Crayon Art and Wrap Bracelet

Today I had a craft day with Nicole H.  Isn't life confusing?  Two of my best friends I met at college are named Nicole.  Anyways, I took my show on the road and went to her house, where I made a bracelet as she made a cool melted crayon picture.

 Nicole glued down the crayons before I came over, and used electrical tape to make a pattern- 5/11/10 is her anniversary with her boyfriend.  The tape didn't end up working, but I thought I'd show you anyways.

At first she wanted to do this inside in the living room.  I'm glad I managed to convince her to go outside instead!  First of all, it was absolutely gorgeous outside.  Secondly, wow did that wax fly!  The concrete and mat outside had all these little drips.  So did her hair dryer, but she said she got most off.  I was surprised at how quickly the crayons began to melt.  So many blogs say it will take about an hour.  Who knows- I didn't time ours- but I think it went a lot quicker.

              How cool?

She decided that it didn't work too well.  Instead she melted the wax some more to cover up the numbers.

Pretty cute, huh?

                          

While Nicole was making her crayon art, I was making one of those absolutely adorable wrap bracelets.

 Here's what you'll need:

• Leather cording.  I used most of one container to make a bracelet that wrapped around twice.
• Thread to match the cording.  I bought what Hancock Fabrics called button/craft thread.
• A needle that can go through the beads.
• Enough beads to go around the bracelet (I did have some left over).
• A charm to act as the clasp.  A bead or button would work as well and be almost as adorable as mine.

Quick side note about Hancock Fabrics.  This was the first time I went there.  There isn't one around where I live, and since I don't sew the need to visit hadn't come until now.  It was kind of a weird store.  Obviously it was mostly sewing stuff, but then they had a few beads and home decor items.  I was hoping to find a charm I've been searching for for a few weeks now, and they had something close to it so I may be back later.  You'll see what I've been searching for in a few weeks.  Think of this as your teaser!  Back to the bracelet now, however...

I wrapped the leather around my wrist 6 times because I wanted to have three wraps to my bracelet.  Then I  folded it in half and tied a knot.  I threaded my needle and stuck it through the knot and tied it in place.  Sorry I didn't get a picture- while I was doing this I was completely distracted by the crayon magic going on beside me.

 Putting the beads on is very easy (especially when your needle fits in the hole...).  Stick the bead on the thread and pull tight.

 Loop the thread around one side of the leather string.

 Push the needle back through the bead...

 and pull tight.

 I can't be the only one who does this- my clothing becomes a life-size pincushion.  I get in a lot of trouble at home when my mom comes home and sees safety pins sticking out of the sofa.  It just makes life so much easier.

The more I see my nails, the more I realize I need a touch-up.

 BACK to the bracelet.  After you've pulled it tight, wrap the thread around the other side of the leather string and you're back to the beginning.

 Make sure you pick a color you like- you'll be so tired of it by the time you're done.  This took me a few hours.

I mixed up the color after a bunch of the beads.  It makes it look like there are a few different bracelets on your wrist.  You'd be amazed at how long it took me to pick out these colors!

Once you have all of your beads on it, tie a knot.  I also knotted the thread separately to the part going in and out of the bead.  Then I looped on my charm and tied it.

See how you use the charm as the clasp?  Ingenious.

Ta-da!  Finished product.

I'm very proud of how it turned out.  It also cost about $6 to make.  My roommate Nicole has a bracelet like this that she said cost her $30, and I saw one in a similar style for sale at Sears for about $14.  My bow makes mine cuter, though!  Only 99 cents at Hobby Lobby!

 Here's a side effect of crafting outside.  It was absolutely gorgeous out there, but we were straight in the sun.  First burn of the season!  Daylight Savings has me off to a good start.

 I guess it's time to take off the snowflakes...

My Cat in the Hat pj's are a good background too.

Just a quick side note.  This weekend I went to Pier One.  I'll admit I'm a complete fool for that store, especially the clearance section.  I'm also a complete fool for owls, so I was in luck this weekend when I saw this bracelet in the clearance section for just under $2.  If it wasn't for the bracelet I made today, I'd be wearing this one all the time.  The jewelry at Pier One is usually pretty gorgeous.





Hope you enjoyed!  Please leave me some love in the comments (I would love to know if anyone is actually reading), and check back later for some more sweet crafts!