Jewelry Making: Ocean Inspired Jewelry Gifts

 

Mr. Chocolate is going to visit his dad for a couple of weeks and FIL Chocolate has a lovely woman companion for whom I wanted to send something along. They're both widowed and neither are interested in getting remarried but it's been so great for us to know that he has someone to do things with. 

They live on the Washington Coast so when I looked in my bead stash, I went with colors inspired by that. 

Supplies

• Bead Landing Blue Green Swirl Glass Beads (Michaels)
• Bead Landing White Glass Beads (Michaels)
• Bead Landing Silver Spacer Beads (Michaels)
• Silver Bead Caps, Head Pins (usbeadwarehouse.com)
• Stretch Magic Cord (Michaels)
• Jump Rings
• Ear Wires
• Jewelry Pliers 

I'm one of those Makers who buys things on sale without necessarily having a project in mind but let's come back to that point later! I didn't do a lot of in process pictures but these are very straightforward basic jewelry making projects. 

For the earrings, I strung a white bead, then a swirl bead, and bead cap onto a decorative head pin then made a closed loop and attached to a fish hook ear wire. For the bracelet, I always cut the stretch cord longer than I need because for me it makes knotting easier and I've had to re-do one too many a bracelet when I don't. So if you track costs to the penny this may be wasteful to you but my frustration level is worth it! 

I love these clamps I got at Dollar Tree (automotive supplies) that I use on one end of the cord to keep the beads from falling off. Then used another bead cap, white bead, bead cap, swirl bead, spacer bead until sized to approx 7 inches, my standard women's bracelet size.

The colors and swirls remind me of ocean waves so I think they'll be perfect "at the ocean". After I showed these to Mr. Chocolate, he asked if I would make something for his dad too. Twist my arm!

The best thing about being a hoarder, I mean Maker, is having choices in my stash. Living where I do and having now been through two bead show seasons (Tucson is a world leader in bead and gemstone shows) I'd picked up some Fancy Mixed Jasper that I thought worked colorwise. I used the same silver spacer beads and chose a silver bead as the focal bead. 

But why are there two bracelets shown? Because that's how things go in Casa Chocolate. I'll nake something as a gift. Mr. Chocolate sees it and says "I want one". And that's exactly what happened here so twist my arm! I made him one too! 

This really reminds me of all the colors you can see on the Washington coast. Heathers, and evergreens and the ocean that sometimes looks green, the overcast skies etc. 

I love that gemstones all have a story. 

Papercrafting: Birthday Card in Two Colors

 

I finally got back to making! Have a couple of early July birthdays and didn't plan on making matching cards but while looking through the paper stack I realized that the same paper came in two different colors and...

Supplies

• Recollections Background Paper (Watercolor Stack)
• Recollections 110lb Cardstock
• Recollections Foiled Papers
• Birthday SVG File 
• Birthday Balloon Stickers
• Tape Runner
• Double Sided Foam Tape

I decided on the patterned papers then pulled coordinating solid papers and cardstock from my stash. 

I wanted to accent the gold foil in the background papers and chose gold for the top layer and silver for the layer that would show the present. 

I cut out the SVG file layers, ending with the gold layer, and attached with my ATG Tape Runner, foam tape, and spray adhesive and did the same for the pink card. 

I saved the present cutouts and added some washi tape and rhinestones to accent the cards, then chose some balloon stickers (Dollar Tree) from my stash to embellish te middle balloon. Et, voila!

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Papercrafting: Faux Chocolate Bunny Cards

 

My inspiration for this year's Easter cards came from a classic Easter staple, the foil-wrapped chocolate bunny. I used dark brown cardstock and glitter cardstock.

Supplies:

• Dark Brown Cardstock
• Pastel Glitter Paper (Recollections)
• Foiled/Marbled Background Papers (Recollections)
• White Cardstock (110lb)
• SVG File (I downloaded a set from Creative Fabrica)
• Cricut Cutting Machine
• Cricut Design Space
• Self-adhesive rhinestones
• Foam Tape
• Tape Runner

I used these papers by Recollections at Michaels for the background panels. I had these in my stash but was thrilled to find they still carried the Spring Marbles stack and picked up another one during their recent sale. 

I found a collection of bunnies at Creative Fabrica, downloaded, and selected the one I wanted to use. 

A moment of self-congratulatory pride...drumroll please! The middle of the top layer was empty and I found an egg design in Cricut Design Space and added it to the middle! Please clap!

This idea was inspired by foil-wrapped Chocolate Bunnies so I used dark brown cardstock for the bottom layer (used the offset tool in Design Space to create) and then cut the glitter layers. 

I attached the glitter layers to the "chocolate" layers using foam squares.

The thing I love about the Recollections papers is how well so many of the patterned papers work with solids. Being a paper hoarder, I have stacks from different years and they work together. I chose solids from the Spring Pastels stack to coordinate with the Spring Marbles papers and the Glitter Stack is also Spring. 

 

As always, my cards are 5x7 and the panels are 4.75x6.75 and 4.25x4.5. I attached the marbled papers to the solid using my ATG tape runner, then attached the layered panel to the card, then the "Chocolate Bunny" to the center using foam tape.

To finish, I grabbed my stash of self-adhesive rhinestones and added as shown. Now, family and friends have a calorie free Chocolate Bunny!

I did versions in pink:

Blue

Green

Lavender

When I make multiples, I use the same image even if I do different colors to make it easy to keep the settings in the software and machine the same and not confuse myself! 

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Sundays on Silverado

Valentine's Decor: Layered Heart Shadowbox

 

I love using my Cricut machines for holiday decor. My subscription to Creative Fabric is a win-win combination since I can always find a new layered image to use!

Supplies:

• Shadow Box Frame (Michaels)
• Seasonal Paper (Sweetheart Day, Recollections, Michaels)
• White Cardstock
• Pink Foil Cardstock (Recollections, Michaels)
• Layered Heart File (Creative Fabrica)
• Seasonal Stickers (Dollar Tree)
• Foam Tape

I love these frames from Michaels and stock up on them whenever they have a BOGO. The 12x12 come two to a pack, so you get four for the price of two when they're on sale! 

I picked up this Valentine's paper stack for Valentine's cards but made this first! 

I chose this "LOVE" sheet from the pack to use as the backdrop, then uploaded the design I chose to Cricut Design Space, sized it, and cut the bottom layer from white cardstock, the middle from pink foil cardstock and the top from white. 

Attached the layers using foam dots, then using foam tape, I attached to the background paper. 

To finish, I added a sticker from a pack I picked up at Dollar Tree, then assembled in the frame. 

It's sitting on the little table holding my Tiered Tray Vignette. 

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Sundays on Silverado

Papercrafting: 2023 Halloween Cards

 

I'm easing back not only into making things but also getting them posted, after my unintentional Summer Break. It doesn't take long to forget the work that goes into taking pictures, uploading and photo-editing them, planning out a post, etc. 

Of course, I never take a break from being on the lookout for supplies and ideas and in early September, I didn't skip or delay picking up a fun Halloween Paper stack at Michaels. I needed an escape from the news over the weekend so I got busy making cards for family and friends. I love that a few people keep these and pull them out each year as part of their decor. 

Supplies: 

• Witch's Lair 12x12 Paper Stack (Recollections, Michaels)
• Black 110 lb Cardstock (Recollections, Michaels)
• Gold Foil 65lb Cardstock (Recollections, Michaels)
• Gold Star Transparency (Stash)
• Tape Runner or Double Sided Tape
• Self Adhesive Rhinestones

This is the stack I used which comes with a mix of plain, foiled, and panel sheets. As much as I love my digital cutting machines, I love these kinds of paper stacks because the panel sheets are perfect focals for cards. 

I generally make my cards 5x7 which I did for these. Cut the black cardstock 7x10 then score in the middle. For the background panels, I chose a few different papers in the stack. 

The panel pages always come in different sizes. If you're not into card making you can simply cut and frame some of them!

Cut and trim the panels you want to use, and then mat with coordinating paper. I used the gold foil or black cardstock. 

I picked up the coordinating washi tape in the Witch's Lair collection which I attached to some of the panels before adhering them to the background panel.

To finish, I used self adhesive rhinestones to add a little glam! 

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