Desperate Craftwives Spring Crafts Roundup

Spring is in full swing around here! The kids are on Spring Break this week so I am going to put my crafting aside (even though I have a couple great Easter project ideas gnawing at me). But I don't want to leave anybody hangin' so here is a little roundup of my Spring projects from last year!

These Floral Embellished Eggs were super easy to make using styrofoam eggs, pins and little paper flower embellishments! 

My Salt Dough Easter Egg Garland is hands down my most popular post of all time. It has been featured on Baby Center, Retail Me Not, Tatertots & Jello, Chickabug, Care.com, and more!

My kids loved these cute Bunny & Carrot Easter Cookies! The carrots are kind of like eating vegetables, right?

I made this Spring Wreath using "mambo" yarn and it was a quick & easy project! Not sure I'd have the patience to make a yarn-wrapped wreath with regular skinny yarn!

Want to get the kids involved in making some Spring decor? These Coffee Filter Flowers were the perfect craft for little ones. They made a nice bouquet for Grandma on Mother's Day.

And, of course, the Magic Jellybeans. Have your kids plant them the Saturday before Easter, water them, and they will be amazed when the jelly beans magically bloom into Lollipop Flowers on Easter morning!

Happy Spring! Thanks for visiting my blog! I'd love to have you follow along or "Like" the Desperate Craftwives Facebook Page!

-Blythe

Places I'm Partying:

Felt Cone Christmas Trees

Last week I got together with some of my girlfriends and had a fun craft night. We decided to get some styrofoam cones and transform them into Christmas trees using various fabrics, ribbon, beads, etc. This is what I created:

What You Need:

• Styrofoam trees in various sizes
• Felt
• Ribbon
• Glue

How To Make It:

• Cut felt strips - one straight edged and the others with the bottom edge scalloped - enough to cover tree.
• Glue straight strip to bottom first, then layer over with the scalloped edge felt strips until you reach the top.
• Cut a circle of felt and glue to top of cone.
• Decorate using felt flowers, ribbon rosettes, beads, etc.

These trees turned out really cute and were super simple to make!

Happy Holidays!

-Blythe

Places I'm Partying:


www.thenymelrosefamily.com

http://www.createcraftlove.com/2012/12/keep-calm-and-link-up-20.html

Braided Memory Wire Bracelet

Since I discovered how easy it is to make beautiful bracelets with memory wire, I have been pretty much obsessed with it! I made a braided memory wire bracelet in the colors of my alma mater, The University of Florida - Orange & Blue - Go Gators!!!!! and posted the picture on my Facebook Page. This bracelet makes a great piece of fancy fan-wear and can easily be customized to your favorite team's colors, which is why I have had several requests for a tutorial. Since I already have my Gators bracelet, I decided to make a bracelet in the colors supporting The Children's Tumor Foundation for this tutorial.

What You Need:

• Memory Wire
• Beads in 2 Colors (I used 6/0 Czech Glass Beads)
• Round Nose Pliers
• Wire Cutters (hardware store ones, NOT ones made for jewelry)

How To Make It:
See photos below

• Use your wire cutters to cut 7 full rounds of memory wire.
• Cut one of the rounds in half and create a small loop at one end of each with your round nose pliers (make sure to tighten the loop all the way down).
• Use round nose pliers to make a small loop at the end of each of the 6 of remaining rounds of memory wire to keep the beads on the wire. Make sure to tighten the loop down so it is completely closed.
• String 3 rounds of wire with one color beads and 3 rounds of wire with second color beads. 
• At the end of each round of wire, you will want to leave about a pinky finger's width with no beads and use your round nose pliers to create another small loop at the end (tightened down) to keep beads on the wire.
• Next, line the rounds up in alternating colors. For me it is blue, green, blue, green, blue, green.
• With the small loops at the end of each round lined up, take one of the half rounds you made earlier and  string it through all the loops (in order). Trim the end to about a pinky-width and use round-nose pliers to form another loop at the end.
• Separate into 3 parts (blue/green - blue/green - blue/green) and braid.
• Once braided, keep ends in order and string the other half round through the ending loops. Trim off excess and seal with another small loop at the end.

Pretty easy, huh?!

Of course, if you aren't feeling up to it, you can always buy one from my Etsy Shop ;)

Hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and are feeling inspired! I've got lots of great tutorials to share, so I'd love it if you'd follow along!

-Blythe

Places I'm Partying:

Memory Wire Bracelets

I was asked by a friend and fellow crafter if I had ever made a bracelet using memory wire. I have always liked the look of them, but surprisingly my answer was no, I had not ever made a bracelet with memory wire.  I even had a bunch of beads that I envisioned using with wire, but they were just collecting dust. So thank you to my friend, Kim, for inspiring me to finally make a memory wire bracelet. Turns out it is stupid easy to make a beautiful bracelet! I've already made two and see many more in my future!

What You Need:

• Memory Wire - Bracelet Size
• Beads
• Round Nose Pliers
• Wire Cutters (regular hardware store ones, NOT jewelry ones)

How To Make It:

• The memory wire comes coiled like a spring. Determine the size of your bracelet and cut off that many coils with wire cutters. Memory wire is very hard and will ruin your jewelry wire cutters, so use a cheapo pair from the hardware store.
• Using round nose pliers, make a small loop at one end of the wire to keep beads from falling off.
• String beads onto wire.
• When you've reached the end of your bracelet, use your round nose pliers to make another small loop to secure the beads.
• I have not personally used any other method, but they do sell memory wire end caps that can be glued on rather than making that loops.

Hopefully this post will inspire others to create some beautiful memory wire jewelry. I made this bracelet standing at my kitchen island while my kids ate lunch. It was so quick & easy and I love the way it turned out! Happy Creating!

Blythe

Places I'm Partying:

www.the36thavenue.com