Contrariwise ramblings

Crafts, Tutorials...

Making headpins.
I love the kind of headpins that have little round balls on them. Ther'e made by melting the end of your wire with a torch until the end forms a small ball. It's a little problematic when you don't own a torch. I tried sticking the end of my wire onto my stove burner, unfortunately it's electric so that didn't work too well. I did successfully make them using my outdoor gas grill, but it's best that my husband doesn't hear about that again. So I broke down and bought a propane torch.

But I digress. Silver River Jewelry has a great tutorial on how to make these lovely round-ended headpins. By either hand polishing or tumbling, you can make them nice and shiny, like you see above. But you also have the option of oxidizing them, which gives them a really different look. Depending on the design of the jewelry, they can appear either rustic or modern.





To make paddle headpins, all you need are a hammer and an anvil. The idea is to pound the end of your wire until the end is flat and paddle-shaped, which then becomes the end of your headpin.


These are pretty versatile; my turquoise wishbone earrings, on the right, use a variation of the paddle headpin as the earwire itself.



There's also this nifty article which doen't require anything except round nose pliers and a wire cutter: Quick Homemade Headpins. I tried this out...it works but I didn't like the look. So, instead of cutting off part of the loop, I then bent the end around again and made it look like a tiny flat spiral.




Creative Jewelry storage

I found a site that has some great ideas for jewelry storage . I especiallylike the look of the little bowls to keep your earrings and necklaces from becoming all tangles up. If you already have odd saucers and cups, this is a cost-free option.


I've seen these types of shadow boxes for sale on Etsy. But you could make your own to either hang on your wall or set on your cabinet. You can use small decorative bowls perched on the box's lower ledge to hold rings, pins, brooches, and other little things. Hey, the whole thing doubles as a work of art!

The above link gives instructions on how to make one for yourself.


Joyful Abode solved her jewerly storage in the way that I solved it. By making a jewelry board. Mine is a plain corkboard (I didn't over it with fabric like Joyful Abode). And instead of ribbon, I used a narrow line of linen cloth, the kind used for cross-stitching. What's good about it is that you can poke your earwires in the cross-stitch holes. You can even poke post earrings through it!



My jewelry board hangs on the inside of our linen closet, in our bathroom.

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...and more!

Taking Folk Art to a Different Level

Above, my friends, are fine examples of redneck art. Behold the Assquatch, or the delicate art of shaping a deer’s butt into a face of the monster.

Mastery of the art is attained, apparently, when you can shape the anus into lips. The artist who created the masterpiece on the right, has obviously taken butt-hole manipulation to a whole new level.

Many deer butt snobs will put their art outside, bragging on their good taste. For example, on the left, you can see the popular deer butt doorbells. Can you imagine the look on the faces of your company when they're greated by that tremendous piece of...uh, art.

But if you don't have any deer butt's handy, don't despair. Many creative folks will go on a scavenger hunt, searching for fresh road kill to use for their red neck art. Here is where the creative process is critical and you can let-loose with your artistic freedom to come up with a wealth of affordable fine art for your home. Even rodents can be sculptured into fine redneck art plaques. An example: the lovely squirrel butt coat hook.

But you don't have to limit yourself to hunting trophies or roadkill when you have a potential source of inspiration in your own home. Is your kitty getting a little old? Has he been missing the litter box lately? Coughing up a few too many hairballs? Well, maybe its time to convert him into a kitty cat butt refrigerator decoration! What better way to remember him forever!

You’ll find instructions for making your own folk art here, including illustrated instructions for proper anus tying.

And remember, no matter how you slice them, creating animal butt art is a fun and educational experience for the whole family.

Cute Overload
I can't help it. Baby kittens just make me melt. LISTEN to the little purr engine on this one.


Sigh. That kitty is OBSCENELY adorable. Like, it should be against the law, to be that cute. So precious, I think my brain melted out my ears.



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