Enchanted Noms

This summer has been way hotter than any I've experienced before. Incidentally, this happens every single summer. So what have I been doing to keep my sanity in this air-condition-less state? Watch old Disney movies, of course. And making earrings!

Based on one of my favorites, Cinderella. If you're not familiar with the story (shame on you!) the right earring is a normal pumpkin and the right is Cinderella's enchanted carriage. Just make sure you take these off before midnight, or the magic might wear off ;)

Invincibility on your ears

Remember those old Super Mario games where those little bouncing stars appeared when you hit the right blocks? Then you'd be granted temporary invincibility and proceed to run forth as fast as you could, cackling as you plowed right through the otherwise menacing goombas. 

Well now you can carry that protection everywhere you go on your ears!

The stars are origami made from paper strips. If you don't know how to make them, you can view my tutorial here. Then I applied one coat of clear gloss, painted on the eyes, and finished with another coat of gloss. When stringing them on eyepins, I've found that it's a lot easier to first use a sewing pin to poke a hole. From there on, just cut the eyepins to different lengths and attach them to earwires. Easy!

AFK Necklace

I'll admit it: I'm addicted to my computer. I rely on it for so many things in my life, from drawing to gaming to communication. So when I'm not happily clacking away at my keyboard, I sometimes feel a bit out of my element. 

But now, with this upcycled necklace, you too declare to the world that you are apart from your beloved! 

Start out with some keyboard keys, eye pins, and jump rings. Removing keys is relatively easy; just slip something thin and sturdy (I used the tip of my flat nosed pliers) under the edge of the key and apply leverage. 

Take your eye pins and cut them down to size. 

If you have these nubby things on the backs of your keys where they attached to the keyboard, clip them off with wire cutters. 

Use a generous amount of hot glue to attach the eye pins, making sure to cover any sharp edges left from the wire cutters. 

When that's dry, attach the jump rings...

...and string your keys onto waxed cord with some beads. I'm using faux pearls here. 

Tie on some clasps with square knots. This is the time to make sure your necklace is the right length. 

I usually apply 3-5 coats of clear nail polish onto my knots to make sure they don't come undone. 

If you had planned ahead, you could use crimps to keep your beads in place.But if you're in the same boat as me, make sure the beads are centered and then knot the cord.

Ice Cream Sammiches

Ice cream sandwiches are a favorite warm weather food of mine. The soft chocolatey...what are they anyway? Soft cookie? Thinner and more delicious variation of whoopie pie?

But I digress.

Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches are delicious. And cute. And that's all you really needed to know.

Start out with some super dark brown polymer clay in rounded rectangles. 

Use an X-acto knife to make little grooves in the sides.

And use some sort of point to make the little holes. I used the tip of a knitting needle.

Next, make little blocks of pink, white, and light brown clay for ice cream.

The perfect charm for summertime :)