What to Do with Scraps of Felt, Part III: Make a Cute Bracelet
This one is super-easy and perfect for Spring (which I trust will arrive any day now). Keep it simple and unrestrained or bump it up a notch with a few extra steps for a more sophisticated look.
Materials
- Scraps of felt cut up into squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, or what-have-you
- Elastic stringing material such as Stretch Magic or Elonga; I used 5 mm but 7 mm would also probably work, depending on the size of your felt bits
- Scissors
- Needle
- Beads (optional)
- Fabric glue (optional)
- Thread (optional)
Decide whether you want a more or less restrained final piece. If you go the less restrained route, simply thread your needle with about one-and-a-half to two-times the amount of stringing material you need to go around your wist, tie a knot in one end, and begin stringing the bits of felt onto it. When you've got enough to go around your wrist, pull the knotted end of the stringing material away from the felt so that you have enough loose material on either end to make a knot (I used a modified square knot; click on the Elonga link above for a great illustration). Wear it as-is, or trim away some of the shagginess with a scissor.
If you want a slightly more restrained (but no less festive)-looking final product, select bits of felt that are of roughly equal size and alternate their colors. Add some beads at regular intervals for even more variation. I used felted beads in the sample above but most 7-10 mm glass, stone or plastic beads would also work well. Just be sure the hole is large and smooth enough to fit your stringing material without shredding it.
Finally, if you're feeling really ambitious, or if you want an even more polished final product, you can stack your bits of felt in different color combinations and either glue or sew them together to make your own beads. String them alone or with a few accent beads in-between.
Easy-breezy Springtime fun, both to make and to wear!
Until next time -
Enjoy!
Linda
Fashion Fall Preview at Brooklyn Indie Market
New York Independent Designers Have Got You Covered Under The Other Tent
September 18th, 11am-7pm At Brooklyn Indie Market Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn-Didn’t receive your invitation to Fall Fashion week? Never fear, Brooklyn Indie Market, on the corner of Smith and Union Street gets you on the “A list” with an unveiling of this seasons fall collections, keeping you current with ...a 2pm “Fashion A La Mode” fashion show, featuring just out-of-the-gate designers. Etsy.com and The {NewNew} present you shopping within reach all day long at Brooklyn Indie Market. Take the F/G train to Carroll Street Station, admission FREE.
2 pm Fashion Show Under The Red and White Striped Tent presented by the ladies of the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, who will also be holding a silent auction. Proceeds will go toward supporting the training and travel for their athletes who represent New York City on the national stage, and assist in the development of community outreach programs.September 18th, 11am-7pm At Brooklyn Indie Market Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn-Didn’t receive your invitation to Fall Fashion week? Never fear, Brooklyn Indie Market, on the corner of Smith and Union Street gets you on the “A list” with an unveiling of this seasons fall collections, keeping you current with ...a 2pm “Fashion A La Mode” fashion show, featuring just out-of-the-gate designers. Etsy.com and The {NewNew} present you shopping within reach all day long at Brooklyn Indie Market. Take the F/G train to Carroll Street Station, admission FREE.
Sponsored by the {NewNew} and Better Than Jam Design Coop, 20 designers will showcase the latest in fall fashion from the independent design scene, offering you the opportunity to add the latest fashions to your wardrobe, at affordable prices. Preview the collections of up-and-coming designers under the red and white striped tent; from tunic dresses by BShorr (www.BShorr.etsy.com), to flirty bags by LolafalkDesigns (www.LolafalkDesigns.etsy.com). “Fashion A La Mode” Fall collections preview puts you in sync with the forefront in design bringing you limited edition styles.
Some of the new collections unveiled include:
Better Than Jam ‘s (www.BetterThanJam.etsy.com), screen printed designs with a bright color palette full of tunic dresses in soft bamboo cotton or more wintry styles with over sized collars and hoods. Stunning gold jewelry from Lingua Nigra (www.LinguaNigra.etsy.com) in bold organic shapes and textures - first time at the Market. Kimmchi’s (www.KimmChi.etsy.com)summer designs now in the muted tones of fall, with some new designs in the mix.
Additional participating vendors will include:
Adornments NYC, Allene La Spina, Groundsel, KnitKnit, Melianna,Nemesis Jewelry, Sans Map
Adornments NYC, Allene La Spina, Groundsel, KnitKnit, Melianna,Nemesis Jewelry, Sans Map
Email: kathymalone@gmail.com
How-to: "Something Blue" Bridal Hair Pin
My little sister will be getting married this summer and she trusted me enough to give me the extremely important task of designing and creating her jewelry. I'm scared already! ;O I'm almost certain, she will turn out to be my most difficult and outspoken client ever, and I'm not fooled by her when she says "Just surprise me, I'm sure I will love it!"
I decided to start with hair accessories. We went over different possibilities: hair combs, tiaras, hair bends and decided that hair pins would be best. My sister has very fine and "slippery" hair and pins will not only help to hold them in place, but also give the master hairdresser, my brother's best friend, lots of flexibility.
Supplies:
I decided to start with hair accessories. We went over different possibilities: hair combs, tiaras, hair bends and decided that hair pins would be best. My sister has very fine and "slippery" hair and pins will not only help to hold them in place, but also give the master hairdresser, my brother's best friend, lots of flexibility.
Supplies:~hair pin
~wire (I'm using 26ga silver plated wire)
~beads: glass flowers, glass leaves, pearls, Swarovski crystals, seed beads
go wild! use silk flowers, feathers, old jewelry, sequins, buttons, etc
~wire clippers
1. Cut an 18in long piece of wire, place first petal or leaf shaped bead in the middle of your wire and twist wire securing bead in place.
2. Secure additional 2 petal beads on each end of the wire.
3. Make a couple of additional twists below the little branches.
4. Add glass flower bead topped with "something blue" Swarovski crystal bead leaving about 1/2in of wire bellow the flower.
5. Bend the wire tightly over the edge of the flower bead and twist tightly making sure that the blue crystal stays as centered as possible.
6. Thread a little Swarovski crystal butterfly on the longer end of the wire about 1.5in from twister wire, fold it tightly against the bead and wrap around.
7. Position the butterfly above the pearl branches.
8. Add one more flower bead with Swarovski crystal center at the base of this little bridal bouquet.
9. Thread both ends of the wire through the loop of the hair pin and secure it in place by wrapping around the loop of the hair pin and around the base of the bouquet. Clip off the access wire.
Jantar Handcrafted Jewelry
~wire (I'm using 26ga silver plated wire)
~beads: glass flowers, glass leaves, pearls, Swarovski crystals, seed beads
go wild! use silk flowers, feathers, old jewelry, sequins, buttons, etc
~wire clippers
1. Cut an 18in long piece of wire, place first petal or leaf shaped bead in the middle of your wire and twist wire securing bead in place.
3. Make a couple of additional twists below the little branches.4. Add glass flower bead topped with "something blue" Swarovski crystal bead leaving about 1/2in of wire bellow the flower.5. Bend the wire tightly over the edge of the flower bead and twist tightly making sure that the blue crystal stays as centered as possible.
6. Thread a little Swarovski crystal butterfly on the longer end of the wire about 1.5in from twister wire, fold it tightly against the bead and wrap around.7. Position the butterfly above the pearl branches.
8. Add one more flower bead with Swarovski crystal center at the base of this little bridal bouquet.
Jantar Handcrafted Jewelry
Tutorial: Use Heat Transfer Foil to Create a Stylish Laminated Pendant
This tutorial will show you how to create a super stylish pendant using heat transfer foil and watercolor paints to embellish a photocopy. In the spirit of the DIY Wedding idea, I decided to ask my friend Phil Guie to draw an image for his girlfriend, my friend and fellow NewNew team member Kari Love, something that he knew she would find very romantic. I took Phil's drawing, an adorable depiction of the eternal love between the Unicorn and the Narwhal, and put a frame around it, then shrunk it down to the right size to be worn as a necklace. With no further ado, here are all the steps you will need to follow to make a shiny, uniquely romantic laminated pendant for the one you love.
Step #1: Assemble Your Materials! You might not have all of the materials for this project just lying around, but the're all things that are good to have on hand and should come in handy for millions of future projects.
Materials:
1. Black-and-white photocopy of an image you would like to make into a pendant. A black-and-white laser print should also work. It's fine to make your copies on regular 20 lb copy paper.
2. Gold foil joss paper or other decorative paper for the back of the pendant.
3. Heat Set Laminate Pouches, 10 mil thickness. You should use small pouches, such as those made to laminate business cards, for this project, because when you are laminating small items, a small pouch is less likely to trap ugly air bubbles that will cause you trouble.
4. A regular home iron.
5. Metallic heat transfer foil. Transfer foil can be purchased in New York City at the Pearl Paint Craft Center on Lispenard St. or online at one of my favorite suppliers, Dharma Trading Co.
6. 1/16" eyelets and an eyelet setting tool. 1/16" eyelets can be hard to find. I ordered mine online from this company.
7. A 1/16" hole punch. You can find these at most art supply stores.
8. A hammer.
Things not pictured that you will also need: A glue stick, scissors, Metal jump rings, and a necklace chain to put your pendant on.
And, finally, you will need access to a laminator.
Step #2: Transfer the foil onto your image. Set your iron to the Cotton setting, no steam. Place the foil on top of your photocopy with the shiny side facing up. The foil should transfer after a few seconds of heating with the iron. After you peel the foil sheet off of your image you may want to gently rub the image with a finger to make sure all the foiled lines are clean and crisp.
The photo below shows the copied drawing pre- and post-foiling.
Step #3: Make your image beautiful by painting with watercolors. You could also color it with colored pencils or markers.
Step #4: Glue your image to the back of the joss paper so that the back of your pendant will be an attractive gold color instead of just white. Any decorative paper or magazine image will work to make an attractive back for your pendant.
Step #5: Cut your image down to its final size.
Step #6: Laminate your image. You can laminate multiple pendants together, but you should leave around 3/8" of space between them to make sure the laminate seals completely around each one.
Step #7: Cut your pendant out, leaving about a 1/16" seal of laminate all the way around.
Step #8: Make a hole with your 1/16" punch. For rectangular pendants, it helps to measure and make sure your hole is in the center so that the pendant hangs straight.
Step #9: Insert an eyelet into the hole and set it with the eyelet setting tool and a hammer.
Step #10: Add a jump ring, slip your pendant onto a chain, and give it to the one you love!
Stella - lookcloselypress
Step #1: Assemble Your Materials! You might not have all of the materials for this project just lying around, but the're all things that are good to have on hand and should come in handy for millions of future projects.
Materials:
1. Black-and-white photocopy of an image you would like to make into a pendant. A black-and-white laser print should also work. It's fine to make your copies on regular 20 lb copy paper.
2. Gold foil joss paper or other decorative paper for the back of the pendant.
3. Heat Set Laminate Pouches, 10 mil thickness. You should use small pouches, such as those made to laminate business cards, for this project, because when you are laminating small items, a small pouch is less likely to trap ugly air bubbles that will cause you trouble.
4. A regular home iron.
5. Metallic heat transfer foil. Transfer foil can be purchased in New York City at the Pearl Paint Craft Center on Lispenard St. or online at one of my favorite suppliers, Dharma Trading Co.
6. 1/16" eyelets and an eyelet setting tool. 1/16" eyelets can be hard to find. I ordered mine online from this company.
7. A 1/16" hole punch. You can find these at most art supply stores.
8. A hammer.
Things not pictured that you will also need: A glue stick, scissors, Metal jump rings, and a necklace chain to put your pendant on.
And, finally, you will need access to a laminator.
Step #2: Transfer the foil onto your image. Set your iron to the Cotton setting, no steam. Place the foil on top of your photocopy with the shiny side facing up. The foil should transfer after a few seconds of heating with the iron. After you peel the foil sheet off of your image you may want to gently rub the image with a finger to make sure all the foiled lines are clean and crisp.
The photo below shows the copied drawing pre- and post-foiling.
Step #3: Make your image beautiful by painting with watercolors. You could also color it with colored pencils or markers.
Step #4: Glue your image to the back of the joss paper so that the back of your pendant will be an attractive gold color instead of just white. Any decorative paper or magazine image will work to make an attractive back for your pendant.
Step #5: Cut your image down to its final size.
Step #6: Laminate your image. You can laminate multiple pendants together, but you should leave around 3/8" of space between them to make sure the laminate seals completely around each one.
Step #7: Cut your pendant out, leaving about a 1/16" seal of laminate all the way around.
Step #8: Make a hole with your 1/16" punch. For rectangular pendants, it helps to measure and make sure your hole is in the center so that the pendant hangs straight.
Step #9: Insert an eyelet into the hole and set it with the eyelet setting tool and a hammer.
Step #10: Add a jump ring, slip your pendant onto a chain, and give it to the one you love!
Stella - lookcloselypress303 Grand Artist & Fleas Market & Workshops
Come and join us for a fun filled weekend with members of the {NewNew} on March 12th - 14th at 303GRAND - a revolving storefront. Artists & Fleas is teaming up with 303 Grand to host an indoor market featuring up to 20 different local artists/designers and awesome DIY workshops, including a needle felting workshop with KnitKnit!303 Grand St. (at Havermeyer), Brooklyn, NY [MAP]
Thursday-Friday 4-9pm, Saturday 1-9pm
www.303grandnyc.com
{NewNew} members who will be selling + their dates (from left to right):
CajaJewelry (3/14),
KnitKnit (3/13 - 3/14),
MarySavel (3/12 - 3/14),
CollectiveElements (3/14), and KimmChi (3/14)
303 GRAND WORKSHOP
Learn how to needle felt with KnitKnit!
We will make soft, felted creatures and shapes using a felting needle and wool.
No previous experience required, but the workshop is not recommended for children as there will be sharp needles involved.
Friday, March 13th from 5-6 pm. $35.00 - materials will be included in class fee. More info! Pre-register with Selena at Selena@303grandnyc.com. Hurry - there are only 10 spots available!
Hope to see you there!
NguyenKnitKnit
