February 14, 2012
Love Birds Bracelet

Did you know that we here at Plaid manufacture jewelry craft products? For many of you this may be new news to you. One of our jewelry lines is called, Select Strands. This is a line of various lampwork beads, in multiple colors and designs. Select Strands were used in this Love Birds bracelet. It was designed by Alisa Fineis. It will take you about an hour to create this bracelet, and it is recommended for the crafter with a little bit of experience under their belt. This is a perfect charm to make as a Valentine’s Gift, or it can serve as a nice gift to give anytime of year. Below we have listed all the supplies you will need, along with the instructions. Plaid’s Select Strands lampwork beads can be found at most large Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores. Enjoy!
SUPPLIES:
Plaid® Select Strands™ Lampwork Beads-
- Plaid® Select Strands™ Lampwork Beads –Design 51: Hearts and Birds
- Plaid® Select Strands™ Glass Beads – 14311 Twist Red
- Plaid® Select Strands™ – Glass Beads – 3324 Cathedral Amethyst
- Plaid® Select Strands™ – Glass Beads – 14438 Swirl Lentil Pink
- Plaid® Select Strands™ – Ceramic Beads – 14357 Coin AB White/Pink
Other items needed:
- 6mm Purple (9)
- Shiny Silver chunky chain 7” or desired length
- Shiny silver head pins (15)
- Shiny silver jump rings (18)
- Shiny silver toggle (1)
DIRECTIONS:
Bracelet
- Cut a 7” (or desired) length of chunky chain
- Use medium jump rings to attach 1 end of each chain to on side of Toggle.
- Use medium jump rings to attach remaining end of each chain to bar side of toggle.
- Thread beads onto eyepins as pictured & create loops at the ends.
- Attach each eyepin with medium jump rings to chain as pictured or in desired order.
Posted in DIY, Select Strands, Valentine's Day | 1 Comment »
February 14, 2012
Tuesday Tutorial: Decoupaged Valentine Jar

Happy Valentine’s Day! We hope today you will have a lovely and happy day. In case you have sometime to craft today here is a great project that you can create. This decoupaged Valentine jar is not only cute, but it’s a useful craft. Store all your Valentine’s Day goodies in this jar, and display it in your home or office. This jar was designed by, Sherrie Ragsdale. See a list of supplies, and the instructions for this project below.
PLAID Supplies
Other Supplies
Red paper with white dots, Red and white striped paper, Pink paper with white dots, Pink ribbon, Pink buttons, Hot glue gun, & Jar
Instructions
- Cut out red/white dot paper to fit the lid of jar and the front of jar. Glue in place.
- For the front of the jar, cut out a square from the red paper with dots. Next, cut out a slightly smaller square (approximately 1/2 smaller square), from the striped paper. Center and adhere smaller square to larger square using Mod Podge as your glue.
- Cut out one small heart from the red striped paper and one small heart from the pink paper with white dots. Set aside.
- Cut out a medium heart from the red paper with dots and a medium heart from the solid pink paper. Set aside.
- Glue medium pink heart to the top. Center and glue small striped heart on top of pink heart.
- Glue medium red dotted heart on top of the square paper. Center and glue small pink heart on top of red heart.
- Glue the square paper with attached hearts to the front of the jar.
- Add pink bow and buttons as shown in photo using hot glue.
Posted in Decoupage, Mod Podge, Tuesday Tutorial, Valentine's Day | Leave a Comment »
February 13, 2012
Plaid is Spreading the Love: Enter our Twitter Valentine’s Day Photo Contest!

So tomorrow is February 14th, Valentine’s Day. The day to celebrate your love for your significant other, family, and/or friends. While I love Valentine’s Day, I do think we all should spread love throughout the year, not just on February 14th 
So although Valentine’s Day is the day to show your love for others, we here at Plaid would like to see you to show your love for crafts. We’re hosting a Valentine craft photo contest on Twitter, with the chance to win $50 worth of Plaid craft products! Three winners will be chosen.
All you have to do is follow us on Twitter (@PlaidCrafts), and send us a TwitPic that shows us a photo of a Valentine’s themed craft project you have created. We here at Plaid will select the top 3 craft projects submitted. And please remember, do not submit any pictures you wouldn’t want your mom to see!
Follow us on Twitter:
Enjoy our Valentines Day Contest. Good Luck!
(Contest begins 12pm EST Monday, February 13th, and ends 11:59pm EST Tuesday, February 14th)
Posted in Contest, DIY, Giveaway, Valentine's Day | 1 Comment »
February 13, 2012
Make it Monday: Valentine Purse
By: Candie Cooper (To see more crafts from Candie check out her blog, Candie Cooper’s Journal)

I was thinking back to my own school days. About this time twenty-five years ago my mom and I would be working on my Valentine Box. You know the ones–they house all the little notes classmates give to one another. One year it was wrapped in red paper with conversation hearts glued on, another it looked like a mini mailbox. So fun! I was trying to think of a quick-to-make-Valentine box and this is what I came up with. It’s a retro clutch disguised as a Valentine holder!

Pick up clutches at the second hand store, then grab some embellishments, ribbons, Mod Podge, Extreme Glitter, Martha Stewart Glitter paints and paint brushes. You may need some Folk Art paint too.
read more »
Posted in Decoupage, DIY, FolkArt Extreme Glitter, Make It Monday, Martha Stewart, Mod Podge, Valentine's Day | Leave a Comment »
February 10, 2012
Freelance Friday: Resin Rings With Plaid Ring Bling

It’s Friday
I know you are happy the work week is over, and the weekend is finally here. It’s the weekend before Valentine’s Day, and that means this is the perfect weekend to craft a gift for the one you love. Many of you know Plaid for our paints, but did you know that Plaid makes jewelry too? Currently Plaid has a line called Ring Bling sold in, Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores nationwide. With Plaid’s Ring Bling line, you have the ability to make your own customized ring using a variety of bezels and ring forms. This is such a quick and inexpensive, project that anyone can make. With our Ring Bling line the possibilities are endless. I found this ring on a blog called, Saved By Love Creations. Click here to see how this ring was created.

Posted in Accessories, DIY, Freelance Friday, Ring Bling | 2 Comments »
February 9, 2012
Teaching Thursdays: Valentine’s Day Pennant

Are you planning a Valentine’s Day party? If so you might be in need so some themed decor. This Valentine’s Day Pennant is a great home decoration to add to any room. I personally prefer to make some of the decorations when I am throwing a gathering. This way I know that I have something unique, that you won’t see in the store. This is a fairly simple project to create, although it will take a little bit of time. Do not attempt to do this if you are in a rush. The supplies you will need are the following: Mod Podge, Scrapbook Paper, Glue, Glitter, Scissors, Ribbon, Chipboard Pennants, Distress Ink, Twine, and Hole Punch.

This project was found on the Krazy Crafty Lady blog. To see how to create this Valentine’s Day Pennant click here.

Posted in DIY, Mod Podge, Teaching Thursdays, Valentine's Day | Leave a Comment »
February 7, 2012
Gasp! That’s exactly what I did when I first laid eyes on this gorgeous table. I stumbled across this table first on Pinterest. The original source was from a blog called, The Inspired Bride. Although the creators of this amazing table decorated it with a wedding in mind, I see this table fitting in nicely at a Valentine’s Day dinner party. I love the mixture of colors used on it. There is little red hues in this design, which to many is the required colors to decorate with during Valentine’s Day. I feel that people often times forget about pink. I am such a girly girl so I love pinks, and purples for that matter. They are such feminine colors, that I love to decorate with. This table is soft, yet very chic. It is not overly mushy, but quite tasteful. Hopefully soon I can throw a dinner party for friends. I will definitely use this table design as inspiration.
This palette was created using FolkArt acrylic paint colors: # 2574 Brilliant Pink, # 462 Burnt Umber, # 2495 Gilded Oak, and # 932 Calico Red.

Posted in FolkArt Acrylic, Tuesday Huesday, Valentine's Day | Leave a Comment »
February 6, 2012
Make it Monday: Dancing Hearts Valentine Mobile
Create a lovely and wonderful mobile with Gallery Glass, this Valentine’s Day. Hearts are all a flutter this time of year, and the song of love is playing almost everywhere you go. Even though there are only a few days left til Valentine’s Day, there is still plenty of time to get creative and make some festive decorations for this occasion. Below are the supplies you will need, along with the instructions. This project was designed by, Holli Long. Click
here to see another Valentine’s Day craft made with Gallery Glass.
PLAID Supplies
- Gallery Glass ® Window Color™ – Snow White, 2 oz.
- Gallery Glass ® Window Color™ – Amethyst, 2 oz.
- Gallery Glass ® Window Color™ – Ruby Red, 2 oz.
- Gallery Glass ® Surfaces – Leading Blanks
- Gallery Glass ® Redi-Lead™ Strips – Thin
- Gallery Glass ® Accessories – Tool Set
- Gallery Glass ® Window Color™ Sets – Primary Paint Set
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Other Supplies
28 Gauge wire
Wire cutters
Red glass hearts
Optional: Red seed beads
Instructions
- Tape pattern under Cuttable Plastic and trace lines with Thin Redi-Lead, trimming to fit as you go.
- Colorize heart shapes with combinations of Window Color colors of your choice. (Samples use Ruby Red, Wicker White, and Amethyst.)
- Create various dots, stripes and swirls as desired. Create marbled effects by stirring colors together slightly while wet. Experiment! It’s FUN!!
- When Window Color is completely dry, cut around all heart shapes with scissors, leaving a little “tab” of clear plastic between the ‘humps of the top of heart (to hang it by). Cut 8 pieces of wire approximately 12” long.
- Punch holes in the top and bottom of each heart using a T-Pin. Enlarge holes with the metal tool.
- Thread two wires through the top hole. Center wires and bend up. Holding wire near the plastic, twist several times. Thread two of the wires together and through a red glass bead. Twist all wires together to hold in place. Add another red glass heart to two of the wires. Twist all wires together and make a loop at top for hanging. Twist wires together to secure loop. Trim wires close.
- Attach another two wires at the bottom of the heart, bring ends together to align the hole at the center of the wires. Hold the wires close to the plastic and twist a couple of times. Add a red glass bead to two of the wires, then bring all four together and twist to hold glass bead in place.
- Connect to next heart shape by threading two of the wires through the hole at the top, then wrap all four wires around under the heart a couple of times. Cut wire close.
- Repeat for each space between hearts. (Note: you can assemble mobile with ribbon or cord instead of wire, if desired.)
- Optional step: Cut 5” lengths of extra wire. Thread wires through red seed beads: curl and bend wire to create a “wild” look. Wrap randomly around wire between hearts.
- Hint #1: You can add more or fewer hearts to your mobile as desired.
- Hint #2: You can write alphabet letters on top of the dry Window Color using the tip of Liquid Lead (spell out the name of your Sweetheart, spell out “Love”, etc.).
- Hint #3: You can write whole words on each heart such as ‘love”, “kisses”, “hugs”, etc.
Posted in Gallery Glass, Make It Monday, Valentine's Day | Leave a Comment »
January 31, 2012
Tuesday Tutorial: Pretty in Pinks and Purple Table Decor

Can you believe that this is the last day in the month of January? I know I can’t. The year is already flying by, and before you know it Valentine’s Day will be here. If you are looking for a way to spruce up your table with some Valentine’s decor, then you will love this pretty in pinks and purple table decor. This project was created by one of our designers, Trenice Bishop. She created these adorable decorations using Apple Barrel paints. Click here to learn how to create this project for your own table.
Posted in Apple Barrel, Tuesday Tutorial, Valentine's Day | 2 Comments »
January 27, 2012
Freelance Friday: Ribbon and Pearl Rose Pin

I don’t know if you heard, but Hot Glue Gun Helpers turned 1 years old this week. Cathie Filian was so excited about this anniversary that she is hosting a Hot Glue Gun Helper on her blog. Click to enter. In case you win the giveaway or if you already have your own hot glue gun helper, we wanted to share an adorable craft project to use it on. This is a great Valentine’s Day craft. It’s simple to make, and is very versatile. Add this pin to your blouse, a headband, or use as an embellishment on a frame. To learn how to create this ribbon and pearl rose pin click .
Posted in Cathie and Steve, DIY, Freelance Friday, Valentine's Day | Leave a Comment »