jewelry

Agate Ring DIY

December 9, 2015 by Jessica 2 Comments

Now that my two little girls are not babies I find myself wearing more jewelry. I guess it’s because I don’t worry about it getting yanked at anymore haha. I have been particularly loving large accent rings lately. We went to Tennessee this past October and visited caverns where they were selling these beautiful slices of agate. I knew I wanted to make them into jewelry. A simple ring diy was in order. I like finding mementos to save from trips, but sometimes it can accumulate into stuff I don’t really end up hanging onto. So I have started to try and find things that I can create with to make a more useful memento.

One of the great things about this project was that it was rather inexpensive. The agate slices were a dollar something each and if you average the price of each ring from the package you could say it cost me under $3 to make each ring.

To make your own ring(s) you will need the following:

Agate (appropriately sized, make sure it isn’t too big or too small)
E6000 glue (the best for making sure jewelry stays together)
Plain Rings (I found these adjustable rings at JoAnn’s)
Surface protection (ex: paper plate, newspaper, etc)

Decide which side of the agate slice you want to be the back and dab a little bit of glue on the ring top. Place ring on center back of agate. I suggest doing the gluing over somethingslike a paper plate to protect the surface you are working on. And make sure to use this glue in a well ventilated area as it is really strong.

Once the glue is dry the rings are ready to wear! They would be a perfect little gift for friends or family that like to wear jewelry. Using an adjustable ring helps ensure it can fit a variety of finger sizes.

Nothing like wearing a little bit of nature as an accessory. Such natural beauty!

Happy crafting!
jess

Michaels Makers: Teacher’s Bracelets DIY

August 15, 2014 by Jessica 2 Comments

Teacher's Bracelets DIY | by happy together

It’s back to school time this time of year, so the Michaels Makers Challenge was to create something with that in mind. I first thought of some kind of jewelry for kids or teachers and then narrowed it down to bracelets for teachers (or students even). I thought a ruler bracelet would be cool. Then when I went walking around the store I saw the alphabet beads and the inspire charm and knew they needed to be bracelets as well.

With there being such a difference in wrist sizes, I decided to stick with bracelets that could work on many sizes. Elastic, wrap around, and resizable.

The above picture is all the supplies you need for all three of these bracelets. They are fairly simple and would be great to have kids help to make. All of the items pictures can be found in the jewelry section (or Shop Beading and Jewelry Making Supplies at Michaels online), except the measuring tape. That along with the eyelets and scissors can be found in the sewing section. Glue can be found in a few areas, depending on which kind you want to use. I used fabric glue, but any kind of glue is fine (except hot glue, as it might melt the elastic).

The alphabet bracelet is really easy. Line up your beads in alphabetical order. I just did a-z, but you could start the alphabet over to make it a little bigger. The bracelet will stretch, but some more beads wouldn’t hurt at all. Pre-stretch a 15 inch piece of the stretch magic clear elastic. Then place the beads on. Once all on, knot the ends together three times. Add a dab of glue to the knot. Lastly, once the glue is dry, trim off the excess elastic. I really liked using the gold alphabet beads because it seemed a bit more grown up and refined.

The inspire bracelet is another easy one. You need the inspire charm and wrap around ribbon bracelet. This was originally silver, so I painted the top gold to match the gold alphabet beads. I used just a little amount of paint and made sure it didn’t pool in the letters. Then I wiped my brush clean and went over the paint again in a few spots so the silver underneath ever so slightly shown through. Once dry, I simply laced the ribbon through and tied a knot at the end. The recipient can retie the knot if needed for it to fit better. This simply wraps around ones wrist until it’s tight enough.

Lastly, the measuring tape bracelet requires a little bit more work but is still an easy bracelet. I initially didn’t use the eyelets, but discovered the stress from the straps pulling in the holes would warp and possible tear the measuring tape. So I made another and added the eyelets. It’s much more secure. Cut a piece of measuring tape 6″ long. Then make really small holes on both ends to stick the eyelet in. 1. Place the taller piece through the front of the tape. Then place the smaller piece on top of it on the backside. 2. Next place your eyelet tool on top of the back and hammer together. You won’t need to be too hard, but hard enough to close the two pieces together. 3. Cut a 12″ and a 16″ piece of cording. Loop the 12″ piece through the eyelets. 4. Cross the ends of the cording over each other and hold in place. 5. Loop the 16″ piece of cording in half and place the folded center on top of the 12″ crossed cording. 6. Take one end of 16″ piece and wrap around all cording pieces 4 times. You want to do it loose enough to fit the cording through, kind of like making a tunnel for it. Then take the same end of the piece you wrapped around and pull through the four loops. 7. Pull both ends of the 16″ piece until tight but not too tight that you can’t pull the 12″ pieces through to change the length. 8. Lastly, knot both ends of the 12″ cording. Knot the 16″ ends as well, but as close to the loops as possible. Trim the ends of that piece only. Now the two 12″ ends can be pulled to make adjustments in the sizing as needed.

Teachers are so amazing. They do so much for so many children. Any time you can do something to show them you appreciate them, do so. Even if it’s the littlest thing. You never know what one small act of kindness can mean to someone. Check out what everyone else made below and Michaels’ Back to School Pinterest Board to find more fun and creative project ideas to kick the school year off right!

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This post was created in partnership with Micheals. All opinions stated are my own. Affiliate links have been used. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that support Happy Together.

DIY Trinket Dish

January 13, 2014 by Jessica 6 Comments

This is yet another diy that was created out of necessity. I like to keep my daughters hair ties in her bathroom, but she would always take them out of the bowl so she could use the bowl for her toys. So, there was no home for the hair ties any more. It kept disappearing!

I saw some cute trinket dishes or ring dishes or jewelry holders or whatever you want to call them on Anthropologie’s site. I was really close to buying one when it hit me I can just make one of course. So off I went to the thrift store and found the supplies I needed. I only spent $1.12 to make this and now we have a trinket dish!

Here is what you need to make one:
-A teacup plate
-A small figurine that fits on the middle of the plate. Also make sure it has a place that rings/etc could fit on. For example: a rabbit has ears that would work, a giraffe, a dinosaur with a long neck, a dear, etc. The unicorn I chose was perfect because of it’s horn.
-A strong glue (I used E6000; available at craft stores)
-Paint (if you want to paint your figurine. I used regular acrylic, but spray paint would be the best)
-Clear Sealant (if you do use acrylic paint)

Paint your figurine if desired. I had to apply several coats. This is when I was wishing I had some spray paint. If using acrylic paint, use a clear sealer once its dry to prevent it from chipping. Wash your dish off and dry it real good too. Once everything is dry, glue the figurine on the plate.

Very simple and these would make a cute gift too! I think this would also be great to make using plastic plates and figurines if breakage is a concern.

This trinket dish now looks more like the above. It’s covered in hair ties and sitting in my daughter’s bathroom and solves our issue. For now anyways haha. Share if you make one 🙂
-Jess

Arrow Lariat Necklace DIY

October 25, 2013 by Jessica 1 Comment

Two diy’s in one week? Crazy! I’m on a roll. I was inspired to create this necklace after spotting this gorgeous one from Anthropologie in an ad. I was just going to buy that one and then I looked it up and it’s made using legit materials, making it a bit (okay a lot) out of my price range. I thought it would be a fun diy and I could use scrap leather pieces I had already.

To make one yourself, you will need some scrap leather (or other stiff non fraying material if you aren’t down with using leather, like felt even), 42″ of something for the cord (I used a leather cord), 2 beads of choice, glue, scissors, and the triangle template which can be downloaded here.

1. Cut out three whole triangles from the leather.
2. Cut out the middle triangle of those three pieces. I traced the shape on the back to make it easy to cut out.
3. Dab a little bit of glue on the very edge of the point of the triangle sides.
4. (just a picture of the materials I used! did this out of order and it’s a bit late to retake the pics and change this template….)

5. Place a triangle on top of the other one, points going in the same direction. Repeat number 3 on the second triangle and add on the last piece. Allow glue to dry.
6. Thread cording of choice through the triangles. There should be just enough room to get it through and tight enough to keep it in place. Tie on the beads at the bottom.

Then if you want, you can chop off the tips of the triangles like I did in the very top picture.
All done! Cute and easy accessory for the win.
-Jess

Pom Pom Heart Necklace DIY

February 11, 2013 by Jessica 9 Comments

If you follow me on instagram, you might remember the picture I posted with these mini pom poms I had bought. I really didn’t have a reason to get them at the time, but I thought they were adorable and wanted to use them in a craft. Then I thought about making a necklace or a ring with them. I decided upon a necklace and this is the outcome.

It’s really quick to make and would be a fun Valentine’s gift for older kids.

We like how bright and colorful it is.

Miss J approves and was very happy to get her hands on it 🙂

To make it, you will need the following:
-Eyelets (I used size 5/32″)
-Plastic that is sewable and not rippable (I bought mine at the fabric store, but you could repurpose plastic packaging. Think of how things like bed lines come in sturdy plastic packaging. That could totally be used! You don’t need a lot for one necklace at all.)
-Mini pom poms
-Heart template (I made mine to measure 3.75″ at it’s widest and 3.25″ at it’s tallest)
-Scissors
-Yarn
-Sewing stuff

Start by cutting out two heart from the plastic. Then sew all the way around except for an opening where you can put the pom poms in. (PS: if the plastic doesn’t move easy for you on the sewing machine, place a piece of tissue paper underneath and it will move a lot easier. Just rip it off at the end.)

Fill the heart up with pom poms, leaving some room at the top middle of heart for the eyelet. I had to squish them around for even placement. Then sew the opening shut.

Next, put in the eyelet following the packages instructions. Finish off by cutting a long piece of yarn and placing it through the eyelet. Knot it right above the heart and further up, making sure there is enough room for child to get necklace around their head.

Enjoy!

-Jess