Free Demo Sunday! Soda Bottle Cuffs!

You can make any or ALL of these awesome cuff bracelets out of this:

Materials List:

Plastic 20oz bottle with a smooth middle section
Sharpie or permanent markers
Sharp Scissors
Ribbon, yarn, or white gauze
White or clear tape
Misc. embellishing objects such as beads to sew on or grommets, studs, eyelets, etc.
ink pads
Microwave (...I know, right?)

Cut the top and bottom off of the soda bottle leaving just the smooth middle section.  An easy way to get started is the pinch one spot together like you're folding paper in half and start the cut.  Insert one blade of the scissors through the hole and cut along the line in the plastic.

Peel off as much of the label as you can.  If you are planning on covering your cuff with ribbon, yarn, or any other material, this part doesn't matter too much.  If you are planning on doing the mock stained glass design, it is pretty important to get almost all of the label off.

 Cut the tube into the widths of your desired cuffs.  Depending on the style of the bottle, you should be able to get at least two cuffs out of the tube.  I cut three, but would have been able to cut four if I would have made them smaller.  

Cut through the cuff to open it and round the edges like shown.  If you have a smaller wrist, you may want to cut a small section out of the cuff to make sure the sides don't overlap on your wrist.  If you are wrapping something around the cuff, make sure you leave it a little longer because the material around the cuff will make it fit a little tighter on your wrist.

If you are wrapping ribbon or yarn around the cuff, start with a little bit of tape and tightly spiral your material around the cuff.  Don't wrap too tight otherwise your cuff will become warped and may not stay curved around your wrist.  Don't wrap all the way to the ends because the loops would slip off of the rounded edge

Knot the tail end of the ribbon securely to the underside of the cuff and then cut the tail end off.

You could leave the ends clear, or color them with a permanent marker that matches your color scheme.  If you color them, pop the whole cuff in the microwave for about 2 minutes (depending on your microwave strength) to set the color into the plastic so it won't wear or scratch off.

If you have another cuff to work with, or if the first option isn't your style, try this easy and fun cuff.  Tape one end of a roll of white gauze to the underside of your cuff.  Wrap longways around the cuff first to make sure the sides get covered, then wrap from top to bottom until the cuff has been covered in several layers.

Use a white fabric tape to secure the other end to the underside of your cuff.  From here, there are a few options.

You could leave your beautiful white cuff as is, if you'd like.  I think it looks like an expensive linen cuff at this stage.  You could also have some fun and embellish it.

Stick some grommets, eyelets, or studs into it.  Sew beads on it.  Glue flat back crystals onto it.  Do whatever you'd like with it!

If you're a scrapbooker, or if you're into stamping, I'm sure you have some ink pads at home.  You could try these fun effects!  Roll the cuff lightly across an ink pad.

 Add another color on top of it for a little more dimension.

Slide some of the gauze layers over for a zebra stripe effect.  (Be careful to not smear color onto the white parts!  It's probably not dry yet!)

...Or... Rough the gauze up a little to get a fun earthy look.  This is my favorite style.  Use your imagination.  There are really no limitations.  These are all household items that don't cost much so don't be afraid to try what you're thinking. 

If you have some different colors of permanent markers around your house, DEFINITELY try this one.  It's the perfect lightweight summer accessory to add a pop of color to your outfit.

Outline the cuff in black.

Draw straight lines across the whole cuff to mimic the look of stained glass.

Starting with one color, fill in a few spaces that are not next to one another.

Color in the other spaces with different colors.  Make sure that you don't have the same colors touching one another.

Crumple a paper towel and put the cuff over it so that the sides don't overlap.  Put it in your microwave for about 2 minutes.  This will set the color into the plastic so that it won't scratch off.   

Depending on your markers, the microwave might also concentrate the colors and make them appear darker!  So there you have it.  A beautiful mock stained glass bracelet!

Thanks for checking out my Free Sunday Demo!  Subscribe and leave a comment telling (or showing) me what you did with your soda bottle cuff!
Check back every Sunday for more awesome tutorials!



P.S.
While making these cuffs, little Sara became very interested in bracelets.  She especially liked the ribbon yarn used in the first cuff.  She wanted to make a bracelet, too. :)  We decided to make a Dora the Explorer style bracelet with a big flower in the middle.  Here is a picture of Sara with her bracelet.

This cute little kiddy bracelet is easy enough to make for anyone who has worked with wire before.

Just some doubled 18g copper wire wrapped in ribbon yarn to make it pretty and soft.

...and a simple hook & eye clasp, easy enough for a two year old.
She also kind of confiscated the stained glass bracelet from me as well...  Get 'em while they're young. :)

 www.abbiberta.webs.com

Free Demo Sunday! How to Crochet a Necklace! Part 2!

Here is Part 2 of last week's How to Crochet a Necklace!
If you have not completed last week's project, refer to the last blog entry for instructions on how to create the crocheted necklace.  In this entry, we are embellishing with crystals and wire.

Cut at least 3 lengths of 26 or 28 gauge artistic wire at various measurements ranging from 2 feet to 4 feet.(If you have made your crochet necklace longer, adjust your measurements.  Tack on the amount you added to your necklace.)

Make a loop 6 inches down the artistic wire to start your slip knot to crochet.
Wire onto your crochet hook.

Add about 15 beads to the bottom of your wire that you will crochet, then bend the end up to stop them from falling off.  You will be adding more as you crochet, so don't make too harsh of a bend.


Bring two beads up towards the hook.

Complete one chain stitch around the beads.  Watch the opening video if you're having trouble with this technique.


Continue to crochet in this manner.  Try just pulling up one bead every other chain stitch.  You could also crochet all of the different wires with different numbers of beads in each stitch.


As you crochet, begin to pull on the chained section to elongate the loops.


You could also try untwisting the chains to make the beads look more at random.

Once you are about 6 inches from the other end of the wire, pull the tail end through the last chain loop to end your chain.  Lay the chain on your necklace to make sure that it is at the length you want it.  Each of your strands of wire that you will complete will look best at a different length, so your shorter cut wire should be the highest on the necklace.

Poke the end of the wire up through the knot that is 3 inches from your yarn chains.  Make sure that you have at least an inch pulled through.

Spiral the inch of wire around the top of the knot so that it is secure.


Do the same to the other side of the chain.


Complete the other strands in the same manner and arrange them however you'd like on the necklace!

Free Demo Sunday! How to Crochet a Necklace! Part 1

Part One!
Here is the first part of the demo on how to create this beautiful sparkly crochet necklace.  Crochet necklaces were the trend in the craft community for such a long time, so we're taking it to the next level by adding some metal and sparkle to it!  The first part of this demo is just the basic crochet necklace.  Check back next week for part two to learn how to crochet crystals onto the wire in a couple different ways and then weave the wires into the necklace.

Materials needed (part 1):
1 ball of ladder or ribbon yarn (or at least a good 10 yards)
Scissors
Size K/ 7mm crochet hook. (I prefer the Addi Bamboo because the hook is deep enough that it grabs both sides of the ladder yarn)
Tape Measure

Additional Materials needed (part 2):
28 or 26 gauge artistic wire (I used silver but choose whatever color you'd like)
At least 100 beads to add onto the wire (I think 4mm Swarovski crystal bicones look the best)
Wire Cutter

Cut five strands of the yarn that are two yards each.  If you want a necklace much longer than 24 inches, you should add about a foot to the total length, or just add however much you think you'd like.

Starting with the first strand, measure 12 inches on the yarn.

Loop the yarn over itself to begin the chain stitch.

Insert your hook into the loop and pull the longer tail end up through the loop to start a slip knot.

Begin to chain stitch!

Crochet until you are 12 inches from the other end.  You may want to do one or two more stitches than you think you'd need because when you pull out of the stitch, your tail end might get a little longer. :)

Pull the tail end all the way out of your last chain stitch.

Complete all of the strands in the same way!

Combine all five strands.  Your chain sections should all be about the same length. 

Measure 3 inches up from your chain sections and tie an overhand knot.

Do the same thing to the other side!

Make sure that your knots are about the same length from the chain sections on both sides.  If they aren't, it's easy enough to loosen one and then slide it to where it needs to go.

Tie another overhand knot at the top of the necklace, and there you are!  You've made your crocheted necklace!  Slip it on over your head, and it should be the perfect length!  If you'd prefer a clasp, just get a little crafty and tie your favorite style on at the right length for you.  You could even knot both sides separately and tie your necklace on at the perfect length each time you wear it.


Stay tuned!  Next week we'll add the sparkle!