Happy Together

A DIY craft blog

Rainbow Earrings Tutorial

by Leave a Comment

Rainbows are so beautiful and I have been loving all the different rainbow trends that have been popular lately. In fact, it inspired me to create these textured earrings a few months ago and I’m happy to share how I made them now. Read on to learn how to make your own with this rainbow earrings tutorial.

To make your own pair you will need:

  • Embroidery Thread
  • Yarn, Fabric, etc. for wrapping
  • Earwires (Earring Findings)
  • 26 gauge wire
  • Scissors
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Ruler
  • Jewelry Pliers

You will want to start by cutting the embroidery thread and wire piece a bit longer than you plan on it being so it can be trimmed at the end. Cut one wire piece and six lengths of embroidery thread (you can just cut six individual pieces, but I looped it) at 7.5″ long.

Cut wire and thread for two more the same way. I played around with the length when figuring out how to make these and while you can shorten each layer some at this point (as you can see I did in my photos), you might as well do them the same since the wrapping will be where the final length is really decided. Keep it easy as possible I say hahaha.

Twist the wire around the embroidery thread like in the above picture. This allows for it to stay together without adding extra glue which would add to the chunkiness of the finished product.

Now you can prepare for the wrapping. You can use yarn, fabric, maybe even try ribbons or leather? I like how you can use different materials to add different textures. I stuck with yarn and fabric, but that doesn’t mean you have to.

You will want to begin gluing with at least one inch of wire and thread left unwrapped on one end. Then as you wrap, add dabs of hot glue to keep it in place. Try not to make the glue dabs really thick so it doesn’t squish out or make a big bump. Each layer will need to be wrapped a little shorter than the previous one. The longest one will be the top layer and the shortest will be the inside layer. You can see in the pictures below the wrapping lengths I chose.

For the big rainbows: Top layer is wrapped about 3.25″, the middle is wrapped about 3″, and the bottom layer is wrapped about 2.75″.

For the shorter rainbows: Top layer is wrapped about 2.5″, middle layer is wrapped about 2.25″, and bottom is wrapped about 2″.

Next you will glue the layers together. I start with the bottom (shortest) and middle layers first. Bend the bottom layer into a rainbow shape and bend the middle layer over it to make sure they will match up nicely. Match the wrapped ends on one side and begin gluing together while shaping the middle layer to the bottom one. You will have some flexibility with the shaping even after they are glued, you just want to make sure that the wrapped ends meet on each side when curved.

Glue on the top layer the same way.

Cut off the extra length of wires as close as you can to the wrapped area.

Then trim the embroidery thread ends to your liking. Mine are all around a .5″ length.

Use jewelry pliers to open up the loop on the earrings.

Hook the earring into the top middle of each rainbow and then use pliers to close up the loop a bit. They stay on very well and I felt no need for any glue at this point.

Another option would be to use a jump ring and turn this into a necklace if you want. It’s a very versatile pile you can have lots of fun being creative with. I hope you enjoyed this rainbow earring tutorial and find it useful Please share your creations on social media and tag it with #happytogetherbyjess or send me a pic. I love seeing what y’all make!

A Balloon Bouquet in a Jar

by 2 Comments

Any time I find a way to use party decorations it makes me happy! Last night I received an email stating there would be a birthday celebration for my daughter’s teacher today. My daughter made a cute little card but she asked me to make something special for her as well. I had limited time and this balloon bouquet in a jar idea came to me. I had all the supplies already and we went for it.

I blew up the balloons, which were various sizes that I have gotten from Party City, and miss E taped them onto paper straws for me. We made a few and then I began to place them all together and when I felt like they fit in a good way, I would tape the paper straws together. This made for a good base and then I could stick anything else, whether it be more balloons or other decorations, into the base. (I also taped that paper wheel on a paper straw as well.)

The small honeycomb balls and the paper star (I just created the star in Word and printed it out) were hot glued/taped to bamboo skewers because they needed something thinner than a straw. Those I stuck in at the end.

Tip: The honeycomb balls came off of a garland that I had bought on clearance at a local grocery store after Valentines Day last year. Other parts were also just party decor I randomly pick up when I see it on sale. So if you have the space and can get things when you randomly come upon it you will always be ready to create one of these.

The jar was a mason jar that I had from a previous party. I had spray painted the bottom and it matched the balloons nicely. To fill up space so you couldn’t see the straw/skewer bottoms, I used paper tissue tassels from a garland in the jar. I kind of just played around with placement until I liked it. Then to fill in some space among the balloons I used a piece of the gold tissue paper garland. Another tip is to use sticker glue dots to keep balloons close. It sticks them together and holds really well. Then they don’t move around and it makes it more secure.

Here you can see miss E holding it for a size comparison. She also wanted me to make sure I shared a picture of her holding it hahaha. She’s so sweet. And she was excited to take this to her teacher today. How fun right? It’s like a little mini party for a table or desk and would be nice for someone allergic to flowers. I definitely see more balloon bouquet in a jar projects in our future.

Bead Bar Necklace DIY

by 9 Comments

A few weeks ago for Mother’s Day I wanted to make something special to go with a shirt I made for my mom. I was browsing around at Michael’s and saw the perfect supplies to put together a bead bar necklace. I ended up liking the one I made for her so much that I even made one for myself.

There are only four things you need:

  • Connector Chain Necklaces (Here in Silver; Here in Gold)
  • 2 inch Eye Pins
  • Beads of choice that will fit on eye pin
  • Pliers (jewelry ones are best, but I couldn’t find mine and just used regular ones)

Lay out necklace pieces, eye pin, and beads.

Use the pliers to open up the closed eye pin side and place on the end jump ring of a necklace piece. Use pliers to close it shut.

Add the beads on the eye pin and then use pliers to curve end of eye pin.

Hook the half closed eye pin to the other necklace piece. Then use pliers to completely close the eye pin.

The fun thing with this if you can totally customize it. You could use colors of birthstones representing children/grandchildren or you could bend the wire and curve it instead of leaving it straight. Oh the possibilities! That’s what’s fun with diy. You can make exactly what it is you are wanting. Share your bead bar necklace on social media with #happytogetherbyjess. I would love to see it.

Paper Ball Ornament DIY

by Leave a Comment


Last Christmas I made a whole bunch of these paper ball ornaments to add some cheerful color to the trees in our church foyer. We didn’t have much to decorate the trees with, so I wanted to make something and this is what I came up with. It cost hardly anything since I had most of the cardstock already and they really make such a fun impact. I also saved time by using my Cricut cutting machine, but it’s totally doable without one.


The paper ball ornaments also hold up well for being made of cardstock. I saved a handful of these to take pictures of and they have been in a moving box inside a storage unit that was not air conditioned for six months. They were still fantastic! So if you store them loosely in a box I bet they can last a few years. Also, a tip for anyone looking for some large scale decor… I noticed all of these present boxes and those large snowflakes at a local clothing store (Gap). I asked the store managers if they saved these or threw them away and that if they just got rid of them I would happily take them and reuse them. They called me at the end of the season and said I could come get it all. How awesome is that? They were so excited it would be used again and we used them for quite a few years.

To make your own paper ball ornament you will need:

  • Cardstock (I used an 8.5″ x 11″ piece per ball and made extra smaller circles with the extra for garland)
  • Ornament Hangers or String
  • Scissors or Cutting Machine (you can find the 8.5″ x 11″ template I made for my Cricut here)
  • Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks


Start by cutting out four circles that are 4″ in size. You can increase or decrease the size depending on your preference. If you don’t have a cutting machine, you can use a round cup for a template to trace on the paper.


Then you will need to fold each one in half.


Run a bead of hot glue done the center of one of the folded pieces.


Place another folded circle on the glue and hold in place until it is cooled down.


Then put glue on one of the other folded circles and place on the seam of the two already glued together. Hold in place until cooled.


Turn the three glued ones over and add glue to the last folded circle to go on the other side (See picture above on how it should look all glued together).


You can then add your choice of hanging option and then fluff out the circles so it looks full. Above is a picture of using an ornament hanger. You can straighten out one end of an ornament hook and glue it down one of the seams.


Or you can use string, fishing line, or yarn to hang it. For those options I suggest glueing one end on one seam and then the other end in the opposite seam so it hangs evenly.



If you happen to have 12″ x 12″ pieces of cardstock, you can get quite a lot of circles out of it. I used the extra space on the paper to make smaller circles which I sewed together to make a garland.


It was a great addition to this backdrop I made and allowed it to fit in perfectly with the trees.


Make sure to share if you create any. I would love to see 🙂

Jess

Fireplace Makeover

by 2 Comments


I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel on some of our new home projects. It’s been a patience growing time for sure but it’s worth it now seeing things starting to come together. One of the very first projects I took on was this fireplace makeover. I wanted an instant gratification project to get me motivated and this fireplace makeover totally was that. The two main things I did was paint the mantle (we plan to have hardwood floors in here and with the wood beams and windows we were feeling like there was a lot of wood) and then add a white mortar to brighten up the brick. I love brick, well pretty brick, and I liked the color of the actual brick just not the yellowish tan mortar that was used on it.






Before beginning, I vacuumed the brick and wiped down the mantle. I prepped the mantle with a light sanding and did another wipe down with a deglosser. Then I taped it off so I wouldn’t get paint on the bricks. I painted it with Behr Ultra Pure White in interior semi-gloss enamel. It was straight off the shelf, but I always have them shake it up for me at the store. For a piece like this, I paint an area of it with a brush and then go over what I can with a roller so it looks nice and smooth.


It took me three coats to get the coverage I wanted. Now, I think two coats would have been okay, but I’m picky and really wanted it fully covered. I also did two coats of matte polycrylic on the top shelf to protect it from all the things that would be placed on it.


For the mortar I found this at Lowes. It was the only white mortar that wasn’t in a giant bag. I could have tried somewhere else, but I just bought it and gave it a try. I used a plastic bucket and mixed up a little bit at a time with water. This allowed me to work in small sections without it all drying up in the bucket. Oh, and as always, I went for a peanut butter consistency of the mixture before applying.


I used a small plastic spatula to put the mortar on the cracks. I thought about using a grout bag and piping in on the lines like I have done on brick backsplashes, but this was such a large area I felt this would be easier.


This method worked well and let me be a bit creative with the placement and such.


As you can see, it looks kind of messy and lumpy after first applied.


Once I had done a small area I went over the mortar with a damp sponge. I tried just dabbing it with the sponge and then I tried gently wiping over it. I ended up preferring how it looked when I gently wiped it. I was able to finish this mortar part in about four hours and that included going to pick up my kids from school. It went a lot faster than I thought it would for sure. I have done quite a few backsplashes and other similar projects so I felt really confident in what I was doing and with the material I was working with.


It brightened up the room so much and we are all so happy with it. I also like that if I wanted to add more mortar later for a german schmear look or even paint the brick I can still do that. We have had about 8 fires since I finished this and so far it’s holding up really well. I’m aware that I might have to freshen it up periodically, but I’m okay with that. That’s part of having a real fire no matter what the brick/mortar is. After I did the fireplace I painted all the trim and walls and have decorated some. We even changed out that old ceiling fan last weekend, after I took these pictures of course lol. So the last two big items is to figure out that track lighting situation above the fireplace (we are considering can lighting so it doesn’t compete with the main light) and then to get the flooring changed. My girls are loving the carpet for now though. They think it’s so soft!  And I’m glad they are enjoying the comfort of it 😉