DIY: Crochet Acron Cap Necklace

A Foothill Home Companion has inspired us to get back into crocheting.  We are excited to do this one and can't wait to pull out some yarn and search the yard for acorns missing their caps!



We set about gathering acorns to make more necklaces, but found that most of our acorns are loosing their caps on the way down, or on the way home in Aidan's pockets. So I reverse engineered Resurrection Fern's pattern for acorn baskets to make acorn caps.




Materials Needed:

fine gauge crochet yarn
small crochet hook
hot glue gun
acorn

Step One:



Chain desired length of necklace. Mine was close to 24 inches. Keep in mind that it will go over your head.

Step Two:



Chain five more, slip stitch to fifth chain from needle to form circle.

Step Three:



One single crochet stitch in each of the five chain stitches to make first round.
For the second round, crochet two single crochet stitches in each of the five stitches to make ten stitches.

Step Four:



Single crochet one stitch in each of the ten stitches; work two to three rounds until cap forms and reaches desired size. Slip stitch to finish cap and weave in yarn.

Step Five:



From inside cap, pull the end of the chain through the middle of the cap with the hook, slip stitch inside cap to anchor and weave in end of yarn.

Step Six:



Use a hot glue gun to attach cap to acorn.

DIY: Embellished Resin Rings

We love Mod Podge, and are actually obsessed with Mod Podge DIYs.  We think it was made just for us since it's easy to use, quick drying, and pretty fail proof (which we have put to the test).  

Thanks to Tatertots and Jello for helping to keep our addition alive with this wonderful resin ring DIY!! 

Hey Jelloheads!  That’s totally what a follower of Jen’s is called, and I am one too.  It’s Amy from Mod Podge Rocks – your guest host today.

If you don’t know me, I blog about Mod Podge and everything that you can do with it.  I also love the color blue, garden gnomes and pugs.  In my spare time I’m writing a book (that Jen is going to be in!) and I’m training for a 1/2 marathon.  Nuts?  Maybe.  Loveable?  I hope so.

Jen has been obsessed with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic lately, and I can’t blame her.  It’s completely awesome.  I made these rings, one of my favorite (and easiest) Dimensional Magic projects, and I’m going to share with you the three step tutorial. 

YES, it’s that easy.  

They are so inexpensive, you can use existing supplies that you have and they make great gifts.  Here we go.

Supply list:

Ring blanks – purchased at Michaels
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
Martha Stewart Microbeads – shown in Peridot and Blue Topaz
Embellishments – I used Making Memories Deco Brads – Shimmer and With Love Flower Brads

Keep in mind that if you don’t have the microbeads, you can use paper – just cut it to fit and stick it down in there with Mod Podge.  Okay, so here we go.

Get some ring blanks from your local craft store.  They are pretty inexpensive.

Find a place to secure your ring blank and add a thin layer of Dimensional Magic to the bottom.  Note – never shake your Dimensional Magic bottle.  It adds bubbles.

Shake some beads into the Dimensional Magic.  Let it dry and then dump off excess beads.  If you haven’t filled the ring blank, repeat (you can layer Dimensional Magic).

Add another layer of Dimensional Magic on top of your beads and then stick in the embellishment.  Let dry in a warm place (NOT under a fan) for several hours.  You’re done!  Repeat with as many rings as possible.

DIY: Recycled / Upcycled T-Shirt Bracelet

This is a great DIY tutorial that could easily go hand in hand with other t-shirt tutorials since it uses only a small part of the t-shirt after you've cut it up for other things!  We like multi-tasking with our materials.  Thanks to Dollar Store Crafts for coming up with and sharing this tutorial!

If you like cutting up t-shirts to transform them into necklaces, pillows, tote bags and other fun stuff, you often end up with a few extra pieces. Here's an easy project that uses up scrap pieces of a t-shirt to make a simple summer bracelet.

Project estimate:

• T-shirt scrap, on hand
• Aluminum conduit connector or similar hardware, $1 or less
• Tape, on hand

Total: $1 or less

After cutting the  useful parts off a t-shirt, save the pieces around the sleeve or collar.  In my case, I was able to cut one long strip about an inch or two wide and about 12 inches long.

Wrap the ends of the strip with blue tape or masking tape.

Feed the strip through a hardware tube. Wrapping and twisting the fabric a bit, feed both ends through a second time.

Depending on the length of your scrap, tie any loose ends into a knot or bow or tuck them into the rest of the bracelet (a little like a turban).

Fabric glue or stitch into place.

DIY: Party Animal Necklace

These are whimsical, creative, and we adore Flamingo Toes blog for putting them together!  What do you think?  Do you love them like we do??  We must find an occasion to wear one of these bad boys...

Here is what you’ll need:

• Animals (I got these at Michael’s – and I think they are the same animals they used. They were in a tube – take your 40% off coupon)
• Beads, chain, ribbon, fabric, rhinestones, wire, etc for embellishment
• 22″ chain and closure findings for necklace
• bails (to make the animals into pendants)
• Glue (I used E-6000)

We’re going to start with the elephant so you can see what I did, then I’ll show you closeups of all of them.
The beauty of these though is that you can dress them up any way you want!

Start by gluing a rhinestone spacer to the top of the elephant’s head.

Add a colorful bead on top of that.

I think he likes his hat. :)

Cut a piece of ribbon for his blanket.
(I got this gorgeous jacquard ribbon from my lovely sponsor, The Ribbon Retreat. I have a nifty project planned with it but this little scrap made a perfect blanket piece.)

Glue to the back of the elephant.

Trim the blanket with a small piece of chain.

Add a strip of rhinestones between the blanket and the tail.

Wrap a bit of wire around each foot.

Glue a bail to the elephant’s back, towards the top.

Let everything dry thoroughly before you add your chain.

Cut a piece of chain the length you want your necklace to be (I cut mine 22″).
Feed the chain through the bail.

Add the closure pieces to the ends of the chain. I used a lobster clasp on one side and a jump ring on the other.

Now you have a super cute Party Animal Necklace!!

Here are some shots of the others so you can see how they’re dressed up.

Our zebra has a crown (lucky him!) and a fabric blanket.

Our giraffe likes rhinestones and sequins. Snazzzzy.

Our tiger is wearing a pompom collar (all the cool tigers do) and some chain around his middle. He has a flat bail, which was easy to cover with the chain.
Here’s a pic before I wrapped it.

Aren’t they fun??

DIY: Acorn Ring

Hello Hydrangea has a wonderful tutorial we have been looking for since we saw this stunning piece of jewelry.  Not only are you taking nature and incorporating it into your wardrobe, but you are also giving yourself a gift that will last a lifetime!  

To start I cut 6 pieces of wire approximately 10 inches long and braided them together.

Then I cut 3 more pieces of wire and threaded them through a pearl before poking them through my previously drilled holes in the bottom of the acorn.

Attaching the two groups of wire is easy because I simply stuck them through the holes in the braid. Then I wrapped the braid around a chapstick tube to estimate the size for the finger and attached it on the other side of the acorn.

When both sides are attached I simply coiled the remaining wire around and around while weaving it in and out of eachother to create more of an organic shape. All the while I tucked the pokey wire ends into the coil so that they wouldn't poke the finger that is wearing the ring!

I have so many acorns left! One reader mentioned making a windchime and I really like that idea! I also think more jewelry options are in their future. For now, you can help me relieve some of these little guys by getting your own ring in my shop. I can honestly make any color or size you want! Just say the word.