firecracker daisy earrings +diy

A bright pop of color! These super cute Firecracker Daisy earrings only take a simple technique to create dazzling bead-woven beauties!



These earrings are a little longer, but if you want to stick with just the top flower that's ok too! I've chosen to mix a hodgepodge of colors here to give it that twinkling look - you can choose to use only certain colors if you're making these for a specific outfit or something!



These give off such a summery vibe, and would be great to wear to summer parties, picnics, or other get-togethers. Most of the beads and jewelry supplies I will be using are from PandaHall, but you can find similar materials and such at your local craft store.



Let's get started!



Step 1: Gather materials. Needed is 24 gauge wire (mine from Cousin), gold earring hooks (18mm long iron fishhooks from Pandahall), wooden beads (4X6mm colored wood oval beads from Pandahall), glass crystals (sky blue faceted 4mm bicones from Pandahall), seed beads (size 8 opaque mixed color beads from Pandahall) and pliers (flat nose, round nose and wire cutters).



Step 2: To make the smaller flower, start by cutting a 5" piece of your wire. Thread on a wood bead and a seed bead. Thread the end of the wire back through the wood bead (picture 2), keeping most of the wire on the rightmost side. Thread on a wood bead then another seed bead at this long end, and thread back through that wood bead, pulling tight to your first wood bead. It should look like the rightmost picture.



Step 3: Continue with this technique, adding "petals" until you have 6. To finish, twist both free ends of wire together tightly and then cut off the excess. Repeat for a second flower.



Step 4: Make another flower, but this time, add two wood beads per petal and make it 8 petals. To add the crystal centers, cut a 5" piece of wire and thread on 5 crystals; twist together to create a loop. Wrap around the center of the large flower, weaving up and down and in-between beads to secure. Add one more crystal in the middle and wrap again. Twist the ends and cut.



Step 5: Add a crystal center to the small flower, only using 3 crystals this time. To adhere your flower to the fishhook, use a small cutting of wire and thread through one of the seed beads. Create a wrapped loop and attach a jumpring. Add that jumpring to the fishhook. Do the same with the bottom petal of the small flower, and the top petal of the large flower to finish. Connect both with a jump ring.



These are super summery and fun. Nothing I would personally wear (with favorite colors black, black and more black) but my mom would love these. I'll give 'em to her!



All  photos copyright AllisonBeth Cooling. Do not post or reuse without crediting me and linking to me!

Crystal Moccasins +DIY

Crystal moccasins? Why not?! These summery accessories are great for music festivals, parades, arcades, picnics, carnivals and more. Wouldn't you agree?



Just some quick sewing and gluing will have your tired moccasins looking supa' fresh in no time. I think the mix of colors here and those cool iridescent rhinestone flat backs mix perfectly.



Seed beads are traditionally what moccasins are embellished with, but you know I need to pull out the sparkle on every chance possible. You could even stud these for a more edgy vibe. That may be my next tutorial….who knows?! Are you ready to start?!



Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are a pair of moccasins, sewing needles, E6000 glue, fishing line, cabochons (Pandahall Tawaian Colorful Flat Back rhinestones), wooden beads (Pandahall Oval Wood Beads), seed beads (Pandahall Opaque Mixed Color Beads).



Step 2: Start by gluing on your flat backs - I tried to fill up as much space as I could, putting them in rows. Let dry.



Step 3: Cut a 2 foot long piece of fishing line, and tie a small knot right at the end. Thread the other end through your sewing needle, and start sewing on wood beads and seed beads. There is no particular pattern. I hate sewing so I just embellished a little bit. If you love to sew, go all out. It's hard to sew through this thick material, so I used flat nose piers to help me grab the needle and pull it. Tie another knot when finished sewing to hold everything in place, then cut off the excess fishing line. I used fishing line because of its strength and it's clear, so you won't see the thread!



Easy peasy. Pick any color combo you want - try shaped rhinestones (teardrops?) for an elegant look, or even spike studs for an edgy look. It's up to you!

All photos copyright Allison Beth Cooling. Do not post or reuse without crediting me and linking to me!

emoji luv necklace +diy

So I'm pretty sure all of us are obsessed with emojis by now. I need like emojis everywhere in my life. As a graphic artist, I totally believe in the idea that images speak louder than words. Hence my love for The Emoji.



So when I was at Target one day, and spotted a package of - what?! - Emoji stickers?! I was super excited. Who knew these existed?! Did you?! Why didn't you tell me?!



So anyways, I totally grabbed a pack and decided to get to work. I knew I wanted to make some sort of kitschy-style statement necklace, because, well, why not? Emojis have attitude, and while I usually don't love super-bright, in-your-face colors, they totally work here.



To turn these stickers into charms, I turned to one of my favorite materials: polymer clay. Backing these stickers with clay, then baking, creates cool components with some serious style. For this necklace, I picked out my very most favorite emojis: the 100, the Skull, The lightning bolt, the Peace Sign, the Lips, the Sly Guy, the Shining Star and the Money Stack. It just so happened that these emojis all shared the colors red, white and yellow. Even better. Color palette, check.

Adding these emoji charms to chunky chain from Cousin Corporation, and mixing with rhinestone pave beads, totally completes the look. It's a little over-the-top, but totally on purpose.



I'll show you exactly how to make your own below. The hardest part might just be finding the emoji stickers. I'm telling you, you need them. I have a list of places that sell them below in Step 1.



Are we ready?! Let's start.



Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are pliers, polymer clay, a tissue blade or Xacto knife for cutting, clear gloss glaze, a paintbrush, pave rhinestone beads, chain, a clasp, headpins, and the pièce de résistance - the Emoji stickers. I got these from Target! You can also get them from Amazon and Urban Outfitters.



Step 2: Choose which emoji sticker you want as your charm. Take a marble-sized piece of clay (I'm using white here for a clean look. I used yellow for some of my other charms. Use whichever colors you like!) and gently roll out (I literally used a sharpie like a rolling pin). Roll till it's about 3mm thick. Make sure it's evenly rolled out like a nice little pancake!



Step 3: Gently peel off your sticker, and stick it right on the pancake. Press down and burnish gently. Start trimming the excess clay away with your tissue blade or Xacto knife.



Step 4: Continue trimming, using your Xacto blade to get right up against the sticker. Smooth out the edges by rubbing gently with your fingers.



Step 5: Carefully make a vertical hole in the clay with a needle. Make sure this hole goes all the way through the charm. I leave this needle (or sometimes I use headpins to make the holes) in the clay as it bakes to make sure the hole stays put.
Repeat the above steps for any other charms you want to make! Go ahead and bake these in a toaster oven at VERY LOW HEAT. I had my dial turned down below the 125 degree mark. You don't want to bake these at a high temp because of the sticker. I baked my charms for about 20 minutes or so. When finished, let them cool fully.



Step 6: Coat all your charms in clear gloss glaze. Let all air dry.



Step 7: Add your charms to headpins and create wrapped loops. Start laying out the orientation of your necklace, and making charms out of the pave rhinestone beads. I stuck with yellow, white and red rhinestone beads to keep the color scheme coordinating.



Step 8: Simply add your charms and rhinestone bead charms evenly across your chain. I used jump rings to attach my charms to the chain links, which made it easier for me to sort of play with the right amount of charms, and where to place them. I alternated my rhinestone beads with my charms. There is no right or wrong way. Play around and see what looks best to you! To finish, add a clasp at the end of the chain.

Are you lovin' this as much as I am? I like the contrast between the fancier sparkle beads, fun icons and industrial-type chain. What's also great is that you can switch up the colors based on the emojis you pick. You could also use gold chain instead of silver if you prefer.



Make a matching bracelet if you want too. Might as well. Go all out.

 

If you make one of these, I say to with the punk vibe - a rocker-chic outfit of a long black tunic top, leather leggings and combat boots works totally well. I'm gonna leave you with two closing pics to inspire you. If you make a necklace using this tutorial, post pics to your instagram and tag me @quietlioncreations! I'll repost you!

All images copyright Allison Beth Cooling. Do NOT repost without crediting me and linking back to my blog.

Christmas in July- Cousin 'Tis the Season Part 4

My last installment in my "Christmas in July" promotion are my "Holly Jolly Magnets", using Cousin Tis 'the Season charms as focal cabochons of sorts!

 

These cute little fridge magnets take the techniques I used in my last Christmas in July post and spin off that idea. My Glitter Deer pin tutorial can be seen here. I used Cousin's larger deer charm for this pin, and used the smaller two charms to make these two magnets. The snowflake charm is also from a 3-pack of gold charms in the 2014 Tis the Season line.

A simple walkthrough of the directions to make these magnets:

1. Take a ball of oven-bake clay (green or red, a little bigger than a quarter) and roll the outside in green or red glitter to match. Make sure the glitter coats the surface, and rub it in.

Simply press a charm into the top of the ball, flattening it and adhering the charm in the clay. 

To make the beaded decorations, take headpins and cut them to about .75". Add a bead, and press into the side of the clay to hide the empty part of the headpin. Your headpin should be stuck in the clay. Add them all around the edges of your cabochon! 

Bake at about 125 degrees for 20 minutes or so.

When cooled, glue a magnet piece on the back.

I also used Cousin pearls and red glass beads, as well as Jewelry Basic crystals here for the side decorations. These are so sparkly and detailed that they are great holiday decorations, or even make some for your friends! You can use any charms here really, and make them in different themes for different occasions.

Great for putting on the fridge to add some glam to your everyday coupons, lists and clippings!

The whole 2014 Tis the Season line is available at all craft stores such as Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics, AC Moore stores and at Primabead.com

All photos copyright Allison Beth Cooling. Do not post/use images without linking to me.