Tie-Dye T-Shirt Necklaces

If you find yourself near a Hobby Lobby this Saturday chances are good that you might come across an I Love to Create blogger like myself whipping up some tie-dye magic. This coming Saturday I'll be in Round Rock and would love to see your smiling face. Bring your own pre-washed T-shirt and I'll get it all dyed up for you. After all of these demos I am amassing quite the collection of tie-dye shirts. My husband has incorporated them in to his wardrobe happily, but I stole a few from his drawers and decided to make them into jewelry. You know me, if it will sit still long enough I will make it into jewelry.

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Tri-Collar Fabric Necklace Tutorial!

 

What do you do when you have fabric scraps that you can't bear to toss? You use them to make a necklace! This is beautiful fabric from Guatemala and I thought a necklace would look stunning with a black top. 

My style? 

I LOVE bold design, but if you don't, simply reduce the size of the fabric pieces. It's that easy! 

Ok, let me show you how I constructed this thing!

SUPPLIES:

Fabric circles (Note, use Aleene’s® Stop Fraying™ if your fabric frays)

Aleene's® Fabric Fusion® Peel and Stick Sheets™

Aleene's® Fabric Fusion® Peel and Stick Tape™  

Necklace chain, clasp

Beads, needle nose pliers, jump rings  

 Apply tape along center fold, then cut sheets in a half circle.

 Remove backing paper from the tape, center chain and press in place.

Remove backing paper from the sheet and fold the top flap down. Press in place.

My necklace needed some trim, so I added Tulip® Beads in a Bottle™ Paint .

Add grommets, jump rings and beads. Add the closure to the chain ends. Try it on and adjust to the length you want!

VARIATIONS: Use more (but smaller) circles for a different look. Instead of circles, make triangles, rectangles, squares or ovals. Add glitter or crystals too!

A String of Painted Pants Pearls

I picked up a bad habit from my younger sister. Instead of rinsing my paint brushes in the sink I often find myself wiping them on my blue jeans. Whether I'm painting tights, silk screening a onesie with pantyhose, making a wee witch shrine or painting a black velvet picture of Dolly I tend to wipe my brushes on my pants before they hit the sink. I can't keep a pair of jeans paint free to save my life. For once this worked to my benefit.


Recently my favorite painters pants started to die a slow painful death. The holes in the knees didn't bother me, but when the holes in the crotch started I knew it was time to retire my favorite jeans forever. I couldn't bear the thought of just throwing my jeans away so instead I thought of a way to up-cycle them so that they could be with me always. Today for I Love to Create we are turning old blue jeans into new necklaces.


SUPPLIES
Old Painters Pants
Ping Pong Balls
Fabric Fusion Glue
Sewing Machine
Thread
Scissors


Don't let the picture fool you, I didn't end up using the wooden beads I opted for ping pong balls instead. The bigger the better right? The first I thing did, I should say we did since my mom helped with this project, is cut out strips of the blue jeans.


Measure your strips so that when they are sewn into a tube they will fit snugly around your beads or balls. Once you have your strips the size you want sew right sides to right sides to create your tube.


Once your tube has been sewn you will need to turn the fabric right side out.


The next step is to start stuffing your balls or beads into your denim tube. I cut small strips of leftover blue jean to tie in knots in-between each ball. I decided to only stuff the part of the tube with paint.


To make sure that my knots did not come undone I went through and added a dab of Fabric Fusion Glue.


All that is left to do is wear my snazzy new necklace. I just tie the lose denim edges and presto. I think it might also be cute as a belt or as a Jeanne Bice Quacker Factory style headband.

Tiger Art on the Walls & My Neck!

Lord knows I love a good theme. I'm one of those people that is likely to read Memoirs of a Geisha, while eating sushi and wear a kimono while doing it. Tonight my amazingly talented sister Hope Perkins (check out her I Love to Create interview about glitter) is having an art opening and you bet your bottom dollar I am working a theme with my outfit. You can look at the walls or my neck to see the art.


SUPPLIES
Cast resin cabochons of paintings
Wooden drops
Dremel
Crafty Chica Little Chica Paint Pack
Sponge Brush
Head Pins
Decorative Paper
Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage
Plastic Flower Petals
Jewelry Wire
Pliers
Beads
Crimp Beads
Liquid Fusion Glue


Casting Resin
I won't go into all the details of how to cast resin, you can get all the info in my book The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry and all the supplies from ETI. In a nut shell choose the pictures you want to use, print out on photo paper and cast images in resin using a plastic painters palette as your mold.


Paint
The raw wood aisle at the craft store is always one of my faves. I found these rain drop shaped wooden discs that work perfectly for necklaces. Mix Crafty Chica Paint to get desired shade and use a sponge brush to apply two coats. Allow to dry completely.


Collage
Once your paint has dried add decorative papers to the wood to add interest. I used Collage Pauge and zebra print Decopatch paper. Allow to dry.


Glue
Once my custom resin cabochons had set up and been sanded I used Liquid Fusion Glue to attach them to my wooden rain drops.


Drill
Using a Dremel I drilled holes at the tops of all my wooden drops. Next using an eye pin, plastic flower petals, small heart shaped lockets and beads I did some wire wrapping. The wrapping not only adorned my pendants with funky flowers it also gave them loops at the top for hanging.


String
Using jewelry wire and beads string your necklace into desired pattern. Finish the ends with crimp beads and clasp.

If you can't make it out to the Austin Art Garage tonight, never fear the art will be up all month long. If you don't live in Austin check out art by Hope Perkins and Cory Ryan online!