My son is on a serious superhero streak. His favorites are Spider-Man and Batman. He even loves the Batman tv show from the 60s with Adam West--hence the title of this post.... Although to be fair, I've loved superhero movies for years now. Hancock, Unbreakable, Hellboy, Van Helsing, Ghost Rider are all favorites, in addition to the more recent Batman movies starring Christian Bale and the completely awesome Despicable Me. Have you seen Despicable Me? You should! It's BOOGIE!!
Oh, wait, this is supposed to be about crafts... First up is jewelry. I've been on a real jewelry streak lately.
I have had this sterling silver bead necklace most of my adult life, and it's my version of a good strand of pearls. The beads are about 7mm in size. The problem is that it's way too small for me now. I prefer 24" chains now, and this one is 18" at most. My solution is the current trend of combining 2 or more necklaces with a bow or brooch as an accent. I had the perfect "gunmetal" chain and flower brooch, so I don't even have to polish the beads anymore--woot!
I made this multi-chain bracelet using a tutorial from Flamingo Toes for a
Chain and Pearl Multi-Row Bracelet. I love her tutorials, and her taste in jewelry too!
The chain with the red bead in the center is another sterling silver piece I've had since 1999. It was a choker back then, and I wore it maybe one time before deciding that only pets need collars ;P The large chain on the bottom row is from
Eve's Addiction, and it too used to be a necklace--and it was h-e-a-v-y! The other 2 chains are nothing special, from the jewelry section of Michael's or Hobby Lobby.
I wanted to wear this bracelet all the time, yet be able to take it off for baths and dishes, etc. I discovered that I could use a lever-back earring as a clasp, and it is working perfectly! I've worn the chain every day for more than 3 weeks, and it's never fallen off--I love everything about it!
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| (pretend you can't see the pile of flowers in the background) |
These cuffs are a work-in-progress. I've used the
Anthropologie Inspired Vintage Cuff Tutorial from Pink Lemonade for these, which I've had on my Jewelry Inspiration list for a looooong time now. But I'm not happy with them. In fact, I stopped in the middle of making them, hoping inspiration will strike me. My main problem is with how they close; I may need to add a bead on one side and a loop on the other. I love the ribbons, but it's impossible to tie a pretty ribbon with one hand. So these are hanging out with my other supplies for now.
This next necklace is probably the easiest piece I've ever made: a blinged-out rhinestone button attached to the chain using jump rings; the most difficult part was in choosing which kind of chain to use!
I've made some Scrabble tile pendants using scrapbook paper and rhinestones and beads or buttons. Excuse the messy background of this photo, but since I didn't take a lot of pictures, it's all I have to work with.
I used a Sharpie to color the edges, glued the scrapbook paper onto the tile with Mod Podge, then Jewel-It for the accents. Last was the Dimensional Magic, which I love!
Did you see the new Mod Podge products that came out this week? They have Dimensional Magic with silver or gold now--plus some new formulas of Mod Podge and tools too, like a brayer and silicon fingertips that glue doesn't stick to. Cool!
I've also done a few experiments. I love the "wax seal" pendants and thought I would try to create my own with tin foil and wood shapes. It worked...kind of. The foil looks great, and I put about 3 layers of glue / Mod Podge / Dimensional Magic on them, so I'm fairly confident the foil will stick to the shape. The problem is that they're so lightweight they don't work as pendants at all. Maybe a bunch of them on a charm bracelet would work...hmmmm.
I've seen these 3-ring necklaces on Etsy. The best ones appear to be soldered together, so all 3 look like they've always been together such as
this. My version looks more like the Olympic Rings...which I didn't realize until my husband said "Oh cool, in honor of the Olympics this year!" when he saw it. The Olympics are this year? LOL - It looks like Mickey Mouse ears to me, so it was already destined for the "better luck next time" pile.
There's more, but I'm going to wrap it up now. Look for crafts in my next post!
I have had this sterling silver bead necklace most of my adult life, and it's my version of a good strand of pearls. The beads are about 7mm in size. The problem is that it's way too small for me now. I prefer 24" chains now, and this one is 18" at most. My solution is the current trend of combining 2 or more necklaces with a bow or brooch as an accent. I had the perfect "gunmetal" chain and flower brooch, so I don't even have to polish the beads anymore--woot! 
I made this multi-chain bracelet using a tutorial from Flamingo Toes for a Chain and Pearl Multi-Row Bracelet. I love her tutorials, and her taste in jewelry too!
4 stars--a subtle, intellectual humor--my favorite scene is Charlie feeding the Hellhounds kitchen appliances ;P I've already bought another book by this author. 
which I received from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. 4 stars and a fun read, reviewed here. 
5 stars! I love this book. My husband says I love all my books lately, but this is a great world I can't wait to get back into in book two! 
3.5 stars--see my review here.
1 star, I did not like this one at all. I have nothing nice to say about it. 
1 star, and once again, nothing nice to say. 
3.5 stars Nothing bad, I'm just rather overloaded on the paranormal school storyline. I'm not going to get the rest of this series. 
5 stars; similar to Graceling by Kristin Cashore
I like it, I think it's a great idea for a dystopian society. It's a little slow in the beginning, then you get hooked and can't put it down. 4 stars
Well, I hate to admit it, but I'm totally hooked. If you've been putting this one aside because of it's "over-hyped" reputation, read it anyway! It will be clear within the first 3 chapters or so why this book is destined to become a Hollywood blockbuster.
Very awesome, but a little slow (yet this perfectly embodies Katniss's feelings in this book.) 
3 stars :( 
See my review--5 stars!
2 stars 
Not bad, kept me interested; 3.5 stars 
which I received from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. At times, the story was very exciting, but mostly it dragged. 3 stars
which I received from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers group. I'm at a loss for words. This is not a book I'd recommend at all. 2 stars
This novel was on Amazon's Best Books of 2011, and I can see why. I was extremely into this book, but then it took a hard left turn and lost me. 3.5 stars 
With this one, I don't know.... How can you forget all 3 of your children being born and growing up? I was curious enough to see where it lead, but it was just...odd. 3 stars I think this is a very talented author though--see #23!
which was very original, and I even enjoyed reading it a second time – 4 stars 
which was interesting enough for me to want to continue the series, but I’m giving it only 3 stars 
2 stars for me, but I think it would be better for those more familiar of the time period and politics 
, an ARC from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers group - This book continued past where I thought it would have ended, and that additional part of the book was the better part (does that make sense?) I liked this more than What Alice Forgot - 4 stars 
was extremely awesome, with a twist I truly didn’t see coming, and I wish I had the next book already! Don’t you love that feeling? - 5 stars 
This was slow going for me, and then my zombies drowned—my book got water damage, lol. So no rating.... 