Friendship Bracelet Class & Yoga Mat Bag

Yesterday I taught a friendship bracelet class at the Wayland Library in MA.  I love how this library looks from the outside.

Here is my class set up before the kids showed up.

There was a 15 kid limit for the class, but I made 18 bracelet kits.  I like to give the kids options.   Because less than 15 kids showed up, they were able to take home an extra kit for a friend or family member.  The girls were amazed at how easy it was to make these complicated looking bracelets.  

Here are my tools / materials.  The screw driver and the knitting needle help to make a hole in the center of the cardboard circle.  The scissors are for cutting out the cardboard circle, add the 17 notches in it, and for cutting the embroidery floss.  The crochet hook is for pulling the threads through the center hole.  For directions on how to make the bracelets, please see my previous post.

This is the bracelet that I made on Monday for the class.

Here is the bracelet that I started making during my class.  The photo was taken at the beach that same afternoon.  It was a busy but fun day for me.  I taught the class in the morning (and had fun), then my family and I went to the beach that afternoon, and that evening I took my oldest son to see the Harry Potter movie at the theater (discount Tuesdays at our theater).

Here are some of the pictures that I took at the beach. 

If you want to see more photos by me, click here.

I started crocheting a yoga mat bag this week.  The photo on the left was taken yesterday at the beach, and the one on the right was taken today at the park.  I love portable crafts.  I'm going to have to hunt down another skein or two of that yarn tomorrow, because it is almost all used up.

Friendship Bracelet Class Tomorrow

Tomorrow at 11 a.m. I am teaching a friendship bracelet class at the Wayland library.  

Here are the 18 bracelet kits that I put together along with the one that I will be demoing on.
I cut out a cardboard circle, then I drew on it with marker. Next put a hole through the center and cut 17 notches around it. I number the notches 1-17. Then fold 8 threads in half and pull through the center hole. Knot the folded side on the back of the cardboard. Put the 16 threads in 16 notches leaving one empty. Count 3 threads from the empty notch and then move that thread to the empty notch. Repeat until you have the size bracelet the you want. Split the remaining thread in half, braid each half and knot the ends. Now you have a bracelet.

Pincushion, Class Prep, and Soda Tab Chain

Yesterday while my friend and her 2 daughters were over at my house, I showed them how to make a bottle cap pincushion.  One of them was having a few friends for a sleepover tonight and she wanted a simple craft project to do with them.  I wonder if they made some.  

I finished sanding 31 cardboard tubes for my class tomorrow, and I counted all of my soda tabs to make sure that I had enough.  I'm teaching 26 teens and tweens how to make cardboard mailing tube bangles and soda tab bracelets tomorrow.  The tabs in the chick paint can are all the large tabs that I have.  I didn't expect to have that many large ones.

This is a soda tab project that I have been working on.  I think that it looks like a bike chain.

Bangles part 3

Today I taught a bangle class at the library.  I had made the base of these bangles out of cardboard mailing tubes.  I brought in all kinds of things for the girls to use to decorate their bangles with.  I showed them how to coil / wrap yarn to create a certain look,  but it was completely up to them how they wanted to decorate their bangle.  The girls were able to make up to 3 bangles.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I made the above bangle during class using fabric, buttons, and glue.

Two types of wrapped ribbon.

Wrapped ribbon and buttons.

Wrapped ribbon.

Ribbon and buttons.

Ribbon and yarn.

Fabric and ribbon.

Wrapped ribbon and yarn.

Sponge Bob fabric and buttons.

Three kinds of ribbon.  One ribbon has a straight stitch running through the center, and then it was gathered to create ruffles.

Ribbon, yarn, and fake flower petals.

I was not able to take a picture of all of the bangles.

Some of them also had fabric flowers with button centers on them.

It was a great class!

Aside from the link parties on the right hand side of my blog, this is also linked in Lamb Around.

Bangles

photo by Drew Medina

For two days now I have been sawing 1" rings from this mailing tube, and I am not done yet.

photo by Drew Medina

Why?  I am teaching a class on Friday at the library on how to make bangles out of recycled materials.  I am preparing the "bangles" so that the kids can decorate them.

photo by Drew Medina

As you can see they are rough around the edges.  I wonder if they would be smoother if I had used a power saw.

After they are cut, then I sand the edges so that they are smooth and wearable.  I am using fine sandpaper.

There is some waste involved, but at least it is recyclable.  These curls came from some of the rings that just didn't want to keep that layer of cardboard on them during the sanding process.  Warning: there is a lot of dust involved with sanding them.  It was much more pleasant sanding them outside than inside.