Magic String.



I love this stuff. You can get it at Michaels or probably any craft store. It's great when you don't know the exact size of someone's wrist when you want to make them a bracelet. Apollo has made someone a bracelet before with it. Just make sure the bead holes aren't too tiny for the string to fit. I tie about 4 tight knots to make sure it stays. I made this bracelet for a friend's birthday.

Rings.

Sometimes before Carleton and I go out on our dates, we stop in at Barnes and Noble to look at the books. A lot of times, I hit the craft section. I found a jewelry book with a cool idea for a ring. So I've been inspired to make rings lately. Here's what I came up with the other day (I'll post the one I made from the book another day):

Here's how I did it:

Materials Needed:
6 small round beads
Tiny beads (the ones that are on the inside of the hand and not seen too much)
String (I used a black, stretchy one that I found in the jewelry section of Michaels)

1. Cut 2 pieces of the string and put three beads on each (the beads that will make up the main part of the ring that people see).

2. Put the tiny beads (the ones that will be on the inside of your hand) on one of the strings. You can change the length later if you need more or less tiny beads.


3. Tie a knot on each side of the main beads to make a circle.

4. Bring the small beads around the back and tie a knot (it will be over one of the knots you made for the main bead earlier).

This is how the back of the ring will look. I made a side knot, just so I wouldn't see the knot in the back (the middle inside of my finger) but since nobody really sees that part of the ring, you could knot it there and it would be easier to make overall (not that they're hard).

Here's the finished product:


Here's one I did with turquoise beads:





Every Friday I get together with friends and craft while the kids play with toys at our church nursery. We made some rings together. These are just fun stones and beads I had and we used clear stretchy string. My ring cut into my finger a little so I would suggest using some tiny clear beads to connect on the back and just knot the string in the back (the back being the middle inside of your finger that isn't seen).

Fun Finds.

I copied this idea from my sister-in-law's blog. This is what she wrote on her blog about the job chart they are doing for their three year old:

Here is the job chart that James fashioned and created for Jacob. Everyday Jacob has the chance to earn what we call "Fuzzy Wuzzies" by doing a variety of tasks. He gets to put his Fuzzy Wuzzies on the board, and at the end of the day we add up the amount he earned. He then gives 10% to tithing, 40% to savings, and he gets to keep the other 50% to spend on whatever he chooses. He especially loves quarters because he loves to buy gumballs. He has a little money pouch we bought him at the rodeo, and he loves holding it, counting his money, and carrying it around in his pocket. He is learning a ton about the value of money, the different types of money, and we are hoping he is learning at least a little about good work ethics.





More fun finds at the dollar store. I love this little vase! I also picked up some fun Easter stuff up too. Carol came over for breakfast yesterday so I covered the table with Easter confetti and we drank out of egg straws.





I "made" these for a baby shower I threw. I just bought white chocolate covered pretzels and covered them with caramel (I bought the caramel cubes and put them in the microwave) and put them in the fridge to set up. They were so good (they barely lasted until the shower) and looked cool.






My sister, Heidi, came over to help me with the new baby. When we had a second, we made some earrings and little hair clips. I showed how to make the clips before on this blog and wanted to show some other ideas.

Shoes and Beads

These shoes were on a friend's blog and had to get some for Annie. I read the reviews and everyone that got them liked them.


















We saw these necklaces at the Armani store in the mall and loved them. I wanted to remember what they looked like. Carleton told me to take pictures of them...so I did.
































And was inspired to make these using some of the beads we found at a fair in Santa Fe.









Meanwhile, Apollo wrapped himself in all the strings and had fun playing with the beads.