I was inspired by a Giles & Brothers bracelet and decided to make my own. At first it was hard to figure out how and where to place each hex nut, but it became easier after a little trial and error.
You'll need:
1. 3 strands of suede (12 inches in length)
2. 2 packs of #6-32 hex nuts (There are 8 in each pack, and you'll need 16 in total) I purchase the hex nuts from home depot, and each pack costs less than a dollar
3. 1 larger hex nut that will act as a closure
4. A piece of tape to secure the suede while you are braiding it.
Watch the video below to see how I made it step-by-step.
1. Elephant Grey Sculpey Clay (Purchased at Hobby Lobby)
2. Turquoise Premo Clay (Purchased at Hobby Lobby)
3. Toothpick or Cocktail Stick
4. Headpin (Purchased at Hobby Lobby)
1. Mix equal parts of Sculpey Elephant Gray clay with Premo Turquoise clay. (You'll only need a small amount of both)
2. Using half of the mix, begin forming the body of the dolphin. It should look something like a small banana.
3. Once you have the basic body shape begin forming the nose, which should be slightly thinner than the body.
4. After the body, use small pieces of the remaining clay to form the Dorsal fin, flippers, and flukes.
- Dorsal Fin - The shape should be similar to a triangle with one tip slightly curved or pushed back.
- Flippers - The shape of the flippers should be smaller than the dorsal fin, but also a triangle. Use a toothpick to smooth the flippers to the dolphin body.
- Flukes - To shape the flukes begin with an oblong piece of clay. Use the
toothpick to create the median notch. Then curve the edges inward toward
the median notch. Use TLS, or Translucent Liquid Sculpey to attach the
flukes to the body of the dolphin, and then smooth the joints with the
toothpick.
- Eyes - Use the toothpick to create dots for the eyes. You can also add black
paint, and dot in on with the toothpick before or after baking.
5. Once you've finished forming the dolphin, you can add a headpin to the center of the dolphin body and bake it for about 20 minutes at 300 degrees. (To be safe follow the baking directions on the clay package.)
6. After baking cut the headpin down with wire cutters, nail clippers or even sharp scissors, and use pliers to finish the charm.
You can add this charm to a bracelet, necklace, key chain, or earrings. It makes a really cute gift is you have a friend that loves dolphins too:)
I was coming back from the New Orleans airport and drove past a little shop called Sucre. Immediately I thought...."They must sell something French." So I turned around, and went inside.
I was floored when I walked in! It was a French pastry and chocolate shop! There were macaroons, cupcakes, chocolates, and even gelato:) I came back THREE times in one day! I later found out that everything is made there FRESH, and you can taste it. Each time I got a box of macaroons, and each time I returned I got a larger box. My favorite flavors were almond, pistachio, and strawberry.
NB: You can sample anything in Sucre (if you ask) so I nibbled on imperfect macaroons while I was waiting.
Sucre in New Orleans
Pastel stripped box & ribbon.. I have way too many of these now:(
Flavors from the top left: Almond, Orange, Lemon, Strawberry, Pecan, Hazelnut, Almond, Double Fudge, Pistachio, Hazelnut, Hazelnut, Almond, Pistachio, Orange, Strawberry.
Each macaroon was unbelievably fresh.
The strawberry macaroons even had edible pink glitter on top.
Double fudge with edible gold leaf...yum:)
Finding Sucre was the highlight of my day, and I can't wait to make these into miniatures!
