Lacy cuff bracelet

I originally made this cuff bracelet months and months ago, but I'm just now getting around to make a tutorial for it. Mostly because a friend requested one and I'll show you how to make one using hers.

I don't know where the idea came from. I think I was just experimenting.


It's girly, has bling, yet is still sophisticated.

Here's what you need:

-one sheet of felt (any color you choose)
-your favorite lace trim (enough to wrap your wrist once)
-needle and thread that matches your felt
-variety of beads, small charms, old jewelry pieces, costume jewelry rings
-a button
-elastic (it would look best if it matched your felt, but I've only seen elastic in black, white and ivory)
-E6000 glue
-fabric glue





First, lay your lace trim long ways across the felt piece. I pinned it in place and then trimmed the felt with just a smidge of excess on the edges.


Take the long piece of felt and lace and wrap it around your wrist. I like to leave about an inch space between the two ends when I wrap it around. This way I can have room for the elastic and any give it may need. Trim off the excess.
Save this excess, you will use it later!




With your threaded needle, start at the back and stitch the lace onto the felt. It helps if your thread matches the felt and the lace has big holes like the one I choose. That way, your stitches will nearly be invisible.


I followed the pattern of the felt all the way across. The pin definitely helps with sliding.

Just do the same on the other edges of the lace trim.



(nearly invisible stitches)

Next arrange your bling and beads and charms how you would like them.

The big jeweled piece is from a costume jewelry store nearby and it was $1.50. I love these rings because the back comes off so easily and you can use it for tons of other projects.


One light twist with my pliers and it was off!



Since the jeweled piece has no backing now, I glued it on with E6000. This is amazing glue.



[SIDE BAR] If there is one thing I advocate in your craft stash, it's a wide variety of glues and adhesives. You can just do so much with them!
[END SIDE BAR]


I stitched on the rest of the pearls, bead and charm. Try keeping it in the center of the bracelet because that is the part that shows the most. Just a little collage of beautiful things.


You could decorate this with a cameo or a pendant or do small collage with colorful beads. The choice is yours! My friend loves art deco and the curves of the jeweled piece and the black, gold, and bronze colors really evoke that sophisticated style.

Next, pick a side and stitch on your button. Don't let too much hang over the head edge or you run the risk of snapping the button at some point in your usage. I would suggest putting the button and elastic on so it coincides with whatever hand you use to put your bracelets on. It can be kinda difficult for a lefty to fasten something that's built for a righty (is that what you call right-handed people?).

Trim some elastic to about three inches long. Fold it in half and place the two ends on the back side of the felt on the end opposite the button. I'd leave about inch long loop. You may have to play around with this to get it right for your wrist.



Glue (with your fabric glue) a big blob and take a the remaining piece of felt from the length you cut and place a piece, wide enough to cover the elastic, over the glue. Now the fabric glue will bleed through the felt, but it dries clear and unnoticeable.




I have also found that it's not the sturdiest with the felt, so I like to go back with my E6000 glue and fill in the spots where the felt sticks up. I could probably just start with the E6000 glue, but I like to use both. I'm weird.

Another option would be to stitch the elastic and extra piece of felt. If you can do it and hide your stitches, then stitch away!! This is just a bit of a faster way that I chose.

Let the glue completely dry. (And I mean, completely!) and there you have it.



A swanky, girly bracelet fit for a boutique. :)


The bracelet in the middle isn't dirty, the lace is ivory

Again, feel free to experiment with colors and beads and charms. It doesn't have to be the black and white like I chose. Felt and lace come in so many colors!



I'll be linking to the parties on the right.

Fossil Knock-off Bracelet

One of my favorite blogs to read is Flamingo Toes. This lovely lady has a quite a knack for making Anthropologie jewelry and when I was wandering around Fossil the other day I spied a bracelet and thought...I can make that!!
So here is my lovely attempt. I must admit it was quite fun.
Small disclaimer: some shots are far away because I was an idiot and didn't realize the macro function on my camera is for close-up shots. Apologies all around!

Here is their version:
It's called the Half and Half bracelet.
via the fossil website

Here is my version:



Fossil sells there's for $38, I made mine for about $7.

The supplies I used are readily available in the jewelry section of your craft store (and the fabric section).

Supplies:


-chain
-jeweled chain (can't think of a better name for this)
-cotton ribbon (ivory or white)
-embroidery floss or comparable thick thread in ivory
-big sewing needle
-jewelry wire cutters
-a decorative button (not pictured)
-patience

First: I took the cotton ribbon and wrapped it around my wrist twice, leaving two inches on each end for wiggle room.


Next: I measured across my wrist to see how much of each chain would cover the top of my wrist. It ended up being about six inches, but for wiggle room, I gave myself just over six and half inches.
Cut both chains with your wire cutters.



I cut two lengths of the jeweled chain because the one I found is not as wide as the ribbon.


Next: I folded the ribbon exactly in half and put a pin in the middle so I would know where to begin stitching the chains on.


Next: I flattened my regular chain onto the ribbon and with my threaded needle, stiched down the first link. I had to pin the chain farther down to the cotton ribbon because it kept getting tangled. This helped greatly and I recommend it!


Then: Just do a regular stitch on the rest of the chain, trying your best to hide the thread underneath where the links are joined. This took some practice, but with the thread being the same color as the cotton ribbon, it isn't that noticable.
**Tip** I would recommend a thick chain for this project. You could do a smaller chain and probably layer it up for a different look, but keep in mind the difficulty of threading and stitching it onto the ribbon.





Next: After you have the regular chain stitched down, time to stitch down the jeweled chains. I laid both chains next to one another on the ribbon and stitched over one, went under and stitched the other chain down. I didn't do one big stitch across both chains. I didn't want the jewels to be too close together.


Again, you'll want to pin down the chain farther along on the ribbon so they don't get tangled in with your stitching thread.

Next: Just continue the back and forth pattern of stitching the jeweled ribbon. I recommend a movie or music playing in the back ground so you don't get bored.




Finally: At the very end of the jeweled chain I stitched an ivory button from my stash as the closure. The Fossil version had a metal button, but I like mine better.



--Downton Abbey on my iPhone, available on Netflix instant play--


I wrapped the bracelet around my wrist again and judged where I would need a hole on the other end of the bracelet to put the button through. I just clipped a small opening in the ribbon and put fabric glue (fray check would work too) on the edges, so it wouldn't fray.
I clipped ends, applied a little more fabric glue, and I was finished.




Knock-off complete! :)








I'm going to peruse the website and the store for more bracelets and necklaces to try. This was so fun!

I'll be linking here:

Tshirt into a tote bag

I made this cute little tote bag for the summer. I love this color and the pattern.



I found the tshirt on the clearance rack at Target. It was an XS and I am so far from that, but I loved the pattern. I bought it and held onto for some future project.

Supplies:
-one t-shirt with a pattern you love
-extra t-shirt for the inside (mine is a craft t-shirt from Michaels)
-rotary cutter
-sewing machine
(**Disclaimer: a few of the photos are dark because I do most of my crafting at night--apologies!)

Here's the skinny:

1-Cut off the sleeves on the patterned t-shirt.

2-I then laid down my ruler and decided where I was going to cut for the top of my bag. I chose right under the collar seam. I was trying my best to preserve some of the beading.

3-I laid the yellow shirt on top of the much bigger inner white shirt and used my rotary cutter to trace the shape for the inner lining. There probably is a more accurate way of doing it, but that's the first thing that crossed my mind! (Forgot to take a picture of that..oops!)

4-Turn the yellow shirt inside out, pin the bottom closed and then sew it closed and do the same for the white shirt except sew up the bottom and the two sides--leaving the top open just like the yellow shirt.

5-While both are still inside out, fit the yellow shirt into the white shirt. The design sides should be facing one another. See the pic.
This may take quite a bit of maneuvering and shifting around to get the seams to line up.


6-I then set the bag aside and cut up scraps from the white shirt to make handles for the bag. This is just a simple tube. Sew up three sides and turn it inside out. You may need to use a pencil or chopstick to help get the tube right side out.

7-I pinned the yellow and white layers together while they are still inside out. I then sewed up the seams making sure to avoid any of the beading still on the shirt.

8-I then pinned the handles to the bag and sewed them on. Again I just eyeballed it. I think it looks better without being particularly precise. I measured very little while making this project.


Fin!

I like the way it turned out. Even the funky shape of the top of the bag from where I cut the sleeves off. You can of course adjust it so you have a more uniform looking bag. That's the beauty of making one your self. It's totally unique!






I hope this tutorial helps and you can make one for your summer activities!!

I'll be linking here: