Dancing Lanterns Necklace

Hi creative friends,

Thanks for joining me here as I create along with the September Pretty Palettes inspiration.  This month, Erin chose a Korean Buddhist festival which is replete with colorful, light-filled rows of paper lanterns.  The photos are fantastic, but it must be even more amazing in person to be surrounded with rows and rows of wonderful color against the night sky.

Here's one of the photos she used for inspiration:

Brightly colored lanterns adorn the entire city of Seoul, South Korea to celebrate the birth of Buddha.

Here are the beads that she chose from Michaels:

Beads selected from Michaels L to R:

82867 – Salmon pink glass 6/0 seed beads
96510 – Crackle quartz multi matte 10mm
98230 – Multi floral ceramic 9mm
94513 – Multi howlite stone flower rondelle (these are some of my favorites!)
94999 – gold plated lantern OR 90730 – antique silver plated lantern
97767 – black matte glass beads 4mm
77449 – gold plated Charm Gallery lotus flower OR 77463 – silver plated Charm Gallery lotus flower

At Michaels, I picked out the crackle quartz, the flower rondelles and the black matte beads.  Then, I added some silver bead caps that I reminded me of lanterns.  As I worked on the necklace, I found that I liked the color and shape of the flower rondelles and decided to add more of the bright colored beads in different shapes.  I chose butterflies and stars to add to the mix.  I used black chain, gunmetal jump rings and silver wire, head pins and eye pins.  To connect the rows of dancing lanterns, I used some black filigree buttons.  I love these buttons and have several different styles and colors in my stash; they are so versatile.  

I wanted to capture the effect of rows of bright lanterns swinging in the breeze.  This necklace will definitely sway as you walk and move.  It's perfect for the lantern festival or your next festa or fiesta!  And, although it looks big, the chain makes it light and easy to wear.

Dancing Lanterns Necklace

I really liked the flower rondelles, so I used them in a couple of different ways - stacking them to make a lantern with the silver cap on top and hanging below them sideways so you can see the flower shape.

Here it is laid flat:

Dancing Lanterns Necklace

And, here are some earrings:

Dancing Lanterns Earrings

I've still got the bracelet to finish, which is a chain bangle bracelet.  And, although I love the crackle beads, they just didn't want to play with the bright beads here.  Do you have beads like that?  Stubborn little things!  So, I will use their subtle glow somewhere else.

Be sure to stop by the Halcraft blog to see all the amazing designs created from the Pretty Palettes inspiration!  Thanks, Erin!  Can't wait to see what you come up with next month! 

Happy Creating!

Terry

Jack O'Lantern Decoration

Hi Crafty Friends!

It's getting spooky out there - and the candy is flowing!  Here's a great craft to greet those trick-or-treaters when they arrive at your door. 

Jack O' Lantern Greeter

For all the instructions on how I made this, go to the Smoothfoam blog

You might notice that I used one of my favorite craft materials in this project - brown paper bags!  I made leaves from it and wrapped the stem and nose in it, too. 

Enjoy the day - and the candy!  (That's my favorite part!)

Happy Boo Day!

Terry

(I received materials and compensation for this project as part of their design team.)

Oil and Vinegar Bottles with etchall® etching creme

Hi Creative Friends!

It's that time of year!  Time to bring in the harvest!  Around here we grow lots of tomatoes and basil.  One of our favorite ways to eat them is a Caprese salad with layers of tomatoes and fresh mozarella topped with basil.  And, of course, they must be dressed with some vinegar and olive oil. 

I thought it would be nice to label the oil and vinegar bottles.  It adds a nice personalized touch for a gift for friends or your own table. 

I bought these bottles at Cost Plus World Market.  They were very inexpensive ($3.99)  And, I used some letter stencils from DecoArt®.

Wash and dry the bottles with soapy water.  Check the glass on the bottles and use the best side for etching.  These bottles had a few bubbles in the glass and you will want to avoid those.

Apply the self-adhesive stencils.  Use the etchall® squeegee to adhere the stencils to the glass.  Then, mask around the stencil with tape and added etchall® etching creme.  Wait  15 minutes and scrape as much of the creme off as you can and put it back in the jar. It's reusable!  Wash the remaining creme off with running water before removing the stencil; then rinse the bottle again.  Throw away the tape and place the stencil back on the plastic for next time.

 And, here they are - ready for the salad!

Oil and Vinegar Bottles

These would make a great hostess gift filled with your favorite balsamic vinegar and EVOO!  Tie pretty ribbons around the necks, add some tomatoes and basil from your garden and they will be very happy to see you!

Don't you want to label all your glass bottles now?  I think I want to try spice and herb jars next! 

Happy etching with etchall®!

Terry

Do Not Disturb Sign for the Nursery

Hi Creative People!

Have you discovered JOY Iron-on letters yet?  You can find them at Michaels or on the JOY website.  There are so many things that you can decorate with them and they are so easy to use! 

Here's what I created with them last month -

Do Not Disturb Sign

You can find the instructions on the Creating with Joy blog.

Stop by the blog and see all the other projects that the Creativity Team has designed.  There are more projects for baby, fall decorations, monogrammed items, art ideas and lots more.

JOY-fully yours,

Terry