Janet of All Trades

The entire month of March it has been cold and snowy. I have been so ready for spring, but Mother Nature has other plans. So my favorite way to dress up my boring winter attire with a little spring, is to add bright print scarf.... And one of my many Button,Paper and Bead Pendants. They are the perfect Blah winter clothes freshen up! And a new way to show off some of my new Key Creations! Enjoy!

St Patrick's day is one of my favorite holidays. It's not only a day for me to celebrate being Irish but also celebrate the day that I met my husband. There was a little bit of luck in the air that day. So commerate it this year, I have created the Luck of Irish Bracelet. I started by collecting a few things to create my bracelet. Pearl Beads since they are my birthstone. Emerald colored beads to represent the Emerald Isle. Gold beads from the Leprechaun's pot. and embroidery floss in gold and green. Next I followed the tutorial found at Freejewelrymaking  to create my three bracelets. Super easy and quick to create.  A three strand stunner in about and hour. My Luck of the Irish bracelet! Enjoy!

This past weekend I participated in my third craft show and premiered my new Dominoes and Key pendants. There were over 200 Craft booths and a huge basket raffle to benefit the Ben Franklin Elementary PTA. And the best seller was my Necktie Cuffs with Key and Button embellishments. I took them at the last minute thinking they would be a good addition to my wares. It was a good show and I discovered this talented young man, creating items out of old paper,maps and frames. He is Joshua Fraass and had the most interesting items and his display. Well I can't even describe it since the photo can only do that.  He only creates items from things he can recycle and they are amazing. And his display was utter eye candy perfection. Paper and vintage together. and a little bit of burlap. I was in recycled heaven. He also sells at a two local stores, so if you are in the Western New York area, Check his creations out at Patricia's Back Barn,...

I am not a huge fan of Heart jewelry but the closer it gets to Valentines Day my opinion seems to change. So I decided to make a little necklace out of some recycled telephone wire and leather strips. To start the heart I cut two piece of telephone wire about 18" Long. Next I used a Glitter Heart as my template for the shape of the heart and bent the wire accordingly. For the center of the Heart I twisted the two wires together about 5 times. You can do this with your hand or you can use a pair of pliers. I then shaped the bottom of the heart by twisting the ends together Then I wound the extra back up over the twist to form knob. I then added a little leather cord and it was done.  I made a second one by stringing a few faux pearls on the wire and wrapping the leather cord in between.  They are so easy and inexpensive to make. Just add a few pearls..  And you have a cute and fun Valentines Necklace! Enjoy!

I have been busy making jewelry and pendants over the last few weeks and have created a few easy pendant cords that can make any pendant look good for just a few pennies. They are all very simple and only use a few supplies that you might already have The first one is a satin cord with spring ring closure. I started with a roll of statin cord,crimp ends and pliers. I cut the statin cord to about 18" long since this seems to be the correct length for a pendant. Then I laid the cord in the end and crimped I crimped the other end the same way and I was almost done. I then added a spring ring and jump ring for the closure. It was done! For the Second cord I took a length of Leather and a bead. I then threaded the bead on to the leather.  Then tied a knot on each end. Lastly I tied a loop on one end and made sure that they bead fit thru snuggly. The Last cord was made from super skinny ribbon and a button Cut to 20 inches so to leave enoug...

I have been feverishly preparing for numerous Jewelry shows coming up in the next few months Hoping I have enough Pendants and Necklaces to get me thru each show. It has made the Winter much more fun since I lock myself away in my Studio with heat blasting. How you can follow me on Facebook and see what I have been working on for the last few weeks. Follow me here at  Janetofalltrades Enjoy!

There is something about Yarn Pom Poms that makes me very nostalgic. I remember making them as a child with washers from my Father's tool bench. And after making them for Elf hats, it made me want to make more since they are fun,easy and somewhat like Snowballs. I started with just a few things I had in my craft room. Some white and green yarn, MDF Wreath form (not used for Christmas) and some cardboard. Next I cut the cardboard in to 2",3" and 4" wide rectangles and cut a split line half way to the center of each size. Next I cut and inserted a piece of yarn about folded about 12 inches long in to the split and then started to wrapping yarn around the a cardboard. Once this is done, I tied the 12 inch yarn around the wrapped yarn and tied a lose knot. I then started to cut along the top and pull the knot tighter. Once the top was done, I cut the bottom and slowly pulled it off the cardboard. I kept tightening the knot and making sure no yard cam...