Ok...  It's been awhile since I've posted anything...
I am covering floral headbands right now.
My mom came across literally around 1,000 unmade silk flowers.
I've been cranking them out like crazy!
They are a blast to make!!!

First off...  I have not done a tutorial for wrapping the head bands with ribbon...
Simply because this is the WORST part of doing them.
I have found some prewrapped headbands at the craft store(also at dollar tree), and I am seriously considering buying them instead of wrapping on my own.
Here's finished pictures of my very favorite one.

Ok so first, find a headband you like(or you can hold off and I can show ya how to wrap one in another tutorial).
Second, go to the floral department at your local craft store and look for packages of unmade silk flowers.
I used white starflowers on the head band above, and in the one I am doing the DIY on.
You will also need flower stamen.  As well as a good adhesive glue(I use loctite crafters glue..indoor safe version), nylon thread and a needle.

Next you will need to get some felt, small buttons(or larger depending on what size flower you picked) and some metallic sharpie type markers(craft style not the stinky ones).
I used metallic Elementz markers.  I am using brown felt for mine.  I recommend folding over a piece and cutting it in half.

So first you take your Metallic markers and gently color the edges of the flowers(as far as this goes you can leave the edges uncolored if you wish...or paint them with acrylic to keep them from fraying so much....it's very much up to you!).  I did two flowers at a time so it didn't take so long.

Next, you will be attaching the flowers and buttons to the felt.  I suggest laying them down first to get a feel of how you want them(also helps if you do this on the exact match to the piece you are working on...so you can lay them out and transfer one from another).  I also recommend sewing the buttons thru the flowers several times to make them very secure.  These will be fine on an infant that doesn't mess with their hair things yet, but use caution when making for a curious toddler.  The buttons on mine are very small, so they would likely not be an issue if swallowed(mine are pencil eraser sized), but buttons bigger than these could be.  The picture below is my almost finished flower square.  I rearranged the petals the way I wanted them. As you can see I used different buttons all over it.  I also fill in the brown parts showing with buttons or beads sometimes.

Now you add the stamen.  The placement will be completely up to you.  What I like to do is wrap them around under the petals and secure them  under them.  That way you can't see but just a lil bit of the stems.  Tack them down several times so they are secure..  

Use your filler buttons(or beads) and then seal the other piece of felt to the back.

This is what the finished square will look like before you attach to the headband.

I will show you how to attach to a headband after you are done(even though this is an unfinished and ugly band).    Basically you will cut a slightly smaller piece of felt.  Cover the smaller piece of felt with glue(be generous, but not TOO generous).  Cover the band where the felt with flowers will be touching it as well.  Squeeze together tightly and set aside to dry.  I would catch it in between a drawer(or standing up between books so it's not laying on it's side(this will cause the felt to slip).

If you have any questions feel free to mail me at josieposie1976@gmail.com.
Enjoy!!!

Layered Flowers

Allrightie....
It's been a bit since I posted anything....
I have a bad habit of starting something and forgetting to take pictures until I am half way done.
And I hate starting over...lol
This is another Pinterest inspired post...
However,I think my flowers turned out much, much better.

You are going to need  1/4 yards of silk fabric(or rayon, or polyester).  Anything that seals around the edges when hot will do the trick.  I also recommend cutting a few circles of each at a time.  You will also need cardstock or cardboard for the cutouts, nylon thread, needle, candle, e6000 glue(or your preference), hair clips and beads or buttons for the middles.  Also PLEASE be careful when using the candle.  Common sense is key...  If you are afraid to get too close use pliers.  Also, do NOT use the glue while the candle is still lit(it is HIGHLY FLAMMABLE).  I would hate for ya'll to set yourselves on fire...or your clothes...or projects...

Cut 4 to 5 circles out of thick card stock or cardboard(I used file folders).  Make sure that the circles are different sizes(exacto makes a cutting protractor now...just an fyi).

Trace the material and cut the circle.  Now you need to make 5 cuts into it for the petals.  Try to space them out evenly(it doesn't need to be perfectly spaced...varying it looks better anyway).  Don't cut all the way down...as pictured above.

Back side of fabric(below)

Front side of fabric(below)

Now round the edges of your flower(the one on pinterest didn't round the edges so they turned out kinda square).

It is imperative to make sure you have the back side of your fabric facing you and to make sure that your flowers edges curl the right way.  That is why I folded the flower like this when melting.

Hold over flame(not too close or it will melt like crazy...the key is control)and roll the edges.

This is what a finished edge will look like.  Make sure to get down to the bottom of the cut if u can(so it doesn't fray).

This is what a finished flower will look like(Practice makes perfect for sure on this one).

Now you layer each flower(just an fyi you will want to use pliers to finish the small one for sure...it's too close to the flame for sure).

Sew it thru.  I started on tip, but you can start in the back if you want.  Just make sure it is secure and not sliding around.  And if this is for a child the more times you sew it the better.

Add some beads to the middle..or buttons...or whatever....  :D

I used E6000 glue.  I am going to say this about it...  It STAYS put, but it stinks very badly and is toxic when drying.  Has no smell afterwards.  Just make sure you dont get it all over the clip.  You can sew these to clips, but the glue secures them better.

Done!

This is a smaller flower I did...  I turned it into a ring!

I used a jump ring and sewed it to it!

Two more variations for the middle of the flower.

I made the button on the right.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial....

As always if you have any questions just write me!

Have a fabulous night!!

Braided Bracelets

Hello fellow craftians(yeah..I think I just made that word up...)!!!
I am getting right down to it today!
I saw some cute braided bracelets on Pinterest(I LOVE PINTEREST!!!).
They were sorta plain jane, but cute....
SO I am adding some flair to mine.
Here's a pic of my finished bracelets.

Buttons on the left and beads on the right.

First you will need some T-shirts scraps(you can use ribbon, jute, whatever you have on hand).  I chose grey scraps because that is what I had on hand at the time.  I took 3 and cut them about 4 inches longer than my own wrist.  If you are making these for someone else make sure you measure their wrist and add the 4 inches.

I used two jump rings for the connectors on this particular bracelet, but you can use whatever you wish.  I used an old ring on the one(which is in the first picture).

Now you are going to fold all three strands of your material over the jump ring as shown.  Then you will sew it til it's secured nice and sturdy!

I used nylon thread so it's almost invisible.  But if you want to sew patterns or what not I reccomend embroidery floss.

I decided to sew buttons to one of the gray t shirt strands.  I sewed them in a color sequence, of course when you do it...  It will be your call...  Go CRAZY!!  :D

 One down!

I spaced them out a bit here, because when I braid them I don't want the buttons to be hidden in the braids.

I needed to break up all that dreary grey so I added some ribbon yarn to the mix.

When I braid these together I will be putting the ribbon yard in with one strand of grey so that I have the strands to braid with.

Braid until you have an inch or two left at the end.

 Then sew this end as you did the other(but make sure the fold is on the underside of the bracelet).  I also pushed the nylon thru under the hoop and snipped at the end(no itchy nylon on the skin).

Front side of the finished bracelet.

Back side of the bracelet.  Also you can turn the connectors to hide the openings.

This is the connector on my other bracelet.  It's a hematite ring I found a long time ago.

Front side(or back side) of other bracelet.

I used braided rope in this one and vintage beads from a necklace of my grandmothers.  The nylon braided cord HAS to be melted at the ends before working with it...  Otherwise it completely unravels itself(disaster).

You can pretty much use anything to make these.  Yarn, wire and old necklace chains(will have to be attached differently), nylon braided cord, t shirts, fabric, beads, buttons, charms can be incorporated as well.  The possibilities with these are endless.

I hope you enjoyed this!

If I can do anything to make these easier to understand, or go smoother please let me know.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

Also...I apologize for my hideous nails in the pictures.  I didn't realize until after I took the pictures...and reviewed this that looked terrible...lol

Happy crafting!!!

JoJo

P.S.

This is a bracelet I finished today....  It turned out really cute.  I sued the gray t shirt fabric, eggplant purple ribbon, buttons...and for the clasp an old ring and a black jump ring...lol

Making Molds

If you get into making bows, and jewelry with buttons you are going to find your beloved button supply dwindling very fast(and new buttons are EXPENSIVE).  I have almost extinguished my vintage button collection.  The thought of this makes me very sad, since most of them came from my grandmothers.
So imagine how excited I was to find Amazing Mold Putty at Michaels!

At first I was skeptical, and it was $19.99.  I am ALL about saving money where I can.
First have the items you want to make molds of handy.
You can literally use ANYTHING(but if you use things like the two plastic ones below, make sure you keep your finger in there while forming so it does not collapse) that can be molded.

The next pictures shows the ratio parts before mixing.
Also, they are dead serious about mixing equal parts of it together.
If you don't do it equally, it will not ever turn rigid, and it will be slimy!

Next it's the blending part.  You have to do this FAST.  Blend em together super fast and then roll into a unified ball...trying to avoid having creases(that part I can't show you otherwise I would have wasted some putty).

Next you form over your mold.
When you do this you start rolling at the highest point and come down...
You have to make sure it is flesh against what you are molding, otherwise you will end of with air bubbles, and that's a disaster right there.

You wait 20 minutes til it's rigid and you are done!
The cool things about these is you can bake your sculpey clay in them and it will NOT ruin the molds!
As a matter of fact I have used most of my molds up and around 20 times now, and still have no issues.
Also, you can bake food in these!  It does state not to switch between food and clay because you don't want to contaminate the molds.  Can you say dinosaur shaped eggs anyone?  :D
Below I am posting some molds that I have made as well as finished projects I have completed.
The molds below saved some of my favorite buttons.
You do have to puncture the button holes after you finish baking your sculpey.
The shamrock in this picture was one that I made myself by hand, and then molded my finished shamrock so I never have to make that particular one by hand again.  :D

My Shamrock

The little shamrocks were taken off a charm bracelet I had back in the 80's.

You can see on the purple and yellow flowers buttons that there is a flaw(from not properly rolling the mold out).  I think it still looks fine, so I went ahead and painted them.

This one is from a button off my great grandmothers favorite blouse.

I really hope you enjoyed this.

I know it's not the best, but it's my first one and I will get better as I go along(or at least I hope so anyway).

Feel free to message me with any questions and or comments you have!