Poke, string, knot, glue = DIY Fabric Beads! PART 2

Last week I blogged about how I painted and made some of my very own fabric beads (and was thrilled with the response the post got, too!). But painting and glueing was only the half of it! Once I started making the beads, I was unstoppable and kept finding new and different ways to use fabric already on hand and unconventional items from the craft store!


After painting my own beads, I started looking through my fabric vault (aka big ole' tupperware storage bin) to see what else I could come up with. Though I had purchased some super rad polka-dot Amy Butler fabric back in LA in order to make a pillow, I figured I could sacrifice a little bit for the cause. After cutting the fabric down to 1x3" strips, I needed a new venue on which to plaster the fabric (in other words - a cheap form of a bead)! After searching up and down the aisles of Michael's, I think I found the perfect (and cheap!) solution: Styrofoam Balls!


So with my styfoam balls in hand and fabric Mod Podge ready to go, I just now needed a way to make the hole and hold the bead while putting on the fabric. Of course - chopsticks!

I first glued a strip around the bead long ways:

Then finished with two more strips that went diagonally along the holes on either side. And Voila! A bead!

After pairing them with some more fabric-wrapped ugly disco ball beads and some brown wooden beads, I topped the necklace off with some pink ribbon and had this:

Amy Butler Fabric and Wooden Beaded necklace with Pink Ribbon, $20 

But what's a necklace without a matching bracelet, no?

Amy Butler "Love" Polka Dot Fabric Bracelet, $10

I might just keep this one. 

And of course I didn't stop there (and in fact, I hope to make many more of these items... I love 'em)! I was also determined to make something with this random piece of scarf-like fabric I bought for $.50 in LA awhile back:

After cutting a piece of fabric that measured about 3"x1", I got my styrofoam balls back out and went at it: 

And knotted and wrapped the fabric around the balls:

And came up with this thing-a-ma-bobber:

I will admit, the turnout of this necklace is now exactly what I had hoped for. It's quite stiff and down's hang all that nicely at the bust. My fabric was too wide and not long enough - I would have liked to make more knots and added more beads but ran out of length, plus I don't like how much fabric hangs from the sides. It's for all these reasons why this item isn't on Etsy yet - I am not 100% behind it. I do, however, plan to show it as an example at my jewelry party in a few weeks and see what kind of feedback I get on it and go from there. Though I love Etsy, using the internet to sell certain kinds of jewelry takes away the touch and feel dimension that is often so crucial to a good purchase!


Then I figured - if I could use fabric, why not use ribbon, too? After looking through my ribbon stash, I found this rad yarn-like stuff and paired it with some wooden-disc beads that I salvaged from an Anthropologie necklace I bought on sale years ago:

(Needless to say, I totally ruined my manicure with all my glue-use!)

Which resulted in these (the one on the right is actually made of fabric I painted blue):

And then this:

Again, I didn't put this item on Etsy yet because I am not totally settled with it. Maybe I am waiting for a perfect component piece to come my way. Maybe I am waiting for a better idea for their final use. Maybe I am just too stubborn to list them yet! This will be another item that will debut at the jewelry party in hopes of some constructive criticism. Ah, and artist's work is never done. 


Next up - how I used random stuff found at Goodwill to create one-of-a-kind jewelry displays for the party! Keep posted :)

Paint, Stamp, Cut, Glue, Wrap = DIY Fabric Beads! PART 1

I love beads. And I love fashion. Which means I love fabric. I also love painting. And I really love Mod Podge. I am not sure why it took me so long to put it all together. I present to you - FABRIC BEADS!

In attempt to make the most unique, and most Bead Up-worthy beads out there, I figured I would start with painting/stamping my own fabric. I started with very plain, white cotton fabric and used one of my scrapbook stamps with Chinese characters on it and stamped away (I was going for the newspaper print look):

Then I painted half of the white fabric with some very bright lime green fabric paint and stamped away there, too (and let me tell ya, that stamp with all it's individual grooves was a *&^%$ to clean!):

And while I had the fabric and all, I needed somewhere to glue it all on! Though I could technically wrap the fabric around a form (like a straw, for example) and glue the heck out of it,  I knew such a method wouldn't produce a big and bold look I was going for. After searching all around Michael's, I finally spotted some big ole' wooden round beads in the wooden doll section. I also found exactly what I hoped would exist but wasn't sure it did: Fabric Mod Podge!

Next, I cut the green fabric in small pieces and glued the back of each strip:

And slowly but surely I came up with this:

Since I only had 4 of the big wooden beads, I needed another form of sorts to wrap the bead around. Rather than running back to the store, I remembered this semi-ugly set of beads from a torn-up plastic necklace I bought at the Studio Sale at Warner Brothers last year (which I have used in a piece before):

And after wrapping and gluing the fabric around the plastic and the wooden beads, I had these:

Which lead to this:

Chinese fabric, Cinnabar, Coral, and Agate Necklace, $25

And this:

Chinese Fabric, Cinnabar, and Agate Necklace, $30

And this: 

Chinese Cinnabar and Fabric Hanzi Bracelet, $16

And I totally didn't stop there. In fact, I made all kind of additional fabric necklaces and beads... but you'll just have to wait until the next post to see 'em (or you can check out my Etsy shop and take a peek in the meantime)!

New Series: Fashionably Friday

Ok, lovies, so here's what I am thinking. So many times I find myself totally inspired by jewelry that is popping up here in Los Angeles. Seriously, I find jewelry as seen the streets, the red carpet, on TV, or even in tabloids often more inspiring than the sunset itself. I often find myself totally appalled by some of the $#!^ that people wear on the exact same venues, that I feel like I do a double take-shake-my-head-to-figure-out-what-I-just saw type of head dance. Since I watch alot of television programs that feature both amazing and astonishing jewelry (if you want to call some of it that!), and since I read so many blogs discussing these trending topics, I figured to start a little review of my own. Introducing: F A S H I O N A B L Y F R I D A Y. Here I plan on reviewing the week in jewelry fashion, or a particular celebrity's jewelry sensibilities (or lack there of). If all goes as planned in the caverns of my crafty mind, I hope to do this on a weekly basis and have it be a place where we can admire and question celebrity jewelry together. So, that said, with no further adu, let's get started, friends! Though it was no Project Runway, the Bravo opps-we-accidentally-sold-our-best-show-and-therefore-have-to-create-some-replacement-BS series Fashion Show did manage to keep me company while making jewelry in my living room this summer. Though it seems that the blogging world has done well to just abandon any hope of comparing it to PR and allow it to be in a (minor) league of it's own, I'm not showing it any mercy. Let's start with the con's, shall we? When judging a fashion statement, I often make a point to look at the designer behind the work. I mean, seriously, do you really want to trust someone who is wearing their mom's 80's clothing and pearl necklaces?

(image from fancast.com)

Opps, well, sorry Hazel. I judge a book both by it's cover and what's on the inside. I'm not trusting you to tell me what's in style, honey, either today OR 20 years ago. Sheesh. For example, I love it when designers try to show how trendy, or even ahead of the trends, they are by making themselves their own canvas. Like Keith.

(image from fancast.com)

OR NOT like Keith. What IS that around his neck?

I can't take it anymore - moving on to the Pro's and inspirations. The winner of Fashion Show didn't make fashion mistakes with her own wardrobe. I was so happy to see Anna win the show, and couldn't keep my eyes off of her wooden beaded necklace (and her sweet shoes on the right and her OWL PRINT dress on the left - guess she read my blog the other week). Not only did she pull it off BEAUTIFULLY with two outfits, but she also had one of her own models during the final Fashion Show sport a similar necklace, but asymmetrically. But do you think it was meant to be worn to the side? Either way, I've had my mind on the necklace Anna wore all week and went to Michael's last night to buy the finishing beads to make a piece just like it of my own. Be on the lookout for a similar product from Bead Up soon! Anna also wore another statement piece during some of the show's interviews. What do you think of this one? I think she wore it well with the neckline of her shirt and it's color. I dunno, the more I look at it, the more I like it, but it's not one of those pieces that I would rush out to buy for myself. I'll let Anna keep sportin' the look on her own. She also had another statement piece in her final runway show. This super cute black dress and beautiful emerald (my new favorite accent color) jacket were finished with a wooden-looking necklace - made of what looks like two elephant charms! I want to know where she goes shopping. The colors of this outfit, included the light brown of the wood, are also inspiring. I can't say the same for runner-up, Daniella, and her collection. The gal never really wore much jewelry herself, but most of her runway models sported necklaces made by Daniella herself. The one in the middle looks to me like random pieces glued on a applique, and paired with the awfully strange trousers just got lost in translation to me. Another one looked like she just drapped a bunch of heavy chain around a thick piece of string. BUT, I give the gal props for making her own jewelry - shows that she can do more than just clothing! Sadly, other than these two, not many of the designers really included jewelry as part of their final, or even challenge, pieces. There was the one Swarovski crystal challenge (which I of course LOVED!), in which Daniella produced this beauty. Since this piece was the challenge winner, they are of selling a dress "based" on this design on Bravotv.com, but of course it comes no where close to the elegance of this piece. I am thinking I need to invest in some cardboard and silky fabric and start making statement necklaces like this lovely! Though I said I wouldn't make comparisons, this piece reminds me a bit of a prom dress Victorya Huang did in Season 4. Love how the dress basically has it's own jewelry built in!I could go on and on, but I'll stop there for today so I have plenty to dish on next week! If you get a minute, drop by and let me know what you think about this new little series ;) Until then, have a great weekend!

(all images are from either Project Rungay or Bravotv.com)