Tag Archives: DIY

Crafty Challenge 8: Resistor Necklace and Pendant

June 3, 2012Craft Challenge, Creativity, DIY, Homemade, Jewelrycrafty challenge, DIY, easy, electronics, homemade, jewelry, necklace, pendant, resistors, wire wrappingKristin McCormick

So some of our Crafty Sisters have been a little distracted lately and it took an extra week to get our projects posted this week. (I cannot complain as it has been me a couple of times who has been distracted.)

Our found item that must be used in our challenge was resistors. Out of the Crafty Sister storage came a canister full of old resistors. We divided them up and got to work.

Resistors just seem to lend themselves towards jewelry and I was inclined to follow. My foremost concern was an interesting pendant.

My entire necklace is made of resistors, even the hook and eye clasp. The wired ends make wire-wrapping a breeze.

This is a very simple necklace to make and only took me about 2 hours. Most of that time was spent messing with the style and shape of the pendant.

I am pleased with how this turned out and will probably wear it from time to time.

Happy Crafting!

Kristin

Crafty Challenge 7: Paper Mache Tree with Nesting Bird

April 30, 2012craft, Craft Challenge, Creativity, DIY, Homemadebird, bird nest, craft, crafts made from books, crafty challenge, creativity, DIY, How to, paper-mache, Papier-mâché, tree, wire, wire wrappingthecraftysisters

Bird Paper Mache Tree Crafty Sisters Challenge — Bird nesting in a tree.

Cheri: I find it really interesting that every project we do, I always think that it is the best one yet, but this project was one of the best. I like working with paper. It has endless possibilities and can be made into practically anything. I knew I wanted to make a tree with a nest and a bird, as this is a theme that I have been exploring lately.

To begin, I made a base for the tree with paper covered wire. To make the base, I cut about nine lengths of wire around 9 inches long. I took a longer piece of wire and wrapped it around the base and slowly coiled my way up the tree. I left some of the wire sticking out of the bottom to make the roots and some sticking out of the top to make the limbs.

I then took some pages from an old book, (Gone with the Wind), and ripped them into strips. I paper-mached the strips onto the tree, the bird and the branches.

For the nest, I cut very thin slices of paper and formed them with glue using the bottom of a small bowl as a form. I let it dry and when I took it out it looked amazingly like a real nest. At this point I was not really sure if I wanted to paint it or not, but after talking it over with my son, Justin, we felt that it would look nice if I did a light watercolor wash on it. This really made the text pop and was just the right touch.

I was very pleased with how it looked when it was completed and it really came out how I wanted it to look. And somehow it seems fitting to turn paper back into a tree.

Paper Mache Tree Crafty Sisters Challenge — Tree with nest removed.

Paper Mache Bird Nest Crafty Sisters Challenge — Close up of nest and bird.

Paper Mache Bird Tree Crafty Sisters Challenge — Another view.

Paper Mache Bird Nest Tree Wire Crafty Sisters Challenge — Nesting bird and tree.

Putting Lipstick on a Pig

April 22, 20123651997, Automobiles, Cars, DIY, Jeep, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Plasti Dip, Rims, Tires, Wheels, ZJthecraftysisters

Jake: Long time reader, first time writer.

I’m Cheri’s son, and am quite literally addicted to cars. I’ve owned six cars since I was sixteen, and am now almost tenty-two. Most, actually none, of my cars have ever been showroom worthy. But I’ve always managed to trade up for something “better”. Currently I own a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. The word “limited” is fancy automotive talk for many more problems and a horrific color scheme, black and gold.

Now, I truly do love my Jeep and it is definitely a labor of love to keep it going. As of right now, it runs great even with 198,000 miles on the clock! But I’ve also already changed the starter, all four brakes, tires, transfer case, heater core, grill, spark plugs, spark plug wires, cap and rotor, and an occasional brake light or two.

Being a product of this family, and my mother, who never ceases to amaze me with her ability to turn anything into art and seemingly spends as little money as possible, I decided to take a look at altering the look of my Jeep for, in my opinion, the better. Being a youngster and wanting a flashy and unique car to drive, I decided I would have a go at altering the color scheme on the wheels. At the moment they’re this horrendous silver color with gold accents on the spokes. Quite flashy indeed, but definitely not my style.

(Picture taken from the internet)

At my place of employment, we just started selling a nifty little product called Plasti-Dip in its aeresol form. Originally the plastic based paint was meant to be used for tools that had lost their rubber coating on the handles. Just recently it became an aerosol spray, which has given it endless applications. Without the budget or want to spend the money on new wheels, and being an apathetic young adult, I decided to try it out. The least amount of work, the better! After some research and time spent on online forums, I came to the conclusion that I could obtain the results that I wanted.

A couple of weekends ago, with nothing to do, I decided to set my plan in action and purchase some of this plasti-dip for the low low price of $5.97 a can. Before actually attempting to paint my rims currently on my Jeep, I decided it would be good to test on my spare tire.

With the spare tire out of my Jeep and laying flat on a piece of corrugated plastic, I cleaned it with some general use cleaning wipes. Since the tire was a spare, it had never seen any life under the Jeep and was practically spotless. I had purchased some masking tape at a local dollar store and attempted to tape paper towels around the rim to keep paint off of the tire. Since this tape was purchased at a dollar store, It clearly did not work. With that “least amount of work” ethic, present, I decided to hell with the tape and laid down my first light coat of the Plasti-Dip. I kept the spray can about twelve inches from the rim. My rims are quite detailed and I had to approach the rim at different angles to get every nook and cranny. After four coats, I deemed the rim worthy and let it dry over night. In the morning, I viewed the rim in the light and was surprised with the outcome, and how good it looked. The paint dries evenly, so overspray isn’t a huge problem.

The very next weekend, I set out to complete the set and finish all of the rims. Using my grandmothers garage in exchange for manual labor, finishing up the rims took about three hours total.

I believe the weekend project was a huge success, and am astonished at the outcome of the wheels. They look 100% better than they used to, and I’ve received quite a few compliments from Jeep admirers. Thanks for reading!

Next up, re-covering my headliner.

Finishing Projects: Blue Cube and Pearl Necklace and Earring Set

April 22, 2012craft, Creativity, DIY, Homemade, Jewelrycube, DIY, earrings, glass bead, How to, jewelry, necklace, pearl, sterling silver, sterling silver clasp, wire wrappingKristin McCormick

I have so many unfinished projects. I was looking through the pile of them with my mother-in-law last weekend and I couldn’t believe how much material I had there. So much of it needed to be cut up completely. However, some of it just needed to be finished. I pulled a few pieces out and am really making an effort to get them finished and here is the first finished project!

The necklace is made with sterling silver for the wraps and clasp, dark blue/teal pearl beads for the front part of the necklace and clear blue cube beads for the back part of the necklace.

I just loved the clear blue cube beads and knew when I bought them that I wanted to wire wrap them in a strand. I started this necklace about 2 years ago and since then, I add another cube bead every now and then, but I was never quite happy with how simplistic the blue cube beads looked by themselves. I bought the blue/teal pearls last year and looked at them a lot with no real idea what to do with them. I started putting them together and just love how the finished necklace turned out! The contrast of the dark pearl with the light blue cubes just pleases me immensely.

Of course, I had to make earrings to go with the necklace. I like making matching sets of jewelry. I really like the trio of pearls below the cube bead. They swing and bounce quite happily when worn.

I also made the clasp. I decided I wanted something with a little more oomph than my standard clasp and made an almond-shaped clasp that had a blue cube bead wrapped in the eye half of the the clasp. I really liked how it turned out and will probably make more clasps like this one in the future.

So, one unfinished project down, an infinite more to go. Mom (Craftysister Lynne) suggested I make a list and cross off my newly finished project, but I said that would just remind me of how many unfinished projects I still have yet to complete.

Happy crafting,

Kristin

Cootie Insect Collection Specimen Box

April 20, 2012craft, Creativity, DIY, Homemade, How tocootie, creativity, cute, DIY, frame, game, garage sale, How to, insect specimen, specimen boxthecraftysisters

Craft Crafty Sisters Cootie framed picture specimen collection — Framed cootie scientific specimen box to hang on your walls.

Cheri:

I picked up a box of Cooties last year at a garage sale. I had a plan and it didn’t involve playing the game. I like the look of insect displays, but I don’t want to have a real insect display. I could have a Cootie display though.

After inspecting the cootie, I felt that I should split the thorax and head. There is a seam that runs along the two pieces and if you carefully insert a flat screwdriver into it, it will pop apart with a little effort. I took the front pieces of the thorax and head and worked with them in the specimen box and chose the placement.

I did have a bit of difficulty when it came time to attach the legs to the thorax, so I decided to hot glue the legs on to the thorax and glued it in place. I then hot glued the head, antenna and the tongue in place. I then cut a scrap of paper and hand wrote “Cootie” to make it look like it was a real insect specimen and pinned it in place.

This was such a fun project. I think I really like it because it is unexpected yet it is expected.

Insect Collection Craft Handmade DIY — Cootie insect collection.

Crafty Challenge 6: Hammered Cuff Bracelet

April 17, 2012craft, Craft Challenge, Creativity, Jewelrybracelet, copper, craft, crafty challenge, creativity, DIY, hammered, How to, jewelrythecraftysisters

Copper Bracelet Hammered Crafty Sisters — Hand-hammered cuff bracelet.

Lynne:

I have been accused of shooting down the last few ideas for crafty challenges, so when Loryn came up with the idea of using some scrap copper discs in the garage I couldn’t very well argue. I have had those discs for the last 20 years and had never been able to find a good use for them and now I was backed into using them in a challenge.

I searched the internet and found this video on YouTube. The most exciting thing to me was the minimal need for specialty tools. Of course, when you are not using many tools, skill is always a bigger factor in the finished project. I pulled out a vise, a wrench and a ball peen hammer and set to. I will tell you now that ear plugs are a very good idea.

We have another sister who lives out of state and she was here visiting. She had brought some tools and a willingness to hammer out some ideas. Together the two us managed to hammer a small bowl with turned edges. Turning that outer edge under is not so easy but I found that brute strength is not the best idea. A small hammer with a light touch goes a long way as a hard hammer hit will put a tear in the copper.

Copper Craft Challenge Crafty Sisters Hammered — The diameter of our discs was jut 3" so the bowl is very small.

I folded copper, hammered copper, cut copper and cursed copper, but I could not manage to make any progress until last Saturday. I just seemed to make one good hit with the hammer and the copper began to do what I wanted it to do. Failure does lead one to success as long as you keep trying.

I ended up cutting a rectangle from two copper discs for the two halves of a cuff bracelet. I turned the long edges under and then hammered the finished rectangles into a roughly oval wrist-fitting shape.

One of my failed projects was a ring that was too wide for my finger and I had tossed it into the growing scrap heap. However, when I needed a bridge to hold the two bracelet halves together the too wide ring was perfect. All I had to do was hammer the ring flat, punch holes in it, punch matching holes in the other two pieces and connect them all with paper fasteners (not really sturdy but the deadline was twenty minutes away) and there was my bracelet.

For my first piece of hammered metal work I was extremely happy, and despite all my complaining I have become intrigued with the process and am going to do some more work with copper.
Lynne

Hammered Copper Cuff Bracelet Crafty Sisters — Hammered copper cuff bracelet.

Crafty Challenge 6: Verdigris Copper Pendant and Hammered Chain

April 16, 2012craft, Craft Challenge, Creativity, Jewelrycopper, craft, crafty challenge, creativity, DIY, handmade, jewelry, necklace, wirethecraftysisters

Hammered Copper Pendant Necklace Crafty Sisters — Hammered copper necklace with verdigris patina.

Copper Necklace Pendant Hammered Crafty Sisters — Hammered copper pendant necklace.

Cheri: It felt so good to get back to a challenge after our winter hiatus. And this challenge couldn’t have been better. I think we were all a little excited and a bit apprehensive when this project was initiated. After playing with the copper for awhile, knew whatever I made, it would most likely be jewelry. This is when I let the metal do the talking. I had a ball peen hammer and a small vice with a flat edge and I went to town banging on some copper. I was pleasantly surprised with how pretty the copper became after being hammered. Metal can lose what small elasticity it has in it after it has been work-hardened so I really wanted to make sure that I did not overdo the hammering or it would become brittle. After I had mastered the shape I wanted, I decided to do some research on adding a patina. I came across an article that said I could add blue to the copper by suspending the piece over a bowl of ammonia in a closed container. This was super easy, just be careful with the odor, it can be a bit overwhelming. The patina on my piece took about 12 hours to achieve and I think it came out pretty nice.

Copper Rings Hammered Crafty Sisters — Hammered copper rings with button-hole style closure-clasp.

I punched holes with a hole punch and used copper wire to embellish the pendant and make the chain. I also hammered the copper wire to give it a rustic look. The rings were made by hammering a small strip of copper and then coiling it around a mandrel. I put two holes in the upper end and two holes in the under part. This had a button hole effect when I used a bead to bring the two pieces together and basically tied them with brass wire.

The copper turned out to be an awesome material to work with and I look forward to making many more pieces.

Cheri

Crafty Sisters Hammered Copper Pendant Necklace — Hammered verdigris copper pendant and necklace.

Almond Ear Wires and a Pretty Pink Earring/Necklace Set

March 10, 2012craft, Creativity, DIY, Homemade, How to, Jewelryalmond earwires, almond-shaped, DIY, ear-wires, earrings, handmade, homemade, How to, jewelry, pink necklace, sterling silver, wire, wire wrappingKristin McCormick

Almond ear wires with pink conical beads. — I just love this shape of ear wire.

New and interesting shapes for ear wires are very popular lately. My favorites are the almond-shaped ear wires.These have been featured all over the web and television. The first time I really noticed them was on Emily Deschanel in the television series “Bones.” They are elegant and fun and are actually very easy to make.

For demonstration purposes and because it photographs a little easier, I made these ear wires out of heavier 18 gauge sterling silver half-hard wire. I usually use lighter 21 gauge sterling silver half-hard wire, but I wanted something that would be very visible in the photos.

Wire bent at 90 degrees at 3/4". — Bend the wire to 90º.

Using flat nose pliers (although you can use the rosary pliers for the whole project if you prefer) I bent the wire at 3/4″ to a 90º angle.

Wire loop made with rosary pliers. — Wrap a loop with the rosary pliers.

Then I used rosary pliers (also called round-nose pliers) to make a loop by placing the pliers above the bend on the short wire and wrapping it around the nose of the pliers.

Completed wire loop. — Finish wrapping the short end of the wire around the stem.

Holding onto the loop with the rosary pliers, I use the flat nose pliers to twist the short end of the wire around the stem (below the loop). By having only 3/4″ of wire for the loop, there is no wire to trim and you are good to continue on to the next step.

Wire wrapped around the mandrel. — Wrap the wire around a mandrel or other object approximately 1" in diameter.

Here I used a mandrel that my father made me for Christmas a few years ago (Aren’t fathers wonderful?). The widest end of the mandrel is 1″ in diameter and the thinnest end is 1/2″ in diameter. For these ear wires, I wrapped around the widest point of my mandrel at 1″. I just made one wrap around the mandrel and as the wire is half-hard, it stretches back out to an incomplete circle when I let it go as shown in the photo below.

Wire just removed from the mandrel will stretch out to form an incomplete circle.

Completed almond shaped ear wire. — Here is the finished view of the almond ear wire.

Next, I bend the circle at the half-way point to create the top of the almond and lightly stretch out the two halves to create the full almond shape. I also bend the wire-wrapped loop to hang correctly down from the almond. I then use a small file to smooth the cut made by the wire cutters so it won’t catch in your ear when you put it through.

To show the ear wires in action, I made the matching earrings to a necklace I made from pretty pink glass florets, red pearls and crackled white quartz beads. The pendant is a piece of dyed jasper that I wire wrapped to hang it from the necklace.

I hope this helps you to create your own almond ear wires, or inspires you to create your own new shape entirely!

A Gallery of Handmade Christmas Trees

December 24, 2011collections, craft, Creativity, HomemadeChristmas trees, DIY, handmade, homemadethecraftysisters

Loryn: I’ve collected handmade Christmas trees for over ten years, ever since Cheri made me one for Christmas. Since then, she’s given me one just about every year, and Kristin has contributed to my collection, too. I’m always amazed at how unique each tree is! The one above is made from chenille pipe cleaners that came from a 1950s chenille tree that was badly damaged. Cheri remade them into my tree and a wreath for Kristin.

This tall beauty is made from a vintage glass bead garland wrapped on a foam form, then embellished with more vintage glass ornaments.

This felt tree started my whole collection. Cheri made it from an old army blanket, a brass tube, and a wood scrap. It’s so simple and cute!

A few years ago, Cheri did a bunch of paper sculptures, and she made this little tree out of paper.

I wore nothing but black throughout my teens and 20s, but when I got into my 30s, I fell for pink in a big way. This crazy feather boa tree is an homage to my love of pink. It’s wrapped around a felt form and decorated with small ornaments pinned into the foam. The white base is an old piece of ironstone of mine that makes a perfect stand for the tree.

This is one of my favorites. Cheri made it the year that we put together a vintage aluminum tree. It had almost a hundred branches in all different sizes, and we drove ourselves crazy assembling it. Her pipecleaner version makes me smile every time I see it.

Kristin made me this elegant beaded tree. I love how naturalistic the branches look.

Here’s Cheri’s Alexander Calder tree. Simple and fun!

I collect wooden ornaments, so Cheri made this great tree to add to my collection. I love how she paired the ornaments with that great paper.

Last, but not least is this adorable Charlie Brown tree. She made it from wire, florist’s tape, and a branch from a fake tree. Just a year later, they were all over stores, but none as nice as this one!

I love my Christmas tree collection, and I hope to keep adding to it every year (hint, hint)!

Christmas Ornament Countdown: Wire Wrapped Joy

December 23, 2011craft, Creativity, DIY, How toChristmas ornament, creativity, decoration, DIY, How to, wire, wire wrappingthecraftysisters

Cheri: While my sis and I were shopping at Hobby Lobby the other day, we were checking out the wire in the jewelry section. Back many years ago when I first started working with wire, I was using baling wire. This is the wire that holds bales of hay together. It was a good thing I was young and my hands were in good shape.

Since then wire comes in all shapes and sizes and colors. The wire I picked up for this ornament was really soft, and my hands really appreciated it. I was able to form the letters very smoothly and if I made an adjustment to the wire, it was easy to get the kinks out.

This ornament is really quite simple. I shaped the word “Joy” and then I made a big circle with a hanger at the top and placed the word in it. I then took small pieces of wire and held the word in place by wrapping it at various points. I think it turned out very nice and should really add a lot to the ornament tree that we are all working on.

Merry Christmas from Crafty Sister Cheri.

the crafty sisters

craft writing drawing