Guess The Mystery Thing: Orange Hoops, Black Circles

Hello again!  It is high time we played another round of Guess The Mystery Thing.  (It's my groovy giveaway guessing game, and everyone is invited.)  Can you identify the mysterious secret ingredient in these swingy upcycled earrings?

 

What are those black and orange hoops?

First person to guess correctly will receive a fabulous prize!  (Namely, two pairs of hooptastic li'l earrings.)

Hint: although the colors speak of Halloween, the answer isn't really Halloweenish.

How it works: leave your guess in the comments.  There'll be two winners: first correct guess and a random winner.  That's right, I said random winner - so even if you don't know (or think someone else already got it), enter anyway, you could still win.  If your guess is funny, it might make my Most Creative Honor Roll.

This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.  C'mon, join in!

THE ONE AND ONLY RULE

1. UNLESS YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS ONE CLICK AWAY IN AN ONLINE PROFILE, PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR GUESS.

Ready?  Set!  Guess The Mystery Thing!

UPDATE: THIS CHALLENGE IS NOW CLOSED - THANKS FOR PLAYING, EVERYONE!  CHECK MY NEXT POST FOR THE REVEAL.

The Matryoshka Zombie and the Great North American Glitterbellied Owl

Whee!  Today I am excited to show you two new Halloweenish pendants that really make me happy.  All of a sudden, I seem to be making progress with hand painted projects - something I never felt confident doing before.  Presenting:

The Matryoshka Zombie

The Great North American Glitterbellied Owl

The inspiration for both these pendants was the fun shape of the beads.

The trade term for this silhouette is 'carved vase.'  These particular carved vases are a semiprecious stone called feldspar, and I found them online for less than a dollar for a sixteen inch strand!  Say what?  (I'll wait while you go and order some....got 'em?  Good.)

If you, like me, are nervous about hand painting, let me show you step by step - you can totally do this.  For the surprisingly easy deets, read on!

How To Manscape Your Ogre

I made this lovely statement necklace from what I swept up off the bathroom floor, after Shrek had been doing a little manscaping.

Since this blog is G-rated, let's say they are his back hairs.

Yeah, uh-huh.  His back hairs.

Here's my tutorial for harvesting these long-and-curlies.

1.  Find an ogre.
2. Mention that the ladies looove a smooth ogre.
3. Ask if he plans on wearing that new Speedo in public.
4. Hand him a Black & Decker hedgetrimmer and beat a strategic retreat.
5. When the roaring stops and he has left the building, sweep up the remains.


Note: if for some reason you can't find an ogre, it's possible to make the necklace from eco-friendly carton strapping.  However, the experience is simply not the same.

Want to make it?  Read on for the quickie tutorial!

Strangely Bewitching Winter Branches Wreath

So I am not normally a wreath person.  At all.  But today, surprising even myself, I have for you a wreath tutorial.

Take a look:

Kind of minimalist, yes?  Bare winter branches and berries.  Oh, and it has  a little secret...thanks to some cool glow-in-the-dark Puffy Paints, it, um, glows.  In the dark.

As you can prolly guess, I started with a basic black dollar store witch hat.

Now, really, I ask you: how fun is that? Want to make one?  Read on for the wicked simple DIY.

The Mystery Thing Revealed: From The O.K. Corral

Welcome, mystery lovers!  I am about to reveal one of the trickiest rounds of Guess The Mystery Thing ever.  Let's take another look at the puzzling jewel in question:

The challenge: identify that delicate pink bail (the part that connects the pendant to the chain).

Think you know?  Did anyone get it right?  Read on for the Rottin' Tootin' solution!

Guess The Mystery Thing: Tricky Pink Necklace Bail

Hi, boys and girls!  Time to play a brand new round of Guess The Mystery Thing!  It's my world famous guessing-game giveaway, and everyone is invited.  New here?  I hope you'll stick around for a moment and give it a whirl.

Take a peek at my latest upcycled necklace:

Who among you can identify that mysterious pink bail?  (Terminology alert: a bail is a thing that attaches a pendant onto a necklace). 

What is that dainty little thing?

First person to guess correctly will receive a fabulous prize!  (Namely, this sweet pink and silver bauble.)

How it works: leave your guess in the comments.  There'll be two winners: first correct guess and a random winner.  That's right, I said random winner - so even if you don't know (or think someone else already got it), enter anyway, you could still win.  If your guess is funny, it might make my Most Creative Honor Roll.

This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.  C'mon, join in!

THE ONE AND ONLY RULE

1. UNLESS YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS ONE CLICK AWAY IN AN ONLINE PROFILE, PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR GUESS.

Ready?  Set!  Guess the Mystery Thing!

UPDATE: THIS CHALLENGE IS NOW CLOSED.  CHECK MY NEXT POST FOR THE FUN REVEAL.  THANKS FOR PLAYING, EVERYBODY!

Cook up something FUN for Halloween!

I have never been much of a chef; I have been known to screw up tomato soup.  From a can.  But from now on, I am definitely baking for the holidays.  Take a peek at what I just cooked up!



I created these spookified pendants using Martha Stewart Crafts glass paint on polished stone beads.

Glass paint on stone?  Why, yes!  Most semiprecious beads are slippery little suckers - nearly as slick as glass.  So I decided to try Martha's glass paints - which you bake in the oven to cure.

They are cool.  Thirty minutes in the oven creates a permanent, durable surface, almost like fired enamel.  It totally worked, and best of all - it was really easy.  Let's get right to the DIY.

Sneak Peek! A Magic Box, A Painted Chair, Martha Stewart and Me

Confession time!

Confession #1 I used to be scared of Martha.  Although uniformly wonderful, her projects intimidated me.  Back in the day, they seemed a tad...intense.  I am a fundamentally lazy character, and tend to eschew anything with more than a handful of steps.  I know I'm not alone in this.

Confession #2  I love Martha.  LOVE her.  I believe she is brilliant and I don't care who knows it, so there.  More importantly, I'm no longer scared.  (Although I know she could still take me in a cage fight.)

So what happened between Confession #1 and Confession #2?  Partly, I matured.  Example: I now have an attention span of twenty-three whole minutes!  Another thing that happened: a line of wicked cool Martha Stewart crafting products - easy enough for intimidated crafters like yours truly.

The other day, callooh, callay, Plaid offered to send me some.  (Gee, they really had to twist my arm.)  I have a very fun jewelry tutorial coming up in a few days - a spookified necklace project I know you will love.  Want a sneak peek?

You know you do.  Okay...

BOO!

But for today, in the spirit of Martha and my new maturity, I thought I would show you how I decided to face my fear and tackle something...intense.  Do you like my calavera chair?  It's my first ever painted furniture attempt.

Read on for the whole story behind this skully seat...

A Little Trick To Stop The Vertigo...

I have a few pet peeves.  Wait, not true - it's more than a few.   But some things just make me go Grrrr.  My most recent top five:

1. Restaurant servers who 'correct' my pronunciation of 'Nicoise.'  (You actually do pronounce the s.)

2. Mattresses so tall you need a step stool to get into bed.

3. Finding a live snake in my living room.  (It happened two weeks ago.)

4. When my dog steals sandpaper and eats it.  What the heck is that?  (On the plus side, he can totally speak English.  When I asked him how the sandpaper feels coming out the other end, he answered, "Rrrough!"

5. When a one-sided bead spins sideways on a headpin so you can't see the pretty side.

Wow, there's a point to this post?  Cool!  Here's the problem.  When I use a flat bead or one-sided pendant in a jewelry design, I want the front of it to show.  Like this, yes?

Not like this:

Grrrr!  But!  There is a solution.  For a nifty trick to stop the spinning, read on.