Quick and Easy Earrings

Using charms from the craft store make for quick and affordable earrings.

earrings

Making earrings from charms is so easy. These beautiful butterfly wings came in a set of four pairs from Hobby Lobby. I was able to make four pairs of earrings for less than $10, making these a very affordable gift. Charms and buttons make for quick and easy earrings.

materials

Using two jewelry pliers, charms, and matching ear wires I was able to make four pairs of earrings in no time at all.

Video Tutorial:

These were such a huge hit in my house, I have to go and buy a few more sets of charms so we don’t fight over the colors!

Jot at Dollar Tree

How similar are Jot pens at the Dollar Tree to Ooly brand pens?

pen pack

Have you seen this four-pack of pens at Dollar Tree made by Jot? They are also available in a four-pack of black (all the same size). When I saw them they reminded me of a pack of pens I have from Ooly. I thought they would make a great gift so I had to give them a try and see how well they worked.

ooly pens

I love my Ooly pens and I have been carrying them around in my purse for some time. They were given to me as a gift and I have thoroughly enjoyed them. So when I saw a similar set at the Dollar Tree by Jot, I had to try them.

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As I said, I love my Ooly pens, I have the Modern Writers package. But for the price difference and the loss of two colors, the Dollar Tree pens are great too!

Making a Fabric Ornament

Using Dollar Tree fabric strips to make no-sew fabric ornaments.

ornaments

I saw a tutorial on YouTube for these fabric ornaments and thought they were very nice but that I would probably never make them. Then I saw strips of Christmas fabric at the Dollar Tree and remembered the ornaments and that the strips would work for the ornaments, but I had to make some alterations to the directions.

fabric strips

The fabric strips come in a package of three coordinating patterns. They are 2″ x 36″ strips of cotton, one strip of each design.

ironing fabric

For the small ornaments you are going to cut each strip into 4 pieces and then iron them in half as shown in the image above, and then in half again. To make these strips work you will need to follow the details about the folding in the video below.

all ironed

There are a few different ways to fold, iron, and make the ornaments with the fabric strips from the Dollar Tree. Make sure to view the details and explanations in the video tutorial.

Video Tutorial:

The links provided are for your use and may contain affiliate links.
They cost nothing for you to use.
Thank you in advance for supporting this site with its use.

If you are interested in my craft iron it is from Oliso https://amzn.to/3r70pD9 and my iron mat is from Cricut https://cricut.pxf.io/x9Weqy

Make Your Own Ball Tool

You can make your own ball tool with items you probably have on hand.

ball tool

Craft tools can be expensive. When you can make your own, save money, and they work just as well – why not do it? This ball tool is just that and you can make it from items you have around the house.

The links provided are for your use and may contain affiliate links.
They cost nothing for you to use.
Thank you in advance for supporting this site with its use.

materials

Materials:

Video Tutorial:

Here is the flower I made using the DIY Ball Tool.

If you would like the free SVG file I used to make this flower you can find it in the store: [wreath card]

Super Easy DIY Sticker

Make your own stickers with this easy process.

These cute diy stickers are so easy to make. You could work with your own drawings or choose a printable from HungryJpeg. I used the Forest Friends clip art for my stickers. Keep you eyes peeled for the freebie of the week, from

These cute diy stickers are so easy to make. You could work with your own drawings or choose a printable from HungryJpeg. I used the Forest Friends clip art for my stickers. Keep you eyes peeled for the freebie of the week, from HungryJpeg to grab some cute printables for free.

The links provided are for your use and may contain affiliate links.
They cost nothing for you to use.
Thank you in advance for supporting this site with its use.

After printing out the images on regular copy paper, I fussy cut around each image. Using some protective paper, packing tape, and glue I easily made them into my own stickers. Watch the video tutorial below to see how easy it really is.

Video Tutorial:

Back to School Bookmarks

DIY bookmarks with Gwen Studios ribbon.

with Gwen Studios

Now that it is time to head back to school, I am making a few versions of bookmarks using ribbons from Gwen Studios. These bookmarks would pair well with gifting a book as well. My family often gives what we call a moment gift consisting of a good book and a bag of M&Ms. I think we now need to add a handmade bookmark to the gift.

The links provided are for your use and may contain affiliate links.
They cost nothing for you to use.
Thank you in advance for supporting this site with its use.

As a design team member for Gwen Studios, I was recently sent this great box full of ribbon samples. There are satin and grosgrain ribbons. It was fun choosing different widths and colors to work together for the bookmarks.

Gwen Studios ribbons can be found at Walmart and Michaels. To see all the back-to-school themed projects made with Gwen Studios ribbons, make sure to visit the Designer Crafts Connection website.

Ruffled Ribbon Bookmark

This first bookmark I am calling a ruffled bookmark because of the folded/ruffled green ribbon. The brown and burgundy ribbon had the ends melted with a lighter to keep them from raveling. All the layers were glued together using Fabri-Tac.

The central ribbon that appears to be ruffled was actually folded and glued. Each fold was glued twice – front and back. You could choose to sew instead of glue but I didn’t want a line of thread to show so I glued it.

Blue Fringe Bookmark

blue bookmark

The blue bookmark was similar in that it used three layers of ribbon. All the ends were sealed with a lighter so they don’t fray except the end of the blue ribbon. One end of the blue ribbon was fringed. To do this, the very thin edge of the ribbon needed to be cut away where the fringe is. This made making the fringe easy to do.

The blue ribbon bookmark was put together using double-sided tape. The glue will also work but might seep through the light-colored ribbon so tape was used instead as a precaution.

Magnetic Bookmark

magnetic bookmark

This is a magnetic bookmark. It only uses one piece of ribbon.

stamping

I stamped the yellow ribbon with bees using Staz-on black ink in a random pattern.

paint magnets

To use magnets, I used a thin advertising magnet that is easily cut with scissors. Since the ribbon was light-colored, the ad showed through the ribbon so I painted the advertisement side with white paint.

glue magnets

Once the paint was dry, I glued the magnets to the back side of the ribbon leaving a very small space between the magnets. In hindsight, the double-sided tape might have worked better.

The excess ribbon was folded and glued to the magnets creating a nicely finished folded edge. Because the magnet I used wasn’t that strong, I left a small area of each magnet exposed. It would look a lot better to cover the entire magnet so using a strong magnet really would help.

Curling Ribbon Earrings

Learn how to make earrings using curling ribbon.

with Gwen Studios

This month the Gwen Studios design team is working with curling ribbon. Curling ribbons can be used in a variety of different ways. Quilling paper is very similar to curling ribbon so I thought it would work in a similar way. I chose to roll the ribbons into disks and make earrings.

The links provided are for your use and may contain affiliate links.
They cost nothing for you to use.
Thank you in advance for supporting this site with its use.

ribbons

Curling Ribbon comes in a variety of different colors. Gwen Studios curling ribbon can be found at Walmart.

logos

I would like to thank Gwen Studios for providing me with the ribbon to work with. Designer Crafts Connection will share links to all the projects made for this month’s nautical theme design team projects.

ribbon and quilling paper

The photo above shows the difference in size between the curling ribbon on the left and the quilling paper on the right. The ribbon is just about twice the width but comes in a really long length that you can cut to your desired size.

rolling the ribbon

Using a battery-operated quilling tool, made the rolling of the ribbon quick and easy. The ribbon naturally curls in one direction, following that direction makes the rolling of the ribbon a bit easier to work with. Use tacky glue to add different colors to the rolling.

To secure the ribbon, I added a piece of cardstock onto the back of the curled ribbon in a coordinating color. To see the entire process, watch the video tutorial below:

Video Tutorial:

I made two different pairs of earrings using the same curling technique. The blue pair are stud earrings while the pink version is made using ear wires.

Suggested Materials:

Links are Affiliates
AZ – Amazon, O – Other
Earring Studs
Earring Studs
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AZ
Glue Bottles
Glue Bottles
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AZ
Gwen Studios at Walmart
Gwen Studios at Walmart
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O
Jewelry Tool Kit
Jewelry Tool Kit
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AZ
Quilling Tool
Quilling Tool
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AZ
Reptile Glue
Reptile Glue
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AZ
Westcott 8
Westcott 8″ Non-Stick Scissors
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AZ

Origami Ornament

Make a Christmas ornament using origami paper.

with Yasutomo Origami Papers

There are many creative ways to make ornaments. You can use paint, alcohol ink, or fabric. Why not use origami paper? I cut mine into squares but tearing the paper would also make a beautiful ornament. I am working with papers from Yatsutomo. The ornament is plastic but this technique will also work on glass.

Many of the items I use in posts are provided by the manufacturers to promote their products.
A special thanks to those brands who sponsor this site. Some links are affiliates, thank you for using them.

materials

Materials:

  • plastic ornament
  • mod podge
  • Origami paper
  • paper trimmer
  • scissor
  • ribbon
  • foam paintbrush
  • Scotch tacky glue
ribbon on ornament

The iridescent paper didn’t want to stay put. I found overlapping it with the other patterned papers helped to hold it in place. After covering the ornament with origami paper, I used a color-coordinating ribbon to finish off the look.

Video Tutorial:

Suggested Materials:

Links are Affiliates
AZ – Amazon, SSS – Simon Says Stamps, SB – Scrapbook, C – Cricut
Cricut Portable Trimmer
Cricut Portable Trimmer
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AZ | C
Mod Podge Gloss 8oz
Mod Podge Gloss 8oz
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AZ | SB
Scotch Tacky Glue
Scotch Tacky Glue
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AZ | SSS
Westcott 14849 8
Westcott 14849 8″ Straight Titanium Bonded Non-Stick Scissors
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AZ
Yasutomo Fold'ems Origami Paper
Yasutomo Fold’ems Origami Paper
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AZ

Making a Playful Cat Tag

Making a playful cat tag with Fairy Stamper.

with Fairy Stamper

cat tag

Cats are playful. The Nala stamp from Fairy Stamper needed to be playful and the scrapbook paper with the birds worked well. I put the two together to make a playful tag.

Materials:

  • scrapbook paper
  • cardstock
  • Nala stamp
  • black ink pad
  • clear embossing powder
  • heat gun
  • DIY shimmer spray
  • Distress Oxide
  • blending brush
  • ribbons
  • hole punch
  • works board
  • scissors
  • tape runner

Video Tutorial:

The glimmer on the tag is hard to capture on video and photography. Hopefully, the image above shows a bit of how it shimmers. I make my own shimmer spray. If you would like to learn how to make your own you can follow this link. [DIY shimmer spray]

Suggested Materials List:

Links are Affiliates
AZ – Amazon, SSS – Simon Says Stamps, SB – Scrapbook,
Distress Ink Bundle
Distress Ink Bundle
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AZ
Intense Black Ink Pad
Intense Black Ink Pad
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SSS
Professional Makeup Brush Set
Professional Makeup Brush Set
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AZ
Tape Runner
Tape Runner
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AZ | SSS | SB
We R Memory Keepers - All-In-One Tool - The Works
We R Memory Keepers – All-In-One Tool – The Works
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AZ | SSS | SB
Westcott 14849 8
Westcott 14849 8″ Straight Titanium Bonded Non-Stick Scissors
Shop at:
AZ

DIY Christmas Tree Earrings

Die cut a pair of Christmas tree earrings using shrink plastic three different ways.

with Scrapbook.com

3 pairs of earrings

Fun for the holidays, fun for gift-giving, make a pair of Christmas tree earrings with a die from Scrapbook.com, and shrink film. I’ve shown three different designs all made from the same die. The green earrings are using alcohol ink, the rose gold earrings used a stamp pad, and the silver and black pair were stamped with a rubber stamp.

Many of the items I use in posts are provided by the manufacturers to promote their products.
A special thanks to those brands who sponsor this site. Some links are affiliates, thank you for using them.

die and shrink film

To make the earrings I used the smallest die from the Nested Tree Dies and shrink film from Grafix. I used white and silver shrink film.

Materials:

  • Nested Tree Die
  • Shrink film – white, silver
  • CrossOver II
  • alcohol inks
  • Rose gold stamp pad
  • Stazon ink pad
  • rubber stamp
  • jewelry making tools and findings
  • Alcohol ink marker (green)
  • UV light
  • UV resin
  • hole punch
  • toaster oven

Video Tutorial:

As the film shrinks, the colors become more intense. While there was a pattern on the rose gold trees, it is all but gone once shrunk. However, they did take on a more metallic sheen almost like glitter. Do you have a favorite pair?

Make sure you stop at every crafty post along the way for Christmas magic and inspiration!

1. Jamie Pate
2. Juliana Michaels
3. Marie Nicole
4. Becki Adams
5. Patricia Roebuck
6. Terra O’Brien
7. Amy Mattingly
8. Janet Trieschman
9. Adrienne Boese
10. Amy Brown
11. Kinjal Trivedi 
12. Nadine Carlier
13. Erin Reed
14. Anita Trippi
15. Lynda Keyes
16. Lea Lawson

Suggested Materials:

Links are Affiliates
AZ – Amazon, SSS – Simon Says Stamps, SB – Scrapbook, O – Other
Crossover II
Crossover II
Shop at:
AZ
Grafix Shrink Film
Grafix Shrink Film
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AZ
Jewelry Tool Kit
Jewelry Tool Kit
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AZ
Nested Tree Die
Nested Tree Die
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SB
Spectrum Noir Markers
Spectrum Noir Markers
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AZ | SSS | SB
StazOn
StazOn
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AZ | SSS | SB
UV Light
UV Light
Shop at:
AZ
UV Resin
UV Resin
Shop at:
AZ