Category: Tutorials

Recycled/Upcycled Art – How to Make Magnets from Soda Cans

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I love to recycle/upcycle, as much as possible. In this article I will show you how I am using soda cans to create beautiful fridge magnets. Enjoy!

Ok… this is the magnet I made recently. The final product looks like this:

lizard magnet

… a cute lizard…

These are the parts that form my magnet: a frame, a magnet and the foil.

lizard magnets parts

The frame is one of those ‘wedding favor’ frames, you can buy them in bulk online. The magnet? You buy in self-adhesive sheets. Measure, cut and glue the magnet on the back of the frame.

lizard magnets foil

The aluminum foil is the center of attraction. This particular one came from a Sprite soda can. Cut the can carefully with scissors, you will get a rectangle. Measure to fit the frame.

work in progress

Now the fun part begins!

Draw the lizard on a piece of paper, cut it out and place the lizard on the colorful part of the soda foil. Draw the contour with marker. Then use an embossing tool or just a wooden stick or pencil (not very sharp), and press gently inside the contour, until you see the lizard taking shape on the other side. This is the basic embossing method.

Once the lizard is ready, pour some glue and let it set. I like to used a glue gun with hot glue because it cools fast.

Once the glue is set, you are sure that the lizard will always stay in place 😉

Now you can decorate your lizard with some little paintings, like flowers. I use nail polish, it works best for tin foil! I also like to emboss the flowers, just a little, to add some more dimension.

So here you have it. Cool project, try it!

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Tutorial – How to make a wire Dream Catcher

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I will show you how to make a cute dream catcher by using wires, no threads, no glue.
This is the dream catcher we are making, isn’t it adorable?

dream catcher

These are the items you need:

  • hard wire 12 gauge
  • soft wire 24 gauge
  • assorted wooden beads
  • feathers
  • pliers and cutter

I will not be very specific on the beads and feathers, as you can use any colors and styles you want. The purpose of this tutorial is to show you another way to make dream catchers, other than the traditional thread-and-glue technique.

ingredients

STEP 1
Make the frame. My frame is 6″ diameter. Slide your beads of choice on the hard wire. Make a loop (bail) and close the frame. Secure it with additional wire. You want a sturdy and straight frame.
Tip: You can use a pre-made beading hook, they sell it in the crafts store. In that case, you don’t need to make a bail, you will use a spring ring to hang your dream catcher.

step1

STEP 2
Cut 7 feet of soft wire, this will be your spider web. Make sure you have enough space to let your wire flow, it will be a little hectic at the beginning, as the wire is very long. Patience is the name of this game!

Slide the wire through the bail, that is your beginning point. Count all your beads and divide them in equal parts. In this project I had 45 beads, I divided by 5, so I will have 9 pointers for my dream catcher.

Now start weaving the wire as shown in the picture. It is the same technique like the thread method, but you will use the soft wire. Go around, count the beads and when you finish the first round, keep going…

step2

STEP 3
When you come close to the middle, slide 3 beads on your wire. I used three crystal nuggets, to make it more interesting. This step is optional, some people don’t use any beads in the middle.

step3

STEP 4
Now we work on the bottom part of our dream catcher. Cut a piece of wire, approx. 10″. Fold it in half and attach it to the frame, by making a loop and a twist. Slide the beads on both wires. The last beads in my project are tube beads, with a large hole. The wires are now out of my tube beads.

Take two feathers and stick them into the end of the last bead. When you feel that they are correctly positioned, wrap the wires, two loops in each direction. Now the beads and feathers are secured. Repeat this step until you finish the five “legs”.

step4

That’s it! You finished your dream-catcher! Go ahead and hang it in your bedroom. All the bad dreams will be caught in this magical dream catcher!

I have many cute dream catchers in stock!

CHECK OUT MY MAGICK STONE SHOP

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Tutorial – Sea-glass Wire Wrapped Pendant

wizzy 1 Comment

In this tutorial I will show you how to make a sea-glass pendant using wire. This method will work for any un-drilled stone, any shape, and it will always come out good, trust me. All you need is to pre-made the wire wrapping, and you will learn how to do this right here, right now.

Here is the sea-glass pendant that I made.

seaglass pendant

Materials: a piece of seaglass, wire, pliers and cutters. I used a dark green piece of sea-glass from Nova Scotia and brass wire 22 gauge.

materials

First steps are to cut the wire and prepare the wrapping.

  • You need to cut two pieces of wire, approx. 3 times the perimeter of your stone. My stone is 1.5″ long, my wires are about 10″.
  • Then, you cut 3 shorter pieces of wire, about 3″ each.
  • Wrap the short pieces around the the two long ones, as shown in the picture. Trim and tuck in the ends.
  • Separate the wires, in a diamond shape, as shown.

step 1

Next steps are to make the bail and finish our pendant.

  • Hold tight the pre-made wire wrap, close to the stone, with one hand.
  • Bend two wires and and make the loop.
  • Wrap the other two wires around the loop.

Trim all the four wires to make them even, and coil the ends, as shown.

step 2

Voila! The pendant is finished!
Tighten the coils and press gently the wire wrap close to the stone, and to your liking, of course. Here is the pendant we just made, front and back.

seaglass wire wrapped pendant

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and you will try to make some amazing pendants yourself. I have a few seaglass pieces listed in my store, take a look! VISIT MAGICK STONE store!

Tutorial – How To Make a Rose Quartz Tree of Life Pendant

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I will show you how to make a Rose Quartz Tree of Life pendant in 10 steps.

This is our finished piece of jewelry.

tree of life pendant

The materials that you need:

  • rose quartz chips (sold in strings)
  • artistic wire 24 gauge (silver colored copper)
  • a fashion bangle 2.5″ diameter (sold in dollar stores)
  • a cutter and a pair of pliers.

tree of life tutorial materials

frame

Step 1 – Cut the wire. You need 10 pieces, each piece must be 20 inches long. Fold the wire in half, as below.

step1

Step 2 – Wrap the wires. One by one, wrap each wire twice on the bangle (2 loops), at the middle point. Make it neat, be nice with the wire and the wire will be nice with you. When you finish, you will have 20 strings to work with.

step2

Step 3 – Twist wires. Start by twisting 2 groups of consecutive wires, as shown. You will get 5 twisted bunches.

step3

Step 4 – Now twist 2 on the left and 2 on the right, as shown. You will get 3 bunches.

step4

Step 5 – Keep twisting to make the trunk. Be neat! Take your time and don’t pull hard. The wire is soft and friendly.

step5

Step 6 – Now the trunk is ready and you already had spread all the 20 wires. 2 by 2, twist them in 5 bunches, as shown.

step6

Step 7 – We have 5 branches, each has 4 wires. Now we separate each branch in 2, and we twist each group of 2 separately. Please make sure you twist just a few times, you need some wire left for the beads. The result will be 20 lose wires.

step7

Step 8 – Start beading! This is fun! Start sliding rose quartz chips on the wires. Use your judgement regarding the number of the beads, in my case 3-4 per string. Start from right bottom, then go to left bottom and work yourself up. Depending on the size of your beads, you might not need to string on all 20 wires. In my case, the wire in the middle was left loose, no space for beads!

step8

Step 9 – Tuck in the last wire, if you have one left, like me. I connected it with other brunches, used 2 loops to secure it in place, and then cut it.

step9

Step 10 – Tuck in all wires and cut the ends. I suggest to take your time when you do this step. The finishing is very important. You want to secure the loops and make them look neat. Cut close to the other wires and tuck the ends in, so they don’t catch fabric or scratch the skin.

step10

When you finish and you are satisfied with the look, use pliers and gently twist the branches, for a more esthetic and natural look. You can slide your Rose Quarts Tree of Life Pendant on any cord, right through the top part, or you can attach a bail or a spring ring, like I did. So here is your pendant! Beautiful!

pendant tree of life

NOTE – This is my original design, the pictures are mine. You might find parts of this tutorial on my other social media platforms like FaceBook, Instagram, Steemit, Twitter, LinkedIn, as well as in my Etsy store. Should you have any questions or special requests, please use contact form, I will get back to you!

If you want to purchase this necklace, follow this link – Tree of Life Pendant with Rose Quartz

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