Vicki's Special Necklace

Ernie's Conducting Bracelets

So sparkly! The musical director of Belles wears these to conduct because they shine without clunking around and being distracting.

Difficulty Level: Easy

Materials:

• Elastic thread (buy at your local craft store for about $4)
• Pretty beads - (these pearls are plastic beads!)
• Scissors

Directions

1. Cut thread so that the length is about 11 inches.

2. Tie knot in end of thread.

3. String beads 'til the beaded thread reaches around your wrist.

4. Tie knot in other end of the thread.

5. Tie two knots together...and you're set!

(Note - the elastic is stretchy for easy on and off access.)

Molly's Dangles

I'm Baaaack

Hullo All!

I finally have some time to update craft-chic again now that I've graduated from the University of Virginia. Though I have always been frugal, I need to be super-frugal now. So some of my posts will be focused on crafting but some will be focused on being a chic frugalista...

Holiday Pomander

Difficulty Level: Easy

Materials:

- Fresh Clementine or Orange
- Nail
- Box of [Whole] Cloves
- Paper Towels
- Powdered Cinnamon
- A cold, dry space








Directions:

1.Put cloves into a small bowl (for easy access)



2.Put small hole in Clementine with Nail (only puncture to approximately ¼ inch deep.)

3.Cover entire Clementine with cloves.

4.Set out paper towel and generously pour powered cinnamon on it.

5.Roll clove-covered Clementine in powdered cinnamon.

6.Wrap paper-towel (just leave the leftover powdered cinnamon on the paper-towel) around the Clementine.

7.Place in dry, cold place (like a garage) for approximately three to four weeks.

8.Rotate Clementine in paper-towel ¼ turn once a week.

After it dries out – this Pomander adds a holiday aroma to any room. Tie a holiday ribbon around for extra flair, or make a few and pile in a festive bowl for display.

Jewelry Making for the Impatient

This post will probably be amusing to real-life experienced jewelry makers. But as a busy college student, I just don't have the time (or the patience) to sit down a research/read about the how-tos of jewelry making. I'd rather just make it up myself, as I go along.

P.S. One of my BFFs, Amanda, totally came up with this one on her own - and I thought it was such a great idea. A necklace from the mall is about 20 bucks, but this version is only about $5 or $6 (if you have some of the tools to start with).

Difficulty Level: Medium


Materials:

- A starting tool kit for jewelry making (I got mine from the craft store for $12ish)


- Chain

- Findings and Clasps

- Beads

(All of the above are found in the jewelry/beading section of the craft store).


Directions:

1. Start with your chain. How long do you want it? When you know, cut it to the desired length with what I call the "Cutter" 2. Take a finding. Take the "Bender"




and bend on side of the finding while holding the other side of the finding firmly (with the "Holder").

3.Slip this finding onto the last chain-link on your chain. While it's open, slip a clap onto the finding.


4. Bend the finding back into place. Add findings to the other end-side of the chain. Add more findings if necessary.
5. Many beads and charms come already assembled in a chic cluster - like the one my friend Amanda purchased. After your chain is all set, just slip the charm onto the chain.

What would have been $20 plus now can be done for under $10.

Elena's Flower Hair Clip

My friend from high school, Elena, found a great website for fun hair clips.

The only problem was that they were too expensive. Then Elena had a smart realization: she could make one!

Difficulty Level: Easy


Materials:

- Fake flower from craft store (make sure the bottom is flat - good ones can often be found in the scrapbook section).

- Sticky Felt Sheet

- Pin back or metal hair clip (my preference)

- Scissors... and...

- HOT GLUE! Yesssss

Directions:

1. Find a circular object around your house about the size of the fake flower you bought (for example, a candle, a water bottle, etc).

2. Take a sheet of felt with one side of stickiness.

3. Trace around the circular object onto the covered sticky side of the felt sheet.

4. Cut out circle with scissors.

5. Stick the sticky felt onto the flower back.

6. Heat up your handy-dandy glue gun - and glue the hair clip and/or pin back to the flat felt.

7. Press into place - but make sure not to smush the pretty flower.

I'm Dreaming of a Chic Christmas

Yay for yuletide. Though there's only two more weeks in the semester (since my exams are all crammed together). But in my apartment, we need a little Christmas spirit to keep us going during exam time. What's the answer? Decorations! Wooooo

Difficulty Level: Easy

Materials:

- Artificial Wreath (buy @ your local craft store for $4).
- Fake Wire Pearls from the Wedding section of the craft store.
- Wreath Hanger (either from the craft store or Wal-Mart) --> approx. $3

Directions:

1. Fluff up the wire of the wreath.

2. Twine the wire pearls around the wreath.

3. Hang up on a window or door. ( We have to hang our on the back of our door - since we have some tricksters in our apartment building).

Congrats on the Baby

Now, who doesn't love getting cards?

It's fun to send them, too.
But store-bought cards can get expensive.

Solution: make a card the craft-chic way.

Difficulty Level: Easy

Materials:

- Card Stock - your local craft store may even have ready made card stock with envelopes and everything - which costs about $7 for 50 cards, equating to 14 cents a card! Not too shabby.

- Stickers from the scrapbook section of your local craft store


Directions:

1. Put stickers on card.

2. Mail

Ha, it's just that simple to make a chic and personalized card.

Fourth Year Decor

This is the first year that I've had to fully decorate an apartment, since I've always lived in furnished places in college.

Here's one of my many frames...


Difficulty Level: Easy


Materials:

- $1 wooden frame

- Individual wooden letters from local craft store @ 39 cents each.

- Painters tape (or scotch tape)

- Paint brushes

- Acrylic Paint

- Glue Gun (per usual)



Directions:

1. Use painter's tape to make a straight lines, which will eventually make the stripes.

2. Keep painting to the right of the painter's tape. Let each stripe dry first before taking off the paint!

3. Once the paint on a stripe is dry, you can move the tape so that it makes a straight line for you to paint the other stripe colors.

4. Paint wooden letters, let dry, and hot glue gun them onto the frame.

5. Stick in your favorite roomie pic!

Kate Koozie

Perfect for holding q-tips on the bathroom counter, or pencils on your desk.

As you can tell, I kind of like bows.
Difficulty Level: Easy Materials:
- Koozie (found at your local craft store, usually in the $1 bin)
- Sharpie Pen
- Ribbon
- Hot Glue


Directions:

1. Decorate the koozie any way you choose! For this bowed effect, hot glue ribbon around koozie.

2. Tie a pretty bow. Glue bow to ribbon around koozie.

3. Sharpie!


Ah, practical and cute storage.

Allison's Arrow Bracelet

Another Hemp/Embroidery Thread Bracelet Design...
My roommate Allison showed me this one - fun!


Difficulty Level: Medium


Materials:

- Hemp or Embroidery Thread - 3 colors
- Scissors
- Tape

Directions:

1.Separate six threads out of three colors (so two threads of each color).


2.Place three on each side and tie top of strings together.

3.Make sure the colors are symmetrical! For example, white, orange, pink, opposite pink, orange, and white.

4.Start with one side – take white string and make a “four” over the orange thread and then pull up through the whole it creates. Pull Taught. Knot again.




5.Do the same thing over the pink thread. Knot Twice.

6.Repeat on the other cluster of three strings.

7.Tie the two white strings together, in exactly the same knot as you tied on the other strings, making a V pattern.



8.Start the pattern again. This time, the outside should be the orange string.

9.Tie onto wrist, and you’re set.

From Too Much to Clutch

OK, So I know it has been awhile - but midterm season was so busy I didn't have time to update, let alone craft.

This is a project I did during the summer. Going through my summer clothes & accessories proved that a few of my past favs were out of style - especially my purses. I especially didn't want to get rid of one purse, as I still loved the shabby chic pattern a lot. However the over-sized hobo bag was an odd shape and no longer chic, but rather outdated - just too much!


Since the summer included a lot of bar hopping, and the need for clutches, I decided to upgrade this too-much, overdone purse to a chic clutch.


Difficult Level: Easy

Materials

- over-sized/outdated handbag that you still love dearly
- thimble
- needle and thread
- scissors
- pins


Directions

1. Literally fold handbag hem up to desired clutch shape and pin in place.

2. Sew folded edge to the back of the purse - make sure not to sew the actual purse shut!

3. Cut the handles of the purse off but leave about two inches of handle to fold inside.

4. Sew the two inches of handles straight down into the inside of the clutch.

So the back isn't that chic (keep that part close under your arm) and show off the pretty, non-folded side.

Rena's Hemp Bracelets

Cooool.....


In addition to the tacky friendship bracelet, my lifeguard bud Rena makes hippie-like hemp bracelets that add chillness to any wrist. After teaching me how to do the simple "hemp knot," I went to town, and am now making my own bracelets!

Thanks, Rena :o)


Difficulty Level: Easy

Materials

-Wax cotton cord/"hemp" from your local craft store.
(Comes in packs of 6 colors for approx.5 bucks)
- Scissors
- Tape

Directions:

1. Select three colors of hemp: one color for the base (usually a beige or white), one color for the inside, and one for the outside.

2. Cut the hemp - you need six strings total: four of the base and one of each of colors. The color threads should be about two feet long each, while the base threads only need to be about a foot long.

3. Knot all of the threads together.

4. Tape the knot to a flat surface so you can braid freely.

5. Select one color to be your lead color. In this example, the lead color is purple. Make a triangle so the purple string makes a number 4, and lead the thread OVER the base color (in this case, the beige).

6. Make the same triangle with the other color (white). Go OVER the purple thread, and UNDER the beige base.

7. Pull Through.



8. FOLLOW your lead string - the purple! Make the triangle, and go OVER, OVER, UNDER.

9. When long enough to make your bracelet, anklet, necklace, etc, knot end.

10. Tie onto wrist.

Don't be frustrated - learning the knot can be a little confusing at first, but once you get the knot down, you're totally fine - smooth sailing 'til the finish.



New TWIST on the Hemp Knot: Instead of following one color, do the standard hemp knot, but stay on one side. Colors will switch back and forth if you keep doing the knot on one side, making a funky twist. You can alternate from straight knot to twisted knot if you want!

Sweetheart Baby Hat

I was tired of knitting scarves - one of the simpler items to knit, just knitting row after row of solid color yarn back and forth.

Luckily my Mom is a super-knitter and helped me cure my scarf woes by giving me circular needles to replace my straight bamboo pair.

How to solve the solid color problem? Bernat Baby Jacquards yarn is adorable and self-striping.

Difficulty Level: Hard

Materials

- Self-striping yarn = $1.75 (available at your local craft store).
- 16'' size 5 circular needle
- Double-pointed size 5 bamboo needles.
- Scissors



Directions
This is way easier to make than it looks! The directions for this project are a bit lengthy though, so click here for the full deets!

Don't know how to cast on? Get started with this video.


I gave the finished project to my stepsister @ her baby shower! It made a great gift.

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Iphone Case

I was so excited when I got my Iphone this summer - but simultaneously petrified that I would drop it/lose it.



If I do, it's back to TO-GO phones for me. Ugh.

Therefore, I decided it would be a good idea to get a Iphone case. Too bad they're like 45 bucks! Yeah right. I'll just make one instead.

Difficulty Level: Medium

Materials

- Small-ish piece of fabric. (From Wal-Mart craft bin. 79 cents.
- Sewing Needle
- Scissors
- Ribbon
- Hot Glue Gun(per usual)
- Embroidery Thread


Directions

1. Fold piece of fabric in half two times to make it thicker for Iphone protection!

2. Wrap piece of fabric around your phone to make sure it fits!

3. Hand-sew the sides to connect the edges of the fabric, as well as the bottom of case.

4. Spread hot glue onto the backside of a ribbon.

5. Quickly place the ribbon onto the fabric and wrap it around - make sure it's straight!

6. Tie a bow, and glue down the ends (for a fray-free ribbon end, burn the end of the ribbon with a lighter for 1/2 seconds.

Etsy

Sometimes I get tired of thinking up things to make... I'm itching to craft right now, actually. Look on http://www.etsy.com for ideas, like I'm doing! Or use it to buy and sell handmade items. I am especially into the Hair Accessories page right now. I kind of want to make one of the feather headbands...

Tacky Friendship Bracelets

Strangely enough, tacky can sometimes be chic. I'm in an a capella group at UVa, and last year one of the girls in the group made us all fun friendship bracelets out of craft beads. Unfortunately, I lost mine in the ocean at Beach Week this past summer, and I was devastated. So when I was at the craft store the other day, I saw some beads, and decided to continue the tradition of these fun little bracelets for the mew girls in the singing group. Paired with cool bangles, these tacky friendship bracelets look hippie-chic. I like.

Difficulty Level: Easy


Materials

- Beads
- "Stretch Magic" bead & jewelry cord.
- Scissors

= about five bucks. Plus, with the supplies you can probably make about twenty bracelets or so, plus add to your craft supplies!

Directions

1. Cut cord to desired length - leave about two or three inches extra to knot.

2. Tie a double knot about two inches in from the end of the cord so the beads won't slide when you string them.

3. String Beads

4. Keep measuring the beads when you're threading them so you have the desired length for your wrist.

5. Tie double knot at the end of the beading.

6. Tie ends together. The elastic cord is slippery so you might have to play with it to get it to stay together - triple/quadruple knont it!

7. Give to all your friends and be hippie-tacky-chic.

Quirky Hair Pins

Ok, last of the button crafts for awhile, I swear. However, this could be a good way to utilize the buttons purchased for the Antique Button Frame. Super easy and chic. I actually got this idea from an accessorized hair pin in an In Style spread. The hair clip was going for about $140.

Ha! That's enough money to get groceries for a week and a half. Instead, try this perhaps 20 cent version:

Difficulty Level: Easy

Materials

- Buttons
- Plyers
- Hot Glue Gun
- Bobby Pins

Directions

1. Pick a cool looking Button

2. Use plyers to rid the button of the hook on the back - in order to make the back of the button a flat surface.

3. Hot Glue button on end of bobby pin.