Colorful, cheap, fairly easy to make and highly customizable (DMC floss comes in just about every color one can think of), friendship bracelets are a quick and easy gift. A gift that has some thought behind it, without being over bearing.
I don't know about you, but I never learned how to make them when I was younger. If you are in the same boat as I was, don't worry, they aren't as complicated as they might seem.
The multicolored bracelet in the above picture is a simple chevron pattern. The tutorial that I used was from Honestly WTF.
Below, I have the pattern I made up for the other two bracelets (hard to believe but they are the same, just different tension was used on the knots).
Since I'm new to this whole thing, I won't go through the headache of trying to write up an explanation on what a forward and backward knot are (ever heard of the blind leading the blind, lol), so instead I will direct you again to the Honestly WTF tutorial. The biggest thing I had to keep reminding myself was to DOUBLE knot, so I suppose that is the only advice I have for you.
You will need:
2 Embroidery flosses in the main color you like
1 Embroidery floss in a contrasting color (you can find these at most crafting stores, I found mine at Walmart for 30 cents each)
Scissors
Tape
The
bracelet I made used 10 strands of floss. 8 strands will be your main
color (MC), 2 strands will be your contrasting color (CC).
Start by cutting 8 strands of MC and 2 strands of CC at 32 inches. The one I made was 24 inches and just a tad too short for my liking, so i would add a few inches if I were you.
Step 1: Knot all strands together, and then part into three sections (since 10 can not be divided evenly by 3, it is okay for your sections to be uneven).
Step 2: Braid for 2 inches, knotting the end so your braid doesn't unravel.
Note: Tape down the braid well so you can really pull on the floss as you go. It might also be helpful to tape the bracelet down as it grows for added stability.
Step 3: Pull out pieces of your floss so that the pattern is, 2 strands main color, 1 strand contrasting, 2 strands main color, and this repeats on the other side.
Between Step 3 and 4: Here is the unseen work of double knotting the main color across for 2 rows.
Step 4: You should now have your contrasting color on the outside edges. To make the border for your heart, take the strand directly next to CC, and double knot backwards for the left side and forward knot for the right side.
Step 5: Work the CC across remaining 3 MC strands.
Continue working 2 rows of MC, the one special row with CC and then 2 more rows of MC, until bracelet reaches desired length.
Once so, knot the end, braid for 2 inches and then knot again. Clip your uneven strands with scissors. You're done! Try your bracelet on or give it to a friend, either way, this cute accessory will brighten your day.
In this part II of my "from pierced to clip-ons" twofer, I'll show you how I converted a pair of studs to clips.
Since I made these a few weeks ago they have become my go to for a classy and work appropriate look. I am slightly obsessed with them.
Pearl earrings add so much charm, yet, there is nothing charming about paying $11 dollars for a pair. Since I am so adept at loosing that one earring, I could never justify the cost.
The studs I used for this diy were actually a gift, so I don't know their price. However I have seen similar studs in sets for under $5. Paired with the blanks which run around 25¢ a pair and around 10 minutes, and you can have a thrifty pair for half the price!
Let's get going!
You will need:
1 pair of stud earrings
1 pair of clip on earring blanks
Needle-nose pliers
Hot glue gun (not pictured)
1 - 2. Starting with your clip-on blank, and using the cutters on the needle-nose pliers, carefully trim off the loop. The easiest way I have found to do this is bend the loop to a 90 degree angle and then cut it parallel to arm of the earring.
3. Taking your stud, remove the backings and then using the snips on your pliers, remove the sharps. Try to get the profile as smooth as possible.
4. With your hot glue gun, place a dot of glue on the earring. Since you are trying to hide where the stud was, try dabbing the glue on that spot.
5. Hold to clip-on blank until the glue sufficiently dries (at least 1 minute). Note: if you try to rush this step the glue might not set as well.
6. Further secure the earring to the clip on by adding a string of glue from one side of the earring, over the arm of the clip-on and then to the other side of the earring. This connection will help the earring stay in place.
7. Let the earrings dry completely before messing with them. Wait for the hot glue to go cold (this can take up to 10 minutes).
Finished!
Helpful hints: Though the temptation is strong, please make sure your glue is dry before trying them on for the first time. If the glue isn't completely solid, it might just break right off, taking off the pearl coating with it once you have to start over and take off the now dried glue ... (not speaking from experience here ...) and that wouldn't look as pretty.
Also, though I have gotten away with it, try not to take them off by pulling at the pearl/charm/stud. I like to think of it as if you are pulling electrical cord out of an outlet and pulling it by the cord instead of the plug. It isn't the best idea to pull at the weakest link.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you are interested in part 1 you can just click the link below.
Part I DIY: From Pierced Dangle Earrings to Clip-ons
In this quick part one of two tutorial, I will be showing you how to change dangle pierced earrings into clip-ons.
I like the way earrings look, but don't like the idea of having piercings. Clip-ons are the obvious choice, however, I've found them to be hard to find, and fairly expensive at that, especially in comparison to their pierced counter parts.
Yearning to make my own after seeing how easy the process was at a mall kiosk, I searched for the clip-on blanks and finally found them at Micheal's. Fourteen blank pairs for around $3! What more could a girl ask for?
Let's get started!
You will need:
1 pair of clip on blanks (Bead Landing is the brand I found; they come in gold and silver. Mine are silver)
1 pair of earrings you wish to convert
Needle-nose pliers
1 - 2. Using your finger tips, gently pull the charm off of the pierced earring hook. Note: depending on how tightly the charm is attached, you may need to use your pliers.
3. Self explainatory shot of the seperated pieces. (hook and charm)
4. Using your needle-nose pliers, open the ring on one of your clip on blanks.
5. Gently hook the charm onto the open ring.
6. Close the ring with your pliers.
Enjoy!
My name is Chelsea and I
have a very slight case of hoarding. When I say hoarding, I don't mean
that I am typing this whilst sitting amongst a pile of trash. What I
mean is: I keep things that others might consider useless, to use in an
unexpected way in the future.
Such is the case with this little box I remade from a old computer part packaging.
My dad was about to toss it, but as always (being the thoughtful man he is) offered it up to me first. I saw the potential immediately. though it was originally orange, the pull "drawer" completely won me over.
A few months ago, I found myself needing to organize my desk. I came across the box again and decided it would be the perfect, little, miscellaneous, storage spot. So I set my mind to "glamming" it up a bit and thought up the idea to wrap it in some girly wrapping paper I had left over.
On the open end, I just folded the paper inward and taped it down. Super simple.
Best thing about this: you can change it out as little or as much as you like, and if you are careful enough when you unwrap your box, you can easily reuse the same paper if you want to change it back in the future. Another great thing, is you can use up scraps of wrapping paper and if you love a particular wrapping paper, this is a great way to be able to "enjoy" seeing it everyday.
