Test Tube Necklace/Ornamants

Just a quick peek today...

I love turning test tubes into wearable art or ornaments.....

How easy and fun are those?

Thanks for stopping by....

Bohemian Convertible Necklace Bracelet Set

Last year  Jewelry Stringing magazine  did a feature on convertible jewelry.

That is not jewelry you wear with your top down.

Instead it was jewelry that has interchangeable parts.

I was fascinated.

So I had to make something of my own like that.

So here are the three pieces.

All three can be worn together for a layered necklace.

Or you can take one of the colorful pieces off.

Or switch to the other one.

The back part of the necklace can be worn as a wrap bracelet alone.

Or you can stack on one of the other colorful ones.

Or both.

Or just wear the two colorful pieces together as bracelets.

Or each one can be worn alone.

Since I used all my hand made clasps, all the pieces work together and can be added as you choose.

I love this idea and will surely be creating more designs with this versatility....

Thanks for stopping by....

Father's Day Craft Lightning

Time for a Father's Day Craft Lightning.

I loved coming up with an idea to honor dad that is fast, easy and great looking.

Here's what you can make:

This great stamped leather key chain.

You will need:

Leather Scrap

Leather Cord

 Stamping Alphabet

Sponge

Water

Hammer

Sand Bag

DecoArt Metallic Lustres Paints

Heavy Duty Scissors

Sharpie Marker

Tin Can

Leather Hole punch

Let's get started.

You may use whatever leather you want.

You can buy bags of scrap leather at many craft stores.

You can use a piece of leather from a discarded item such as an old coat or pair of shoes.

Decide on a shape.

I used a tin can to trace a circle.

Cut the circle out.

Wet the sponge and squeeze out the excess water.

Dampen the leather where you will stamp it.

Stamp your message one letter at a time.

Place the letter stamp on the leather and give it a forceful blow with the hammer.

Try to hit it hard enough to make the impression with one blow.

If you hit it several times, you risk having the stamp move and getting an unclear impression.

Continue to spell what you want to say.

Allow it to dry.

Use the Metallic Lustres Paints to add some color to the key chain.

I prefer to use my fingers to rub the color where I want it.

Allow it to dry and buff it with a soft cloth.

Use the leather hole punch to add a hole.

String a piece of leather cord through the hole.

Ta-Da!

The perfect usable gift for dad.

Head over to The Country Chic Cottage

Busy Mom's Helper and 

30 Minute Crafts 

to see other great Father's Day Craft Lightning projects.

Thanks for stopping by....

Workbench Wednesday: Tie Dye Beads

It is Wednesday again.

That means I am going to give you a glimpse of what I am working on.

How about these tie-dye beads...?

I spritzed some of my homemade alcohol inks on these white beads.

The effect is a funky tie dye look.

I like it.

They still have to be rinsed.

So they will lose some of the vibrancy and be more muted when I am done.

These are even more fun to make than they are to look at...

A squirt, squirt here and a squirt, squirt there....

I hope your workbench is filled with vibrant color too....

Thanks for stopping by...

Fusing Failures...

I told you I got a kiln in the fall.

And from time to time, I share a little of what I am doing with it.

Well, today I wanted to share some of our failures.

Seems like we have a ton of those too.

 So here goes...

Sometimes part of it turns out...note the orange bottom.

But the rest....not so much...

For this one, I tried melting glass pieces and frit in a cookie cutter.

Some of the frit we made from a beer bottle did not melt.

This button in my button mold also used some of the beer bottle green frit.

And this one...

Yup. 

 It just did not work...

I don't recall what color frit we used....

I would call this a failure but I sort of like the primitive look of it...

Same with this one.

More of the green homemade frit.

I did finally throw the rest of it away...

I tried to make a snowman...

When I flip it over, you get a better idea of what I was hoping for...

I actually sandwiched a leaf between these pieces of clear glass.

Sometimes you can get an outline of the left before it burns away.

I did not.

Not enough clear frit on this one to seal the top...

These are layering failures.

Some did not melt correctly.  

Some got very brittle and can be snapped in half.

I tried to melt a couple Christmas balls...

And these were an attempt at coasters made by layering glass in a terra cotta saucers coated with kiln wash.

A great idea that just did not quite turn out...

Here is the other side of the one on the right.

I tried to layer some hardware bits between layers of glass and the metal stayed hot longer, causing bubbles.

While I think the bubbles are kind of cool, they are very fragile and broke....making the pieces dangerous.

And here is another failed attempt at a snowman.

It's funny, the glass fusing is definitely more experimentation than exact science.

That drives my husband crazy because there is not always a pattern to the results. 

 I find it sort of freeing.  

I can try stuff, but I don't know just what I will get...

Even failures are learning opportunities.

I hope you are taking chances and learning every day...

Thanks for stopping by....

Safari Necklace

It has been awhile since I shared something my daughter has made.

Since it is Mother's Day, it seemed the perfect time for a mom to brag.

My daughter made this piece over a year ago.

I love the details and texture of the piece.

She made it months before she actually went to South Africa.

Life can be funny that way...

Whispers of what is to come....

She spent a month in South Africa last summer.

While there she went on a horseback safari...

She also did a lot of shark research which is her passion.

I love her little hand formed link chain...

I hope you are creating things that whisper of your future too.

May your mother's day be filled with love and happy memories.

Thanks for stopping by...