DIY - Boho Tassel Necklace

It's summer-time, and this girl's really lovin' the boho style that I'm seeing everywhere.  So, I went to Hancock Fabrics and bought several fun prints to make my own blouses and then I just felt like they needed something else.  This one has such great colors, and I thought it would be fun to match up the turquoise, lime, and lemon colors that are super vibrant with cotton embroidery threads.

I did fudge a little by starting out with a necklace on the sale kiosk at Nordstrom's Rack.  Then I got busy making tassels in each of the colors.  To make my tassels, I grabbed my PattieWack™ Mini Tassel Maker and decided what size to make them. 

I chose the 1 1/2 inch size and wound the embroidery floss around the tool until it was as fat and fluffy as I wanted. I wrapped this heavier floss about 20 times. How many times you wind it depends on how thick your thread is, and how fat you want your tassels.  And in order to make all your tassels the same size,  simply count how many times you wind the first one and then you'll be set for the other tassels. 

For the next step I put a large jump ring through the top of the tassel since it was going on a metal chain necklace. A pair of needle-nose pliers worked great for this. 

Then I inserted another piece of embroidery floss through the slit in the tool and tied it very tightly around the neck of the tassel. 

The next step was to simply cut the bottom of the tassel with scissors and slip it off the end of the tool. I also wound some more floss around the neck to add a little more pizzaz to the tassel. 

I made three tassels, added them to my necklace and that was it!  I had my necklace finished in about 30 minutes...boombadabing!

See you in the next post! 

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I love Tassels

You know how much I love Tassels, and there are countless images of tassels on the internet, and I'm always browsing for beautiful tassels for inspiration to make my own.  

In my internet journeys, I found the most amazing tassel pics at 

http://thepeachskin.tumblr.com/

I love this beautiful outfit, and the tassel necklace and bracelet make it so pretty.  Love the peace sign, love the beads, I just love it ALL!

The unbelievable colors in this necklace are simply delicious.  The tangerine tassel combined with the turquoise beads and knotted string are a beautiful combination.  I can see wearing this with a crispy starched white and a pair a indigo skinny jeans.

The ombre dye technique on this tassel really caught my eye, and shows how a simple silk tassel can be dipped into dye for an organic and thoughtful decoration on any door. 

And this one is extremely elegant in it's simplicity with the pure white embroidery floss and wooden beads, just slightly dipped in an ash brown dye.  Beautiful!

For more eye candy, check out:  http://thepeachskin.tumblr.com/

I know you love tassels too, or you wouldn't be hanging out here with me..... so if you want more inspiration and to see how easy it is to make your own tassels, you just might enjoy my little video.

How to Make PattieWack Tassels How-To Video on the PattieWack Designs Channel on YouTube right here:

Steampunk New Year's Eve

What are you going to wear for New Year's Eve parties this year? If you're like me, you always reach for that same little black dress year after year after year. But then the jewelry changes every year according to the styles. And this year is the year of the statement necklace.

I made this amazing steampunk-style statement necklace just in time for the New Year's scene. It's much easier than it looks, and it has a famous Aleene's glue technique:

Burnt Brown Bag!

The butterfly with the houndstooth ribbon across it is truly burnt glue and a paper bag. It honestly looks like antique metal. If you've never heard of it, let me tell you about this crafty technique that's been around for years....

First, grab a paper bag from the grocery store. Cut out three 4 x 4 inch squares. Stack and glue them all together with Aleene's Tacky Glue. Trace the butterfly pattern and cut it out, and now you're ready for the craziness.

Light a candle, since the flame is part of the process. Cover the entire butterfly with glue. I'm talking a nice thick coating of glue on the top and the bottom and the edges. Yes, you're gonna get a bit sticky, but now grab some old tweezers to hold it.

Hold the glue covered butterfly over the candle and watch what happens. If you have the bag totally covered it won't catch on fire, but the glue will start to turn black and get wrinkly. I know, it's crazy! Keep going until the entire butterfly is black and wrinkled, and press out bubbles if they come up.

Then, gently rub the black soot with a tissue and let the glue dry. After that, I used my finger to rub silver rub-n-buff on it to make it look antique. A few crystals glued on the wings finished it off.

The rest of the bib necklace is a collage of trims, buttons, lace, and crystals all glued to muslin or any black scrap fabric, with Aleene's Fabric Fusion and then put together with grommets and chain. You can get the complete details on the iLoveToCreate website on the homepage, or on the Steampunk Socialite Necklace project page.

Don't forget to come see me at Pattiewack.com for more crafty ideas for the most wacky and crafty year ever!

Happy 2010!

Pattiewack