So I'm Switchin' the Ol' Blog...

This is a post to let you know that this will be the last post on this blog. I will henceforth be posting all my 'crafty posts' onto my other blog, The Storybook Journal. I figure, what's the point of having two blogs, one for writing and movies and books and random stuff, and the other one for crafty and inspiring stuff, when I can just combine the two into one?
So, just to make things easier, that's what I'm doing. This blog will remain open for anyone who wants to check out all the old posts. Although you can probably see some of the OLDER ones are nothing less than cringe-worthy.
Anyways.
I hope you enjoy browsing around!

-Phoebe (or "Amaris", whichever you prefer).

Fixing an Old Hat

So, around Christmastime, I visited an antique shop and bought this little hat for about 19 bucks.

I thought it would be really cute if only someone like me could come along and buy it and fix it up. It would look nice with some 50's outfit, or something. It kind of reminded me of one of the hats that Lucy would wear on I Love Lucy (which is one of my favorite shows):

So anyways, I bought it, and then I scrounged around for some better looking flowers. I found quite a few from various craft stores such as Hobby Lobby and Michael's. The hat was also rather dirty.

I hated to say goodbye to the original flowers even so, because I know they had been through a lot. I mean, they had been worn on someone's head and you could just see how old they were.

Here's a picture of the hat before being fixed up... Oh look! It's a picture of my FACE! :D

Aren't I so beautiful?!

Also, when I took the flowers off, I noticed the remnants of what was once something like a veil. I didn't really want to bother putting a new veil on because I kind of liked it the way it was.
After removing the flowers, I got some dish soap and some water and gently scrubbed the dirty parts with a soft-bristle toothbrush. It looked much cleaner afterwards.

Then I began to get my flowers ready. It took me awhile to figure out what to do to keep them on the hat, but I found this really thin wire at Michael's (30 gauge), which was easy enough to work with the flowers.
So thus the stringing and twisting began. It was a rather tedious process, wrapping the wire around the flowers without crushing them or causing them to fray. But I managed to get them all wired with a tail, one at at a time.

I had two different flowers. For the smaller ones, I had to wrap the wire around the stem very close to the flower, then twist it like a twist-tie.

For the larger flower, I took a pin and stuck it through the stem, so that I could just thread the wire through, and then twist.

 

Once I had all my flowers wired, I laid them all out in order so that I could see that I had enough.

Then comes the fun part. Twisting them all together very carefully to make a flower-chain. Just like the fairies wear. :)

I had to be very gentle with the flowers at this point to avoid crushing or fraying them.

I apologize if the lighting is a bit weird/different in some of the pictures. It took me a couple days to do this, and some of those days were rainy. :P

 This was a slow job, and a tedious, one, but it was also kind of relaxing to just sit there and twist. Anyways, I figured the best way to adhere the flowers to the actual hat would be to sew it on with simple stitches over and under the wire and into the hat. The original hat had tiny little staples, but I don't have any staples that small, and I didn't want to do that in case I had to take it out for some reason.

I used thick thread because I didn't want to take the chance of it breaking. :P

All finished! I think it turned out super cute. :) I really like the flowers. The hat definitely makes more of a statement now.

Now all I gotta do is figure out a hairstyle to go with it. :)

So there it is! I kind of put this project off for awhile before actually doing it. You know how you have this task/project to do, but you want to do a good job so you just keep putting it off because you're scared you might ruin it? I kind of did that with this hat. :) Fortunately, it turned out pretty cute.

Next, I'm going to think of what I can do with this hat that a couple of good friends gave me. Or maybe I could just leave it like it is. *shrug*

Well, have a good day, peoples!
-Phoebe

Romantic Snow Queen Jewel Box

Hehe. Sorry for the cheesy name of this post. :)
So, my mom was getting rid of some old boxes, and since I like to decorate things, I asked her if I could have some to decorate.
For awhile I couldn't think of what to do with this box. So I let it sit on my dresser for awhile. I knew I wanted to do something with pearls (because I love pearls...), but it took me awhile to find enough embellishments that I liked. Anyways, I think the end project turned out really pretty!

This isn't exactly a step-by-step tutorial, I'm just going to show you a few things.
After obtaining the box (my mom gave me this one, but I've seen them at Hobby Lobby), I kept my eyes open for anything pretty at Michael's or Hobby Lobby to use.. I used three different sizes of pearls, and collected different rhinestones and other gold and sparkly things.
Basically, anything you want. Make yours unique!

The theme for my box is obviously gold, pearls, and rhinestones.

I started by laying out my embellishments in a number of various ways, until the look pleased me. If you're going to do a centered decoration like mine, be sure to put the first piece in the very middle, or else the whole thing will be off. Also, don't glue it down until you have it all laid out the way you want it.

Keep laying it on (WITHOUT GLUE), until you have it the way you like it.

It took me awhile to get the pearls looking right. :P

To bring in some more gold color, I put a gold jump ring around some of the rhinestones. It gives it a different look.

See how nice it looks with the gold jump rings?

I was almost finished at this point, but I figured it needed something around the edge. So:

After that I went ahead and picked up each little piece at time to glue it down with E6000.

I think it turned out really pretty. :)

You can keep anything you want inside. I keep (surprise) pearls.

That's all for today. Sorry I haven't been posting! You know how it is. I've been busy. :P I hope you're having a good day. :)

Snow in a Bottle Necklace

Well, how was your Christmas? Your New Years?
I don't know about you, but where I live, there has been a significant shortage of snow this Winter.
I got to thinking about that the other day, and whenever I start thinking about something, it usually ends up in a project. :) Of course, sometimes those projects turn out great, other times they aren't so great. But, this is one of my projects that turned out well, I think. So here it is.

Lack of snow? Well then, we'll make our own!

I couldn't quite fit all the supplies needed into this picture, so be sure to read the list below.

 Here are the things you'll need:

• Little corked bottles (it helps to buy ones that already have the little screwy things in the top, but if you can't find those, regular will do and you'll have to buy the screws separate). The bottles I have are from Bead Landing.
• Silver Snowflake charm. Any kind will do, just don't make it too huge or it will take away from the bottle. Mine was about a half inch wide.
• Silver chain.
• A silver clasp and ring to attach to the chain.
•  E6000 glue (use at your own risk...).
• Rhinestone Chain. You can find rolls of these in the jewelry section of pretty much any craft store. I think they also sell smaller sections for a cheaper price. I bought the roll because I'm going to be using it a lot for my projects. :)
• Last thing, you'll need some white or clear glass glitter. Mine is from Recollections. It comes in a cute flower-y box with 6 different colors. 

Here's the rhinestone chain I was talking about.

First, cut a little section of the rhinestone chain and use E6000 to adhere it around the neck of the bottle.  

Oh, and if you haven't already, you might want to read my little warning about this glue in my last post.

At this point, you also want to stick your little screw eye thing in the top of the cork lid. Secure with glue, if it needs it.

Now you want to get our your glass glitter 'snow'. 

  

I used a little slip of paper as a funnel to get the glitter into the bottle easily. You might want to put a spare sheet of paper underneath your work, in case you spill a bit.

 It's beginning to look really cute. :) Be sure to glue the cork on when you're finished. You don't want it popping off while you're wearing it!

Now you just get out your charm, and your chain, and attach them to the little screw thing.

And voila.  I used a little jump ring to attach the chain, because the screw eye was too small for mine to go through. :)

It's perfect for January. In the wintertime, people have a million crafts for Christmas. But there's not as many projects for January. After all, what am I supposed to do with myself all month before Valentine's Day finally gets here? Well, at least I have my birthday coming up. That's always fun. :)

Ok, that's all for now. :) Have a good January.

Christmas Tree Globe

This year for Christmas, I wanted to come up with an idea that I could give my friends that everyone would like, that's unique, that says 'Christmas'. So, I came up with this cute idea:

I got the idea when I saw some cute little Christmas trees from Merry Minis at Michael's.

It's super easy to make. Here are the things you will need:

• Glass corked domes from Tim Holtz Idea-ology. I got mine at Michael's. It was a four pack with two different sizes.
• Little Christmas trees, like the ones I mentioned above from Celebrate It.
• A cotton ball.
• E600 Glue (Which is probably the strongest glue in the world... hard as a rock when it's dry.)
• Tacky glue (not pictured). To adhere the cotton. 
• This is optional, but if you have flat nosed pliers, use them to help stick the tree wire into the cork. It makes it easier.

BTW, before we get started, I wasn't able to find any trees little enough that had snow on them, so I used a toothpick and some white acrylic paint to stipple little dots on to make snow. You can use the plain trees if you want, but I like the snowy ones. :) 

I began by putting a light layer of tacky glue onto the smaller end of my cork (the end that goes inside the dome).

Then, I took some of the cotton from the cotton ball and spread it out to create a thin layer, and placed it over the glue. You might have to cut around the edge of the cork to remove any extra cotton that hangs over the edge.

See my little patch of snowiness?!
When the glue was completely dry, I got my pliers and stuck the tree trunk wire into the very center of the cork.
You have to be careful doing this, because the wire will try to push the cotton into the little hole you're making in the cork.
I just worked it in gently so that didn't happen.

 So cute!

Then I put a little dot of E6000 the cork (not too much...), and fastened the dome on, and that's it!

Let me take this opportunity to warn you about E6000. While it is the best and strongest glue you could ever need, it's so strong that it can make you sick if you breath it in. The packaging is covered in warnings, so when you use this stuff, don't use it too close to your face, or anything like that, ok?

Just so you know. :)

The instructions for this craft aren't very long because it's so easy. It's a great little favor to give all of your friends. The kind of little thing that everyone loves. :)

I have these cute little doily things from Recollections that I put underneath for display. I think it looks cute. :)
I hope you have fun making these, and if I don't post before then, have a Merry Christmas! 
-Phoebe