Skull Bracelet

This might not be oil on canvas but it sure is something you can wear!

What you will need:

Pliers x3: needle nose, flat head and cutters
1 Skull bead: purchased from Country Beads for $1.50 each
1 Flat head pin
Chain - usually sold by the foot or inches so get 6 inches (price varies depending on how baller or cheap you want to be)

2 jump rings
1 clasp

Step one: 
Use the cutters and cut off the flat head of the pin then using the needle nose pliers bend one end of the wire at around 1 centimeter to make a loop.

Step two:
Put the bead through the pin and from the base of the bead leave 1 centimeter of pin then cut off the remainder. Using the needle nose pliers make another loop at the base of the bead ensuring both loops are facing the same way while doing so.

Step three:
Cut the chain in half and attach it to either ends of the top and base loops of the bead.

Step four:
Try it on for size and cut off some excess chain if required. Time to attach the jump rings and clasp with the flat head and needle nose head pliers to finish it off!!!

TA DA!!!!! Arm party guests for less than $4.00 to make.

Vanitas

Skull motifs are no longer just for punks and gangsters they were brought back pretty much by Alexander McQueen and his infamous scarf in the realm of fashion. Skulls are ... EVERYWHERE. Big name traditional jeweler, Links of London even have a skull friendship bracelet. To me it is like the equivalent of Tiffany's designing something similar, wow factor, major.

Vanitas is a type of symbolic art associated with still life paintings and were common in medieval funeral art. Although these paintings are morbid, death and decay obsessed it only reminds us of how precious and short life can be. Many symbols are associated with vanitas but the skull is of course the strongest of them all.

 Herman Steenwyck - Still Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life

 Pieter Claesz - Vanitas

Adiaen van Utrecht - Vanitas: Still Life with Bouquet and Skull 

Now thats a wrap!

Have you ever came across a bead or button that you really liked and bought on a whim or have a random stray bead lingering around the house with no idea what to do with it?

Well wrap it into a ring! 

Materials required: 

- One bead, or pearl or button
- Beading wire - really thin to ensure it fits into the hole of the bead and because thick wire requires Popeye finger and arms which I do not have
- Needle nose pliers
- Cutting pliers
- Ruler 
- Chapstick or lipstick tube

Time to rock and roll!!!!

Step one:
Cut 24 inches of the wire and thread the bead to the center of the wire.

Step two: Making the band of the ring.
Center the bead on the tube of lipstick or chapstick and wrap both ends of the wire twice around the tube. 

Step three: Time to secure the bead onto the ring.
Grab both ends of the wire and wrap it a couple of times around the base of the bead.

Step four: Time to pretty-fy the band of the wring!
Wrap (coil) either side of the band with the long remaining wire you have until you run out or leaving a 2 cm gap at the end to create an ADJUSTABLE RING!!!! After cutting the remaining wire use the needle nose pliers to really coil the tid bit of wire to prevent dangerous jagged edges hanging around.

Step five: How to make it adjustable and adjusting the ring.
Leaving a wider Z shape makes it winder and closing the Z gaps makes it smaller.

TA DA!!!! Now you've created a baller looking-ish ring but really it was like 49 cents.

Not so random after all

Time for a nail art idea! .... CONSTELLATIONS!!!!

Colors used: Sally Hansen: 92 (blue) and OPI: Alpine Snow (white).

Cross Stitching Part II - doing it!

Now that you have the basic materials, chosen the image you want to make and got the color of threads for your image it is time to start stitching!

But do keep in mind the hoop regulates how large your image can be so if you are going to be one crazy cat and making a huge project then get a huge frame. The Aida fabric count I usually use is 16 any number higher sort of kills me with details and any number lower is too pixelated for my liking.  

I am going to make R2D2 from Star Wars. As you can tell this specific R2D2 was a melting bead pattern.

Step one: get your hoop and frame the fabric ensure the little squares in the fabric are upright in the hoop then cut it out of the giant piece of Aida cloth.

Step two: find the center of your image and find the center of your fabric within the hoop to create a reference point in transferring the image.

Step three: time to start stitching !!! The DMC skeins consists of 6 threads. You will need 2 threads for cross stitching. So separate them and thread the needle with 2 threads at a time.Tie a knot at the end of the thread. Once you start stitching and you run out of thread just leave the tail hanging in the back of the hoop and thread the needle again to stitch. 

I tend to like doing the outline of the object first to create a guide for myself. And just remember this saying "up from bottom left and down into top right" this is the motion of the stitching will go in trying to keep things as consistent as possible. The blue is the thread. So start from under the loop and poke your needle upwards. Up from bottom left 1 then poke the needle down into top right 2. Up from bottom left 3 then down into top right 4, up from bottom left 5 and down into top right 6. 

Don't worry if your design is all over the place and you have no idea what is going on. Just try to keep your stitching consistent, don't worry if the underside is a mess ... no one will see it! I have been cross stitching for about 13 years and most of my things are still all over the place, as long as it looks nice on the top, I WIN!

This is the bottom ... it looks all nice and stuff now ... not for long.

So far mine looks like this.

Of course this is not called CROSS stitching for no reason. Now you have all these slanted stitches it is time to go over them with stitches in the OTHER direction to create a CROSS! As you can see I have started CROSS stitching some of the slanted single stitches below.

Continue with your project. Once you are done, trim the left over Aida fabric from the edges of your loop.  Cross stitching is time consuming no doubt! Once you finish a project you will feel like an old person but one proud old person indeed!

Like I have mentioned before, do not care how the bottom looks like because it WILL look like a giant mess. 

I have left the whites of my R2D2 un-stitched because I like the 3-D sort of look but you can also just say I am straight up lazy because I could have stitched it with white thread.

TA DA!!!!! Now you have learned the basics of cross stitching and it is time to take on larger, more detailed and extravagant projects! Challenge your self because that is the only way to improve and grow!

Cross Stitching Part I - intro and materials

Sorry guys for being MIA! I sort of got addicted to melting beads and it consumed my life for the past week.

To me cross stitching is very closely related to melting beads just that the mediums, materials and method is different. However, the main idea of counting pixels is the same!

Cross stitch projects can be framed and displayed as a piece of art, sewn onto other things like pillows and clothing for that added POW POW or kept in the original stitching hoop as decoration.

There are many counted cross stitch kits that can be purchased in local craft stores and online.

However, I enjoy making what my little heart desires and you should too! So instead of purchasing kits I purchase the contents of the kits on their own.

Materials required for cross stitching.

Fabric - the fabric used for cross stitching have little holes in them and are not like regular clothing fabric. The main brand is called Aida, which can be purchased from Michaels (remember to print off their 40% off coupon!). There are different counts of Aida fabric. The higher the number the smaller the stitching the more detailed the project will be ... meaning time consuming.

Cross stitch hoop - these hoops are to help you keep the the fabric taught and in place while you stitch and can also act as a frame for the finished goods. The come in different sizes and can be made out of wood or plastic. The cheapest place around town for them is Dressew. Below are two examples of the ones I purchased from Dressew for 99 cents each.

Needle - a dull small one will do, using a sharp one just means pain and anguish for yourself.

 

Thread - the main brand of embroidery thread out there is DMC cotton embroidery thread. There are different brands of threads but in my opinion DMC is the best type of thread available on the market. Instead of calling them spools of thread they are called 'skeins'. These are also the same type of threads used to make friendship bracelets. The cheapest place to purchase DMC thread would be eBay, however you do have to purchase a ginormous amount compared to about 40 cents per skein from craft stores.

What to make now?!?!?!?!

Now that you have all the materials what the heck can you make? ANYTHING!!!! Counted cross stitch books can be purchased from craft stores or borrowed from your local public library. Trust me there are TONS of books on cross stitch patterns at libraries. If you are new school you can always type in Google image search "cross stitch __________" just like with the Perler beads search. Perler patterns can also be used as cross stitch patterns and vice versa!

Recently Dolce and Gabbanna used tons and tons of cross stitchness for their Fall/ Winter 2012 collection. SWOOOON!

Melting Beads

This is a tutorial for using Perler aka Hama aka Pyssla beads in making a cute little versatile plastic bow (key chain - the plastic bow can be super glue gunned to a piece of magnet to create a magnet, or used as a wrapping bow, glue gunned to a barrette ... infinite possibilities.)

Strange that IKEA would sell such a thing but they do! It is also one of the cheapest places too. The bucket of beads from IKEA is a great starter kit for those wanting to give this form of arts and crafts a try.

The possibilities of these plastic bead creations are basically ... infinite. Key chains, coasters, barrettes, jewelry, cake toppers, ornaments, containers, magnets, checker board set ... like I said ... infinite.  

What you will need: 
1. Plastic Beads
- purchased from IKEA or any arts and crafts store for similar brands/ types of beads

2. Peg board
- comes in different shapes and sizes. I like to purchase the giant plain square to freestyle with. The large white one I use comes with a large circle in a package from De Serres. Michaels also carries the large peg boards and is great when they have the 40% off coupon, however, their stock is pretty low on something this specific sometimes

3. Parchment paper
-  just a little bit and can be reused again and again forever

4. Iron (the one for clothes)

5.Giant safety pin or needle or pin
- to poke out the beads from the individual peg if you make a mistake

6. Heavy textbook or phone book
- to place on top of the beaded creation while it cools down to prevent it from "curling"

7. A jump ring and pebble chain (purchased from Michaels separately in packages) or a piece of magnet,  barrette etc.

Time to Rock and Roll!

Step one: choose a color and do the outline of the bow as below. 

Step two: fill in the bow with a secondary color.

Step three:  READ BEFORE PROCEEDING 

Place a large piece of parchment paper over your creation. It is time to iron! Please ensure your iron is on MEDIUM heat so you wont melt your creation away. No need to press too hard, its not a shirt you're angry at. Iron until the beads are slightly darker through the parchment paper.

Once it is slightly darker time to flip the creation off the board and iron the other side. I like to fold over the parchment paper and sandwich the creation to avoid touching it.

CAREFUL HOTNESS!!!! 

Step four: place the text book or phone book over the creation that is still in/ under the parchment paper. Once its cooled both sides should look like below:

Step five: do what ever you please with the bow!!! Attach the jump ring and pebble chain or glue gun the bow to anything you want it to be!

Now you are on the road to a new arts and crafts addiction! If you do not want to free style your creations you can always Google image search "Perler ___________" like Perler cupcake, Perler bow, Perler bacon ... and trust me images after images will come up and it is up to your little heart's desire to make what ever it pleases!