I'm SoCrafty! Upcycled Sushi Tray Earrings (DIY or BUY!)

Upcycled Sushi Tray Earrings: DIY or BUY

Recently I was accepted as a regular contributor to Squidoo's brand new SoCrafty Magazine. I submitted my Sushi Bracelet Tutorial hoping to be included once, and they loved it so much they asked if I would write a monthly craft-related post for their blog! I am so excited about it; I can't believe I forgot to mention it!

My first contribution was a tutorial for earrings made from upcycled plastic sushi containers just like the bracelet. If you want to try your hand at making a pair for yourself, this link will lead you to the entire step-by-step tutorial (with photos).

I think they're pretty cool! I actually listed them for sale in my other Etsy shop, Jezebellamina, along with these super fun long star tassel earrings and large plate necklace.

Other Related Links:

Visit my profile page at SoCrafty, where I share lots of other fun upcycled craft tutorials and ideas.

More Cool Upcycled Jewelry for sale in my Jezebellamina Etsy shop.

Star Tassel upcycled earrings by Jezebellamina on Etsy

Large Plate necklace by Jezebellamina on Etsy

My New Handmade Packaging!

NEW! Click to see my tutorial on how to make your own pillow boxes {+ get a free printable template!}

 
After spending entirely too many hours online shopping for the perfect packaging for my jewelry, I gave up and decided to make my own. If you haven't noticed already, I'm a huge fan of anything DIY, and especially when it solves so many problems with such a simple solution.

✧ I needed something that wouldn't add bulk or weight to affect my shipping prices, or the size of the envelopes I ship my orders in.

✧ I needed something that wouldn't add too much cost to my product. I didn't want to raise prices to accommodate for packaging that isn't optional, but at the same time I wanted to reinforce my branding and make every purchase feel like a special gift!

✧ I didn't want to have to buy in huge quantities to get the lowest prices because not only is it a huge chunk of change up front, but I don't have a lot of space left to store any more boxes of stuff! (You betta belieeeeve I already have a whole room in the house dedicated to jewelry and arts & crafts supplies!)

✧ I wanted a "one size fits all" box of some kind, which of course doesn't really exist...unless you can make one any size you need at the drop of a hat!

✧ I wanted something that didn't add to the inventory I have to keep track of, as far as re-ordering and trying to guess how many I need without overbuying.

These handmade pillow boxes are the perfect fix for all these things, and I   L  ♥  V  E  the way they turned out!

Monday Musings: Peace of Mind

"Promise Yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind."

This line is an excerpt from a poem called "Promises to Yourself" (also known as The Optimist's Creed) by Christian D. Larson.

This week, I am focusing on this mantra. I know it is easy to let outside factors and things outside of our control worry us and cause negative thinking, but ultimately we are the masters of our own minds and should practice a positive outlook even at the worst of times. While we cannot control the things that may happen around us, we can control the way we react to them and how we let them shape our lives.

Things never go exactly as planned, but with presence of mind and clear focus, we can adjust our sails accordingly to stay on course when the winds change directions. And as captains of our own ships, it is our duty to weather these storms with strength and determination, and no matter how rough the seas, keep steering toward the destination we seek.

Hearts & Home; Grand ReOpening Celebration and GIVEAWAY!

I am so excited to help my friend Margaret unveil her brand new, totally redone blog and website, Hearts & Home! It is SO beautiful and she has been working day and night for weeks and weeks and it is a truly fantastic transformation. Aside from a total makeover, the shop has been stocked with tons of new and exciting sewing patterns, handmade historical clothing, kitchenware, and more!

And guess what?  In honor of the Grand ReOpening, I am hosting my very first Blog Giveaway for one of Hearts & Home's most popular items: this Lila Tueller Designs Retro Groovy Bag Pattern! This makes me want to go out and buy a sewing machine and get started right away; isn't it cute??

Lila Tueller Designs Retro 'Groovy" Bag Pattern: FREE for the winner of the
Hearts & Home Grand ReOpening Giveaway!!

Now that you're done squealing with joy, let me tell you how to enter to win this awesome Giveaway Contest!

There are SEVERAL ways to enter and you can enter as many times as you like!  (Certain things will only count once, such as 'liking' the page on Facebook, obviously, but others can be repeated...) Winner will be drawn at random with a number from a random generator, and the comment which corresponds to that number will be announced here (and via email) on Monday, March 5th at 8pm CST (*last entries in by 7:30 pm please!*). Sooooo, in case you didn't get that, the more entries you have, the better your chances of winning!

Each action needs to have its own separate comment in order to be counted as an entry, so each time you do one of the following things, make sure you post a comment at the bottom of this post to let me know whatcha did, and who ya are, so that you're easy to find when you win!

Ok, here goes:

A Gazillion Ways To Enter:
• 'Like' Hearts and Home on Facebook (& tell us your username when you comment here)
• Follow Hearts and Home on Twitter (& tell us your username when you comment here)
• Tweet, post on Facebook, your blog, or Pinterest the link to this giveaway (& tell us your username or URL)
• Tweet or post on Facebook recommending (and tag) Hearts and Home
• Tweet, post, or link in a blogpost to any Hearts and Home product or blog post (& leave your links/username when you comment here)
• Pin on Pinterest any Hearts and Home product or blog post (& link to the pin)
• Leave a comment below telling us what your favorite item from the shop is
• Leave a comment below with a word or two that you feel describes the new Hearts and Home website, or what you like about it!
• Leave a comment on your favorite Hearts and Home blog post (and let us know here too)
• Sign up for the Hearts and Home newsletter (make sure your name or email is attached to your comment)
• Follow Hearts and Home on Pinterest (& tell us your username)
• Follow the Hearts and Home blog
• Leave a comment below telling us what the word "Home" means to you!
• Leave a comment below telling us what you would do with a few more hours in your day

Whew! Are you ready to win?? then get posting, linking, tweeting, blogging, pinning and commenting! (and then come back and do it all again tomorrow :)

About Hearts & Home
In the shop:

A variety of modern sewing patterns to inspire you to create what you love!  Choose from fun designs for various bags, dresses, peasant tops, and skirts. For those who don't want to sew, Hearts and Home offers high quality handmade clothing in Colonial, Pioneer, and Victorian styles with feminine, elegant details. Aprons, slips and petticoats, dresses, nightgowns, and skirts for women and girls, along with fun old-fashioned dress-up clothes for children, sweet gowns, bonnets, and bibs for babies are just a few of the many things you'll find when you visit the new Hearts and Home shop!

On the blog:

A wonderful array of information, inspiration, and tutorials on topics like sewing, gardening baking, and healthy living. The mission at Hearts and Home is to encourage readers to find a way to incorporate the things they love into their daily lives. 

Crushing on Orange Part 2: Tangerine and Gold Styleboard (inspired by Pantone's 2012 Color of the Year)

Here's another styleboard I made to fuel my obsession with Tangerine.  I'm just crazy about orange and am having so much fun adding items to my shop which go along with this gorgeously juicy hue that Pantone named Color of the Year for 2012!

While I do have a few fabulous pieces of orange jewelry that are right on trend for Spring/Summer 2012, I also know that it's nice to spend your fashion budget on accessories that will transcend both seasonal and color trends that we all know can be out just as quickly as they became in. I'm obviously much more willing to spend a little bit more money on the things that I know I'll get a lot of wear out of!

In fact, I know my customers must feel the same way, because these types of everyday fashion basics are my bestsellers! I've incorporated my Signature Large Gold Wire Hoop Earrings and my Gold Wire Stack Bangles into the trendboard below.

Sorry, images on the photo aren't clickable, but there is a list of links to each item after this styleboard. Enjoy!

TANGERINE AND GOLD! Gold is a fabulous accessory to the bright tangerine orange that is sweeping the trends right now

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The Basics:

H&M soft jersey drape-neck top in orange (£7.99, hm.com)
Current/Elliot faded distressed skinny jeans ($208, farfetch.com)

Accessorize!

1. Prism New York matte metal sunglasses in rose gold ($380, openingceremony.us)
2. Small Gold Heart Pendant Necklace ($38, bespangledjewelry.etsy.com)
3. Xena Belt, brown leather ($24.99, modcloth.com)
4. Creative Nail Design lacquer in Electric Orange (Amazon.com)
5. Guerlain L'Or Radiance Concentrate with Pure gold Make-Up Base (Amazon.com)
6. Jimmy Choo Cayla Glitter Fabric Clutch ($1,150, mytheresa.com)
7. Two Lips Helen Bootie in Orange ($69.95, DSW.com)
8. Benefit Cosmetics 24K Sexy Gold lip gloss (sephora.com) 
9. Gold Wire Bangles, set of 3 ($54, bespangledjewelry.etsy.com)
10. Signature Large Gold Wire Hoops, 14k gold fill ($38, bespangledjewelry.etsy.com)

Take a look at Crushing on Orange Part 1 to see 8 fabulous ways to accessorize an everyday outfit with Tangerine!

Crushing on Orange part 1: Tangerine Burst Styleboard (inspired by Pantone's 2012 Color of the Year)

I've been crushing on orange since I saw Krya Sedgwick and Katey Sagal in their beautiful bright citrusy gowns at the Golden Globes last year.  So, needless to say, I was a totally juiced to hear Pantone announce "Tangerine Tango" as the 2012 Color of the Year!

I put together a couple of styleboards representing my interpretations of how to incoporate this hot juicy color into a normal everyday look, including a few of my styles which were inspired by these gorgeous glowing ladies' looks!

Sorry, images on the photo aren't clickable, but there is a list of links to each item after this styleboard. Enjoy!

TANGERINE BURST! Eight fabulous options for that perfect Tangerine Orange pop color to accessorize a basic everyday outfit! 

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Disclaimer: It is my personal and humble opinion (- and by 'humble', I mean, 'expert' - ) that you would really only want to choose one or two of these accessories...and not so much all of them. ~We don't want you looking like Florida exploded or anything.~

The basics:

Fresh Laundry White Racerback V-Neck Tank (£69, the-dressingroom.com)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Womens' Blue Denim Skinny Jeans (£140, vanmildert.com)

Accessorize with Orange:

1. Julyanna's Chunky Orange Oval Stone Necklace ($49.95, fantasyjewelrybox.com)
2. Stella McCartney Skinny Belt ($230, farfetch.com)
3. Single Spike Ring in Peach ($18, topshop.com)
4. Stella McCartney Falabella faux leather shoulder bag ($1,175, net-a-porter.com)
5. Jeffrey Campbell Leather Zup Wedges ($108, ssense.com)
6. Tangerine Tango Orange Beaded Leather Bracelet ($36, bespangledjewelry.etsy.com)
7. Tangerine Indian Summer Chandelier Earrings ($102, bespangledjewelry.etsy.com)
8. Jennie Heart Shades in Tangerine ($18, shopcalico.com)

Hey! Check out Crushing on Orange part 2 to see my Tangerine & Gold styleboard!

Inspiration:

Pantone Color of the Year 2012:
Tangerine Tango color swatch

Kyra Sedgwick and Katey Sagal in beautiful tangerine
shades and gold accessories (Golden Globes 2011)

5 Crafty Fun Things to Do with Mardi Gras Beads

I'm sure most of us are probably recovering from a crazy night out on Bourbon Street last night, wondering what we're going to do with the huge heap of gaudy plastic beads we're not really sure how we ended up with in the first place...right?

...Or, more realistically, we're surveying the living room, wondering how these beads managed to get strewn all over the place and why exactly teachers feel the need to give each kid twenty of these things to bring home anyway.

Now, even if you're not a huge fan of the purple, green, and gold color combo that signifies Fat Tuesday (which, incidentally I find to be a rather harsh moniker and believe that Tuesday's personal preference would be something more along the lines of "Big-Boned Tuesday" or "Tuesday with a Thyroid Problem", or even just "there's more of Tuesday to love"), don't give up on these hideous beads just yet.

I want you to consider one very important fact: you can spray paint these guys any color you want so don't worry! You don't necessarily have to be stuck with something that looks like a King Cake threw up when you're finished.

Now, without further ado, I will proceed to blow your mind with some amazing ideas I found (on Pinterest, of course...where else?) for using those ugly things and transforming them into something beautiful!

5 Crafty Fun Things to Do with Mardi Gras Beads:

1.) Melt them!

This first one is a bowl made with melted/ fused recycled Mardi Gras Beads from Green is Universal. This is so cool!  The link doesn't have an actual step-by-step tutorial, but if you watch the video you can get the gist and if you feel comfortable melting plastic in your own oven, maybe play around with it!

This next one much has better tutorial qualities and more info regarding melting temperature, etc. FilthWizardry makes lovely Christmas tree ornaments by melting Mardi Gras Beads in muffin pans!

2.) Make a chandelier!  

This yellow one is my favorite but unfortunately there are no how-to instructions for it.  However, the others do have step-by-step guides so it shouldn't be to hard to figure out:

                                                                   Source: mylittleapartment.blogspot.com 

Style for Style offers a tutorial for this Gold Chandelier (follow the link then click on her "last chandelier makeover" link for instructions).

And Gus and Lula have step-by-step DIY instructions for this lovely turquoise chandelier:

                                                                              

3.) make a wreath!  

This post by Sew In Love has a great tutorial for making your own Mardi Gras bead wreath:

                                                            

4.) Make Seasonal decorations 

or just general home decor. (Remember, you can paint them any color you want, so have fun!)  This is a 

guest post by Less Cake {More Frosting!} on the eighteen25 blog for some Halloween decorations!

                                                                  

5.) Make a Tray! 

This one is used as a boot rest in a mud room. (Find the tutorial by MetalAndMud here) How cool!

I hope you've enjoyed these Five Fun and Crafty Ways to use Mardi Gras Beads! I'd love to hear your creative ideas too!