she'd put bells on her toes if she could
Today is a sitting around kind of day, everyone is tired & half sick, plus there is nothing truly pressing that has to get done this instant. But then my girl found a scrap of pink pipecleaner & turned it into a ring (because she loves nothing so much as adorning herself), & the box of leftover auction project jewels caught my eye, & hello, fastest kid-pleasing project ever.
Obviously, a girl can't stop at just ONE jeweled pipecleaner ring.
Wrap the pipecleaner around the finger, twist a time or two to keep your loop in shape.
Trim the ends to a couple of inches above the loop.
Take a pair of beading pliers (or similar) & make a little loop at each end to get rid of the sharp bits, then smash the loops flat.
Holding the two ends together, twist them around into a circular "nest" that sits perpendicular to the ring loop. There is no particular trick to this, just twist & tuck until the setting is the shape you want.
Once you've got your nice flat setting, you could put just about anything on top (as I type this, I am suddenly wondering where I put my shrinky dink sheets). We put on our jewels with Fast Grab Tacky Glue, which is my current favorite kid-craft glue due to it being thick &, well, fast-grabbing.
After you've made rings for every single finger, don't forget the matching bracelet.
Looks like you guys are having a great day over there, she looks fabulous with her new accessories!
Posted by: Kirsten | March 26, 2008 at 01:49 PM
I LOVE it!
And I went all over town looking for shrinky-dink sheets last weekend, and couldn't find any; I was soo mad!
Posted by: Betsy | March 26, 2008 at 02:04 PM
Que Bella!
Posted by: carolyn | March 26, 2008 at 05:47 PM
I would have *loved* these as a little girl. The fuzzy pipe cleaners are so ... velvet-like. :) Super-fancy!
Posted by: futuregirl | March 26, 2008 at 08:08 PM
I love her fancy bejeweled hands!
bises,
me.
Posted by: mamabrico | March 27, 2008 at 02:12 AM
we are so doing this! thanks daria.
Posted by: erin | March 27, 2008 at 05:18 AM
Don't you just love pipe cleaners!
Posted by: Mama Urchin | March 27, 2008 at 05:45 PM
so glamorous! Thanks for this. I have a 3 yr old that's going to freak out over this. We are always looking for big-kid projects for baby brother's nap time.
Anna
Posted by: Lasso the Moon | March 28, 2008 at 07:52 AM
Those are fantastic! I loved making things with pipe cleaners when I was little--these are far more fabulous than anything I ever made though. Too cute! :)
Posted by: Sarah | March 28, 2008 at 02:16 PM
Fabulous bling! great idea to keep the kids busy!
Posted by: jody | March 28, 2008 at 04:46 PM
What a great idea!! I think we'll try to make a few this afternoon.
Love her jewels!
Posted by: Jessica | March 31, 2008 at 11:19 AM
I might just be able to convince my 6 year old son to do this. For a minute. Maybe. Or maybe I'll just deck my own bad self out in pipecleaners!
Posted by: Becky | April 07, 2008 at 12:16 PM