Day 28- The Gold Beaded Necklace

3/28/14

I started the day with some stone disc beads that I've had for a while and have always wanted to use for something, but finished the day without them. Ah well, their day will come. I ended up working with small gold square beads, hand dyed yarn, and gold chain.

I began by stringing the gold beads on the yarn and knotting between each one with the pearl-knotting technique. I kept stretching out the string to keep the knots tight and the strand fluid. 

Using a needle to pull the knots towards the beads.

I finished the strand, finished off with loops at the ends to attach a closure. I knotted a thin gold chain to the same yarn and connected them at the back to make a double strand. I like that the piece can be used as is, or it can be knotted decoratively or a charm or pendant can be added.

Necklace: Glass beads, yarn, chain

Drastically different from yesterday's neon rubber piece, but that's what accessories are all about.
Have a great weekend!
xo,
Arielle

PS- This item is now available for sale in my Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/shop/SalkinAccessories

Day 27- Technicolor Tubing

3/27/14

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my trip to Canal Rubber landed me some incredible materials. Today I worked with some of the tubing I purchased; both the neon red and the larger clear pieces.

I knew I wanted to do some sort of layered look, in particular I realized that the neon red tubing looked really neat when threaded through the clear tubing as it appears to be suspended in the center. I experimented with alternate ways of embellishing the clear tubing, from drawing a pattern on the surface to wrapping with ribbon. (The neon tubing looks pink in some of the photos but it is actually neon red. Almost pink.)

I think coloring or printing on the tubing would be a great way to go, but I didn't have the patience to follow through with this today. 

I landed on a ribbon wrapping technique that adds color and dimension while allowing the neon tubing to shine through.

After wrapping the tube with an aqua grosgrain ribbon back and forth, I inserted the neon red tubing, leaving it longer to allow for additional flexibility and to attach the closure.

I used a wider and slightly darker grosgrain ribbon to wrap the ends of the tube neatly. 

I inserted jumprings into the ends of the neon tubing and added short chains and a clasp. The clear rubber isn't too flexible but it lays well at the collar.

Necklace: Rubber Tubing, Ribbon, Chain

What's cool is that this piece could actually come with interchangeable tube colors as the neon tube is not fastened to the clear, only threaded. It could be sold with different color options for the inner layer. Looking forward to using the rest of the rubber!

xo,

Arielle 

Day 26- The Convertible Tote

3/26/14

Today I went to one of the coolest places to shop for materials: Canal Rubber. Canal Rubber has been around since the mid 50's and is a fixture of Canal Street. (I actually cannot stand Canal Street; the only shopping I do there is at Canal Rubber and Canal Plastic Center.)

Oh the wonderful treasures of Canal Rubber. 

I bought a pile of rubber tubing and some sheets of rubber similar to that used for jar openers, etc. They have a great selection of bright colors and tubing diameters.

Today's project is a style I was looking to try for some time- a two tone tote bag. I used the black rubber as the base and lined and topped it off with a natural colored duck cloth.

Black rubber sheet and natural colored duck cloth

Top is duck cloth and the bottom is black rubber

This piece is very simple but it has fantastic versatility. I added tote straps using wide twill tape which actually doubles as a closure, tied at the back, so you can transform it into a clutch. You can also use it as a clutch by tucking in the straps. 

The Transformer Tote: Natural Duck Cloth, Rubber, Twill Tape

 

 

This piece will translate very well into different fabrics and textures. Instead of the tie in the back it would be lovely with a handmade ceramic button. 

I'm thinking that this would be pretty darn useful on one of those days where you have to lug a tote around all day but need a much cuter bag for dinner...

Can't wait to tackle the rubber tubing supply!

xo,

Arielle

PS- This item is now available for sale in my Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/shop/SalkinAccessories

Day 25- The Mummy Clutch

3/25/14

Today's piece is actually one of my very favorites, simple as it is, because it's so versatile and easy to make in different colors and patterns. It would also would look great painted or beaded.

I used my classic side stitch ribbon technique to make the bag from heavy cotton strap. I love that it's so heavyweight and the texture makes the direction so obvious.

I made the base of the bag lining the straps vertically. I lay out three pieces horizontally and inserted an ivory/silver zipper so that it would be exposed. I sewed the top to the bottom and hand stitched the top closed on the back.

Pouch/Clutch, Cotton Strapping

Definitely a short and sweet project but I love the outcome. I'll be remaking this one in many different colors and patterns!

xo,

Arielle

PS- This item is now available for sale in my Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/shop/SalkinAccessories

Day 24- Head of Roses

3/24/14

Today I was just trying to use up all the wonderful yarn that is stuffed so full in a drawer it is impossible to open. Apparently I have a tendency to buy russets and burnt oranges and dark reds and everything in between... so I just started crocheting little circles out of all the coordinating yarns I had.

This is actually one that only has some orange and red; but it is one of my absolute favorites! I bought it on Etsy as a treat to myself. It has a core it's actually spun around, and it has random blobs of sparkle thread and silky scraps. It's awesome. If you love yarn, check out Spinning Wheel Studio on Etsy.

I began stacking them by size and making little variegated rosettes. I sewed them together to form a small piece which I had originally planned on sewing to a hat, but decided would be more versatile as a headband that could be worn over a hat as a decoration or by itself.

I attached all the rosettes together and braided some orange-red jersey with grey to make a band. I originally intended to attach the rosettes to a crocheted had but decided to make it into a headband instead so it could be worn over a knit hat or used as a headband or headpiece. 

Crocheted Headband: Wool, Alpaca, Silk, Acrylic Yarns, Cotton Jersey

Obviously I love crocheting on the round and it's probably not my last project with crocheted circles, so expect to see more. I think they would make a great decor on a bag too and can certainly be painted or beaded as well.

xo,

Arielle

Day 23- Party All Night, Project All Day

3/23/14

Okay, I didn't really party all night. I project-ed all night too. Some friends of mine collect corks and I grabbed a few that I was saving for them for today's project.

I started by slicing the corks with an x-acto knife into thin slices about 2-3 mm wide. They were pretty tough to cut through but once I got the hang of it it wasn't too hard.

I took each slice of cork and painted a round semi circle off the side with silver leaf. Following drying, I glued silver glass beads around the edge of the silver leaf. I had to use tweezers to keep them in place as I applied them, and after I realized it may have been easier to keep them in a nice little line had I strung them with thread, glued them, and then clipped the thread or pulled it out after drying. Live and learn.

I sewed up a camel colored leather pouch with a metal zipper at the top, top-stitched with a decorative silver thread. After the bag was made I applied the decorated cork slices. (I learned my lesson in a big way from the Nail Clutch, which I constructed after sewing all the nails. I realized the next morning after sleeping off all that crazy hand sewing that I should have most definitely applied the nails after sewing. Well, I knew that ahead of time of course, but I figured out how to do it. Practice makes roll-your-eyes-the-next-day perfect.)

After applying all the corks I added a short chain to the zipper to make a pull. I'd like to try something like this again with cork as the base material instead of leather. 

Pouch: Leather, Recycled Cork, Silver Leaf, Glass Beads, Chain

I really love that you can still see the printing on the side of the cork.

Love the texture of the finished piece. I think painting the cork could have been taken further because the cork accepts paint very well. On the other hand, it takes away from the beauty of the original material so there's something to be said for leaving it unpainted. Either drilling with a large bit into the center to make a variation in the surface, or cutting some pieces to fit in between the corks to make it look tiled could be neat. 

xo,
Arielle

Day 22- The Roving Necklace

3/22/14

Tonight's project was simple and very different in its style from many others I've done recently. I played around with some large glass beads to make some really interesting components, but everything I tried to make with them became extremely heavy and so nothing really worked. But I still love them. Hopefully I'll be able to use them on something one day.

The blue glass beads, wrapped with laceweight alpaca yarn and embellished with a vintage crystal.

I started my final piece with some alpaca roving, carefully braiding it. Roving is carded unspun fiber, so it's very delicate and pulls apart easily. I braided two black pieces and a white piece to give a stark pattern to the braid.

I tied up the ends of the braid with a mustard yellow yarn and wrapped almost 2 inches on each side. I really love the yellow tone here, but a metallic thread would have been interesting as well.

Next I crocheted a circle from both the mustard colored yarn and a felted off white yarn. I stitched in an amber colored bead to the top and sewed them all together. The necklace opens with a hook and eye underneath the circles.

Necklace: Alpaca Roving, Wool Yarn, Acrylic Yarn, Plastic Bead
(Strangely resembling a citrus fruit...)

I love the look of the braided roving and have plenty more so this might go into another piece. It would be really beautiful sewn in rows or woven into fabric. Braiding something metallic in with the roving would add a little bit of sparkle as well.

xo,
Arielle