Bead and Ribbon Necklace

I was getting stir-crazy yesterday and knew that I needed to do something to get my mind off it. This is one reason why I love crafting! Here's what I did for my therapy :)

Materials:
~ beads
~ ribbon
~ fabric
~ needle/thread

Remember the beads I had in my bathroom before the vases all crashed and fell? (read story here).

Well I took the beads and made a necklace out of them! (I still have tons of beads left though! So I'm sure you'll see them in another future project!)

I was inspired by a lot of necklaces on Pinterest that have been using ribbon. I just threaded ribbon through my beads doing 4 red, a knot, 1 black, a knot over and over. I did triple or quadruple knots so they would kind of stand out and really add space between the black and red beads.

I made one strand with 3 red groups and one strand with 4 red groups. I then tied those two groups together and then tied them onto another piece of ribbon so I could easily put the whole thing around my neck.

I wanted to add just a little more shazaam so I made a flower to add onto one side. Here is the picture tutorial (off Pinterest - BEST WEBSITE EVER!) that I used. I did six petals instead of four. I used leftover fabric from my shower curtain (see project here)

I also added a bead in the center of my flower to tie it into the necklace more. I wanted to place the flower right on top of the knot where I had tied all the strands together.

Thread the bead through one side of the ribbon

Bring a piece of ribbon from the other side of the knot and thread that through as well, keeping your flower in the middle

Pull each ribbon strand through the bead

Tie ribbon strands in a knot, cut off extra

Voila! DONE :)






Total Cost:
~ beads: $0.00
~ ribbon: $0.00
~ fabric: $0.00
~ needle/thread: $0.00

Bead and Ribbon Necklace: Total Cost ~ $0.00

Repurpose: Gift Bag into Toiletry Bag

For my birthday my sister gave me an awesome sling to use with my baby (Seven Slings - I love it!) It came in a little plastic resealable bag. I don't want to worry about getting my sling in and out of there all the time so I was going to just keep the bag to use for a future gift someday when I thought of something I could use it for now!

Materials:
~ small resealable bag



Now I can easily find things like chapstick, lotion (mine and baby's), and hand sanitizer in my diaper bag!

Total Cost:
~ small resealable bag: $0.00

Toiletry Bag: Total Cost ~ $0.00

Felt Flowers

My sister-in-law, Amanda, taught me how to make these at our family reunion. Thanks Amanda!

Materials:
~ Felt
~ Hot glue
~ Scissors
~ Barrett

First cut out a circle for your base. Mine was about 1 1/2 - 2 in in diameter

Cut out strips. You can basically do as thick and as long as you want. If you go too long it makes gluing difficult so watch that. And the thicker you cut them the bigger your "petal" will be so it depends what look you want

Fold the strips in half and glue along the bottom edge. Now cut almost to the bottom to create a loop. These will become your petals.

Glue the strips onto your circle base. Place glue along the bottom of one side of the strip. Don't glue the bottom edge or your flower will end up looking funny. Glue strips in a spiral until you reach the middle. You can also add a button in the middle instead of going all the way around with petals.

Do different styles and different colors. You can wear it in back or on the side

Amanda bought all the supplies so these prices are just guesses:

Felt Flowers:
~ Felt: $2.00 (I'm sure this would get you more than one. One flower took about 1 sq. foot of fabric)
~ Glue: $0.00
~ Scissors: $0.00
~ Barrett: $3.00 (for a box? Or find an old one of your own!)

Felt Flower: Total Cost ~ $5.00