Bead Art

Sometimes art needs to be about mommies too. My friend Hilary and I made the cutest necklaces today. Some cute fabric, wooden beads, ribbon, a little ingenuity and we were off! The perfect spring accessory, and under $5 each to boot.

If you'd like to share in our cuteness, this simple project should only take about a couple of hours (a bit longer if you have two toddlers running around) and will leave you feeling ready to bring on spring!

Supplies needed:

Sewing machine
Sewing shears or rotary cutter and cutting mat
Pins
Needle and thread
(5) 1" wooden beads
Crepe weight fabric
7/8" Organza ribbon

You should be able to purchase wooden beads and organza ribbon at any major craft store. I found mine at Jo-Ann's. For the crepe fabric, we used a rayon used to make children's kimonos I purchased ages ago at my absolute favorite fabric store, Satin Moon in San Francisco (if you've never checked it out, you should!).

Step 1: Cutting the Fabric

Cut fabric in a strip measuring 3-1/4" W x 20" L using sewing shears or rotary cutter and mat.

Step 2: Pinning and Sewing


Fold fabric in half along the length with the right sides facing in and pin approximately 2-1/2" apart. Sew along pinned edge leaving a 5/8" seam allowance. Remove pins and turn right-side out so seam is now on the inside of the tube of fabric.

Step 3: Adding the Beads and Knotting



Place wooden beads into fabric tube, leaving approximately 2-1/2" at end, and knot between each bead. Pull note as tight as possible against bead. Using a crepe fabric is helpful with this step as it has a bit of give.

Step 4: Attaching the Ribbon



Cut two lengths of ribbon to desired length, angling one edge. Length will depend on how long you want your necklace and how your necklace will fit on you. We cut ours around 20". Turn 1/4" of fabric into ends of tube to make a hem. Insert straight end of ribbon into turned end and hand stitch ribbon to fabric, stitching as close to the edge of the hem as possible to hide stitches. Slightly gather fabric around ribbon as fabric will be wider than the ribbon, ensuring to not add too much bulk with your stitches (too much bulk will make it difficult to complete the knots in Step 5). This will create a slight "balloon" effect, as shown above.

Step 5: Knotting to Completion


Tie a last knot where the ribbon joins the fabric. The knot should hide your stitches, allowing the ribbon to feed directly from the knot. Tighten knot as you did around the beads, being careful not to pull on the ribbon too hard so as not to tear it.

Tie necklace around your neck in a bow and, voila, you're ready for a spring fling!

Heart Art

Harper and I made these adorable Valentines together and sent them to her cousins (all eleven of them) and both sets of grandparents. It was great fun and a nice way to put her favorite activity of stickering to good use (much better than picking them off all of her clothes before laundering!). After she decorated all of the hearts with stickers and stamps, I assembled and addressed them. They turned out super cute and how fun for all of her cousins to get mail in the mailbox this year!

So forget buying that box of Valentines this year. Do something creative with your kids and make them! It doesn't have to be complicated and with a few simple supplies, even the littlest of kids can make art they are proud to give to Grandma and Grandpa.

Supplies needed*:
-Paper trimmer
-Corner cutter
-Friskars Ultra ShapeXpress
-Friskars Heart Shaped Templates
-Cutting mat
-Red and pink cardstock scrapbook paper in various shades (we used jewel tones)
-Valentine-theme stickers (check the $1 section at Target)


-Valentine-theme rubber stamps
-Red, pink, and silver ink pads (we used Colorbox ink pads. They take longer to dry but they provide really vivid color and can be embossed with embossing powder if you wish)
-Glue stick
-Silver and pink metallic pens
-Card-sized envelopes (we used 4.375" x 5.75")
*You should be able to purchase all of these supplies at your local hobby or paper crafting store

1. Using your paper trimmer, cut flat cards out of cardstock slightly smaller than the size envelope you purchased. We cut ours 4.25" x 5.5" and they fit in the envelopes perfectly. Use the corner cutter to round the corners for a more finished look. (I think it would be cute to use a scalloped blade on the paper trimmer for a more decorative effect as well, we just didn't have one. I'm going to have to add this to our crafting supplies one of these days!)
2. Cut out various-sized hearts using the heart template and shape cutter. If you haven't used a shape cutter before, once you get the hang of it, cutting with it is a cinch! Use as many different shades of pinks and reds you want.
3. Have your child decorate the hearts using stickers and stamps, or any other embellishments you'd like. I wanted to emboss the stamps using embossing powder but trying to emboss with a 20-month old around wasn't working so well so we just stuck with the ink.
4. Once all the hearts are decorated and the ink is dry, use the glue stick to glue them to the flat cards you already cut out. Make each card layout unique, especially when giving cards to members of the same family--that way each child receiving the card feels special. If you child is old enough, he or she can assemble the cards him or herself; if not, it is fun activity for mom to do too!
5. Once all the cards are assembled, use the metallic pens to address them and add any special notes you'd like.

Lastly, for that extra special step, add a stamp or just use the pens to indicate "designed by" and your child's name on the back of each card. Recipients will have an original signed work of art!