All Things Pretty Necklace Review

NOTE:  A lot has gone on in our break.  The biggest one to affect this blog is the Mule of  MnN Crafts just recently left to serve an 18 month mission for the {Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints} in Taipei, Taiwan.

Our whole family is really excited & her desire to serve has re-inspired me to start blogging about my crafting endeavors again.  One of the reasons I got into this was the digital ability to share ideas with others who are looking.  So, long story short--- I'm back!

I figure the best way to come back is to write a review for my fabulous new necklace from {All Things Pretty}.

 Danesa, over at ATP  contacted me about a month ago to see if I'd do this review & what kind of jewelry I like.  I gave her an over-complicated task of finding something that I loved.  And she did it.

This is the {Suzanne} Necklace.  It's seriously adorable. (Don't mind my pose & wierdo nature).

I think my favorite part about his necklace is that I can wear it two ways.

I love versatility in jewelry.  And All Thing Pretty is definitely versatile; I know it sounds SUPER corny, but there really is something for everyone.  This is perfect place to find a Mother's Day gift (hint, hint).

Check them out on {Pinterest}, {Facebook}, or on their {website}.  You won't be disappointed; as you can clearly tell my pensive 'yay for my new necklace' pose. 

DISCLAIMER:  I was given this necklace for free to write a review.  These are all my own opinions, yada, yada, yada.  :)

Danesa also has a great blog called {The Pink Senorita}.  You should check that out, as well.

Yet Another Polymer Clay Adventure

This time the polymer madness started because I had an idea for some book charms... and then I kept going. Some of these things I will put on my Etsy shop. I don't think the last two pictures are going to make it on there. One had copyrighted characters and the other picture has some not-so-original ideas.

This dragon matches the Maroon and Gold one from the last polymer adventures. I wanted to use up the glass stones that I have. It just happened that they're going on a Harry Potter color theme. I think I'll have to continue with it. ;)

Hungry like a Zombie?

I had these little bowls from the last time and didn't know what I was going to do with them then. I wanted to make something kind of gross and weird. I think this fits the bill.

Berry Deadly Lollies

These go along with the other Deadly Lollies. This time they look as though they can be berry flavored.

The Bibliophile's Charm

 I'm a self-proclaimed bibliophile and I like it when I find another. I really like to talk about books that I'm reading or interested in. It's fun to talk to other writers, as well. I figured making a charm to declare so would be perfect.

Book Genre Charms

These are the charms that got me going on this latest polymer endeavor. I drew up some little images that I thought would convey certain genres and stories. I'm open to other ideas.

These are the charms that I'm not going to put on Etsy... well, Jack and Sally for sure. I don't like the idea of making a profit on copyrighted characters. It doesn't seem right to me. But I like to make them as gifts for friends/family. The ice cream and candycane bunch just didn't seem all that original to put up. I even debated putting them up here on the blog, but I figured what the heck?

Crafted by Mule (Megan).

Star & Stripes Necklace

Diamond Glaze and I have a love/hate relationship. I LOVE what it creates, yet hate how it doesn't work for me. Every time I'd try to make a cute necklace pendant, the glaze would bubble and... grr... we just don't get along.

I'm slightly determined, so I bought circle pendants on sale a while ago, telling myself I'd try the necklace again. The problem was I could never really pump myself up to trying it again, mostly because I couldn't come up with a cute idea that I absolutely HAD to try.

Until the Fourth of July and it's patriotic beauty came around. I grabbed my pack of pendants and tried again.

This time, it worked.

Stars & Stripes Necklace

Gather It:

• blank necklace pendant
• scrapbook paper
• scissors
• diamond glaze
• needle

Create it:

1. Basically, trace the correctly-sized pendant circle onto the scrapbook paper and cut it out. I thought it would be great to have one Star and one Stripes pendant---hence the name of the necklace. I know, rocket science.
2. Trim until it fits in the pendant and place it in flat in the pendant. Make sure there is no space between the back of the paper and front of the pendant.
3. VERY VERY slowly drip the glaze into the pendant, until the pendant is full. Make sure not to get any bubbles because they will dry as bubbles (ask me how I know).
4. Wait overnight to dry, then string onto chain, ribbon, whatever you want to put around your neck. Enjoy!

Birthday Gifts & Another Giveaway

My best friend's daughter turned two last week, so I made her a few presents:

A reusable Sticker book. I used{THIS} tutorial from {Samster Mommy}. It was really easy to make; in fact, I need to make my kiddos one too! The only thing I did different was the ribbon binding. Instead of using thin ribbon around each page I used my glue gun and a wide-ribbon (1 1/2 or wider) to fold it over to do two at once.

I also made her some felt bracelets:
I got the idea {HERE}, but didn't follow the tutorial at all. I wanted to make the bracelets more durable (they are for a toddler after all), so I doubled up the felt and used snaps instead. I also used a little bit of Heat 'n Bond to attach ribbon as well. I finished each off with a simple {blanket stitch}. When she grows out of them, she (or her mommy) can use them as bookmarks!

Finally, one of my FAVORITE craft blogs is giving away my soon-to-be FAVORITE tool--- the Silhouette, check out the giveaway {HERE} or just enjoy Somewhat Simple {HERE}.

Fast 'n Easy Hooded Towels

A couple nights ago---for thirty minutes TOTAL--- I made these for my kids:

Hooded Towels!

All you need is: one large towel, one hand towel, matching thread and sewing notions.

I mostly followed {THIS} tutorial from {Make 'n Takes}.

MY CHANGES:
I (my husband) ripped the seam out of the top of the hand towel and that's where I sewed for the top of the hood. Then I pulled opposite corners together and sewed across the top to create a flat top---instead of a pointed one.
I also sewed right sides together since I had a raw edge.
I used the leftover half to create the first letter of each of my kid's names.

The finished project is really large on a toddler/baby, but they'll grow into it. And, what a perfect baby shower gift for all of us who have expecting friends (and even the older siblings too)!

Really easy, really fast and now my kids have towels that aren't ones we've been using since our newlywed days.

New TLS Technique

I found a new technique for TLS (for me that is) I thought it would be perfect to make some easy and cool looking polymer clay goodies. I first had to think of things that I would want to do with the technique; and then it hit me. This is what came out of my recent polymer clay madness.

Since I'm a fan of The Hunger Games Trilogy and with the upcoming release of Mockingjay, I thought it would be perfect to make some things for me and other fans to have for the celebrations. I started with easier thing first and then went on to the harder stuff. These are what I made for The Hunger Games. (The first two will show up in my upcoming Etsy shop.)

Book charms.

Mockingjay pendant.

Trilogy bracelet.

Book thong.

Katniss' mockingjay pin.

I also did some other charms using the same technique. These are things that will shop up in my upcoming Etsy shop. I also liked how these turned out.

Twilight Saga book charms.

Legend of Zelda pendants. Logo and heart container.

Fast 'n Easy Jewelry

This week I added a few new items to my jewelry collection.

For the bracelet, I used a tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets {HERE}. The only difference for my bracelet is I tied knots in between my beads. I also made sure the beads wouldn't pop out by putting a dab of FabriTac on each of them.

I used {THIS} tutorial from Smashed Peas and Carrots for the rings. I loved how they turned out. I used mod podge for the cover coat and instead of getting a cover button kit, I got the snap together buttons in the same size.

I LOVE how these turned out and they were super inexpensive to make. Just another craft to be addicted to. :)

Crochet Flower Bracelet

I stayed up late last night because I could and made this. My roommate is getting married later on in the summer and is having a bridal shower before everyone goes home. I wasn't sure what I would be able to do for her since I don't have a lot of money. As I was watching YouTube I discovered bead crochet. (That isn't part of this because I don't have a hook small enough. Later projects in the future hopefully.) Since I couldn't get that to work with my hook I started playing with my string and thought of making a bracelet. Then came the flower idea and using the beaded star in the middle. I think that it turned out pretty nicely.

Wedding Gifts

My cousin, Carlee, is getting married today and having a reception tomorrow. I thought that I would make her and her husband some gifts since I don't have a lot of money. Her's was the easiest to come up with since I didn't know anything about Eric. I think I figured out something pretty generic that he'll like.

I first made Carlee's gift. Since she's a hairstylist, I thought that a headband would be nice for her. I decided to go with a three-layer flower that alternated some color. (I found out how to make this flower on YouTube a while a go.) I figured out the leaves on my own and then crocheted a way for the flower to slide on the ribbon. I made the attachment wide enough to fit on most headband if she ever wishes to switch it out.

Then came Eric's gift. At first I wasn't sure what I could make him; then I figured that he probably had an MP3 player or iPod. Most people do nowadays. I wanted to use the gray as the base and then use the same colors as Carlee's gift but you can see that idea changed. It really depended on what button color I chose to close it on the back. It ended up being yellow because I liked the contrast so much. I decided to go with a monster face from there. I also made the case big enough to fit my iPod which is the biggest size physically so I was safe to give it to him. (I think when my current case dies I'll be making one kind of like this. xP )

My hope is that they find a use for these gifts and like them. I guess I'll find out when I give these to them.

Dress-Up Tie: For Big-Headed Boys

Sorry about my absence, my little girl was blessed this past weekend and I had a lot of family in town. Since she was blessed, I wanted the rest of the family to look nice too, so what does that mean for Daddy & Toddler? Matching Ties!!!

I didn't have time to visit {this marvelous shop}, so I used THIS tutorial to make my son's tie. I was very excited until I went to have him try it on and I could barely get it over his head AND once it was over his head, it was too big around his neck. For a few minutes I wondered how I would fix this...then three words popped into my head: Sew-On Snaps.

To do this you'll need: a tie, matching embroidery floss, needle, two Sew-On Snaps (size 1)

1. Follow the elastic-type tutorial, until you measure your little stud's neck. Then do this:
2. Take the measurement and add an inch to the neck loop of the tie. Then, cut in the middle of the loop.
3. Blanket stitch the new edges so they won't fray too bad.
4. On the edge, about an half-inch in, sew on one side of the snaps. Snap the other half back in as an easy way to match it up on the other side, then sew it on. Repeat with second snap.

You've now created a new tie for your little man!

Linking to:
Market Yourself Mondays at Sumo's Sweet Stuff &
Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative

Valentine's Shirts: Boy & Girl

A couple weeks ago, I made these for my kids:

All I needed was wonderunder, a little bit of fabric, floss, and fabric markers.

His says: Heart breaker-in-trainingHers says: SweetheartI sure L-O-V-E these two!

Hair Clips & Holder

Before 'Princess' was born I went a little crazy making hair bows (a girl can never have too many) and all of these pictured went to VT sister who also recently had a girl, so I don't feel too bad for making so many:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Since I made so many bows, I needed to make a place to put them. Enter Exhibit C:

Here's what you need:

an old frame, ribbon and a glue gun---That's it!

Strip the old frame down. Throw away all the photo backing stuff and use pliers to take out the little metal pieces. Then flip the frame over and lay out your ribbon. Glue the free end to the frame, pull tight then cut. Glue the other end of the ribbon. Continue gluing ribbon until you reach the end. Then put the bows on the holder and hang it up for the world, your kids, to see.