Mushroom beads

Ok, here is my other idea for these little mushroom buttons, beads for jewellery.  Cute!

Let's gather some supplies.  I bought the jewellery making supplies at Michael's.  Some silver chain, fixings including the clasp and some flat head pins to attach the mushrooms.  I haven't done a lot of jewellery making but  this is the simple of the simple techniques.  You do need these needle nose pliers though.  I really should have used rounded pliers but this worked fine for me.

Next, you need to paint your little mushrooms.  I used some poster putty to keep it steady on the end of a skewer and it was much easier to paint this way.

Put them onto a little piece of scrap timber (for when the drill comes through the other side) and drill a hole through the middle.  Don't worry if you are a little off - it won't matter to the end look.

Insert the flat head pin through the bottom of your 'bead'.

Use your pliers to make a little hook.

  

Put it on your chain and use the pliers to close up the hook as much as you can.

Add as many as you like and ask your 8 yr old to model it for you.  Adorable! (if I do say so myself...)

Make your own knitting needles, mushroom style

Here is project number two with our fun little button plugs.  Knitting needles!  I visited a Waldorf school once and they showed me how they made their own knitting needles by sanding down the ends.  I just sped up the process a bit with the pencil sharpener.

Take some dowel (mine is approx. 12 in/30cm long and about 10mm in diameter but use whatever width you like of course).  Glue a button plug to one end.

Stick the other end in a pencil sharpener....

Until it looks like this.

Gently sand the point down until there are no sharp edges and you have a soft point....

Like this....

and then paint your button plugs to look like mushrooms (or ladybugs).

Too cute!  Now I just need to learn how to knit...(I am totally not kidding).

Ladybug love

One of my commenters from yesterday's mushroom magnet post suggested they would look great as ladybugs and she was right!  Thanks Willow's Quiet Corner!  By the way, these were even easier as I just coloured them with Sharpies and only painted the little eyes on.  I have another cute idea for these little painted buttons for tomorrow as well.

Making Monday - Mushroom Magnets!

Don't these look adorable?  I saw this idea used on pencils first (check out her other projects - adorable!!) and then my sister sent me some cute little Japanese mushroom magnets (like this) for Christmas so I thought it would be easy to make some too.  Here is how I did it.

First, buy these little wooden button plugs at your local hardware store (I found these in the tool section).  They come in different sizes so pick whatever suits you.  I bought these teeny little magnets at Michael's but the hardware store has them too I think.

Gather your supplies.  Button plugs, magnets, paintbrush, paint, glue*, something to put your little dabs of paint on.  (* see note below about the glue!)

I used this little enamel dish to put the magnets on and then glued the mushrooms on.  *Realise the gorilla glue does not work AT ALL and switch to Aleene's Tacky Glue.  Leave them to dry.

Paint the tops red (leave the little 'stem' natural).  As Kimanh says in her pencil tutorial, paint from the top down so you don't get paint on the 'stem'.

Use the other end of your paintbrush or a skewer to dip into white paint and do your spots.  I actually cut the tip off the sharp end of a skewer so I could get a smaller dot.  Let it all dry (it doesn't take long).

 

Use on a magnetic noticeboard or your fridge or anywhere you need a little mushroom love!

Yet more snow... that is why they call it Minnesnowta!

It is snowing yet again.  It is March and the official first day of Spring is in exactly two weeks.  Someone should tell the weather or this is what I am going to look like..... (hee hee, this puppet was at the Christmas display at Macy's downtown - I keep meaning to send this to my Mum, she would find it hilarious).

On a more positive, less whiny, note, look at my thrift shop score yesterday!  I was so happy to find these vintage beauties.  So pretty.  I have found quite a few other things recently that are all getting little or big makeovers and I shall be revealing them over the next few weeks.  After the temperature gets high enough that I can use spray paint anyway.....

Serving plate makeover

I have these two little serving plates.  They are not too big, I love the colours and I like that they are a rectangle and square - so handy for lots of things that aren't round cakes.  I thought this would be a cute way to jazz them up a little sometimes.

I cut out some pretty scrapbook papers to fit in the bottom, laminated them and popped them in (securing them with double sided tape is a good idea).  I can make as many as I like and change them out for different parties and so on.  I am going to do the same for my small cake plate as well.  This would be a nice way to use your plain white salad plates as serving pieces also.  Too easy!