DIY arrow necklace

Well hello, whatcha been up to? We've been bed ridden over here. One word...FLU. Yuck. Despite being on a strict diet of 7-up I still have been crafty,  albeit in bed watching countless hours of Netflix.

Found here, here, and this last one was on amazon but is now gone

I've been lusting after these type of necklaces for some time now. But the price tags and my strict adherence to no frivolous spending had me just wishing. Until I had the grand idea (in between retched I can't move moments) to make my own. I went digging through my crafty mountain of supplies to see what I had to build it. And here's what I came up with:

• craft wire
• gold nail polish
• an old necklace to de-construct

yep, that's a ramen noodle box ;)

I drew an arrow on a piece of cardboard with the intention on of using pins as a guide for my wire. Well that was an epic fail. So I just bent and twisted my shape free hand. I started with a long-ish (remember I suck at measuring) piece of my craft wire. I used a crochet hook to bend my wire in half around and twisted to give me the first loop. Then I split the wire and formed a triangle, again twisting at the bottom of my triangle. Continue twisting to form the shaft of your arrow. Split the wire again to form the quills (had to ask the railroader what the feathers on an arrow are called haha). After each quill twist your wires together. At the end use your crochet hook to twist around forming your last loop and clip the ends. I used a pair of needle nose pliers (pilfered from the railroaders tool box) to flatten my quills and loops.

After I had my arrow complete i decided it needed to be gold. After a search through my paint box I realized I had nothing shiny. So onto the nail polish stash. SCORE!!! I just painted both front and back with multiple layers, allowing it to completely dry in between. Thank god for express dry nail polish, cause I have the patience of a 2 year old in a toys-r-us ;)

Then I just de-constructed a necklace I already had attaching a jump ring to both loops on my arrow and viola!!!

What do you think? Maybe its dorky but I dig it. And I didn't spend a dime!! Im really quite proud of myself for sticking to my new years goal of using what I have. How are you doing with yours?

Happy Crafting :)

xo the Rebel

WIP it...wip it good...

just in case your not aware WIP definition: works in progress. And now you will have that song stuck in your head all day, I'm sorry ;)

I have a confession. I have creative ADHD. I usually have a least five projects going at once and a billion ideas rolling around in my noggin just waiting to burst out. I have diagnosed myself with CMD : Crafty Manic Disorder. Hahaha, but seriously....here's a little look into what Ive been flitting about working on the last week:

1. Ahh yes, the angry bird. He was supposed to be the dorky dogs xmas present. You see, the dorky dog has an obsession with all things angry bird. Quite entertaining really. All I need to do is attach the danm eyes and I just can't make myself sit for 2 seconds and do it.
2. Map paper flower making with my girls! It was this project that made me start the "oh my stars" feature this week. I KNOW i've seen a hanging pendant made with folded maps. But, do you think I could find it? Hell no, i tried everything, very search phrase imaginable, months of starred posts in my reader. Couldn't find it ANYWHERE. So I made up my own using a flower tutorial I found and decided a weekly round-up of inspiration will help me keep better track of stuff I want to do. At least in theory.
3. OMG cutest boot socks ever!!!! So easy ,and I can't wait to share all the goody info (including where I found the BEST crochet sock pattern in the history of crochet).
4. I finally had an idea of what to do with this, and Im very excited to share this too! Just have to round up all the photos and write up the post...
5. The wee stalin has been home sick so we made dyed tissue paper dahlias. We made an epic mess and have the stains to prove it. But they turned out awesome and we had fun despite the dang sniffles.
6. I've been trying to write posts while being distracted by random shoutings of "The Map!!!"

So what are you up to?

 

xo the Rebel

DIY Blog Idea Journal

This lil book of mine, I scribble all the time.....

Well hello there. I put together a little nerdy how-to for ya. I got tired of jotting down ideas on random scraps of what nots and then losing them so I made this journal using what I had laying around and decided to share!

What you'll need:

• a composition  notebook
• contact paper
• small glitter alpha stickers
• single fold bias tape (ribbon would work too)
• light bulb box...ummm yeah you read that right
• washi tape
• markers
• writer paint
• small photo
• cute paper clips
• craft glue (i suggest 3M craft adhesive it's the best I've found)
• sewing machine
• & a bored outta her gourd "I don't wanna do laundry" mama :)

First line up your contact paper to the edge of the binding and trim to the edges of the cover. I found my rotary cutter worked fantastic for this part since it allowed for a right to the edge, clean cut. Cover both front and back of your notebook.

Add small glitter alpha stickers to the binding on the front with whatever stricks your fancy.

Cut the light bulb image from your box and  a piece to cover it, with whatever cute paper you have laying around. I made sure the screw in part was still showing (that sounds so technical lol). Glue paper to cardboard and sew around the outside. If you didn't know that you can sew paper on your machine, you do now. And it really is fun!! If your a dork like me Ha

Now sew around the outside edges of your covered notebook. I did this because I wanted to ensure the contact paper stayed down, I like the border it made, and I really really enjoy sewing paper :)

Cut a small piece of bias tape. Fold your tape to make a loop big enough to slide your pen in. Sew a small stitchline across, catching both ends of your tape to the INSIDE of your front cover.

Now glue your bulb and small picture to the front of your notebook.

* side note- I really really love this glue. However it can get plugged with dried bits and it's a real pain in the a** to get out. The best fix i've found for this is to put a pin in it and then the cover when your storing.

Draw a word bubble around your light bulb and then use the writer paint to go over it. I only did this because nothing else seemed to want to stay on the contact paper. In the end I really liked the 3D effect it gave my word bubble.

Place a piece of washi tape under your pic and write Ideas ( which btw I spelled wrong the first time *snort*)

And for little bits of goodness to keep your ideas catagorized: Use short pieces of washi tape around one side of your paper clip to make tabs. Now I realize this is not some new earth shattering idea. I think you can even buy pre-made ones at the craft store. But im using what I have here per goal #8 on my resolution list ;)

Bonus- the front flap of your composition book has a nice little planner for blog features!! I decided to put another picture on the inside of the back cover too. Feet pic haters be damned lol.

Now fill 'er' up with ideas and post away!!

xo the Rebel

Sweater Upcycle!

If you want to destroy my sweater...pull this thread as I walk away.....

Random dorky song references is something you'll have to endure often here at rXr ;)

Soooo.....I had great plans of sharing this epic tutorial on a sweater that I modified. Had being the key word. I kinda feel like it was more of an epic craft fail. That could be because I struggled most of the day trying to get a good pic of it on without looking like a bloated whale. Or it could just truly suck....jury is still out on that one. But I decided since I worked so hard on it, I would post it anyhow:)

 

This lil (insert sarcasm) lovely was a thrift score, brand new still had the tags. I loved the colors and the argyle. I'm a total sucker for cardigans but it was HUGE! I mean so ginormous I could fit the railroader in it with me....hmmmm railroader in oatmeal & pink argyle lol. So revamp it is:

Cut pieces of crocheted lace the length of your sweater from armpit to waist band. I started with just one and ended up adding more because it was still to big. You could use any width, it really depends on how big your sweater is and how much you want it to cinch up. I think this would work well for a sweater that actually fit too. The lace will just show more.

Use fray stop to seal the edges of your lace so it doesn't come unraveled when you wash it. Clear nail polish works too if your in a hurry and don't want to go to the store :)

Pin it down to your sweater, centering it over the side seam. Sew all the way around the edges, I used a straight stitch on the sides and zigzag on the ends. Keep in mind you don't want to pull on the sweater or it will stretch and get all wonky on you.

Using a thin coordinating ribbon and a darning needle start at the armpit of your sweater. Use the holes in your crocheted lace as your ribbon guides going first through one side then the other. Make sure you give yourself enough ribbon to work down both sides!! I didn't measure it out, I suck at measuring :) But I would guess I spaced it about and 1.5".

Once you have both sides of your crocheted piece laced with your ribbon pull as snug as you need it to make it fit properly and tie yourself a cute little bow at the bottom. I double knotted mine and cut the extra ends off.

Now repeat for the other side of your sweater and there you have it! An upcycled sweater with a peek-a-boo lace side seam. Yay!! Im toying with the idea of adding doily pockets too :)

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek. Let me know what you think if you wouldn't mind. I won't be offended. And if you try one of your own leave me a link in the comments so I can check it out!

xo the Rebel