Seahorse Spiral Earrings

Materials:
*2 ear wires
*2 seahorse charms
*Small beads in shades of blue and green
*4 head pins
*Round nosed pliers
*Flat nosed pliers
*Wire cutters

Directions:
*Cut off the "heads" of two head pins
*Using the round nosed pliers, curl the bottom of the two head pins to form a loop and slide seahorse charms on.  Close the loop using flat nosed pliers
*Bead the rest of the head pins using beads in various shades of green and blue
*Curl the tops of the head pins and clamp onto the ear wires
*Cut off the heads of the other two head pins
*Wrap around the round nosed pliers to form a spiral
*Curl the tops of the head pins and attach to the ear wires

Beachy Seashell Earrings

Materials:
*2 ear wires
*8 head pins
*4 jump rings
*2 seashell beads
*Small fake pearls
*Small beads in varying shades of blue, green, brown, and gold
*Round nosed pliers
*Flat nosed pliers
*Wire cutters

Directions:
*Cut the "head" off of two of the head pins using wire cutters
*Curl the end of each using round nosed pliers, add the seashell beads, then clamp shut with the round nosed pliers.  Add beads, then curl the top of each headpin and clamp each onto a jump ring
*Bead two other head pins, trim to the desired length, then attach one to each jump ring
*Place some beads on two other head pin, but trim these head pins to a fairly short length.  Curl the ends, then clamp onto two separate jump rings
*Cut the "head" off two head pins, then curl the ends and clamp to the jump ring that the short head pins are attached to.  Add some beads, cut short, curl the end, then clamp each of these to one of the jump rings with two beaded headpins already attached

*Uding the round nosed liers, open the bottom of the ear wires, slide one of the jump rings with attached bead chains onto each ear wire, then close using flat nosed pliers

Introduction and Seashell Centerpiece

     Welcome to my Craft a Week blog.  I don’t believe in longwinded introductions, and my title seems self-explanatory, so I’ll keep this short.  I’m Amber, and I have been crafting since I was “knee-high to a grasshopper”, to use a rather trite but fitting expression.  I craft not because it saves me money, nor because many of my projects recycle materials, though both of these byproducts are definitely bonuses.  I create things because I love crafting and I am starting this blog so that I can share my passion with others.  As I mentioned before, I am no fan of lengthy preambles, so without further ado, I present my first project.

Seashell Centerpiece

A nifty way to preserve summer memories

Materials:

*Seashells, sea glass, rocks, driftwood, or other beach mementos

*Metal or plastic lid (mine came from a sour cream container)

*Gold permanent marker or gold paint

*Solid colored polyester or other cushiony fabric at least as wide as the lid

*Writing utensil that will show up on fabric (e.g. black pen if you have light colored fabric, metallic marker if you have a darker fabric)

*Scissors

*Adhesive agent such as tacky glue, rubber cement, or Krazy glue

*Glitter glue (optional)

Directions:

*Place the lid on the fabric and trace around the fabric with the writing utensil.  Cut fabric along the lid’s outline. 

*Color or paint the perimeter of the lid with gold.  Let the lid sit until the ink or paint has dried.

*Adhere fabric to the inside of the lid.  Let sit until the adhesive has had time to solidify.

*Dab glitter glue on the fabric to give it a shimmery appearance.  Set aside until the glitter glue dries.

*Arrange seashells and other beach memorabilia on the lid in a desirable pattern, then adhere beach mementos to the fabric.  Give the adhesive time to dry, then use centerpiece as you please.