Necklace Refashion Tutorial {Lengthen and Knot}

Working on jewelry this weekend felt good. I need to do it more. It makes me happy. 

I have all these ideas and then I look at my blog (and my jewelry stash) and realize I haven't done hardly any of them. Get on it, Allie. 2012, get ready for more Miss Lovie jewelry.

So here's the story. I had this necklace (above) I bought it from Express at least 4 years ago (maybe more). There's nothing wrong with it. I like it mostly, but I never wore it. I'd try it on with an outfit and I'd say "meh" and pick a different one that I wore all the time instead. So I decided I needed to just revamp it. 

Lengthen it.

SO much better. I love the large antique bronze chain. The large beads at the ends where it connects to the chain were already there and they make the necklace flow nicely, I think. 

Then I thought, what would happen if I....

tie it in a knot! 

Ooh! I like that, too. Sweet! And in, seriously 15 minutes or less, I have not only one new necklace that I'm bound to wear way more, but two!!

Ready to make your own? Don't worry. You don't have to be a jewelry-making professional for this. It really is very easy. 

Let's get started!!

Materials:
1. bent nose pliers and flat nose pliers

2. jump rings big enough to fit around your chain

3. lobster clasp

4. smaller chain (only about 5 or 6 inches worth)

5. large chain (13 inches, cut in half, or however long you need it depending on the necklace you're refashioning)

6. necklace that needs a revamp (mine was 16 inches long)

NOTE: I got almost all materials from Michael's. They usually have the best prices/sales on jewelry and they have a great selection usually. Tools really are relatively inexpensive. I say this all the time, but if you've never made jewelry before, don't let "Well, I don't have the tools so I can't do this" stop you. Jewelry making is fun and easy. Buy the tools you won't be disappointed. :)

1. Take apart your old Necklace

See? It's not bad really, it was just neglected.

Open the jump ring by holding one side of the ring with one set of pliers and holding the other side of it with your other set of pliers and simply pull apart. Your bent nose pliers are thinner and easier to work with so I usually position my flat nose pliers in my left hand to hold the jump ring stationary and then I use my bent nose pliers in my right and let them do most of the work. 

Here's my deconstructed necklace. I think I'll have to find something fun to do with that sweet little bow charm. See how the ends of the necklace already have loops? We're going to utilize those!

2. Attach closure to the chain. 

My large chain was already cut in half and the perfect size (miraculously enough that was left over from a previous project!!) so I don't have a picture of measuring the chain and halving it. You need two 6.5 inch lengths of chain (if your old necklace is the same length as mine). This chain is huge and pretty strong so instead of cutting, pull apart a link (and then re-close it) to separate it into 2 pieces.

Now let's attach the lobster clasp to one end of the large chain. Open a jump ring (as shown above) and slide on the lobster clasp and the chain and then use your pliers to push the jump ring back together as it was before you opened it. Make sure it is fully closed. You don't want your necklace falling apart. That has, of course, never happened to me.... riiiiight. 

Then take your other piece of chain and attach the small chain to it using the same method. The small chain can be used if you want to adjust your necklace. You can hook the lobster clasp to the jump ring to close it or to one of the links in the small chain. 

3. Attach large chain to old necklace.

Now attach both pieces of large chain to the necklace with jump rings as seen above. 

It should look like this now. 

And you're finished! Easy right?!

Or you could (unhook the clasp) and tie it in a knot! I love 2 for 1 deals!

Cuteness. 

And versatility!! 

This is one happy girl. Who wouldn't be when you get three day weekends which give you plenty of time to create, clean and organize, relax a little, and get ready for the next school week. I vote that we make three day weekends a regular thing. Who's with me?

Linking to the parties on my sidebar and 

Get Your Craft On

P.S. Keep a look out...I just may have found another way or two to revamp this necklace...get excited.

Happy Memorial Day Poppy Pin!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend! I know we are! These pictures are from Saturday when we went to a wedding. 

I fell in love with that striped dress from Macy's when I bought it, but knew it needed another pop of color. That poppy was perfect! 

(Sorry the pictures aren't too detailed. They were taken on Matt's phone)

The color of it is actually red orange, but it looked like a bright red, thus making my outfit quite patriotic. Perfect for this weekend, I guess.

To make the flower I used the Grosgrain Poppy Tutorial. I LOVE the way it turned out. It's pretty huge, but, of course, that's what I was going for. :) I actually didn't even use the biggest flower template she says to use in her tutorial. I simply left those out.

As you can see, I was hyped it matched my nail polish. Ha.

I wanted the center of my flower to be gold since there was gold on my shoes and I was planning on gold earrings So I did not use her method of making the center of the flower. Instead, I bought some gold trim and knotted it up to make the center and simply hot glued it on. 

There is also an alligator clip glued to the back so I can attach the pin to a belt, too. That trick has been my favorite thing to do these days.
Linking here
and

Today I'm working on a banner for kindergarten graduation. Wish me luck so I can actually get it finished by tomorrow!!

Lavender Garden Necklace Giveaway

Hi readers, new and old, to my blog! Welcome to my first Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

Be sure to look around if you're new here

I have some great tutorials on jewelry, sewing, and fabric flowers you should definitely check out!

This giveaway is one of many great handmade giveaways at Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day! Be sure to stop on over and visit some more fabulous blogs and win some great stuff!

The Giveaway Day came at a perfect time since I've been busy with end of the year school stuff (which also means I've been procrastinating finishing projects I need to post). Yay for giveaways in the meantime!

I just love this necklace. I think it is so summery and fun. The chain wrapped rosette is a nice twist on the feminine flower necklace. I'm wearing it with a simple t-shirt, but it would look great with a sweet summer dress as well!

 This necklace is made with antiqued bronze chain, large faceted glass beads, small round glass beads, and lavender rough silk fabric and is valued at $34. It has a simple lobster clasp which can be adjusted up and down a chain to make the necklace longer or shorter based on your preference. 

 Be sure to stay tuned after the giveaway for a tutorial on how to make 

the chain wrapped rosette!

Ready to Win???

Open to U.S. Residents only.

To enter:

Mandatory Entry:

1. Become a follower of Miss Lovie and leave a comment telling me you are following (or are already following). 

Additional Entries:

1. Follow Miss Lovie on Facebook and say hi on my wall if you want. Be sure to comment here to tell me you did (1 entry).
2. Blog, Tweet or Facebook about this giveaway and leave a comment here telling what you did (up to 3 entries).

Be sure to leave your email address (name(at)email(dot)com if you are worried about your email floating around in cyberspace) in the comment or make sure there is a link to it on your profile so I have a way to contact you! If not, I'll have to pick a new winner! 

This giveaway ends Wednesday, May 25. 

The winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Good Luck!

Run for the Roses

source

The Derby is such a fun Kentucky tradition. It's also a great excuse to have a party with all your friends! Since we're living in Ohio now, I didn't get to have a Derby Party like I did last year, but I thought I'd share our fun with you today. I'm writing this post while watching the coverage on this year's Derby!

 

Everyone knows the most important part of the Derby (besides the incredible horses, of course) is the hats. My friends and I gathered some "beautiful" materials from WalMart the night before our party and whipped up some ridiculous hats. 

 I have to confess that it did not take too much creativity to create my hat. I literally took the huge bouquet we bought and attached it to the hat. I did clip off the long stems and wrapped the bottom of the bouquet in white satin ribbon and hot glued the ribbon in place. I wove floral wire into the hat to attach the bouquet and added some hot glue as well to secure it. 

 Beautiful, huh? Haha. 

 My friend, Annie's hat: Black sequin ribbon around the top of the brim and black and white polka dot ribbon stripes. It also had some great pink and green flowers attached!

Love those dots.

 Kelly's hat: Black and white striped ribbon and some flowers, all topped off with a black feather! Yes, that is a bottle cap you see in the middle of that beautiful flower. Ha! We like to keep things classy. To be honest though, you didn't even notice it. 

Looking good, Kels.

You're looking at the winning hat right here. We had an easy little drawing (with money in a hat, of course) and Sarah's horse won! 

She made so much money that day. 

As you can see, there's no reason to spend crazy amounts of money on a one of a kind hat. You just have to get creative with some floppy hats and cheap embellishments and make your own!

Hope you're enjoying the Derby and Happy Mother's Day weekend!

Scrappy No-Sew Flower Tutorial

You may have seen this sweet little flower on my St. Pat's wreath here, and again on my framed printables here.

Now you get to make one too-without even having to find your needle! You will need to heat up the old glue gun.

Step 1: Gather materials.

fun fabric (I used cotton, but it might be cool with others, too!)-about a 1/4 yd or so. 

scissors

hot glue

pears or other embellishments for middle of flower.

Step 2: Cut spiral

Cut a large circle out of your fabric and then cut it into a spiral. Start on the outside and just keep cutting around until you get to the middle. Leave a little circle of fabric to start your flower on.

Step 3: Fold, fold, fold, scrunch, glue.

Starting at the "middle of the spiral" after the circle of fabric you left, fold your fabric like a fan (4-5 folds) and put hot glue on the bottom of your folds and place on circle of fabric.  Hold for a few seconds until it dries completely or the folds will come undone. 

Repeat all the way around in a circle formation to make a flower shape. Once you complete the

first row, you will begin gluing the folds ("ruffles") to the backs of the previous ruffles. Be sure to glue the new ones about half-way down the back of the previous row so the ruffles stay bouncy and not too stiff. I  made 3 rows.

Once all the fabric is folded and glued and your flower is of a desired size, cut off any excess fabric not used if necessary. You can also trim up some of the ruffles if they are uneven.

Warning: Be careful in this step! I burned my fingers a few times on the glue! Just watch where your hands are going.

Step 4: Re-make the middle if necessary.

 Somehow, when I make these I usually mess up the middle of the flower as I'm making the second and third layers to where it's flat and lifeless. If yours looks like that, too, or it just needs a little something more, make a quick tiny version of the flower and simply glue it in the middle of the flower you just made.

Step 5: Add embellishments.

Glue embellishments to the middle. I always think I'll use something else besides pearls, but they are just so pretty I can't help but use them.

I also made a burlap one with only 2 layers of ruffles instead of 3.

Step 6:Display it or wear it!

Attach your flower to a wreath to spring-ify your door.

Add it to a frame.

Attach your flower to a sweater.

or your purse.

What will you do with yours?

Linking up to these great parties

Don't forget to comment on this post to win this fabulous necklace

 or these earrings!

Giveaway ends Friday, March 26.