DIY Chevron Paint Chip Necklace

My mom and I went to Lowes last Saturday to look for some spray adhesive (to re-line the inside of my small trunk). While we were there, we saw these Sherwin-Williams paint chips that were shaped like little houses!  

As mom and I were having fun picking out color combinations that we liked, I noticed that they reminded me of chevron necklaces. (Like the ones my friend Ashley makes at The Knotty Owl). Mom has made circle necklaces out of paint chips before, using different sized circle punches. So I thought, why not make a chevron necklace?

So today, I was feeling frisky and decided to actually make the necklace!

First, I arranged the paint chips and used a clothespin to hold them in place.
Then I put packing tape on them to hold the chips together and laminate it.  In hindsight, I would not recommend using packing tape, because of the little air bubbles. I should have used clear contact paper. You may still get air bubbles with contact paper, but they would be easier to get out than with the packing tape.  And, obviously, if you're lucky enough to have a laminating machine, go ahead and use that!

Then I cut the paint chips to the size I wanted.

So, I have this cool tool...the Crop-A-Dile.  It's for putting in eyelets.  I thought the eyelets would give the necklace a more finished look, rather than just using a hole-punch.  If you don't have a Crop-A-Dile, a simple eyelet kit would work.
(The Crop-A-Dile is mainly for papercraft projects; I wouldn't recommend it for putting functional, long term eyelets in fabric if you're making a corset or something.)

Then just put a chain through the holes and your necklace is finished!

*If you want a chevron necklace that is much more durable, you should check out the handmade wooden ones by The Knotty Owl!

You can use a long chain...

Or a short chain!

And, you could really do this with any kind of scrapbook paper, or even cover some cardstock with washi tape!

Happy Crafting!

Fashion Friday: Rainbow Pullover Sweater To Cardigan

Introducing my new favorite sweater!

So, this sweater was originally in my sweater-monster-making stash, and was originally a pullover.

It has awesome colors, but the knit was too loose to make a monster with. When stretched and stuffed, the stuffing would poke through the holes.

So I tried it on, and it fit me nicely. It was quite cozy and I wore it around the house for about a week.  But it was a pullover sweater, and didn't look very flattering on me. So, I decided to make it into a cardigan.

Super easy.  Just snipped it down the middle in the front, pinned the raw edges under, and zig-zag overlock  stitched them to keep it from unraveling!

Make-It Monday!: Fox Stamp

As a continuation of my stamp-making frenzy last week...I got the idea to make a fox stamp from this post I found via Pinterest.  (*I just looked at the actual post for the first time...I didn't even realize she made her stamp the same way I did!  I thought she carved it out of a stamp-carving block from looking at the Pinterest image!)

I used a hole-punch for the eyes...that's why they're so big and perfect and round.

Real graffiti?  Nope...it's really just a book!

The book is called "Tag This! A Doodle Book".  It has photos of different urban environments that you can unleash your inner graffiti artist on and doodle to your hearts content!