WIRE HOOK AND LOOP CLASP TUTORIAL

These hook and loop clasps are fun and easy to make.

I use round nose pliers (I have an assortment but just one is fine), wire cutters, wire, an anvil and chasing hammer.

I purchased my chasing hammer , anvil and a pair of round nose pliers from:

matsbeads on Etsy.

I purchase most of my wire from:

lannasjewelry on Etsy. (I love the 26g argentium sterling silver and the 26g 14k gold filled wire for my viking knit projects).

Both are awesome sellers. Fast shipping, great products!!

I used 20g silver plated wire in this first project.
To make the clasp, cut 2 lengths of wire with wire cutters. The length depends on the size clasp you want. I cut the examples approximately 1 1/2", which was actually too long.

Use the round nose pliers to make a small loop at the end of one piece of wire.

Grasp the wire with the round nose pliers 1/4" or so from the loop you made, making sure you grasp it with the fatter part of the pliers. Bend the wire around the pliers in the opposite direction of the loop. Stop when the wire meets the loop.

Now grasp the wire with the round nose pliers just below the loop and bend towards the back of the hook you have made.

Stop here and use the wire cutters to remove the excess wire.

Finish the loop with the round nose pliers.

Use the second piece of wire for the loop section of the clasp.

Grasp the wire with the round nose pliers almost in the middle of the wire. The size of the loop will be determined by the section of the round nose pliers you use.

Wrap the wire around to form a loop.

Turn the wire around and wrap around the round nose pliers to make the second loop. Wrap the wire in the opposite direction of the first loop to form a figure 8.

Trim off the excess wire.

The finished hook and loop clasp.

**Optional**

You may hammer the clasp to give it strength.

Hammering the pieces causes them to spread out and get a little wonky.

Just reshape and close all the openings.

To make your clasp a little fancier, you can simply coil the wire.

Start as usual but continue to wrap the wire in a spiral.

I make these backwards, starting at the part of the clasp that hooks to the chain.

Wrap the wire around the round nose pliers.

Bend in the opposite direction to make the small loop which was the first step in the directions above.

Use the wire cutters to remove the excess wire. Finish the small loop with the round nose pliers.

I also make the loop backwards. Start with a coil.

Turn the wire over and bend around the round nose pliers to finish the figure 8.
Cut off the excess wire.

I used a very soft 18g wire in the example (very cheap craft store wire). If you use a super soft wire, it will become very flat when you hammer it.

Work it back into shape.

Here are some of the pieces I've made using the handcrafted clasp.

I used the clasp as part of the design in this viking knit rose bracelet. I used 2 of the hooks, one on each side of the rose (there is a rose tutorial on my blog). When I wire wrapped the rose and swarovski crystals, I wrapped leaving a loop large enough for the hooks to fit through.

I made the clasp for this viking knit necklace with the spiral ends.

I also used the spiral on this viking knit bracelet.

I used 2 clasps on this viking knit rose bracelet. One hook and loop on each side of the rose.

I used the simple clasp on this bracelet.

I used viking knit pieces to display these clasps because that is what I'm hooked on right now.

Viking knit is extremely addictive!!! Perhaps I should make a viking knit tutorial???

I hope you find this tutorial useful!

Now, go make some clasps!!!!

xoxoxoxo

HALLOWEEN LOLLIPOP COSTUME / PIN TUTORIAL

This project would be great for a children's party. Cut out and glue the lolly costumes before the party and let each child decorate their own. If you are not having a Halloween party, change the pattern to match the party theme. Maybe a clown face, train, flower, etc.

If your child is having a Halloween party at school, you could make one of these covers for each child and personalize them by writing each child's name on the back or front with fabric paint.

The lolly costumes are inexpensive and are a quick and easy project.

What you need:

1. Felt

2. Fabric paint ( I wanted black glitter paint to decorate the edges of my pieces. I could not find black glitter paint so I substituted with glitter glue )

3. Paper ( I used plain copy paper )

4. Scissors

5. Ink pen

6. Pin backs

7. Fabric glue

8. Lollipops

To begin, lay your lollipop on the piece of paper. Make a mark at the top and sides of the lollipop. This will give you a guide for the size needed. If you are using a round lollipop, you will need to allow extra room for the lolly to fit inside the costume. In that case, allow at least 1/2" to 1" extra space when you mark around the lolly.

Draw the shape you want, using the guides you marked. I made my ghost a little smaller than my original guide because I decided to use a smaller lollipop.

Cut your shapes out. Mark one side of your pattern with a 1 and the other side with a 2. You will need to trace the back and front ( 1 & 2 ) of each shape onto the backside of the felt. Tracing the front and back of your pattern will allow you to have both sides on the right side of the felt once the project is complete.

Having said that, I must be honest, I cannot see a difference between the "front" and "back" of felt. I figure the side that has the manufactures sticker on it is the back.

Trace your pattern onto the felt. Cut around your pattern. To make these neat and clean, cut slightly inside your pen mark. Personally, for a project like this, I don't worry too much about neatness.

***** This next step is optional *****

Before gluing the front and back together, glue on the pin back. If you want to make sure the pin back will stay on the costume, sew it on. It will only take a few stitches and it will be easy if done before gluing the front and back together. Including the pin back makes the lolly costumes useful after the lollipop is gone.

Glue the front and back together with the fabric glue, making sure you glue the wrong sides together.

Now the fun begins!! Decorate your lollipop costume with fabric paint. Make them all the same or all different.

This poor thing!!! Not only is he a ghost ( which can't be good ) but right after I painted on his eyes, I dropped him. Of course, he landed upside down and his eyes splatted. Hmmmm, is splatted a real word??? Anyway, I had to repair his eyes which caused them to be extremely large in the end.



If you make these costumes in the shape of flowers, it would be cute to fill a flower pot with Styrofoam and stick the lollipop handles into the flowerpot.

The ghosts and pumpkins could be displayed in the same way by substituting the flower pot for a plastic black cauldron.

WOODBURNING TUTORIAL

Years ago, I decided to make my daughter a wooden keepsake box. I wanted to woodburn a rose on the top of the box. My standard woodburner was doing a very poor job. I think the wood I selected for the keepsake box was too dense (or something ) for my little burner. My dad, who owns a tool store, solved the problem by purchasing an industrial woodburner for me. It was an amazing burner, it got twice as hot as a standard woodburner. It did an awesome job on the keepsake box but...it burned way too hot for other projects. I was forced to retire my super hot woodburner after I completed the keepsake box, but I am sure I will find a use for it again one day.

In the meantime, I have only used my regular woodburner for all my projects and recently, sadly, my standard woodburner burned it's last wood.

So...I thought I would use the purchase of a new woodburner as a tutorial.

This is a very satisfying craft because you are able to see your results immediately.

I purchased the woodburner at my local Michael's. It was $12.99. It came with a holder and 4 points. I also purchased, at Michael's, a pre-made wood box for $2.99.

To finish my project, I bought Minwax Wood Finish at my local hardware store for $4.89. I selected a Cherry finish but of course there are many finishes to choose from - some lighter and some darker.

****Please Note****

1. Be extremely careful, the woodburner heats to 950 degrees (510 degrees C).

2. Never, ever leave the woodburner unattended.

3. Always, always use the woodburner stand.

4. Remember, you are burning wood. There is smoke - a lot of smoke. Wear a mask if you are sensitive to smoke.

The 4 points with the burner were:

1. Shading point ( I didn't use this point for shading in this project )

2. Flow point

3. Universal point

4. Cone point

To duplicate this project:

Put the Shading point on your woodburner and turn the burner on. Once heated, press the Shading point down on the box along the bottom edge, pointy side upwards. Next, press the same Shading point along the top edge of the box, pointy side down.

( I forgot to take a picture of this first step but you can see the top and bottom edges in the picture below )

Turn the woodburner off and cool completely - please, do not burn yourself!!!! While the burner is cooling, select a stencil for the box top. I used an ivy stencil. ( I should not show you this stencil!!! I am embarrassed by the 50 layers of green stencil paint on it - uggg I should have washed it after each use ).

Please do not limit yourself to a stencil. You can freehand anything you want. You can also trace something onto the box. If you do use a stencil and you want it to look less stencily - just connect the lines where they are broken on the stencil.

The box top with the ivy stencil penciled on it - pictured below.

Do not press hard with the pencil while tracing or drawing. Woodburning is not precise like drawing on a smooth piece of paper, the burner may slip some and veer slightly off your penciled lines. Therefore, you will need to erase any visible pencil marks.If you press hard on the pencil, it will leave a permanent indention on the wood where you erase the pencil lines.

Remove the Shading point and attach the Flow point to the cooled woodburner, turn the burner on. Burn over all of your pencil lines. If you want to, you can add to or change your traced pattern, while you are woodburning. I added curly tendrils to my project.

Turn the woodburner off and cool completely. Remove the Flow point and attach the Cone point, turn the burner back on. Select areas on your project that seem a little plain and use the Cone point to add three little dots, in a triangle pattern, on those areas. Do this by placing the Cone point straight down on the wood and press slightly, it will make perfect little circles.

To decorate the top edge, use the same Cone point to make 3 dots and then a line - continue around the box. If you do not feel comfortable doing this without a guide, draw it on the box with your pencil first.

Turn the box on it's side and repeat the 3 dot triangle around the outside top edge.

At this point, trace, stencil or freehand a pattern around the outside center of the box. Of course this is optional.

I wrote "Secret Garden" with a pencil using my own handwriting.

While the Cone point is still on the woodburner, turn the box upside down and sign it.

Turn the woodburner off and cool completely. Remove the Cone point and attach the Universal point, turn the burner on. Use the Universal point to burn the pattern (if any) along the outside center of the box.

Lastly, if you choose, stain your box. I think the stain gives the box a finished look.

A few final tips:

*You can dye your piece to make it colorful. In this case, I could have dyed the ivy leaves green. There are colored wood dyes on the market but you can also use regular clothing dye.*

*You can add a layer or 2 of clear satin or glossy finish.*

*You can embellish your piece by gluing on gems, charms, etc.*

*You can line the inside of the box if you want to.*

*You can personalize your project. If you are making it for a gift, woodburn the recipients name on it.*

*You can glue 4 wooden balls (with a flat top) or cabinet pulls to the bottom of your box to give your box a lift.*