Rainbow Twist Dangle Earrings

Materials:
*20 plastic crystals (10 different colors, two of each color)
*10 head pins
*18 jump rings
*2 ear wires
*Wire
*Wire cutters
*Flat nosed pliers
*Round nosed pliers

Directions:
*Arrange the 10 crystal beads in the order in which you would like them to appear on the earrings.
*Cut one head pin in half using wire cutters, then pick up the half containing the pin's "head," setting the other half aside for later.
*Take one crystal bead in the color that you would like to have at the bottom of your earrings and slide it onto a head pin.  Trim the length of the head pin until you are left with only enough length to form a loop.
*Using your round nosed pliers, curl the metal to form a loop.  Slide a jump ring through the loop, then close the loop using the flat nosed pliers.
*Take the other half of the head pin and curl one end to form a loop.  Attach the pin to the jump ring that the other half of the pin was affixed to.
*Slide a crystal in the color that you would like to have second from bottom on your earrings onto the head pin.  Trim the length of the head pin until you are left with only enough length to form a loop.
*Curl to form a loop, then attach the pin to another jump ring.
*Take another head pin, snip off its "head," and cut in half.  Take one of the halves and curl the end, then attach to the jump ring.  Add a bead, trim, curl, and attach to a new jump ring.
*Repeat the above procedure until you have a chain of alternating crystals and jump rings.  With the last bead, rather than attaching the end to another jump ring, attach it to an ear wire.
*Take a piece of wire and curl one end to form a loop.  Create a spiral shape by twisting the wire around the round nosed pliers.
*Stretch the wire as you go to elongate the spirals.
*Once you have the required length of wire twisted into a spiral, separate the spiral section from the remainder of the wire using round nosed pliers.
*Attach the loop at the top of the spiral to the ear wire, then wrap the spiral around the crystal chain.
*Following the above procedure, create your second earring. 

Here's a picture showing how long these earrings end up being.  If these earrings are too long for your liking, try using fewer beads and modify the directions accordingly.

Personalized Shoe Tape Dispenser

Materials:
*Mostly white shoe tape dispenser, such as Scotch Lace High Heel Shoe Designer Desktop Dispenser
*Permanent markers in a variety of colors
*Optional: ribbon, glitter glue, rhinestones, or other embellishments

My undecorated shoe tape dispenser, carefully guarded by my googly eyed pom pom critters.

Directions:
*Determine what design you would like to use on your shoe tape dispenser.  You may find it helpful to print out a couple of pictures of your dispenser and try drawing patterns on it before you begin drawing on the shoe itself.
*Color the shoe as you would like to, then add any embellishments that you want.

Valentine's Day Zombie Stone "Conversation" Hearts

Materials:
*Stone hearts (or hearts from another material such as foam)
*Permanent marker

Directions:
*Look up zombie Valentine's phrases.  Some examples include "I love you to pieces," "I love you this munch," "I love you for your brains," and "my love for you won't die."
*Using your permanent marker, write zombie phrases on your hearts.  You can also add an illustration to the hearts if you would like.
*If you're not interested in zombies, make stone "conversation" hearts using traditional Valentine's Day phrases.

Valentine Zombie (and Non-Zombie) Pom Pom Creatures

Zombie Pom Pom Creatures

Materials:
*Large pink and red pom poms
*Small pink and red pom poms (twice as many as the number of large ones)
*Red and black fabric paint
*Red and pink foam
*Heart stencil or template
*All purpose adhesive
*Scissors
*Pen
*Optional: written or printed zombie valentine saying

Directions:
*Trace heart stencil or template onto the foam, then cut out the heart shape.  This heart will serve as the feet for your pom pom zombie, so size accordingly.
*Glue large pom pom onto the heart shape.
*Glue small pom poms onto the large pom pom to make ears.
*Draw x-shaped dead eyes using the black fabric paint.  If zombie is pink, add a bloodstained mouth using red fabric paint.  Set aside to dry.
*Glue a zombie valentine message to the bottom of your zombie's feet, if desired.

Googly Eyed Pom Pom Creatures

Materials:
*Either a kit for glittery pom pom critters (which is what I used)

OR:

*Large red and pink pom poms
*Googly eyes
*Red and pink foam
*Large heart template
*Small heart template
*Pipe cleaners
*Scissors
*Pen
*All purpose adhesive

Directions (if not using a kit):
*Trace one large heart and two small hearts onto the foam, then cut out the hearts.
*Glue a pom pom to the large heart.
*Cut off two sections of pipe cleaner slightly longer than the length you would like your critter's antennae to be.  Glue a small heart to each length of pipe cleaner.
*Glue googly eyes to the pom pom, then add the antennae.

I came across this song when looking for zombie Valentine's Day ideas and thought I would share it.  It's a fun song for a zombie themed Valentine's Day: The Zombie Song by Stephanie Mabey

Fuse Bead Adorned Silverware

Materials:
*Silverware
*Fuse beads
*Cooking spray
*Aluminum foil
*Cookie sheet
*X-acto knife
*Sandpaper

Directions:
*Cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil, then spray the aluminum foil with a generous amount of cooking spray.
*Spray the handles of the silverware with cooking spray, then place the silverware on the cookie sheet.
*Arrange fuse beads on top of the handles of the silverware like this:

*As you begin working on the last piece of silverware, turn the oven on to 400 degrees F.
*Once you have finished covering the handles in fuse beads, slide the cookie sheet into the oven.  Cook for about 8 minutes or until the fuse beads have sufficiently melted.
*Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
*Once cool, peel the silverware off of the aluminum foil.  Rinse off oil residue using dish soap and water.
*Some of your fuse beads may have melted over the side of the silverware.  If this is the case, carefully cut off the excess plastic with an X-acto knife.
*Use sandpaper to smooth out any rough edges.

Make your own colorful fuse bead dinnerware set by adding some fuse bead napkin rings and incorporate a fuse bead bowl into your centerpiece.

Fuse Bead Napkin Rings

Materials:
*Fuse beads
*Cooking spray
*Narrow drinking glass or wide shot glass (preferably one that is not tapered)
*Aluminum foil
*Waxed paper
*X-acto knife
*Cookie sheet

Directions:
*Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
*Spray the inside of the glass with a generous amount of cooking spray.
*Wad up some aluminum foil so that it fits in the center of the glass you have chosen with enough space around the foil for the beads.  Cover the foil in waxed paper, then place in the center of the glass.
*Carefully pour in beads around the waxed paper wrapped aluminum foil, making sure that the beads are sticking to the wall of the glass in a single layer, like this:

*Place the glass on a cookie sheet.
*Pop in the oven for about 10 minutes.
*Take out of the oven and set aside to cool for a few minutes.  I found with these napkin rings that it was easiest to pry them out when the beads were still a little warm.  However, this can be dangerous since the glass was still very hot, so if you choose to remove the napkin rings before they have fully cooled, proceed with caution.
*The napkin rings may stick to the glass a bit.  If this happens, use a butter knife to peel away from the sides of the glass.
*The waxed paper covered aluminum foil should have mostly prevented beads from reaching the bottom of the glass, but you may end up with some beads that do so anyway.  If this is the case, carefully cut away excess plastic at the bottom with an X-acto knife.
*If made wide enough, these napkin rings should be suitable for any size cloth napkins.  However, the beads may be a little rough in places, particularly in spots where they were cut with the X-acto knife.  Pull them over napkins carefully so as to avoid damaging your napkins. 

If you enjoyed this craft, you may also like my Fuse Bead Decorative Bowls.

Fuse Bead Snowflake Magnets

Materials:
*Fuse beads kit
*Magnetic backing
*Adhesive (if your magnetic backing does not have an adhesive or has a weak adhesive)
*Scissors
*Iron

Directions:
*Select the appropriate peg board for the snowflake you would like to make.  Choose a color scheme for your snowflake, then arrange the beads on the peg board in the pattern shown below:

*If you would like a stronger magnet, you may want to fill in the empty pegs with a neural color so that you will be able to add a larger piece of magnet to the back of the snowflake.
*Cover your beaded project with a sheet of waxed paper and iron the first side, then remove from the peg board, flip over, put waxed paper on top and iron the second side.  You can find more detailed directions here.
*Cut off strips of magnetic backing and adhere them to the back of the snowflake.  If using glue to adhere the magnetic backing, let dry before placing the magnet on the refrigerator. 

If you are looking forward to spring, check out my fuse bead spring magnets.