her ideal bookshelf

A while back my sister gave me a super fun book called My Ideal Bookshelf by Jane Mount and Thessaly La Force. In this book the authors asked famous chefs, fashion designers, actors, writers etc. to list their favorite books and explain why they love them. These mini interviews are accompanied by playful illustrations of what each person's bookshelf would look like. So neat!!

Of course this got me thinking about my sister's ideal bookshelf because she LOVES books. I was curious... what would be on her bookshelf because she has read SO many books. Could she pick ten?? So, I asked her and after a few days she emailed me a list.

Well, I have known my sister my entire life and yet, I was seriously surprised by her list. Half of the books I never would have guessed!!! Amazing that people can surprise you after 28 years!

Then, I started thinking about Christmas. Wasn't my sister deserving of her own ideal bookshelf?? So I went online and saw that you could custom order an Ideal Bookshelf and I got very, very excited! What an awesome gift right???!!! Then I saw that they were over $100. I mean I love my sister but I am way too practical to spend upwards of $20 on something so frivolous.

This (of course) got me scheming...I could DIY the crap out of this project. So, I did!! Thanks to my husband's abundant art supplies (watercolors mostly) I made my sister her own ideal bookshelf.

I think it came out okay and she loved it!! She said she was going to put it in her library. Which is a real honor considering she has a personal (hand written) note from Kevin Bacon in there. I kid but seriously, the idea that she would hang up this silly little painting is pretty cool.

Pretty neat if I do say so myself. Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate

Decorating a Christmas Wreath Part 2: the bits and pieces

Hello!! Here is part two of the wreath tutorial. We have made the bow and now we need to make the other little decorations.

For this half of the tutorial you will need:

a naked wreath fake or real (I purchased a live one for 8.99 at a grocery store)
prewired decorative Christmas balls
other random Xmas decorations like painted branches, ribbon, birds, curling ribbon, berries, pine cones, whatever you want as long as you can somehow attach wire to it.
24gauge wire
wire cutters
kabob skewers or large toothpicks (you can also use twigs)

To start, fluff out your wreath. Give it a good shake and make sure it is nice and full all the way around. Once your wreath is adequately fluffed you are ready to decorate.

Note: The decorations that you use will be "picked" into your wreath. This means that you will use sticks or skewers with decorations on one end and literally stab the stick into the wreath. Trust me, it works and is super secure!

Start by cutting up a bunch of skewers in different lengths... I wouldn't go shorter then 3 inches.
Then, take your various decorations and wire them to the sticks.

simple wire wrap around the stick

 You can take cuts of ribbon and fold wire down the middle, twist it and then wrap it around a stick.

 You can take plastic branches, cut them up and then wrap them with wire.

I wired a fake branch to a literal twig bit.

When you are satisfied with the amount of decorations you have "picked" you can attach a pick to your bow using the wire leftover from the previous tutorial. Then, you are ready to decorate your wreath!!

NOTE: When decorating a wreath I always start by attaching the bow first. That way if there are any bald spots or your wreath is wonky a big bow can help.

Simply take your stick and stab deep into the wreath (at an angle) so that the stick is lodged. EASY!

Once the bow is secure add the rest of your decorations.

Bunch them to one side, add them in clusters.... have fun with it! When you are happy with the placement of your decorations you can cut down the middle of the giant loop hanging off of your bow. This cut forms two hanging ribbon tails. 

 

Ha Ha! I like that you can see my legs in this picture! AWKWARD.

There you have it!! A lovely holiday wreath! Have fun!!! Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate.

Decorating a Christmas Wreath Part 1: the bow

I love this time of year because I get to use all my metallic spray paint, ribbon and GLITTER!! So much glitter! This time of year can also be very, very expensive. It is so easy to go overboard with the decorations.

Today I am going to show you how to decorate your own holiday wreath. This is part one of a two part tutorial that can save you mucho dinero this season. You can use any colors you like...the possibilities are seriously endless!

my funky wreath from last year.

You will need:

a spool of pretty wire ribbon (2 inch wide ribbon is way easier to work with then 4 but use whatever you like)
a foot of floral wire or any old type of wire... I used 24 gauge silver plated craft wire that I had around.
scissors
wire cutters

Note: For this tutorial I used ribbon that is patterned on one side and bold on the other. You always want the pattern to face out. If you have ribbon that is solid on both sides you don't need to worry.

Do not cut a strip of ribbon and assume it is enough! Just pull from the spool! In these directions I refer to the piece of ribbon leading to the spool as "the tail" 

The easiest way to make a fancy bow is to start with the centermost loop and work your way out. You simply take the end of the ribbon and fold it. This fold forms the center loop. You can make this loop as large as you like. Simply keep in mind that all the other loops will increase in size. NOTE: hold on tight to that end piece of ribbon. Notice how there is about a half inch on the right side of my finger? You don't want to lose or let go of the edge piece.

Holding on tight to the edge piece with your thumb, you take the ribbon tail and fold it back towards the centermost loop (towards your thumb). Now you should have two loops. Make this fold the same size or slightly bigger than the first loop.

side view: the loop on the right is the first fold. The loose ribbon on the top right is the tail .

top view: your thumb should be holding the two loops with the tail running out the bottom and the edge piece sandwiched in-between. You can see the edge piece peeking out at the top. Hold on tight!

Next, take the center that you are holding with your thumb and pinch it. This cinch or gather created by pinching secures the two loops and the edge piece together.

Now comes the tricky part: holding on to the cinched center with your left hand use your right hand to grab the part of the ribbon where the tail meets the cinch and give it a firm twist. This twist brings the pattern up towards you and is important when you form your next loop. 

side view: the tail twisted with the pattern facing you.

Now that the ribbon tail is twisted you can fold it back towards the cinch. Make this loop slightly larger then the previous two. 

The center loop is the original loop. The loop on the right is the one you just added. 

Securing the new loop, grab the tail and twist it so that the tail is underneath a loop on the opposite side of the loop you just made. You continue in this manner. Twist, fold, bring the tail to opposite side, twist, fold. 

Twist, fold, bring the tail to the opposite side, twist, fold..... 

Just hold on to that cinched center with your thumb and make sure all of your twists gather together near that cinch. It can be a little sloppy at this point wire ribbon is very forgiving.

Keep going! Make every loop a little bigger until you are happy with the size.

Once you are happy with the size of the bow (for now, don't worry about the shape) You are ready to finish it with long flowing ends. 

With your left hand hold tightly onto the cinched/twisted center of your bow, take your right hand and grab the tail. While holding the ribbon tail loosely, extend your arms out into a wingspan pulling ribbon off the roll. This should give you a wingspan of loose ribbon between your left and right hands. Take the part of the tail that you are holding onto with your right hand and bring it towards the cinched center of your bow. In other words you are forming a really, really large loop.

The curly part in the middle is the tail. The two long pieces on either side are both ends of the large loop. 

Take your wire and pull it around the cinched and twisted center of your bow. Make sure the wire goes around everything...including where the large loop touches the center of the bow. Basically thread your wire around everything being secured by your left hand.

View from the bottom of the bow. The ribbon closest to the camera is the tail.

Once the wire is around everything twist it like crazy! Use pliers if you need. Make that wire nice and tight so the cinched center cannot get loose.

The long ribbon piece in the center of this photo is the tail leading to the spool. See the wire nice and tight?

Once everything is secured with the wire you can cut the tail off. Make sure you cut the tail leading to the ribbon spool and not your giant loop.

Once you cut off the tail, you should have a bow with an extra long loop hanging down. Keep that loop long for now. Remember how I said wired ribbon is very forgiving? Once everything is secure you can fan your loops out and make them nice and round. Come back soon and I will show you how to decorate the rest of your wreath. Happy bow making! If you have questions please ask! I did this tutorial while holding a baby and typing one handed. I am sure I left something out. Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate.

Tutorial: quick slinky bracelet

Hello all!! Today I thought I would share a super quick and inexpensive way to make a new piece of jewelry. I have always loved my "slinky bracelets" and they are an easy way to accessorize.

All you will need is:
 An amazing product called Memory Wire.  It is literally like a slinky and keeps its round shape. You can find Memory Wire at any craft store.
A pair of round nose pliers
A pair of heavy duty wire cutters (scissors will not cut this.)
Beads!

 

You take one end of the memory wire and you make a tiny loop with the pliers.

Then you take the other end and you string your beads. You can make this bracelet really chunky by adding beads to a lot of rings or just enough so it wraps around your wrist...up to you!

Once your bracelet it the desired "length" you leave yourself a fingernail's width of space and you cut off the rest. Don't forget to push all your beads towards the first loop you made.

Then you simply form a loop on the other side! That is it!

Super easy! I made this example in 12 minutes! Have fun! 

Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate

Tutorial: strung jewelry

Hello all you crafty-types! Today, I thought I would follow up my earring tutorial with a basic stringing one.

Over the years, I have had many customers ask for help on properly securing a clasp to a necklace or bracelet. There are a few simple techniques that will help your jewelry look professional and stay secure.

You will need:
crimp plier
beading wire (I use Softflex medium but you can also use Beadalon which is available at most craft stores)
clasp of your choice
crimp beads- 2mm tubes work best with crimp pliers.
beads!!!

First, string on one crimp bead and then half of your clasp. 

Next, take the end of the wire and pull it back through the crimp, forming a loop. 

Push the crimp up towards the clasp. You don't want the crimp touching the clasp. You want to be able to move your clasp around and wiggle it back and forth.

 

Now, take a look at your crimp pliers. You will notice there are two holes.

One hole is round and the other is heart shaped or "kissy face."

Grab your crimp with the "kissy" part of your plier and squeeze. 

This will put a crease into your crimp bead. 

After your crimp is good and creased, you are going to place it into the round portion of the plier with the crease pointed up towards the plier tip.

 Basically, what the rounded portion does is fold the two crimp halves at the crease.

 

Now that you have used the rounded portion of the plier, your crimp should be folded. 

The crimp should appear with the sides together and roughly half its original size.

For extra security, use the flat tip of the plier to make sure the fold is really tight. 

When adding beads, make sure the beads closest to the crimp fit both the wire and the wire's tail.

Have fun stringing your beads! When sizing, keep in mind the length of your clasp.
For example, if you want a bracelet that is 7 inches around and your clasp adds 1/2 an inch then you will need 6 and 1/2 inches of beads...

When you have decided on your pieces length, you are going to add a crimp and the other half of your clasp. Repeat crimp process as shown above, making sure that the wire tail goes through the last few beads.

When finishing your jewelry it REALLY HELPS if you pull on the wire's tail. 

As you pull on the tail, the space between your beads and the clasp will get smaller.

 Don't forget to give your clasp a little bit of wiggle room.

TA DA!!!!

The possibilities are endless!
 If you have questions about technique or supplies let me know... I have so much beading knowledge it's kind of gross. Happy Crafting! Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate

Tutorial: earrings

I have been designing and building jewelry for the past ten years and one thing that really bothers me is poor execution. There have been numerous times at art fairs, gallery openings, artisan websites and even jewelry stores where the idea is amazing but the craftsmanship is a little rough.

Today, I thought I would share a few secrets to making earrings. Recently, I have been helping a lot of people improve their earrings to look more professional and all it takes is a few simple steps.

You will need: 

needle nose pliers

cutter tool

chain nose pliers

beads

headpins 

ear wires 

Headpins look like a piece of wire with a flat bottom... sort of like a sewing pin. 

A headpin is what you string the beads onto.

Using your needle nose pliers, you are going to bend the wire (right above the beads) at a right angle.

The next part is a little tricky and is where people often mess up!

In order to make a perfect loop you have to bring the wire back towards the beads. 

The best way to do this is to take your pinky finger and measure out a nails width of space and move your plier to that line.

Now that you have figured out where your plier should start. 

You are going to hold your pliers with your fingers pointing up towards you. 

This is very important!

If you hold your pliers with your fingers in towards your body you will not get the rotating motion needed to make a perfect loop.

Blurry but you get the point. Make sure you can see your fingers!

another pic with fingers up!

Then simply rotate your wrist: bringing your thumb towards you and exposing the backside of your hand. This turn of the wrist will pivot the wire back on itself. 

This will form half the loop.

Holding your wire as shown above, you will take the "tail" of your wire (or straight part) and curve it around the plier so that it forms a full loop. Using a needle nose plier is essential for this step because the wire forms to the curve of the plier.

Take the leftover straight wire and wrap it around directly above the beads. 

This is way more secure than simply cutting off the excess wire.

If you find that your wire is wrapping loosely you can squeeze it with your chain nose pliers.

Keep twisting until it is all secure. If necessary, cut off any leftover bits.

Using your chain nose pliers open the loop on your earwire. 

 Carefully close!

 Practice makes perfect but rotating that wrist will make all the difference in the world. 

I am uploading some of the earrings I've made on my Etsy shop right now. Come visit!

Thanks for looking. Love, Ms. Kate