Bohemian Romance Jewelry

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DIY Steampunk Valentine's Garland

UncategorizedSamantha ExtanceComment

Valentine's Day is almost here! Here's a simple, quick craft to decorate your mantle, doorway, wall, or desk! diy-1

Supplies & Materials

  • Steampunk Heart Stamp (I purchased this one from Michaels)
  • Ink Pad (I used black)
  • 1 package of Recollections tags (10 total tags)
  • 1 package of reproduction metal press gears (also available at Michaels)
  • Brads
  • Bakers Twine (gold & white)
  • Scissors
  • Hole punch
  • Piece of scrap paper
  • (Optional) Small fake flowers to attach to the gears if desired

Steps

1.Lay out your scrap piece of paper to protect your table or work surface.

diy-22. Press your stamp onto the ink pad. Be sure to get a layer of ink on the entire stamp design. Then press onto your tag. Let the ink dry. Repeat for 4 more tags (a total of 5). Set stamped tags aside.

diy-33.Take your blank tags and mark the places you want to place your gears on the tag with a pencil. Then hole punch your markings.It works best if you lay out your gears on the tag to see how it will look before you punch the holes. 

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4.Secure the gears in place with your brads. Your layer should be: brad, top gear, bottom gear, and last the paper tag.

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5.Close the brad and secure your gears in place firmly by opening the 2 prongs of the brad on the back side of your tag.

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6. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

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It's nice to organize your gears in asymmetrical clusters, but you can also have them spell out letters or be in heart shapes too.

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7.Once you've finished adding gears to your 5 blank tags, now it's time to assemble your garland. Lay out your tags, alternating between stamped tags and gear tags as shown in the picture below.

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8. Roughly measure your bakers twine and cut the length you need. It's fine to eyeball it. Be sure to give yourself at least 3-5 additional inches for tying knots. Once you've cut your twine, begin weaving it through the top holes. Tie a firm knot at the top of each tag so that your tags don't slide around.

Tip: Have a ruler or piece of washi tape as a measure system for how much room you'd like in between each tag. Mine are 1 inch apart.

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Optional: (not pictured) add flowers to the top of your tag in the holes. You can also twist some flowers around the twine for added flourish.

diy-11As always, Happy Crafting!

 

Steampunk Reads: Sherlock Holmes Meets the Supernatural

UncategorizedSamantha ExtanceComment

I've been reading a lot lately--each new year brings a new reading challenge. I just finished a fantastic book that I thought I'd share with you all" Jackaby, by William Ritter. 20312462

It's "Sherlock Holmes meets Doctor Who!" Ok, once I read that it was about a millisecond before I picked it up to purchase it.

Without spoiling the novel, it was wildly entertaining and combined everything I love about Sherlock Holmes and detective fiction with what I love about supernatural thrillers. The characters and the world are vibrant, dynamic, and rich.

There are 2 more stories in the series, Beastly Bones and Ghostly Echoes. I can't wait to dive more into this world and these characters with these next 2 installments. But before I do, I'm cracking open Graham Moore's The Last Days of Night for my historical fiction book club next month.

So far I'm really enjoying it. It's about the light bulb, Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla and the legal battle over light!

What are you reading?

Happy National Pie Day!

UncategorizedSamantha ExtanceComment

I'm sure you all know this about me already, but I love pie! When my husband and I got married instead of the traditional wedding cake we had a multitude of pies--pies of all kinds. Pies I had dreamed of making for years but hadn't gotten around to yet. 11202965_10100330474523664_5412627331515512409_o

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I love how bossy my uncle got--he had zeroed in on the one he wanted.

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Rhys & I cut into a Mile High Chocolate Pie from Antoinette Baking Co. The date we shared our first kiss, we also shared a piece of their pie. Tasting it always bring back that sweet memory. They're having a pie night here in Tulsa--maybe I'll see you there!

And since Pie Day often turns into pie week at our house, here are some of my favorite pie recipes, free for you to download. Enjoy!

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And last, for transforming cookies into pie crusts--

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Chandelier Pieces Transformed

UncategorizedSamantha ExtanceComment

On our anniversary trip to the Grand Canyon, Rhys took me to this amazing little antique shop in Amarillo, Texas called Texas Ivy. I absolutely loved it! It is worth a stop--and a detour if you're driving nearby. I found all kinds of wonderful things there: vintage cookie cutters, lace, costume jewelry galore, books--but one of my favorite finds were these vintage chandelier pieces. They're plastic, but have the classic shape of many vintage glass chandelier pieces. They're just perfect to re-create into necklaces!

Here are a few necklaces I've made with these pieces so far. Hope you enjoy them!

If you'd like to see or purchase any of these, I'll be at Carols & Crumpets this Saturday, Dec. 3rd from 8 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at the Tulsa Garden Center (in Woodward Park).

This necklace also has a light bulb, chain, and a sewing hook!

A cuckoo clock gear and a chandelier piece--simply steampunk!

I'm a big fan of long necklaces, especially in the winter so you can still wear a cozy scarf! Hope to see you at Carols & Crumpets this Saturday! If not, be sure to catch me at The Alliday Show next weekend!