october projects: perler bead coasters, new bracelet and necklace, and more

while everyone else is probably putting on real costumes for halloween, i decided to stay in and make/wear some costume jewelry instead. :)  i'm still feeling pretty wiped from spending the earlier part of today at the Treasure Island flea market, which was great!  i'll try to upload some pictures of the flea market when i get the chance to offload my SD card; it was my first time on the island and there were cute dogs dressed in costume everywhere.  antiques + crafts + dogs + 75-degree weather is what i call bliss!

for now, enjoy my month of October!

Remember perler beads? If you spent your kindergarten days in the US public school system, then you probably did a project with perler beads at some point. I found them in my closet and thought I would make some colorful coasters after being inspired by these radical Nintendo coasters that I saw on this website. I actually got the beads at Ikea (of all places) ages ago, so I am not sure if Ikea sells them anymore in the kiddie department. But on a sidenote, if you are an artist, geektoid, or person who wants to feel inspired or entertained, check out Toxel's website. I came across this entry on their website; I wonder where this house with the hidden garage is in Haight?

Since my perler beads were pretty much like Lite-Brite colors, I wanted to do something fun and vibrant. This is a watermelon coaster in-progress. The final version had only a yellow background. I got a second opinion, and D thought the two-tone made it harder to figure out.

Since I had these beautiful flowers in front of me (thanks, D!), I decided I wanted to make a floral coaster next.

Umm, can you say landscape design FAIL? I tried to depict "April showers bring May Flowers" but I think I overdid this one. If you look carefully, I tried to show a shining sun, cloud with raindrops, and flowers. The purple flower is supposed to be a hyacinth but looks more like Marge Simpson's hair for some reason.

Here are my final four. One for each season. If you're wondering what the orange one is, it's supposed to be a pumpkin :P

While I was letting the iron cool off from my perler bead activity, I saw my neighbor selling his pottery on the sidewalk. It's encouraging to see fellow people in the neighborhood with crafty hobbies!

While coasters were a fun project, I think I still prefer working on jewelry. I decided to make my first bracelet in pink (to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month). I finished it off with a Mickey Mouse-looking clasp that my mom brought back from Korea along with some other cool beads and jewelry making supplies. My mother is so sweet!

This is the vendor that my mom bought jewelry making supplies from... it says "To-ma-to"

My mom also bought this sparkly pendant from Korea and wanted me to make her a long chain. A simple enough request!

Extra long chain and lobster claw - done!  I used an adjustable chain at the end in case my mom wants to shorten the necklace.

The final product. Koreans love sparkles!

Here you can get a sense of how long the necklace really is. I like how you can either pair the necklace with a shorter one, wear it wrapped twice around your neck, or wear it long by itself. The possibilities!

While I am at it, I wanted to share some blinged out lace shoes my mom bought for me in Korea for $3.50. Yes, you read that correctly. $3.50. What a steal!

Closer view

Here's my new necklace that I made last night. It's almost a dusty pink with black and copper colored beads. I pictured it here with a $2 resin brooch from Goodwill and a handmade clutch that I got back in college from Portobello Road Market in London.

Whatcha think?

Before I wrap up the night, I wanted to share with you some pumpkin carvings that my roomie did. This is her Totoro from last year.

And this is her country bumpkin from this year... so cute, huh? Too bad it molded after a week.

Here are some cute mini pumpkins that I saw at a small market. This would make a cute centerpiece or decoration on the mantelpiece.

Here are some pumpkins I saw while walking home one night. For those who ventured out in their real costumes tonight, have fun! I'm dressed up in my... well... costume jewelry. G'nite!

diy chunky beaded necklaces

see what happens when you make a side trip to Michael's during a clearance sale event?  you start making necklaces while you watch X-Factor on TV!


The inspiration = chunky beads from the sale section @ Michael's

left: My necklace made of red stone-like beads and turquoise wood beads. For some reason, it reminds me of Ariel from the Little Mermaid.
right: A yellowish gold/grey beaded necklace for my roomie (since she begged me to make her something too :P) 

This delicate necklace would look great with a t-shirt or casual button-up.

This necklace is more of a warm weather accessory, and I think I have a couple of more weeks to wear it before the weather in SF becomes gloomy and foggy again.

This fits more like a loose choker and would be perfect to wear during a tropical vacation getaway (I wish!) or an afternoon stroll in the summer. Now I need to make some necklaces for the fall and winter!

gumdrop and rings of saturn earrings

the past couple of months have been busy, but i wanted to share some recent earrings i have made.  the other day, i stopped by Michael's (dangerous, i know) and picked up some beads on sale.  guess i will be wire snipping again this weekend to make a new necklace.


Simple danglies for a special birthday girl.  The ones on the left remind me of gumdrops.

Since the birthday girl just got her ears pierced, I made the earrings with sterling silver posts (in case of allergies).  I made extra pairs for my roommates and kept a dark green pair for myself.



Instead of wrapping the earrings in giftwrap, I placed them in a cute porcelain box that I found at Picnic in Russian Hill.

 

Washi tape to seal the gift!

And this is what I made tonight while watching TV and eating Thai take-out... I couldn't think of anything to name these, but they look like Saturn's rings, don't you think?



This is my first pair of antique brass earrings that I made for myself.  I can't wait to wear them this weekend!



a rad fad: terrariums

on Saturday, i sat in a San Bruno coffee shop sipping on my red velvet latte when i decided to research how easily a novice could create a terrarium.  it didn't seem too difficult, so i added it to my long list of eventually-let's-do projects and figured i would get to it at some point.

interestingly enough, making a terrarium didn't stay too long at the bottom of my project list... i happened to pass through Renegade Craft Fair (which deserves a separate post altogether) on Sunday, where there were terrariums in a number of crafters' stalls.  i must have taken too much of the Renegade or hipster air in, because i felt inspired to do something creative.  i acted on my carpe diem spirit and went to Lowe's later that same night to buy supplies. 

here's to my first set of terrariums!


I got all the supplies you see here from Lowe's for $37.  Being the overly ambitious crafter that I can sometimes be, I ended up getting more plants than I really needed.  I didn't use the cactus or the aloe plant this time around.

I followed the directions on Storm the Castle's website to create a terrarium.  The video tutorial was very easy to follow.  The terrarium pictured here is made from an empty 6-oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts.  It was the easiest to make and only took about 5 minutes!

But alas, there were some casualties :(

Being a city dweller, I don't have my own backyard.  Otherwise, I would try to save these.  I read online that you can propogate succulents.

A top-down view of my succulents.  For those of you who grew up in a Korean household like me, this might look familiar.  It's an old jar of kimchi being put to good use :)

The finished goods.  12 o'clock - old kimchi jar.  4 o'clock - 6-oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts. 8 o'clock - my roommate's bud vase.

Should I add miniature garden gnomes?  Thinking about it...

Trying out different plants to see which one looks the best... the African violet wins!

As pretty as it is, my African violet is in need of a good bath. ;)

hunky dorying down under

i got back from Australia a few weeks ago and have been behind in posting.  here are some belated photos from one of my days in Sydney.  here's to flat whites on a rainy day in a new city!

I start the day with lunch at the Fish Market.  Sydney's Fish Market is a toned down, smaller version of Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo and Garak Shijang in Seoul.

Check out those heads

Next stop: Surrey Hills neighborhood. I find a cute stationary store that sells washi tape.  For those of you back in the States, you can buy this same washi tape online at http://www.cutetape.com/.



In case you are wondering, I bought the checkered tape on top :)



Decide to duck in from the rain and get some dessert

Gluten free carrot cupcake - not bad!  Give gluten a chance.

A flat white

Head back downtown and walk through one of the arcades

Stop by the best Westfield Mall I have EVER seen.  I am digging this Reebok store.

Of course, I have to step into Typo, a cute chain store in Australia.



Katie loves Willy

I'll end on a hunky dory note.  I saw this in a magazine and had to post it.  Apparently, the Hunky Dory Social Club is a hot spot in Sydney.  My roomie got to go and said it was a lot of fun!  Go check it out if you are ever down under.