Beaded Wall Mirror

Delineate Your Dwelling fashioned this gorgeous mirror after being inspired by a mirror from West Elm. I love the colors the chose - so fun and bright!


See the Beaded Wall Mirror.

Pearl and Crystal Curtain Ties

  These curtain ties from Craft A Spell are gorgeous! I think they really add some class and charm to a room.   See the Pearl and Crystal Curtain Ties.      

Faux Beaded Chandelier

Can you guess what this faux chandelier is made from? Give up! Mark Montano made it from a tomato cage!!!! Isn't that fun and beautiful? This could be a great way to add some bling to a corner or a ceiling. I wonder what it would look like with a light in the center of this?

See the tomato cage chandelier.

Guest Blogger - The Crafty Scientist - Microbead Pendants

Hi Someday Crafts readers! I'm absolutely thrilled to be guest posting over here for Michelle while she's on bloggy maternity leave!

That's me - I'm Mel (short for Melissa) the Crafty Scientist, a twentysomething girl living in the VERY deep south and trying to finish up my Ph.D. and staying sane by crafting and being creative! I blog over at

The Crafty Scientist

It is about all my creations, favorite things, photographs of my adventures, and collections of resources on a given theme (like making a blog button or taking pictures of fireworks). But mostly, you get to see how I make a variety of things like this Lemonhead candy wreath...

And some paint chip art I created...

As well as these interchangeable ribbon and briolette necklaces (so you can change the ribbon to match your mood, outfit, direction the wind is blowing, whatever)...

Plus, I like to post pictures of my super-cute dogs - Max (on the left) and Bella!

Today, however, I'm going to share a tutorial for my favorite thing to make (and something I've given as a gift to pretty much everyone I know... and if you haven't gotten one yet, ummm, surprise and happy early birthday!) -

microbead pendants

inspired by this project from Amy at Mod Podge Rocks.

This project is super-easy - it might take some trial and error, but if I can do it, you can too! And once you get started, it's super-fun to start making them and see how they all turn out differently and imagine the different possibilities for them!

• Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
  


• Microbeads (mine are from Martha Stewart, but there appear to be some competitors in craft stores these days - check the scrapbook section!)



• Pendant blanks or wells with trays (you can find them on Etsy with about a 100 different names)
  


• Cabachons (or cabs, if desired)



• Straight pin or toothpick (turns out to be very helpful!)

First you want to pick out the color combination, the pendant size and shape you want to use, and any cabachons you want - it's good to have them all handy before you start pouring so you don't have to run around and search while you have a wet pendant which can easily be knocked off a table (I think - obviously I wouldn't have any experience with that)!

Then, you simply grab your pendant and fill it most of the way to the top with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic. You don't want the pendant to overflow or be quite at the top - this is something that comes with practice. You want to make sure that you don't have any bubbles in the Mod Podge and this is where you can use a straight pin or toothpick to pop them. If you have multiple bubbles, make sure to clean the pin/toothpick between them so you can cleanly pop all of them.

Then, grab your microbeads and pour. The color you add last will be on top when it dries so keep that in mind and feel free to go back and forth, alternating colors.

Sometimes I overpour and so I like to just smooth out the top with my finger... (I'm sure that's how Martha does it too.) You will end up with wasted, extras and don't worry about it. Get used to the idea you that you can't use/save all of them. It will make your life much easier.

Then, simply press in your cabachon and let the pendant dry. I like to leave mine overnight just to be safe. This is a pendant where I actually just left it at this point and didn't do anything else...

But you will probably want to come back and add another little layer of Mod Podge to the top of your pendant, working AROUND the cabachon. I like adding more Mod Podge because it all looks glossier and I think that added layer protects the pendant when you sweat, shower, swim, etc. But I'm not sure if it actually does anything other than make me feel better. I put the Mod Podge around the cabachon... unfortunately you can barely see it against the black microbeads here, but that's what the picture should show you!

And just in case, here are some other pendants with the second coat of Mod Podge on it to show you a bit better...

I also experimented with placing the cabachon in first or before I put in microbeads and got really frustrated with trying to stick a straight pin in the petals to get the microbeads out of the crevices. (See the dedication to trying ridiculous things out that I do for my readers? Yup... I'm practically "Man v. Food" for the craft world... or "Mythbusters" maybe?)

But here's the final black microbead pendant with the blue cabochon in it with the second Mod Podge coat all dried.

These are a few of my other finished pendants...

And some round pendants...

The one with the clear microbeads might be my most favorite pendant that I've made so far.

You might have some little errors and don't worry about them - I don't think anyone can tell until you have giant photos where your camera is zoomed in really tight. But, to help you avoid the mistakes I made above, these are my top three tips to perfect pendants!

• I recommend putting the cabochon into the microbeads after all the microbeads are poured. You can also make pendants without any cabochons!
  


• To get rid of air bubbles, use a toothpick or straight pin to pop them while they're still wet.



• To fix uneven layers, you can pour another coat of mod podge on there (and maybe even more microbeads - I tried that and didn't really love the result, but who knows).

And the obligatory shot of me wearing the necklace (you know, the crazy flattering self-neck-and-shoulders-portrait)...

Now you're ready to make your own jewelry! And the awesome part is that once you have the microbeads and mod podge, you can get the pendant pieces fairly inexpensively and make gifts for people in no time at all! Good luck and please tell me how your pendants turn out (and visit me at The Crafty Scientist)!

THANKS, Mel! I found out that Mel is going to Clemson which is one of my favorite universities and towns in the entire world!!!! I love this idea. It's cute and simple! I might have a few microbead necklaces in my future!

Visit The Crafty Scientist to get more awesome ideas!

Flower Bean Art

Just Between Friends created this amazing piece of art using glue and ....beans! There's nothing quite like lentil art! The texture of it is awesome!

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Check out how to make bean art.

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Beaded Topiary!

Less Cake, More Frosting took a strand of beads and turned it into a fabulous topiary! Perfect for Valentine's (or Christmas or July 4th). Don't you love how she is displaying it in that shadowbox. (Is that what you call it?)

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See the Beaded Topiary!

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Foam Bead Trees!

Oh these little foam bead trees are so breathtaking. Isn't the color stunning? I would like 3 of these trees from All Things Heart and Home.

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See how to make the foam bead trees!

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Beaded Knitted Bangle Bracelet

This is such a fun bracelet. Think of the color combinations you could make with this! Visit Dawdler 101 to learn how to make it HERE.

Wreaths from beads, clotheslines and paper bags

Does your dollar store (or any other store) still have Christmas clearance? If so, go buy strings of beads to make a cheerful beaded wreath! If not, go buy some beads on sale! Use the magic of spray paint to transform it into any color you want. Maybe green for St. Patty's or spring. Visit Frills, Fluff and Trucks to see how this beauty was made. Click HERE.

Clothesline makes a smashingly nice wreath!!! Isn't that just pleasing to the eyes? Smashed Peas and Carrots shows you how to make the easy wreath and the fabric hanging ribbon. Go HERE.
Make a fantastic wreath out of brown paper bags and adorn it with whatever decorations you want. I love this butterfly/spring wreath by MaryJanes and Galoshes. Go HERE to see how it was made.

Get ready to link your awesome ideas at my

WHATEVER GOES WEDNESDAY

party tomorrow!!!

Guest Blogger - Sweet Sumo Stuff - Washer and Glass Bead Chandelier!

(Not quite finished in this picture!)

Hello everyone!

I'm so excited to be guest posting over here today. I'm truly in the midst of greatness, with all of other talented ladies who are featured on here, and feel so honored!

I'm Sumo, from Sumo's Sweet Stuff!

My real name is Summer, but my husband nicknamed me Sumo when we were dating. (Should I be offended?) Now he's got all of my family, as well as lots of our friends, calling me Sumo. I think Aunt Sumo sounds pretty great, don't you? I live in Utah with my husband, my beautiful 16 month old daughter, and we have a baby girl coming this March. (Wow, that's next month!)

Growing up, I never used to be all that domestic or crafty, so I think no one is more surprised than my mom at how I've ended up where I am today! I started Sumo's Sweet Stuff last May as a place to keep some of my crafting projects so that my personal blog wasn't overrun with them. Somehow, that developed into a place to host giveaways, share tutorials, share recipes, and feature fellow bloggers' ideas and blogs! I also use my blog to promote my etsy shop, WHICH IS HAVING A 50% OFF SALE, so if you're ever in the market for some baby girl accessories, come on over! (so come check it out!)

Here's a little peek at some of the things you can find on my blog:

Zipper Flower Tutorial

Easy (and tasty!) Bon Bons

Feather Wreath

Chalkboard Block

Seasonal Wood Board

Now, let's get down to business. Since I have one little girl already, and another little girl on the way, I figured that gave me the go ahead to really glam up their room. I've been slowly working on some projects to finish their room, and the last thing I wanted was a chandelier. Well, chandeliers cost money. And since my husband is in school and we're living on loans, I figured there had to be some way for me to create something that would do that trick.

That my friends, is why I am here today:

a tutorial on how to create a chandelier.

I'm not talking chandelier as in lights and wiring and all that technical stuff. This is just a decoration to go around your current light fixture to give the illusion of having a chandelier. If you are a renter and can't change the lighting, this is a great idea!!!

What you need:

- wire floral wreath (mine is a 12 inch; you'll need to get one to fit around your fixture)

- wire

- washers

- spray paint

- glass beads

- trim (I used marabou boas)

- hooks

I made a trip to Lowe's and found a great selection of sizes of washers. It's really up to you how many you get, and what sizes you get. I wanted an assortment, and I didn't want the entire chandelier to be washers. The total for all of my washers was about $5.

My girls' room is decorated in purple, cream, and black, so I knew I wanted to spray paint the washers black to match the room. At the time, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the wreath part, so I spray painted it too, just in case any of it ended up showing. I used the $1 spray paint from Wal-Mart and it worked just great! Be sure to do both sides of the washers. (You can see I had two floral wreaths. I had toyed with the idea of somehow using two, but only ended up using the larger one.)

While that was drying, I sorted out my glass beads. You won't want to use plastic beads because they will be so close to a heat source, and we don't want melted beads for a decoration! I had some of these beads on hand, but the rest I got from Michael's when they were 40% off on sale. I don't think I even spent $10 on beads.

Once my washers were dry, I laid them out on my table, and sorted out which beads could hang in the middle of the washers.

After doing that, I laid out how I wanted my strands to hang. I planned on making ten strands, and I wanted them all to be different.

Now it's time to start stringing! I put some small glass seed beads in a little loop, secured with a crimp bead, at the end of each strand. Now the strand I'll be stringing the washers and beads on is doubled for extra strength.

String beads on as you would normally, being sure to put them through both strands of wire.

The washers are a bit different. When it is time to put a washer on, you are only going to put the washer over one strand of your wire. So it will look like you have a strand on the top of the washer, and a strand on the bottom of the washer - like it's being hugged by the wire.

Then you put the bead that is to go in the middle of the washer through BOTH strands of the wire.

On the other side of the washer, again you are going to split your wire around it.

Then you continue stringing your beads along both of the wires. This secures the washers in place.

Do this for all of your strands!

Now you are going to want to tie the wire of your strands around your wire wreath how you want them placed. To do this, I put my wire wreath on a hanger and hung it from my shower rod in my bathroom so that it could hang freely. I then secured each wire by putting a dot of hot glue on it to hold it in place. Crafting in the bathroom - it's the thing to do!

I thought my chandelier looked a little bare, so I decided to make ten filler strands. I used some smaller glass beads I had on hand, and made ten strands of just beads to go in between the larger strands.

Again, I tied them around the wreath and secured them with hot glue.

Now it's time to add your trim. I originally started out with a different trim, but it looked messy and it hung too close to the lights for my liking. I won't even share those pictures - it wasn't pretty!

So I took that off, and decided to use a marabou boa. I already had one, and had to buy one more at Michael's using a 40% off coupon. They were $1.99 for six feet, and I used two full ones. I hot glued the start of the boa, and wrapped it around in between the strands. I only hot glued it at the beginnings and ends of the boas.

Next it is time for your handy husband to put the hooks up around the light fixture and hang it for you!

Now admire your work!

It's no fancy chandelier, but I like that it adds a little bit more to my girls' room!

I love making new blogging friends, so come on over to Sumo's Sweet Stuff! You can find something different each day:

- Market Yourself Monday: I share my latest projects and invite you to link up yours!

- Tutorial Tuesday

- Mouth-Watering Wednesday

- Things to Try Thursday

- Feature Friday

And don't forget to visit my Etsy shop to see if there is anything you want! Especially while the 50% off sale is going on!!!

A huge thanks to Michelle for having me today!

Have a great week everyone!

There you have it! A unique and dangerously awesome way to create a stunning chandelier! How many times have you seen something like that? NEVER!!! Admit it - Sweet Sumo rocks!!! (I want a nickname like SUMO!!!) As you can see from some of her projects and treats, she is talented and has some yummy ideas! With almost two young girls, she is creating many fun things for them. If you like what you have seen here today, go visit SUMO at Sweet Sumo Stuff! She would love to have more friends and followers! And Visit her Etsy shop too! Her 50% off sale is AMAZING!!!!

Linking to: Funky Junk - Saturday Nite Special, Tatertots and Jello - Weekend Round-up