First Pancake Rule

Did you ever notice that the first pancake of the batch never comes out quite right? It's still edible... just a little burnt, or dry.  If you stick it on the bottom of the stack no one will notice, but you know it's there. Well... the same is true when crafting.

I finished my charms for the first swap I ever joined. While looking them over I was amused to stumble across the 'first pancake'. Can you pick out which one it is?

Here is a quick overview of how I made my charms. My last post showed me making paper beads from a magazine... watch the fun continue!

 The beads were coated with a water resistant sealer and stuck in a styrofoam cone to dry.

Next was to cover a small rectangle of balsa wood with vintage sheet music... seal and dry... then sand, sand, sand.

Since this is a Valentine swap I punched out teeny tiny hearts from the same paper as the beads and glued them to the back of the wooden rectangle.



Now it's time to combine the pieces. Adding pearl beads I wire wrapped the paper beads to to the wooden base. Last step... glue on the bail (shaped like a heart)... and TA DAH... my first ever charms!!

These were all new techniques for me... so a real learning experience. The most important lesson I learned was to only do a few charms at a time... that way you can tweak your technique as you go along.

This charm swap is way too much fun!! The next swap is using Origami Paper... again, not something I'm used to using in my crafts. My design is not finalized yet, but I have a bunch of ideas swimming around in my head. After that, the third swap is to use copper and green in a charm. I am so excited for this one as I already have a design idea and all of the supplies... but first I have to trudge through the Origami Paper one.

By the way... in case you were wondering... the First Pancake Rule works for children too :-)

Day 3

Well folks... I was so busy yesterday having a good time that I didn't get to post my blog. That's a good thing, right? I did however get to post my destash item and both days of handmade jewelry on Etsy like I was supposed to, so at least I'm not already behind after only 3 days :-)

The weather was so beautiful today... a PERFECT day. Not too hot (finally), with a cool breeze. I spent the day out on the Navesink River in Red Bank, NJ on a committee boat to watch the Sunday boat races. Monmouth Boat Club has been holding these races for years, and years, and years. The wind was a bit much for one boat and it flipped over... the mast got stuck in the mud... ick... I'm so glad I don't have to clean that mess up. There is nothing worse than river mud!!

The fresh air was so relaxing. A few ideas popped into my head for my 365 daily jewelry item. Making a daily item is actually kind of fun. It makes me think outside the box. For example... There is a jar of vintage buttons just begging me to make a bracelet out of them. So I grab the computer and go to trusty google and Etsy, type in 'button bracelet' to see what others have done.... I was not impressed. I want my buttons to 'dangle'... most of the ones I saw were made flat. The buttons that DID dangle were hooked with jump rings to a chain... not the look I was going for. So...... I took out my teeny tiny crochet hook and thin, thin thread and started to make a base, then pulled in the buttons... but the buttons were too heavy looking for the thin thread. Hmmmm.... back to the drawing board. I can't wait to see what I think up next to try. Eventually this bracelet will become a 365 item and you will have opportunity to purchase it... knowing I created a OOAK (One Of A Kind) .

Destash day 3

The DESTASH item for Day 3 is a group of 36 clear glass ornaments to use the paint from Day 2 on.

Day 2 jewelry item is a pink beaded memory bracelet with a dangling silver heart. This is a GREAT bracelet for a breast cancer survivor... or any one who loves pink.

Day 3 jewelry is a macrame bracelet with off white beads... and one white bead. There is a reason I chose to make it this way. Go to my Etsy store to find out why.