Recycling Pony Beads for Your Altered Books, ATCs, or Cards

 

It appears the dreaded and hated "Failed to Publish" has once again reared its ugly head.  One minute I could leave comments, the next I couldn't.  I am sincerely sorry since this happened yesterday right before Friday Smiles. 

This is another post that was well liked.  It is also from April, 2015.

Recycling Pony Beads for Your Altered Books, ATCs, or Cards

How many of us got sucked into buying pony beads way back when they were popular.  I'm thinking the 90s, but the craze may have started even earlier.  You don't have to raise your hand, because I bet you got at least ONE bag of them at one time or another, especially if you had kids begging for them.

I got sucked in when they were on clearance one year at Hobby Lobby, a big box craft store in the US.   I thought they would look cute attached to fibers I hang between pages in my altered books.  Unfortunately, they ended up looking like cheap beads.  So, I put them away and put out feelers.  I got a couple of people who told me I could paint them, but I wasn't about to do that.  Someone else told me I could use them as armatures for polymer clay.  But that didn't seem to interest me, at least not at the time, and I let them sit until now.  Of course, I also have a full container of those tiny beads I got at a rummage sale one year.  Be aware, these are NOT the beads with a backing you iron on to fabric.

I remembered someone else told me I could melt them, but I didn't remember much else.  So, with the help of the internet, a few days ago I found a few places that confirmed it.  However, no one site agreed to the temperature or amount of time needed to cook them.

One site had 8 minutes at 450 F (230 C, Gas Mark 8).  Another had 10-12 minutes at 400 F (200 C, Gas Mark 6).  I cooked these for 15 minutes at 400 F in my dedicated bake oven I keep in my basement studio.  I kept watching them, hoping they would melt properly.  I finally got discouraged and removed them.

Some turned out lousy and needed to be recooked,

while some were really lovely.

Even after I recooked the ones that were not "done" before, I still threw a bunch away.  As an aside, I was told in comments that I should have kept them because they could be used for various projects.

I definitely decided to give up on the small beads and went for the pony beads.  Easier to place on the tray,

they also cooked faster and easier.  These were in the bake oven for 9 minutes at 400 F.

Next, I cooked a few yellow beads, then

blue beads.  I've seen people use something similar in their scrapbook pages and on cards, although I can't remember what they call them (They are called Card Candi and were sold on strips of paper).  It was a great way to find an alternative to the cheap looking pony bead, and now I'll use them in all sorts of my AB or journal projects.  I might even use them as centers for flowers, or attach them to paper clips.

Today is Day 11 of 22 leading up to bEARTHday, and I shared a post from April, 2015 where I recycled some ugly plastic beads into embellishments for my altered art.  I also saved the parchment I "cooked" the beads on, because I think the parchment will look great dipped in beeswax or baby oil.  Nothing gets wasted in my studio.

Thanks beyond belief for dropping by today.  I am grateful.  So is Bleubeard.

  

Keys please

 

This is one of my favorite posts and from the original comments, the same seems to be true for others, too.  This post is from April, 2015 and was entitled:

Keys please

Today I thought I would try to class up a few keys.

I grabbed a few shapes and decided which ones "spoke" to me.

These are the ones that spoke the loudest.

I realize I need a few more bits of bling, but here is what I came up with today. 

I removed backings because this one was an earring in a former life. 

This one was a pin,

as was this one.

I attached each bit of bling

using E6000, my go-to glue adhesive for heavy duty jobs like these.

I hope this inspires you to look at your old keys a bit differently, too.

Today is Day 10 of 22 leading up to bEARTHday.  I shared a post from April, 2015 where I recycled five keys and various pieces from my junk jewelry drawers.  Now I need to scrounge through my stash to find some backings so I can turn them into pins.  I hope to turn a couple into necklaces, too.

Once again, I greatly appreciate you taking time to visit and check out what I'm recycling.  Thanks also for your amazing and wonderful comments.  

And because it's Friday, I have a few recycling smiles to share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I hope at least one or two of these made you smile.

  

Another assemblage

 

The following post was originally published in April, 2014. 

Sometimes I think I've found my calling when I rummage through my found objects and find things that make me happy.  Today is no exception.  And from all the comments I got on my first assemblage, you seem to like them, too.

This is my latest offering.

The very heavy metal pieces are ear tags for cattle.  A friend gave them to me when he cleaned out his garage one year.  I added a can lid, a washer, and a bolt, all things that were of no use to people who were getting rid of them.  Although the mirror, at the very top of the assemblage is new, it went through the flood that consumed my basement a few years ago.  The glass bubbles and butterflies were from my stash and new, but I needed something to add a bit of color to the piece.

I'm not sure how clever this title is, but if you don't like it, we'll blame it on Bleubeard.

Here is a side view that shows the size of the block I used and a bit of detail of the piece.

More detail shows the tags were either made by, or came from a serum company.  The mirror had been sitting in rusty water at some point.

I love rust, and this assemblage is no exception.

Today is Day 9 of 22 and I reposted another assemblage I created that I named "Forty Five (and Counting)."  I hope you enjoy it, because I hope to add more assemblages to my repertoire, along with fabric and paper.  Thank you so much for visiting today.

 

Assemblage fun

 

This post was originally published in April, 2014.

I've wanted to create an assemblage for awhile now,

and the idea of using found objects to create one fit perfectly with the concept of recycling.  So I grabbed a few metal pieces, and set out to create something fun.

I began by covering one of my 12 inch X 12 inch X 1 inch (30.48 cm X 30.48 cm X 2.54 cm) wooden blocks with paper scraps.  I laid down bits of watercolor to create a bit of color.  In addition to the metal pieces, I got out some of the Sculpey I had been given in exchange for a tutorial, and made a few faces and hands from a mold I own. 

As I was creating this piece, those words kept running through my head, so I knew this was what I had to name it.

Some of the details are shown here.

Today is Day 8 of 22, and I recycled a block of wood, several pages from books and dictionaries, a rusty can lid, a metal ring, and a metal piece I have no idea what it's called or what it was used for in a previous life.  I also managed to use some of the Sculpey, too.  Please enjoy my Mother and Child Reunion and thank you for visiting.  

 

T stands for Teabag Beauties

 

I am still unable to leave comments, even on my own blog.  I plan to have the courage to reinstall Firefox in a few days.  I'm reluctant to do so because I will lose everything, including all my saved cookies.

Blogger has finally been kind to me and I can now once again leave comments.  Let's hope it stays that way and I haven't jinxed it.

The following post is from April, 2014.  

Before I jump to my recycle post for T today, I wanted to show six tea bags from tea I drank last week. 

They are now completely dry.   I can't wait to remove the tea from these so I can make art using the bags.

As for the watercolor paper I dried them on, I am still pondering whether to keep the six colors intact, or cut them into smaller pieces.

As for this week's T Stands For Tuesday post, I recycled some very different tea bags.  After all, it's still all about recycling.  It began a few weeks back when I started this in my collage altered book,

then added tea bags that did NOT like to come apart.  It was about that time I came up with the concept for this spread I call "Teabag Beauties."  Remember, these tea bags are what some people would consider trash.

I had hoped this would put the entire spread in context, but the lighting was not especially good.

As I've explained in the past, this book is larger than my scanner, so you don't get the full effect this way.

I should explain that I first laid down two shades of green paint, then thought the pages were too dark, so I added a bit of white paint to tone the colors down.  Next I added the cheap tea bags that don't open well.  In a way, I actually preferred the distressed look. 

I added two flowers and two buttons I hoped would compliment the floral colors the girls wore, but the buttons turned out a bit unbelievably garish against the green background and vintage look of these little beauties.  I noticed it more so in the scans than when I took the photos, so I'll more than likely try to either remove the buttons or live with the spread as is, since it doesn't look garish in real life.

Today is Day 7 of 22 leading up to bEARTHday and I recycled five tea bags, sent the spent tea to the compost pile, used some gifted images, added two gifted flower petals, and included two buttons I removed from an old dress.

Now it's your turn to show how you celebrated T this Tuesday.  Remember, you don't have to take the photos on Tuesday, you don't have to drink tea, you don't have to drink anything, as long as you can relate the post back to something drink related, as I did with this spread.  Be sure to use a direct link below so Bleubeard, all our Tuesday T friends, and I can visit you, too.  And remember please, not everyone visits on Tuesday, so please make sure you add the link associated with Tuesday T, and not to your blog in general.