Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Guest Blogger, Blake Fields.

Rexlace bracelets are not just fashionable, but also incredibly functional for those who are often outdoors, and even those who often are not. Rexlace can be unraveled from the bracelet in case of an emergency to fish, create an outdoors shelter, use as shoelaces, or even temporarily fix a fan belt. The bracelets are simple and inexpensive to make. Additionally, the Rexlace can be used to make key chains, dog collars, or belts.

Begin by purchasing Rexlace. Generally, at least eight feet of Rexlace is needed for a bracelet. It is often sold by the yard or in a bundle; buying a bundle tends to be more cost effective and leaves room for mistakes or extra projects. Also, purchase clasps to use to close the bracelet. Two tiny carabiners or a set of side release buckles is ideal.

To start:

1. Measure the length of the wrist. This will determine how many feet of Rexlace to cut. If the wrist is eight inches, cut eight feet of Rexlace.

2. Fold the Rexlace in half. Attach one of the clasps to the fold by taking the looped/folded end through the clasp. Take the non-looped ends and thread them through the loop. This should create a snug knot to secure the clasp.

3. Take the second clasp piece and thread it onto the loose ends. If the wrist is eight inches, the buckle should rest about nine inches from the other clasp. (It’s good to leave room for slack). Do not tie this clasp down.

4. Now hold the clasp that is not secured firmly. This will be the end that the knotting will begin. Essentially, there should a straight length of cord from clasp to clasp, and then two lose ends that are threaded through the second clasp.

5. Take the left loose cord (cord 1) and cross it below the two straight cords (cords 3/4) at a bit of a right angle. This will create an opening on the left side. Take the right cord (cord 2) straight underneath cord 1 and then cross it over cords 3/4 into the cord1 loop that was created on the left side. Pull both cord 1 and cord 2 snug. This creates the first knot.

6. Repeat this now on the other side by taking cord 2 underneath cords 3/4 at a right angle. Cord 1 will go underneath cord two, then up and over into the loop.

7. Alternate sides until there is no more cord left.

8. Cut one side of any excess loose cord and use a lighter to melt it. This will seal the cord down and prevent the knots from coming lose. Repeat on the other side. Be very careful, as the cord will be hot. Use the scissors or a knife to hold the cord down if needed to ensure it seals to the bracelet.

For other projects, simply measure the inches needed and convert this into feet. Be creative and use different colors of cord and clasps.

By Guest Blogger, Mariano Pastor from the blog “Via U! Photography Blog”.

A window and a piece of cardboard is all you’ll need to take pictures of silver jewelry with brilliant, even tones.

Move a table as close to a window as you can.

Make sure that the top of the table is a higher than the window sill.

Tape a piece of tracing paper to the window. Sunny or cloudy skies, the paper will make light coming in to be even and soft. Hang the paper so it goes down below the table.

When using white paper as a background put something white underneath to avoid the table coming through making it look dark.

I used a 2′ x 2′ piece of foam board to bounce back light from the window, you can use anything that stands upright without bending. A piece of cardboard covered with sheets of white paper will work great.

Light will reflect from the white card and from the white surface as well.

Silver is like a mirror, it shows whatever is around. The light and white paper will reflect on the metal making it look light and shiny. Pendant, a courtesy of Roxy’s Jewelry.

If you pull the white card away from the window it will create a dark area that will also reflect on the jewelry.

Different tones of silver make a picture have more depth. You may like the way it looks, or you may not. If you prefer the silver to have even tones make sure that the card is flashed against the window.

However, if you do want your background to have a gradation of tones try replacing the white card with a black one. Blocking the light will create a shadow with a clear edge.

Then you can play placing your jewelry where the background shifts from light to dark to see what happens.

Every other week we post a new product photography tutorial showing how to take at home the pictures we create at the Via U! studio.

By Crafts-a lot Contributor, Mable who is an avid reader of craft blogs & magazines and has aspirations to improve her crafting skills. Join Mable on Facebook to socialize and share with other crafters!

Playing with clay was one of my favorite activities as a kid. I could make a dinosaur, dog, palm tree, whatever my little heart desired. Now as an adult I have a little more dexterity, and I want to work with polymer clay. I love the intricate details you can add with polymer clay.

Since I was trying a new skill, I went to YouTube to find some video instructions. I started with polymer clay bead tutorials because I love beads! I wanted to learn some basic techniques for rolling, cutting and adding details to the beads.

This first video shows how to mix and roll clay to make marbleized clay beads.

I need to get a clay pasta machine! This video shows how to shape, add embellishment and add the beading hole to your clay.

By Recycled Crafts Contributor, Anitra from the blog “Coffee Pot People”.

Art materials really are “where you find them”, and that sometimes includes the makings for some really cool jewelry. Take the bag of goodies above, for example. Can you identify all those little rings? If you can, you get top prize for Geekdom today—they’re parts from defunct computer hard drives! If you’ve got dead hard drives lying around, these are reason enough to disassemble them. If not, look for a place like our own Free Geeks, here in Portland, Oregon, where you can buy them by the pound.

I’ve had them sitting on my desk for nearly a year, waiting for inspiration to strike, and it finally did. Below are instructions for making two necklace pendants and a pair of earrings.

For the first necklace, you’ll need:

• Two perforated hard drive rings, matching or not
• Silver wire, 18-20 gauge
• A few beads in the color of your choice
• Jewelry-making tools

Take the rings you’ve chosen and measure the width from the outer rim to the hole you’ll use to create the pendant. I do this by laying my round nose pliers on the ring to see where the jaw is the same or a little larger than that distance.

Take a length of wire about four inches long and begin a wrapped loop, slip the wire through a hole in the ring, and finish the wrapped loop. (For this entry, I’ll assume you know basic wire wrap techniques.) Slip on a bead, and make another wrapped loop, slipping the other ring on as you work. You’ve now connected the two rings.

Now take a length of wire two to three inches long, and begin another wrapped loop, slipping the wire through the topmost hole of the connected rings. Slide a bead on, and make a wrapped loop above it. That loop should be large enough that you can slide the pendant over a chain or ribbon for wearing.

Here’s the necklace:

And right beside the necklace is a pair of earrings. To make them, and the second necklace, you’ll need:

• Four simple hard drive rings
• Two beads in your choice of color
• One pair earring wires
• Silver wire, 18-20 gauge
• Two good-sized chain links (mine were from a broken belt)
• Jewelry-making tools

Begin by making a wrapped loop, slipping one of the hard drive rings on while working it.

Slide on a bead, make another wrapped loop, and attach to one of the earring wires. Repeat.

That was so easy, let’s just go ahead and make that other necklace.

Using two pairs of pliers, open out the first chain link, slip one of the hard drive rings through the opening, and close back up. Open the second link, slip in the other hard drive ring, and close the link back up. (If your links weren’t connected to begin with, be sure you connect them while you’re working those steps.)

You now have a pendant you can use in two different ways, either by slipping a chain or ribbon through one of the rings, or by sliding it through one of the chain links, which will “fold” the pendant, giving it a layered look.

By Recycled Crafts Contributor, Anitra from the blog “Coffee Pot People”.

I just love running across new ways to play with my art supplies. Have you seen Button Fairies? They’re so much fun to make and own or give away, and while Christmas may feel like it’s a l-o-o-o-n-g way away, half a year is nothing in the life of a crafter. These would make lovely gift ornaments, made up as colorful fairies (which already populate my own tree), or in whites, with angel wings.

The “ingredients” for these are simple. Start by choosing your fairy’s face:

I like vintage faces, but more modern would work, too, and don’t be afraid to use black and white. Those can be especially striking, especially if you add touches of color here and there.

Once you’ve chosen the face, glue it to something sturdy—cardstock, the cardboard from a cereal box, anything like that—an cut it out.

Now choose a set of wings. I like butterfly wings, and always have them handy in my sticker albums. They’re available as stickers, cardstock embellishments, or you can cut them from wrapping paper, magazines, or books. (Garage sales and thrift stores are my source for books and magazines to cut things from—the really beat up ones keep me from feeling guilty!)

Okay. You have the face, and you have the wings. Now it’s time to pull out the bits and pieces of “things I may need someday”—more stickers, paper leaves and flowers, bits of lace, brads, etc. I’ve used a silk leaf for my fairy’s “body”. You might decide to use a bangle bracelet, folded hanky, jar lid. You might even decide not to add a body at all, and go straight to the button tail, as many people do. The possibilities really are endless.

Arrange and rearrange until you have a pleasing composition, and be sure to add thicker bits, to give your fairy some depth. You can also use mounting dots or tape, to separate the layers and make them stand out from each other.

Now take embroidery floss or sturdy thread, and sew several buttons together to form a “tail”. Start by attaching the thread to the body of the fairy, then run the needle in one hole and back down through the other of the first button, and then loop through those same two holes again. Do the next button the same way. This will keep the buttons from sliding around on the thread, and allow you to space them out, if you want.

Add a hanger to the back, and you’ve got a fairy, ready to hang. Here’s the back of mine:

And my finished fairy:

As you can see, I covered the centers of the buttons with shiny three-dimensional sticker dots. I just couldn’t resist that extra touch. No such thing as “too much bling” in my book!

Want to get even more inspired? Do a Google image search on “button fairy” or “button fairy Flickr”. There are hundreds of wonderful creations out there!

By Sewing Contributor Jessica, from the blog “Life Sew Good”. 

It’s an easy 20 minute project that allows you to use up the ever-growing scrap pile (and don’t tell anyone: you don’t have to sew a stitch!)

You need:

• Scrap fabric: doesn’t have to match, but you need to be able to have some longer pieces
• 1 square of felt
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors
• Headband

First, Tear a few long strips of scrap fabric. The best pieces are about 1.5″ x 12″, although I used different widths and lengths. You can cut it if you prefer, but tearing it gives it the look I want!

For The “Flowers”:

1. Heat up your glue gun.

2. Beginning with one stip of fabric, begin to twist the fabric while rolling it up. I suggest using a dot of glue in the middle and then about once every roll.

3. Repeat making 3 “flowers”.

4. With a piece of coordinating felt, cut 3 circles the same size as your flowers.

5. Glue your flowers to the felt pieces. This will help keep them together and secure when you put them on the headband.

For the Headband:

1. Take a regular headband & a long strip of your fabric. Starting at the end, start twisting your fabric around the headband, gluing it conservatively. Make sure you tack both ends with glue.

2. Arrange the flowers on the on the headband & glue them in place.

By Crafts-a lot Contributor, Mable who is an avid reader of craft blogs & magazines and has aspirations to improve her crafting skills. Join Mable on Facebook to socialize and share with other crafters!

Headbands are one of those accessories that are practical as well as pretty! A win-win as a craft project if you ask me. Simplicity’s line of headband décor has over 65 different decorations to add to your headband. From flowers, bows, feathers, and rhinestones in every color, you will have a custom headpiece to match your outfit!

Start by picking out a headband. They come in a variety of sizes and each one is covered with colorful satins.

Next you select which accents you like. Some are interchangeable so you can slide them on and off, or add as many as you’d like. The other accents can be glued or sewn on. Also you can decide where on your headband you want your décor, lower or higher, top or bottom. 

To add the slide-on accents, you just weave your headband through the back. The photo below shows the front and back of my headband accents.

These headbands are my favorite!

What are your favorite things?