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Imperial Jasper Heart and String Art Plaque for Valentine’s Day

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Make this Imperial Jasper and String Art Plaque


Sometimes you just need Imperial Jasper in your life!

Ever wander through the bead section of a craft store and wonder what to do with the large flat Imperial Jasper strands?


Imperial Jasper is a natural stone that is fairly affordable to purchase and comes in a multitude of colors. It is often dyed in bright colors like turquoise, green, bright blue and hot pink. While they make nice accents when creating jewelry, what do you do with multiples of the large pieces?

Imperial Jasper Slab Beads


I recently scored several strands of bright pink flat imperial jasper beads on sale. Having no idea what I was going to do with them, they spoke to me and I bought them anyway. I am often on the hunt for large stones and accents to incorporate into the mobiles I make. This time I sat and pondered for a while and decided to do something different. Here is what I came up with: really pretty Imperial Jasper heart décor.

Supplies for the Imperial Jasper Heart plaque


You will need:
1 wood slat plaque
Sandpaper
Paint or stain & paint brush
3-4 strands of large flat imperial Jasper pieces
Phone or camera to take photos
Scrap paper for template
Ruler
Pencil
Craft glue, jewelry glue or glue gun
Small nails for string art
Craft or tack hammer
Cream colored twine

Imperial Jasper Heart project supervised by Maya the Cat


Prep the Wood

1. Start with your wood slat plaque. You may want to sand and paint yours to your liking. The one I chose was weathered gray and ready to go.

String Art


2. Next up, let’s get started on the side string art. Here’s where a little math comes in. Measure the height and width of the wood plaque. Mark the mid-points on the height on each side of the plaque with a light pencil. If you want your string art to look uniform on each side, this mid-point is important. Next decide how far in from each side you want to set the nails and how far apart you would like them. To map this out, I used scrap paper and a ruler to mark the points where I wanted the nails. I decided on two rows of nails on each side of my heart so I could get a lattice look when doing the string art.

Setting the nails for the string art part of the Imperial Jasper plaque


3. Place the template on the wood plaque. Take the craft hammer and a nail and gently tap the nail right through the template at the designated spots. Note I said TAP. You want to use this initial nail to gently mark where the nails will go on the plaque itself. But don’t nail them into place yet.

Imperial Jasper Heart Plaque project showing the string art nails


4. Remove the template. Find the marks left by the step above and now hammer the nails into place. I used ¾” nails with 1/8” heads and set them to about 9/16” (or just over ½”) apart. Eyeball it or measure the nails so that they end up at a consistent height.

String art pattern on Imperial Jasper Heart plaque


5. Now it’s time to start the actual string art. Tie the end of your twine to the bottom left peg of the row of nails. Next, make one large pass around the four outer nails creating a rectangle around the outside of the lattice work.

Imperial Jasper Heart project showing string art complete


6. Work the twine up the nails and then back down again in a lattice zigzag pattern keeping the twine taut. Pull tight then knot on the bottom right nail under the lattice string.


7. Repeat steps 11 and 12 on the other side of your plaque.


8. Complete your project by tidying up the twine. You can choose to add a dab of glue to your twine here and there to help the twine sit where you want it on the nails. You may also want to add a dab of glue to your twine knots and then trim the twine ends closely. I like the organic look of the twine ends hanging off the project so I chose to leave those as is.

Create the Imperial Jasper Heart

First layer of the Imperial Jasper Heart project


9. Take about half your Imperial Jasper stones and lay them in a heart shape down the center of your plaque. Arrange until you are happy with the shape of the heart.

Top Layer of the Imperial Jasper Heart plaque project
Imperial Jasper Heart plaque project: 2nd payer of stones


10. Add a second layer of Imperial Jasper stones on top of the first layer, This will give your artwork dimension and cover some of the wholes left between the stones on the lower layer. Arrange until satisfied.


11. Take a photo of your heart to help you recreate the layer in a few minutes. Then gently remove the top layer of the heart, recreating the heart to the side of your workspace.


12. Now take a photo of the lower layer of the heart. You will refer to these photos when you start gluing the stones in place.


13. Next, you can proceed in 2 different ways. Either remove the lower layer of your heart completely and recreate it on the side of your workspace. Then eyeball your project and glue the Imperial Jasper pieces one by one back onto your plaque. Or what might be easier is to leave the lower layer of stones in place and then pick them up one by one and glue them into place.


14. Let the lower layer set for a few minutes. Then carefully arrange the top layer of stones back on your heart project and carefully glue in place. Let stand for an hour or two to let the glue set.

Admire Your Work


15. Find a lovely place to hang your Imperial Jasper heart plaque where you can admire and enjoy it. Or give it as a gift to someone special.

Make this Imperial Jasper and String Art Plaque


I love this Imperial Jasper project. Not only is it relaxing to craft with natural stones, the beautiful patterns on the stones are really neat. Plus, the dimensional texture of the two layers of the heart combined with the twine string art make it a really interesting conversation piece. And now you know what to do with the flat Imperial Jasper stones you stumble across next time you are shopping! Have fun crafting!


Want more ideas for DIY heart and Valentine ideas? Click here and here!

Shop a wide array of Imperial Jasper beads at this link!

Make Bohemian Feather Ornaments

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As part of our boho Christmas blog series, I recently made these bohemian feather ornaments.

Clear boho feather ornaments

Do you see the clear ornaments in the store and wonder what to do with them? Some people fill them, while others paint the interiors or exteriors with alcohol inks or crayon wax. If you look on Pinterest, there are many suggestions.

I like the bohemian feather ornaments I created because they are simple to make and give a festive vibe to our other bohemian Holiday décor.

Here are the directions for the bohemian feather ornaments.

You will need:

*Clear glass or plastic ornaments
*Small white feathers
*Brightly dyed small pheasant feathers
*White and green or white and blue fine glitter
*Birch cones
*Red, green and turquoise hemp thread, thin enough to string your beads
*Multi-colored glass beads
*Beading needle
*Craft tweezers or long blunt needle
*Scissors

Directions:

1. Carefully remove the tops from your clear ornaments and set aside.

2. Start by gently adding a white feather or two into the interior of each ornament. To keep the feathers in good repair, slide the bottom of the feathers into the ornament first, so the tops are the last to go in.

3. Next, add a few colored feathers to the ornaments. Use your craft tweezers or long blunt needle (such as a tapestry needle) to carefully arrange the feathers on the inside of your ornaments.

4. Now tap some glitter into the bottom of each ornament. I used about a ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of glitter for each ornament.

5. On top of the glitter, drop 2 to 3 birch cones into each ornament.

6. Use your craft tweezers or long blunt needle to do the final arrangement of the feathers and cones.

7. Gently squeeze the tops back onto your feather ornaments.

Boho feather & pinecone ornaments

8. Next, cut 5 to 6 inches of colored hemp thread. I cut two different colors for each ornament.

9. Tie a knot on one end of each strand of hemp thread.

10. Thread your beading needle, followed by 6 to 8 colored glass beads onto each hemp thread. Then knot the other end of the hemp thread.

11. Gather 2 beaded hemp threads together and hold in the middle so an equal amount of beads slide to each end of your threads.

12. Wrap and tie the centers of the beaded hemp threads around the tops of your feather ornaments, so that the threads and beads drape like tassels. Trim the ends of the hemp.

Clear boho feather ornaments

*Of note, you may want to store your feather ornaments upright in the off-season, so the interiors stay where you want them and the glitter doesn’t spill out.

Enjoy your wonderful, colorful bohemian feather ornaments.

For a full list of our Boho Christmas series projects, click here.

Happy Boho crafting!


Felt Mandala Ornaments

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After recently making 36 feet of festive felt garlands for our boho Christmas tree, I found myself thinking about other Holiday projects I could make out of felt. Check out these easy-to-make felt mandala ornaments.

DIY Felt Mandala ornaments with tassels

I love these felt mandala ornaments because they are bright, simple and have fun tassels made of crochet thread.

Supplies:

*Precut felt flower mandalas in various colors (mine are from Studio g) OR thin craft felt squares, Sizzix machine and a simple mandala cutting die
*Indian shisha mirrors
*Mini gems
*Embroidery or crochet thread in various colors
*Clear fabric glue
*Cardboard scrap
*Needle
*Scissors

5 mandala felt ornaments

Directions:

1. Prepare your felt mandalas by deciding how you want to decorate them. My mandalas were purchased at the craft store precut. However, you can also make your own with the use of a Sizzix machine and a simple scrapbooking cutting die. Lightweight felt seems to work best. Also, make sure to select a simple mandala pattern for your cutting die. Dies with a lot of intricacies can cause some frustration, so be sure to experiment with your machine and cutting die on scrap felt first.

2. Stitch an Indian shisha mirror to the center of each of your felt mandala ornaments. Shisha mirrors can be affordably purchased on Amazon, eBay or on Etsy.

3. Attach the mini gems as you see fit to highlight the edges of a felt mandalas. You can use the sticker backed mini gems from the scrapbooking aisle of your craft store. However, these may not hold up for the long run. Instead, you may want to use clear fabric glue to glue on the gemstones.

closeup of felt mandala ornaments

4. Use colorful embroidery or crochet thread and a scrap of cardboard to make tassels. Directions on how to make the tassels can be found here. My tassels came out about 4 ½ inches each when completed. Or you can buy pre-made tassels.

5. String a thread through the top of each tassel. Stitch the tassel to the felt mandala ornament. Trim the excess threads.

6. Take an additional piece of thread and stitch through the top of each of your mandalas. Create a loop and then tie the ends several times. This will be used to hang the ornament on your Christmas tree.

And that’s it! Enjoy your beautiful felt mandala Christmas ornaments.

Happy boho crafting! Click for the next article in our boho Christmas series where we’ll make Bohemian Feather Ornaments.

Pink & Blue mandala Christmas ornament

Make Mixed Media Tart Tin Ornaments

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As mentioned in a previous post, I love to collect found objects and then figure out later how to craft with them. While poking around a thrift shop last year, I picked up six vintage mini tart tins. I knew immediately that I wanted to make mixed media tart tin ornaments for our boho themed Christmas tree.

boho tart tin ornament with Shisha mirrors

The tart tins are made of shiny aluminum so I knew they would reflect the lights on our tree.

Mini tart pans come in a variety of shapes and sizes, perfect for making ornaments. If you can’t find vintage tins, you can purchase new ones at an affordable price on Amazon or at a restaurant supply store. My mixed media tart tin ornaments are approximately 3 inches across.

Here is how I made our tart tin ornaments:

Supplies:
*Mini Tart Tins
*Imported handmade paper with metallic elements (such as Thai batik paper scraps)
*Gold metallic trim
*Mini pompoms
*Microbeads
*Mini gems
*Shisha mirrors
*Gold metallic thread or string
*Craft glue that dries clear
*Scrapbooking punches or Sizzix machine and metal dies
*Hammer and awl or electric drill or Dremel tool
*Self-healing cutting mat
*Scissors
*Scrap of cardboard


Directions:

1. Start by punching small holes into the top edge and bottom edge of each tart tin using your hammer and awl, electric drill or Dremel tool. Do this over a self-healing cutting mat so you don’t scrape your work surface. The holes should be big enough to slide the ends of the gold thread or string through and knot in step 9.

2. Lay out the general designs you want for each of the ornaments.

Mixed Media Tart Tin ornament designs

3. Start with the outer rim of your tart tins. For two of my ornaments, I glued gold trim along the fluted edges. The next two are coated in multi-colored microbeads. The last two are decorated with red and green pompoms. Set them aside to dry.

4. Next, use your scrapbooking punches to cut designs out of the imported Thai papers. You can also use a Sizzix cutting machine and your favorite metal dies for this step. For my ornaments, I cut circle, paisley, and bird patterns to fit into the center of the tart tins.

5. Gently glue in the paper designs, then if you like, decorate the designs with metallic gems.

6. For the last two ornaments, decorate with a variety of colorful Indian shisha mirrors. You can usually purchase shisha mirrors on Amazon, Etsy or eBay. Affix metallic gems. Let everything dry.

7. String the ends of your gold thread through the top hole of each tin and knot several times, making a loop to hang the ornaments on your tree.

8. Use your scrap of cardboard to make tassels out of the gold thread or string. I made my tassels about 4 inches long. Here are directions on how to make the tassels. You can also purchase premade tassels if you don’t want to make them.

Mixed Media tart tin ornaments with tassels

9. String a loop of thread through the top of each tassel. Feed both ends of the string up through the bottom hole of the tart tin. Pull the tassel up to the desired length, and then knot the ends of your threads several times. Clip the excess threads.

Your mixed media tart tin ornaments are ready to be hung on your Christmas tree.

boho Christmas_tart tin ornaments with Bird

Happy boho crafting! To continue in our Boho Christmas series, click here for directions to make Felt Mandala Ornaments.


Make Easy DIY Christmas Garlands with Felt and Wood Beads

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Today I am going to share with you how to make these easy DIY Christmas garlands.

Felt Christmas Garlands with Beads DIY

The garlands are made out of strips of felt and wood beads. I made 7 strands to string on our Christmas tree, each 6 feet long. To tie the look together, you may want to make additional garlands to add to your tabletops and banisters. Intertwining with greens and white lights make your DIY Christmas garlands extra festive.

Every few years I pick a new theme for our Christmas tree. I decided our tree had to be bohemian and colorful. As you know from my previous post, I selected some vintage ornaments we inherited from my mother-in-law and mixed them with handmade ornaments, plus some store bought ornaments. However, I really wanted to pull the look all together. The DIY Christmas garlands created the perfect balance on our tree.

Boho Christmas_DIY Christmas Garlands

Here’s what you need to make your own DIY Christmas garlands.

Supplies:

*String or multi-colored baker’s twine, 6 feet plus 4 inches per garland
*Felt in 6 colors, ½ yard each
*Colored wood beads in assorted sizes and colors
*Beading needle
*Sharp fabric scissors


Directions:

1. For each garland, cut your string or baker’s twine approximately 6 feet, 4 inches. Make a loop on the one end of your string and then tie a double knot. You will want approximately a 2-inch loop on the end of your garland.

2. Next, cut strips out of your 6 colors of felt. I made my felt strips approximately ¾ inch wide by 6 inches.

3. Now simply overhand knot the felt strips onto your string, alternating colors. In my garlands, I tied the 6 colors on in random order, then another 6 in random order for a total of 12 felt strips.

4. To break up the felt sections, add about 3 inches of assorted wood beads to the garland. Use a large-eye needle if necessary to string the beads.

Bohemian Christmas DIY Christmas Garlands

*I found colorful beads to match my colors of felt. However, you can also buy unfinished wood beads, and then paint them with acrylic paints.

5. Continue alternately tying sections of felt strips and beads until you get close to the end of your garland, ending with a section of felt strips.

6. To complete the garland, tie the remaining open end of your garland string into a loop and knot it as you did in Step One.

Have fun decorating with your festive DIY Christmas garlands! Click here to see our next boho Christmas decorating project, Mixed Media Tart Tin Ornaments.