Craft Wars Inspired I Love Rock and Roll Necklace

Craft Wars Inspired I Love Rock and Roll Necklace 
Copyright Margot Potter 
All Rights Reserved 

I know, it's only rock and roll, but I like it, like it, yes I do. I could not believe last week's Craft Wars challenge wasn't mine! Rock and Roll? Uh, fronted several post punk era bands in the Bay Area back in the 80s. Jewelry? Uh, wrote seven books on jewelry making. Do I think I could have rocked that Pop Craft Challenge, uh, yeah. The Master Challenge on the other hand, dang. That was impressive. I kind of loved both of the projects, it must have been a tough call. I will not be torching duct tape at Studio Madge, because I'm thinking that may be a little, well, toxic. Though it was pretty bad ass! And how Stephen could have said there was too much glitter was beyond me. Rock and Roll is all about excess! 

I did not wish to take apart instruments or music equipment, egads! Sacrilege! Instead I spent one hour last night working with items I had at hand to make an edgy, glam rock necklace that I am LO-VING. Hammer, stamp, edge, drill and let 'er roll! I had some fun Blumenthal Lansing scissors buttons (runs with scissors, yes she does) and vintage metal wrench charms for the metal, some SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS for the glam and some ImpressArt blanks and stamps to get hammered for the heavy...add some r o c k with edged, crystallized and drilled Scrabble tiles and some 8 ball charm beads...well...it's a melange of crunchy fabulosity! Then the ribbon I found at Michaels on super clearance tied it all up nicely.

ROCK AND ROLL BABY!  

(DON'T FORGET TO VISIT YESTERDAY'S POST AND LEAVE A COMMENT THERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN BLANKS AND A SET OF STAMPS!)

Materials
4 Scrabble tiles to spell r o c k
4 Elongated heart blanks from ImpressArt to spell r o l l
2 3mm crystal ab SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS flat back crystal
6 8mm red coral SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS rounds
6 10mm crystal SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS rounds
6 8mm Czech glass eight ball beads
4 Blumenthal Lansing scissors button charms
4 Silver tone wrench charms
Heavy duty silver tone chain
Red edged ribbons
30 6mm silver tone jump rings
4 10mm  silver tone jump rings
12 silver tone head pins
Krylon silver leafing pen
Ranger Alcohol Ink Cranberry
Ranger Alcohol Ink Pitch Black
Aleene's Glass and Bead Adhesive

Tools
2 pairs chain nose pliers (to attach charms with jump rings)
Round nose pliers
Ranger Pouncer with Felt Pad
Brass head stamping hammer
Steel head ball peen hammer
Steel bench block
2 hole punch
1/4" 6mm lower case letter stamps
Electric drill with 1/16" bit

(Beads are threaded with head pins and a loop is turned at the top with round nose pliers, then all charms are attached as in photo using a jump ring for each charm and working left to right at the bottom of each link. Click here for a video on how to make loops.)

Do you love rock and roll as much as I do?  Check out Craft Wars Vet Andrea Currie's FABULOUS mosaic guitar project she made for her hubby Cliff on their anniversary!  

And that's it, cuz I got a rock and roll heart! Here's a pic of me at the Keystone Palo Alto back in the day!

Craft Wars Inspired: Holiday Sweater Rose Wreath

True Craft Confession: I was pleased as wassail punch with my wreath from last week's episode of Craft Wars!  My tree...well...had some obvious issues, but the wreath was something I'd happily hang in my home.  Yes, there were a few glue strings and boogers, but I don't usually craft at the speed of light.  Glue strings and boogers are fairly easy to avoid or remove when you have the luxury of time. 

With the aforementioned luxury of time on my side, I present my prettier, lump, glue string and booger free, new and improved upcycled sweater wreath for your craftertainment!

Insert holiday trumpet flourish...here.

I love the idea of turning ugly old thrift store sweaters into a fabulous new wreath.  I scored the grey and a black and white striped wool blend sweaters at my Goodwill for $.25 each!  Cha-ching! I actually scored a third black and grey striped sweater, but my daughter snapped that puppy right up as a night shirt.  Bonus!

Without further pomp and circumstance, here's how you can make your own upcycled Craft Wars Inspired Sweater Rose Wreath.  Oh and check out the links at the end of my post to see what the other Craftacular Craft Wars Vets created inspired by last week's episode! 

Instead of using sweater arms for the base like I did on the show, I wrapped off-white yarn around a round wreath form.  I used a saw to cut the wreath in half which made it easier to wrap. To put it back together, some 16 gauge craft wire with Aleene's Foamtastic glue did the trick.

This red pom-pom yarn was recently on clearance at my local Michaels, and it gave a fun, whimsical, candy cane look that I'm totally digging!  Just wrap it around the reassembled wreath working about 1" apart.

You can use the Clover pom-pom maker to make fuzzy yarn pom-pom accents.  I made two, because I loves me some pom-poms, oh yes I do!

Use old sweaters, or get some at Goodwill like I did!  Cut the sweaters into triangular strips and rolled into roses.  Vary the lengths and widths.  A 2' length is a good starting point.

Cut two contrasting leaves as accents.  Hot glue the flowers and leaves into a solid shape and attach that to the lower left side of the wreath.  (Note: If you are using a sweater that might fray, try Aleene's Stop Fraying around the edges.)

Attach the pom-poms on top and bottom of the roses with hot glue.  Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue makes quick work of adding button and rhinestone accents.  It dries clear without boogers or strings, huzzah!

Traci Remley turns some old sheet music and cupcake wrappers into a charming vintage inspired wreath.
Nikki McGonigal shows you how to make wine twice as fun with her all season cork wreath!
Lisa Fulmer makes an a dor a ble ornament inspired by the vibrant colors on my holiday tree from the show!
Cheryl Burchett shares a divine postage themed baby announcement for her latest creation, her son Joshua!
Pattye Duffner repurposes some baby blocks as festive ornaments!
Angela Daniels soothes her 'guilt' with a Thank You card wreath!
Andrea Currie turns a truly awful sweater into a truly lovely year round wreath!

Tune into TLC this Tuesday at 8pm EST for a new episode of Craft Wars!  Join us on Twitter at #craftwars for live show tweets!  After the show, Stephen Brown and Nikki McGonigal host a fun show wrap up on Spreecast!

iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts: Tres Chic Cupcake Toppers

Avalon and I decided to throw an intimate soiree for #TeamPotter on last night's Craft Wars episode.  Friends and family all live far away, so we just made our own little party with Avalon's best friend and the three of us.  Av had a project due today for iLoveToCreate and I've been playing with my logo and we decided that cupcakes and decorations were in order.  So we made these super cute, super simple cupcake toppers.  You can make your own using permission free fashion images or photos or anything you like!  Aleene's dry adhesives made it easy and fun and we love how these turned out.  I think I may have to make some jewelry out of these!  Tune in next Monday and I'll share how I made the cupcake stand topper with the ruffled lace technique and talk about quick and easy ways to personalize your parties.

Materials
Toile/Damask scrapbook papers in coordinating prints
Black and white fashion image printed to fit in a 2" punch
Large wooden or plastic party picks
Flat back plastic rhinestones
Aleene's Tacky Tape Runner
Aleene's Tacky Dot Roll 1/2"

Tools
Fiskars shape cutter and circle templates (2/5" circle)
Fiskars 2" circle punch

Craft Wars Inspired: "Three, it's a magic number" Keepsake Album

Last week the Craft Wars contestants were asked to make a Keepsake Box using keys and locks.  I don't have any locks handy...but I do have some lovely vintage skeleton keys and I got this nifty keepsake album from Faber Castell at CHA.  You could use any scrapbook or photo album you have handy.  Just start by covering it with off white scrapbook paper and either stamping or writing text to add some interest to your background.  You may even be able to find some paper that works.  I'd adhere it with an acid free glue and let it dry.  Using dry adhesives might cause the paper to bubble up when adding paints and water.

I took out some Claudine Hellmuth paints, a Faber Castell watercolor marker, a variety of stamps and brushes and a piece of bubble wrap and made a mixed media background. (Tip: Add water to a paper towel to swipe the dots, wait until they've mostly dried so that you get that strong shape with some bleed.  You can also use a small mister or add water to the paints to thin and give a watercolor appearance.)

I took a favorite photograph of my lovely family into Photoshop, played with some filters and turned it into grey scale, sized, printed and cut into a heart shape with my fabulous Fiskars cutting tools.

I cut some coordinating scrapbook and vintage book pages for a frame using the Fiskars circle cutters, added some plastic rhinestones, a few key printed words, the skeleton key and some Washi tape edges and attached it all to the album with foam stickers, tape runner and acid free Tacky Glue and that...was all she wrote.  I love this so much, I want to make some similar canvases for our living room wall. 

When I make art, I like to just dive in and do it.  I don't think too much about what might happen or where I'm going.  I let the muse take my hand and guide me.  Don't get me wrong,  I usually have some kind of a plan and a vision, but it's an organic, flexible one.  If something gets 'screwed up', I roll with it.  I am not afraid of color or layers or textures or not being perfectly perfect.  My biggest challenge is knowing when to stop.  Because it's often that last thing you add at the last minute that...well...is one thing too many.  And you know what, it really doesn't matter what happens, because the point of making art isn't the thing you make, it's the making of the thing.  If it turns out fabulous, even better, but even if it doesn't, as long as you enjoyed the journey that truly is all that matters!

Rules are for math equations and science experiments, art is about letting go of the intellectual, ordered, structured mind and letting the playful, emotional, non-judgmental side come out and have a party! As soon as we tell ourselves we aren't artists, well, we aren't.  So make yourself an "I am an artist" pin and wear it proudly!

Don't forget to tune into Craft Wars at the new time for our episode, 8pm EST on TLC!  And check out what the other Craft Wars Vets made inspired by last week's episode!

Pattye Duffner made a lovely wishing tree.
Cheryl Burchett made a clever blue jean bouquet.
Esther Hall guest posted for Nikki McGonigal sharing her divine candlestick lamps!
Angela Daniels made an awesome Krafty Coco t-shirt for Coco the Chicken!
Lisa Fulmer made a stunning keepsake box.
Andrea Currie whipped up a sparkly trophy.

Cheers,
Madge

iLoveToCreate Tori Spelling Inspired Pin This Necklace

iLoveToCreate Tori Spelling Inspired ‘Pin This’ Necklace

Margot Potter

“These are your grandmother’s crafts...ya gotta problem with that?”

My design process is a very intuitive one.  I see things, they spark ideas and off I go to figure out how to turn the ideas into reality.  Not everything works out the way it is in my mind, but that’s part of the fun of design.  These vintage wooden clothespins were part of an Estate Sale haul from several years back.  I knew there was a design in these, but what, I didn’t know.  Watching Craft Wars, I’ve been utterly charmed by Tori Spelling’s large scale whimsical necklaces.  This week I was going to make a Pop Craft Challenge inspired Dog Toy box, but honestly I was running out of time and feeling stressed until I stumbled on these clothespins, pictured Tori’s jewelry and it all came together.  My vintage craft magazines are filled with found object jewelry like this and I find it all such fun.  I am seriously smitten with this design. I can not wait to wear it to the big Craft and Hobby Association show I’m attending this week.  You could do something similar using clip style clothespins or golf tees would make a smaller scale but equally delightful design. 

Materials

11 ½”x4” vintage wooden clothespins

8 10mm crystal SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS rounds

2 sterling or silver plated dapped French ear wires

2 sterling or silver plated EZ Crimp ends

2 silver tone or black size 2 crimp tubes or beads

.018 49 Strand Beadalon wire

2 metal loop topped craft screws

10.5” segment gun metal textured cable chain

Gun metal lobster clasp

Crafty Chica Paints: red, black, white

Tulip sponge brush

Aleene’s Spray Acrylic Sealer matte finish

Aleene’s Turbo Tacky Glue

Tools

2 pairs chain nose pliers

Mighty crimp tool

Flush cutters

Electric drill with 1/16” bit

Marker

Mark and drill holes in clothespins.  There is a hole in the center top of each (these are drilled side to side so the pin leg opening will hang forward on the wire.)  The second side to side drill hole is at the sides just above the top of the pin leg opening.  Repeat for 9 of your clothespins.

Make a small hole in the center top of two clothespins; these will be threaded with the loop top screws to create the earrings.

Paint all clothespins.  There top drilled pins are red.  Make three more red, three black and three white.  This will take several coats drying in between.  You can also sand in between coats.  Use a foam brush to paint and a small detail brush to reach inside of the pin legs.  Paint all sides.

Once pins are completely painted and dried, seal with spray sealer and allow to dry.

Cut a 10” segment of beading wire.  Thread an EZ Crimp end on one side, secure with Mighty Crimp tool.  We have a video that shows you how to do this here.

Thread 9 clothespins on the wire alternating colors.  Thread wire into a second EZ Crimp end.  Use chain nose pliers to grasp and pull wire through end pulling the clothespins taught, but not too stiff.  Use Mighty Crimp tool to secure wire, use flush cutters to cut off excess wire tail.  Thread a second wire into the lower hole opening on the outermost clothespin.  Thread on one of your crimp tubes, use chain nose pliers to compress tightly.

Slide a bead on the wire, thread into the next pin and repeat this process until you reach the final bead.  Thread the wire into the 9^th clothespin, add a crimp tube, tighten wire to remove any slack and compress tube with chain nose pliers to secure.  Cut off excess wire with flush cutters.

Attach a jump ring to one of the EZ Crimp ends.  Repeat on the other side, adding the chain.  Finish by attaching a jump ring to the open end of your chain and add the clasp before securing closed.

To make earrings, thread a loop top screw into the pre-drilled opening.  Dab a little bit of Tacky Glue on the screw before inserting.  Use chain nose pliers to push and turn loop into opening until it is completely embedded.  Use chain nose pliers to attach ear wires loop tops by opening the loop on the earrings, sliding them into the loop and securing closed.