Pony Bead Love

Jeanne used to make a lot of animals and such from pony beads. The last time she visited, we got all the beads out and dreamed a bit. She took a few home to make a project. That inspired me.

I've never done much with plastic pony beads, so I thought I'd try to learn to make a little heart. I found this tutorial on YouTube and followed it to make my beads.


The first heart I made (the red one) I used a flat plastic/nylon string to string the beads. The video shows how you cut the string and tie it in a knot. Then start a second string. Well, this flat string was thick and left an unsightly knot there on the right ... and another  on the bottom. (Click the image to see a larger version. The knots are very apparent.)

I tried the second heart (the pink one) about three times using three different string. None worked well. So then I tried a thin gold beading wire. Though it shows through the beads more than I'd like, it worked well.

Pony Bead Hearts

For the third heart (the blue one), I wanted to time how long it took to make. About 20 minutes. I was considering making these hearts and leaving them in geocache treasure boxes as my personal signature. That 20 minutes is a bit too much effort for my intended purpose, so I'll leave this project alone for the time being. 

It was fun to learn to do this peyote stitch pony bead project, though. It gets my hands twitching to do some seed bead projects again.

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Dotty Dispenser

It's been quite a while since I've done an AuralArtists Extra! But here we go!

I transformed my old boring soap dispensers...

...into much cooler texturey and polka dotty dispensers!

TA-DA!!!

This red polka dot dispenser now graces my kitchen, a much less expensive and much more personalized alternative to just going out and buying a new one.

You can see the full DIY at my personal blog.

This was a fun & easy project - it took probably half an hour for both dispensers, and I'm so proud of how they look now!

Cheers!

Pokey Little Hearts

While wandering through boards on Pinterest, I came across these wonderful hearts made by poking a pin through paper. Oh! They caught my fancy!

So I grabbed some blank cards from my stash, my poking tool, and several heart-shaped cookie cutters and stamps.

 And I poked.

And I poked.

 And I poked. This last one is my favorite.

This is one of the simplest crafts I've done lately and oddly satisfying beyond what you'd imagine after poking paper for a few hours. Do click the images to see the detail and texture. 

Then, if you get the urge, SPLURGE!

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Welcome Home

The Fragrance of Home

A pretty bouquet was waiting for my hubby when he got home from his long weekend in Missoula.

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Origami Heart

I found a tutorial on YouTube for making a heart from a folded paper square.
Here's the process.

A square of paper

Fold lengthwise

Fold widthwise

Fold bottom edge to middle fold

Turn over. Make an airplane fold.

Turn over. Fold in the sides.

Fold top corners to center

Fold top point to bottom point
keeping the center portions 3-D

Open up and flatten out the centers

Tuck the upper point into the pocket of the lower point

Fold outer corners in

Fold down top points. Turn over.

Completed Heart

The video was very easy to follow. Take a look:

Steam (He)art

When all four of us were together earlier this summer, we brainstormed ideas we could use for our group challenges. One idea that was raised was to make "steam art." In other words, act like a kid when a window gets all steamed up and draw pictures on the glass with your fingers.

After Jeanne took a shower, the mirror was all steamed up. So she and I started to play.

Vine in the Mist

It was really hard to get any sort of decent photo due to the strange lighting in the bathroom, not to mention the swiftly evaporating steam. But with a bit of photo manipulation (desaturate, increase contrast, find edges, soften, etc.), I was able to get this image.

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More Rock Hearts

I went into the woods with my new camera today and found another heart-shaped rock.

Heart Rock 2a

Then I played with the image in my photo editing program. This negative version is fun!

Heart Rock 2b

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