Easter Egg Ornament Decorations with Rossi Paper

If you're like me and love the look of Italian Florentine papers, then this is a fun project for you. Even if you'd rather use another paper, or your own photos, this is still for you. Really, this is for just about anyone.

When I was a little girl, my mother had a big bucket of stand and a rather small limb from a tree that had broken off during a winter storm. A few weekends before Easter, we would spend a day preparing raw eggs to decorate and hang on the tree. My mother would poke a small hole in one end and and my sister and I would blow the insides out. This project is a bit more glamorous than blowing raw egg yolk through a pinhole in an eggshell. I guarantee your face won't turn red.

Here's what you need: 

• A pack of wood egg shapes (these are flat)
• A bottle of Glamour Glue
• Rossi paper or other decorative papers
• An X-Acto knife
• A small paint brush
• 1/8" drill bit and drill
• 1/8" ribbon

So easy to make!

1. Cut a piece of paper slightly larger than your wood shape. 
2. Paint the Glamour Glue onto the wood and press the paper to the glue. Smooth to press out all the air and avoid wrinkles. Allow to dry.
3. Using your X-Acto knife, place paper-side-down and trim around the wood shape to remove the paper.
4. Drill a hole through the wood shape at the top. I measured about 1/4" from the top.
5. String the ribbon through and tie off one end. 

TIP: If you plan to use inkjet prints, I recommend using Glamour Seal as your adhesive. 

 

And you're finished! If you want to take it one step further, follow this tutorial on coating them with Luxe Resin.

Vote Now! 2014 Gingerbread House Contest!

The 2014 Annie Howes Gingerbread House voting is open! 

Around this time each year, the employees at the studio are provided with an identical Gingerbread House kit to decorate as they wish. While we're all required to use the basics in that kit, our creativity is unrestricted. 

I bought the kits at Trader Joe's. They came with a family, including a dog, a tree, and some candy pieces. I love how each was decorated! And everyone had a good time making them.

Your vote helps determine the New Year's Day sale. The winning house will reveal the sale which will be announced on New Year's Day.

Be sure to sign up for the VIP Club and follow us on Facebook to get the New Year's Day savings coupon based on the winning Gingerbread House! Thank you for voting!

How to Make Bottle Cap Wine Charms and FREE Image PDF Download!

I'm kind of on a roll with the holiday themed projects right now, so please bear with me as it works through my system.

Super inexpensive and lightweight wine charms for your next holiday party? How cool is that? And what's even cooler is they're so inexpensive and easy to make!

Here's what you need to make them:
- Flat bottle caps with split rings attached
- Glamour Dots epoxy stickers
- Glamour Stickies, adhesive circles
- Printed images, like this festive and FREE PDF image download from TeterCreek.com
- Colorful ribbon

You may also need the following if you don't already own them:
- 1" circle paper punch
- Paper burnisher/paper creaser/bone folder (it's all the same thing)

These supplies can be found at  www.anniehowes.com

Here's how to make them:

1. Punch the images you want to use. 
2. Place a Glamour Dot on top of each image. 
3. Turn upside-down on a smooth surface, and using the paper creaser, press the paper onto the Glamour Dot. Turn over and if you see any silver spots (trapped air), address those areas with firm pressure.
4. Next, remove the backing from one of the Glamour Stickies and press that onto the back of the decorative paper you just finished gluing to the Glamour Dots. Press firmly and remove the protective paper from the other side of the Glamour Stickies. I use an X-acto blade to help me do this, but you might have a fingernail that gets the job done.
5. Press into the bottle cap.
6. Take a piece of ribbon and trim it to about 3-4 inches and tie to a wine glass stem. BOOM! You're finished!

You can also embellish these further, if you're so inclined. Or sit back, relax, and pour yourself a glass of wine to celebrate your craftiness. That's what I'd do.

xo,
Annie

New tutorials page and an updated website

It's beginning to look like I take on the task of complete website overhauls on a yearly basis, so would it be correct for me to announce that the First Annual Annie Howes Website Redesign is now complete?

*whew*

The new and much improved online store now includes a list of all tutorials, a measurement chart, an FAQ, all in one convenient place. Plus, all of the videos are on the tutorial page which means you don't have to go to YouTube to watch them (and possibly be distracted by cute baby animal videos).

Also, I'm pretty excited by the Shop by Tag feature which allows you to browse the store using the descriptive of your choice. Click the button on the left sidebar and just look at all those tags. Be prepared to be overwhelmed as I might need to pare them down a bit. Or not. There's still a search feature, but sometimes you just want to browse words, and I've supplied plenty of words to browse.

VIP Club members heard about it first. And as a bonus for receiving an email from me about it, VIP's received a valuable coupon code. Coupon codes are my way of saying, "Thanks for listening to me ramble on about the things I find interesting that are somehow related to making jewelry." This has been a comfortable arrangement. If you'd like to receive coupon codes on your jewelry making supplies, then you should really be a VIP Member.

I've gotta run. I have a new VIP Coupon code to send.

I'd love to hear from you!

xo,
Annie

Which metal do you prefer? Rhodium plating or silver plating?

Please take a moment to give me your opinion. It only take a minute, I promise!

For charms on your charm bracelets, which metal plating do you prefer?

Which metal do you prefer?
	Rhodium
	Silver Plating
	Doesn't matter
pollcode.com free polls

See? That was quick! Thank you!

xo,
Annie

Here's a Photo Jewelry Tip That Will Save You Time....Glamour Stickies

Your mother probably warned you, "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.".

I'm not going to call your mom a liar, but I do have to call her out on this one. In the case of Glamour Stickies, that statement is simply not true.

Why Glamour Stickies? Because time is money, and why wait around for your liquid adhesive to dry when you can peel and stick and wear right away? You can literally make your pendants on the fly. Like, "Oh no! I'm leaving in 5 minutes and I need jewelry to match my new outfit." Problem solved. It's just like that.

What are Glamour Stickies? Aside from being the best thing since sliced bread, Glamour Stickies are:

• easy-to- use
• affordable
• super strong
• acid-free / archival / pH neutral

Seriously. If you're still not convinced, check out this short video...

If you've tried them, please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear what you think!

xo,
Annie

Swarovski Crystals & Glass Keepsake Locket

So maybe you're not the crafty type. Or perhaps you really like crystals, and lockets, and beautiful things.

This is a really easy and incredibly beautiful way to dress up glass lockets. Remove the cap, fill the glass locket with Swarovski crystals, and replace the cap. Easy!

To make it even easier, here's what you need to make these:

1. Swarovski Crystals (I used 36 crystals in each bottle)
2. Glass Keepsake Locket (shown in antique silver and antique gold)

How would you decorate these lockets? Would you use birthstone colors, or layer the crystals, or do something entirely different?