Beading Watch Bands

My fun watch handcrafted by a Carolina crafter was given to me by my daughter. I not only hurt my pride when I fell on it, but also shattered one of the ceramic beads on its band. Result of this mishap: unhappiness in breaking the watch and one ugly bruise. I replaced the broken bead and continued on.

And then the battery eventually died. I tried to buy a replacement battery, but realized the battery cost more than a brand new working watch face. (New watch faces are available at the craft store for about $9.)

So I decided I had done everything I could to repair that gifted watch, and tossed it. Sigh. On to the next craft adventure: making a beaded band for a watch face.

Here were the tools required to fashion a new watchband:

1: the new watch face with included battery
2: strong black fishing line ... there are lots of available cords, but my husband's tool box was handy for raiding
3: dichroic glass beads, cloisonne beads, spacer beads, jump rings
4: a pair of wire cutters and a couple of pair of beading crimpers

Here is a picture of most of the stash used:

If you visit this website, you will find information from start to finish on how to make a watchband with three strings of beads on each side of the watch face. Be sure to purchase your watch face before trying this particular tutorial, because many watch faces do not have three places to tie in your beads.

The watch I had purchased was made with one loop on each side of the face, so I used two medium weight strands of black fishing line through each side of the face, strung the glass beads onto the line, and secured the ends of the clasp to each end of the four-inch strand of beads.

The picture on the right shows half of the completed watch band. Remember a little glue to secure knotted ends never hurts.

And here is the completed watch (and matching earrings -- a tutorial on how to make them was given here here in a previous post).

Two more websites that I found useful for making beaded watchbands are here and here. The picture does not show the shimmering dichroic beads very well, but the process of making them gives beautiful results. You might be interested in reading about dichroic glass here.

Lemons Several Ways: Recipes

Don't you just love lemons? Here is a little history about lemons:

Lemons are originally from northern India. The name means “golden apple”.

Lemon trees were grown as ornamental trees in Mediterranean gardens. Lemonade is believed to have been invented in Egypt over 1,500 years ago. Lemonade originally started as a lemon and honey wine, drank primarily by peasants.

About one fourth of the world's lemons are grown in the United States, mostly in California. A lemon tree may bear as many as 3,000 lemons annually. Most lemons ripen naturally in autumn and winter.

Basic Lemonade Recipe:

1 cup hot water
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar

Pour hot water and sugar into small pitcher and stir to dissolve. Add lemon juice. Put the top on the pitcher and refrigerate.

To make a single serving, put 1/4 to 1/3 cup of syrup into a glass, then fill with water and ice. Easy and delicious!

Recipe #2: Snapple Lemon Flavored Ice Tea:

2 quarts water
3 tea bags

Boil water in large pan. When water comes to a raid boil, turn off the heat, put tea bags into water and cover. After tea has brewed an hour, pour sugar into a 2 qt. pitcher, and add the warm tea (so the sugar will dissolve easily). Add the lemon mixture (below).

Lemon Mixture:
¾ cup sugar (or a 16 oz. bottle of light corn syrup)
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Now here is the kicker: Lemon as a Medicine from this site:

When Chinese doctors reveal their remedies, there is always something worthwhile to read. The clever cure of an infected finger or toe is dealt with in this way. The top of the lemon is cut off, the finger or toe is inserted into the lemon, and bound up. In the morning the infection is ready to be cleansed and well on the way to healing.

I've been drinking a ton of Crystal Lite lemonade; maybe I will try some of the old fashioned variety today.

Using Lavender for Linen Spray Recipe

Lavender is flowering now. The word "lavender" derives from the Latin meaning "to wash," and is an essential ingredient in many bath and shower products.

I purchased some lavender spray to use when ironing linen, and love its scent on clothes after a good dose prior to pressing a blouse or pillowcase. The mist not only helps to take out wrinkles from the fabric, but it also smells good, to boot.

If you are inclined to make your own lavender spray instead of purchasing it, here is a recipe from a reader posting to Lilybee:

To make Lavender Linen Water for spraying on sheets or other linens before, during or after ironing, you'll need:

Half a teaspoon (50 drops) of lavender essential oil
3-5 drops peppermint spearmint or rosemary essential oil (optional)
1 oz vodka 1 and a half cups of distilled water (from the drug store)

Sterilize a glass container (a big pasta sauce jar would work well) by pouring some boiling water into it and leaving it for a few minutes. Then mix the essential oils and booze together in the jar and shake. Add the water and shake some more.

When you're ready to use it you can either decant it into a plastic spray bottle or sprinkle it on fabric by hand. The mixture will cloud over time and eventually separate, hence the slightly smaller batch size.

Lavender is easy to grow in sandy, alkaline soil if there is good drainage and full sun. Its uses have been known for ages, especially for:

healing skin (used for burns and abrasions);
disinfecting;
relieving
lung congestion

Summertime and lavender...romantic images.