Drinking Straw Jewelry and Ornaments

unikatissima Drinking Straw Jewelry and Ornaments

When I saw the drinking straw pin I thought: ‘Oh yes, I want!’ ;-)

 

unikatissima Drinking Straw Jewelry and Ornaments It is quite easy: I took two different coloured drinking straws, cut them (veeery carefully!) into spirals with an X-acto knife und knotted them (not too firm) together.
This way my little ball stays in form without glue, sewing or the like.
I wanted to cut them first with scissors but I got ugly edges, the cut must be made with a really sharp cutting tool.

I find it cute as well as jewelry as well as tree ornament ;-)


Links:
Drinking Straw Pin (curly elastic brooch)

Plastic Bottle Beads


unikatissima Plastic Bottle Beads

There remained some leftovers from our cut plastic bottle, from which we already made a knitting loom and a plastic box and we can use them to make some beads.
In the instruction on how to make plastic bottle beads they roll up the plastic strip and melt it together with a heat gun.
I don’t have no heat gun and I’m a little afraid of possibly developing fumes, therefore I did it in a different way:

 

unikatissima Plastic Bottle Beads Material I brought water to the boil in my craft pan (which I don’t use for food preparation anymore!).
Then I cut a stripe from the plastic bottle and rolled tightly using some tweezers.
Look out, it always try to uncoil!

 

unikatissima Plastic Bottle Beads I hold the rolled ‘bead’ with my craft wooden pliers (also not used for food preparation anymore) into the simmering water and in seconds the bead was finished.
I don’t know if I could have coloured the bead with permanent markers, I’ve forgotten to test this.
Besides the end doesn’t fuse with the bead, but it doesn’t open neither.

 

unikatissima Plastic Bottle Beads Because it always wanted to uncoil I hold it quite firm with my wooden pliers and the bead became a little flat.
Pressing it in the other direction and dipping into the simmering water again didn’t make the bead round.
But 1. I like the shape and 2. I think it’s only a matter of practice.


Links:
Plastic Bottle Beads

Faux Fused Glass

craftster Faux Fused Glass

Some time ago I presented the DIY Shrinky Dinks, now I found at craftster the Faux Fused Glass.
Sheer lunacy!
She published the actual tutorial in her blog.
She uses the ‘real’ shrinky dinks, but it should work with the self-made as well?!


Links:
At craftster: Faux Fused Glass

Tutorial on how to make faux fused glass

Here at unikatissima: DIY Shrinky Dinks

DIY Shrinky Dinks

unikatissima DIY Shrinky Dinks

I found at craftster a tutorial on how to make DIY Shrinky Dinks. I liked this (I don’t like to buy new materials, especially when I haven’t tried the technique yet).
Additionally I made a little research and found more (very similar) tutorials (see also Links below).
I really must try this, although I will wait until summer when I can easily ventilate the kitchen, because I’m always afraid of toxic gases.
Until then I can find out perhaps which of the odd plastic dishes I can use ;-)


Links:
At craftster: shrinky dinks made from old packaging!

At curbly: DIY Shrinky Dinks

At instructables: