Stacked Button Rings (with tutorial!)

I spent this afternoon making Stacked Button Rings, and I had a ball! They're pretty easy, and I love the end result. I've amassed quite a collection of buttons and have been finding fun ways to use them. You can find buttons at your local sewing shop, sometimes they have discount bins that you can sift through. If you have any dollar stores nearby that have scrapbooking supplies, you might find buttons there as well. It's so much fun to mix and match different colours, and if you have a wide assortment you can make rings to match any outfits, or you can be cute and dorky and make some to match your favourite nail polish colours. *The pink and white ring was my fingernail matching creation :)

Want to make your own? Read on for the tutorial and some accompanying process photos.... Once you have your supplies, this project only takes about 15-20 minutes!

Creating Stacked Button Rings

-Flat nosed pliers
-Wire cutters
-3 buttons of different sizes that will stack atop one another
-Ring blanks for as many rings as you want to make
-About 12" of 24 gauge beading or jewellery wire

 1) Measure about 4" from one end of your wire and bend nearly in half.

2) Stack your buttons.

3) Thread the wire through 2 opposite holes from the smallest button to the largest button (ie insert wire at the top of the stack). Both ends of your wire should be coming out the bottom of the stack.

4) Using the longer wire, thread it back through the holes that the shorter wire is coming out of. Your longer wire should come out the top of your button stack. Pull tight!

5) With the longer wire again, thread it through the opposite holes back to the bottom. Pull tight to secure the stack!

6) This is how the bottom of your stack should look after securing the buttons together.

7) This is how the top of your stack should look after securing the buttons together. Pull the wires tight again to make sure the buttons are securely stacked.

8) Place your ring blank between the two wires and thread each wire through the ring, pulling tight again to secure.

9) Wrap the shorter wire around the ring, beneath the button. Thread it through the ring again to secure it more if you like. Do the same with the longer wire. Cut the shorter wire and use the flat nosed pliers to push the cut end towards the middle of your wrappings (see image 11 for a detail of that step).

10) Wrap longer wire around a few times, always pulling tight.

11) Push in the wire with the piers, toward the center of your wire wrapping. Thanks basically it folks!

You now have a super-cute, endearingly dorky accessory customized to your colour wishes!

I'd love to hear what you think about this tutorial. Please leave any thoughts or feedback in the comments :)

A Workshop Wednesday

What's been keeping my fingers busy these days? A cupcake scarf!! I've had such fun making this, and I'm finally in the home stretch. I have 4 more cherries to add, and then one more full cupcake (I made one too many to begin with and didn't notice until I saw that the sides were uneven so I've gotta balance it out).

I know summer isn't exactly the time of year for crocheting scarves, but this project was just so delicious that I couldn't resist! Sometimes you just have to take a break from creating for others and create something for yourself.

You can find the 'recipe' for yummy cupcakes like this by following this link to Rock 'n' Roll Bride! You'll see the pattern for the cupcakes, but also instructions on how to turn it into a garland! Fun stuff!!

What's on your worktable this Wednesday? I'd love it if you shared in the comments :)

*Maria

DIY Jewellery Frame

This DIY jewellery frame project has been making its rounds of the blogosphere and the internets, so I finally broke down and gave it a try myself. Until now, I had been storing my jewellery in a very classic three-tiered jewellery box, cream coloured on the outside, red velvet inside. I'd had enough of it taking up two-thirds of my dresser space and getting this project done was part of an initiative to create the same sort of bedroom space that I'd enjoyed as a teenager- you know what I mean... the place where it's safe to dream and write in your journal about your hearts deepest desires- where your mind and spirit are free to roam and adventure and you don't have to answer to anyone else. So here we go!

 Nothing beats wearing a bowtie while you're crafting ;)

Supplies:
-wooden frame; any size you like. You won't need the glass or the backing so don't spend lots of money on an expensive frame. Check out dollar stores, garage sales, flea markets, and second hand stores like Value Village or a Salvation Army. *The thicker the frame is the better so you have some flex room with your aluminum mesh and won't have to worry about any of your screws going right through the wood*
-crafters acrylic paint and a brush or spray paint if you want to co-ordinate the frame with your room, etc. Mine was already gold.
-small screw hooks, I used 5 along the bottom for my necklaces
-2 small closed loop screws (to hang the frame)
-aluminum mesh/screen, of dimensions a little larger than your frame
-staple gun
-wire cutters or strong exacto knife (the dude at the hardware cut my section with an exacto knife)

Time Required:
About 20 minutes to put it all together, and then it took me around a half hour to get my jewellery transferred on to it. Don't forget to include drying time if you choose to paint your frame.

What to do:
1. Measure the size of the frame around the outside perimeter and cut your aluminum mesh to approximately that size.
2. If you want to paint your frame, this is the time to do it! Let it dry completely, according to instructions on your paint or spray paint.
3. Starting at a corner, use the staple gun to attach the aluminum mesh to the back of the frame. Make sure the mesh is taught, you don't want any big folds showing up in the middle.

I'm screwing in the necklace hooks!

4. Once the mesh is attached, screw in the hooks that you want for your necklaces along the bottom of the frame. You can screw them so that they are pointing down, or so that they are at  right angle to the frame and pointing outwards. Mine point down because there was a stylish bump around the front of the frame. Space them equally, whether you are using, 2, 3, or 5.
5. Add the two closed loop screws to the top of the frame, to use to hang it on your wall. When you're ready to hang it, you can either put hooks in  your wall, small nails, or even a length of wire between the two loops to hang it from the center.
6. Hang it on the wall and add your jewellery!

*Maria

Crochet Rainbow Fingerless Gloves - Free Pattern

Last night I decided that it was time for another pair of fingerless gloves, or armwarmers, or gauntlets... Every now and then you have to make something just for you- it's kind of like an insurance policy against losing interest in your favourite crafts. If I'm constantly making things for other people it can start to feel like only work, and the last thing a creative entrepreneur needs is to get sick of the things you want to make for a living. You also need to try stuff out to see if it might become a new item in your shop :)

I've always had issues with fingerless gloves- I have very small wrists so sometimes things that I buy are too big, and things that I make for myself are too small for others. These fingerless gloves measure about 8" in circumference at their narrowest point around the wrist. If you follow this free pattern look for the stars that mark the places where I decrease to get this wrist size. You may choose to include the decrease or not- the nice thing about this pattern is that it's pretty intuitive, and you can try these on as you're creating them and alter them as you think you need to. The decreases occur around the thumb as it connects to the wrist. There is also a portion of the pattern that includes increases as your arm gets wider. Again, these can be included or not- just judge based on how the glove fits you as you proceed.

Alright! Here we go!

Striped (Rainbow) Fingerless Gloves

Supplies:
-at least 2 balls (contrasting colours) of size 4 medium worsted weight yarn (I've used Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in 6 colours, 3.5 oz (100 g), 170 yards (156 m) )
-size I (size 9 or 5.5mm) crochet hook
-scissors
-darning needle

*Colour change tip: When I change colours, I yarn over with both threads and complete the stitch with only the new thread. Holding on to the old colour and the tail of the new colour, crochet underneath those two threads and complete the stitch above those two colours. This way, the yarn gets woven into the back of the stitch and saves you from having to weave in the ends when you are finished the glove.

Ch 26, join with slst to first ch.
Round 1: Ch 1, sc 26. Add marker if you like to see precisely where the round begins/ends, because you will now work in the round (no more slst to the beginning of the round, you'll just continue with sc)
Round 2: Sc 26.
Round 3-5: Repeat round 2.
Round 6: Sc in next 2 sts, ch 7, skip 2 sts and sc in 3rd and every st until end of round.
Round 7-8: Sc

Round 9: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 10: Sc
Round 11: Sc2tog twice*, sc in next 6 sts, sc2tog twice*, sc rest of round.
Round 12: Sc
Round 13: Sc2tog twice*, sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog twice*, sc rest of round.
Round 14: Sc
Round 15: Sc2tog twice*, sc rest of round
Round 16: Sc

Round 17: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 18-23: Sc
Round 24: (Sc in next 5 sts, 2sc in next st*) repeat to end of round.
Round 25: Sc

Round 26: Change colour, sc in back loop only or whole round.
Round 27: Sc
Round 28: (Sc 7, 2sc in next st*) repeat once, then sc to end of round.
Round 29-33: Sc

Round 34: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 35-40: Sc

Round 41: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 42-47: Sc

You can make the last colour longer if you like, but these ones reach about a half inch below my elbow, and I have long arms. If you try out this pattern I'd love to hear how it goes! Please let me know if you share it, or leave a link if you blog about a pair you tried out! If it works out nicely for you and you want to sell them, please credit my blog with the pattern.

Happy crafting!

*Maria