Getting Crafty

I know, Christmas is not for another few months but it can’t hurt to get a headstart on cardmaking! I whipped up this cute little card in less than five minutes.

Materials
Cardstock
Jewel-like brads
Ruler (optional)
Black pen/marker

Directions
Start with a folded piece of cardstock.

Using a pen or marker, draw (freehand or otherwise) the skeleton of a tree, or any other figure that you can dress up with brads.

Poke holes randomly through your tree (or other figure). Attach brads where the holes are. Add a written message of cheer, or rub one on.

Cut a smaller piece of contrasting paper for the inside (to cover up those unsightly brad remnants!

Voila!

At last, I’m finally posting the tutorial for how you can make your own very basic scoubi keyring.

I apologize in advance if the pictures aren’t helpful. Hopefully the words will help explain any tricky bits.

Without any further delay, here we go:

Obtain a keyring and two 3-4 feet lengths of scoubi lacing (or gimp). Contrasting colours look quite nice.

Tie one of the lacings around the keyring (here I have tied the red one) and slip the other piece of lacing through, allowing an equal amount of lacing on each side.

Selecting one colour (here I chose red again), making two loops going in opposite directions (one looped toward you, and one away from you) and hold the loops in place with your finger.

Using the end of the second colour on the left hand side, weave this end over the loop to its right, and under the loop furthest away.

Using the end of the second colour on the right hand side, weave this end over the first loop to its left, and under the loop furthest away.

Pull all four ends tight. I usually grab two ends, each of a different colour, and pull, then pull each individually.

Repeat.

And repeat.

When the desired length is reached, make a double knot with each colour. The result is your very own keychain!

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I left you with a bit of a teaser on Tuesday, and I’m glad that no reports of people jumping off cliffs or pulling their hair out out of anticipation were heard.

Without further ado then, here is how you can make your own wire and bead rings and things:

Start with your materials:

(You will also need a nail clipper or a small pair of scissors to cut the wire thread)

Instructions:

Cut a length of wire, five or six times the length of the finished product (I have large fingers so the longer the thread I have, the easier it is for me to manipulate it).

String on twice the number of beads that you want the width of the final product to be. In this case, I want a ring three beads wide, so I have strung on six beads. You’ll want to centre the beads on your wire thread.

Take one end of the wire thread and thread it through the three furthest beads and pull tightly.

Thread enough beads to make up the width of the ring (in my case that’s three more beads) onto one end of the wire thread.

Thread the other end of the wire thread through the newly threaded beads and pull tight.

Thread three more beads (in my case) onto the opposite side of the wire thread as before, and insert the other end through, pulling tightly.

Continue until the length is appropriate.

Thread one end of wire through the three beads on the other side. Tie the two pieces of wire together along the top (or bottom) edge (there is no official top or bottom).

Voila! You’re done. Try it on and admire your handiwork.

As promised, please find below the instructions for making marble magnets.

There are other sites that offer instructions and if you want some beautiful inspiration, I suggest you check out Not Martha’s site: it was one of the first places that I saw marble magnets.

MATERIALS

• marbles that are flat on one side (also known as glass globs, glass gems, mosaic marbles) and are approximately 3/4 of an inch in diameter



• a strong glue that dries clear (I recommend Elmer’s Silicone Clear Rubber Sealer but it has a strong odour; I have also used Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue which works but isn’t my first choice. If you come across a better glue, please let me know!)



• paper with a design, image or words that can still be seen clearly when the marble is placed over it



• magnets that are the same size or smaller than the base of your marble (I buy mine at the local dollar store. Some people use the rare earth magnets but I cannot find them here (they must be rare, indeed!). The rare earth magnets are small but reputed to be quite strong.



• a circle stencil or punch that creates circles that fit the base of the marble without being too big or too small

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Find the image you want to make into a magnet.



2. Cut out the shape.



3. Apply glue to the magnet and affix the image to the magnet. I find a toothpick works well to spread the silicone sealer (that was a tip from Not Martha).




4. Add a small blob of glue to the top of the image, press a clear marble over it and let dry for a good 20 minutes.




5. Voila!

I made some of these magnets for a friend’s bridal shower and they were a hit.

I hope you take the chance to try out this craft and report back with pictures of your creations!