Sapphire Blue & White Swirly Hair Sticks and FREE SHIPPING OFFER!!!

Here's a new set of Swirly Hairsticks avaiable at ChickieGirl Creations Etsy Store.

Also, I am offering **free shipping** on all puchases from my Etsy Store ... starting now until November 24th! Don't miss out! It is a good time to do some early Christmas / Holiday Shopping!!! :)

Have a great day!

Basic Beaded Hairstick Tutorial

Here is the beaded hairstick tutorial that was requested. Sorry it took so long to get this together! Have fun!!!


Supplies:

Old news papers

2 Wooden hairstick
2 20 gauge head pins or 18 gauge stick pins
2 Focal beads
Smaller accent beads and findings

Marker
small ruler
Pliers (1 for cutting wire, 1 for bending wire)
2 Part Epoxy Glue - fast drying
Paper plate (something to put glue on for mixing)
Toothpicks
Damp rag or towel

Cup
uncooked rice or small beans
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A good online source for wooden hairsticks and jewelry supplies is www.firemountaingems.com

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BEFORE YOU BEGIN ~ it is a good idea to lay some old newspapers on your work surface to protect it. I used white craft paper to help with getting clearer pics.

STEP 1
Assemble beads on head pins ~ Take your time and play with this a little. Rearrange your beads and set them on top of your wooden sticks to see how it will look all together. ~~Once you find a design in which your are happy, set aside your beads.


STEP 2
There are a few different ways to go about the next step. Please read through the options to determine which would work best for you.





Version 1 ~ this is for a headpin that fits into the hairstick hole well, in other words, a pretty perfect fit: Take your head pins and place them into the top of the hairsticks to measure the depth of the hole in the sticks. Mark the head pin with a marker, then measure the length of the head pin with a ruler. Slide beads back onto the head pin. Using that measurement, measure from the bottom of the beaded topper down and cut (it will be the mark closest to the beads).

Version 2 ~ this is for a headpin that is too thin for the hairstick hole: (Make your measurement(s) the same as Version 1) To make a thicker head pin, you don't have to cut the headpin at all. You can simply bend the headpin at the bottom of your measurement. Clip off any extra after you have bent the head pin.

Version 3 ~ this is if headpins are still too thin after bending them in version 2: Make slight zigzag bends on the head pins using your pliers.

Version 4 ~ this is if your headpins/wire/stickpins are difficult to bend: In the pic, I used the zigzag method without bending my headpin to make it thicker.



**note - Make sure to measure the depth of the hole in each hairstick as some holes may vary


STEP 3
Lay sticks and toppers together, set aside, so they are ready to be put together. Fill cup with uncooked rice. Put enough rice to hold the hairstick upright. Make sure the stick can stand still, you do not want it to move at all.

STEP 4
Push a small amount of 2 part epoxy onto the paper plate. Mix glue thoroughly with a toothpick until you see the whitish coloring become uniform. The coloring is very subtle, but you should be able to see the difference when you are mixing it. At this point you have 5 minutes until the glue hardens. (you're not feeling any pressure, are you? lol)

STEP 5
Using a clean toothpick, place a small amount of glue onto the top of a wooden stick and a good amount onto the head pin. Carefully push the topper into the stick. Make sure the head pin is pushed all the way into the hole. Turn everything upside-down and push the stick downward, onto the topper if needed. It shouldn't go in easily, you want some friction/resistance. This way you know that your zigzag headpin is scraping against the edges of the hole.

If your topper is slanted, you can bend the head pin and rearrange the beads at this point if needed. Wipe away any excess glue with dampened towel. Place assembled hairstick into the rice filled cup.

STEP 6
Assemble the other stick and place in cup.

STEP 7
Go back and check the first stick you put together. Sometimes the beads slide, so again, rearrange the beads as necessary before your five minutes are up. Once the glue sets, you cannot fix any mistakes. You are done.



After the glue has cured for 24 hours, your new hairsticks are ready to be worn! Taa Daa!

Now that wasn't so hard, was it? :0D

If you have any questions or any tips to add, please leave a comment here. Otherwise, enjoy your new beautiful set of beaded hairsticks, made by you!

Letting Your Light Shine

Seeing Your Perfection
Letting Your Light Shine
from DailyOm.com ~~~

We are each born into this world with unique gifts. Within us is a glimmer of the divine, a light that can potentially make the world a more beautiful place. But in many, that light lies dormant, snuffed out by fears and feelings of inadequacy. To spark it is to attract attention, face the possibility of rejection or the responsibility of success, and risk being labeled immodest. Yet when we undermine the light by hiding our aptitudes and quashing our dreams, we deny ourselves and others a wealth of experiences. Your abilities are a part of who you are and when you take pride in them, you affirm the love, esteem, and trust with which you view yourself. Moreover, as you express the light within, you grant others permission to do the same, freeing them to explore their own talents.

For some, we are taught to hide our light from the world since childhood. Relatives caution us that the professions associated with our aptitudes are unattainable. Our peers may be envious of our skills and thus overly critical of the activities we instinctively enjoy. And authority figures admonish us to be humble and avoid showing off. But there is a vast chasm that separates those who let their light shine and those who seek only to draw attention to themselves. When you dare to share your light with the world, the beauty and perfection of your soul become clearly visible. You become a whole being-the literal embodiment of your vast potential. Whether you are a wonderful dancer, a first-rate cook, quick with numbers, or a natural negotiator, you'll come to understand that you do the world no favors when you hold yourself back.

If you have hidden your light for so long that it has shrunk to an ember, make a list of everything you do well, however impractical, silly, or seemingly inconsequential. Then ask yourself how you can positively utilize those abilities in your daily life. The gifts you were born with were not granted to you arbitrarily. While you may never discover what impact your light has had on others, you can be certain that when you embrace your talents and share them with others, you will spread illumination in the world.