A lavender bottle sachet / La bouteille de lavande

I was browsing facebook this morning and noticed the prettiest lavender wand sachet made by Irina from Belarus (JewelryFloren). She got so many blooms this year that she was able to make 25 pretty sticks from just 2 lavender bushes.

I love this idea because all the sweet buds stay inside after the stick has dried out and it still will look pretty and ready to do its job to refresh your linen closet or dresser draw. The idea of  "La bouteille de lavande" came from France where lavender is a part of culture and history. Oh so romantic!

All you need to make 1 stick like this is about 25 to 30 lavender stems, 2 1/2 yards of narrow satin ribbon (about 1/4" wide) in your favorite color and a sewing thread.

Сlean your lavender stems from the leaves and bottom flowers. Gather them together and tie the stems tight right under the flower heads with a sewing thread. Now, bend the stems to the sides to cage the flower heads inside. Run one end of the ribbon along side the flowers to poke out of the bottom of the flower cage. Tie your pretty satin ribbon on top of sewing thread and start weaving the other loose end of the ribbon around the top of flower cage using basic under-and-over basket weaving technique. Push the sticking-out flowers back to cage with a toothpick.

Keep weaving tightly (very important since the lavender will shrink as it dries) to get a bottle shape.

Tie both ribbon ends tight around the base a few times and make a pretty bow. 

Voilà! It's ready to use, just let it dry and enjoy!

Thank you, Irina, for this great idea!

Lilies bouqiet hot batik wall hanging tutorial

Here is how to work in hot batik technique with an example of one of Alla Samoil's painting, a lilies bouquet.

 

The general idea is that the lightest areas will be covered with melted wax first and then step by step, while adding the paint to the rest of the design to create a layered effect. Doesn't this color layering remind you of a watercolor technique?

Always be cautious while working with hot wax. It is extremely hot and very flammable.

Here is what you need to make this:

a wooden frame

fabric (pre-wash if new)

pins

soft pencil, 8B

bees wax or paraffin

a small crock pot

Pebeo Setasilk or Dye-Na-Flow Fabric paints: yellow, shades of green, dark ochre and brown

variety of brushes (you will not be able to wash the wax away from the brushes so choose the ones you will not feel sorry for later)

Iron

some newspapers and some clean white paper

1. Protect your working surface with a plastic cover. Add wax / paraffin to your crock pot and set it on low. The wax will be ready to work with when small amount of melted wax will go through the fabric and not stays on surface. You can test it on a small non working area of your fabric.

2. With pins, stretch your fabric to a wooden frame. Print a sketch of your project on paper and freehand your image to your fabric lightly by pencil.

When you are done, we will start working with melted wax and paints.

3. Use your thin brush  to cover the stamens of the lilies with a melted wax.With a thicker brush, apply the yellow paint on the rest of your design and add some very light shades of yellow, green and brown colors to the plants image (please refer to pictures for a color application). Lay your work horizontally and let it dry completely.

 

4. Cover the flowers petals and the middle of the leaves with a melted wax. Apply the light green paint and some darker shades of yellow, green and brown on your painting. Let it dry.

5. Cover the rest of petals and some parts of leaves with a melted wax. Use the dark ochre paint to cover the rest of design. Let it dry.

6. Cover the plants completely with a melted wax in the same manner. Apply a dark brown paint to cover the background of your painting. Let your design dry.

7. Cover the entire design with a melted wax. To remove it from your painting, sandwich your design in between a sheets of newspaper and a clean white paper and iron it out. Discard the wax.

Your painting is done! Now you can frame it and  hang it on a wall for a pretty display

Crochet wire & bead bracelet tutorial

Here is a crochet wire and bead bracelet tutorial from OlgaUryvskaya's book, as I promised.

To make a stylish bracelet like this you will need a 0.3 mm thick black jewelry wire, a steel crochet hook 1.25 (US 8), a variety of beads in different shapes and a bracelet buckle closure.

Choose your beads and mix them all together. The more unique your mix is, the better!

String all of your beads onto the wire. You can arrange them in a pattern or randomly.

Measure the width of your bracelet buckle closure side to decide how wide your bracelet should be. In our project it requires a chain of 5.

Measure your wrist to decide what bracelet length you want. Remember to make it longer to be able to open and close your bracelet comfortable. Use your watch band as a guide.

Bracelet pattern:

Stitches used (US crochet terms)

ch - chain

st - stitches

dc - double crochet

Ch 7 loosely.

Row 1. 1 dc into the 3rd chain from the hook, 1 dc into each chain till end. Ch 2, turn

Row 2. 1 dc into each st to end (slide a bead up and catch it in your next st, on every stitch). Ch 2, turn

Repeat round 2 until your bracelet is the desired length.

Work loosely to achieve a lace effect and smooth your work with your hands while working.

Finish off (leave approximately 6" length of wire).

Attach your bracelet buckle using the 6" wire tail. Make sure you have no sharp wire end.

Put it through the holes of beads to hide and your bracelet is ready!

If you'd like to smooth your work, place it in between of 2 towels and carefully roll on top with a roller.

Enjoy!

Dressed up vintage wooden hair stick/ shawl pin with dangles DIY

I found this hair pin at an estate sale. I actually thought it's a shawl pin but later on Albina (albinasjewelry) recognized it as a hair pin so I am still in doubt. 

Anyway, during our last get-together we gave it a new life so it became a fancy universal accessory.

It already had 3 loops so we practically just embellished it.

Here is how to make it:

Materials:

• hair stick with 3 loops
• 3 headpins
• 3 cones
• 3 beads
• chain - 3 pieces 1" each

1. Cut a chain into three 1” pieces. 

2. Slide a bead and a cone  into a head pin. 

3. Start making a loop on a top of the cone. Slide a link of the chain into the loop.

 4. Make a wrapped loop looking a chain with a cone. 

 5. Make two more chained cones.

6. Using  your chain nose pliers, open a loop on a hair stick. Slide a last link of the chain. Close a loop. 

7. Attach the rest of the cones.

A great quick project and a very pretty result!

River rock necklace with lobster clasp tutorial

Here is another tutorial from Albina (albinasjewelry) on making simple summer necklace with beach finds.

This time we will use a pre-drilled river rock and will make a lobster clasp ( in our previous tutorial we used a pre-drilled coral and a vintage button for the closure).

So here is what you need to make this necklace:

River rock with a hole (or your favorite focal bead)
Waxed cotton cord, 1.5- 2mm – 1.5 times longer then wanted length of the necklace
Lobster clasp
Jump ring (optional, only if the cord does not fit into the clasp) – 1
Scissors
Fabric glue (optional)

1. Fold the cord in half and insert the folded end into the stone’s hole to form a lark’s head knot. Tighten.

2. Slide the lobster clasp into one of the cord ends*.  Place the clasp ½length of the total necklace plus ½” away from the stone (if your cord has to be 17” long, place the clasp 17”:2+ ½”= 9” away).

3. Make an over-hand knot close to the clasp. You may want to put a drop of fabric glue.

4. Make a fold on another half of the cord using the same measurements. Make an over-hand knot 1cm away from the fold. This will be a loop for the closure.

5. Let the glue dry. Cut of cord tails close to the knot.

* If the cord is too thick and does not fit into the clasp, use a jump ring to attach a cord with a clasp. Keep in mind that extra ring(s) will add extra length to the necklace, so make necessary adjustments.

So your new necklace is ready, enjoy!

Beach finds, natural coral necklace with vintage button tutorial

I always get something from our trips to the beach. An empty shell, a piece of drift wood, a piece of coral or a smooth rock. All these thing will remind me of a day spent by the sea. I already have a small collection of beach finds. I am going to make a shadow box with some of these shells for our living room but some finds are so gorgeous that they can be worn as jewelry. So I made a hole in some rocks and coral and Albina (Albinasjewelry) helped me finish these projects during our last get-together craft party.  The day with Albina was fun and I learned a lot. No wonder, she is a great jewelry instructor!

So here is her tutorial for a natural coral necklace.

 Materials and tools:

Coral bead (or your favorite focal bead)
Large-hole beads – 2
Waxed cotton cord, 2mm – 3 times longer then wanted length of the necklace
Shank button – 1
Ruler
Scissors
Long chain nose pliers (optional)
Fabric glue (optional)

Measure and cut piece of cord. You will need about 3 times longer cord then the length of the necklace (i.e. for 18” necklace you will need 54” cord). Notice, the more knots your design has the longer cord you need. This design has total 8 knots.

1. Fold the cord in half. Pass the folded end of the cord through a large-hole bead, focal bead, a large-hole bead, and a shank button. 

2. Make an over-hand knot 1cm away from the fold. This will be a loop for the closure.

3. For 18” necklace, measure 12” from the loop and place the focal bead (coral) there. Make an over-hand knot on both sides of the coral. Try to place a knot as close as possible to the coral. You may want to use chain nose pliers to push the knot. Now, the center piece is “locked”. 

4. Measure about 3.5” from the coral knot and make another over-hand knot. Slide large-hole bead towards that knot and make another knot “locking” the bead.

5. Repeat step 4 from another side of the coral. You have almost finished necklace now.
6. Fold the necklace in two. Two large-hole beads have to be across each other. Slide the button so it is just above the loop and fold the cords (notice, you will have 4 cords running together). Make an over-hand knot. You may want to put a drop of fabric glue. 

7. Let the glue dry. Cut two ends of the cords close to the knot. 

 Your new OOAK necklace is ready! Please enjoy this how-to tutorial and let us know how you like it when you make one for yourself.