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Friday, February 11, 2011

Book Jewellery

Have you ever had one of those weeks where time seems to drag on and on, but you still haven't found the time to do all of the things you meant to do?  That's what this week was like for me, so today's tutorial is something easy peasy that you can do in a snap when you just need a few minutes to feel creative.  At the end, I'll give you some ideas for how to take it to the next level, just in case you're more organized than I am and actually did do everything on your to-do list already.

Here are the materials I used:
 
All I had handy were these wire wrapping pliers,
but you really just need ordinary or round nose pliers.

Steps:
1) Cut your strip of leather at least 15 1/2 " (39.5cm) long and tie a knot in one end.


2) String on some bulky beads.


Make sure you choose beads with a large enough hole to fit the leather.  I originally wanted to use these cute ladybug beads, but clearly, it was not going to happen:




 3) Tie another knot or wrap some wire at the end of your beads.  If you go the wire route, make it bulky, to stop the beads from falling over it.


4) Cut the wire and smoosh down a bit with your pliers to get rid of any sharp edges

 
5) Measure approximately 9" (23 cm) down and either tie another knot or wrap another piece of wire.


6) Add some more beads. This time if you're using the wrapped wire version, fold the end up. If you're using the knot method, tie another knot and you're done!


7) Wrap wire around the two layers of leather to secure.



8) Now for some extra blingity bling, thread some pretty beads onto an extra long head pin.  Make sure the holes in these beads aren't so big that the pin goes right through them.  You can also add a smaller bead at the bottom to make sure your beads are secure.



If you don't have any head pins you can just create your own version like this one:


9) Using your pliers, gently bend the tail of the head pin so that it will wrap through the leather loop.  Twist it to secure.


 Tah dah!  Now your books will look as pretty as you!




Book Jewellery, DIY Book Jewellery, DIY Bookmark, Beaded Bookmark, Bookmark Craft, easy to make bookmark, how to make a book mark
See the black on top?
I just used the knot method and it took me
less than 5 minutes to make it~
And when they're on the shelf they look just like jewellery~



What do you think?  If you want to take it a level higher, try using ribbon instead of leather.  Or, braid/macrame some embroidery floss.  Use tassels instead of beads.  As usual, you're only limited by your imagination.

I've added a few new parties to the linky party tab up top, so make sure to check them out.
  I'll be posting this project throughout blogland all week.

Oooooh!  I'm so excited!  I'm very close to hitting the 100 follower mark!  If you're not a follower yet make sure to hit the button because I'll be celebrating with a fun giveaway
for all of my followers very soon!

I love hearing back from you so make sure to leave a comment below~


21 comments:

  1. I love your blog! And I nominated you for some awards. {check out http://ladeladeda.blogspot.com for details}

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  2. So cute!! I love this idea..

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  3. These are so fun! I love the colorful wire!

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  4. These are so pretty! :)

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  5. Super cute! I love the way they look hanging on the shelf. I'm your newest follower. I'd love for you to come visit!

    http://theloops13.blogspot.com/

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  6. Awesome tutorial! Sweet!
    I'm here from Sunday Spotlight party, and this is my first party! I will be sure to become a follower too!!

    Come visit my first party if you can!! (although i did it wrong, and showed something I got, not made) My blog is a new version of my old one, and I only have 13 followers so far!
    daniellahayes.blogspot.com

    Thanks for the inspiration!
    xxDaniella

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  7. Hi Tamara,
    What a great tutorial - thanks for sharing. Thank you for following my blog, I'm now following yours too - 1 closer to 100! :)
    Melissa x

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  8. what a great idea and so pretty. I love how they look on the bookshelf.

    Megan
    craftycpa.blogspot.com

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  9. So I don't own a single item to make these, but I love to read and book jewelry is so much prettier than a paper bookmark (or, who are we kidding? The random receipt I'm currently using). And then other people can enjoy its beauty too. Thanks for sharing. I'm your newest follower!

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  10. These are beautiful! I have wanted to make bookmarks for a while and these are great inspiration! I found you through Made By You Mondays and am now a follower.

    Melanie
    youmadethat.blogspot.com

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  11. These are great. I have not seen them done this way before and I really like it. Your bookshelf looks really festive with the decorated books.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  12. I love the way that they look hanging over the shelf! What a cute idea!

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  13. I LOVE IT! This will be a perfect craft for our newly formed Moms and Daughters book club! Thank you for sharing. I am your newest follower!

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  14. These are cute...i love creative bookmarks! :)

    I'd love it if you'd link this up at my party this weekend, if you want! :)

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  15. Those are Really beautiful! Great job!
    Thanks for linking up to Making It With Allie! I can't wait to see what you have for next week!
    AllieMakes.Blogspot.com

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  16. Tamara-

    That's a way to really sparkle up a bookshelf!

    Thanks for linking to Creative Juice! Hope to see you back this Thursday.

    <3
    nicolette

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  17. Hi, Tamara -

    I found you through Santa's Gift Shoppe. Love your easy to understand tutorial. The book jewelry is so pretty. I hope to be making some soon.

    Cheers,
    Tracy http://allthumbscrafts.blogspot.com

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  18. Wonderful tutorial! I loved the outcome!
    Great post!! I included it in my post Βόλτα στη Γειτονιά #22 :)
    Have a great week!!

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