These simple earrings are perfect for using up seed beads leftover from another project!
Seed beads are usually sold by weight, meaning you often end up getting more than you need. But then you only have a few left over, so what do you do with them? Make these simple bead and jump ring earrings! This is also a great beginner project which is great for practicing using pliers and jump rings. Read more
I don’t know about you, but I can never have enough storage. After coveting the many basket-weaving DIYs and inspiration over on Pinterest, I wanted to create something out of cotton rope, that was purely knotted and woven. Its perfect for storing everything from jewellery, washi tape to erm, tea!
Basketry is an ancient craft; archaeologists have found examples in Egypt dating from 12000 years ago! Here in the UK, examples of woven fences and vessels have been found at an Iron Age site near Glastonbury. Update this age-old technique with cotton rope from the DIY store. And because the rope is cotton, you can even dye it different colours! Read more
Perfect for springtime, make this cute bunny rabbit using needle felting!
I love needle felting! That you can take fluffy, unspun wool, stab it with a needle and end up with a cute little 3D object still amazes me! Read more
What is Needle Felting? Its the technique of taking fluffy wool roving and stabbing it with a special barbed needle to create felted objects. It is similar to traditional wet felting were you felt wool using hot water and soap. Both methods tangle the loose wool fibres to make a solid felt fabric. Needle felting allows you create 3d shapes a lot easier and because there is no water involved, doesn’t need time to dry.
Learning to make jewellery is really fun, but it can be a bit confusing to know how to use all those little bits of metal that connect your jewellery together. These metal components are called findings. Jump rings are findings that look like little circles of wire, and they attach things together, clasps to chain for example. If you don’t correctly open or close them it can not only look untidy, but can mean your jewellery can come apart. But, its really simple to use them effectively! Read more
Make your own unique buttons using shrink plastic and permanent ink!
Its not like I don’t have enough buttons already, but sometimes you just need something special. These shrink plastic buttons are perfect for all kinds of craft projects, and as they use permanent inks can even be used on clothing*. Read more
It is fast approaching spring here in the UK and it’s also nearly Mothers Day (or Mothering Sunday) so I am celebrating the two events in this tutorial to make a beautiful beaded flower brooch!
This brooch uses a technique called French Beading, which despite the name, is thought to have originated in Venice in the 16th Century. The method uses fine wire strung with tiny glass seed beads to form 3d flowers. It became especially popular in Victorian England, but fell out of favour due the technique being associated with the creation of funeral wreaths! Now French beading is often used in making bouquets and favours for weddings, as well as for all year round floral arrangements. I mean, flowers you don’t need to water? Sounds good to me! Read more
This sweet and simple beaded bracelet use just a few seed beads and some thread and is finished with a sliding knot.
You will need:
-1.5m of S-Lon Thread
-16x Size 6 or 7 seed beads
-Scissors
-Ruler
-Superglue
-Tape
How to:
1. Cut two 50cm lengths of S-Lon and knot them together, approx 15cm from one end.
2. Stick the shorter ends down to your work surface with some tape. Cut the longer ends at an angle, to make threading the beads onto the thread easier.
3. Take one bead and using the longer ends of thread, take one through the bead left to right and the other right to left.
4. Pull the ends tight until the bead sits up near the knot.
5. Now with two beads at the same time, take one thread left to right and the other right to left
6. Pull tight so these beads sit up against the first
7. Repeat the process with three beads and then four beads
8. Then go back to three, then two and one. Tie another knot just after the last bead.
9. Knot the ends to match the other side. Cross the ends together ready to tie the sliding knot.
10. Take another 50cm length of S-Lon and tie a series of square knots around the two main threads. A step by step of how to tie a square sliding knot is available here.
11. Trim off any excess thread and finish with a tiny dab of superglue. Seed beads come in so many amazing colours and the S-Lon has a gorgeous selection too, so why not make an wrist-full!
If you make your own version of this diamond beaded bracelet or have any questions feel free to comment below or message me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook!! Happy Making!
This updated version of string art uses bakers twine or embroidery thread stitched onto card, makes a wonderful Valentines card or frame-worthy piece of art!
As a kid, I remember a piece of string art hanging on the wall in our hallway. In string art, thread is wrapped between pins that have been stuck into a wooden or cork surface. Made by my uncle Charlie, it was a wonderful seventies number, all orange and brown sparkly threads. It always fascinated me, so I’m so glad I have found this type of paper embroidery is so similar, but much easier to display! And less seventies….
You will need:
–Template
-Card
-Pin
-Tapestry Needle
-Bakers twine (or Embroidery Floss)
-Washi/Masking/other low tack tape
-Piece of thin foam or felt
-Scissors
How to:
1.Print out this template. If you print out on A4 without altering the scale, it will be just the right size for a A6 card. Trim template down to approx 1cm smaller than the front of your card. Temporarily hold in place with some washi or low tack tape.
3.Place the card onto your foam or felt surface and use the pin to punch a hole through each dot.
3.Thread your needle with 1metre of twine.
4.Leaving the paper template in place (you can rip it off later after all the stitching is finished) stitch from the back of the card to the front at point 1, leaving a 10cm tail. Hold the tail in place on the back of the card with a bit more tape.
5.Insert your needle in at point 2 and come out at point 3.
4.Take the needle in at point 4 and out a point 5. Follow this pattern of counting six points along clockwise to take your needle in and bringing it out another point along, going back in six points and out the next. After a few stitches, the pattern will become easier to see.
5.From point 13 you will be going through holes that already have twine in them (these points are numbered on the outside of the heart), just keep the pattern going.
6.Keep going until your needle goes in point 34 at the bottom of the heart.
7. Turn the card over and weave in the tail. Re-thread the start of the twine and weave this in too. Trim off any excess.
8.With another 1m of thread in your needle repeat the process on the other side of the heart, this time working anti-clockwise. So coming out of point one, counting six points along and taking the needle in, one along and stitching back 6, etc.
9.Weave the ends in as before and rip off the paper template.
You will need:
-Thick brass wire, minimum of 1.2mm to 1.5mm
-Thin brass wire, 0.4mm to 0.6mm
-Household wire cutters
-Chainnose pliers
-Nail File
How to:
1.Cut 40cm of the thicker wire. Bend in half and use something like a Sharpie pen or similar at this mid-way point to create a smooth curved teardrop shape.
2.Take the chainnose pliers and grip one side of the wire just below the point where the two wires cross and bend it straight up.
3.Repeat on the other side
4.Cut a short (20cm approx) length of the thinner wire. Create a right angle bend about 1cm from one end. Hold this short end along the length of the thicker wire and begin tightly wrapping around the bangle, moving towards your hand.
5.Wrap about 5 times before tucking the end under the wrapped section, pulling tightly and cutting off the excess. Use youe pliers to make sure there are no sharp ends poking out
6.Use a cylindrical object (I’m using my craft storage stacker!) that is slightly smaller than your wrist to form the shape of the bracelet.
7. Measure the bangle around your wrist allowing an extra 1.5cm to create the hook. Cut off any excess wire (use household pliers on thicker wire so not to dent your nice jewellery pliers!). Use another piece of thinner wire to create another wrapped section approx halfway around the bangle.
8. Use the chainnose pliers to bend the end of the bangle back on themselves, creating the hook. You might want to use a nail file to smooth the ends.
9. Create a final wrapped section just before the hook. Adjust the bangle to fit.
Let me know if you use this tutorial to make your bangle, by commenting with a link or message me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook! Happy Making!
