How to Make Scrabble Tile Pendants

Scrabble tile pendants are hip and trendy, different and fun jewelry pieces that you can make for yourself or give as gifts. They're not too hard to make (but who needs to know?) and will definitely draw attention and delighted surprise when you reveal their humble origins as Scrabble game pieces.

Materials


You will need:

1. Scrabble tiles -- I buy mine on ebay or Etsy.
2. Jewelry bails
   
3. Modge Podge
4. 3D Crystal Lacquer (or Diamond Glaze or equivalent)
5. E-6000 glue
   
6. Images -- I design my own but you can also get them on Etsy (search for "collage sheet"). Laser-print them on your own printer if you have one or use a copy/print service like Staples or FedEx Office.
7. Jewelry bails -- available from numerous sellers on Etsy.
   
8. Paint brushes -- 1 for coating images with Modge Podge and another for adhering them to Scrabble tiles.
9. Wax paper
10. Tape
11. Sharp scissors

Steps

First prepare your work surface by laying out a piece of wax paper and taping down the corners.


Next, treat your sheet of laser-printed images with a coat of Modge Podge and let dry (about 10 mins.)


Cut out your images and size them to the tiles you want to use.


Before applying adhesive to the back of the tile, make sure it's right-side up. Obvious, I know, but I've made this mistake so I thought it worth mentioning!


Using a paintbrush, apply a coat of Modge Podge to the back of the tile. Add image. Fine-tune its placement on the tile and press it into place. Then flip it over so it's face-down on the wax paper and press down again to get rid of any excess Modge Podge and/or air pockets. Flip the tile over again so it's face-up and let dry, about 30 minutes.




Carefully trim any paper hanging over the edges of the tile with a scissor or Exact-o knife. Then apply the top coat of varnish (3D Crystal Lacquer). Start by going around the perimeter of the image, then fill in the center.


Remove any bubbles in the varnish by gently sweeping them off the tile with a toothpick or other small tool. I use a little spatula-like tool.


Place under an aluminum-foil canopy to dry protected from dust, at least 8 but preferably 12 hours.


Attach a jewelry bail to the back of the tile with E-6000 glue and let dry, about an hour.



Give the varnish a chance to cure, about 3 days, and voilà! Your own hip and trendy Scrabble-tile jewelry piece is complete! Hang on a chain and wait for the compliments to start rolling in.

Good luck and enjoy!


Until next time --

Linda

PurtyBird

Small Worlds, or How To Create a Snow Globe

To make some cash for the team, The {NewNew} came together to make snow globes that are being sold at the Treasure Chest, our boutique on Governors Island. If you would like to create a small world of your own, here are the instructions:

Materials

• Glass jar with tight fitting lid
• Pretty things (broken jewelry, small toys, beads)
• Soda bottle cap or piece of baked polymer clay to elevate the contents
• Water
• Glitter
• Trim to decorate the lid of the jar
• Glue

Steps

Thoroughly clean the jar and the lid.

The lid will become the bottom of your snow globe.Glue the soda bottle cap in the middle of the inside of the lid to help elevate the contents.

Alternatively you can also shape a custom mound out of polymer clay, bake it and then glue your contents to it.

Assemble your pretties and glue them to the center mound. Be careful to leave enough of a rim to allow you to screw the lid back onto the jar. The mound cannot become too high, otherwise the whole "sculpture" won't fit inside the jar.

Once the glue is completely dry (overnight), fill the jar with distilled water or cooled off boiled water. You can also a drop of glycerin to the water to help suspend the glitter for a little longer.

Add the glitter. You really don't need that much. A quarter to half a teaspoon will do. I know the temptation to add more bling is huge.

Add a substantial amount of glue to the inner side of the lid.

Screw the lid onto the jar and wait for the glue to cure (overnight).

Decorate the side of the lid with trim.

That's it!

Here are some pictures of the snow globes available on Governors Island. I'm sure you'll find similar trinkets in your drawers that you can use for your own globes.

Tutorial Tuesday: String Art Embellishment

When it was time to decorate a raffle box for the Spring Handmade Cavalcade, I really wanted to take advantage of the existing structure of the lunchbox. After much trial and error, I hit upon the idea of using the stitching holes as the basis of the design. During elementary school, one of my teachers had been in an art project rut that consisted of making string art for every single month. Apparently, time has made it fresh to me again, since I was pleased enough with the outcome to want to share it with you.


String art has its origins in activities invented at the end of the 19th Century to teach mathematical ideas to children, and became popular as a decorative craft in the late 1960s. Though straight lines are formed by the string, the angles and metric positions at which strings intersect give the appearance of curves.

For this project you need:
An item to embellish that has holes in it (holes can be configured as an angle or an arc)
Embroidery Thread
Needle
Glue (optional)

Thread the longest amount of thread that you think you can handle onto the needle (I use my full armspan, so about 5 feet). Tie a large knot and go from the back of the piece to the front at point #1 on the diagram. At this point I also like to add a dab of glue on the knot to keep it in place as well.

Follow the number patterns from 1-20 going from the back to the front on the odd numbers (1, 3, 5, etc.), and from front to back on the even numbers. Keep the thread taut as you go to keep the lines straight and neat. If you run out of thread, knot off on the back, and start again going up at the next odd number with a new piece.
Here is a step-by-step diagram to see how the picture emerges. Red lines are on the front of the piece, and the yellow lines are the shorter stitches hidden on the back. Click on the image to enlarge the diagram.

Now that you've completed the pattern, just knot off on the back, and if add a little dab of glue to anchor it in place.
You may have noticed that the arc that we've made could have continued the rest of the way around the circle. Alternately you could make an asymetrical design by making a different distance between a second set of points 1 and 2. I find that string art is so quick and easy to do (and undo) that experimentation is highly rewarding!
I would love if you could share any ideas or completed projects that this tutorial has inspired you to create in the comments section.

~Kari
http://ikyoto.etsy.com/

TUTORIAL: Re-purposed recycled felt helping your garden grow: now that's what I call ECO!

It is pretty safe to say that the Alexandra Ferguson studio generates a LOT of felt scraps in the process of manufacturing her collection of applique pillows. So when a local Master Gardener told Charlotte Ferguson (Alexandra's mom, and the brand's Roving Ambassador) about a clever trick to keep her spring seedlings well watered while depleting Alexandra's ever growing stash of scraps....well, it was too good to keep to ourselves.

Follow these easy steps to create your own low-maintenance indoor greenhouse:

1. You will need a panel of felt about 24" x 16". We pieced two smaller panels together to get the right size. I thought it would be fun to use up all the tiny scraps in rainbow colors to create a patchwork, but Charlotte was in a hurry. One quick seam did the trick. You won't see the felt once all the plants are on top of it, so don't worry about making it look beautiful.
2. Using a medium sized waterproof container (we used clear storage bins), place the black trays your plants often come with upside down (shown on left side of photo). The idea is that you need to get about 3" height, so anything you have around the house that would serve that purpose would work as well. Place your felt panel on top of your riser, making sure that the edges of the felt go all the way to the bottom.
3. Pour water into your waterproof container. Soak the felt thoroughly, with about 2" height of water in your tub.
4. Place your trays of seedlings on top of the soaking felt, and you are done! The felt will draw water up from the bottom as the seeds drink, so your seeds will always be perfectly watered and you don't need to do a thing!
Your greenhouse should be placed in a sunny spot indoors. We added a grow light, easily found at Home Depot or your local gardening store for extra oomph.

Two weeks later

To celebrate spring, Alexandra is giving away one of her botanical-themed pillows. Don't have a garden with windows full of seedlings? The 16" "Tulip" pillow in cocoa that she is giving away should more than make up for it! The best part? This flower blooms all year long.


Check out the rest of the alexandra ferguson collection on her etsy site,
www.alexandraferguson.etsy.com including many other floral styles as well as her popular "Pillow Talk" line of sassy words and phrases. Alexandra works exclusively with recycled felt made from plastic water bottles. Every applique shape is meticulously cut by hand and stitched down in her studio based in Westchester County, NY. Just like everything in nature, no two are ever the same!

TO ENTER TO WIN:
You must be a FOLLOWER of this blog. Visit Alex's store HERE. Come back and leave a comment on this post and let us know what your favorite item in her shop was. One entry per person BUT if you twitter, blog, or facebook about this giveaway and leave a link it will give you extra entries.

This giveaway is the last on our series of March Madness giveaways-- It ends Tuesday, April 6th- winner announced on the April 6th blog post. Please scroll for two additional giveaways from the team that will also end April 6.

How-To: Beer Bread

Beer bread is one of those comfort breads that needs to be eaten while still warm out of the oven and works well with soups, stews, or any other hearty warming winter meal. It doesn’t take long at all as it doesn’t require any time to rise. The origins are not exactly known, but my grandmother made it, as does my mother and myself. A loaf of beer bread never lasts more than a day at most. Enjoy!

3 cups of flour

4 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

3 T sugar

1 - 12 oz can of beer (room temp is best) Cheap beer works just as well, if not better than some of the more expensive brands. When I say cheap, I mean of the “Schlitz” variety. This recipe comes from a woman that lived in Milwaukee after all. Feel free to experiment with the various ales and microbrews that are available now though.
Mix well.

Bake in greased loaf pan for 45 min to 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Anne

Felt It

www.muppetloon.etsy.com

Holiday Necklace Revival: How-To Rethread a Broken Necklace

I found my favorite chunky necklace in Barcelona. It was the perfect souvenir to carry on the memory of a great visit to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. While pleased with my purchase, I knew that it was only a matter of time before fashion tragedy would strike, and the necklace would buckle under its own weight. That day came sooner than expected, only three months into the purchase.

This holiday season, I decided to give myself the gift of handmade and bring my beloved Spanish necklace back to life. I was surprised to learn that rethreading a broken-down chunky necklace is simple, inexpensive and actually a lot of fun.

To do so, you'll need the following supplies:
1. thick silk thread
2. a pair of scissors
3. tweezers
4. a small piece of thin wire, of similar thickness to the thread
5. necklace closures
6. the original necklace pieces, or in this case rocks, that comprised the necklace.

Step 1: You start by measuring a piece of thread that is five times the length of the necklace. Once you have measured out this piece and cut it, take it and fold it in half and then, fold it in half once again.

Step 2: Pass the piece of silver wire through the folded end of the thread, fold it in half over the thread and then twist it so that it doesn't slide around, but rather clasps this end of the thread. Make sure that once folded the wire is longer than the length of your longest necklace piece. This will ensure that if anything gets stuck, you can use the tweezers to pull on the wire and ultimately pull the thread through.

Step 3: Take the other end of the thread and double knot it to the first half of the necklace closure. You are now ready to start rethreading the original necklace pieces.

Step 4: Insert the wire through the necklace piece and pull the thread through. Pull the thread through until the necklace piece reaches the knot on the other end of the thread. Pushing the necklace piece down against this knot, create a knot on the other side of the piece as close to it as possible. If the knot is too small such that it slides through the necklace piece, make it a double knot. The closer this knot is to the necklace piece, the better the necklace will look in the end.

Step 5: Repeat step four until you run out of necklace pieces. Once you have created the last knot or double knot to keep the last necklace piece in place, tie a double knot around the second part of the necklace closure.

Step 6: Wear your refurbished necklace and enjoy the fruits of your own handmade labor. Happy Holidays!


This how-to was brought to you by Fernando Jewelry, a NYC-based independent jewelry company specializing in handcrafted sustainable jewelry and jewelry repair.

Photos by Florian Hoenig

- Karla Quintero
Fernando Jewelry
LuisFernando.etsy.com