Itching to Craft

Since our house is so close to being done, I have been refraining from doing anything too crafty because I want to make sure I can use it once we move in.  And, I just haven't had a lot of time with the house and school.  But despite being so busy, I have yearning to do something creative.

What's best about waiting until we move is the fact that I will have a crafting corner in the new house. It will be a space that my sewing machine can stay out, and I'll have lots of storage space for everything I have.  Oh glorious!

Until that sweet, sweet day, I have been pinning things that I want to make, and will hopefully be able to find a home for it in our new house.

Ode to Pinterest: Crafts

Crafting, such a glorious hobby.  I love it so much, and find so much inspiration on Pinterest, I don't know if I could accomplish it all in a lifetime.  And there would never be a house big enough to fit it all either.  Although, with a new house comes new, bare walls that need filling, so I will be delving in to some projects in the next couple of months.

Here are a few projects that I have done already.  I'm hoping some of them will find a home in our new place.

These are a few that I am itching to try.  I absolutely love the pallet wine rack.  I will be scouting out a spot in our new house for it.  And I can't wait to make the giant ruler growth chart.  The kiddos are shooting up so fast, I might have to make it extra tall.

DIY Gold & Silver Chain Necklace

I have been on the hunt for a basic necklace that I can wear everyday and that matches whatever I'm wearing, whether it's dressy or casual.  So naturally I started by searching Etsy.  Here are a couple necklaces that I found.

I really like the ones above, but I am really cheap and ideally wanted to find something while thrifting, but so far, no luck.  So instead of thrifting one or purchasing one, I decided to try and make one for myself.

I went to Hobby Lobby (which, in my opinion has better jewelry making supplies than Michaels) and found everything I needed.  I wanted a necklace with two rings and was two toned, silver and gold.  So I purchased two chains and two different sets of jump rings.  The only tools that I needed were a pair of pliers and some nimble fingers.

I started by laying the necklaces out and finding the most centered link, opposite of the clasp and removing that link.

Next,  I opened up the jump rings, placing one jump ring at the end of each necklace.

Then, I connected the two jump rings, creating the necklace.

The final step was to combine the two clasps.  It's up to you which color clasp you want to keep.  Just remove the one you don't want and attach it to the one you do.  I chose to use the gold clasp.

And that was it, a great, simple chain necklace for everyday wear!  You don't have to make it two tone or use two rings.  It's all up to you and what you want to do.  My wedding rings are white gold, but I also like to wear yellow gold, so this necklace is perfect and will go with whatever jewelry I feel like wearing.

DIY Infinity Scarf

I'm not really one to think of a great craft or DIY on my own, so I love when I come across a quick, easy and cute idea.  Last week, I was reading my regular blogs and found this little gem.  The original tutorial is from Pink Pistachio, one of my favorite blogs (if you're not a regular reader, you should change that).

All you need is a seamless cotton t-shirt (men's m-xl work the best), a ruler and scissors.  I thrifted my t-shirts and was able to get three different colors for $4.75.  So this DIY is quick, easy and cheap!

Once you have your supplies, cut the t-shirt just under the armpit and above the bottom hem.  Make sure to save the hem, you'll need it later.

Use your ruler to make one-inch snip marks along the side of the t-shirt.  Once you have your marks, cut across the t-shirt, leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch at the end.  Once you've cut your strips, pull on them so that they roll.

Gather the t-shirt along the uncut side and use the bottom hem to tie it all together.  Trim the hem to your preferred size.

Wear and enjoy!  Thanks Missy for the great DIY!

More Headbands

Last weekend, I made a twine headband and got so excited that I made another.  This time, it's a three cord headband from yarn.  It's been too hot to knit (for me, knitting needs to involve blankets, coffee and cool weather), so I figured yarn can always have other uses.

What do you think?  I have some other leftover yarn that I think I am going to try out.  If I keep this up for too long, I am going to find myself with one extra-large collection of braided headbands.  It's better than stamps, right?

DIY: Braided Headband

Last night, I was sitting at my parent's kitchen table when I suddenly got the urge to make a headband, and I knew exactly how I wanted to make it.  Creative epiphanies don't happen often for me, so when they do, I have to run with them.  Well, this time running with it meant staying up later than I wanted, until I got it right.  Once I succeeded, I was off to bed.  Then this morning I got up and made another, but this time I remembered to take pictures to show how I did it.

I used only things that I already had on hand, this was partially out of necessity since the project didn't even begin until 10:30 at night.

Supplies: twine (or whatever you'd like to use for your headband), elastic, scissors, thread, needle, permanent marker, paper clips, and glue.

First, cut the twine and elastic to the size you need, make sure you add some length to the twine if you're going to braid it, since braiding will naturally make it shorter.  And don't be afraid to make it longer than you think is necessary because the ends will be cut off.

Knot one end of each strand and begin to braid.  I start out just holding the twine, but once I've gotten some length, I place the knot under something heavy to help make the braiding easier.  Knot the braid once you are finished to keep from unraveling. 

Once you're finished with braiding each strand, clasp one end to your piece of elastic (side note: I colored my piece of elastic with the permanent marker because I didn't want it to be white).  Make sure there is some overlap between your twine and elastic to ensure that the strands can be securely attached.

When you've clasped the twine and elastic together, cut off the knots and put a little glue at the end to keep from unraveling or fraying.

Now it's time to attach the twine to the elastic.  You can glue it, sew it by hand or use a sewing machine, whichever is your preference.  I tried gluing one headband, but I didn't like how stiff it got, so I would recommend sewing it together if you're comfortable with that.

*Tip*  Make sure to pay attention when you're securing the second side to the elastic.  If you don't, then you could accidentally twist the braid, keeping it from laying flat on your head.

Once you have both sides attached, it's ready to wear!  You can make this with one, two, three or more strands and with anything you'd like; twine, ribbon, yarn, etc...  I even tried out a new hairstyle with mine.

Hope you enjoyed this easy DIY!  If you try it, please let me know what you used, I'm itching to make more and don't need a dozen twine headbands :)

Homemade Bangles

I read this blog, Pink Pistachio.  She's super cute, and has a lot of great tutorials.  When I read this one, I went right out and bought fabric.  Cute, cheap and a new jewelry piece, yes please!

So, this is not an original tutorial.  The full and very informative version is here.  Even if you don't want the tutorial, you should check it out.  I highly recommend it.

Anyway, onto how I made my very own fabric bangles.

I bought some cheap jersey fabric from JoAn's.  Bonus, they were having a really great sale and it was all half off.

To make the bangles, you cut your strips of fabric 1-inch wide, the long way.  Cut several pieces of each, since you will probably use more than one for a bracelet (unless you have really small wrists).

The process to actually make the bracelet only involved the fabric and your hand.  I was a little nervous that it was going to be complicated, but once I got started with one, the rest were super simple to make.  I don't have step-by-step pictures, but like I said, Pink Pistachio has a very informative video. 

 And there you have it!  Super simple, super cute, and super cheap.  You really can't beat it.  What I found helpful though, was to count how many times I made a knot, and then I could know exactly how many would fit my wrist.  The first couple are a little big, but once I figured out the number, they were perfect.  Happy crafting!