Monday, January 30, 2012

Gifts for Pat

I made a couple more bracelets as a gift to my friend, Paromita, in Maryland. Another friend, Mel, is going to visit so I wanted to send something pretty along. :)

Strung Butterfly Bracelet

I made another 3 Hearts bracelet but this time, I made the hearts face the same way. And added the Owl earrings I made earlier.

Package
This is how I packaged them together. 

Miss you guys!

Another Paracord bracelet

I made another quick deploy/release bracelet for males. This weave is called Ripcord Sinnet (this is a link to the YouTube video tutorial on how to make one). This tutorial is made by TyingItAllTogether and they have a lot of other videos. You can use other cords to make these bracelets besides the paracord. I think I would like to try these with satin cord for girls. :)

The last bracelet I made used a fishtail type weave that all little girls know and used for their hair at one time. Here is the link to that video tutorial.



Close up of the front 
Close up of the back
 I found two other quick release weaves. These use buckles or U shackles, which I don't have, therefore, I have not made them yet. The Milipede paracord bracelet uses more cord and is thicker. The Slatts Rescue Belt knot seems to be the quickest to unravel but it needs something like a crochet hook to make.

If you guys are wondering where to get the paracord and buckles, I would go here. Most of their stuff includes free US shipping and you can choose regular or priority mail. I love that because it is still free but you get your stuff faster. They have a variety of colors of not only the cord but the buckles as well.

Happy Weaving! :)

Sunday, January 29, 2012

All in a Day's work

Here are the projects I have finished today. :)


One of my guy friends asked me to make him a bracelet. He saw the Buddhist one I got during Chinese New Years. What do you think? I showed him an option in which I alternated one black round bead and one brown cylindrical bead. But he wanted me to alternate two or three to make it more interesting. I thought I would make it even more unique by alternating 2 and 3 brown beads with one round black bead in between. He also asked me to use stretch cord with a clasp. The customer is always right. :)


Red bow bracelet
I was trying to make more all red lucky bracelets for my friends. Here is one I thought up. It even includes these red cylinders that my friend sent me for Xmas. :)


Red and White Bow bracelet
I think the red hearts put together like this with a red crystal bicone in the middle makes them look like cute bows. The clear AB crystal beads really make the bows pop. 


Owl Earrings
When I was bead shopping, I came across these cute owl charms and thought they would be great as earrings. Here they are finished. I added some crystal beads in turquoise to match something on the owl. I hope my friend in Maryland will like these. :) I only wished that I had gold wiring and earring findings in order to match the gold in the owls. 

I hope your weekend was just as productive. :)

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Practical Bracelet for a Man

I am so happy! I am still high off of shopping for beads for 2 hours. And then I come home and I get my online order today instead of Monday! Yea! So, I have a lot to keep me busy for the weekend. :)


This is a red braided quick deployment 550 paracord bracelet. I have 4 guy friends who are or were in the military and I wanted to make these for them. The military uses 550 paracord for a variety of reasons. Of course, they probably don't use red but I bought red because it is a lucky color and this week is still Chinese New Years. :) I wanted to use this braid aka rattlesnake braid instead of the usual cobra stitch in survival bracelets because of its quick deployment properties and therefore is more practical for them. It was also very quick to make. It only took me about 10min. It also only cost me $1 for each bracelet. Yes, one single dollar to make this. :) I bought 100 feet for $10 and used 10 feet for this bracelet. So, do the math. :)


550 Paracord is nylon and has 7 white cords in the middle.




To tighten the loop, you can pull the side knot so the bracelet doesn't come off.

I am very happy with this new guy gift. It is probably the cheapest practical guy gift I will ever find. And it's so cool! :) hehe Ooo...and you can give it to him for Valentines because it's red! Yea!

Have a great crafting weekend Ya'll!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Goodies from Taiwan

My mom just came back and picked up some goodies for me. :)



This gummy candy is so cute! It was wrapped like a present. When you open it up, it actually has a little box! hehe It is pretty yummy too.


It kinda looks like baby corn on a stick. This is gummy candy too.


The bank sold out of coins quick but my mom found this cool one for the year of the dragon. :)


Bento supplies!!! This cute cinnamoroll bento box has two layers to it. Look at this cute smiling Panda Bento box! Adorable! She even got me a utensil set with chopsticks, fork, and spoon. :)


I know, socks? O.o These are suppose to be for good luck. You wear a pair each day for 7 days in a row. I haven't started yet but I will soon. :)


Nylon string in lots of different sizes and some stretchy cord too! Yea! I doubt I will ever run out, but I am running out of my fireline. :p


My mom saw these beautiful papers and had to get some for me. They are too pretty to use. Maybe I will frame them and make them art or something. They are more like regular paper than card stock in thickness.


Findings Galore! She said she spent like $100. This is not the shop I usually go to but it's great! There are some close up pics below.





The store's business card, cute!

Please help. I don't know what to do with these. Am I suppose to bend them? Are they like picks or something? If you have any idea what these are supposed to be used for especially, please comment below. Thanks. :)

Shopping for and receiving beading or crafting supplies are always so much fun! hehe 

3 Hearts

I really want to make some Chinese New Years red lucky bracelets but once I started, it turned out to be a Valentines bracelet instead. It is also quite a different look than what was in my head but I really like how it turned out. You just never know what you will end up with, so just start beading. :) This is an original design by me, enjoy! :)

3 Hearts Valentines Day bracelet
Close up of the motif
Heart clasp
Extender chain

This adorable little dinosaur model is a Valentines gifts from 2011 from my friend, Rachel. Isn't it the cutest! :) The bracelet just fits as a collar. 



I hope you are all starting your Valentines beading and crafting. It is coming up soon and fast, as all holidays do. :)

Monday, January 23, 2012

Happy Chinese New Years! Year of the Dragon!

Happy Lunar New Years!!!


 I hope it brings you and your family and friends
 lots of happiness, fortune, health, peace, luck, and success!


I so want this little guy! Isn't he just adorable?

Big Uncle's Buddhist Temple 
I have 3 Uncles and 5 Aunts. I think last count was 41 first cousins. I am slowly meeting them all. Yes, my dad had a huge family, he is the 3rd brother. My Uncle told us all a story as to how the temple came into being. His wife was diagnosed with cancer so they had her go back to her hometown to pray at a temple. They prayed that if she gets better, they will build a temple. She got better so they did. Years later they found a orange size tumor in her brain. They went to pray again but this time they said that they will build 10 schools in 5 years to give back if she got better. She did and they built the 10 schools in Burma, I think, but in 3 years. She is currently healthy and kicking. You would never know she had a tumor in her brain. :)


This is just one of the Buddha.


They have a couple of Thailand shrines as well. This the Buddha with the 4 faces.


Shhh.....Jessica Gomes was there with her boyfriend. I left before Miss Chinatown came.



He blesses you when you come to pray in front of this Buddha.


All donations go to charity. Everything there and all the stuff they give away or use is not funded by donations.  If you have never been to a Buddhist temple, it is quite beautiful but the most festive during Chinese New Years. It is also the most crowded. 

My family just got together and had a huge 10 course very yummy Chinese dinner full of seafood. :) So full!!! hehe