Friendship Bracelets

5 November 2009
Category : Handmade Crafts
1 Comment

Remember when you were younger and you shared friendship bracelets with your BFF? I love the idea of symbolizing friendship with a simple handmade bracelet. They’re personal, creative and they show the person you’ve taken the time to make them something unique.

A couple of months ago, I went to my local arts & crafts store and bought a starter-kit on How to Make Friendship Bracelets. I’ve already made a few for my friends and sisters but lately I’ve just been making them for myself. I’m the type of person that can’t stay idle for a long period of time so making bracelets keep me busy.

The Candy Stripe

There are various styles and patterns, but most are based on the same simple half-hitch knot. The Candy Stripe is the easiest pattern and great for beginners!

You will need 6 pieces of embroidery floss (2 each of 3 colors) cut to 24″ long.

Tie a knot about 3-1/2″ from the top.

Clip the knotted end to a clipboard or a sturdy notepad. You can also tape it to a table end or pin it to your jeans, whatever’s more comfortable for you to work with.

To simplify the instructions, let’s name the strings. Starting with the first pink string on the left, that’s string #1, then #2 (purple), #3 (white), #4 (pink), #5 (purple), and #6 (white). You will be working your way from left to right.

First, loop string #1 over and then under string #2. It’s important to hold string #2 straight and pull the knot taut with string #1.

Make the same knot with the same two strings. This is called a “double knot.”

Now move string #2 aside. Take string #1 and string #3 and make a double knot.

Keep moving string #1 through all five strings. You should end up with something like this:

Now that string #1 is all the way on the right, start moving string #2 along. Tie double knots, left to right, all the way across the other strings.

Keep moving the left strings across one at a time. You can now see the bracelet come to form.

Keep going until the bracelet is as long as you would like.

Gather the strings, tie a knot to secure and trim the ends if necessary.

Remember to be patient when you’re making your friendship bracelet. It’s easy and inexpensive, but the impact they leave on loved ones is immense.

For more bracelet styles and patterns, check out MakingFriends.com.

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Decor It Yourself

1 October 2009
Category : Handmade Crafts
0 Comments

I was inspired to create my own wall art after I saw a feature on Olivia Wilde’s home. She has black birds painted on the wall behind her bed frame and I wanted to create something around my own bed but I was too scared to commit to paint! So I did a little research and came across a DIY on homemade wall stickers. Its really easy to make and anyone can do it!

What you need:

ConTact Paper. A self-adhesive vinyl commonly used as shelf liners. You can find this at Home Depot, Wal-mart or Target.
Tape. To position your design on the wall before you remove the self-adhesive vinyl.
Pen. To draw the design onto the back of the ConTact Paper.
Newspaper. As scrap paper for your design (optional).
An idea for your design.

Here’s how you do it:

Before you start, take a little piece of the ConTact Paper and test it on a hidden part of the wall. You don’t want to end up with sticky residue or take off a chunk of your wall paint!
Draw your design on the back of the ConTact Paper. You can also doodle on scrap paper or newspaper to make a stencil of your design before you start on the ConTact Paper.
Cut the design from the ConTact Paper. It should cut very easily, and you can glide through it like gift wrap if you have good scissors.
Hold your cut ConTact Paper up to the wall and if necessary, tape it to where you feel the wall art looks best.
At the base of the design, pull the first six inches or so up, and peel its backing off. Press gently from the center of the vinyl area outward to minimize bubbles and firmly pressing it to the wall.
Repeat steps 2-4 until you have the desired amount and keep mounting them on your wall. After a while, you’ll probably be comfortable enough to draw freehand on the ConTact paper backing.
That’s it! Easy right?