Welcome to the Red Carpet Ready DIY Earring hop. Thank you for joining me to celebrate fashion, pop culture and the upcoming Oscars!
Sharing is caring–If you’re leaving a link please will you…
1. Share the above graphic on your blog posts
2. Comment on other red carpet blog designs
3. Link to this post on your social media channels
Thank you again! Let’s get this party started!
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Just wanted to drop a note of thanks for checking in on my blog. I love making these tutorials for you. I’ve been making jewelry since 6th grade–and it is you that allows me to continue that passion. For that, I am so thankful.
Many of you make things with your kids and grandkids and I want to especially thank you for sharing that gift with children. We know the power of making something with our hands and the benefits that come from it–thank you for passing that down to our youth.
This post brought to you by ACTIVA Products. Love Sand Art? You’ll love ACTIVA–makers of radiant colored sand and air dry clays!
Would you like to riiiide in mah beautifulll baloooon?!
Sorry.
Guys, it’s winter here. These posts could get cheesier and cheesier as the snow and cold drag on. I took a photo of the snowy backyard yesterday for my friend that’s in Florida. When I looked at it, I literally had to check to see if I accidentally hit the black and white filter. THAT is how gray it was.
Speaking of backyards, let’s rewind to two weeks ago when I was in sunny Tucson for the gem show. Calgon, take me away. Look at all this sunny desert!? Those snowbirds are livin’ right! One day on our way to work, we saw a hot air balloon pretty low to the ground. Sure enough, it landed in the road because there wasn’t enough wind. Seven people piled out of that thing! It was beautiful in that brown desert. HUGE!
When I came home, I was ready to bring a touch of desert home and make a fun kids project. Plus, it never hurts to bring some color inside during winter!
This faux terrarium goes together in a snap! The best part is you can’t kill the plants or the pets! I’m all for low maintenance these days…
Materials List:
–ACTIVA colorful sand in desired colors (1 lb bags). I love that this product is made in America by the way!
-Fish bowl or jar
-Glow creatures
-Plastic Succulents
-Large flatback gems
-Rocks or twigs
*You can find the glow creatures and faux succulents at the Dollar Tree
First, cut a corner from the package and pour in the sand–so fun watching sand drizzle out of a bag.
These are the days of our crafty lives…
You can tap the glass bowl down on the table to gently level out the sand.
Repeat adding more layers/colors of sand.
Looks like the painted desert right?
Remove the plants from the pots by plucking them out of the foam.
Nestle them down in the sand where you like.
Add rocks and glow creatures!
And gems! A little sparkle ain’t ever hurt nobody!
There are lots of craft supplies that would be fun to add to the terrarium. Little signs, pom poms, glass pebbles…. Look around the house and see what you have. You could paint the rocks to add even more color.
SO fun! I know this is a kid project, but I had a blast putting it together.
ACTIVA Decor Sand comes in a ton of colors too. You can find it in the floral section of the craft store or online.
Optionally, you could add a blacklight to make the terrarium glow even more. Can you tell I’ve really thought about this?
ACTIVA for American made colorful sand.
Until next time!
This post brought to you by leathercordUSA.com.
All last week, I worked in the leathercord USA booth showing mixed media techniques to use with leather at the To Bead True Blue Show in Tucson. Holy cow. I painted cuff after cuff and after each one, I fell a little more in love with the process. These are some of my new friends I made as well as Michelle and Que that work at LCUSA. It is lovely visitors like these that make my job fun. If I didn’t say it at the time–thank you from the bottom of my heart for stopping by and watching, asking questions and chatting. YOU are my favorite part of these gigs.
We were hoppin’ at the LCUSA booth and people were really digging the new metallic gold and silver gecko printed and stitched leather (it really is magical looking–you get lost looking at it). The tassels were also hot sellers!
If you do art shows or craft festivals, you know that displaying work can be a challenge. I overheard compliments on the frames of leather over and over in the booth. It really is a great idea.
Now onto some techniques!
If you love artsy jewelry and building up layer after layer (or making artsy messes in my world), I think you’ll find this post right up your ally because I’m going to show you some new ideas on how to paint and embellish leather.
Do you remember that post that was all about painting leather tassels? That’s one of the first leather surfaces I tried adding Ranger Patina paints on. These are a few tassels I splashed some metallic paints on with a stiff bristle brush.
Here’s a peek at my demo area in the leathercord USA booth–there’s a little bit of everything, no doubt!
Remarkably CLEAN and tidy by my standards though. I don’t trust an artist with a clean work surface 😉 Haha.
This is a detail of one of the cuffs. Believe it or not–these take about 10 minutes to create, start to finish. Tracy at Tierra Cast put the rivets on for me (thanks Tracy). I love these simple little details that add so much!
leathercord USA makes the cuffs in all different sizes and finishes. You can see them here.
Que at leathercord USA filmed me painting one. This is me talking in the video. If you like it or have questions, let me know in the comments.
LeatherCord USA cuffs (wholesale order on site or ArtBeads.com has them)
Stencil1 Stencils
Sakura PenTouch gold pens
Ranger Patina paints
Stayz On Ink pad
Leather hole punch
Tierra Cast rivetables
Hey everybody, I’m throwing an impromptu party to celebrate the upcoming Oscars! You’re invited to add links to your DIY red carpet-worthy earrings this coming Thursday here on my blog.
I’m a big movie and fashion fan and this is one tv night I don’t miss. Join me for this hop! It’s easy!
When: Feb. 18th, 2016 (this Thursday)
How: Pop over to this page http://candiecooper.com/blog 8AM EST (or after) and insert your link!
Then: comment on others links and share on your social media channels so others can enjoy the party
Also: Feel free to use the image in your shout outs! Share with others <3!
I’ve been noticing a lot of petite elongated, designs on the awards shows and this was the inspiration for the hop. I’ll be posting my project on Wednesday night to kick the link-up party off on Thursday morning–8AM EST.
See you there, party people!!
This post is brought to you by BEADALON–makers of great jewelry findings and tools.
This pendant. I’ve worn it every other day since I made it.
This morning I was watching GMA and they were making dinners that cost $5. (or really close if you play your coupon cards right). It’s just as good, right?
Now I bring you the $5 DIY jewelry edition. You ready?
I’m using a dollar strand of beads, Beadalon’s antique brass chain, a retainer ring from the hardware store (look for it in the washer/bolt section of the store), 20g. antique brass colored Artistic Wire, a couple jump rings and that’s all.
String a row of 20 to 25 beads onto the Artistic Wire. It’s definitely better to have more so you can wrap your heart out.
Artistic Wire for jewelry making and crafts comes in every color under the rainbow. If you’re making this project with tweens, I would work with 22g. vs. the 20g. so it’s extra easy to wrap.
Here’s a closer peek at the retainer ring. This thing is made of steel so you’ll need to rub it with some beeswax or spray it with a lacquer so it doesn’t rust–I learned this from the master of steel wrangling, Brenda Schweder.
Secure your wire with a couple wraps.
Slide a bead next to the retainer ring and make a full wrap.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Each bead is separated with a full wrap of wire to help with spacing.
Anchor the wire the same as when we started with a few wraps. This is the back side of the pendant.
Use jump rings to attach the pendant to the chain.
Boom.
Donesies.
A little design tip after wearing this necklace a few thousand times. Leaving it long is awesome, but if it’s too long, you can make an overhand knot so it hangs shorter–like we used to with super long strands of pearls found in grandma’s closet.
I don’t know about you, but we are in the thick of winter and I need all the instant gratification I can get. This necklace fits the bill.
Until next time, stay warm and visit Beadalon.com for the goods!
This post brought to you by ACTIVA Products.
You’ve probably heard me say this a thousand times, but kids love making jewelry. Here’s a quick idea you can play with that uses washable markers to make colored clay.
This is the crafty ingredient list. Pretty simple! Use Hearty Clay because it doesn’t crumble and fall apart when it’s dry. #NoCraftFails 😉
Grab a hunk of Hearty Clay and start coloring it with markers. It’s a good idea to stay with markers in the same color family (i.e. red and orange or blue and purple). It’s fun to twist and smoosh the clay and see how the colors marbelize. Add more color at any point–even right before you roll out for vivid results.
Place your ball of clay between plastic wrap and roll out to approximately 3/8″ thick.
Cut your shapes out–you’ll need 2 identical ones.
Place a straw across the top center of the shape and dab water around the edge.
Gently press the edges together to seal.
Place the piece on top of a cup to dry.
Remove the straw. You can embellish dried Hearty Clay with all sorts of things–paints, doodles with a marker, or gems like I am here. I like using Mod Podge to attach the gems.
Push the yarn or cording through the heart pendant. If the yarn is extra fluffy, you may need the straw to help push it through.
Ready to wear! I love the possibilities with these bead-like pendants.
Here’s a link to the Hearty Clay at ACTIVA or you should be able to get it at your local craft store.
Happy Valentine’s!
This post is brought to you by LeatherCordUSA.com.
Leather Cord USA sent a box of goodies recently with all kinds of color palette ideas for the next few months. Sign up for their newsletter to get inspiration like this delivered right to your inbox (the sign-up box is at the bottom of their home page).
January’s pallet is all about butter and mushroom colors. I love both.
Hungry yet? Me too.
Mixing and matching the leathers, I started seeing this color combination everywhere. On bananas, when the sun hits the porch walls just right, and in this jar of crystals I’ve had on my shelf for years.
This is my swirl of favorites. Yum. Swirl. This is the moment I saw buttercream frosting. Paging Cinnabon. Come in Cinnabon. Did I mention I’m trying to get off the bread and carbs? That’s another story for another day.
I’m only using the round leather cords from LeatherCord USA in 1 and 1.5mm diameters for these projects. This is the simplicity that I love when it comes to using leather in jewelry making. Pick your favorite colors and go!
The first idea I had was to make some earrings using those funky fold over end findings (get them at Hobby Lobby) and delicate shell bead dangles.
Simply cut your leather so one piece is 3 and one is 3.5 inches long, string some beads and set the ends inside the finding. Use chain nose pliers to roll the ends over. Connect to ear wires and add beaded dangles. I’ve ironed out the kinks so I think you can knock these out in 30 minutes.
The second idea I want to share uses the super skinny macaroni-sh shaped beads strung onto the leather to make a bracelet (also from Hobby Lobby). I really loved how this instantly gave it a chic feel. 
Cut the leather at an angle so it nestles nicely in the LeatherCord USA Glue and Go end finding (see foreground).
Use Loctite gel to glue it in one end. Check the fit and make adjustments. Glue the second side.
Tip: Leave one or two strands out and use a toothpick to pry open a spot or two so you can put them right where you want them.
That’s really all there is to it. Shout out to my vintage picnic basket for making the perfect surface to shoot this on.
This set is going to get me through winter. Sunny days ahead people!
Check out LeatherCordUSA.com for more beautiful leathers and ideas.
Do you live in Tucson or will be there for the big gem dance? Come to the Beads of Courage Bracelet Making Party with Katie Hacker! This is an amazing fundraiser for Beads of Courage which provides kids with beads that are battling cancer. Not heard of BOC? Watch this video about it on CBS Sunday Morning to learn more.
I’ll be teaching for one of the sponsors, JesseJamesBeads.com. Lots of my favorite jewelry supply companies are also sponsoring bracelet make and takes like Beadalon, LeatherCord USA, Tierra Cast and Sizzix.
This is the bracelet you can make using Jesse James Beads.
The event is Feb. 3rd and the cost is $50 AND you get to make 5 bracelets. 5 bracelets!! Plus food and drinks are provided. I know it’s going to be a rip-roaring, good time.
I really would love to meet you in person!
This post brought to you by LeatherCordUSA.com
It’s raining here today. This doesn’t bother me in the slightest when I have the joy of staying inside and making jewelry.
Yesterday was gorgeous. Today it’s overcast and drizzly. Yin and Yang.
So with this gray day, I’m presenting a piece that is lush in gems and texture.
It started with a pile of this unique round braided bolo leather from LeatherCordUSA.com. I can’t tell you how much I’m intrigued with this stuff. It comes in different finishes and diameters. Really really amazing quality.
I opted for the natural finish for this piece. It’s thick and perfect to support the weight of the gem section in the front. Speaking of gems…
I’ve had these hanks of gemstones hanging in my studio for two years. They were inexpensive so I bought a lot. The time had come to use them and as is because the odd bead shapes together made my eyes happy. The only thing was I felt it needed a tiny bit of contrast yet something to unify the group so I added tiny copper colored rondelles to each strand.
I used Beadalon gold 15 strand beading wire so it blended with the stone colors, then crimped them to a wrapped wire loop with #1 crimp beads.
Then I strung the large bead cone onto the wire with a few beads and finished with a wrapped loop. Nice and tidy.
Nothing but colorful goodness.
Once you have the gemstone section secured, cut the leather to the desired size and glue end caps to the Glue and Go findings. I removed the clasp that came with the end findings and connected it to toggle rings which were then connected to the bead cones to create a decorative element.
My plan is to wear this as a layering necklace. I will create some shorter chain and pendant pieces to go with it.
Visit LeatherCord USA for more inspiring leather jewelry ideas.
Hi, I’m Candie. I design jewelry and crafts, author books, teach classes and host television programs. I thrive on simple ideas that anyone can achieve. I also love projects made from unexpected materials that stand the test of time. Join me as I lead a creative life! Read More...
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