great gifts, too! I turned one into a keychain by hanging a shorter piece of cording and attaching it to a split ring. Enjoy!

{Note: these images are the result of my own work, and are copyrighted by me under content of my blog.  If you would like to share this project on your site, please use only one photo and include a link back to this page.  Thank you!}

Washer Pendant Necklace

I am so excited about this little diddy I put together tonight. I hope to make more of these over the next few days complete with step-by-step directions. Stay tuned!

ETA:  You can find the step by step tutorial {here}

Materials: Tim Holtz alcohol inks, alcohol blending solution, wire, beads, zinc plated washer (from the home improvement store)