Paris Necklace Tutorial

Today I will be sharing with you this beautiful Paris necklace that I made. It had been a little while since I had made jewelry and it felt good to do so again... especially since this is a gift! (Shhh...)

I was lucky enough to be sent this box jammed packed with Mod Podge supplies from the folks over at Plaid. Look at all those goodies!

For this project I used the new Podgeable Shapes (available at Michael's) to make the charms for the necklace. (About half the shapes have holes to be used as charms.) It couldn't have been easier.

Other new products from Plaid include these great papers. Many of the designs are the exact sizes of the shapes, which makes it even easier. If you look closely you can see where I have set 4 of the charms on the papers to determine what I like best.

If you want your charm to show a design that isn't the size of the charm, you can use these handy stencils to trace the shape on the paper. (This photos shows a few punched out so you can see how they work. )I used the stencils on all the charms except the blue rectangle charm because it was the only one that was the exact size.

To attach the paper to the shapes you simple coat the paper with a layer of Mod Podge and stick it to the shape. Make sure it is centered and that there are no bubbles (no photos of this because it was hard to hold the camera and apply the Mod Podge at the same time but it's very simple).

Next I had to figure out my design.

I played with several different chains, but this was an easy choice. The hard part came in choosing the embellishments. I quickly narrowed it down to pearls, but what color??? I liked the white because they stood out...

But I liked the bronze because they helped the charms stand out.  In the end I chose the bronze pearls and assembled the necklace. Use jump rings to attach the charms, and head pins to attach the pearls. (If you need help with these steps check out my "Jewelry Basics" tutorials.)

And voila! My beautiful Paris statement necklace is complete. When I attached the charms there was a lot of space in between each one, so I went with two pearls in each space.

Here's a close up of some of the charms so you can see the the detail in the papers.

You can uses these shapes to customize any piece of jewelry with any paper. Ooh! Or how about photos? That would make a cute gift for a grandma- photos of the grandkids? The possibilities are endless!

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This post was brought to you as a paid promotion by Plaid and the Blue Print Social. All opinions are my own.

If you want to see more projects using Mod Podge goodies, check out the links below.

An Outfit

Old Navy t-shirt, Forever 21 cardigan and bracelet, Bags that Fit (local boutique) belt, Kohl's watch, Yellow Blackbird necklace and skirt, Payless shoes

I haven't posted an outfit picture in a really long time. I really liked what I wore to church yesterday so I thought I would snap a few pictures of it and share here. Yes, the 100 degree weather is a bit warm for a sweater, but it was perfect for the A/C in the church.

Be sure to come back on Wednesday for a fun new jewelry tutorial!

I've Gone Crazy for Crochet!

Over the spring I took a crochet class. (Utah locals- check out Canyons School District community ed classes for next fall if you are interested.) We spent one week learning each stitch. I liked it okay, but just stitching in rows making washcloths wasn't that thrilling to me. The last two weeks of the 8 week course were spent making flowers and by so doing, learning how to read a pattern. My flower from the class turned out just okay.... but I LOVED reading the pattern and crocheting in the round. I was "hooked" ha ha!

I bought these six skeins of yarn from Walmart- the cheapest they had in order to practice following patterns.

The first pattern I tried on my own was this Hawaiian flower by Sarah London. I didn't realize until it was too late that the pattern was written using the British symbols, which are different than American ones. (Plus I had a different kind of yarn.) Now, she has released the pattern as a PDF so it's easier to follow. I will have to try again.

 The next pattern I tried was this Japanese Flower from Revving it Up. LOVE IT!


I really wanted to try a granny square next. I did make a very simple small square but wanted something more fun. I made this African Flower Granny Sqaure by following a YouTube video. It isn't perfect, but I am very pleased!

I made another flower granny square using this tutorial. Isn't it cute?

Another project I tried was baby barefoot sandals with flowers. I think I am going to put a button or jewel or something in the center of the flower.

What's my next project? I will give you a hint:

I have pinned over 130 crochet projects so far... more than I can possibly hope to make. If you want a list of a lot of free patterns, check out or follow my crochet pin board.

Want to learn to crochet? I would highly recommend Crafty Minx's free Crochet School. She has videos and step-by-step instructions in 23 lessons. It's a great resource and I have learned a lot through using her lessons! (There are also special videos if you are left-handed.)

Have fun!

Mod Podge Rocks book review

 I was lucky enough to get a copy of Mod Podge Rocks by Amy Anderson (blogger at Mod Podge Rocks) to  get to share with all of you. Ready? Let's take a peek inside...

 Look at all those projects! You get full color illustrated step-by-step instructions for each project. In addition, there is a gallery at the back of the book with more Mod Podge projects created by other bloggers. Sco-ore!

 I love this book page pumpkin project. If you aren't into book page crafts, think of the infinite possibilities for pumpkins using Mod Podge.  What a great alternative or addition to regular carved pumpkins.

 This lamp project is darling. (Ha, I picked a book page and a bird craft to share with you. That is SO me!) What I love about the book is that there is a wide variety of projects using Mod Podge on so many different surfaces. Even if you don't like the style of the lamp, you can still follow the instruction to use Mod Podge on a lamp shade or similar surface.

My favorite part of the book is the section at the beginning that explains in great detail the different types of Mod Podge, their uses, and a general how-to guide before you dive into the projects. I found this especially helpful because I recently received a giant box of Mod Podge products (some are brand new!) with which I will be creating a tutorial to share with you later this month.

Whether you have used Mod Podge for years and years, or are a beginning crafter, you can find something useful in this book. And isn't it great to see a fellow blogger have such success? Support Amy and show her some love by picking up your own copy!

Yes I was provided this book to review, but all opinions are my own.