Scribbled Jewelry

This tutorial couldn't be easier and it will get rid of your frustrations as well.

Materials

electric copper wire

16 gauge copper wire

bead

copper chain

Tools

needle nose pliers

bench block

hammer

paint brush

wire clippers

This copper wire is available in the electric department of your hardware store. It is on a big spool with all of the other wire cords. Have them cut a hunk of it off for you.

Form several loops with your pliers. Vary their sizes for interest. Be sure to include a closed loop at either end.

Using a hammer, flatten your loops on a bench block (piece of steel). A cement garage floor will do if you don't have a spare piece of steel or a bench block handy.
Wrap the 16 gauge copper wire around the end of a paint brush. Slide it off the brush and cut with wire clippers. Twist the jump rings open and use them to attach the scribble to the chain you have cut in half.
To further gild the lilly, hang a bead from the lowest loop. This aptly illustrates the way I fish - tangled lines and a tiny catch.

Book Box - Boox?

Do you carefully wrap presents only to watch in horror as people rip open the gifts and throw away the expensive paper, box and ribbon? Here is a great way insure that doesn't happen.

Materials:

small gift box

chipboard or mat board

wrapping paper

ribbon

glue stick

Tools:

scissors

old credit card

Measure your gift box and cut two pieces of chipboard or mat board 1/4"larger around three sides. The box will sit flush on one edge of the chipboard, but needs a small border around the other 3 sides. Measure the height of the box and cut one piece of chipboard as wide as the height of the box and as long as the longest sides of the other pieces of chipboard. This will be the spine of the book.
Cut a piece of wrapping paper an inch or so longer than the combined size of the three pieces of chipboard combined. Cut it an inch or so wider. Snip off the corners of the paper. Glue the boards and position them on the back of the paper, allowing a 1/2" border all the way around. (*Take a scrap piece of chipboard and place it between the larger pieces and the smaller piece to create a small gap. This gap insures that this cover will be able to bend.) Turn the cover over and press the paper to the board with an old credit card.
Glue the edges of the paper and stick them to the chipboard. Press with the credit card to insure adhesion. Cut the ribbon into 2 pieces and glue one end of each piece to the center outside edge of the cover.
Cut the lining paper 1/2" smaller than the width and length. Glue and carefully place the lining on the inside of the cover; first one side, then the gap, the spine, the other gap and then the final side, scoring in the gap as you go. Use the credit card to assure adhesion and remove air bubbles. You should be able to see 1/4" of the outside paper around the outside of the lining.
You can, at this point, cover the outside of the box, but I liked the red and the box was in good shape. If you decide to cover it, just cut out a strip of paper a little longer than the perimeter of the box and an inch wider than the height. There is no need to cover all of the top of the box as it will be glued to the cover. Glue your strip of paper and wrap it around the box, folding it around the the top and to the inside edge of the box.

Measure the inside of the box. Add that measurement plus the height of the box (doubled for both sides), subtract 1/2" as you don't need to go all the way to the top edge of the box. Cut out the corners as pictured above.
Dry fit the paper and make any adjustments necessary. Glue the paper and place it on the inside of the box. Glue the box to one side of the cover, positioning one side of the box along the inside edge of the cover. Center it up and down. You should have a small cover border around three sides of the box.
Fold the other cover over and tie the ribbons in a bow. Trim the ribbons.

Tips:

This is usually a twofer as you can make a book box out of the bottom and one out of the lid of a gift box.

Caught in a Rainbow

I'm almost embarrassed to post this as a craft because it is so easy. But sometimes we all need easy and besides this is neat.

It began with a trip to the dollar store where I spotted these elastic covered headbands in wonderful rainbow colors.

 Home Depot had a hunk of 1x10" in the scrap bin that was about 24" long. Mine! I nailed a piece of 1x2" to each end on the back.

 This was needed to raise the board off the wall when hung. Add a picture hanger on one end.

 I stretched the hairbands over the 1x10", somewhat evenly spaced out. (As evenly spaced out as I am capable of anyway) Tuck your cards, letters and mementos into the bands.

I opted not to paint or stain the board because I liked the contrast between the colors and the naked wood. You have my permission to treat the wood anyway you please. (I'm in a generous mood today)

Although this is perfect for St. Patrick's Day, feel free to use it throughout the year.  (more generosity)

Irish I May

 Are you ready for a little play on words for St. Patrick's Day? You may want to say this out loud.

 Download this document here.

Download this document here.

Print them on either side of a piece of white card stock. Score and fold on the gray line in the middle and Voila! or rather, Erin Go Bragh! you have a perfect St. Patrick's Day Card.

Eyeglass hoop

A friend of mine wears a necklace with a circle pendant and hooks her glasses through the hole. She was looking for something different. I thought this would fill the bill. It's made it out of rebar wire and pearls. Kind of like wearing diamonds with overalls. Too cool!

Materials:

rebar wire (HD, hardware store)

24 gauge wire 

small (fake) pearls

Tools:

large diameter dowel or broom handle

small needle nose pliers

wire cutters

Wrap the rebar wire around the dowel. Start at one side, wrap around once. Continue wrapping about 3/4 of the circle. Form a loop with the needle nose pliers. Continue wrapping until you reach the beginning. Cut the wire so that the two ends match up but don't overlap. You should have only 2 wires at all times, not three.

Cut a length of 24 gauge wire about 6 feet long. Thread on 25 pearls. Form a loop at the end so that the pearls won't slide off. Wrap the wire twice around the rebar wire loop. Place a pearl on the outside of the loop at the next wrap. Wrap twice; wrap with a pearl. Continue until you have finished. The 24 gauge wire will kink especially at the beginning when it is long, so go slowly. Straighten out the kinks with the pliers. The kinks won't show when you wrap but they may make it difficult to thread the pearls.
Attach this to a cord or chain. Wear as is, or hook the earpiece of your glasses through the hole. You'll never lose them again. 

Chalk it Up

Normally I wouldn't give instructions for something I found in a rummage sale, but this is applicable for a picture frame, a window, a drawer front or kitchen cabinet so I feel that I can go ahead.

Materials

open shutter

caulk

masonite board

stain blocker spray paint (Bin or Kilz)

chalkboard paint

pale green spray paint

gel matte medium or Mod Podge

black or brown shoe polish (optional)

Tools

putty knife

paint brush

old credit card

hair dryer (optional)

fine sandpaper (optional)

When I saw this it screamed "little kitchen chalkboard" to me so I removed the amber plastic (anyone have an idea for this?) and all of the hardware. With a putty knife, use paintable caulk to fill in all of the holes. Scrap off all of the extra caulk and allow to dry. Use the plastic as a template and cut out a piece of masonite the same size.

Paint the masonite and the shutter with stain blocker spray paint and allow to dry. Sand lightly. Spray the shutter with light green paint (or your choice of color). Allow to dry.

Download "Le Menu" here. Print it out on your computer then print it on a copy machine. The copy machine print works best for this process. Paint a thin layer of gel matte medium on the shutter top and place the copy paper over the gel. Burnish it with a credit card to insure that the paper is in tight contact with the wood. Wait for it to dry or use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

*note: You can make your own wording, but it must be backwards. I use Photoshop Elements and the commands IMAGE>TRANSFORM>FLIP HORIZONTAL. You can reverse words in WORD, but you first have to save it as a picture. (google the exact directions). One of my printers will flip the image with the command of "mirror image". Look for commands of "flip" "reverse" or "mirror" to reverse your words in whatever program you would like to use.

*note: If I were to do this again I would either tear (rather than cut) the paper around my image so that I don't have a rigid edge around it or use paper large enough to completely cover the whole area I am transferring my image to.

Wet your fingers and rub off the paper. The image will be left. An ultra fine Sharpie can be used to fill in anything that doesn't transfer. A thin coat of gel medium on top of the transfer to dissolve any little paper fuzzies that are left;

You can stop now or use brown shoe polish to age your shutter. (This is where the cut edge of my transfer showed up so I took fine sandpaper and removed the edge.)
Spray the masonite with at least two coasts of chalkboard paint, allow to dry then insert it into the opening in the shutter using small brads or hot glue. Place the knob at the bottom of the shutter and hang a small bucket filled with chalk.

I can see a long "honeydo" list right now.

Just My Type

 I found a picture of an old typewriter -remember those? It gave birth in my wee little mind to a perfect Valentine's Day card. Please play along.

 Download this image here and print on a piece of white card stock

Download this here and print on the inside of the previous image.

Print these on a separate piece of card stock.

 Score the card on the gray line and fold in half. Open it up and with an exacto knife, cut a slot at the top of the paper guide. Cut out the Happy Valentine's Day message and slip it into the slot. Tape it on the inside of the card. (for those of you too young to remember, some typewriter ribbons came in black and red. A bad typewriter or perhaps a poor typist would find this strange lettering of half black, half red when they tried to type. Unfortunately this seemed to occur frequently whenever I typed.)

For variety I've included a Happy Anniversary message as well, for that occasion.

The perfect opposite of the ecard in more ways than one. (two actually)