Candy Corn inspired Perler Bead Bracelet 2

Yesterday I shared how I made a  candy corn inspired perler bead bracelet.  Today I'll share how I made this slightly more complicated version.

While both bracelets were inspired by candy corn, the second one is my favorite.  It's graphic and quirky, just perfect to wear this upcoming month.

Materials:

• Perler beads
• Scissors
• Elastic Cord (I used a thin 0.5 mm elastic cord for these bracelets, but a thicker cord would have been better to use because it's easier to string the beads with and the finished bracelet feels sturdier.)

Directions:

1.  Cut out about 40 inches of cord.  (It really doesn't matter what length you use.  You'll just end up tying on more cording later.)  Tie on a bead to act as a stopper.  (Again, it doesn't matter what color you choose because you'll end up removing this bead at the end.)

2.  String on six black beads.  I labeled the beads with numbers to help out with steps 3 and 4.   These six will be your first column of beads.

3.  Now you're going to add your second column of beads.  Add on a yellow bead (#7).  Then,slip your string through your #5 bead.  Add another black bead (#8).  Then, slip your string through your #3 bead .  Then, add another black bead (#9).  Then, slip your string through your #1 bead.   Then, pull tight.

These two columns are the basis for the rest of your bracelet.  See how some portions of the bracelet jut out and some portions of the bracelet don't?  As you continue to build your bracelet, you'll alternate between adding a bead to fill in a gap, and stringing your cord through the next bead that juts out.
 
 

4.   Now we're going to string one candy corn.   Remember to pull your string tight after stringing each column of beads.

Column 3: Add a black bead, string through  #9 black bead, add a  black bead, string through #8 black bead, add a yellow bead, string through #7 yellow bead 

(From now on, I'll just tell you what color beads to add.  But remember to alternate between adding a new bead and stringing through a bead that's jutting out.)

Column 4: Yellow, orange, black
Column 5: Black, orange, yellow

Column 6:  Yellow, orange, orange
Column 7: White, orange, yellow
Column 8:  Yellow, orange, orange

Column 9:  Black, orange, yellow
Column 10:  Yellow, orange, black
Column 11 :  Black, black, yellow

Column 12:  Yellow, black, black
Column 13:  Black, black, black
Column 13:  Black, black, black

 Now you've got your first candy corn strung.  High five!  Keep going and continue to follow the pattern.  If you run out of cord, no worries!  Just tie on another strand.

Soon you'll get a long bracelet like this:  (The ending section contains more black because I knew I wouldn't be able to add on a whole candy corn.)

5.  Now make sure that (1) it fits your wrist and (2) both ends fit together like zipper teeth.  Then, string your cord through both sides of the bracelet and pull tight.  Remove the stopper bead and tie your beginning and ending cords together. 


And you're done!  Happy beading!

DIY Candy Corn Perler Bead Bracelet 1

Are y'all going Halloween crazy yet?  (Or is it just me?)

Last weekend I took Chuck to Target and we had a blast seeing all the costumes and decorations.   Doesn't matter how many times I've seen a dancing skeleton or singing skull, this stuff never gets old.  I guess I'm a kid at heart because Halloween is my very favorite holiday.

So that's why I'm super excited to share this craft with you.  I went a bit crazy with my perler beads and designed two candy corn inspired bracelets.  Today I'm sharing the simpler design with you.  If you like this one, head on back tomorrow to see how I made the more complicated one.  

Here's a photo of my candy corn inspired bracelet: 

Materials:

• Perler beads
• Scissors
• Elastic Cord (I used a thin 0.5 mm elastic cord for these bracelets, but honestly a thicker cord is better to use because it's easier to string the beads with and the finished bracelet feels sturdier.)

Directions:

1.  Cut out about 40 inches of cord.  (Honestly, it doesn't matter what length you initially use.  You'll just end up tying on more cording later.)  Tie on a bead to act as a stopper.  (I used a black bead.  It doesn't matter what color you choose because you'll end up removing this bead at the end.) 

2.  String on 

• white bead (#1 bead) 
• white bead (#2 bead)
• orange bead (#3 bead)
• orange bead (#4 bead)
• yellow bead (#5 bead)
• yellow bead (#6 bead)

(I labeled the beads with numbers to help out with step 3.) These six will be your first column of beads.

3.  Now you're going to add your second column of beads.  Add on a yellow bead (#7).  Then,slip your string through your #5 yellow bead.  Add an orange bead (#8).  Then, slip your string through your #3 orange bead .  Then, add a white bead (#9).  Then, slip your string through your #1 white bead.   Then, pull tight.

 Now you've got the basis for the rest of your bracelet.  See how some portions of the bracelet jut out and some portions of the bracelet don't?  As you continue to build your bracelet, you'll alternate between adding a bead to fill in the gaps, and stringing your cord through the beads that jut out.

4.  Let's add the fourth and fifth columns. 

• Column 4:  Add a white bead.  Slip your string through the jutting out white bead.  Add an orange bead.  Slip your string through the jutting out orange bead.  Add a yellow bead. Slip your cord through the jutting out yellow bead.  Pull tight.

• Column 5:  Add a yellow bead.  Slip your string through the jutting out yellow bead.  Add an orange bead. Slip your string through the jutting out orange bead.  Add a white bead. Slip your string through the jutting out white bead.  Pull tight.

Keep going and continue to follow the pattern.  Add a bead and then slip your string through a bead that's jutting out.  Keep pulling your string tight after adding each column of beads.  If you run out of cord, no worries!  Just tie on another strand.

Soon you'll get a long bracelet like this:

Now make sure that (1) it fits your wrist and (2) both ends fit together like zipper teeth.  Then, string your cord through both sides of the bracelet and pull tight.  Remove the stopper bead and tie your beginning and ending cords together.

Tada!  Done. And that's how you make a simple candy corn inspired perler bead bracelet.  Like it?  If so, come back tomorrow to see how I made a slightly more complicated candy corn bracelet.

Happy beading! 

Maker Faire 2013 (Part 1)

Hi everyone!  How was your weekend?

This weekend we visited the Maker Faire held at the New York Hall of Science.  It's a yearly two-day festival where tons of "makers" (crafters, hobbyists, tech lovers, engineers, etc..) showcase what they've made.

The faire is advertised as the "greatest show and tell on earth."  Oh boy, it definitely lived up to that title.  We visited the faire for about four hours... and only saw about about half of the exhibits.  Crazy, right?  Not going to lie...it was difficult maneuvering through all the exhibits with a super active two year old... but I really am thankful that we were able to attend.  It was truly awesome to see so many people passionate about making things with their hands.   I left feeling quite inspired (and exhausted...oof). 

Here are some photos from the day:

Tiny race cars!

This bus brings green space to urban dwellers.

Some toy makers sold their toys there

These robots moved and spoke

Music created by people's text messages

P9218754.AVI from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.

Super cute mini toy that you could create with your kids

Allergic to dogs?  Ever consider a robot dog?  (Chuck loved following this guy around)

Cardboard Spaceship Climbing Toy

Currently Chuck and I have been reading books about the moon and space travel.  He loves the Berenstein Bears "On the Moon" book and Eric Carle's "Papa, please get the moon for me." 

So with that in mind, I made him a little cardboard spaceship climbing toy.  I found some lovely examples online and one of the mommies in our toddler group made a very simple version out of paper.  So, I based my design off of these.        

To operate the toy, you simply attach the moon to the wall or a doorknob.  Then, you pull the two brown tabs apart and your spaceship shoots straight to the moon.

Materials:

• Cardboard box
• Scissors
• String
• Paint and paint brushes
• Mod Podge and brush (to protect your paint job)
• Packing tape
• Straw 

Directions:
This was a really quick and simple toy to make.
1.  Cut out your spaceship, moon, and two small rectangular stopper pieces out of cardboard.
2.  Paint your spaceship and moon.
3.  Once the paint dries, protect your paint job with Mod Podge.
4.  Cut your straw in half.  Tape it to the back of your spaceship.
5.  Fold your long piece of string in half.  Tape the middle of the string to the back of your moon.  Then, string your two strands through the two straws.  Tape the ends of  string to your cardboard rectangles so that the spaceship doesn't fall off.

Here's a shot of the mechanics: 

And that's it.  Simple to make, and simple to use.  You don't even have to make a spaceship and a rocket.  What about an alien spaceship and earth?  Or a basketball player and a basket?  The possibilities are endless.

We went this route, and Chuck got a kick out of sending his cardboard rocket to the moon.


Cardboard Rocket Ship sent to the moon from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.


And then, since I was working with cardboard already.... I figured I'd make Chuck some cardboard food as well.  All that flying sure gives an astronaut a hearty appetite. 

Have a wonderful weekend!  See you back on Monday.


Psst-  If you've got a ton of cardboard lying around... check out these fun kids' crafts that use cardboard:

• Cardboard and Styrofoam Picture Frame
• Cardboard Camera
• Cardboard taxi bank
• Cardboard rattle-drum 
• Cardboard guitar 
• Cereal Box elephant
• Cereal Box giraffe

Jimmy Choo inspired glitter sunglasses

Sometimes I find myself staring at really expensive things... and then wondering if I could somehow get the same look for less.  For example, I saw these pairs of Jimmy Choo sunglasses and loved their fun, glittery vibe. 

But then I saw their price tags and almost had a heart attack.  Oy vey!  A couple hundred for a pair of sunglasses?

Too rich for my blood.

With a little bit of elbow grease, glittery nail polish, and painters tape, I turned a pair of free job fair sunglasses (hooray for job fair freebies!) into this...

Not bad, right?  Ideally I should have used a pair of all black sunglasses, but I had these on hand and made them work. 

I covered the lenses in painters tape to protect them.  Then, I went to town painting the frames with some leftover glittery nail polish.  Once the nail polish dried, I removed the tape and voila!  Glittery Jimmy Choo-esque sunglasses.

Here's what my sunglasses looked like before:

 

And once again, here's what they look like bling-a-fied:

So.... whaddya think?  Would you glitter-afy your sunglasses?