Color Pop Bobby Pins

Fall fashion is in full swing! One of my favorite shows was the Ralph Lauren show at NY fashion week. It started off with an achromatic black and white scheme in simple silhouettes. Then, at the end, it was a huge surprise when a bright green sheath dress walked down the runway, followed by a rainbow of other colors! Totally unexpected, I knew this would be a great inspiration for a tutorial.

My Color Pop Bobby Pins are made from....can you guess....??? Legos! Flat legos work extremely well at creating a cool, minimalistic accessory but with a pop of rainbow, sparkly color! Just like the RL show!  

These are a really cool accessory that people will keep asking about; they would never guess that Legos are used as the base!

The little notches on the Legos are great places for gems to sit, and remind me of models in their dresses strutting down the catwalk! Also, all you really need to know how to do for this tutorial is glue; no hard work here!

Let's get started!

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are bobby pins, white nail polish, flat legos (about 1.75" long), flatback gems (5 or 4mm), and E-6000 glue. 

Step 2: Use the white nail polish to paint the edges of the lego, all the way around. Make sure to not get any on the top of the lego, just the edges!

Step 3: Get out your flat backs; the order that I used is green, yellow, orange, red, blue, then green again. It's the same order as the actual runway show!

Use a dab of your E-6000 glue and put a dab on top of each lego notch. Add on your gems in the correct order! 

Let all the glue dry.

Step 4: Glue on your bobby pin to the back. I used E-6000 glue because it's a better hold than hot glue. If you want to use hot glue, which is easier, that is fine, but keep in mind the glue may pop off the lego if handled roughly. Let the glue dry.

Instructions and photos (excluding runway photos) copyright Allison Beth Cooling. Do not use without permission and do not claim as your own!

St. Patrick's Day: Pot 'O Gold Earring Tutorial

Top 'o the morning!

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I have created an easy earring tutorial!

These Pot 'O Gold Earrings feature metallic microbeads and gems for sparkle. Microbeads are tiny little hole-less beads that are used for scrapbooking and nail art, but why not use them in jewelry? I actually found these at the dollar store, but you can also find them at craft stores or online even. Martha Stewart Crafts also makes them.

This color scheme is especially for St. Patty's Day, but you can change up the colors to fit any outfit you need. 

Let's get started on the tutorial!

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are earring posts, Sculpey Polymer Clay , heavy-duty glue like E-6000, Triple Thick Gloss Glaze, Glass Microbeads, and acrylic nail gems (like 3-4mm).

Step 2: Get your clay and make two small marbles. Flatten both marbles down so they have a flat front/back but still have some height, see picture above.

Step 3: take a pen cap or a tool (here I used the end of an X-acto knife) and press an indentation in the middle, making sure not to totally distort your disc shape. Repeat with the other marble.

Bake these two discs; I use a toaster oven for about 15 minutes at like 125 degrees.

The time may vary depending on the brand of clay you use and the oven. I use Sculpey.

Now, once your clay is baked and cooled, put a small dollop of your glue in the indentation; pour your microbeads over to cover the glue, press in gently.

Step 4: Repeat with the other disc. Brush off excess microbeads, to keep them confined just to the indentation you made. While the glue is still somewhat tacky, glue down 3 more crystal flatbacks over the microbeads and press in gently. 

Step 5: Once your front of the earrings are dry, then use the glue and glue earring posts in the middle of the backs. Wait 'till fully dry. 

Now, paint the outside rim of the earrings and the backs with clear glaze (I here used a coat of sheer green glitter nail polish as well as clear glaze to give more sparkle. Feel free to do that with whatever color you have, just make sure the nail polish color is close to your base clay color for consistency.)

DO NOT paint over your microbeads and gems because this will make the gems lose sparkle and make them appear glassy, not what we want here. 

Let them dry.

Cute and clever.

These are very original! Your friends will definitely want you to make them a pair!

All images and text copyright Allison Beth Cooling for Quiet Lion Creations.

Please link back to this tutorial if posting it elsewhere!

Cheap-o "Oscar" Earrings

My next tutorial is another one of my "cheap-o" ones, using everyday materials to mimic expensive metals and gems! After seeing the Oscars, I knew I had to do some sort of tutorial...

I loved the jewel-toned dresses I saw as well as the Art Deco feel of the set. 

So these earrings are a mix of glitz, gems and super cheap materials! However,

they still shine and are definitely original. The mix of jewel tones make the earrings seem richer, and the geometric shapes speak to the Art Deco feel.

They come together quick, and the only real skill you need is gluing skills!

Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are two earring wires (ignore the jump rings!), a party bead necklace (you know, those plastic metallic ones for Mardi Gras or New Years?) plastic flatback gems, and heavy-duty glue like E-6000.

Step 2: Take your party bead necklace and cut in half. Take 4 of the beads, and fold them next to each other, and then twist the string above them to lock them in a little square. It should look like the top picture, with two columns of 3 beads. Twist one more time to have two colums of 5 beads. I took my glue and glued the back of these beads, to stick them together in that pattern. I then placed a heavy book on top of the panel to hold it in place when it dried.

Step 3: Now you've got your panel and it has fully dried, cut off the rest of the necklace right next to the beads. Repeat for a second panel. Attach your earwire to the panel by inserting it into the loop of string that should be on one end of the panel (the other end will not have a loop).

Step 4: Now, time to add the gems. Get your glue out, and decide what gems you want. 

Simply glue the gems in the bead joints (make sure it is on the other side of the panel, no the one with the glue already on it.  Let this glue dry. 

Earrings done!

All photos and instructions copyright Allison Cooling for Quiet Lion Creations.

If you share/use/post this tutorial, please link back to me. It is much appreciated!

Quilled Peacock Earrings

For this next project, I used a different inspiration than my normal

 designer pieces. Peacock feathers!

I wanted to capture both the colors and the elegance of these beauties, so I figured I'd try something new and make a quilled earring. For those who don't know, quilling is the art of rolling and shaping thin paper strips. I find it very pretty and versatile, and not used often in the world of art.

This is a very easy tutorial for quilling beginners; usually, you want to use a quilling tool (sort of a wand with a slot at the end to insert and roll the paper), but you can use an eye of a large sewing needle instead if you are new. It will be a little harder 

though, but it's still doable.

Adding gems and glitter to these earrings makes for very sparkly and eye-catching earrings, despite their size. A perfect party accessory when you want something just a little different, something that people haven't seen before. They will be surprised when they find out the majority of the earring is paper!

We seal these earrings with clear gloss so they are somewhat waterproof, but still be careful with these.

Use any color combination, my combo was obviously inspired by peacocks, but if you have a certain outfit to match please do. Make these in all different color schemes for different party outfits!

Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are scissors, glue, a toothpick, glitter, clear gloss (not shown), flatback gems (like 3mm or so), two earring posts, a quilling tool, and quilling paper.

If you're new to quilling, I suggest you buy yourself a quilling set like this one, it's got all the basics you need and isn't expensive at all. That's what I did when starting out! You can get really creative with the art, and can even make things like Christmas ornaments. The possibilities are endless!

Step 2: Cut 6 4" pieces of quilling paper. Create coils out of each strip, winding, the paper around the quilling tool, and glue the end down to hold. The toothpick helps you with getting little bits of glue on the paper! Let these dry.

Step 3: Pinch both ends of your coils to form eye-shapes. Glue two of these shapes side to side, as seen in the middle pic. Glue the third eye right into the center, then the posts onto the arrangement, as seen in the picture. Let dry.

Step 4: Glue three gems onto each center of the three coils. Let dry. Take the gloss and paint the edges of your earring, and cover in glitter. Let dry.

Then, paint the whole earring with clear gloss (don't paint over the gems as this will make them glassy), and let dry. This will help seal and strengthen the earring. Let dry.

Very elegant and dainty, plus tons of sparkle!

Little, but pack a punch of sparkle!

All photos and instructions copyright Allison Cooling. Do not repost this or use my photos unless linking back to me.