What I've been up to: Spyro, and something new!

A bout of unemployment has sent me into a creative hurricane. I've been making loads of stuff solely to put up on my Etsy shop, but a few things were made for me, and me alone.

First up, a blast from the past: A Spyro plushie!

There were a few years of my life where my memories are the most vivid. I was 9 - 11 years old or so, and I spent my days doing things like drawing my own sailor scouts, writing Gundam Wing fanfiction, playing Dragonball Z with my best friend, and of course, eating giant jawbreakers while playing Spyro.

When I say giant jawbreakers, I mean GIANT jawbreakers. They were about the size of a baseball, and took me a few days to finish (even for a candy-obsessed 10-year-old). I would often times break it with something, so I could fit rock-sized pieces in my mouth in order to hold my Playstation controller with both hands to fight gnorcs and save dragons. I have a grey 'video game chair' that I sat in, mere feet from the TV. It was a very small chair that rocked back and forth and sat right on the ground. These glorious days can be summed up with Jawbreakers, Spyro, and leaning back in this chair like I didn't give a care in the world.

When I came across this pattern, my heart leapt for joy. To be able to have a tangible thing to not only hold, but to make! To be able to look at and taste the sugar of the giant jawbreakers, and remember the Virginia air wafting into my room as I wasted my day trying as hard as I could to beat Metalhead.

This pattern can be found here (along with a pattern for Ember from "A Hero's Tail", though I haven't made her), and I have to say that it is absolutely worth the money. It's written very well, and looks amazing. It is time-consuming, but doesn't actually use up that much yarn. I didn't have to change a single thing, and Spyro looks amazing, and stands up nicely. There is some use of wire (to make his wings and tail poseable), and a lot of attaching of limbs. If you're up for a challenge, and need something comforting, then this is definitely the project.

My next project....IS NOT A CROCHET PROJECT!!

Yes, after months of longingly looking at overpriced ribbon bracelets being sold in stores, I finally decided to give into the ribbon jewelry craze.

Despite these bracelets having all the qualities I look for in jewelry (which is ribbon, and anything else that makes me feel like a mermaid and/or princess) I've held off on buying any, because I always felt like I could make it myself. As it turns out- I was right!

After crocheting in all of my free time (which is...all of my time), for the last two weeks, I knew I needed to find something different to do before I became completely and utterly burnt out on crocheting. Luckily, I had seen this tutorial on Pinterest awhile back, and had even bought the supplies for it. Unfortunately, the tutorial had kind of overwhelmed me, and the beads and ribbon didn't do much more than collect dust for awhile.

However, after a particularly yarn-heavy day, I decided to give it a shot. I was so pleasantly surprised! These bracelets were the perfect combination of simple and repetitive, while also being challenging and engaging. The result was absolutely gorgeous, and the use of elastic makes putting them on and taking them off very easy. 

I am, in fact, so happy with the results of these bracelets that I went out to Michael's yesterday, and bought more strands of glass pearls, as well as another spool of ribbon. Michael's sells the glass pearls in 7" strands for only 99 cents, and longer strands of smaller beads for the same price (a ribbon necklace would be amazing, too!). They also have nicer stone strands, but my wallet was just feeling a bit too light for that.

The tutorial can be found here. I did the "wave" and "pleat" patterns, since I was a bit too chicken (and short on supplies) to make the "fold". I'm not too keen on that design, though, so I wonder what other designs I could come up with...?

Fun fact: The bigger the bow, the more you feel like a princess.

Next time I come around I'll talk about chocolate, perler beads (SO MANY PERLER BEADS), fingerless gloves, how I can't stop making them, and why it's a problem.

Broomstick Lace Finger Cuff

I've been so into broomstick lace since I made my Misty Broomstick Lace Hat. I guess I was surprised by how easy it is, when I've been feeling so overwhelmed by it for so long. I've made a handful of broomstick laces bracelets over the last week or so, and after my FIFTH one, I thought, what about other broomstick lace jewelry?

I decided to try to make a ring, and although this turn out much bigger than I had anticipated, I still enjoyed the idea of a 'finger cuff', many of which I used to own back in the day when I shopped at Hot Topic ;) These, however, are a little lighter, a little prettier, a lot more elegant, and have zero skulls on them.

Not sure how to broomstick lace? A tutorial can be found here. Otherwise, this pattern will assume you know how to do basic broomstick lace.

What will you need?

- 1.50 or 1.65 MM crochet hook
- Size 10 Crochet thread
- A Size 8 (5.0 MM) knitting needle
- Tapestry needle.

Here's how to do it.

Row1: Chain 17. Single crochet in 2nd ch from hook, and in each ch across (16 sc).

Row 2: Pull up a loop from every sc onto your knitting needle (16 loops). Pull together a group of four loops, ch 1, then 4 sc in the gathered loops.  *Pull together the next group of 4 loops, and 4 sc in the gathered loops.** Repeat from * to ** until the end of the row (16 sc, 4 groups of broomstick lace)

Repeat Row 2 until your finger cuff is the desired length. Mine was 8 rows.

Finishing off: Fold cuff so both WS are facing outwards, sl st through both the 1st and last rows to connect. Finish off after connecting last st. Tie off ends, and flip inside out.

Are you going to make one? Where are you going to wear it? I'm not sure what occasions mine is appropriate for, so I wanna hear what you guys are doing with yours! I think it's a nice coffeehouse afternoon accessory, but then again, that's what I think all accessories are for :P!

Quick and Easy Crocheted Bangles

I don't really know what's been going on with me lately. The weather is in the 70's, and I've only yelled about it a couple times.

See, I like winter. I like putting on sweaters, and drinking hot cocoa, and crocheting with the biggest, fluffiest, fuzziest, softest yarns I can get my hands on, and then wrapping whatever it was that I just made around my neck a good 5 or 6 times, so I can go sit in front of a fireplace at my closest Starbucks. I like snow, and ice and wool socks.

I don't like summer. Summer, to me, is mosquitoes, and sweating, and all my friends saying "Let's eat our dinner outside!" So that I can be swarmed by mosquitoes, while I sweat, WHILE eating dinner. Nothing says 'joy' to me like picking gnats out of my mashed potatoes. Great.

This year seems a bit different, I haven't been bothered by the weather thus far, and I've been all too happy to go out and take walks. The weather has, however, been very inconsistent. Maybe I will look back on this reflection in a couple months when it's 80 degrees everyday, and think "Oh, if only I knew then what I know now..."

However, in the spirit of enjoying the weather, I put something simple and summery together. I was at Target the other day, and on a whim, nearly cleared out a section of clearance bangles (They were $1.20 each! At that price, how could I afford NOT to buy them? Amirite?!). Basically, I took cheap, semi-broken bangles and single crocheted over them with a light, cotton yarn (Lily Sugar n' Cream Stripes, the colorway "Country Stripes"). I LOVE this yarn. I'm already rather partial to cotton yarns, but this yarn reminds me so much of the Chesapeake Bay, where I used to live, my heart feels heavy as I write this out, and I don't know how good it is for my health to think about it too much. The yarn is 4 colors that all shined through over the 3 bangles I made, and are so reminiscent of the Bay waters, looking down at them makes me reminiscent enough to keep rambling (but I will spare you all). On top of that, it's light, so it won't be too hot to wear in the summer. My favorite part? Only using one yarn, and making 3 distinct and individual bangles.

Ah, I've been rambling more than usual. I'm actually hoping to do some real writing after this post, so my creative writing juices must just be spilling over. Also, my coffee is totally working (It's peanut butter coffee!)

*Ahem*

Here's how to do it:

What you need:

- Bangles! I used 3 kinds, a flat one, a round one, and a square one. The square one was weird, but works well enough. I will use the flat one as an example, since it is the simplest.

- Yarn, preferably cotton yarn so you can wear them in warm weather, but to each their own.

- Crochet hook. I used a size G hook, but I'm not entirely sure if this matters.

- Tapestry needle

First, Slip stitch around the bangle, then ch 1.

 

 Because of the thickness of the bangle, you will have to reach your hook out about an inch. Be more aware of tension, and it will turn out fine.

After your sl st ch 1, you will just do single crochets all around the band.

Pull your loop up more than usual, to meet the top of the bangle

 

Pull through one loop, then both loops.

 

Single crochet all the way around. Be sure all the stitches are snug. When you are done. Sl st into 1st sc.

I then threaded both loose ends underneath all single crochets and cut them. Boom. Done. 

 

 These were so fun, and I actually REALLY enjoy wearing them! If you make some, I would love to see how they turn out.

Queen Anne's Lace

So, I know I'm rather hyperbolic. Every single thing I tend to do, see or eat becomes the best thing ever, and I'm aware of that.

But, I think Queen Anne's Lace might actually be the most beautiful thing in the world.

I recently discovered a pattern for it and decided to try to tackle it. It took me a little while to get the hang of it, but once I did, I was totally hooked (HAH. CROCHET PUN!). I used Caron Simply Soft and made a couple pieces of jewelry, which fit softly and snuggly around your neck without being too warm or bulky.

My only issue with Queen Anne's Lace is that I don't know how to make more than one row with it :( From what I can tell, there is no way to turn and start a row on top of the row just made. Does anyone know of a way to do this? Because every pattern I find is for just one row, and I would really like to do more with it!

My first necklace was a beige color, and I made it extra long, then attached a button to one end. It's really nice, because the holes that the Queen Anne's Lace makes can be clasped around the button to give the necklace different looks.

While I'm not exactly sure what I can wear this with, I DO know that I LOVE it! I will get a whole new wardrobe if I have to.

The second piece of jewelry I made was actually shorter, just a choker. However, I didn't find myself as infatuated with this one. Perhaps the color is too dull, or perhaps thick chokers just aren't for me, but I think it just looks rather awkward. I decided to use brown, since I own so many earth-toned clothes, but maybe something brighter would have been a better idea.

I might give this another shot in a brighter color. We'll see.

The tutorial I used for this can be found here. The tutorial provides a lot of pictures that are very easy to follow, but I wouldn't recommend trying this out unless you are at least a semi-experienced crocheter. I also wouldn't get too discouraged, it took me about three tries of making and then unraveling shells before I was able to actually have something worth wearing.

The pattern is also a slight modification, so as to make the first shell match the last shell, instead of the first shell looking awkward, which I think is an improvement, and everything else is that same as traditional Queen Anne's Lace.

My Favorite Little Crochet Project.

After making this necklace for the 3rd time last night, I've realized this is definitely one of my favorite things to crochet. It only take a little over an hour, a few buttons, and minimal yarn. You can find the original pattern here.

The pattern calls to 'improvise' a flower, but I wasn't able to do so. I have a pattern for a flower, that you guys are more than welcome to use if you'd like.

Ch 5, sl st to join.

R1: Ch 1, 10 sc in ring, join with sl st to 1st sc.
R2: Ch 1, sc in same st as joining, ch 2, skip next sc *sc in next sc, ch 2, skip next sc. Repeat from * around, join with sl st to 1st sc.

R3: Ch 1 (sc, hdc, 3dc, hdc, sc) in each ch-2, sp around join with sl st to 1st sc.

R4: Ch 1, sc in same st as joining, ch 3, placing ch behind petals (sc in 1st sc of next petal, ch 3) around. Join with sl st to 1st sc.

R5: Ch 1. (sc, hdc, dc, 3 tr, dc, hdc, sc) in each ch-3 sp around, join with sl st to 1st sc. Finish off or...**

**Optional R6: Ch 1, sc in same st as joining, ch 3, placing ch behind petals (sc in 1st sc of next petal, ch 3) around. Join with sl st to 1st sc.
 
**R7: Ch 1, (sc, hdc, 2 dc, 4 tr, 2 dc, hdc, sc) in each ch-4 sp around, join with sl st to 1st sc. finish off.

(I did the 3rd round of petals on the blue flower, but only did 2 rounds of petals on the green one, so you guys can get an idea of the difference.)

On a related note, can I just say that I just discovered Bernat yarn (the beautiful Aqua yarn I used for the blue necklace), and I am incredibly impressed! For about $0.30 more than Red Heart Yarn, you get the same amount of yarn, but it feels softer, works better and looks nicer. It doesn't even feel like acrylic yarn. I would really recommend looking into it. I just discovered it at Wal Mart, and it seems to be pushing Red Heart out of the picture a bit. So don't be frightened! Give into the unusually cheap, yet somehow, high quality yarn. I can't wait to buy more so I can make more projects with it!

Ribbon Jewelry (A Tutorial for the Craft Inept)

Okay, so it's not that you're inept, rather, I am. I know I do a lot of projects, but if it's too difficult to keep together with airplane glue, or duct tape, then just forget about it. I cut corners, I know that if someone isn't going to see it, then why not cover it in duct tape and modpodge?

However, when I saw that Michael's was trying to sell necklaces of ribbon for nearly $4, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'd wanted to make necklaces using ribbon for quite awhile, but couldn't bring myself to spend nearly $10 to buy a few of them to practice on. What  did instead, was bought some ribbon and was on my way to go home and see if I could make this work.

What I made turned out very lovely, although, yes, duct tape is involved. If you have a large pendant that you don't think chain will do justice to (or in my case, a pendant with brass accents that would look awful on a silver chain), ribbon is a good alternative, and always adds an extra sense of elegance to whatever you're wearing.

What you'll need:

- Ribbon
- Duct tape to match (Black tape on black ribbon, blue on blue, etc....I used this because I happened to have it lying around, and it matched my choice of ribbon the best)
- Two Crimp End Caps
- One Jump Ring
- One Lobster clasp.
- Pendant(s) of your choice

How to do it:

1. Cut two lengths of ribbon about 17" (If you're going for a choker. Longer or shorter if desired).

2. Fold the last 1/2" or so of the end of ribbons in half and then in half again, wrapping a short length of duct tape around it. It will now somewhat resemble a shoelace or sorts. Do this for both ends, using both ribbons.

3. Before taping your end cap on, I would attach your jump ring/lobster clasp, respectively. this will make things a lot easier. Pinch he duct tape, so it's small enough to put the end cap on.

4. Tape it on, so it is secure.

5. Do the same thing for the other side.

 Add your pendant, and you're set! You've got a beautiful ribbon choker for 1/50th the price of a pre-made ribbon. And using this method, you can customize the length of your necklace.

This is another choker I made, but using tarantula fang beads from my molted Pink toe, Brynhilde, and using a shorter length of ribbon. Adding multiple smaller pendants gives this choker an added dimension, and the short length is good for fragile beads.


B-B-B-BONUS TUTORIAL.

Ribbon bracelets are also very easy, and something else that is generally rather overpriced at jewelry and department stores. This didn't take very long, but will require very, very minimal sewing (don't worry, I tried both glue and tape, but sewing was the only thing that worked).

What you'll need:

- Ribbon
- Beads
- Needle and Thread (or a fancy pants sewing machine if you have one).

1. My beads happened to be a pre-made length at Michael's bargain bin for just under $2, but you can do whatever you'd like. Use a length of about 4" or so (just shorter than your wrist.)

2. Through the jump rings on either side, pull your ribbon through. Both my ends ended up being about 7" or so, I believe, with an extra 2" to sew on the bottom. It may seem too long for a bracelet, but remember that you're going to be using the ribbon to tie a bow, and will need quite a bit of length.

3. Fold about 2" or so underneath the ribbon. About 1/2" away or so, sew the ribbon onto itself. Cut any excess ribbon off from the undersside that you just sewed on. do this on both ends.

Now you have a beautiful ribbon bracelet!

Hopefully if you guys have some extra ribbon and jewelry stuff lying around, you'll now have an excuse to make something from it.

Jewelry Guide II (How to Make Impressive Jewelry Without Actually Being Impressive)

When it comes to jewelry, I still have more ideas than I do skill. Toight I did a few necklaces to kill some time, and use up some pendants I had lying around. I found a really simple way to make a fairly impressive necklace without having very much skill.

I swear to God I'm wearing clothes!

This definitely looks more intimidating than it actually is.

You'll need:

- 3 Segments of chain (Mine are 14", 17.5" and 22")
- 3 Jump rings
- 3 Pendants (and jump rings)
- Lobster Clasp

The 3 chains can go on one jump ring, starting with the shortest:

I added the 2nd jump ring so it won't twist as much when you clasp it around your neck.

Now do the same thing on the other side, plus a lobster clasp.This time I put the longest one on first.

I put the charms on while I was wearing the necklace. I guess if you're a more logical/patient person, you could measure the chain and find the exact middle, but I'm not that patient...or logical.

This is really nice if you have a few charms laying around that wouldn't look great right next to each other, or if you've just been looking to make something with your extra chain that isn't just your typical necklace. Also, like I said, it looks more impressive, with very minimal extra work :)

Have fun!

How to Make (Badass) Sculpey Pendants

Remember in my last post how I said you should get a lot of necklace chain in case you end up making more jewelry? Well here's another tutorial on how to make some simple pendants using polymer clay (sculpey) and pictures.

Dragon in an Egg (hence why he's upside down). My favorite one.

The original tutorial was found here.

Thor was my practice piece and didn't turn out great.

Due to some issues I had, here are some tips I have for you along with the original tutorial:

- First of all, Sculpey is actually somewhat toxic when you cook it. After doing this project I had a bit of a headache, and just didn't feel well. I would recommend doing this project with as many windows open as you can, with fans in as many of them as you can. I would also recommend going into another room while the sculpey is cooking, and closing the door, then doing that for awhile afterward. I did not take any of this advice and I had a headache for quite awhile, and felt kind of nauseous.

- Second of all, if you sculpey looks like this after you've cooked it:

...then you've done it all wrong. It should still be white when you take it out, or the corners should be brown in the worst case scenario. After some extensive Google Fu, I found out that apparently burning Sculpey smells funny, but since I don't have a sense of smell I can't vouch for that, but I think you should be aware of it as a warning.

- All ovens are different, and be aware of how yours works. I would recommend doing a test square to see how long you should bake it.

-I would also do one piece at a time, in case you really ruin things. That way all your time, effort and energy haven't been put to waste (see above picture...)

- In the tutorial, she uses a pasta machine, but a rolling pin works just as well. Have some patience. Don't roll it back and forth in a crazy frenzy. Push it forward once, lift and repeat. This is good for 2 reasons: it won't stick to your rolling pin, and there will be absolutely no air bubbles when you do it this way.

Absurd and badass.

The tutorial says to use pictures printed off, but I don't have a printer, so I used pictures from already cut up books and a promotional comic book that I got for free from my place of work. As you can see, you can do any shape. The dragon there did take a long time, and my only tip for you if you do something like that is this:

When you're cutting out your shape, keep in mind that cutting the shape from the sculpey is going to be be even more tedious than cutting the shape from the magazine/book/comic/paper, so simplify and cut corners when and if you can, because you need to be realistic. I omitted some spikes from the dragon because I had a hard enough time cutting them out, so I knew cutting them with the sculpey would be even more awful. I think it worked out :)

Good luck, and enjoy!

How to Make a Tarantula Fang Necklace, and adventures with jewelry in general.

Both my tarantulas molted last October, and their molts have been sitting around doing nothing since then waiting for me to do something with them. I've been meaning to put them in a shadow box to display, but frankly, I just couldn't get myself to spend the money on a shadow box.


What I really wanted to do was make some tarantula fang jewelry, but I didn't even know where to start. I've never made jewelry, and I barely even wear it. Not only that, but I couldn't find a tutorial anywhere online about what I needed for tarantula fang necklaces or anything. But the stars were aligned yesterday and I went out to Micheal's to get some jewelry stuff.

Here's what I learned yesterday, and maybe you can learn something too.

- Chains: Micheal's (from what I can tell) sells 2 lengths of chains. They sell 3 feet of chain for about $3, or they sell a roll of 12 yards of chain for $10. I bought the latter. I was worried it would be cheap-looking, but as you can tell, it really doesn't. This, I think, is the much better deal. Even if jewelry making ends up not being for you, you can save money on future jewlry because....

- Charms: At a craft store, you can buy 4 charms for $4, while if you buy actual jewelry at a store, you'll pay anywhere from $10 - $20. With the roll of chain you have, the next time you go out to buy jewelry, just go somewhere like Michael's and buy a few charms for a few bucks. Put them on your extra chain, and increase your jewelry collection 200%. The heart you see there is one of 4 different hearts that I got.

- Tools: I knew I was going to need something, but I was pretty overwhelmed by all the different types of pliers I saw there. Honestly, I found a "basic beading" book and opened it up, and found that "Chain Nose Pliers" would be the best option for someone only buying one tool. They are good for opening up the chain so you can 'break off' a length for a necklace, not to mention opening up jump rings, and closing the clasps I used on the tarantula fangs.

- Other stuff (Jump Rings, Lobster Clasps and End Caps With Loops): Jump rings (The rings that connect charms to the necklace) come in packages of no less than 150, I swear. I just wanted a few, and ended up getting a lot, because there just didn't seem to be any other options. Not a bad thing, though, they were still fairly cheap, and now I'm set for life in all my jewelry-making endeavors. Lobster clasps come in packs of 10, and are about $3. You may want to look around for other means of clasping, but I like lobster clasps the best, so I went with them. End Caps with Loops are what I used to put the tarantula fangs in. They come in packs of 50 or so.

How to make this:

- 3 Tarantula Fangs (After your tarantula molts, you can use your chain nose pliers to pull them out of the molt). For mine, I used 1 from a full grown rose hair (The one on the heart), and 2 from a full grown Pink Toe.
- 3 End caps with loops
- "Lost and Found" brand "Large Metals Heart" Charms.
- 5 Jump rings
- 1 Lobster Clasp
- I used 21" of chain, but you can use whatever is comfortable for you.

1. Attach Jump ring and Lobster clasp at the end of your chain.

2. Slightly close the end caps with your chain nose pliers, then put the thicker end of the tarantula fang as close to the bottom as you can (closing them slightly will keep them in place better). Completely close the end cap with your crimp nose pliers. You may hear some crunching, but that's not bad, as long as it's not too much. The fangs are surprisingly resilient. I made sure the 2 I was going to use on the chain were facing opposite directions so my necklace would have some symmetry. This took me a long time, so have some patience. Typing this out feels weird, because it truly was so much more difficult to do than to say.

3. Insert jump rings into all your your end caps.

4. Put jump ring through the bottom hole of the lacey heart.

5. Add jump ring to heart.

6. Attach heart to center of necklace.

7. Attach fangs on either side of heart. The spacing I used was 8 chain links away from the heart.

You can use your chain nose pliers for everything in this project.

Have fun!