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Thursday, March 14, 2013

Berry Fun With Beads: Making Awesome Accessories



Do you ever find a craft supply that just gives you endless inspiration?  I LOVE when that happens - it totally gives your creativity some freedom & is so much fun too.  Today's post is all about my latest supply crush: wooden berry beads.

When my lovely sponsor Wholeport asked me to pick out some new goodies to try I was all about these berry babies.  With 50 beads in a bag, and in all sorts of colors, I didn't have to limit myself on what to make, so I went a little berry accessory crazy.



I started with some ribbon wrapped hair clips.  The little miss finally has enough hair to clip things onto, so I've become a bit obsessed with making these lately.   I hot glued green grosgrain ribbon around some alligator clips, added a strip of foamy drawer liner (to make them non-slip) and then added a single bead on each.


For more decoration, I used some fabulous 1.5 inch strawberry print ribbon from Make The World Prettier and fashioned up some bows and dolled up the centers with a berry bead.  I'm trying out different barrette styles so I sewed one on a French clip barrette and hot glued the other on a ribbon lined alligator.


Then I made this rainbow berry necklace for a little extra fun & color.  The 80's child in me is still so in love with anything rainbow-related, so it totally makes me smile:


Making it was so easy I don't even need to show you step-by-step pics.  I simply arranged the berries in rainbow order and threaded them on some elastic thread, using small green glass beads as spacers.  It'll fit me as a choker style or my little miss as a looser necklace. I cannot wait to wear it with a plain white top in the sunny days of summer!



I also whipped up some simple snap clip barrettes with the pink & magenta berries.  Since both the bead backs & barrettes are really smooth, and there's a bit of stress from the snapping these get, the hot glue didn't hold too well at first.  Then I got smart & glued tiny squares of grosgrain ribbon to the clips first and then glued the beads on top so there'd be a little texture for the glue to grip.  They seem to work better now, but if push comes to shove I can use some heavy duty thread through the holes & stitch 'em together.



My 3 year old went wild when she saw them all.  And I'm not ashamed to say that even though I'm over 30, I plan to rock all these accessories myself.  Why should the little miss have all the berry fun?  I'm a little on the quirky side and never clued into what's "stylish" anyway.  And since accessories like these are so low commitment why not take a chance? I've still got quite a few beads left so I think some DIY earrings may be next on the agenda;)

And in case you're interested, you can use these codes at Wholeport for discounts on any kinds of crafting supplies (including these fabulous beads!):

Code: WP50MINUS5 to Get $5 OFF a $50 Wholeport order 

 Code: WPUNION100C10N2 to Get $10 OFF a $100 Wholeport order 

I'm also sharing this project with my FAVE LINK PARTIES.
Click HERE to check them out!


I was not financially compensated for this post and received the beads to review.  I am an affiliate of Wholeport.com.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience. For my complete disclosure policy, click here. 

11 comments:

  1. Is there a minimum purchase with the coupon code? It didn't work for me. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There isn't supposed to be and I just checked it and am having the same issue. I've contact Wholeport & will let you know as soon as I have a reply.

      Delete
    2. In the meantime I've updated it with a code I DO know works for $10 off a $100 order. Once the other one gets sorted out I'll include that too:)

      Delete
  2. You accessories are adorable, by the way! My daughter would LOVE these!!

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  3. Everything is so cute! I'm visiting today from Thumping Thursdays.

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  4. Oh those are adorable! I'm so glad you made that necklace...it really caught my eye and made me think...oh for some color!!! Juicy looking necklace! And I can see you with that necklace on and the hair clips in your hair, your girls mimicking you too!
    Have an adorable week and thanks so much for sharing!
    Blessings,
    Doni

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  5. Newest follower here! I found you through the blog hop. You have a super cute blog, I can't wait to read more. You can find me at meandmr.com

    -Melanie @meandmr.com

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  6. Adorable! Great to see you on Craft Schooling Sunday!

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  7. Everything is so adorable!! I love the necklace. It's just too cute! Thank you so much for sharing at A Bouquet of Talent this week! So thrilled to have you share with us. Have a wonderful weekend!

    Hugs
    Kathy

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  8. These are beautiful! Thank you for sharing them with us in our Crafty Showcase. We love seeing what you link up each week!

    New linky: http://bowdabrablog.com/2013/03/23/crafty-showcase-link-up-anything-fun-in-the-craft-project-linky-6/

    Have a super week! Susie @Bowdabra

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  9. Everthing is so sweet :) Thanks for sharing last week at Creative Mondays,,,featuring your post this week...

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Getting your comments brightens my day. I'd love if you left one:)