Vintage Bottle Cap Necklaces By: Shay

Hi!  I'm Shay.  I'm Joni's daughter.  All of my crafty ideas come from her.  One day when we where out shopping we stopped at a little antique store on the way home.  We where just walking around and we didn't really see anything we where absolutely dying to have.  On the way out mom saw a scale that would go  perfectly in her kitchen.  While she was buying that I noticed a dish on the counter that was filled with old, vintage bottle caps.  I fell in love when I first saw them.  If you've ever seen the movie Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, you've seen the bottle cap necklace I've been dying for.  They ended up being 6 for a dollar so I bought a bunch.  My first set is made up of fun summer colors that go with most outfits.  It's bright and it definitely makes a statement.

This is so simple and so inexpensive.  6 bottle caps is the perfect amount to cover the front of your neck.  Along with these fun things you will need some type of  thick chain that will be easy to take apart.  I got mine for 2 dollars at Wal-Mart.  You can get them at pretty much any craft store.  I tried these little jump rings to link them together and they just didn't work.

So now that you have everything, you need to punch the holes.  I used a hammer and punch set my mom got me.  You need  to put your holes on the curved edge of the bottle cap.  Punch your holes on the inside of the cap where there's that little crevice, and your punch should just fit right in there.  Use a Sharpie to make marks (on the inside of course) so that you know where to punch your holes.  Try to make the smallest hole you can that will still allow the jump ring to go through. 

(Ignore the little jump rings they didn't work.)  Next you want to make your necklace a comfortable size.  Get a necklace you already have that is a good length and lay it out straight on the table.  Under that lay your chain and  adjust it so it's the same size as your other necklace. 

 Then under your chain lay out you bottle caps so they are centered on the chain.  Using pliers separate the links that are directly above the hole you made in the cap.  Do this on both of the outside bottle caps.  Put the open links through the holes and hook then onto the bottle cap closing them with the pliers. Save the links from the middle.  You will need them in the next step.

Using the extra links you took off the middle, take one off at a time and use those to link together your bottle caps. This is a lot cheaper than buying jump rings because then you don't have a random chain laying around.  It may take two pairs of pliers if your chain is really strong.  

Close that link and move on to the next one.  Eventually they should all link together to form a necklace.  Make sure the links are closed tightly so they don't slip off of the cap easily.  I know it doesn't sound like they will come off but they definitely will.  If you want to put a dab of hot glue on the hole to secure the link then go ahead.  When it's done it should look like this.

There are so many ways you can arrange these caps.  Just be creative and think of a unique way to place them.  Another way I did mine is in a "V" shape.  Just do the chain the same but use the little jump rings this time to hook the bottle caps together in the center of the necklace.  They allow your necklace to have a little movement and not be so stiff.  It will take 2 or 3 in some places because of the small size.  

These will need a little hot glue on the holes because these rings aren't all that strong.  Again, using a sharpie to mark where your holes will be punched really helps.  This makes it so you can line up the caps and they won't be crooked and out of place. These necklaces can be made in whatever shape you want.  I have another design but I'll post it later once I have some pictures.  Everyone asks me if it's scratchy or if it hurts and it really doesn't.  Another good tip is to take clear nail polish and put a coat over the chain so it doesn't tarnish and the silver will last longer.  Leave comments cause I want to know what people think of this idea.  Bye! :) 


Linking to:
Hookin up with HoH #12 
A few of my favorite things 
Funky Junk Interiors 
Tatortots and Jello 
The DIY show off: Project Parade 

Photo shoot

Since the time I took the older girls out and took there pictures (remember THIS post), Little Miss K has been begging me to take her out and take her picture.  Well yesterday was finally the day.  As I was taking her picture I couldn't believe how grown up she has become.  I know I am bias, but I have some gorgeous kids.  Anyway, We just went to the park by our home, it was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun.  So here are a few (I took 127 pictures :) of Miss K's pictures.

Well, 3 down, 3 to go.  I really want to take the boys out and get pics of them next.  I have some fun ideas I want to try with them.  Thanks for looking.

I want to show you a couple of thrift store lamps that I have redone recently.  Hopefully tomorrow.  We are still trying to get into the swing of summer so I have not been able to get on here much lately.  So check back :)

One more sign

I had to make one more sign.   These are so simple and fun to make.  This one is for Little Miss K's room.  I made it the same as I did in THIS tutorial.

This sign was done on the same kind of old grey wood.  Painted white with some black crackling.  I made the stencil using the cricut machine and the SCAL program.  I LOOOOOVE this program.  If you have a Cricut machine you have. to. get. this. program!  You will not regret it.  It is awesome.

This picture has wonky lighting, but it shows the wood detail and also how it is sanded to look distressed.  Well thanks for taking the time to look.  This probably won't be the last sign you see here :)  I love these things.
P.S.  See the scalloped shelf?  I totally made that.  Cute Huh!?! I know!  I know!  The curtains DEFINITELY need to be replaced.

I am linking to House of Hepworth and Frugal and Fabulous  so go check out all the great craftiness.

Sign tutorial

This weather has been fantastic.  I have been outside spray painting something every day this week.  I LOVE IT!!!   I promised I would do a mini tutorial for you, so here it is. 



I have wanted an "Old sign"  over my kitchen sink as a window treatment for a while now but have not been lucky enough to find one.  So I set out to make one.  V and Co. has a great tutorial HERE of how to recreate these signs.  So starting with that info, I went ahead and tweaked it a little.

First thing, my sweet hubby brought home some old wood.  After picking the perfect piece, I cut it to a size to fit the window.  Mine measures about 9 1/2" X 50". 

My wood was a really great old Grey color so I didn't want to mess with the color to much.  I did dry brush some thin white paint over the front of the wood.

Then I cut my design out of vinyl using my Cricut Machine (I didn't get any pics of this process sorry, you gotta use your imagination). 

Next, using the NEGATIVE part of your image, decide on your placement and adhere the vinyl to the front of the wood.

Next, using the vinyl as a stencil, I brushed on a dark brown for the wording (I used a metallic vinyl which is why there is such a bad glare in the photo)

Once the paint is dry peel off the vinyl.  Then, using the stencil brush and the same dark brown paint, I added some "distressing".  I just "dirtied it up" where ever it would be dirty or worn, around the edges and in the cracks of the wood.  When I got the paint where I like it I took it outside and started to sand it.  I didn't want to lose the natural Grey weathering on the wood so I didn't sand very hard.  Just enough to take off the top couple of paint layers.

I continued to sand and add paint until I got the look that I wanted.  That is it!  This was a very simple project and I love the results.  To hang it I just screwed through the wood right into the wall (my husband will love that :)  Here are the final pictures of it all hung up.  Sorry about the bad lighting :( The dark areas are where I added the brown paint then sanded it off a little. I like how it brings out the detail of the wood.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you like it.  I love it, and by the way it says  'the house of chocolate' hee hee Love it!  It makes me smile every time I go in there.

Some things I have been working on

I could spend my entire day creating and fixing things up.  I wish I could make a living doing it.  That really would be my dream job.  Anyway, I have had a couple of projects that I have wanted to get finished and with the good weather (FINALLY!) I have been able to grab the spray paint and head outside.   My first project I didn't get any before pictures.  I was so excited to get started that I totally forgot.

This is my headboard bench.  As you can see it is not quite finished (I need to add the arm rests) but I think it turned out pretty good.  Ignore the ugly hose, pretend there is a beautiful pot filled with flowers right there :)


 For my next projects, this is what I had to work with.

I've decided I really like other peoples junk.  I love to change it and make it look good again.  The burlap I ended up making into a pillow that now has a home on my new bench, so scroll back up and take a peek.


As for that big brown blah thingy.....

 This is what it looks like now.  Pretty good, Huh?!?  I haven't decided where this is going to go yet, but I know I will find somewhere good.


Finally, and probably my favorite, the candle stick and the cheese dome. I have seen this project all over blogland and was finally lucky enough to find a cheese dome at the DI the other day  Woo Hoo!



DRUMROLL......

I LOOOOOOVE how this turned out.  I am sure I will be filling this full of all sorts of crap all year long.

So that is a few of the things I have been working on.  I have some more that I will post soon.  In fact stop back by tomorrow.  I have a mini tutorial on a project I finished for my kitchen.  Thanks for stopping by!

I am linking these projects  to House of Hepworth.

The Lord needs Us... (and a funny story)

"If there ever were a time when the Lord needed righteous, determined women who can distinguish between the adversary's deceptions and the voice of the Lord, it is now. If there were ever a time when the Lord needed women of integrity and purity who live in the world but rise above it, it is now. If there is ever a time when the Lord needed His daughters to be alert to what is happening in society and to defend the sanctity of the home and family, it is now. If there were ever a time when the Lord needed us to have a clear vision of who we are, where we are, and what is important, it is now." 

Sheri Dew

A bishop was walking down the street one day when he noticed a young primary boy in his ward trying to press the doorbell of a home on the street. The boy was very small and the doorbell was too high for him to reach it, so the Bishop decided to help him by pressing the doorbell. Crouching down to the child's level, the Bishop smiled benevolently and asked, "And now what, young brother?" To which the boy replied, "Now we run!"

 (Both the quote and the story were found at  latterdaychatter.blogspot.com )

 

"Sue"

     Today is 'Middle name appreciation day'!  Did you know that?  Well I am here to announce my middle name and the story behind how I got it  (psst...I wasn't born with it).
    I was born October 27, 19XX  to Patty and Larry who decided to name me Joni Maughan.

       As most of you know that is not my maiden name.  So the story goes something like this.  My dad's mom got a divorce when my dad was a kid.  His mom then changed his last name to her NEW last name, no apotion ever happened.  I guess back then you didn't need to do much to change your name?????  Anyway, he lived most of his life with his step-father's last name.   Now fast forward to when I was about 3 or 4 yrs. old,  my dad decided once and for all that he wanted to have his fathers last name and not the step-father's anymore.    Was that confusing?  It seems like it is as I am typing.    Ok, back to the story.  We went as a family to the court to get the last name changed, but as we had been talking about it before hand I told my mom that I wanted to have a middle name.  She asked what I wanted it  to be.  I, of course, wanted what most 3 yr olds would want,  I wanted my middle name to be the same as my mom's.   So when we went to court, my parents were talking to the judge and I remember the judge looking down at me from what seemed like the biggest desk in all the world.  Then he said something like  "I heard you wanted to ask me something?"  To which I said that "I wanted a middle name because I didn't have one."  He asked me "What do you want your middle name to be?"  Quietly I said "Sue".  "Why do you want that name?"  I said "Because that is my mom's middle name."  He then sat back in his chair with a smile on his face.  He leaned over to the side and acted as though he opened his desk drawer and said "I think I have one of those right here in my drawer."

    And that is it.  From then on I had a new middle and last name.  So for "Middle name appreciation day'  I am proud to announce that my middle name is SUE!!  Thanks Mom!