Colorful Spray Paint Sun Hats!

Here's a five minute craft for summer!  Something fun and creative from the brain of my husband.  A psychedelic painted sun hat!

The story: for 4 years, he has been wearing the same mesh sun hat for working outside.  Even though it went through the washing machine regularly, it was stained and unsightly and, well, take a look at what I mean...

Ew, right?

A few days ago I spotted him heading for the back yard, clutching three cans of spray paint and the hat.  I grabbed my camera and followed.

Hijinks ensued.

Isn't it awesome?  His colors: teal, purple and bright chartreuse.

I loved it so much, I made one for me.  They only take a minute, you guys!  I started with this dollar store straw hat:

I went with a slightly different color scheme - I kept the teal and chartreuse, but added touches of bronze and antique silver.

The paint dried in 10 minutes and the hats were ready to wear.

They look super cute hanging in your house, too.

Tips:

*Start with just a light spray, don't blast on heavy coverage.  (That way the hat will still breathe.)  If you want deeper color, add one or two more very light coats.  

*Don't paint the underside - you don't want to wear spray paint against you hair or skin.

*These won't go in the washing machine, but cloth hats can still be spot cleaned on the inside.  (Maybe even hand washed in the sink; I have had good luck with hand-washing spray-painted fabrics.) 

Okie dokie, I hope you liked Jeff's quickie idea.  Try it, have fun!  Give a sad old hat a whole new attitude.

Super Simple Beaded Scarf Display!

Well hi!  Today I thought I'd show you the quickest, simplest beaded home decor project evah.  It's practical, it's pretty, it's economical - heck, there's even a little element of upcycling in there for good measure.

It's a scarf hanger system, for storage and display.

The DIY takes about a minute.  You will need:

-a buncha big beads
-an old shoelace

Ready?  Go!

Thread 16-20 inches of big beads onto an old shoelace (or any bit of cord or ribbon you happen to have handy).  Tie a bow, and double-knot it.

That's it, baby!  Hang one (or three or six or ten!) on your wall, as demonstrated here...

Then just add scarves.

I hung mine on a cute 3-hook coat rack, but you could hang these up in a number of ways.  Use little nails, or individual hooks, or even those removable hooks for apartments.

I was looking for a way to use up a vast quantity of not-so-thrilling wooden beads, and this was just the ticket.  I'm a VERY scarf-y person, so it's something I actually need and use - daily!

It could also be a fun project to do with kids, tweens or teens.  Let them choose beads to suit their personal style to make hangers for their own rooms, or to give as AWESOME handmade gifts.

Hope this one catches someone's fancy.  See ya!

Quick Jewelry Makeover: Refashion An Elastic Bracelet

Hi!  Today I have a frugal and easy makeover for you.  First let me show you the end result: these pearly, coppery little necklaces.

I've been wearing them a lot lately - they are subtle, so simple and go with everything.

Here's another design, this one a bit more shmancy:

The makeover began with this (sorta, maybe, kinda) cute elastic bracelet...

...which I probably would never wear in real life.  Not that it was awful, just not my personal style.   But I do love the individual segments.  Such a pretty dark copper color and a nice silhouette.

So I turned them into necklace focals.

For the simple version, all I did was thread two headpins through the focal.  At the top, I turned two small loops.

I added chain and pearls to complete the necklaces.

The fancier, tasseled necklace went together differently. It's created with flexible beading wire (tiger tail), covered over with hollow coiled wire.  You can see this a bit better in the closeup:

The coils are a cool way to disguise the plain tiger tail underneath, don't you think?  (In case you're curious, here's where I bought the coil stuff.)

I had lots of fun raiding my stash for copper-toned treasures to tie onto the tassel.

Btw, those tiny rusty flower buds began life as mini jingle bells - click here for the how-to.

Anyway, you get the idea - you can harvest eight (or more!) focal pieces from one bracelet, and go nuts coming up with various necklace designs.

As frugal as this is, it could be a great party project or craft night challenge: how many different ways can a bunch of people use the same focal?

Before I go, one more makeover to show you - and this time, the bracelet in question is genuinely ugly.

Yuck!  No.  Just...no.  But maybe the individual segments had potential.

So here's what I did with one of them.  Step one: string a few beads on craft wire, and thread the wire up through the two holes:

Make wrapped loops on top.

Add some ribbon, a chain, or a length of cord, like so:

And what is it?  Why, this - an eyeglass holder necklace.

I definitely think it's an improvement on the dreadful original jewel!  Not to mention useful as heck.

And hey - I have nine more sparkly segments to experiment with.  Got any suggestions?

The Jingle Bud Tutorial! Make Little Flowers From Jingle Bells

It's the most wonderful time of the year: that month when you can buy jingle bells at the dollar store!  (Okay, you can buy them other places too.  So I'm told.)

Why is this wonderful?  Well, duh, they make everything more jingly.  But even more significantly -

You can turn them into flower buds.

They are awfully fun to use in crafting.  Delightful for jewelry...

I love to use them in home decor projects (more about that in another post), and for cute flower gifts like these key rings.

If you try, bet you'll come up with all kinds of cool things to use them for.

The DIY is easy - you can probably figure it out without a tutorial.  But I have a neat little trick to show you, so bear with me all the way to the end - you might decide to do it my way.  Ready?  Here we go.

First the basic technique - this is how I used to make them before figuring out my super secret maneuver.  And it's a perfectly fine way to do it.

1. Use a fingernail or pliers to open out the petals just far enough to jettison the jingler.

2. Grab a petal between pliers and bend it over - as little or as much as you like.

Do it with all four petals and - yep, that's it!  Flower done!

But here comes my awesome trick.  Watch carefully now.

Pop a round plastic bead onto one tip of the pliers.

Now grab your petals (with the plastic bead on the outside) and bend.

The round bead will protect the metal and make a prettier, unmarked petal!  This photo shows what I mean:

A tiny - but interesting - difference, is it not?

I hope you enjoyed this idea!  Perhaps there's a trip to the jingle bell store in your future?

P.S. check my next post for another awesomely adorable idea for the jingle buds!

Ten Minute, Upcycled Mini Cross-Body Purse

Look - a teeny tiny cross-body purse!

I've never been accused of being trendy (trust me on this).  But little bitty mini bags - one of my absolute favorite accessories - are suddenly madly fashionable, showing up on runways and stores in every style you could dream up.

Here is a super quick upcycled version - make it in about ten minutes and wear it out on the town.

The upcycled element: an old eyeglass case.

I always have a multitude of these, as my husband gets new glasses every year.  (Some tips on the right types of cases to use for this project in a bit.)  Let's get to the DIY!

You will need:
-an eyeglass case
-a short chain of beads (from an old necklace or bracelet)
-4 big jump rings
-a long purse strap
-a push pin (or a hammer and nail)
-jewelry pliers

With a sharp nail or a push pin, poke 2 holes in the front of the eyeglass case: one near each edge, about halfway up.  (If there's a hard structure underneath, pound the nail through with a hammer.)  Thread a jump ring through each hole, and add the beaded chain.  Like so:

Close the jump rings securely.  That's it for the front!

To add the strap in back, you will attach two more big jump rings, but using a slightly different method.

For each jump ring, poke a set of two holes, about 1/4" apart.  Thread the jump ring through both holes.  Add the purse strap and close up the jump ring.  Here's a closeup so you can see what I mean:

When done, the back will look nice and neat.

Annnnd...you are done, baby!  Fun and fast, eh?

Of course, the bead chain ornament is just the simplest of ways to decorate your purse.  The eyeglass case should be considered a blank slate, to be embellished in a thousand ways!

Here are just a couple of other examples.

This one sports a thicker leather strap (super comfy to wear).  Instead of a bead chain, I embellished with a charm bracelet I made ages ago but never wear.

This next one is really adorable!  It features a strap made from vintage mother-of-pearl buttons - an awesome thrift shop find.  I added a little stack of buttons to match:

   
Tips:

* Choose an eyeglass case with solid sides (so your stuff won't fall out).   There's room for a credit card folder, keys and lip gloss.  What more do you need?

* Avoid magnetic clasp cases - often they aren't really secure enough for a cross-body bag that will be swinging around a bit.  Best closures: a zipper or strong velcro.  And hey, you can add a velcro closure to any case, so that's another option.

* Find cute purse straps at thrift shops, yard sales,  even dollar stores.  I sometimes buy an ugly, ugly purse just for the strap.  Alternatively, borrow a removable  strap from a bag you already own.

Okay, that's my little idea.  It could be a fun one to make with tweens or teens, don't you think?  Hope some of you decide to give it a try.

See ya!

Repurposed Collar Flower For My Hound Dog

Ain't nothin' but a hound dog...

...with a flower on her collar!

I  experienced a fashion emergency this week: a trip to Vegas was approaching, and because Matilda always gets so much attention when she walks through a casino, I decided to add a pretty accessory to enhance her star quality.

I made the cute collar flower from two waiting-to-be-repurposed items I had been saving for just such an occasion.  (Both from the dollar store.  I am very predictable that way.)

The DIY:

I cut two flower shapes from the fleece glove, and two simple pieces from the metallic silver placemat:

I layered the four shapes, and sewed them onto the collar.

If you look at the finished fleur, you can see I also placed a tiny circle of fleece in the center - useful for preventing the thread from tearing through the plastic lace.

Crisis averted!  Princess Matilda is ready to make her appearance in Vegas.

Or as I sometimes like to call her, Princess Di.