Valentine Necklace from Gail at Purple Hues and Me!

Hi everyone, I'm Gail @Purple Hues and Me and I'm thrilled to be doing my first ever guest post on Inspiration Cafe.  Danni of Silo Hill Farm has been with me from the very start of my blogging - inspiring me and always offering words of encouragement. I'm sure you all will join me in saying that's one of the things we love most about Danni.  Always being there for us!  

I love crafting and am always trying to come up with a new version of what has already been done. As in life, what goes around, comes around, or what's old is new again.  For this post I want to show you my take on a .  .  .


Valentine Safety Pins and Beads Necklace

Just about everyone has seen some sort of jewelry made out of safety pins.   You can find lots of choices on the net.  I think beaded safety pin jewelry is an easy way to personalize a holiday such as Valentine’s Day.  How cute it would be to dress up for your sweetie wearing something made by you for that special occasion.  You can pick out the exact color of beads you want to match your outfit or go with the traditional red, pink and white beads like I did.


 For this necklace, you will need:

     

·        1 Large Safety Pin

·        2 Medium Safety Pins

·        4 Small Safety Pins

·        40 Assorted smaller beads

·        18 Large beads

·        1 elastic cord approximately 30 inches long - you can cut later to fit

  
The dollar store carries a pkg of 175 asst. safety pins. This would cost $8.99 at a craft or fabric store.


1.      Arrange the safety pins on your work surface with the largest pin between the two medium pins, with two small pins beside the medium pins.

 2.      Starting with the largest pin, open and arrange the beads how you would like them to look, centering one of the large beads between the smaller beads. Put on as many beads possible (I used 8) and close the pin.

 3.     Place 6 small beads on each of the two medium beads, making them identical.  I used a slightly larger bead in the center of the five remaining beads for these pins. 

4.     Place 5 small beads on each of the four small pins making them identical.

5.     Make sure your pins are arranged in the exact order as stated in #1.

6.     Thread the cord with three of the large beads, next, pass the cord through the hole on the end of the small safety pin, thread two more large beads, one small pin, two large beads, one medium pin, two large beads, one large pin, etc., continuing in the arranged order until you have strung all of the large beads and pins.

 7.     Tie a knot on each end of the cord, or for a more finished look, attach a short chain on each end of the knotted cord and add a clasp.  Ta Da! You're done! 

Making your own variation with different beads, this safety pins and beads necklace is a great signature piece for any Valentine Festivities!


I want to thank Danni and the Inspiration Cafe Team for allowing me this wonderful opportunity to do a guest post.  They are truly awesome!

Take a little time to enjoy,
 

FRENCH TOILE FRAME -

Welcome to the Inspiration Cafe today!  Danni here from Silo Hill Farm sharing yet another Valentine project.  Really, I cannot help myself....I love Valentine's Day and my house is full of it!  Probably because it's about the only time pinks and reds sneak into my decor!  I have said before that my style is kind of all over the place, but I seem to find something I like in every style and see no reason to settle on just one...or two...or more.  Todays project is a frame with a French Toile theme.

 Now for me, a little bit of French Toile print goes a long way because it's so very busy, so I'm just using a little bit.
I don't buy very much pretty paper from the craft stores, in fact, I almost never do.  I have another awesome source for paper and I'm sharing my secret with you today.  Are you ready to hear it?.......
I pick up old wall paper sample books from the wall paper stores.  Really...they throw them away and most of them will be happy to give them to you.  I have 3 huge sample books and between them, I have an infinite supply of all kinds of paper, textured, solids, prints, paintable, etc.  It's an amazing source and I use them in most of my projects that call for pretty paper, like this one here today.  The design in the heart is a piece of French Toile wall paper sample.  The paper surrounding it is from a sample of coordinating wall paper.  Wall paper sample books usually have matching papers side-by-side.  
Here are the supplies I used to make this cute little frame.....

 The little MDF heart frame set me back a whole $1.39 at Hobby Lobby when they had 30% off of all Valentine's crafts and decor. I like it because it's a stand up frame.  It comes with a little peg that fits in the back that allows it to stand.
Using just a small amount, I painted the wooden edges that would be exposed. 

I cut a little template from the heart and selected a piece of that beautiful toile paper that I liked to cover it with.  I chose the little hot air balloon because I've never been in one, but I want to!  (Wouldn't that be the most romantic Valentine's Day....a picnic, a bottle of wine...the French countryside?)
I used Mod Podge like a glue to attach the paper to both the frame and the heart template.  (A bonus to using wall paper...it's a little thicker than regular paper and doesn't bubble up when using the Mod Podge!)  I put the heart piece on the back of the frame which has little clips just like a photo frame to hold it in.  Almost done!

My favorite part of any project is the embellishment and since this was a French themed frame, I opted for opulence.  I used some thick brocade ribbon, pearl bead trim, some tiny silk ribbon and a silk bow.  All attached with some Alene's Tacky Glue... my favorite go-to adhesive.  (hello Alene's I plug you enough...send me some!)  
I thought maybe I was done, but being a Valentine's project and all, I just couldn't resist throwing in a couple of hearts that I made using this teeny tiny heart punch.

 And then I stopped....because less is more, even with French opulence!   

 C'est très beau n'est-ce pas?  (Oh yes...crafting with French Toile wall paper makes you speak French!!)  Since I had everything to make this, the only cost was the frame at $1.39.  Yay!


Linking up:
 

Saturday Weekly Wrap Up 3

 Hey Everyone, hope you have all had a great week,

Check out what we've been up to this week....

Natalie...NorthShore Days

Wooden Valentine Chimes

Mary...Sweet Little Bluebird

 Tried & True Tuesday ~ Breakfast Potato Skins

Heather ...The Beating Hearth Valentine's Wallhanging

Best Mini Pigs in a Blanket

Danni ...Silo Hill Farm

 Burlap and Gingham Heart

Tongue in Cheek Tuesday! - A Resolution I SHOULD Have Made

 Mel...Mellywood's Mansion

Guest Post - Danni from Silo Hill Farm 

Wet Your Pants Wednesday #13

Tongue in Cheek Tuesday - Resolutions I Should Have Made

This Is Me - A Self Portrait

And, it was Heather's turn at the Cafe this week, she shared these delicious

Vanilla Shortbread Cookies with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Frosting

We hope you have been inspired this week. 

Take care and have a great weekend, don't forget to follow us on Facebook,

 

xxx

Nat, Mary, Heather, Danni and Mel

 

Inspiration Cafe is looking for guest posters and contributors. If you would like to guest please let us know, we would love to have you. If you would prefer a feature instead, feel free to drop us a line. New or old posts welcome.

Tough Love Leather Earrings

Hola! My name is Vanina and I am from Argentina. I am a stay-at-home mother of a beautiful girl, Paloma. I live in a funky home in Oakland, CA, with my husband Michael, my dog Juancho and Bob The Super Cat.

I make stuff with my hands that make me and other people happy, reusing and salvaging things as much as I can to make good for the planet. I believe that you can boost your happiness through creativity!

I created Mother Crafter to share fun tutorials, stimulus, and information(in English and Spanish) about living a design-conscious life on a low budget. And to keep me sane while staying at home. Ha!

I hope you will find creative ways to enhance your lifestyle in this blog and feel inspired by it.

Fourteen days to Valentine's Day. Whaaaaat?! I started my annual DIY Valentine series with these leather heart earrings I made with scraps of leather and Gilder's Paste my craft fairy sent me (that would be my aunt Melissa). I confess I haven't heard of Gilders Paste before she introduced it to me, but I found it very interesting! I definitely want to experiment more with it in the future. These earrings are pretty easy to make and they will be the perfect companion to a leather jacket, or a rocker outfit . You will need:

• A leather scrap.
• Gilders Paste.
• A punch or leather needle.
• Chain, jump rings and earring hooks.
• Jewelry tools

 

 Cut four hearts out of the leather. Apply Gilders Paste to them. Do not use a lot, just a tab in your finger will go a long way. If you want a distressed look you can rub the paste with different intensity in different places. Let it dry. Note that the instructions says you can polish it for a shinier look, but I didn't.

 

Make a hole with the punch or the needle. I made holes in the center for two of the hearts and for the other two I did it in the right corner side. Now cut your chain to the length you want (mine are 3 inches and 1 ½ inches, two of each). Connect the hearts to the end of the chains with jump rings. Lastly, connect them to the hooks.

 




 You are done! I think they came up pretty cool! They have a tough chick look.
  
 

Thank you for letting me share with you today. I hope you’ll swing by to check out my blog! You can also find me on Facebook and Pinterest!