Lebenslustiger.com

Leather Wrap Bracelet Tutorial

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:20:00 +0000

Hi there!

I wanted to come up with a new leather wrap tutorial for a while now and I am really happy to pronounce I finally did

If you like to see my other bracelet tutorials please click here.

It took me a while to wrap my mind around the "How To" because i wanted to create a braided full leather version as an alternative to the tedious and time consuming version of weaving beads in and out with bead cord between and around two leather strings.

Once you get the hang of the braiding rhythm you will see how quickly these bracelets are done and how beautifully they will turn out!

For one bracelet you will need:

- about 2 meter leather cord size 2mm depending on how many times you want to wrap the bracelet around your wrist (2meter length will wrap around 4x - you could do a shorter or longer version by taking less or more length)

- 1.5 meter leather cord size 1mm

- 6 meter leather cord size 1mm

- about 140 little beads with a large enough hole to thread onto your shorter 1mm leather cord piece.

- optional a little jewelry button or something similar from the bead shop

Of course you are free to choose different sizes of leather cord than I did but make sure there is a thinner and a thicker cord and you are able to thread your beads onto the thinner one.

O.K. - here we go! The right one is the version with no button. This bracelet will just close with a loop on one end and a knot on the other end.

Take your 2 meter long piece and fold it into half.

Take your 1.5 meter long piece and knot it around your loop as shown in picture 1.

Now fold the short end towards the middle and wrap your long end tight around all leather pieces to create a nice beginning.

ALWAYS pull gently!!! 1 mm leather cord is delicate and you do not want to tear it. Please try on an extra piece how much you can pull before it breaks so you get a feeling on how much strength you can use while pulling.

By the way - once these leather bracelets are done there is no danger of tearing anymore. The more you wear them the prettier and softer they will become.

Place a knot as shown in picture 2. Thread all beads onto your thin cord and secure with a knot at the end to make sure they don't slip off while you are working.

You could now cut the short end or - if your bead holes are big enough - you can hide the end by threading it also into your first bead.

So - Please pull up your first bead.

Now take your 6 meter piece cord and organize it into two equally long pieces. Don't cut it!

You could roll it into little balls for the beginning to make handling easier. Please take a look back to picture 3. You can see my two organized balls of leather. Mine were much longer than 3 meter each because at this point I had no idea of how much length I would need for a bracelet that long...

Place a knot right under your first bead.

Now start following closely and very slowly pictures 4 to 14. It is very important to carefully follow each single step.

In the beginning it's very likely that you get confused with over and under. No problem if that happens. Just carefully pull it apart and start over with the second bead.

You always alternate braiding over and then at the next bead under the thin middle cord. It is very important to keep this alternating rhythm to secure the beads nicely in between the two thicker leather strings.

Can you see the always alternating moves?

You will quickly get the hang of it - I promise - it looks much more complicated than it really is!

Make sure you wrap the bracelet around your wrist from time to time to see how much more length you need.

For the ending fold one of your thin braiding ends to the middle and wrap the other one around all cords. Make the same knot you did in the beginning shown on picture 4.

Now take all endings and place a big overhand knot. Pull tight! Depending on the fit you could leave a little room and then do another knot and even another one as I did on the last picture.

If you use a button piece on the other end then this little room between the knots will be the place where to pull your button thru.

Have fun with it - and please ask if there is anything unclear - I am happy to help!

Happy Day,

Anette

If you like to further connect there is more lebenslustiger on FB, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest!

Superwomen...

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Thu, 23 May 2013 06:59:00 +0000

are presented @ Nic today!

My favorite personal SUPER-WOMAN (to be...) is my daughter Jette.

She will be 10 next month! Oh my - I can't believe that...

It seems like yesterday that I waited for her - carrying this enormous two-weeks-over-due belly around.

But then everything happened quickly and actually life has never been slow again after her arrival.

Looking back it seems like the real baby-being-time was very short.

My daughter had not much interest in long sleeps, laying around, crawling, slowness in general.

Neither did she have an interest in girls dresses, dolls or princesses.

All she wanted to do was moving and being independent in what she was up to. She loved and loves to run, she loves animals and especially horses.

I would like her to do more with her talent in sports but she has her very own head.

I am also amazed how well organized she is - school wise - but also in her friendships and life itself.

She seems to be so much more experienced and thoughtful than me at age 10.

Maybe that is the way these days with all the media and also with our different style to raise our children today. They are the most important beings in our life. We try to always find or seek answers to their many questions. We encourage their thirst for knowledge and expose them to beautiful places. Their life is incredible rich - maybe too rich to stay as happy-go-lucky and innocent like I was at this age...

My daughter finished her elementary school years yesterday and got her report. A superwoman-report We are really proud of her.

After summer she will go on to a new school - very exciting!

But honestly - I wish, I could still carry her around - just for a little bit...

(unfortunately I could not find the original source of this wonderful inspiration I found on Pinterest)

If you think, she looks a bit moody on this picture, you are right - she does unfortunately not like to be photographed - unless it is a picture of her on a pony. Can't have enough of those...

Happy Day,

Anette

P.S. Sweet Michèle from "peek-a-boo-berlin" has chosen me as a "Superwoman" today - Wahhhh - can't believe that either - I feel very honored! Thanks so much! XOX

More Rose Gold Ring Love

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:30:00 +0000

I am really in love with the beautiful color of rosé gold.

Pure gold is yellow in color but it is rarely used pure because it is very soft.

So - usually gold will be alloyed with other elements like zinc, silver and copper in various portions to make it harder and more resistant but also to create different colors.

Generally the addition of more silver will color gold white and the addition of more copper will color it rosé.

I added 3 more ring designs to the existing collection.

This large beautiful soft rose quartz cabochon fits the rosé tone of the gold ring perfectly.

It is also available with a smoky rock quartz, too as shown on the left picture.

And I offer matching bracelets to these rings as well.

The ring is made of 925 silver, is rosé gold plated and costs 79Euro + shipping and handling.

Available ring sizes 52, 54, 56 and 58.

To order please sent an e-mail to: lebenslustiger(at)gmail.com and see more order information here.

The next design is a ring with an open round circle for 29Euro + shipping and handling.

Available ring sizes 52, 54, 56 and 58.

Again - it is made of 925 silver rosé gold plated.

And the last one is a super cute twisted ring made of 925 silver rosé gold plated and with a tiny facetted zircon for 29 Euro + shipping and handling.

Really adorable and also available in size 52, 54, 56 and 58.

You can order all rings directly via e-mail: lebenslustiger(at)gmail.com

Paypal or wire transfer to my German or US bank account.

Happy day,

Anette

12 Parts Of A View - May

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:33:00 +0000

I am participating in a project where I photograph the same view over a course of a year.

I decided to document the changes from month to month on a group of trees in the fields I pass by every day for several times.

May's picture (the last in the row below) was shot yesterday late afternoon. It was a hazy day again with a bit of fog lingering around all day long. It had rained a lot the day before yesterday and it is still quite cold right now for this time of the year.

Finally I know, what will grow on the field in front of the trees! Sugar-beets!

It took many weeks for the little leafs to break thru the soil and show but now they are here.

January February

March April

May

Happy day.

Anette

FFF - Friday Questions

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Fri, 17 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

1.) Exciting? Shooting photos again for bækka!

2.) Really pretty? The new butterfly muffin mold 3.) chaotic? Dinos and sugar pearls

4.) Big Love? Macro 5.) Simple idea? Punch-outs from paper plates

Happy Weekend,

Anette

More FFF's always Fridays @Steffi's

Have You Ever Tried To Pitch Your Work?

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:18:05 +0000

Today I am happy because:

We have lots of rapeseed fields around our little village here in northern Germany and all are in full bloom right now.

So so pretty yellow! Very cheerful and summery - unfortunately it does not last for very long.

I am also happy because "Mollie Makes" will feature one of my pictures with a DIY as a full page image in their next issue Nr.28, which is on sale 7th June 2013.

Then HuffPost Home featured my Washi-Tape Tealights here.

And Leif Gallery from Brooklyn/New York ordered some of my jewelry for their online shop. (You can not see my pieces there yet - I still have to make them!)

I am really happy, because these good news happened without trying to pitch my blog or my work to these people. They just found me.

I have pitched to big blogs before about 3-4 times in hope they might feature one of my pictures or projects but without any success. I actually never heard back from them.

If you are a blogger, have YOU ever tried to pitch to an editor or a famous blog? What are your experiences with it?

Do you have an interest to be featured somewhere else to get more readers and better ranking?

Or would you rather let things evolve naturally or is it less important to you?

Please share your thoughts if you like. Thank you so much!

Happy day,

Anette

P.S. And since all of this is pretty much "Girl's stuff" I will send this post also over to Nic's weekly collection.

From The Heart...

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Sun, 12 May 2013 22:06:00 +0000

... a little lilac blossom wreath.

Blessings to all mothers,

Happy Day,

Anette

FFF - Friday Questions

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Fri, 10 May 2013 06:30:00 +0000

1.) Nice feeling?

loving life ...

2.) Nice idea? 3.) Nice combination?

blogging :) cat with a hat

4.) Nice and easy? 5.) Just nice?

Just green leafs A cup of tea!

More FFF's always @Steffi's

Happy day,

Anette

Make Your Own Removable Fabric Wall Sticker

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:59:00 +0000

I had so much fun with this project - it's so easy and rewarding and it got me all excited for many more future wall decorations.

Imagine - you could do a whole landscape with this or a cute scenery with houses, flowers, animals...or letters, words or a quote!

All in your favorite fabric colors and patterns.

AND it is removable! - so it's perfect when you are renting.

I could even carefully peel it off my german "Raufasertapete" - this totaly outdated rough wallpaper Germans like to put on their walls.

So - here is what I did:

First I prepared the all-natural glue because it has to cool down a bit before you can cover your fabric piece with it.

I used this recipe BUT (in case you klick over there) I DID NOT follow up the instructions on how to treat your fabric with it.

I only used as little of the starch-glue on the back side of the fabric as possible and it was totally fine. I also DID NOT put the glue on the front side of the fabric.

Here is the recipe:

Stir 1/4 cup corn starch into 1/2 cup cold water.
Then pour in 4 cups of boiling water and mix it up.
I let it gently boil for another 20 seconds and then let it cool down. Pour in a jar for storage.

These amounts make a lot of glue! You could make half of the recipe depending on the size of your project.

Since mother's day is around the corner, I printed out some heart shaped templates and transferred the outline with a pencil onto a piece of cream-white linen.

I cut it out and then went gently all around the edges with my thumb and index finger nails pressing together while moving around to fray the outer edges.

Then I drew a few simple letters onto the fabric and used some thread to follow my lines.

My two wonderful children make me really proud to be their mom.

Meanwhile the starch-glue had cooled down and I used a medium size brush to cover the back side of my design.

As I stated above, I used only as much glue as i needed to cover the shape and it worked absolutely fine. In my opinion there is no need to use the glue generously or to apply a top coat.

Press the piece down firmly onto your wall, smoothing out any bubbles or air pockets.

You can easily peel it off the wall once it is dry, but I still recommend to first try it out with a little piece of fabric in a hidden spot on your wall.

That's it.

I can't wait to do another design...

Happy Mother's Day,

Anette

DIY-time is also me-time and is collected @Nic's today.

Why I Love Spring So Much

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:35:00 +0000

Because all fruit trees are in full bloom right now and it looks absolutely magical!

After we had an unusual long winter over here in northern Germany we are now blessed with a beautiful warm and sunny spring.

There are many apple, pear and cherry trees where we live - even along the streets.

Don't their blossoms just look like perfect little fairy-playgrounds?

Happy Day,

Anette

Today is Macro-Monday!

FFF - Friday Questions

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Fri, 03 May 2013 05:35:00 +0000

1.) Picture of the week?

2.) What will you NOT do today? Surprise?

Washi-tape pedicure! Children taking a break!

4.) To little time for...? 5.) Spending time with...

A new crochet project

("Hello May" via here)

Womans Images

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Thu, 02 May 2013 07:21:00 +0000

Being yourself is always a good idea, right?

More woman's images @ Nic's

Happy Day,

Anette

Color Me Happy...

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:45:00 +0000

Sparkle Blue!

Underwater on a sunny day...

It is so incredibly calm and peaceful under water - the resistance slows down my movements and gives me a free, floating slow motion feeling. I listen only to my even breath while fully taking in this amazing indescribable beauty.

So relaxing - I wish, i could be at the ocean right now...

You too?

Sparkle Blue is collected by Bine from "was eigenes" and Jolijou.

Happy Day,

Anette

What Is Bookcrossing?

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:21:00 +0000

Bookcrossing is a worldwide forum for book reading, book exchange and releasing books!

So - here is what happened.

Helga from Holunderblütchen found this absolutely adorable little book called "Elfi und Schmalzmann auf Wanderschaft" while jogging in a park.

Someone had put it in a bag and hung it on a tree so it could be found. By Helga.

And after Helga enjoyed it she decided to sent the book on a "blogger-journey" and I was next!

The small book is written in 1957 and tells about everyday life of a family that raises pets and rescues wild animals in their apartment!

Sounds - äh - a bit strange - but it really is a treasure with its black and white photographs and the glimpse into life short after war.

It brought many fond childhood memories back to me because my father raised a lot of animals too when my brother and I were young in the sixties and seventies.

As much as I would love to keep the book forever I will of course honor Helgas idea and send it to the next blogger: Holunder

Andrea lives in the south of Germany at beautiful Bodensee and loves animals and nature.

The book will be in good hands...

(with friendly permission of Franckh-Kosmos publishing)

Happy Day,

Anette

This Is The Perfect Necklace

nospam@example.com (Lebenslustiger) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:03:04 +0000

Simple and beautiful - just perfect for spring and summer with its round, brushed pendant.

You can order my handmade jewelry directly by sending me an e-mail: lebenslustiger(at)gmail.com

The necklace is made of 925 Silver with high quality rosé gold plating.

Lenghth: 46cm, Pendant size: 1cm

42Euro plus shipping (worldwide shipping)

Please find other pieces of the collection here.

Happy SUN-Day,

Anette