Blog - Candie Cooper

How to Make a Button Bracelet

July 26, 2014 By candiecooper 2 Comments

Yesterday around 3pm when I should’ve been writing this post, I decided to skip town and go to a quilt show (and spend all my yard sale money). Fat quarters are the devil. They’re so perfectly sized and for someone who loves scrappy quilts, they’re a problem. I had the best time looking at the quilts and pretty fabrics, leaving mega inspired ready to sew everything. Never mind, penniless too!Earlier in the day, I snuck outside to take pictures for this button bracelet tutorial. It was so pretty and not humid so I had to soak some of that up. Had to. No choice. This is always my audience when making tutorials. Meet Rocker and Bebe.Materials for this little button bracelet are from Dress It Up Buttons (found in all the craft stores and lots of independent quilt shops as I learned yesterday), Beacon Adhesives Dazzle Tack, and the bracelet with glue pads from Rings and Things. The reason I really love this bracelet finding is because you can remove links and make it smaller.

*A word about gluing: Even though this project looks kid friendly, this adhesive is for grown ups and should be used in a well vented area. If you want to make it with smaller hands, I suggest a game of “jewelry designer and jewelry manufacturer.” In other words, grown ups do the gluing wherever the designer tells them to. 😉Lay out the pieces along the bracelet. There are two choices for gluing buttons with shanks: cut the shank off with heavy wire cutters and glue on the silver disc/glue pad OR don’t cut the shank and glue it so the button uses two silver discs.This glue comes out fast! Less is more too! My philosophy is, you can aways add more glue, but dang it’s hard to get off when you have it oozing from every angle, on your fingers, etc…etc… You know what I’m talkin’ about! So go easy.Once you’re finished gluing, double check no buttons have slid out of place and set this little cutie aside to dry!

Now, I gotta get back to petting my fat quarters (that doesn’t sound right, but you know what I mean).

Have a great day!

<3 Candie

Filed Under: Jewelry, Kids Arts and Crafts

DIY Earring Making: Boho Style

July 23, 2014 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

What a dreary day, this day started out to be. By 6:30 this evening the sun popped out coupled with a cool breeze. I didn’t see that coming! Thank you, Mother Nature. My hubs fixed hot dogs, I made mac and cheese and after we ate (2 hot dogs each I might add), we felt we needed to take the dogs on a walk.

It was a great day. I got a nice note from one of my Etsy customers first thing this morning. She lives in Tel Aviv, Israel. This amazes me. I moved through my deadline/to-do list nice and easy and topped it off with a walk. Now we are watching the Outsiders. Well, I’m 3/4 watching and writing.

Now about these Boho earrings! This is the final pair of orchid colored earrings for awhile. I promise! This tutorial will show you how to make an eye pin or a bead link.
To do this, I am using Beadalon’s Artistic Wire 20g. The pictures tell the story. I’ll chime in from time to time if there’s something specific I want to show you (and also because I’m a babbling brook and just can’t help myself).
Grasp the end of the wire at the point on the round nose pliers where you want that diameter of loop. Tiny loop at the tip–bigger loop at the back of the jaw.

When you get the loop completely formed, it’s going to be wonky. Here’s how you fix it:

Basically grab the loop at the back side and tweak it backwards.

To open an eye pin, switch to your chain nose pliers and open the loop from side to side.

Close it in the same fashion. See how it keeps its shape?
String your select beads (by the way, those are from a Jesse James Beads Design Pack) and make a 90 degree bend at the top of the last bead.
Trim leaving approximately 3/8″ (or the width of the side of your finger like I do).
Roll the end of the wire into a loop with the round nose pliers.

This type of loop isn’t as secure as a wrapped loop, but for earrings, it should be ok since they aren’t in a high traffic area while worn.

On another note, the names in this movie are great!! Pony Boy, Sodapop, Darry and Two-Bit. I’m pretty sure we had to read this in school. My memory is vacant, but Hubs says he actually read it. Decorating my locker was more of a priority than reading if that tells you anything.

Funny how things change. These days, I love reading and thankful for that change.

Ready to get on the earring making train? May I humbly suggest Earringology, my latest book geared for beginners to enthusiasts looking for some new inspiration.

P.S. Katie Hacker is giving away a copy of Earringology on her blog! Check it out!

**Earring resources:

Findings from Beadalon.

Beads from JesseJamesBeads.com

Filed Under: Tutorials

Kids Watercolor Art Project Idea

July 18, 2014 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

I’m just going to start this post off by saying, I just watched the ZEDD concert on #GMA this morning. He’s only 24. He had the Central Park crowd so pumped up. It gave me goosebumps. But the part that made my eyes tear is when after the song Clarity was over…HE clapped for his audience. Am I getting old if stuff like this warms my heart? Gratitude really is beautiful.

Ok, Cooper, get it together.

In my past life, I went to school to be an art teacher. I never ended up in the traditional classroom, but have always enjoyed keeping my foot in the children’s art world. I’ve done that through a variety of ways the past few years, designing kids art and craft projects for the industry, teaching at the Honeywell Center (our local art center) and hosting a children’s craft show on PBS. I’ll show you more later, but the primary focus of the newly renovated White House is to create experiences for children to make things. Creativity builds self esteem and good for problem solving skills (plus a whole. lot. more). I want to promote this! Once a week, I’d like to share a kids project over here on my blog. I hope it inspires you to make things along side your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, bible school groups, or even at lunch time with your colleagues simply to take time to play.

This project requires: Oil pastels, Watercolor paper, a pencil, tube of watercolor pigment, soft large paint brush, a pencil and eraser.

These are the brands I use when making this project. To be totally honest, I’ve worked with both of the below companies in the past through different projects. However, neither are paying me to promote them right now. I use these companies art materials because I know they work. The paper isn’t going to fall apart if it gets a little too wet and the oil pastels are going to be bright and go on easy. I also believe it’s better to create within your budget than to not create at all. Ya feel me?

Here are some Amazon links:

Sakura Craypas and Koi Watercolors

Canson Watercolor PaperThese are a few shots from a class I taught at our local art center. We worked with about 45 kids at a time in a big gymnasium. Sometimes I forget to take pictures with all that excitement.

This class started out by discussing Paul Klee’s Sun and Castle. We talk about what shapes they see and then what they think those shapes might actually be. I love hearing their answers.

Then they set to drawing their own geometric town or neighborhood or castle or a house (or whatever the painting just inspired them to do).

I’ll insert a video of this project at the end so you can get the full skinny.We had trays of Craypas on the tables and then one big long table set up with bowls of watercolor wash ready to roll. You’ll also want to have paper towels on hand in case they want to blot some of the excess wash off. When it comes to mixing a watercolor wash, I go pretty strong with the pigment/water ratio. Start with a teaspoon of watercolor and add a 1/3 cup of water, mix and see if you like the effect on a scrap piece of paper. Adjust if needed. I store leftover washes in the fridge in tupperware (probably should label them too). Craft supply hoarders unite!This class had 5 year olds up to teens making it. That’s one of my favorite things about this project in that a wide age range loves the art making process.

Alrighty–now here’s the video how to. Message me if you have questions! Thanks for peeking and happy creating!

And please don’t judge for that Diet Coke I accidentally left on the stove during the video taping. Momma needs her caffeine.

Filed Under: Kids Arts and Crafts, paint

Earring Making Tutorial

July 17, 2014 By candiecooper 1 Comment

I’m so proud to say that Earringology is officially available! To celebrate, I’ve got a quick earring tutorial for you today!My Aunt Jane has been talking about picking berries. I want some. Right now. I can eat them like popcorn annnnd I usually pay for it later, but they’re so worth it! Do you have any favorite berry recipes?

Oh Summer, please stick around for as long as you can.

These beads make me think of berries. That’s why all the berry talk. Sorry.

The berry beads and chain are from JesseJamesBeads.com and the remaining findings are from Beadalon. The thing I love about this design is that they are light and dangly with just the right amount of sparkle.

Ok, enough rambling…let’s do this!I use Beadalon Ergo pliers. Have for years! I’m a loyal dog. You can find a set of pliers that feel comfy to you.String the bead onto the decorative head pin wire and finish with a wrapped loop following the pictures.Make a 90 degree bend at the end of the wire. Grasp the wire with the round nose pliers next to the bead. Ding! Move to the next picture.Remember those tapes and story books? Or were they film strips? Maybe both. Anyway! Wrap the wire up and over the top of the round nose pliers. This will form the loop nicely.Now, wrap the extra wire around the base of the loop as many times as you can or like.Does it look kind of like this? Good deal!Trim the excess wire (even though the picture before said that already). Did I mention you need to trim that wire?Open a jump ring with chain nose pliers and connect the chain to the ring and then…. (ding)the berry dangle.Close the ring. At this point, you can decide how long you want the chain section and trim it to that length. I left mine about 1.5″ long because this pair of earrings is ready to party!Open another jump ring and connect to the opposite end of the chain.Then attach the ear wire to the jump ring.And close the ring! Easy peasy!On that note, I’ve gotta run. My to-do list is calling my name. Back to school craft projects are at the top of the list. Already?? I know.

Have a great day! And let me know if you decide to take a peek at Earringology. I care what you think of it! <3

Filed Under: Books, Jewelry, Tutorials

Back to Bead Fest with Jesse James Beads

July 16, 2014 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

It’s time for round two of Bead Fest near Philadelphia! I’ll be there teaching jewelry making classes, partnering with Jesse James Beads!Doesn’t this look appetizing?! We are also collaborating with Beadalon–makers of great findings and tools! I taught two classes there in the Spring and the ladies were delightful. The other thing I love about working with them is everyone’s jewelry project turns out differently because we bring lots of beads to choose from.Here is a handy link so you can take a peek at the class offerings and if you can’t make a class, come say howdy at the Jesse James Beads booth! <3 It’s always a good time being around my fellow jewelry makers, playing in the piles of beads and talkin’ shop. I really do love it!

Filed Under: Beads, Classes, Uncategorized

Renovating an Old House Ideas

July 15, 2014 By candiecooper 9 Comments

Wanna go for a ride? This is the story of one of my projects I’ve been (and a bunch of others) chipping away at for the last year. My sweet aunt left her home to me when she passed. To be honest, it took me a minute to figure out what I was going to do with it. We had just purchased a home in January of 13′. We got married in March of 13′. Then, in July of 13′, a tree fell on this extra house. Right in the middle of my book project deadline for Earringology I might add. Although, is there ever a good time for a billion year old tree to fall on a house? That tree was hollow to the core and wrapped itself over the top of the house. We felt so lucky no one was hurt. It did minimal damage to the house too. That will always amaze me. This house was built sometime before 1874 and those timbers were the real deal. Solid. It took us hours and hours to clean up. That pretty much cured me of wanting to work on it until January of this year.Remember all those winter storms? Something happened when I got off the Country Music Cruise–still not sure what, but I knew it was time to dig in. Luckily, I have the most supportive husband in the world. I said goodbye to my downtown studio and helloooooo DIY home improvement project! This is what I look like when I’m getting’ it done! I drove hub’s blue pick up around all winter collecting building stuff and cleaning out the rest of the house. Please guys, take a moment to appreciate my custom Mod Podged work gloves and beaded bead earrings with cammo jacket and hat. Let’s go inside…After the tree fell, hubs still had some gas in his tank and tore out all the carpets to reveal the original hardwood floors.Eighty percent of the place (which is around 900 sq ft) was still plaster and lath. This is the front room. A little poking around on Pinterest, showing hubs pictures of the looks I was thinking and the rest is history. I’m creative, but not when it comes to interiors. Pinterest saved my booty.We started in the bathroom (which would end up two rooms later because why on earth do you need a bathroom 30 feet long? I told you I didn’t know what I was doing. Well, our friend Blake actually started the work. Hubs had enough sense to buy this huge pile of old wood at a barn sale the past summer for $200. I drew a picture on the wall of what I was thinking and Blake made it happen. I have some family roots from Kentucky, so I wanted this room to feel like a back porch with a tin roof. This was a double win because both of these treatments hid a lot of imperfections in the drywall.The front room was converted into a lumber yard/saw mill for the next few months.The wood walls were up and the sloped ceiling was begging for a tin roof! Thank you Lord, for Blake!There you have it! But, we didn’t stop here with wall treatment. This is my mom’s studio where she can teach guitar and art lessons.About that plaster and lath…it’s all gone! We kept the original door with doorbell plus the two front windows and that’s about all. The ceiling came down, the windows came out and we were moving upward and onwards with three months to get it finished before Earringology’s book signing party. Oh yes. By then, we had set a finish due date (because I am crazy). Nothing like the pressure of a deadline to get things done!At about the same time we tore out the floor of what is now the office and tweaked it. I was sad to loose the original floors though. This room used to be a back porch on the house way back when. No hidden treasures, I’m sad to say. No skeletons either which is always good! I forgot, we had to get under this floor because we also had a busted pipe from that harsh winter. I could say something about why it’s important for men to wear belts, but I think you already figured that out.So we vaulted the ceiling, electrical was run, so was speaker wire and more… One of the Pinterest pictures showed a vaulted ceiling and Hubs said, “you know we could do that at the White House.” That’s what we call it: The White House or Wabash White House. I’m glad he suggested it, because it made that room more open. Amazing.Our friend that vaulted the ceiling also had the brilliant idea of leaving the space over the next room open for a storage loft. Now I really really really want a library ladder. Do you have one hiding in your garage that needs a good home? Drywall was starting to go up too. Things were moving! Fast!Meanwhile, Hubs (who by this point calls himself Tim the Tool-man Taylor) and my dad had been chipping away at the roof and fixing the porch damage. The old cedar shakes went buh-bye. I believe this was in April.This is Mother’s Day weekend. Dad and I took mom antiquing to celebrate the day before, but this is a testament to what a team player my mom is. Working on a roof on Mother’s Day!

At some point, Hubs also decided he wanted the other side of the house sided. At this point I’m thinking really? We are on a deadline and the inside still looked like this at the end of May. My husband is a super optimistDid I mention the inside looked like this? (deep breaths…deep breaths….)I was still traveling to bead shows with Jesse James Beads and working my regular job. This kind of stuff was happening at night and on weekends. That’s water on the old floors. When it dried it went back to chalky and gross. I wanted to cry.Here’s a picture of “Beaderella” after I got home from the Bead and Button show in Milwaukee. Needless to say I was….over it. But not. It “only” took 8 floor scrubbings to get them ready for stain. My sister saved the day by trying to clean the old floors them with TSP. I’d never heard of it, but we mixed up a solution of that and warm water, scrubbed with a really stiff brush and then went over it again with a rinse. The TSP brightened them right up. We went over them again with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a rinse. Then! They were ready.Hubs stained the floors while I was in Philly. Those floors were so thirsty, they soaked the stain up a little too much, loosing all signs of wood grain. Our friend came to the rescue with a sander and showed me how to use it. Thank you Dewalt rotary sander with velcro discs! I sanded each board with 80 grit and then wiped those floors down ONE MORE TIME with a damp cloth. Then, we threw some tarps over them and called it a day on the ol’ floors.My mother and father in-law painted the place while I was out of town and up to the day before the party. My mother in-law was an absolute trooper. She cleaned. She painted. She ripped up tack strips. I’m sure she did more that I don’t know about too.Trim was going up, thanks to my brother in-law. He taught hubs how to finish it off the week of the party. Thankfully, my sister and her husband came down for several weekends in a row to carry out the final push. I sit at their feet for that. I really don’t think the place would have gotten done had they not.The place got dry walled! This is my sister up on a ten foot ladder scrubbing away drywall mud and dust. If you want to learn how to clean, call my sister. She is a whiz!! Now that I think about it, she got all the boobs AND THE cleaning skills. Lucky girl! I nicknamed myself “Clean-zilla” when I try to clean the house. I’m cranky. I’m clumsy. Blah. Poor Beaderella-Clean-Zilla. I’m smiling. Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m smart enough to phone-a-sister when I get myself into a real pickle like this.Outside, my grandparents came to put their touch on the landscaping out front. Flowers and making things beautiful is my grandparents specialty. I didn’t ask, they just came. They can take anything and make it pretty. I had saved a few hollow logs from the tree that fell the year before and gram worked them right in. Grandpa edged the area with a neat brick design. One thing that really struck me was how many times my gram remarked how great the soil was out front. Apparently, my other grandma that lived there babied her flower beds with fish heads over the years.Lastly, I scrawled out a logo for my friend and she whipped it into something pretty. I’ll show that to you in the next post. This is before…

There were lots of before’s through this project, but one I didn’t expect was my relationships with my family and friends. It brought us together on a new level. Team work=Love. It was all very special and I could babble on and on, but I think you can imagine the ups and downs of what 6 months of intense renovations could bring. I know for sure, the place wouldn’t have come together had my family and friends not saved the day. It definitely would not be as special as it is. Thank you guys, from the bottom of my heart.

After pictures to come next week…but if you can’t wait:

Check out the White House Facebook page here!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

How to Set Up an Art Fair Tent

July 1, 2014 By candiecooper 4 Comments

Once or twice a year I sell my jewelry at an event locally. This time it was the Charley Creek Arts Fest. If I did this every weekend the pictures would look differently. I’m positive! Starting with simpler furniture and displays. However, since I only do this once every blue moon, my sister and I drag everything but the kitchen sink with us because we like stuff and we want it to look like a real live boutique. In other words…we play shop.

I’ll try to point out some things that have really worked for us.

The first: screens hung with fishing line! We staple gun screen into everything from old cabinet doors to picture frames. Use ornament hooks to connect necklaces or carded earrings to the screens easily.

Zip ties. Use zip ties to hang things easily (see white boxes hanging on back side walls). Third, make a garland. The past two years my friend has made a fun garland for me to hang from the cross bars in the booth. For some reason it makes the ceiling feel higher.

Another fun element: RUGS! I started putting rugs in my booth years ago to cover the ugly pavement or patted down grass. They are so welcoming, I think.Then fill it with fluff: white washed ladders, some plants, postcards and business cards, and seating. The past two years, I’ve added a big jug of peppermint iced tea to keep folks cool and refreshed (and hydrated! see the chalk sign on the pavement?). It’s an easy treat! Here’s a look at last year’s booth:More pennants hanging from above! A tower of sea shells filled with earrings. The white shells really show off the colorful elements in the earrings.A plant hanger turned upside down for a butterfly chandelier.

Twine. We love twine! You’ve got to have twine.And last year I was trying to think of something other than a rug because we were in the grass and came up with straw. It worked great! Especially since it had been raining.

You also need a cool older sister that puts up with all your bossin’ around. She can also decorate. Plus she’s sweet which makes her a triple threat!

Filed Under: Crafting, Get Crafty

Jesse James Beads Single Unique Beads Giveaway

May 27, 2014 By candiecooper 19 Comments

Hello there!! This post is brought to you by the fine folks at JesseJamesBeads.com!
Is it officially summer yet?! It feels like it with the kids wrapping up school years and graduation announcements coming in the mail. With that, let’s get the bead rolling with a summer fun bead giveaway! Special thanks to JesseJamesBeads.com for the amazing loot!I’m actually heading out in a week to work with Jesse James Beads at the Bead and Button show in Milwaukee, WI? Are you coming? Here’s a free admission coupon if you are! Jesse James Beads is known for their unique and striking beads. They are truly sweet and sassy! You can find them online and at several retailers!In this giveaway, you will get several pairs so you can make some sassy earrings like these:I made these and thought to myself, “Miley Cyrus called…. She wants her wrecking ball earrings back.”

All you have to do for a chance to win is be sure to like and follow all the links below on social media. Each like or follow gets you an entry. Yee haw! Thanks for the love on the past giveaways. Fingers crossed for you on this biggie! Let’s get this party started! Thanks again Jesse James Beads!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Beads

Lockets and More In My Etsy Shop

May 22, 2014 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

A few new treats and treasures are in my Etsy Shop! I love nostalgic jewelry so these vintage lockets are right up my alley! I also did a project using the silver bezel frame on the lovely Graphics Fairy blog. It’s a mermaid necklace painted metal tutorial. I think you’ll like it!

Have a great day!

Candie

Filed Under: Jewelry

How to Make a Boho Bead and Chain Necklace

May 19, 2014 By candiecooper 6 Comments

Hola beautiful people! How have you been? I’m doing better now that my blog is working again (thanks for asking). Sheesh. I went to upload pictures to this post and got errors. Then I updated to the new WordPress followed by a couple plugins only to find those actions were actually dominos of destruction that would lead to broken links, not being able to login etc…. I stayed up working late on Friday night in an attempt to fix it. At midnight, I surrendered and admitted to myself that I was in over my head. I thought, “why am I fighting this? Go to bed, Candice.” That brings us to this morning when I found even more quarks that happened and so I called my hosts hotline number. Thirty seconds later it was fixed. Dear Betsy! And praise the Lord! I just had to get that out. Thanks for listening. Moving on.

Now, I’ve got Romancing the Stone on and I’m ready to write. Just like Joan Wilder. My friend mentioned it the other day and that got the itch to watch it started. I watch it purely for the beginning of the movie. I love the scenery, I love watching her finish her book in tears, I love when she has notes all over to buy tissue, but she’s still out of tissue. Makes me feel completely normal.

This boho bead and chain necklace tutorial started when Beadalon asked for pieces for their “Tropical” trend board on Pinterest. I got the wood beads on clearance somewhere…a really really long time ago. Bead hoarders unite! I blended them in with tropical color czech glass beads. I like the contrast of the metal, glass and wood surfaces together.First, string your beads onto beading wire. I’m using Beadalon’s satin gold (19 strand, .024″) so it blends with the color of the chain. String a #2 crimp bead followed by the ends of the chain. For this necklace, I doubled over a piece of chain to make it thicker.String the tail of wire through the crimp and slide the crimp bead up next to the chain. Now, put the crimp bead into the “U” shaped notch of your crimping pliers and clinch down.See the “U” shaped crimp bead?Now turn the “U” ninety degrees so it looks like a “C” and put it in the eye shaped slot of the crimp pliers and clinch down to fold the crimp bead over.

P.S. those are my husband’s hands. He walked by and saw me fumbling with my camera while trying to crimp and said, “I’ll be in the picture. I want to be in the picture.” If you know Aaron, this is completely normal. I love him.Now, slide the beads down to the finished end and repeat for the other side. Except do you see what I did? One side is not like the other one! Ai yi yi. I clearly got distracted by the cute man-hands crimping and forgot to add that one last tiny brass bead next to the crimp. I also didn’t realize this until I finished the entire necklace. I love it when that happens.Let’s take a break so Bebe can say “hi.” She’s been coming over off and on through this process and resting her head on my knee, my shoulder, the white board, begging to be petted. She’s our big girl that showed up one day, skin and bones and scared to death. Aaron worked with her to earn her trust and the rest is history. She doesn’t know a stranger. Have I told you how much I love that man?
Let’s make a wrapped bead link. I’m using 18g Artistic Wire in gunmetal bronze so it matches the chain. String your beeads onto the wire.Grab your round nose pliers and make a ninety degree bend in the wire.Bring the tail of the wire up and over the top of the pliers so it crosses in front of the other wire.Start wrapping the tail of wire around the long wire–as many times as you like.Sometimes it helps to hold the loop with chain nose pliers so it stays flat/in shape while wrapping. Trim the tiny, pokey/stabby part with wire cutters. Or tighten it inward with the chain nose pliers.Slide the bead against the finished wrapped loop and make another ninety degree bend in the opposite side of the wire.Trim the wire from the spool and start again with the wrapped loop technique.Split open the chain with two flat nose pliers. Open the link side to side on each piece of chain. Remove the sections so they are equal to the length of the beaded link.You can save those chain sections for a pair of earrings perhaps. I only did one beaded link as sort of a random surprise element to the necklace. Annnnnd possibly because I only had one bead left. Figured, I might as well use it!(insert big dramatic bead finale with tears and no tissue) I’m off to talk to my dogs and ask them if they want to celebrate.