(re)freshing: A Silk Flower Rubberband/Clip Tutorial

"Wait a second...silk flowers are TACKY."

Yes. Yes they are.

But not all of them,per sey.

Plus,nothing says spring like flower in your hair!

Plus plus! The cost is minimal and the project is quick and simple.
PLUS PLUS PLUS,it's a pin-up girl throw back,only,ya know, classier.

Win-win-win!

Here's how...

Step 1. Gather your supplies. You will need...

• Rubberbands(the coated kind, not the ghetto rubber kind) or hair clips or bobby pins or headbands or whatever,really. You could even use a pin backing fro a broach if you're wild and crazy.
• Felt. Yes,it can be the cheap kind, it's just for gluing to the bottom of your flower. We used "eco-felt"(Ooooooooh,snobby!) 'cause we had it on hand.
• The best crafting item EVER Hot glue gun and work surface sufficient for it's use.
• Scissors
• Silk flowers! Choose pretty 'uns. Micheals and Hobby Lobby pretty much always have them on sale, and the dollar store carries them,too.

Behold,supplies.

Step 2: Get your glue gun heating now and start deconstructing your flower. What this entails is pulling it off the stem. From there it's pretty simple. Just pulling apart layer. We recommend only going a layer at a time,however.

Yaaaaaay,destroying flowers!

Step 3: On your work surface, start gluing the petals of the flower together,one layer at a time,working from the bottom up. You're going to be doing this for a while. Once you get to the LAST petal or CENTER,depending on the flower type you're using,consult the instructions again.

Just a dot in the center!

Layers! Good thing hot glue dries fast,eh?

Step 4: You at your center now? Congrats! From here you have a two options. You could (a.) continue in the traditional manner and finish the flower off with the remaining part,or (b.) glue a rhinestone or something in the center. Your choice. Should you go traditional, we have a few tips left for you...

If you have a layer center flower(no fake pollen-y looking center),like a carnation, take the remaining layer and hold it in your hand. Moving fast,glue a droplet of glue in the center and pinch close,the giving it dimension. Glue it to the center,fluff, and you're done until the next step! 

Pinching!

Nice'n'fluffy? Good! You may move onto the next step now.

 If you have a "center" center flower, you will have been peeling layer off the bottom of your center. Now you probably have what resembles a yellow thing on a tiny stick. You're going to want to cut that apart as close to the base of the center as is possible,then proceed to glue that smack dab in the middle of your flower. You're done with the flower assembly!

Oh no's!

Glue and press!

Step 5: Cut out a square of felt. If you are gluing to a rubber-band or headband, you're done cutting felt. If you are gluing to a clip or bobby pin, you have to do the slit-y thing seen in the bottom right hand corner of the picture below. You could always glue directly to the clip, but our experience is that it will fall of fast if it has nothing to grip to. You have been warned.

Examples of how one might use their felt square differently depending o what they end up gluing their flower to.

Step 6: Glue your flower and felt together,sandwiching your hair thing in between!

Sorry for the truly awful photos of this process.

Voila! Super cute,cheap, and springy!

A new daisy clip in action!

Awwwwww,the flower ponytail holder and clip together! Sooooo cute.

Did this all make sense? Let us know if it didn't! Betsy has been making them for years,so hopefully the idea got across well enough,as well,it's pretty simple.
This is such a fun,fast project. You can easily have friends over and whip out a bunch of these in 10 minutes flat!(Tea party with flower clip making? We vote yes.)
It would also be great for a little girls birthday party! Our church actually something kind of like this for our Christmas craft night last year and it was a huge hit!
Sorry for the crappy photos! We're still getting used to tutorial photography,hehe..

(re)freshing: Chain Earrings Tutorial

Have you too,noticed all the sweet chain earrings everywhere?

Are you to, too cheap to pay $12 or more for said earrings?

We made a quick pair (seriously,QUICK. This whole project takes about 10 minutes,tops.) with supplies we had on hand.

Free beats $12,in out opinion.

Unless you want to give us $12.

(In which case that's different...)

Anyways, wanna find out how?

Here's the skinny on your new pair 'o sassy earrings...

Step 1. Gather your supplies. You will need...

• Earring hooks. We had some in our stash, but Micheals normally has them for about $3 for a small infinity of them(rough guesstimations of both numbers.)
• Jewelry Pliers, but if you wanna use real pliers, we won't tell.
• Scissors. The project is hinged on it! Use a strong pair,but bear in mind it will be cutting chain. We used out second-from-best. Yes,we rate our scissors.
• Annnnnnnd chain. In this project, the thinner, the better. Just big enough loops to string it on the earring hook. JUST big enough. Not big enough to individually pry the links;however.

 

Step 2. This will feel absolutely ridiculous, but hold the chain up by your ear whilst looking in a mirror. Why? You need to figure out how long you want them to be. Everyone has different opinions on how long earrings should be, and it also greatly depends on your face type. But we digress. Find a length you are comfortable with and mark the spot with your finger. We went for about 2', but you may feel differently.

(no picture 'cause we have too much self respect to post it,ha.)

Step 3. Taking care NOT to cut your finger, cut the chain where you marked it.

Be prepared for the link you severed to potentially go flying.

 Step 4. Using your pliers, open the loop of your earring hook. This is very elementary and we doubt we should have to walk you through it.

Step 5. Loop the bit of chain you cut off onto the open loop. Try it on(carefully) to make sure you like the length!

Thar she be.

Step 6. Once comfortable with the length, take your bit 'o chain off the earring hook. Vaguely line it up against the "big" chain, and cut multiplies. We liked the simple look for 3 chains per earring, but hey, maybe you like things more dramatic. No need to be a perfectionist about the chains lengths,it'd look weird if they were all the same length. You just want the separate earrings to look semi-uniform, that is all.

 Step 7. Loop the chains onto the earring hook and CLOSE TIGHTLY. Other wise they will fall off and that would just be embarrassing/ infuriating and you'll run late getting ready because you had to string them back on. Not that we'd know or anything.

Loop 'em!

...and close it! Like the awkward pose for the pliers? Us too!

 Step 8. Wear,rock,and enjoy. Beats $12? Yes. Yes it does. And it's so inexpensive a project you can easily get more earrings out of your supplies,which means hey! Good presents, are we right? Yes. Why yes,we believe we are.

Not to shabby for stuff we had on hand!

We like!

This would be a great way to use up little bits of chain leftover from jewelry projects! It would also look fantastic if you used a few different gauges of chain. Yay earrings!

(re)freshing:Jewelry Tutorial Roundup

 Want some fresh,fun new pieces for spring without spending a buttload?

(You know you do.)

Here are some sweet ideas for you!

How awesome is this anthro-inspired tutorial from Flamingo Toes? Answer:Pretty darn!What a great stash-buster!

Sophie from The Sisters 4 has a tutorial over at Dollar Store Crafts for making this gorgeous bib necklace out of a t-shirt. Swoon!

Got scraps and a t-shirt sleeve? You've got a bracelet! Find out how with Paige and Keira at Crafty Kids and Co!

Just say YES: A t-shirt to anthro necklace! Find out how at Mandipidy.

See these bracelets? They used to be an old purse! Get the low down here.

Adventures in Valentines

Well dear readers, we were on a retreat this weekend, thus the complete lack of posting and or commenting on your lovely stuff,which we regret. That said,we did have a fantastic time cross country skiing, sledding, and doing other types of  winter activities,and just in time,apparently, as it's supposed to hit 50 degrees in our neck of the country by the end of this week(w00t!) We brought along valentine making supplies for down time,which came quite in handy,we'll tell you.We made some quite ugly valentines for funsies, and then the next day Betsy made cute ones with one of our friends,who happens to have mad crafting talent. Here are some photos for you...

Homemade hot cocoa and crafting is a lovely combo...

Valentine makin' supplies,of both the hideous and adorable variety.

That's Jonie in the ruffles. FYI.

A super cheesy ugly Valentine for a mutual friend of ours...

We stayed busy,you see.

The card reads:"Even if I have to bite the dust a million times,I will never be your valentine!"

 The card above has a story attached,we promise. And here it is:

"My sister (Jonie speaking) told me that she didn't want to go on a "date" with me for Valentine's Day, and then called back later when she realized she was actually free. So, I made her a card with an important moral lesson attached...never reject your own sister as your valentine."

So,how DID we celebrate the 14th? Well, our Mommies gave us candy,and we went out to dinner with some friends(and some sisters,too!) to celebrate Singles Awareness Day. All in all a lovely day.

What did you do to celebrate Valentines day?

Flights of Fancy: A Feather Clip Tutorial

Well,Our Dear Readers,no doubt you too have seen the feather hair clips that are popping up this way and that in the craft and fashion world. While it can be extremely tacky when over done, it can also be a fantastic touch of vintage or boho-ish glam if done correctly.One simply needs to find the correct balance of plumage.

That said, there's something to be said for taking chances with one's fashion statement, and accessories are often the best way to do so.For instance, your humble blog author Betsy,unlike the fashion savvy Jonie, is a bit timid when it comes to clothing choices, but is indeed a fan of fun accessories, such as hair things,scarves, or the all important Unicorn bag(Story to come...)

So, would you like your own feather hair clip? Just to mix it up a little in these bleak winter months? We think yes!

First, you need to gather your supplies.... You will need:

• Hair Clips. We are partial to hair snaps, but that's just us.
• Glue. We recommend Aleenes, but can't think of a logical reason why Elmers, Mod Podge or even spray adhesive wouldn't work.
• A crappy old paint brush that you wouldn't weep to see touch glue.
• Feathers, of course! We got a bag at Michaels that was originally $3, but you go in there with a coupon, odds are it'll cost less.
• Scrap paper, to work on and to clip your snap to.
• Rhinestones or buttons(optional)

A note: You can lay your feathers out for a rough idea of how you want it to look, but your authors found that it is a mostly futile effort, as at least 1 feather will probably end up mangled by the end. Be ye warned.

Behold, an angled shot makes it seem cooler then it is!

Step 1: Slide your hair clip onto a piece or scrap paper. This keeps it from gluing shut.

Snap that sucker on tight!

Step 2:  Using your brush, add a thin coat of glue to your clip. Thinner then the picture shows. You want a barely-there layer of glue,okay?

Step 3:  Pick a big feather to be your "base feather." Press is lightly into the glue. It will get matted. This is a truth,yea, some would say inevitable. Do not despair, the trick to this whole thing is layers.

Try to find a big one: the sturdier the base,the better.

Step 4: Pick a slightly smaller feather to add on. Heres were it gets a little tricky, is applying glue without matting everything. We recommend dabbing the "butt" of your clip, and pressing in the base there. Lay your feather as you desire,lift slightly, and dab with just a teeny,tiny sized dot.

Press lightly. Do not attempt to take one handed picture, as shown above.

Step 5: Keep layering,progressing from bigger to smaller feathers. Layer until you like it.  At this point, you may choose to add a rhinestone or a button for embellishment. Do as you like,and then try to let it dry for a decent amount of time. Just so you don't get glue in your hair.
 

And now you have a whimsical hair piece to brighten your wardrobe! That's right,winter blues, you ain't got nothing on feathers. Enjoy!

 Stay fancy, and happy Tuesday!

What We've Been Up To

We've been busy. Busy making this blog. Busy with school. Busy with making stuff. So here's what we've been making.

A whimsical feather hair clip.

Our philosophy is that hair bows are for anyone!

Is winter bumming you out? Us too. Look, FLOWERS!!!



A simple bow headband for those of us obsessed with stripes



What is this, you ask? Why, it's a flower, made from window screen! Be rebellious and fancy at the same time? Deal.

Upcycled buttons added to the stretchy headbands we all wear, for those of us to lazy to do our hair for real but who still want to look...decent.

Fantastic recycled notebooks

What more can we say? It's just a happy notebook.

Some of our goods, all packaged, just waiting for us to open an Etsy shop and sell at local handmade stores. *Sigh*

Stay Fancy,Fancy Lads!