Sunday, March 25, 2012

Turn a plain Barrette into a Colorful Hair Accessory


This tutorial is an easy way to turn old barrettes into cute spring accessories.
You can also do this with headbands too!

I love the colors on my new barrette!


What You Will Need:
-A Barrette
-Super Glue
-Different Colored Thread
-Needle
-Scissors





Let's Begin!


1. Start by Treading your needle with your first color.
Make sure you use enough thread.
You will need to go around the barrette many times.


2. Tie your thread in a loop or a knot at the end.


3. Thread your needle in between the metal piece and the bottom of the barrette.
Come back around and thread your needle through the knot and pull tight.
This is going to secure the thread.
The first couple of times around are going to be a pain, but once you get a start it gets easier.


4.Repeat step 3 until you are at the end of the thread. Leave some room to tie a knot.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for each color.



Once you are finished wrapping the barrette, put a few drops of super glue
over the knotted areas. Feel free to use the super glue anywhere else that looks like it needs to be secured. 

Allow it to dry.



YOU'RE FINISHED!!!





ENJOY!!!!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Make Your Own Button Barrettes


This tutorial is an easy way to make hair accessories.
It takes no more than 5-8 minutes to make one!
If you are a crafter, I'm sure you have all the supplies you'll need already!



What You Will Need:
-Buttons
-Thread
-Needle
-Bobby-Pins
-Super Glue or a Hot Glue Gun
-Scissors 




Let's Begin!!


Start by threading your needle.
Knot a loop at the end where you would usually double knot it.


Pick out a button, put it on top of your bobby-pin.

Sew the thread through the bobby-pin and the buttonholes once, then take your needle through the loop you knotted and pull it tight.

Once you have secured the thread, continue to sew the button to the bobby-pin.

When you are through sewing the button on, knot the thread.


Lay your new accessory on its head and glue the string to the button and bobby-pin.

 NOTE:
SUPER GLUE: will keep your button attached permanently.
HOT GLUE: will allow you to take your button off cleanly.


 Let it Dry.



YOU'RE FINISHED!!!






ENJOY!!!


Friday, March 16, 2012

Make Your Own Hand-Stamped Spoon Necklace

I love Spoon Necklaces!
This tutorial will show you how to make your own personalized spoon necklace.

What You Will Need: 
-Spoons (Get them from a thrift store. Get at least three in case you mess up the lettering)
-Hammer or Heavy Mallet
-Sand Paper
-Pliers
-Steel Wool or Heavy Nail File
-Metal Letter Stamps (Any hobby store will have them)
-Sharpie
-Hand towel or towel
-Twine or a Small Rope for the necklace

Optional if you want to decorate your necklace:
-Headpins (Flat or Circle head)
-Beads




LET'S BEGIN


First, you will need to hammer the head of the spoon flat.
Find a very hard surface, like concrete. Lay your hand towel down.

If you have a heavy mallet:
Begin to hammer the head of your spoon until it's as flat as you want it to be

If you have a hammer:

Make sure the spoon is covered with a towel before you hit it so your hammer doesn't scratch the spoon, then hammer the spoon until it's a flat as you would like it to be


 Pick a word for your spoon.
I choose the word: CRAFT
In a row, place a dot for each letter.
These dots will help when you are stamping the letters on the spoon.
(Click on  photo to Enlarge)


Once your dots are on you are ready to stamp on the letters.
I would HIGHLY recommend stamping your letters on a concrete surface with your towel underneath.
Stamp the middle letter First, then work your way out.

STAMPING TIPS:
Hammer the metal stamp once with a strong hit. This will give you a clean stamp.

I am not strong enough to do a stamp with one hit, so this is my advice to you if you're in the same boat.

Make sure your stamp and spoon do not move when you are hammering. Notice the letters on my spoon are a little "smeared". That is because the stamp and/or spoon moved when I was stamping it.
(This is why I said make sure you buy at least three spoons so you can practice)

Keep the spoon and metal stamp steady to get a good clean letter.


After all your letters are stamped, color the letters in with a sharpie.
This will give the letters some dimension.


Next, rub the maker off with the steel wool:


Now you will need to break off the handle.
Make sure you leave enough room to make a loop for your necklace like the photo below.

Bend the spoon until the handle breaks off.
Use the sandpaper to smooth out the raw edge you just made.



Use your pliers or your hands to bend the handle toward the back of the spoon.
Use a hammer to make sure the handle touches the back of the spoon.
Cover the spoon before using your hammer.


If you want to decorate your spoon necklace, lace beads onto a headpin
and attach it to the necklace cord.


If you are using a circular headpin: use your pliers to open the circle, attach the headpin to your cord, then close the circle back up. Add beads to it, then fold the remaining wire up toward the beads to make sure the beads stay in place.

If you are using a flat headpin: add beads first, use the remaining wire to create a loop, and then attach the headpin to the cord.



YOU'RE FINISHED!!





ENJOY!!!


Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Turn an Old Baggy Shirt into a Fashion Staple


This project is perfect for the thrift store lovers out there.
How many times have you found an awesome shirt that was too big?
This DIY project will show you how to turn a baggy shirt into an everyday fashion staple.


What You Will Need:
1 Baggy shirt 
Scissors
A Colored Pencil or Pen
Sewing machine, a straight stitch is all you need
OR
Needle and Thread



LET'S BEGIN


Start by laying your t-shirt on the floor inside out.
Starting at the armpit draw a curved line up the sleeve to 2" above the end of the sleeve:
Click on Photos to Enlarge


Do this to both sleeves. This is going to be your sewing line.
Once both lines are drawn, sew a straight stitch over each line.
After you are done sewing cut off the extra fabric:


Next, turn your shirt right-side out.
Cut the collar off. Try to stay as close to the collar as you can when cutting.


YOU'RE FINISHED!!



ENJOY!!!