Upcycle Coffee Sleeves into Gorgeous Jewelry

How to Make Gorgeous Jewelry From Coffee Sleeves @savedbyloves

Today I am sharing with you this great coffee sleeve upcycle. With the amount of coffee I drink, the sleeves were starting to pile up. I saved them, knowing one day, inspiration would strike and I would repurpose them. The idea to create jewelry from them came to me over the weekend as I was sorting through my Sizzix dies. These are easily customizable to coordinate with any style. Follow along and make your very own!

SUPPLIES:

upcycled jewelry tutorial

Coffee Sleeves

Acrylic Paint (I used Distress Paint)

Asymmetric Rings Sizzix Die

Butterfly and Rings Sizzix Die

Mod Podge Antique

Non-Stick Craft Mat

Markers to coordinate with paint(I used Distress Marker – Vintage Photo)

Jump rings

Toggle clasp

Ear wires

2 pairs of jewelry pliers

INSTRUCTIONS:

2 Repurpose jewelry

Unfold coffee sleeve.

3 Upcycled Jewelry Tutorial

Randomly apply your favorite acrylic paint colors.

4 Jewelry Making Tutorial

I went for a warm and cool color range.

5 DIY Jewelry

Once paint is dry, cut out rings with sizzix as shown. If you don’t have a sizzix, you can cut by hand, or use paper punches.

6 How to Seal Paper Jewelry

Seal pieces for durability. I dipped them in Mod Podge antique finish.

7 Upcycled Jewelry Ideas

Brush away excess Mod Podge and let dry.

Distress Paper Edges

Mark around the inner and outer edges of the rings. On the left is before marking, the two on the right have been marked around the edges.

9 Attach rings with jump rings

Use various jump rings to attach rings for earrings and bracelets as shown.

Upcycled Earrings from Coffee Sleeves

How to Make Cardboard Jewelry

Jewelry from Coffee Sleeves

I am in love with these pieces! Super easy and cheap to make. You could also use the die cut coffee sleeve shapes in your mixed media art.

25 DIY Mountain Crafts and Decor Tutorials

DIY Mountain Craft Roundup @savedbylovesIt’s been way too long since I created and shared with you, my lovies! The reason for that is a move across the country from Indiana to the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I’ve wanted to take this leap for years, and now that I have, my only regret is that I waited as long as I did!

Sky Pond Rocky Mountain National Park Estes Park Colorado

Mountain National Park Estes Park Colorado

In honor of the new residence, I bring you 25 DIY mountain themed craft and decor tutorials from my fellow creatives!  You’ll find everything from advent calendars, to wall art to printable coloring pages and more. As soon as we find a permanent home, we will be able to bring the tools and supplies out of storage to begin creating again. While I am looking forward the unleashing my inner maker, exploring the new surroundings has been a gift! If you can’t get to the mountains where you are, you can bring them to you with this fun round-up! Enjoy and as always, if I left out your project, email me the link!

 


Over 50 Easy Watercolor Inspired DIY Tutorials

50 Plus Easy Watercolor DIY Decor and Art Tutorials @savedbyloves
I am thrilled to share today’s 50+ round-up! It is a colorful collection of watercolor inspired DIY tutorials that you can make, even if you aren’t an artist! From fashion to wall decor to kid’s crafts and more, you will be ready to create with these detailed tutorials. Enjoy!

50 Plus Awesome Yarn Crafts to Make

50 Best Yarn Crafts to make from @savedbylovesDon’t let the title scare you. For this collection, no crochet or knit skills are needed. This week’s crafty round-up is all about things to make with yarn. You will find all kinds of kids crafts, home decor, paper crafts and more. Enjoy!

How to Mod Podge Crackle a Dress Form

DIY Crackle Dress form @savedbyloves

Hallo there! My name is Amy – from the blogs Mod Podge Rocks, DIY Candy, and Washi Tape Crafts. Yep, I have three blogs. You could say I really love crafts – and also being busy, apparently. I guess that’s just how I roll! This is a tutorial I haven’t share yet, and am thrilled to show you today. Awhile back I made this initial wall art you see above, and at the same time I made the dress form in the photo. Here’s a closer look:

Dress form detail

The tutorial for the easy initial wall art is on Mod Podge Rocks, but I never shared any steps for the dress form. That is what I’m doing today! It uses Mod Podge Crackle Medium, which gives projects a fine eggshell crackle in one step. Here’s how I made it.

 

  • Paper mache dress form
  • Wood candlestick
  • Mod Podge Gloss
  • Mod Podge Crackle Medium
  • Fabric – you can use scraps
  • Acrylic paint – white and two other coordinating colors for the crackle portion – I used light green and dark green
  • Craft glue
  • Embellishments – I used a key on gold thread
  • Scissors
  • Paintbrush
  • Old cloth
  • Flow medium (optional)

Step One

Paint your wood candlestick with your lighter acrylic paint color – in my case, light green. Let dry.

Step Two

Paint your dress form white. This isn’t essential if your fabric is thick . . . but if it’s cotton like mine, the Mod Podge can make it a little transparent and dull down the color. So I always basecoat white because it just takes a few extra minutes.

Mod Podge Home Decor

Paint Mod Podge on your fabric and let it dry. This makes it easy to cut without fraying.

Step Four

Decoupage your fabric pieces to your dress form. Continue overlapping . . .

Step Five

until the whole thing is covered! You might have to trim and/or dart some pieces by cutting slits in the middle toward the top. It takes a minute, but you’ll get it. Set your dress form aside and let it dry.

Mod Podge Crackle Medium

Carefully read the instructions on the package of your Mod Podge Crackle Medium. I know it’s tempting to just re-open the package and begin, but with crackle medium, you need to read to make sure you understand. This is just one step, so it’s not that hard.

Step Seven

Brush the crackle medium onto your candlestick in a medium layer. Don’t keep brushing over and over the same area – just brush it on and try not to overlap. Let it dry.

Step Eight

This step is optional. If your darker paint color is a little thick, adding flow medium to it will help. The reason is because you are going to use a cloth to wipe it off in the next step, so you want the paint to be less viscous (more liquid and not as thick).

Step Nine

Brush the darker color over the lighter color and watch the crackle! Wipe off the excess (not hard, just gently wipe away the extra). Keep in mind it’s a fine eggshell crackle . . . so you can see it, but it’s not going to be huge divots. I personally love the effect!

Once you’re done, glue the dress form to the candlestick and add any embellishments (like my little necklace) to finish. Then display.

DIY Crackle Dress form @savedbyloves

Decoupaging dress forms is so fun! Give it a try. For more great ideas, come visit me on Pinterest . . . I also have a Mod Podge Rocks newsletter and DIY Candy newsletter that you should sign up for to get weekly inspiration. Thanks to Johnnie for having me and I’ll see you next time!

Valentine’s Day Washi Tape Charms

DIY Washi Tape Resin Charms for Valentines Day

Today’s project is a washi tape and resin craft that makes the perfect Valentine’s Day gift! Follow along as we die cut washi tape and apply ICE resin for a quick and easy charm that you can customize to fit your needs.

Valentines Day Washi Tape Craft

I was inspired on a recent trip to the craft store by these Valentine’s Day prints on washi tape by Hampton Arts.

Valentines Day Washi Tape Craft 3

I covered white card stock with strips of the tape as shown.

Valentines Day Washi Tape Craft 4

I folded the excess tape over the back of the paper. If you want your charms two sided, you could cover the entire back in tape as well, or use printed scrap book paper instead of white card stock.

Valentines Day Washi Tape Craft 5

I cut the tape covered paper with these heart dies by Spellbinder’s Media Mixage.

Valentines Day Washi Tape Craft 6

Here is what they look like after die cutting the shapes.

Valentines Day Washi Tape Craft 7

I sealed the front and back of the hearts with Iced Enamels Medium. If you don’t seal the paper tape, the resin will darken it and look funny. Let dry.

ICE Resin

I used ICE Resin on my charms. You could use any jewelry grade resin, or Mod Podge Dimensional Magic.

Valentines Day Washi Tape Craft 8

Following the directions on the resin package, I mixed the two parts in a plastic dixie cup with a clean craft stick.

Valentines Day Washi Tape Craft 9TIP: Place the paper hearts on top of sticky contact paper to keep them flat while resin dries.

Use the toothpick to drip the resin onto the hearts.

DIY Washi Tape Valentine's Day Jewelry Idea

Hole punch the hearts once dry. The resin instructions say 6-12 hours. I let mine sit overnight and used a jewelry hole punch to place holes for jump rings.

Washi Tape Crafts

Add keychain fobs and other charms. I went for keychains with the larger hearts. I will be using the smaller hearts for earrings!

25 DIY Awesome Advent Calendars to Make

25 Awesome DIY Advent Calendars to Make @savedbylovesSince the mid 1800’s, we have been counting down to Christmas with advent calendars, and the tradition continues.  It is a favorite childhood Christmas memory for people around the globe. Get a jump start on your Christmas anticipation with this round-up of 25 amazing DIY advent calendars you can make!


DIY Upcycle Lighted Santa Bottles

DIY Santa Light Bottle Upcycle Project @savedbyloves

 

This handmade Santa light-up bottle adds a warm and cozy feeling to any space for the Christmas season. This project requires a recycled bottle and drilling a hole in the lower backside of the bottle. Also required is a fun search for a Santa image. The choices are endless, ranging from recycled Christmas cards, magazines, printed images, and the imagination goes on. Most importantly don’t forget a strand of Christmas lights. Now let’s get started and enjoy the fun.

 

Materials for drilling a hole in glass

  • Drill
  • Drill Bit
  • Safety Glasses
    • Facemask
  • Spray Bottle With Water

 

image 1 Drilling Materials

 

 

Directions

  1. Drill a hole in the bottle. Through my research I found that using a 1/2 inch hole saw diamond grit drill bit works best for drilling a hole in a bottle. You can find this type of drill bit in most hardware stores and online.

 

  1. Safety first: Wear safety glasses and a facemask to prevent eye injury and inhaling glass dust.
  2. Starting on the backside and lower end of the bottle place the drill bit at an angle. This will allow you to start a groove in the bottle. Once you have the groove started you will begin to slowly bring the drill to an upright position. Apply pressure but not too much as this will cause the bottle to break. Periodically stop drilling and spray the drill bit and bottle where you are drilling the hole to keep the drill bit and bottle cooled off. This also keeps the glass dust level down while you are drilling.

image 2 drill at angle

image 3 b groove started

image 2b Drill Perpendicular

image 3c spritz with Water

image 3d Hole Drilled

 

Tip: I have also seen websites online where you can purchase predrilled bottles from suppliers.

 

 

Materials for Santa bottle

 

 

  • Empty Bottle (most types of bottles will work for this project)
  • Cork (optional)
  • Strand of Christmas Lights (20-30 bulb strand with a one-ended plug)
  • Santa Image (of your choice)
  • Raffia
  • Christmas Bells (two)
  • Glue
  • Water
  • Paintbrush

Santa Bottle DIY

 

  1. Removing labels from the bottle. Soak bottle in warm soapy water until the label is saturated with water. Use a putty scraper or a scraper with a razor blade on the end. Once the bottle is clean allow it to dry.

Tip: If the inside of the bottle has any residue from the drilling process you can tear off a small piece of a cleaning cloth and swish it around with the water in the bottle and that will help to rid of it.

 

  1. Apply the Santa image. I prefer to make a mixture of Elmers glue and ¼ water. If the image is on thick paper this mixture will work well. If the image is on a thinner paper use a thicker consistency of glue (less water). Note: Other types of glue or Mod Podge products will work. Check your local craft stores to see what products they carry.

 

Measure the Santa image up to the bottle to insure the placement of the image will be where you want it. Using your paintbrush brush glue on the area where the image will be placed. Starting from the center of the image place your image on the bottle and gently glide your fingers from the center to outer edges of the image. Once you have the image glued down brush some more glue over the top of the image. Start this from the center working your way out as well. If any bubbles occur on the image you can smooth them out with your fingers from center to outer edges. Allow image to dry. Note: Once dry you can add glitter or a coat of crafting varnish on the Santa image.

 

Santa Bottle DIY 2Santa Bottle DIY 3

 

  1. Wrap raffia around neck of the bottle. Two or three strands of raffia will cover the neck of this size bottle. More strands may be required if your bottle is taller. Start by tying one end of the raffia around the neck of the bottle leaving a little excess on one end to tie off in the end of the wrapping process. Begin wrapping it fairly tight around the neck of the bottle. If your strand starts to run out tie the next strand to the one you started with and keep going until you have covered the neck of the bottle. Now tie off with the excess. Note: Twine, yarn, or ribbon can be used in place of the raffia.


Wrap Raffia around bottleWrap Raffia around bottle 2 

  1. Tying on the Christmas bells. Using another strand of raffia, tie the raffia around the top of the bottles neck, leaving a generous amount on both ends so that you can tie one bell on each end.Tying on Bells

 Tying on Bells 2

  1. Place a cork in the top of the bottle. (Optional)Place Cork
  2. Inserting the strand of Christmas lights. Turn the bottle upside down to insert lights (this helps the light strand to flow more evenly throughout the bottle). Starting from the bulb end of the light strand insert each bulb individually into the bottle. Once you have your strand of lights in it is time to plug in and enjoy.Insert Lights

Insert Lights 2

DIY Paper Flower Fall Wreath

Make a Paper Flower Fall Wreath

I finally got my hands on the Cricut Giant Flowers Cartridge, and had myself a great time! There are tons of ways to use these paper flowers in decor.  I opted to make this festive fall flower wreath.

DIY Paper Craft Fall Decor

Following the instructions that came with the cartridge, I made the Lotus, Zinnia and Rose in oranges and purple Core’dinations paper.

DIY Paper Flower Fall Wreath Tutorial

DIY Paper Flower Fall Wreath @savedbyloves

I wanted a flat wreath form, so I made one using cardboard.  I do this a lot.  Just find something round in the size you want your wreath, and trace it onto cardboard using a sharpie.

DIY Recycled Cardboard Wreath

I like to cut two pieces of cardboard per wreath form and tape them together…

How to make a fall wreath

Once I made the wreath form, I began laying out my flowers until I had the wreath full.  I glued the flowers into place with hot glue.

***TIP:  I also used got glue for making the flowers.  Gluing each petal into place as they are added keeps them from falling out all over the place as you continue building the flowers.

DIY Paper Flower Fall Wreath

Before gluing the last flower into place, I added a loop of burlap ribbon for hanging the wreath.

How to Make a Fall Paper Flower Wreath

Although it was simple, it did take some time.  Now I have an eternal paper flower wreath!  Totally worth it.

Be sure to visit our 50+ Paper Flower Projects for more inspiration:

50 Plus Clothespin Crafts To Make

[pinit]Clothespin Crafts to Make Over 50 Great Tutorials @savedbyloves[pinit]

How have we gone this long without sharing a collection of clothespin crafts? It is a mystery.  Whether you have the one piece wooden peg, or the two piece wood or plastic version held together with a spring, you can use these simple laundry inventions to make some cool stuff.  From home decor, to jewelry, to toys and games for kids, we are all sure to find something we can enjoy in this gallery of things to make from clothespins.

clothespin craft for headphone storage

My personal favorite?  This headphone cord organizer found at Buzzfeed.  

Are you with me on this?

What are your favorite clothespin crafts?  Do you have one we missed?  If so, let us know!

ENJOY!!

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