Dragon Pin

This dragon pin was made from a "gumball" toy machine at the movies where you put in a quarter or fifty cents and get toy or, in this case, a necklace and it only took about five minutes to make.


Items used:

• Plastic dragon off of the necklace
• Hot knife
• Silver paint (or silver paint pen)
• Pin back
• Hot glue gun and glue stick

I used the hot knife to cut the circular plastic piece off of the top then used a silver paint pen to touch up the white plastic the was underneath where the circular piece had been.











I then applied hot glue to the center or the back horizontally and pushed the pin back down and allowed to drive.

Pinball Necklace

This project is for Day 6 for 30 Days of Creativity and with a category of pinballs, so I chose to use a toy pinball necklace from a friend's party and craft it into a necklace.   I had all of the items on hand so it didn't cost anything to make.  
 


First, I made paper beads:

• Paper
• Scissors
• Gluestick
  
• Paintbrush
• Spray paint

  

I used old magazines and backed the pages with regular paper then cut into long sloping shape (see right hand photo).  The width and length along with whatever tool you use to wrap the "bead" around (I used a paintbrush) will determine the shape of the bead.  I wanted mine more eclectic so I used different widths and sizes.

You start at the wide end, apply the glue stick to the inside length then start rolling it tightly until you reach the end.

I also spray painted mine lightly to give it a more cohesive look, but instead a clear spray paint or Modge Podge could be used to seal them.



 
Rest of the necklace.

• Small toy pinball game
• Cap off of Axe Shampoo
• Hot knife
• E-6000 glue
• 24-26 inches of ribbon

On the Axe cap, I cut a hole in each end wit the hot knife and threaded the ribbon through and then secured it where I wanted with E-6000.

I cut off the top of the lid and the spigot towards the top so I had a smooth surface.

I glued down the toy pinball game and added the paper beads two paper bead to the top and the remaining paper beads at the bottom and tied a knot at the end.

PROJECT {DOLLAR STORE} ACCESSORY CHALLENGE - WEEK 1

As I posted yesterday here Dollar Store Crafts has a challenge to correspond with Project Accessory.   The challenge was to create a belt, a necklace and one other accessory to go with a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans based on items from a thrift store (or in my case, using the materials I found in my garage).

I decided I would go with sort of a car theme and for a busy Mom or babysitter on the go.  Sadly, just like on the show, I ran short on time and ended up sacrificing quality for just getting the job completed.  Doing this gave me a whole new appreciation for what shows with these sorts of competitions go through as they make it look fairly effortless.

THE PURSE

I will start with the third piece as I like how it turned out the best.  I used the license plate, the purse and the broken Hot Wheel.  I cut down the purse at the bottom and flattened it and cut off the straps and attached one of them to each end instead of the sides.  On one side I glued the license plate and added 4 brads for decoration and to help hold it on the bag.  On the back, there was an ugly spot where I removed the bow that had been on the purse, so I glued the broken Hot Wheel to cover it up, and it also gives the purse a different look depending on what side is facing outward.  I used velcro inside and glued it in to hold the purse closed.

THE SCARF/NECKLACE

I used the t-shirt to make the road and turned two of the cars into pins to use on the road.  

The other items used were thread, yellow fabric paint on the necklace and velcro, pin backs and E6000 glue on the cars.

For the cars I wanted to make it so the pin could be taken off the back and the car to still be used as a car.  The idea was to be able to take off the necklace and have it double a  race track to entertain a tot at Dr.'s office, visiting a relative, etc.  

If I had to it to do over, I would also use larger pin backs as I think it would lie down straighter when pinned, but I used what I had on hand.

THE BELT

The belt is made out of one of the straps and the snaps of of the purse and the wheel off of the model car.  The other components are thread, aluminum tape from the hardware store and E 6000 glue.

How to here.

Check out  Dollar Store Crafts to see what Heather and others have made.

Happy crafing:)

Duct Tape Necklace

This necklace was made entirely out of duct tape for this month's challenge at Craftster.org

While it might not be a quality piece that you would want to wear on a daily basis, it would be a good alternative to use to make a costume piece for Halloween as it is much lighter than a chain this size would be and you wouldn't have cold metal against a bare neck if you wore something other than a turtleneck on a windy night and does look more realistic from a distance.

I cut two twenty inch strands of the duct tape and cut each of those strips into three equal parts.

I also cut several smaller pieces about and 1/4 wide and 1 inch long.

On four of the strands, you are going to fold into thirds toward the center of the tape to create each strand.  The red in the picture represents the center of the strand.  Fold over the left edge over then center, then the right.  Repeat on three more strands.

 

To create each strand in the twisted strands, tape a thin strip of tape the ends of two strands together at one end and then anchor to a table with a heavy book or have someone hold the other end and pull one strand over the other and continue to do so until you come to the end and then then wrap a thin strip of tape around the ends.

Repeat with the other set of strands.







With the two remaining 20 inch strips fold in half of in thirds (I did mine in half - I think it would look better if it had been folded into thirds and tape one end to a twisted end and the other end to the other twisted end.

Tape the two open ends together and you have a DIY Duct Tape Necklace.













Check out some of the other amazing items other users made out of duct tape:

Miao inspired headpiece

 Screen Sirens- made entirely out of duct tape

An old chair recovered into a Narnia throne

A duck made out of duct tape :)


 











For a listing of all entries, click here

GOTHIC ROSE TRASHION NECKLACE

See Gothic Rose Trashion Necklace and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

This is for Day 27 of 30 Days of Creativity for the theme "Extinct Media".  As I have lots of old VHS tapes around the house I decided to craft a necklace using the magnetic tape inside the cassette.

The finished necklace looks much better in purpose because the shiny surfaces catches and refracts the light.

Trashion Jellyfish Necklace

This is for Day 15 of 30 Days of Creativity www.30daysofcreativity.com and the theme is Sea Creatures and I decided to make this Jellyfish Necklace from the bottom of a water bottle, clear ribbon from used correction tape, glue, a headpin and clear beads and stretch elastic and a lobster clasp.

I have posted a tutorial for this over at Cutout + Keep
Happy crafting:)

Picnic Themed Trashion Necklace

This picnic themed necklace for Day 13 "Picnic" theme for 30 Days of Creativity www.30daysofcreativity.com.  When I think of picnics I think of gingham table cloths, plastic utensils, 2 liter bottles of sodas and ants.  

Fortunately, I had all of the item in my stash and it is is made entirely of recycled/upcycled material except for the crochet thread holding it together and glue from a hot glue gun.

The ant is off a purchased cake, the fabric "bead' from scraps of two different types of gingham, a washed knife and spork, two diet coke caps.   I have now posted a "How To" over at Cutout + Keep
and would love to see any inspired pieces that someone else would come up with.

I was excited to see this featured on One Pretty Thing

Happy Crafting!

Geeky Chic Einstein Inspired Necklace

This is for Day 13 of 30 Days of Creativity www.30daysofcreativity.com and today's theme is Albert Einstein and decided to make this necklace using the circuit board of an old remote and gold dimensional paint with the obvious "E=mc2" but to the side of that add the elemental symbol, number and atomic weight of Einsteinium, which is name after Albert Einstein and is and artificially produced radioactive element and the 99 of the Periodic table of elements, represented by the letters Es and an atomic weight of 252 then sprayed it with a clear coat.

The black part of the necklace is part of an old keyboard cord from a keyboard I salvaged.

To further represent the Einsteinium I made two beads out of polymer clay using a small straw to make the hole in one and made it big enough on one end for the cord and the shape of the plug on the other bead and a partial hole with a small straw on the other side then baked for 15 minutes, let cool and then painted with red spray paint.  To give it a radioactive effect I used green glow-in-the-dark fabric paint and painted over the red.

I used two headpins and twisted them then put them in the other side of the bead and secured with high strength adhesive.  I added a few jump rings on the the circuit board and then connected them to to head pins.

I used two headpins and bent them to resemble coils to attach to the ends of the circuit board.

OUTFIT CHALLENGE POST - CASUAL FRIDAY

This is part of a challenge posted by Carly at Chic Steals For more information click here.

The sweater is one that I have had since my son was young and got it because he has always been crazy about cars and I did literally forgot that I still had it until I stared pulling from the back of the closet for this challenge.  It is a Lisa Nichols that I purchased at resale garment shop for around $5.

The jeans are Old Navy "The Diva" boot cut jeans which are still sold here.   I don't wear them often as they sit about an inch lower than the natural waistline and are bit big.

The shoes are Kenneth Cole Reaction from a few years back.  They are bit plan, but very comfortable and have lasted up very well.

The necklace is my DIY Silly Bands necklace with the tutorial here.

The shirt underneath the sweater is at St. John's Bay T-Shirt from K-Mart. 

SILLY BANDS NECKLACE

Super simple fun accessory!

Where I live one of the latest crazes for kids is "Silly Bands", which is basically colored silicone material in fun shapes from words to themed shapes such as trucks, sea creatures, dinosaurs and girly items and even some celebrity shapes. I bought a package of 12 dinosaur ones at Kroger for $.99 cents, but if you don't have them where you live they are sold on E-Bay http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=SILLY+BANDS&_sacat=See-All-Categories.   As they were too small for my wrist, I crafted them into a necklace.  It is a fun piece to wear but one word of caution is that if you have long hair, you might want it wear it up if you wear this necklace because the ends can get tangled and snagged in the bands.


Items used:

• 10 Silly Bands
• 30 10mm Jump Rings
• Jump Ring Tool, purchased or or DIYed or two pairs of needlenose pliers

 Pick out which shapes you want to use and how you want the positioned on the necklace.

Use the jump ring tool or the pair of pliers to twist each of the jump rings open

 Hook one jump ring to each end of the Silly Bank then use the jump ring tool or pliers to close.
 Then use a jump ring to connect the jump ring on each end of the Silly Band.  To make sure they stayed connected and pushed the rings together with my fingers so they overlapped a wee bit and it was ready to wear in about 10 minutes!

I am linking this to

Go check out all of the cool things other have crafted, sewn, cooked, baked or decorated!

FUN FRINGE BIB NECKLACE FROM AN OLD T-SHIRT

Flirty, fun fringe necklace - imagine how fun this would be to wear when going dancing!

This awesome concept is by Maegan over at "love Maegen", except I added a few beads to mine.

http://www.lovemaegan.com/2009/06/diy-t-shirt-to-fringe-necklace.html

Items used for this project:

• Top of an old t-shirt
• Scissors
• Beads with a wide opening (pony beads would work well)

This took me 10 minutes to make and did not cost me anything as I had everything on hand.
Start with at t-shirt - I used what I had left over from my no-sew skirt.
http://craftsandcreationswithkathy.blogspot.com/2009/06/5-minute-t-shirt-to-no-sew-skirt.html

Cut around the neckline in back until you reach the shoulders, then cut across and cut off sleeves. This is what it looked like when I did that:
I then trimmed the t-shirt into a curved shape like so.
I then made cuts into the fabric all the way around. It makes a fun look if you stop here, but I picked a few strands and added beads off of an broken necklace and tied a knot to secure them.

CRAFT FAIL - Cursed Tribal Easter Egg Necklace

While it seems mild mannered enough hanging on the picture of my sweet baby when he as six months old, it is deceptive. It twists, it turns, it convergences with other parts and knots itself with every step - it is cursed! I got the inspiration for the necklace at the above post as it turned out very lovely. http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=303494.0 It started out well enough with some innocent decorated plastic Easter Eggs. I used craft scissors to cut the plastic into pieces and laid out how I wanted the finished necklace to look. I then had my son drill holes in the top of the pieces I then put jump rings on each of the pieces. If I had stuck to the original idea and used a chain to attach the pieces, all would have probably gone well, but I saw the lovely orange pre-beaded ribbon at the dollar store and thought I could make mine even more exotic if I used the ribbon and I attached the pieces around the ribbon and right away ran into difficulties with the rings sliding over the pre-beaded beads and getting knotted. Not to give up easily, I decided to attache the jump rings in the center of the ribbon between the beads and while making them, it seemed to work out ok.

The problem came when I actually tried to wear the necklace, because as there was movement, there were problems. Worse yet, I wear a clip on badge to work and it got ensnare and entangled in that and then plastic pieces started digging in where the seatbelt was. It was not so pretty by the time I finally got it off. I think this will have to join my "Zonked Zebra" as some sort of decoration on a box that it can be glued down to or just cannibalize it for parts.

Jellyfish Necklace

This was made from a decorative tassel found at the Dollar store and 24 inches of ribbon 1/8th inch wide ribbon.

Dragon Egg Necklace

This is inspired by and based on the same concept as the Dragon Eggs I made previously and inspired by Melros's Dragon Egg necklace at http://www.dadcando.com/

http://www.dadcando.com/default_MAKING.asp?project=DragonEggPendant&catagory=TheDragonry&lhs=TheDragonry

The majority of time involved on this project is baking the fimo, allowing it to cool and allowing the paint to dry.

The cost to make this necklace was well under $1.

Materials used:

- Fimo Clay - used less than 1/4 of the brick for this project

- Tulip Glitter Dimensional Paint

- Straw (to make a hole in the top of the egg)

Not pictured

- Wooden skewer stick (optional - to hold the egg while painting it)

- Jump ring

- 1/8th inch wide Ribbon

- Bead

- Plastic bottle cap (to place wooden skewer across to balance while bead is drying)

I rolled a bit of the clay to form the shape of an egg, then stuck the straw through it to make the hole.

I baked it for 30 minutes at 230 degrees then allowed it to cool, then painted the egg with the Glitter paint then let it dry.

You can use a wooden skewer or the small plastic straw to hold the egg while you decorate a design onto it with the fabric paint or glitter glue.

I put the wooden skewer across the top of the bottle cap to allow the paint to dry.

Once dry, I added a jump ring through the hole in the top of the egg, then Cut ribbon to the length that you would like (mine is around 24 inches) then thread the dragon egg onto until it is centered and tie it to the jump ring.

Then twist the ends together in order to thread the bead onto the necklace.

Pull the bead down to the top of the jump ring, tie knot at the ends and you are done!