Bottled Art

At a local craft store, I found a package of itsy bitsy glass bottles and couldn't resist buying them. I went wild thinking of how these little vessels could be filled with all sorts of treasures. 

In our recent craft class we had fun filling the bottles with beads, pearls, layers of glitter, sand, and bits of shiny confetti. Once filled, we glued the lids on tight then tied pretty ribbons around the tops so that they could be slipped over our heads and worn as necklaces. 

We also wrapped wire around some of the lids creating loops to attach chain for a more classy necklace look. Here's how to wrap the wire:

Materials

• Wire
• Round nosed pliers
• Jump rings
• Chain
• Clasp (optional)

About 2 inches from the end of the wire, wrap the wire around the pliers to create a loop. Wind the short end of the wire around the loop a few times and cut off any excess. Place the loop on one side of the bottle and wind the long end of the wire around the bottle top a couple of times. Use the pliers to make the second loop on the other side of the bottle. Wrap the bottle top one more time to secure the second loop ending with a final wrap around the that loop to anchor it. Cut off the excess wire. 

Add jump rings onto the loops. Measure the chain for the length at which you want the necklace to hang. For a longer necklace, say 20 inches or more, you can simply attach the chain ends to the jump rings and slip the necklace over your head to wear it. For shorter jewelry, measure two pieces of chain equal in length, attach one end of each of the chains to the jump rings and the other end of the chains to a clasp. Instant style!

More ideas for your bottle craft: 

• wrap wire with a few beads around the entire bottle
• add a bit of sand in the bottle and place a small love note inside
• fill the bottle with colored water and a few pearls or sand and shells
• add charms to dangle from the wire loops
• make a mini terrarium by adding a little sand and tiny plastic plants
• dap glue to the top and sides of the lid and roll it in glitter (once dried, dab a bit more glue to the glitter to seal it)
• put a small label on the outside of the bottle - "fairy dust", "love potion", "wishes", etc
• fill with feathers, shells, or sea glass
• glue a silk flower to the lid top

Of course, you don't have to wear the bottles as jewelry. These tiny art pieces look pretty lined up in a window, as decoration in a natural plant terrarium, or nestled in book where you've cut out a hole in the pages. 

Have fun with this craft - don't keep your ideas "bottled up"!

Shrinky Dink Butterfly Necklace

Mark Montano's Butterfly Necklace

I love making things with Shrinky Dink plastic. Never heard of it? It's a special "paper" consisting of large flexible plastic sheets which, when heated, shrink to small hard pieces without altering their color or shape. You draw, trace, or photocopy images onto the sheets, cut the images out, punch holes in them if you are making jewelry or something needing to be hung (think pet tags, wind chimes, key fob, etc.), then heat it by putting it in a toaster oven, conventional oven, or using a heat gun. This shrinks the image to about half its original size.The images retain their color and detail but in mini size. Super cool! 

These sheets can be found at most craft stores and online.

I've made bracelets, necklaces, and used them as decorations in my art journal. This is great fun for both kids and adults.

I used the photocopy shrink sheet and printed copies of some of my photographs which are now mini versions of the original!

There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube. Watch Mark Montano's butterfly necklace video where he shows how to make a fun piece of jewelry using Shrinky Dink plastic. The video includes a link to the butterfly images so that you can download the images and get busy! 

Mark Montano's link to his butterfly image sheet - ready to download!

Great things come in small packages, and it's true! Shrink your world one piece at a time!

Simply Sensational Starfish, She Shrieked!

I just love jewelry and seashore stuff. Wanting to combine these two, and needing something new to wear this summer, I happened upon these adorable rhinestone starfish connectors at my local craft store. 

Ideas nearly always hit me when I least expect them, and usually when I'm at the craft store looking for something in particular. My eyes wander just past the particular and land on something else. Those clever craft stores see me coming and place all their goodies right where I'll see them, and sometimes in places I have to get down and dig through!

To make these oceanic beauties, here's what you will need:

Materials

• 2 packages of a set of 3 starfish connectors
• 12 silver-toned jump rings
• 2 pair of silver-toned toggle clasps
• 1 package of silver-toned chain for the necklace
• 2 pairs of pliers
• 2 margarita's (just checking to see if you're paying attention!)

How To Make This

Bracelet

• Use the pliers to open the jump rings, twisting one half of the jump ring opening towards you and twisting the other half away from you. Don't pull them straight apart because this weakens the link.

• Link one of the toggle clasps to a starfish connector with a jump ring and twist the ring closed.
• Join that starfish connector to another connector using a jump ring and twist the ring closed.
• Continue linking connectors until you have enough to go almost all the way around your wrist. Keep in mind that adding the final toggle clasp will add a bit more length. I used 5 starfish connectors plus the clasp which then measured about 7 1/2 inches in length. Plenty of room to allow the starfish to dance freely around my wrist!

• Link the final toggle clasp to the other end of the bracelet using the last jump ring and close it.

Necklace

• Determine how long you want your necklace to hang down. I have mine at about 22 inches.
• Cut two even lengths of chain to your desired size (11 inches each piece, in my case).
• TIP: You can choose to use a toggle clasp or not. If you make the necklace long enough to go over your head, you don't have to cut the chain into two lengths nor use the clasp. I chose to make a longer necklace and use the clasp.
• Open 2 jump rings and join them to each side of the starfish connector.
• Slip the ends of the chain onto the open jump rings and twist closed.
• If adding a toggle clasp, open two more jump rings, connect them to the chain and toggles, and twist the rings closed.

Be prepared to be stopped on the street when wearing your new beachy-keen jewelry! It's dazzling, it's fun, it's so you!