Wool Felt Creations

A few months ago, my eldest daughter's best friend gave her a box of DIY needle felting kit as a birthday gift. The kit came with a felting mat, felting needles, eyeballs and colorful wool.

She was really surprised when she opened up the gift. She shouted out loudly,  "What is this?" After that, she found that it was a box of DIY wool felt kit. She read the instructions and said, "There are 12 little creations I have to make...Oh, my god! What a big ordeal!"

She was no experience in making wool felt creations. In order not to disappoint her friend, she wanted to have a try. One day, I saw her read the instruction with great patience and started doing her first project. She gradually began to master the way of stabbing after making the second wool felt creation. Anyway, skillfulness in needle felting was not important to her, what she wanted were the enjoyment of the felting process and the end results. You might be curious what was her requirement of the end results. Her required end results were not to make delicate wool felt creations. She just wanted to finish the 12 little wool felt creations and showed to her friend that she appreciated the birthday gift.

These are the adorable wool felt creations that she made. To me. She has done a very good job. See, these are the results of an inexperienced beginner. All the wool felt animals look not bad, am I right? Now you know needle felting is fun and easy to learn.

How to Get a Perfect Bracelet Size

How many beads should I string for a bracelet? This is a common question when we DIY a beaded bracelet with elastic cord for someone who just gave us her/his exact wrist size. More specifically, we have to know what the fit someone desires. It can be a snug fit, comfort fit or loose fit. Usually, I will add 1cm-1.5cm to the exact wrist size for a snug fit, 2cm-2.5cm for a comfort fit and 3cm-3.5cm for a loose fit.

However, the inner circumference can vary somewhat based on the sizes of the beads you are going to use. Bigger beads will create a thick bracelet and small beads will create a thin bracelet in which the inner circumference of a thicker bracelet is smaller than the inner circumference of a thin bracelet, even if the two bracelets are technically the same length. Therefore, you should add more length to the exact wrist size if you are using bigger beads.

 Hope this help.

How to Sew a zippered Pillowcase

There are a few ways to sew a zippered pillowcase. You can sew a pillowcase just with a single piece of fabric or more pieces of different kinds of fabrics, and you can also sew a hidden zipper or an exposed zipper for it depending on your desired design. Today, I am going to use a single piece of fabric and a nylon coil zipper to sew an exposed zipper pillowcase. The pillowcase is sewn to fit the pillow size 16" x 16".


Materials:
1. A piece of 33" x 17.5" fabric (included seam allowances)
2. A piece of 18" nylon coil zipper

Instruction

The fabric included 3/4" seam allowance for the long edges and 1/2" for the short edges. To prevent the raw edges from unraveling, we should double fold the raw edges. First of all, place the fabric wrong side up and double fold the short edge (fold the raw edge to the blue seam line and then make the second fold from the seam line). Then sew a straight line along the inner folded edge as shown in the picture. Repeat the same to the other short edge.

Next, double fold the long edge. This step is slightly different with the above step. Fold the raw edge to the halfway of the seam allowance and then make the second fold to the seam line. Sew the hem. Stitch close to the inner folded edge. Repeat the same for the other long edge.

Once you have finished sewing the double folded hem, sew the short edges on either side of the zipper teeth (working from the right side of the fabric and zippper). Then, trim away the excess zipper.

Unzip the zipper about 2" away and turn the fabric right side together. Make sure the zipper is placed at one side and the zipper will be folded in half as shown in the picture. Sew a straight line along the inner folded edge. After that, sew the opposite edge with the same method.

Turn the pillowcase right side out and push the corners out. You are done!! You can try to sew your desired pillowcase in other size but this method is not recommanded to sew a pillowcase that the size is smaller than 13" x 13" as it is not easy to install the zipper on a single piece of fabric for a beginner.

How to Make a Necklace with Extender Chain

Bronze plated beads and charms are great to use as ancient goodies in jewellery making. I am going to use bronze plated alloy beads, charms and findings for my necklace making project this time. Apart from the unique appearance, this necklace features a built-in extender chain that will allow you to adjust the necklace length easily. So, no need worry about the size.


Materials:
1. 2mm black Korea Waxed Cords (36cm)
2. Bronze plated pendant (1pc）
3. Bronze plated mini charm (1pc)
4. Bronze plated leather crimps (2pcs)
5. Large hole bronze plated tube beads (2pcs)
6. Lobster clasp (1pc)
7. Jump rings (2pcs)
8. Raw bronze plated chain (8cm)
9. Bronze plated bail 

The materials that showed in the photo are the beads, charms, findings and cords that we have to prepare for this project.

 Instruction

First of all, get ready a pendant with tube bail and an extender chain. So, join the pendant and the mini charm to the tube bail and the 8cm raw chain respectively. You can use a jump ring to join each set of components together. Anyway, I prefer to hang the mini charm to the twisted link than using a round jump ring. It might be a bit tricky to open and close the closure of a twisted link especially when you want to close the link back to its original shape. Don't worry, you can use two pairs of chain nose pliers to fix it. I believe you can get the extender chain done.

Then, string the tube beads and charm onto the 36cm Korea waxed cord as shown in the photo.

Now, align the cord ends nicely and place the ends into the leather crimp as shown in the first photo. Use pliers to fold down one side of the crimp over the ends, then the other side. Repeat the same step at the other end of the cords.

Then, join the lobster clip to one end of the finished cord with a jump ring.

After that, join the extender chain to the other end of the finished cord. I don't use any jump ring to join the components together. As what I have done at the first step, separate the link at the other end of the extender chain and hang it onto the little loop of the leather crimp. Close the closure and done.

My new ancient bronze necklace is done.

How to Make a Bead Charm

I like bead charms with flower bead caps because they give my designs a professional touch. Today, I am going to share with you how I make a bead charm with flower bead caps. In this project, I am going to use two pieces of flower bead caps in different sizes. The small one will be layered onto the bottom and the big one will be layered onto the top of the bead.


Tools and Materials
1. Chain nose pliers
2. Round nose pliers
3. Wire cutter
4. Bronze flower bead caps in different sizes
5. Bronze headpin
6. Round bead (10mm)

The above photo shows the materials and tools for making a bead charm. We use round nose pliers for wire wrapping and forming loops. One side of the nose is tapered round and the other side is a slight concave shape that bends your wire in a curve shape. The wire cutter is to be used to cut the excess wire, whereas we use the chain nose pliers for holding small items and shaping wire. The small bead cap will be put at the bottom of the bead and the big bead cap will be put at the top of the bead. The headpin features a flat head on one end that acts as a stopper, ensuring the bead is secured onto the wire.

Now, let's turn your favourite bead into a beautiful bead charm just in a few steps.

Instruction

Thread the headpin through the small bead cap, bead and then big bead cap one after another as shown in the photo. Ensure the correct order is followed.

Using chain nose pliers, bend the wire to the side of the bead to form a right angle (90 degrees).

Using wire cutter, cut the wire about 10mm away from the bead.

Then, use the round nose pliers to grip the end of the wire and press the end tighly as shown in the photo.

Now, roll the pliers towards the bead. Usually, I have to roll the pliers twice to make a full loop. If  the loop is not at the center of the bead, you can use the chain nose pliers to center it

A bead charm is done and ready to attach to your bracelet, necklace or more.

Quartz Gems Bracelets

I bought some quartz gems from a local supplier a few months ago. I wished to make some beaded bracelets. Ridiculously, I didn't think about the designs for the bracelets when I was choosing the beads. I just kept an eye on the colors and distinctive patterns of those beautiful quartz gems. After that day, I just kept all my beads in a box and took them out to admire their distinctive patterns at times. I didn't take any action to make any bracelet because I got no idea at all. One day, when I was shopping online, I found that there were some fascinating alloy with bronze-plated beads. They have a sense of ancient style. At that moment, an idea flowed through my mind! I knew what I wanted!! Without thinking too much, I ordered some bronze-plated beads and other materials for making bead charms as well as some necessary tools like flat nose pliers and round nose pliers from an online shop. Finally, my bracelets were born.

Today, I am not going to write any tutorial on how to create a bead charm bracelet. I just prefer to display my finished pieces here. If you are looking for a tutorial how to make a bead charm, please click here.

 This red agate bracelet is my favourite, I like its antique look.

  This black agate bracelet is given a polish by adding several red agate beads.

 Rose quartz and white crackle quartz are a soft and gentle combination. It gives us a feminine look.

Amethyst and white crackle quartz blended with bronze-plated charms exhale the air of youth.

I like this vintage bracelet so much!! The resin flower bring a fresh look to the orange agate bracelet!