Thursday, November 22, 2012

Recycled Bottle Bracelet Tutorial

recycled bottle bracelets
What's better than creating a chic piece of jewelry that costs practically nothing?  A pretty bracelet that helps the environment and is budget-friendly too!  These colorful bands are sure to make a fashionable statement to any outfit.  To build them, recycle a used water bottle and some scraps of paper.  This craft is it's easy to do by yourself or with friends during the upcoming holidays.  Let's get started:

bracelet materials
 What You'll Need:  a plastic water bottle, scissors, decoupage, a foam brush, and an assortment of patterned paper (you could use scrapbook, tissue, or leftover calendar paper for this)

cut water bottle

cut bracelet
Step One:  Using scissors, carefully cut through the water bottle to create a round bracelet (I used the segmented pattern on the bottle as a guide).

decoupage bracelet
Step Two:  Brush a layer of a decoupage glue, such as Mod Podge, onto bracelet.

glue paper
Step Three: Snip pieces of a patterned paper and secure them to the glue, holding for about 45 seconds each.

Step Four:  Continue covering the plastic bracelet with pieces of paper until it's fully covered.

paint top coat
Step Five:  Seal the bracelet with a top coat of decoupage and let it dry for approximately 15 minutes.

recycled bracelets
Step Six:  Now enjoy wearing your new fashionable and eco-friendly jewelry!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial—these bracelets will make great gifts for the holidays!

Would you like to see more repurpose/recycled crafts in the future?  Maybe I could do something with a bottle cap. . . !  Please let me know in the comments below.

Have fun,

Kelly

Monday, November 5, 2012

DIY Autumn Flower Hair Clip

Hey there!  All of the brilliant falling leaves outside inspired me to create this easy DIY hair accessory tutorial.  The best thing about this flower (other than being super cute) is that it's easy to create.  It hardly takes any time to make and you probably have all the materials for it at home.  Let's get started:

For this project you will need tape, a needle & thread, seed beads, scissors, snap clips, and tissue paper.

To start off, use scissors to cut a variety of different circle sizes from the tissue paper.

Layer the circular "petals" on top of each other so that they overlap a little bit, exposing each color.

Using a needle & matching thread, sew the pieces of paper together securely in the center.

String seed beads onto the thread and sew them on top of the flower.  Once you're done, tie a fastened knot on the backside.

Tape a snap clip onto the back of the flower.

Lastly, give the flower texture by crinkling the tissue paper a bit.  

Now you're ready to wear your beautiful Autumn flower out-and-about!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great week.

Keep crafting,

Kelly