Scrabble Tile Pendants

Aren't these cute? I've long admired the scrabble tile pendants I've seen in many Etsy shops. When I discovered directions on Annie Howes Keepsakes, and suddenly found myself armed with a supply of tiles, I thought I'd give them a shot. They're a bit more time-consuming than I expected (mostly due to drying time), but still very easy to make. Although I wanted the durability of epoxy resin, my local Hobby Lobby was out of it, so I used Crystal Effects instead. I initially tried brushing the Crystal Effects onto the tile, but the brush marks were too prominent, so I simply squeezed it directly onto the tiles with the applicator tip. This resulted in a finish that looks much like resin. The tiles pictured here are a gift for someone special.

If you'd like to try making these, head on over to Annie's blog for a great tutorial.

One World One Heart Giveaway!

It's time again for the annual One World One Heart Giveaway, and this is an event that you absolutely don't want to miss. Do you like to visit creative blogs? And do you like to win beautiful things? Then go to the OWOH blog for a list of participating bloggers, and enter to your heart's content! You'll want to visit the site often, because the giveaways won't end until February 12th, and new participants will be added frequently. Each blogger will have her/his own rules for entering, but in most cases all you have to do is leave a comment on their giveaway post.

On this blog, I'll be giving away one of my embellished fabric pins. This pin is made from 2 shades of hand-dyed cotton (dyed by me in one of my dyeing binges), rayon thread, Plumetes decorative cord, and a gold-tone metal bead. It measures approximately 2" x 1-5/8". Depending on how many entries I have, I may an additional prize, but it will be my decision which winner gets which prize.

You don't need your own blog to enter my giveaway, but you do need a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. Here are the rules:

1. Leave a comment on this post, and this post only. Comments on other posts will not count.

2. Be sure there's a way for me to contact you if you win.

3. The deadline for entering is midnight Central Time on February 12th.

That's it! The winner (or winners) will be chosen with a random number generator on February 13th and will be notified that day.

In case you don't win, I'll probably have some more pins in my Etsy shop in the next few days.

I'm also having a giveaway, with 2 winners, at my Bayou Bags blog, so remember to go over there and enter as well.

Good luck!

Paper Beads

I've occasionally considered making paper beads, but it was one of those projects that I kept moving down the list, then I would quickly lose interest. But yesterday I saw a tutorial on Natasha's blog, and I knew that I had to drop everything else immediately and make some now. I don't think I'm finished with the beads pictured above, because I'd like them to be shinier like Natasha's, but I wanted to go ahead and show them to you.

Natasha goes into a lot of detail on how to experiment with your beads using things like paint, pigments, and UTEE. At this point, mine are simply rolled and sealed with ModPodge.

Here they are in progress:

Tutorial - Embellished Fabric Pin

In the coming weeks I'll be offering up a few tutorials for quick and easy projects, including some gift ideas, cards, and maybe some packaging. I'll also be trying to use supplies I already have, and will be recycling or repurposing some items that would ordinarily go in the trash. Check back often to see what I've been up to.

Today we'll make this little fabric pin that I've embellished with Eyelash cord and a fish bead. You really don't need the Eyelash, but it does add some nice texture and interest, so if you have some, go ahead and use it. You can substitute another cord if you have something interesting, or you can skip it altogether.

For this project you'll need some scraps of fabric, scraps of quilt batting, contrasting thread, a pretty bead or charm, and a sew-on pinback. Wonder-Under is optional, but helpful when you're working in this size.

My finished pin measures 1-5/8" by 2-1/8", so I will describe my project based on that size. You will need to adjust the measurements based on the bead or charm you're using.

Most of the steps are illustrated below, and the remaining steps I think are self-explanatory. Directions follow the photos.

1. First, if you have Wonder-Under, fuse it to the wrong side of your fabric scraps following the manufacturer's instructions, and remove the paper backing. I like to use it because it helps hold the layers of my project together while I'm sewing, and it gives some body to my pin.

2. Cut a 1-1/2" x 1" piece of one fabric, 2 pieces of a contrasting background fabric approximately 2-1/4" x 2-1/2", and 1 piece of batting approximately 2-1/4" x 2-1/2".

3. Fuse the small piece of fabric to one of the background pieces, then fuse that to your batting. Don't worry if your batting is sticking out or if your background looks too large. You'll be trimming this to a smaller size in just a few minutes.

4. Cut a 6" (approximately) piece of Eyelash and fold it in half. Set your machine for zigzag, and stitch around the edges of your smaller piece of fabric,feeding the Eyelash along the edge as you go and zigzagging the Eyelash in place. Don't worry about which direction the little eyelashes go, but do be sure to catch the main cord under your stitching. Trim off any excess length of Eyelash. This is already looking cute, isn't it?

5. Sew your charm or bead on at this point, using a sturdy thread and knotting it securely on the back of the batting.

6. Now fuse your remaining background piece to the back of your work. You probably won't be able to press this flat because your bead is on the other side, but that's OK. Really all you need to do is tack it in place. Be careful not to melt your bead if it's plastic.

7. Now you can trim the entire piece down to the size you want. This will get rid of any stray bits of batting or background that are sticking out, and will tidy everything up.

8. Zigzag around the outside edge to secure all the layers.

9. Handstitch your pin back securely to the back of your fabric, being careful not to stitch through to the front.

That's all there is to it! You can change this up in a variety of ways, such as adding a ribbon loop to make a tree ornament, leaving off the pin back and stitching your work to a larger project, attaching the pin to a gift package -- or whatever else your imagination suggests.

Radiant Pearls

Lately, I've been enjoying some supplies that I haven't used in a while. I'm not exactly sure why I stopped using Radiant Pearls, but I'm pleased to have them out again. An interesting quality of Radiant Pearls is that they dry by absorption, so they must be used on a porous surface, or they'll stay wet forever. You can use a plastic lid or an old cd as a palette, and your paints will not dry on those surfaces. Not ever. This means that you waste less paint, and you can pick up a project where you left off, long after you last worked on it. I last used my Radiant Pearls about 5 years ago, and when I pulled out my cd palette today, the paints on it were still wet!

Another thing I like about these paints is their shimmery quality. Unfortunately, you can't see that in this photo.

Radiant Pearls are very much like watercolors. They're transparent, can be thinned with water, blended with other colors, and used as a wash. But they also have emollient properties, so they spread nicely if you're using them full-strength.

I haven't done much with Radiant Pearls beyond coloring rubber-stamped images, but I'm beginning to see the possibilities. For now, I'm still using them with rubber stamps, as in the photo above. Pictured here are some small images stamped and painted on watercolor paper, attached to mat board, and finished off along the edges with a Krylon pen. They each measure only 1 x 1-1/4 inches, so I will probably make them into pins.