$50 Gift Certificate to Happy Mango Beads Giveaway (Ends 10/31) US

Are you excited about this giveaway?  I'm excited! Happy Mango Beads is one of the best places to get beads.  (And they now have some beading tools and supplies too!)

Do you follow them on Facebook?  You should.  Make sure that you can see all of their posts, because they post lovely pictures daily.

I've had the pleasure of working with their beads a couple of times.  (And I still have some of their pretties in my bead stash.)  Above you can see the memory wire bracelet that I made.  Below you can see the wrap bracelet that I made.

Don't miss out on any of these craft related giveaways:

$25 Zipper Island Shop Credit (Ends 10/23) US

Red Heart Yarn Prize Pack

And many more at The Philosopher's Wife: Giveaways Galore

Open to US residents 18+.  This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook or any other social media.  Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email, if s/he does not then a new winner will be chosen.  Void where prohibited.  Sponsor is responsible for prize shipment and fulfillment.  

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Faux Leather and Recycled Glass Beads Wrap Bracelet How To

I received these beads in exchange for my honest opinions. 

I know, I'm a little late in the wrap bracelet trend, but here I am hopping on the bandwagon!

The beads are recycled glass beads from Happy Mango Beads.  (I'm not sure if that link is exactly the same bead, but it's close.)  Here's Catherine photo-bombing my picture of Happy Mango Beads goodies. I can't believe this photo is over a year old!  (By the way, if you like beautiful pictures and beads in your Facebook newsfeed, you should like Happy Mango Beads.)

I had received these beads about a year ago and with hubby getting a new job, a 500 mile move, a severe morning sickness filled pregnancy, the birth of my son, etc., etc., I am only now getting caught up on my crafting!  Of course, as soon as I got my goodies from Happy Mango Beads I took a break from packing and did make this pretty memory wire bracelet.

Back to today's bracelet, the (faux) leather cord was a gift, but I'm pretty sure it came from Joann's.  I used heavy duty all purpose thread from my stash.  I also dabbed some E-6000 glue on all of my knots -- probably overkill, but it gives me peace of mind knowing that everything is super secure.  I also used one button.

Here's another picture of my beautiful girl, this one is from today. She's getting so big!  She loves to model my crafts for me.

I pretty much just winged it while making this bracelet, but I am really happy how it turned out!  If you'd like a little direction, here's what I did:

• Cut leather cord to desired length.  For mine, I doubled the leather and then wrapped it around my wrist and added a couple inched before cutting.  
• Make a loop by tying a knot at the halfway point.  This loop will be your "button hole", so make sure your button will fit!
• Tie your needle and thread to one side of the leather.  
• Start adding beads.  I went through the bead, around the leather, back through the bead, around the leather, and then through the next bead . . .
• At the end, knot the thread, leaving a long tail.  Knot the leather and the thread together.
• Add the button.
• Put a drop of E-6000 glue on all of the knots.

A couple of tips for while you're working:

• Secure your work somehow.  A clipboard would be perfect.  I used a paperclip and a cardboard box.
• The first few beads are difficult.  I didn't think mine were lining up well at all, but somehow after about a half-dozen beads everything looked great.
• This method will work for all sizes of beads, but keep in mind you will need a very thin needle for smaller beads, because you have to go through the bead twice.

The beads are on the heavier side, so this bracelet does have a bit of weight to it.  Because of the weight I decided that this bracelet should only wrap around my wrist twice.  The beads are very high quality.  I love how each one is unique.  They get my seal of approval.

I think the combination of the leather and the recycled beads has a slightly rustic feel, perfect for fall!  What do you think?

As always, I love linking up at various parties across blogland! If you liked this post it would be awesome if you followed me somehow.

 

Rachel: The Philosopher's Wife

Like I said above, I received these beads in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions. 

Amethyst Teardrop Memory Wire Bracelet

I was given beads to review from Happy Mango Beads.  All opinions are my own and, of course, they are my honest opinions.  
This post may contain affiliate links.  

I am super excited because Happy Mango Beads sent me an awesome package of beads to review.  (You should be excited too, because they also are sponsoring a fabulous giveaway!)  My daughter also was very excited when the beads came in the mail and insisted on being in the picture of all of the goodies.  Stay tuned for more projects featuring these beads!  (Today's project used the beads in the front center of this picture.)

Some of you might have noticed that I mentioned in last week's Quick Takes that I am moving shortly, which means that I don't have a lot of time for my crafting endeavors right now.  However, I just couldn't let all of these goodies just sit around in a cardboard box, could I?  One of the easiest jewelry projects to make are memory wire bracelets, so that's what I decided to make!

If you haven't made a bracelet using memory wire before, I highly recommended it.  It is very easy to create a beautiful piece of jewelry for anyone very quickly!  Here are the instructions:

1. Use round nose jewelry pliers to make a loop.
2. Add beads.
3. Use round nose jewelry pliers to make a loop.

I used some seed beads from my stash and the Amethyst Teardrop Beads from Happy Mango Beads.  I enjoyed working with the amethyst beads.  Each hand-cut bead is slightly different and unique.  One package contained a fifteen inch strand of beads.  (I didn't count how many individual beads I received, however, there are plenty for a couple of projects!)  My one slight complaint is that the holes are not uniform in size--there were some beads that could not be threaded onto my memory wire.  

So, what do you think?  Do you like this bracelet?  I really am quiet happy with the finished product!

(GIVEAWAY ENDED)Make sure that you enter the giveaway to win a $25 gift certificate to Happy Mango Beads!

I love sharing my craft around the blog world, check out these and the following for great places to party!
Fine Craft Guild

Happy Mango Beads $25 Gift Certificate Giveaway (Ends 8/3) US

I am excited to be teaming up with Happy Mango Beads to bring you this awesome giveaway!  I really enjoyed working with the beads, and I am sure that a lot of you wonderful readers would also love to work with these beads!  

Check out what I've made:

Amethyst Teardrop Memory Wire Bracelet

This giveaway is open to US residents, ages 18 and up.  To enter use the Rafflecopter below.  Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond.  Failure to respond will result in a new winner being chosen.  The Philosopher's Wife is not responsible for prize shipment or fulfillment.  Facebook and other social media are in no way affiliated with this giveaway.  The Giveaway ends on August 3, 2013 at 11:59 EST.  

  

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