DIY Life

It's getting close to your big day. You've done everything you can to keep your wedding plans simple and frugal. You've made your own invitations, created centerpieces yourself, made your bouquet and even your guest book.

Now, how will you thank your bridesmaids? In keeping with your frugal DIY wedding, a thoughtful and unique hand-made gift sounds perfect.

Spa products
Wouldn't it be fun to have a spa day with your bridesmaids? Since this is an expensive luxury, you could thank them with some homemade spa products instead. Try some of these:

• Facial products: Make a cleanser, scrub, mask, and moisturizer to pamper your bridesmaids.
• Foot products: Create a soak, scrub, and butter -- those feet will be worn out from dancing at the wedding!
• Body products: Make bath salts, body scrub, hand scrub, and body oil, so she can be soft all over.

I love my bead board! I cannot imagine making jewelry without it. If you haven't invested -- and I use the term loosely, as bead boards are cheap! -- in a bead board yet, go for it. It will bring the ease of jewelry-making to a whole new level for you.

What features do I love about my bead board?

• The flocked surface keeps the beads from rolling around too much.
• I can create multi-strand necklaces due to the different grooves on the bead board.
• Being able to make more than one bracelet at a time is a lifesaver, because as I am looking for beads to make one bracelet, I usually come up with another idea or two on the way. The five slots on the bracelet section lets me lay out the patterns for all of the ideas that inspire me. This is especially helpful when I am making gifts of my jewelry. It also works well for multi-strand bracelets.
• There are enough separated sections for me to keep some beads at my fingertips, so when I know a pattern and want to lay out the whole necklace or bracelet before stringing, I can have the beads handy.
• Those same sections allow me to lay out all of the components for earrings, clasps for necklaces and bracelets, and any crimping beads I may need.
• Because the grooves are marked with measurements, I always know how long my necklaces and bracelets will be. This is important if you are trying to make your jewelry a standard length, or if you are making a custom fitting piece.

The bead board is an important tool if you are making jewelry as a hobbyist or as a professional. It will make everything easier.

With such a variety of decorative buttons available today, is it any wonder we've found a million and one uses for them?

I've been addicted to collecting really cool and unusual buttons for some time now. I've been using quite a few of them to make pairs of earrings.

It's pretty easy, and you won't need too terribly many supplies. Here's what you'll need:

• decorative buttons
• drill, or dremel
• jump rings
• earring findings
• safety glasses

They are really simple to make, just make sure to wear some safety glasses when using a drill! So, after putting on your wonderful, fashionable safety glasses, drill a hole towards the top of your button. (I wouldn't use any holes that already exist, as they are really too far down, and some of the decorative buttons out today don't even have holes!) Make sure that when you drill a hole in your second button, it matches up fairly well to it's mate.

Add a jump ring to the holes in the two buttons you just drilled, and connect your earring finding to that. And, you're done! You've got yourself a pair of really cute, unique earrings.

Some of that trendy designer jewelry is fabulous, isn't it? Fabulously expensive too.

You know, you don't have to pay those prices if you are even moderately handy with a pair of pliers and have a local bead shop (or don't mind buying beads online, sight unseen).

Pandora has a lovely set of pink opal with flower drop earrings in their new 2008 spring line. Join me after the break to see how you can make a reasonable facsimile of these earrings for far less than the $60.00 they are charging.

My bead addiction is a little out of hand. I order online, and anything that even looks halfway interesting somehow ends up in my collection. It is a little too easy just to click "Add to cart", I guess.

So I ended up with an assortment of crackle glass beads. They are two-toned, and I could never quite figure out what to do with them.

Inspiration struck last night, and I am thrilled at the way my design turned out. In fact, I made pairs of earrings with almost every color of the beads I had, just to see how they looked. My favorite pair are the ones made with the black beads, but with the right outfit, the pink and the red would be appealing too.

Join me after the break to learn how to make crackle glass earrings.

The sprouting grass, the bursting leaves, St. Patrick's Day, Earth Day, even the weeds. There are plenty of reasons to celebrate green in springtime, and making your own green beaded earrings is a fun and fashionable way to do it.

You don't even need to cut any wire for these earrings, so if you have never made jewelry before, you can make these quickly and easily.

For this simple project, you'll need about ten minutes and:

• 2 ear hooks
• 2 antiqued brass headpins, 3/4 inch
• (2) 8mm Moss Agate beads
• (4) 4mm faceted round glass beads, any shade of green you like
• 4 antiqued brass 4X3mm flower beads
• round nose pliers

Simply string the beads onto the headpins in the order shown in the picture, then put the headpin through the loop on the ear wire.

Use your round nose pliers to bend the top of the headpin into a loop, as shown in the gallery. Follow this tutorial if you've never done it before. You are done!

Go show off your new, made-by-you earrings.

Did you have fun when you hosted your clothing swap party? No? What am I talking about? Well, Tanya had a magnificent suggestion this past September when she told us how to throw a clothing swap party.

Now is the perfect time to host that clothing swap party and while you're at it, don't forget to tell all your friends that you are also hosting an earring party. Not only can they get rid of their clothing that no longer fits, they can also lighten up their earring count, by swapping with all the cool guests you've invited.

Like Tanya said; if you haven't worn an article of clothing for two years, it is time to say goodbye. Don't wait for the day you can fit into it again, because, trust me, that day may never come. If you have been eying up those magnificent jeans that your best friend has (had) been wearing, not to mention those pretty sparkley earrings, have a party now, just in time for those Christmas gifts you are about to receive, and give away.

Drop earrings are a classic style that can range from elegant to quirky depending on the beads that make up the earring. I am going to show you how to make your own. Drop earrings are easy and quick to make.

To choose your beads you will need to consider a few things. What kind of earrings do you want to make, elegant or quirky? I went with a more quirky style for the gallery pictures.Translucent colored glass or crystal beads are best for dressy, elegant earrings. Opaque colors make for a more fun earring. Also, you need at least one bead that will not slip off your head pin.

Crafty Ginger has a great tutorial for making "Tree Branch earrings" with just wire, pliers, and a few beads and findings.

"Elegant" and "personal" are not words that always go with "easy" and "last-minute gift," but this jewelry project is an exception. Even a beginner should be able to create something they and the recipient will love. The technique itself is applicable to larger projects, like necklaces and garlands.

If made in sterling silver wire, these earrings would also be perfect gifts for bridal attendants. Try making a pair or two in cheaper craft wire, first, to get the feel of the process.