Mel Designs

Handmade Vintage Brooch Embellishments

I love the vintage jewelry look. I have used my grandmothers broken bits and pieces she passed on to me in several projects. I have scoured flea markets and thrift stores in hopes of finding charming jewelry pieces I can deconstruct and use to embellish my projects, many of which are fabric pieces I love to add hard embellishments to. I was recently inspired to grab my glue gun and try to recreate the look of vintage jewelry. I used some easy to find materials to create these handmade vintage brooch embellishments. 

Materials for Handmade Vintage Brooch Embellishments

Plastic pearls - I purchased a bulk assortment of these in various sizes ands shapes from Joann's. 

Adtech Adhesives Cool Tool Glue Gun  

Adtech Adhesives Cool Tool Lo Temp Glue Sticks

Adtech Adhesives Glue Gun Pad  

Clear rhinestones- glass or acrylic 

Hard embellishments of choice- I used flower centers found in the scrapbooking embellishment section of Joann's and Michael's 

Trim scraps- I used tulle and hand dyed ribbons

When using plastics and hot glue, it is important to use a low temp glue gun since the higher temperatures of regular glue guns can melt and warp plastics. Plus you will be working with your fingers and tiny stones and beads and you will appreciate the lower temp! 

I also find working on a glue gun pad to be helpful. You don't have to worry about getting hot glue on your surfaces and the pad is very easy to clean and remove hot glue. 

These handmade vintage brooch embellishments are super easy. Just use the glue gun to create a base for the brooch. 

 

Then continue by building layers which the following images will show. 

 

 

 

Finally, I glued bits of tulle and various hand dyed ribbons to the back of each embellishment. 

Create lots of these charming vintage knock offs and keep them on hand as pretty embellishments for your projects! 

Life Life Creatively, 

 

 

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Halloween Drink Strirrers

Welcome to the Sticky Sticks Blog Hop hosted by the Designer Craft Connection. If you are hopping through the projects you've probably seen some really inspiring ideas for Halloween or other special occasions using Sticky Sitcks! Thanks for allowing me to share my idea for Halloween Drink Stirrers that morph into brooches.

Materials and Tools for Halloween Drink Stirrers:

Sticky Sticks

Fabric and black wool felt scraps

Buttons Galore and More Buttons (flat backed)

Laser Cut Wood Bird Shapes

Black acrylic paint

Pin backs

Inkjet fabric sheets

Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac

Tracing pencil (white), fabric marking pen, sewing machine and thread, hand sewing needle, paintbrushes, computer and printer, scalloped edged scissors

To create your own Halloween Drink Stirrers, use a circle and square template and the fabric marker to trace shapes measuring approximately 2 1/2" to the wrong side of the fabric. Cut out the shapes with scissors.

Trace 3" shapes onto the black wool felt with the white tracing pencil. Cut the circles and squares out with the smooth edged or scalloped edged scissors. You will need two of each shape for each Halloween Drink Stirrer you want to make.

Pin the shapes together. Use the sewing machine and thread to sew the shapes together.

Now comes the fun part! Embellishing your Halloween Drink Stirrers. I used inkjet fabric sheet to print out various Halloween sentiments.

Cut the sentiments out and fork the ends, then glue them under a button sewn or glued to the center of the shapes.

As an option, machine stitch the edges of your fabric sentiment. Embellish the shapes for the Halloween Drink Stirrers with painted black laser cut bird shapes and more buttons.

To create a Halloween Drink Stirrer that becomes a brooch, sew a bar pin to the backside of the embellished shape.

Now add the second un-embellished shape you cut from the black wool felt to the sticky stick.

Sticky Sticks are jumbo sized self adhesive craft sticks. This is a particularly great kids product because glue is not required. Just peel off the adhesive film to reveal the sticky part.

So I adhere my second wool felt shape to the stick and pin the embellished shape to that shape.

These Halloween Drink Stirrers that become brooches guests can take home as party favors will delight your guests!

Enjoy hopping along, just use the Designer Craft Connection gadget in the right sidebar of this blog to hop forward or back!

Happy Haunting,

Live Life Creatively,

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Repurposed Tap Shoe Pendant Using the Crystyler Tool

The story about how I came upon a lot of about twenty old shoe taps involves one of my usual thrifting afternoons. I discovered some old metal prescriptions boxes and knew I had to have them, pricey as they were. When I got home and opened one of them, I discovered some old shoe taps. I imagined who would have taken the time to save these? Was it some proud grandparent who had a ton of tap dancing grandkids and saved the metal tap after the shoes fell apart? My mind runs wild with imagination...

I started making things with the shoes taps and one of the things I came up with was a pendant. When some of my pendants were published in GreenCraft magazine, I began getting inquiries from Etsy customers regarding custom orders. One delightful customer comes to mind. She wanted a pendant to give to her child's dance teacher at the end of the year. I thought this was creative gift giving at it's best.

 

About the time I set out to create a new shoe tap pendant, a surprise arrived from one of my favorite craft manufacturers, Walnut Hollow. Inside the package? An innovative tool recently introduced by Norma Rapko, sold exclusively at Michaels stores. (now available). The Crystyler is a crystal loading tool that comes in two different sizes to load two different sizes of crystals in a myriad of colors. The object is to be able to load the cyrstals quickly and set them on your project (coated with glue) with a click of your thumb. 

To see a complete video and tips on using this new tool, check out this link. 

More on how I used this innovative tool when creating my shoe tap pendant a little later...

I painted the shoe tap with DecoArt's Americana Acyrlics in Lamp Black, adding a couple of coats of Duraclear Varnish.

I like the texture of the tap, which the paint covers so I decided to add a light coat of Metallic Lustre in Silver Spark. 

After adding a painted distressed circle to the center of the tap, I used Beacons Glass Metal and More to add a coat of glue around the circle with a toothpick.

Adding the stones to the surface of the pendant was super easy with this tool! My old method involved picking the stones up individually with a toothpick! I can see how an entire surface can be blinged up so quickly and easily with the Cystyler.

 

Moving on, I used silver beading wire to add stones, taking advantage of the pre-drilled holes around the perimeter of the tap.

I finished the whole project by adding the pendant to a pearl string and stamping script text to the center of the pendant.

I have seem some shoe taps being offered for sale on sites like Ebay. Try creating with them, they are really fun and come in all sorts if shapes. I hope you create, I hope you make life beautiful but above all... I hope you dance.

Live Life Creatively,

Melony

 

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Dyed Wood Jewelry with Simple Shapes

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Dyed Wood Jewelry with Simple Shapes

I love creating projects using unexpected materials. I have been using these simple shapes from Forster called Woodsies for years. I have used them for countless projects published by various magazines, mostly for kid's crafts.

Rit Dye is another I LOVE! I have dyed many things using their low water immersion process. Everything from fabric, hemp and rope, beads, buttons, feathers and now wood. Using Kelly Green and Fuschia, I dyed some simple wood shapes and some cute laser cut birds I found at Michaels.

After I dyed the wood shapes and let them dry on a layer of paper towels, I stamped the teardrop shapes using black pigment ink.

Bits and pieces such as jewelry findings, flat backed crystals and rhinestone chain were used to complete this necklace and earring set.

Attach the rhinestone chain to the edges of the large teardrop wood shape with a strong adhesive like Beacon's Glass Metal and More.

I added the birds to the center of this wood shape along with a tiny wood cut piece I stamped with the letter "i."

 
This knotting tool from Beadalon  proved to come in handy for carefully piercing holes for the insertion of jump rings. It is intended for stringing beads on knotted strands but I was happy to find another use for it!

Once I had my shapes embellished with all my bling and dyed wood, I attached them to this chain using chain nose pliers and jump rings.

I like this simple toogle clasp from Cousin Corp because it is really easy to handle since the pieces are larger than lobster style clasps. 

I also used their super tiny crystals to embellish the birds and outline the smaller wood teardrop shapes.

 

 

Project completed! Have you been looking for jewelry with specific colors to match that perfect outfit? Use liquid dyes and simple wood shapes to customize your own DIY jewelry pieces. Mix dye colors together to create up to 500 colors! Formulas for mixing dyes can be found on the Rit Dye website. 

Happy dying!

Live Life Creatively,

Melony

 

Jewelry Holder with Buttons

Pendants and beaded necklaces are the one jewelry item that I cannot go without. I needed a place to store some of the

Bird Nest Shadowbox Jewelry Boxes and Brooches

It's hard not to be inspired by birds in Spring. The cheerful singing and constant presence of birds this time of year cannot be ignored. I create almost daily next to a large window. Almost every five minutes or so I am startled by a cardinal who thumps the window almost violently. This occurrence has been going on for a few weeks now. After searching the web, I found out that cardinals are notorious for fighting their own reflections in an effort for territorial rights. With the constant thumping and sweet site of my cardinal, I once again became inspired to create a bird themed project.

It was by pure chance that I ran into these really cute wood boxes at my local craft store recently. I thought they were really different. I also snagged these super cute laser cut wood bird shapes. Super tiny and perfect for jewelry projects.

The boxes are different. They have a glass top and a wood slat that is removable so that you can display components of your choice, shadowbox style.

Here is a look at most of the supplies I used for this project, give or take a few.

Instead of painting the boxes, I decided to use Rit Dyes to stain them. I love this process because its fun, fast and easy. I simply used a teaspoon of dye to about 1/4 cup hot water to mix a dye bath. (Remember to wear rubber or latex gloves when using dyes)

I used a paintbrush to "paint" the dye to the top of the box.

For a two toned stained effect, I added some water to the dye and painted the bottom of the box a lighter shade of Rit Dye's Aquamarine. I also dropped the shapes into the cup that I used for the dye bath and let them sit for five minutes or so.

For the second box, I used Cocoa Brown. Here is a shot of all the pieces dyed drying on paper towels.

So, with my bird theme, what to display under the top glass but a sweet little wired bird nest? I used Artistic Wire to create a simple spiraled nest.

These are super easy to create, just keep wrapping the wire in a circular motion until you have a nice full "nest." Use wire nippers to cut off a few small piece of wire and use them to wire the spirals together. Twist them tight with round nose jewelry pliers.

Don't worry too much about what your nest look like at this point. After you feel them with eggs in the center, any little "imperfections" will be invisible. 

I used Premo by Sculpey to shape little tiny eggs. A pea sized piece will make perfectly sized eggs for these nests.

I bake the eggs, right in the nest, in the oven at about 225 degrees for about 25 minutes on a clay dedicated baking sheet. Then I brushed the eggs with Silver PearlEx by Jacquard Products.

To embellish the box, I added a stamped oval, some fabric washi tape from Stampington and some self adhesive gem stone rows.

 To make the pendant, I glued the bird to the center of the dyed circle and added some rhinestone chain to the the edges with Beacon's Glass Metal and More. I also attached a super sparkly brooch to the piece. To create a brooch, I added a pin back.

This little brooch turned out to be the perfect addition for the boxes.

And my cardinal is stil outside my window, thumping away and reminding me that birds are so artfully inspirational.

Live Life Creatively,

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DCC Blog Hop- Buttons Galore and More Mixed Media Heart Pendant

Welcome to the March Designer Crafts Connection Manufacturer Challenge and Give
Away!  This month, it's all about the buttons, with Buttons Galore & More.  
This month, we have many talented Designers sharing projects made with buttons
and a fabulous prize package. The give away starts today and ends on March
17th.  Leave a comment to enter.  There will be a prize for one participating
Designer and one Reader who comments.  Drawings are random, so leave comments on
all the blogs for more chances to win.

I decided to create a mixed media necklace using gold beads and cozy brads from Buttons Galore and More. I used the button shank remover to remove the flange from the brad. For the heart shape, I used a Sizzix Die cut machine and primitive hearts die to cut two shapes from scrap fabrics.

Fuse webbing to the scrap fabric before cutting and fuse the smaller heart to the larger one by layering. Cut an extra heart from the scrap fabric for the back of of the heart. You will need to completely embellish the front of the heart before sewing the pieces together.

I used my sewing machine and thread to sew around the edges of the small heart in order to keep it in place. I also added a stamped fabric sentiment to fused muslin and fused it to the center of the heart.

Use the sewing machine and thread to stitch the sentiment in place. I used solvent ink by the way and set the ink with an iron on a medium setting.

One of the embellishments I added was wire that I used round nose pliers to bend the wire.

I used black embroidery floss to sew the wire the front of the heart. I also added a scrap off fabric that I had in my stash in a coordinating fabric.

I added my cozy brad, flange removed and sewed a gold button to the heart.

I used fabri-tac to add the brad to the heart. I also added a little glitter to the brad for a little extra sparkle.

To assemble the heart, sew the front and back together, leaving a small opening so that you can stuff the heart with polyfiber stuffing.

Continue sewing closed once it is stuffed. Because I had so many embellishments to the front of my heart, I hand sewed the pieces together using sewing thread and back stitch. I added a jump ring to the top with the hand sewing needle and thread.

Add a chain and there you are, you have a sweet little mixed media button embellished pendant.   

Now for the Blog Hop Part. 

Please join the Designer Craft Connection, Viewtainer and Buttons Galore

in presenting this blog hop. 

You have a chance to win a Viewtainer filled with an assortment

buttons and 45 feet of ribbon.

To win one of the Viewtainers filled with ribbons and buttons – Leave a comment on the Buttons Galore and More Blog.
The comment should contain your favorite project from the hop, and the container
you would like to win. Comments need to be made by March 17th, 2013 at 11:59
eastern standard time.

Don't forget to use the DCC logo on the right sidebar by clicking back and forward to see all the wonderful projects.

Life Live Creatively,

More ideas for Furniture Caster Pendants

 
So about a month ago, I showed you my new idea for turning common wood furniture casters into cool things like pendants, napkin rings, gift package embellishments and refrigerator magnets. 

Purchased for about $5.00 for a package of four, 

Overtaken with the idea of making them in themed necklace pendants, I added a special section to my new etsy shop with pendants made from these super easy purchases from home improvement stores such as Lowes.

I cannot wait to come up with more ideas for these. What theme would you create? I glue a 2 1/2"circle to the center of the framed wood and then go to town using stamps, crystals, clay pieces and other embellies to create them.

Today, I released two new offerings on my etsy shop. Check them out by clicking here and remember that ordering by July 15th with coupon code MelDesigns1 scores you free shipping.

So be unique. Wear one of these unique pendants made of furniture casters and stand out! Or better yet- make one of your own and share it here!

Live Life Creatively,

 

  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Repurposed Furniture Caster Pendant

We recently moved a large sectional sofa from our den to our upstairs media room. Since it was originally on hardwood floors, my hub had placed furniture casters under the legs. My little pup chewed up a few, but I managed to save a few since I thought they would be perfect for creating such things as napkin rings, ornaments and pendants.

If you don't have some to repurpose, you can buy some pretty inexpensively from home improvement stores such as Lowes.

I used my Neopaque paints from Jacquard to paint the caster black. I painted a 1 1/2 circle black, waxed it, and then painted it white, using a sanding block to remove some of the white paint for a distressed look.

I then used this sweet swallow mold from a super cool supplier of molds: mad about molds.  

I used cernit clay to create my swallow. If you are unsure how to use these bisque type of molds, mad about molds has a really quick video demo you can view by clicking here.If you are unfamilar with Cernit Clay, it is distributed by Jacquard products and perfect for making both sophisticated and whimsical arts and crafts projects, including: miniatures, dolls, buttons, beads, jewelry, and for adding sculptural elements to any project.

I used an acrylic block to make sure the clay was pushed all the way into the mold. Then I used a plain craft knife to cut away portions of the clay.

Bake in an oven on a clay dedicated sheet at 275 degrees, about 15 minutes for every 1/4" of thickness.

I accidentally baked mine at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and got a burned, puffed up swallow. I ended up liking the effect so I used the piece anyway.

To finish the pendant, I drilled holes at the top and the bottom of the caster, inserted really large (like 18mm) silver jump rings and glued the circle and bird to the center.

I stamped sing in black Staz on and added a few beads and gem stones. I cannot wait to make a set of napkin rings with these!  I sure am glad we moved that sofa!

Live Life Creatively,

 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 


 
 
 
  
 

Floral Clay Roses Craft Stick Cuff Bracelet

A few weeks ago, I posted my version of the adorable craft stick bracelets that I have been seeing on blogs, pinterest and other sites. I loved making this buttoned up version of them so much that I decided to grab some of my other supplies and make a slightly more sophisticated cuff.

Making the wood cuff itself is simple but requires some advance planning as you need to let the bracelets dry out overnight. Here's how I did it...

Bring a pot of water to a boil on the stovetop. Place several sticks in the pot and boil for five minutes. If you are making one bracelet, you might want to boil four or even five sticks until you get the hang of forming the wood. I was a little impatient and broke several sticks before getting one formed and placed into the glass.

Let the sticks soak in the hot water for about 15 minutes. Then, carefully shape them into a cuff shape. This is the hardest part. You need to work patiently and carefully to prevent breaks and stress fractures in the wood.

Form the cuffs by placing them inside a glass. Let them dry out overnight before removing them.

To embellish my wood cuff, I created roses from cernit clay by Jacquard Products.  I used white, pinched off a quarter sized piece after conditioning it with my fingers, and rolled it into a ball.

Then, roll into into a thin string.

Use your fingers to flattern the string out and roll inward to resemble a flower, slghtly forming petals.

Do this until you have five flowers. 

I used Lumiere to paint my cuffs and flowers.

I used Metallic Olive Green for the cuff and Pearlescent Magenta for the roses.

Dry brush the roses with metallic gold. Use a strong glue like Liquid Fusion to glue the rhinestones to the center of the roses. Use the Liquid Fusion to glue the flowers to the cuff. 

And your cuff is complete,

These bracelets are really fun and easy to make.Thanks for letting me share them with you.

Live Life Creatively,