Friendship Friday

Today I am going to test out my new seed bead loom.  While I figure out how to use my toy (hopefully it'll be easy), I'd like to invite you to use Mr. Linky to add your web site information below so that others may visit you.  No rules or link exchanges required -just a great way to discover who else is out there and maybe you will make a friend along the way. Have a great day!

Pokemon Friendship Chips

This is what my children have taught me about Pokemon.  I admit to day dreaming when my kids tell me Pokemon facts so I hope this info. is accurate.

• Ash Ketchum is the main character of the Pokemon series.  He is a Pokemon Trainer and has entered many Pokemon League competitions.  The Pokemon story follows Ash on his journey to become a better Pokemon Trainer.
• Pikachu is Ash's Pokemon.  He was Ash's very first Pokemon.  Pikachu's power is an electric type attack. 

Other characters include Misty, Brock, Jesse, James, Professor Oak and 400 + Pokemon mascots.  Pokemon fans have their favorite mascots and I must say, some of these guys are cute!

A Pokemon fan can't have enough Pokemon souvenirs.  Nearly everywhere you look, you'll be able to find Pokemon games, trading cards, stuffed animals, clothing, etc. 

Here is a way to make a Pokemon collectible without spending too much.  I call these "Friendship Chips - for wearings, sharing, trading and collecting".  Easy to make but lately I've had a hard time finding the round chipboards that make up the base of this craft.  In the past, I've purchased Bazzil chips online at Joann.com.  If you do make this project, please let me know.  I'd love to hear from you!

Pokemon Web Site

How to Eat Sugarcane

According to me, this is the proper way to enjoy sugar cane straight from the stalk.  You don't really "eat" it.

This is the sugarcane stalk - a short one.  With a sharp knife, cut it at the joints then trim off the outer husk so all that you have is the softer but fibrous insides.  Then you cut the softer inside into strips.

Chew the strips and suck out the sweet juice.  Spit!  I don't like swallowing those stringy fibers. 

So that's my way of snacking on sugarcane  The savages in my home think the best way to eat a sugarcane is to peel of the husk and chew the whole thing up like a beaver chomping on wood.  You think so...?

Making Christmas Ornament Earrings

I'm going to show you how I made these Christmas ornament earrings. This is not really a tutorial but you may be able to fill in the blanks and make your own "ornament earrings".

These are the materials I used.

Ear hooks, glass pearl beads and jump rings (not shown).

Toho seed beads, size 11 in transparent Siam ruby and silver lined frosted crystal. 

Just a note, although both bead colors size are 11, the silver lined beads are a little bigger than the transparent beads so if you plan on using it in the same project, the beads may not look uniform.  In this project, the different sizes do not really matter.

Now, using fishing line (monofilament), I tie on a red bead and string it through the pearl.  I double the fishing line to reduce the "stretchiness".

Then I add seven red beads and once again I string it through the pearl so that the red beads wrap half way around the pearl.

I keep doing this until I have seven strands around the bead. Then I top the bead with 2 crystal seed beads. For strength and holding power, I thread through the pearl once again and tie off the line.

I add a jump ring and the ear hook and I am done.  Make one more and you have a set of Christmas ornament earrings!

You can make various colors of these earrings and use different shades and kinds of beads for the center such as acrylic faceted beads, metallic beads, etc.  Once you've done one, you'll see how easy it is and you'll come up with your own designs.

Have fun celebrating Christmas in July!

Juicy Watermelon

Come see all the juicy summer watermelons on Etsy (my earring included). 

One Juicy Slice by Amberchelle:

One juicy slice of ice cold watermelon is never enough on these hot summer days. There is nothing quite like sweeeeeet watermelon. These items will help you remember summer long after the temperatures drop.

Visit Amber Chelle's Boutique and see all her pretty handmade jewelry and accessories. 

Wrapping It Up

Am I the only mom in the world who is not competent at multi-tasking?  It seems like once the "I'm pregnant!" mindset kicks in, the women I know seem to go on auto pilot and show such efficiency at getting things done (all at the same time). By the time baby is born, warming the bottle, changing the poopy diaper, answering the phone and feeding the pets can be done all in one breath - no sweat!  When baby 2, 3, 4, 5 comes along, multi-tasking is a way of life.

Good thing for me, I stopped at #2 because I am a big ZERO+ at multi-tasking.  I try but when I do, you may find the tooth paste in the freezer, Portuguese sausage charred, cup of coffee lost (oh the horror!) and the cat?  Hmmmm...I think she is in the washer.  Add whining kids to the picture and I'm a mess!

That is where crafting comes in.  Crafting gives me time to focus on what I love and it keeps me sane.  Once a month, I like to spend time "Wrapping It Up".  That is when I take care of loose ends so I can clear my mind. Today is Wrapping It Up day for me.

Here goes...

1. Please comment on my "Why I Love My Toyota" post and enter to win a $5 gift certificate from my Etsy shop.   I inadvertently deleted a bunch of my Etsy listings during one of my oops moments but I'm re listing so more items will be up soon.

(update: the campaign has been suspended so the post has been removed from my blog.)

2.  Glue Dots and TwitterMoms gave me bunch of free glue dots so I could work on a summer project and blog about it.  I consolidated my blogs and in the process, the link to my Glue Dots post went to blogger heaven.  I sooo appreciate my Glue Dots and would like you to go to this link so you can read all the summer projects ideas.

More wrapping it up to do so Aloha for now.  Have a great day everyone.

Twilight Themed Gifts

I'm on an Eclipse high!  Ever since watching the latest Twilight saga movie, I've been fixated with creating Twilight themed crafts.  It would be great to give my Team Edward and Team Jacob buddies a gift of friendship and appreciation that would also remind them of their favorite vampire or wolf.

I made Friendship Chips (which is my all time favorite craft) and added Edward and Jacob images on one chip to commemorate their Eclipse alliance.  My Friendship Chip instructions are found here.

Now I wanted something to make it a little more fun so I got an apple, wrapped it in cellophane and added the Friendship Chip.  Eat the apple and keep the chip.

Alright so most people associate the apple with Edward and Bella's forbidden love.  So possibly wrap applesauce to represent Jacob's conflict with Edward...?  For Bella fans, I have this.

The apple with a bite in it.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Flat Leilani is also a fan.

Flat Leilani is Here!

Flat Leilani is here!  We're going to dress her up and take her along on our family adventures.  To learn more about Flat Leilani, please visit The Joy of Crafting blog for more information.

Where do you like to go for family fun?  I need some ideas because we want to show Leilani a wonderful time while she is with us.*****

Paper Piecing

Paper piecing.  I believe every paper crafter has done it at some time or another.  I know quilters also do a version of fabric piecing but I'm not sure if that is the right name for it.  I've done this type of craft for many years but I called it "cut and paste".  I didn't know there was an official name for it. 

Recently I saw some cute pictures in a t-shirt iron on book and thought they would make cute images for gift tags.  I copied the image on different colored paper and cut and pasted and voila...very simple, handmade, cute and fun.

A Little Bird

Another modular origami craft.  160 folded paper triangles were used to make this little bird.  It measures about 3.5 inches in height - just a teeny little thing.

Front and back views.

This birdy is not yet complete because I'm trying to make her (pink and purple makes it a her) "purposeful" rather than just decorative and I need to work on those eyes that seem flat compared to her dimensional body.  All this work because I'm uh...obsessed... and because decorative handmade things in our household often gets thrown out when we get tired of looking at it.  I think little bird will make a great party favor or gift that can actually hold treats.  I'll see what I can do to make her useful.

Kids' Crafts

I found two great deals in craft kits.  The first one was a oil pastel kit that I picked up at Ben Franklin Crafts.  The price was $1.99 less a 20% store discount and another 10% for being a craft club member.  The kit included the parrot coloring page and a set of oil pastels. I thought it would be a good opportunity for my child to work with a different medium other than crayons.  The little one found it a bit difficult to work with the oil pastels but enjoyed the process of coloring.

The purple kitty cat is made from a Paperoni set that we picked up at Toys R Us.  It was less than $8 (marked down from $22).  The kit included a cutter, Paperoni pieces, templates, tweezers and embellishment.  My keiki made 3 different designs with the kit.  I think her kitty is adorable.

I love summer crafting with the kids!

Tutorials

I enjoy doing tutorials but it does take me a considerable amount of time to photograph nice photos and make sure my grammar and punctuations are correct because I don't want the reader to mess up in step 1 and exclaim, "These instructions are TERRIBLE!"  For that reason, I don't do tutorials too often but here are my links to projects I have done in the past. 

No Sew T-Shirt Bag:  So Easy!  So Handy!  Made from an old t-shirt.

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Puffy Fabric Flowers:  A poofed-up yo yo.

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Reversible Round Gift Pouch:  Makes a great bag for jewelry.

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DIY Paper Gift Bags:  Recycle old gift wrapping paper.

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Flat Gift Bags/Envelopes:  More paper recycling.

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To view the rest of my craft tutorials, please go to Cut Out + Keep.  Thanks CO+K for hosting my how-to's!

Boo-Boo Buddy First Aid Kit
Princess Tulle Tiara
Spring Wreath
Friendship Clips/Bookmarks
Friendship Chips (My Absolute Favorite!)
Felt Origami Kitty

Have a great day!

I hope I posted this with only a few mistakes...

Origami Christmas Trees

Here are modular origami Christmas trees that I'm working on using washi paper.  I'm going to make them into earrings. 

Christmas in July Sale

Everything (not much but growing) in my ArtFire shop is marked 25% off to celebrate Christmas in July. I will be adding more items daily so check back often. If you see something you like in my Etsy shop, please feel free to contact me through my Etsy link and I will discount your item.

3D Pikachu

I love origami, also known as Japanese paper folding.  Recently I began doing modular origami designs.  Modular origami reminds me of Legos.  It involves using a folded paper as a building block to create a more complex structure.  Here is my first modular "animal".  It's Pikachu from Pokemon.

I did not have the right colored paper to make Pikachu's details such as the stripes on his back and black ear tips so I compromised by cutting and pasting pieces of paper in some areas and coloring the paper with markers in other areas.  The rest of the paper is plain yellow copier paper.  Without the smaller details, Pikachu looks like a pineapple.   Here is a photo of my favorite 3D modular design that I saw on Etsy (and really inexpensive for all that hard work!)

The entire process to complete a modular design is looong because you spend most of your time making the tiny shapes that become the building blocks of your structure. Once you're done with that, the fun starts and you get to create your piece!

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Learn how to make 3D origami