Sunday, September 25, 2016

Vintage Hanky Bracelet

My friends Marie and Nancy hand-modeling
As I began searching for handmade gifts to make from vintage hankies, I fell in love with these bracelets from Pinterest!!

the materials needed:  hankies, thread or twine, scissors, jewelry fixings, needle-nose pliers, E-6000 bead glue



1. First I cut a hankie in half.  Then I cut the half into 3rds lengthwise.
2. I do the same with a coordinating hankie.
3. For my third piece I use chain, which can be bought craft stores.
4. Put one piece of each of the 2 hankies and one piece of chain in the same length together and tie off one end with your thread or twine.
5.  Braid the 3 pieces as tightly or loosely as you'd like.
6. Tie off the final end with your thread or twine.
7. Clip the ends fairly close to the thread or twine. Using the E6000 bead glue, begin stuffing the ends into the jewelry end caps. You may need to use a toothpick or something about that size to help stuff them.
8.  Allow to dry, maybe even overnight.  Any glue "strings" can be removed after drying.
9. Using your needle-nose pliers, attach lobster claws and a charm or 2.

You do not have to use chains.  You can simply use 3 strips of hankies if you'd prefer.  I love the chain look.

Nancy's turned out puffier by accident -- but I really like it

Marie's bracelets were my first and I loved how they turned out

I gave one to Marie and one to Brooke

these are made from hankies that Marie and Nancy gave to me

goes well with a matching Vintage Hankie Scarf



Brooke's was a little loose, so I tied it in a "knot" 

I'm liking the look with the knot

a few more I made

and a few more

kind of addicting

3 of my Great Plains Nature Center peeps got these




Linda Sue got this one

hers was too big so it got a knot as well

Brooke and I had some craft days at her house in October

she decided to make some for Christmas for coworkers, friends, and family
it's fun crafting with a creative person -- got some good ideas from her



just a second for pix, but we gotta get back to it



pretty good for one day



and I've gone a little crazy making more at the camper
Kathy Palmer chose this one

since the end caps are sometimes hard to find in the right size, I tried some with clamps. Works great.

found 20 little boxes in the wedding deco area of Michaels for $10

perfect size

tiny sacks work well, too

I was thinking these would be Christmas gifts for family and friends for 2017, since I knitted mitts for them this year.


But I can't wait to give them!  So some folks will get both this year!

I also had some pretty ones on hand when Walter died, so I gave one to Odestine as a warm fuzzy.  She'd planned on wearing it to his funeral, but spilled coffee on it the day of.  I took her another one a couple of days later.  They are a nice little something to show someone you care.






One of my new Bunco friends, Rosemary, in Wichita (Linda Sue's Bunch group in which I subbed one day), saw Linda Sue's and said she had a bag of her mom's hankies that she didn't know what to do with.  So she offered them to me but wouldn't let me pay her.  So instead I made a few bracelets and keyrings that she could use and give as gifts.  Great way to have a memento of someone you love.


Kathey, Glenda, & Julie learning to make some bracelets

January 2019: Introduced this craft to some of the ACC ladies.




Thanks Pinterest!!!


Vintage Hanky Scarf


my Pinterest inspiration


Since starting the hunt for vintage hankies for the shirts (see Ah-Choo Shirts), I started searching Pinterest and the www for other hankie ideas.  Saw this scarf and thought Wow!  It looks great and has to be simple.  It kinda bugged me at first that the edges don't always line up. But the instructions convinced me that it doesn't matter.  Sure enough, they look great!






Doesn't Marie look beautiful in hers?  Great colors!

My new, sweet Spearfish friend, Marie, gave me a bag full of hankies that she and her late husband, Richard, had accumulated over the years.  Some were from Germany, some were crocheted around the edges by her aunt.  I just couldn't use them with making her some keepsakes first!  So she got a scarf, a bracelet, and a keyring.  The last 2 are in a blogpost of their own.  Her scarf is a mixture of her hankies and Richard's!



Nancy, one of my other new awesome Spearfish friends, gave me some of her hankie collection.  They were all so lovely.  Once said "Oregon" on it.  I just couldn't cut that one up for my other projects.  I added one of Marie's husband's white hankies, and another ladies' hankie that matched the ones she gave me, and made her a scarf.

I'm loving the way the scarves turned out.  And I'm super excited about the hankie bracelets.  So I think a scarf/bracelet set would make a nice gift!




The Hankie Lore would be nice to include with a gift of hanky crafts!




November 2016:  Pam will get this lovely hanky scarf from the ones Rosemary gave me.

Pine Cone Critters



9-6-16:  April suggested that we try our hand at making Pine Cone Critters at the "Hatchery Craft Night".  She and her family have a tradition of making a craft when they get together for the holidays.  Her mom is an elementary teacher, so she comes up with all kinds of cool things for them.

The Spearfish area is rich with Ponderosa Pines, so a few of us gathered some on our walks this week.



These 2 pix are my inspirations for my critters.  We shall see how close I come. LOL.

April brought the ones that she and her family made. Wow!  Gnomes, hooters, beaver, and angel

and she showed me a neat wall hanging she makes each year out of Christmas cards! Love it!

April added to her collection tonight -- I love the owl with the acorn eyes!

can ya spot my reindeer, buffalo, and "Mr. Bill"?