Rubber Nation Crafts

Microwave Your Way to Quick and Easy Glass Tile Jewelry + FREEBIE Cherry Blossoms Alphabet

2012-01-26T17:45:00.000-08:00

Love is in the air and we have a sweet FEB Freebie for you! Our new Cherry Blossom alphabet - fit for 1" glass tiles and our small ovals. The light background works with either squares or circles. Open the file here - right click to "save as" to your computer. Your printer setting should be "fit to print" or print at 8.5x11 letter size. You can also import into MS Word and scale to letter size. Happy creating!

Here's some great quick crafts using some of our 60 + NEW items for Jan/Feb!

We also have a section devoted to Valentines. you enjoy these tips!

My best ideas seem to come to me at the last minute. So, I'm usually pacing while my glass tile art is drying. Sound familiar? Well, I've just crossed this last-minute frustation off of my list:

Here's how to stop ink jet art from running under glass domes and tiles while the sealer is curing..

The secret is as close as your microwave!

Take a few of our glass tiles or glass domes. Cover the back 1/2 the surface area with thin layer of 3D Crystal Lacquer. Press firmly onto your photo or print out and swirl lightly to get a thin seal, bubble free.

Microwave your sealed art (glass ONLY no metal) on low for 3 minutes. Repeat. Finish for a minute or two on medium.

Your customized glass tile will be fully dry and ready to glue into one of our many bezel cups, pendant, charm bases or key rings. You're done!

To review, here's the magic steps to working with our favorite sealer, 3D Crystal Lacquer, for all of your glass tile and glass dome jewelry and craft projects:

Apply thin layer 3D Crystal Lacquer on center 1/2 to 2/3s of the back of the tile
Then do the smoosh down and swirl around to get a thin layer with no bubbles.
COOK them in the microwave on low, several rounds, several minutes.
This keeps the ink jet ink from saturating the paper and prevents running.
Glue into our bezels, charm bases, pendant bases, key chain forms, or apply a magnet to the back with a small dollop of our e6000 craft adhesive.
Glue into any of our charm, pendant bases or bezels with e6000 adhesive. Think ahead - great for Mother's Day and Father's Day! Easy for children to make!

5 Creative & Quick DIY Gifts + FREEBIE Holiday Cheer Download Art for You!

2011-11-29T18:40:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays! Our gift to you ~ our Dec 11 Holiday Cheer Circles FREEBIE download sheet. Download the page, save to your computer, (right click, choose "save picture as"), open, print out full size (letter) for festive 1" circles, or reduce, enlarge as you'd like.

With just this one sheet, you can easily make bottle cap pendants, bottle cap fridge mags, bracelets, glass domed art pendants, epoxy circle instant bracelets, ornaments, wrapping paper, tags & more! See our samples below, and as always, happy crafting!

Click here for our HOLIDAY CHEER CIRCLES download file. It is in .jpg format and will be HUGE on your screen. Right click with your mouse and save to your computer. Ask your printer to print letter size, or 8.5" wide.

Here's 5 quick and creative little gifts for you to try:

1. Magnetic Bottle Cap Pendants Made from fridge mags! Our 1" epoxy circles and 1" glass domes fit perfectly on the back of our double sided adhesive flat circle magnets. Peel n stick, pop the finished dome in our bottle cap pendants (inside or outside) and you've got an instant, interchangeable bottle cap pendant necklace. When you get home, you can put it back on the fridge or on your jewelry organizer! :-)

2. Glass Domes for Pendants and Ornaments. We are now well-stocked in all sizes and shapes of glass domes, cabochons, and matching pendant bases.

Take a peek - a little dab of e6000 or 3D Crystal Lacquer is all you need to take your printouts, scraps, family photos or collage art to a new wearable (or fridge-magnet) level! Great gifts, fun for kids too!

You can see them all here.Try making this nearly instant zipper pull – from one of our 100D kits - each flattened bottle cap charm comes with it's own adhesive dome and jump ring attached – ready for your art, photos, more. Add a lobster clasp and you've got a zipper or backpack pull. Finish your image with a 1" circle punch or exacto knife on a cutting mat.

3. Glass Dome Pendants become Key Chains with just a Key Ring!

Use one of our411 Silver Pendants with Glass Dome tops, add one of our Key Rings, and use our download sheet or your favorite photo - you've created a very easy (and sturdy) gift!

Wrap them up in our 10-pack gift bags - put together a whole bunch of family gifts with just a little bit of time, easy on the wallet too!

4. Epoxy Domed Zipper/Backpack Pulls.

Start with 1 of our 100D Flattened Bottle Caps w/Epoxy Dome cover, add a lobster clasp to the jump ring, and you've got an instant zipper pull or backpack hang tab.

4. Blossoms of Red & Green Necklace Get in the Holiday spirit with this necklace using our Millefiori Single Flower Glass Beads. These 12mm beads are cut out in single flower shapes in a rainbow of colors. You might also try our Millefiori Stars or Millefiori Mixes. For this project, Cheryl chose the red flowers and green flowers only out of the 30 beads on a strand. Combined with red, green and clear seed beads as well as bright silver ridged spacer beads, Cheryl has created a very festive necklace. She chose to make her design in a matinee length at about 22 inches. We are sure you will be inspired to make your own holiday creations to enjoy this party season.

5. Fridge Mag Snow Globes! Featuring your family and friends! Just add your photo or last year's holiday card to the back of our magnetic fridge mag snow globesfor instant personalized results!Try our matching mini photo tags - we now offer a double sided blank -perfect for reversible or two-sided charms and pendants- one of our most frequent customer requests.Wrap it all up with our 10 pack gift bags! ~ Choose from Velveeteen Opaque (no peeking!) or etherial Organza Bags ~ easy on the pocket book and easy on the eyes! Makes gift giving a breeze.

Don't forget to use your newsletter subscriber code DEC2011 at checkout. You will need to be signed in and enter your savings code on the payment/last page of checkout in the promo code box.

E-us for help with DEC2011 in the subject line and we can apply your savings in the form of a refund when your order ships.

Thanks always ~ wishing you a fun and happy holiday season filled with lots of family, friends, and crafts! From all of us at Rubber Nation Crafts and very soon at eCrafty.com

5 Quick DIY Gifts, Host an Earring or Wine Charm Party, Freebie Cropping Tool Download

2011-11-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

We have a whopping 125 new items - new bead mixes, strands, findings, adhesives - click here Oct and here Nov to see them all. Shown: last year's customer favorites just restocked: Little magnetic photo snow globes!

Our gift to you our wonderful customers and newsletter subscribers take 20% everything in your cart with your code NOV2011 in the promo code box on payment page.

Our clickable supply list will help you make nearly instant gifts:

Try our bottle cap pendants or bottle cap magnets with adhesive domes included, assembled photo bracelets, assembled photo charms, fridge mag snow globes, charm bases with adhesive domes included, even typewriter key charm kits! Adorable! Affordable! Easy! Done!

We also stock double-sided 1" adhesive squares , tons of neck cords and neck chains as well as bracelets and jump rings to make your project truly instant. Just trim your photo, printout or photocopy, peel, stick, wrap (try our gorgeous organza bags or gift tins) and give!

Here's some simple tips and links to make your photo gifts better:

Recycle last year's photo holiday cards - Yours, family members, friends'. Use a tight crop so that you see your subject's face - not a whole bunch of other things. Many times - larger photos are already the right size since what you're trying to crop or frame is a face that is between 2/3 to 1.25".

Free online photo cropping tool! If you need to reduce or enlarge your photo, try Google's FREE online tool ~ go to http://pixlr.com/ You do NOT have to download any software - you can work online, add any image, crop, shrink and print! If you have Microsoft Word - just copy your photo and open a new document. Insert your photo. Grab or click on the corners, crop or trim, and print.

Photo labs at your local drugstore or office supplies superstore - You can also go to your local photo copy center, sometimes even your local grocery store has a photo kiosk, and have them help you make the reduction you need. Just measure the acetate insert and take in your photo - they can print out a sheet for you.

It's easy to shrink your image! Work in fractions,divide, find your desired reduction. For instance: You need your photo to be 1", your original is 3" - 1 divided by 3 is ....33% - you will need to print out your oriignal at 33%. You can do this with any set of measurements easily!

Our photo bracelets and mini memory frame charms have acetate inserts in each of the frames - if you take out one of the inserts - you can use that to place over your photograph and trim to size.

Our Recipe for an Easy Holiday Crafting Party:

Here's what's great about earrings and wine charms - anyone can make a pair or a set to take home - especially beginners! With very few supplies, your guests can leave with their own handmade party favors!

Earring Crafting Party: Take 1 set of our 100pc ear wires, 1 set mixed crystal bicones, combine with 1 set 10pc assorted millefiori bead strands, add 1 set of our headpins, eyepins, jumprings assortment, and you've got a recipe for fun!

Holiday Wine Charm Crafting Party: Take a set of our ribbon photo charms or memory frame minis, 1 set of our jump ring mega mix, a sheet or two of our laminating film, some simple adhesive squares, and just about any 1" art you'd like. Our friend and coworker Anne made these with artwork from return address labels.

OK! Now get to it! Remember to reward yourself with a 20% discount on all items in your cart with the code NOV2011 in the promo code box on your payment page. Thanks always and happy creating from all of the folks at Rubber Nation Crafts, RubberNation.com and soon, eCrafty.com

As always, e-us with any questions: rubbernation@comcast.net Happy creations!

Double the Fun with 2-Sided Domes, Magnetic Bottle Cap Pendants, More!

2011-09-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

Our friend and coworker Anne came up with these brilliant little tricks to make your craft supplies serve double duty!

2. Convert Mini Bottles into Art, Message in a Bottle Charms. Add a set of our new eye screw tops 1206A to the corks of any of our mini bottles ~ roll up your art or scrap or fabric and put it inside ~ smooth against the edges with the thin wood end of a paintbrush. You can make your mini bottle coordinate with just about anything with a simple switch of a scrap!

3. Create 2-sided reversible rectangle pendants using our new 1x2" domino size epoxy bubbles e6000'd on the back side of our rectangle pendants 412A. You will have to trim about 2mm (tiny tiny amount) off of the bottom of the epoxy bubble.

4. Make 2-sided glass dome keepsake jewelry. This works best with our thin-rimmed pendant bases such as 413A bases and glass dome tops. Try some combos like a photo with initial on the back, a baby pic and grad pic on the other side, wedding day and first date pic, etc.

You get the idea! Our square bases 400P work well for double sided square charms and pendants. You can use them with either our 1" square epoxy bubbles or 1" square glass domes. (This is Anne's baby to grad sample with daughter Molly).

5. Create reversible charm blanks - no domes needed! Try our 1500J Photo Frame Charms - just under 1" tall each. Trim your photo or art, cover with our laminating film (instant) and e6000 onto the base. Turn over, repeat, done! You can also get the same effect using our 3D Crystal Lacquer and our Ink Jet Fixative stick - let dry overnight.

6. Epoxy Bubble Finger Rings. Our friend and coworker Shenoa, Cheryl's granddaughter, made this fun, bright finger ring using just our 1" epoxy bubbles, one of our brown and pink floral batik beads, and ring blanks, along with a dab of e6000. This is a great idea for kids, teens to make for quick and fun instant jewelry.

7. Fall Hues Necklace. Our friend and coworker Cheryl (Shenoa's grandma) made this lovely necklace by intertwining just a few of our new items ~ sparkle and watercolor beads by the yard, and a medallion from our new Fearless Crafters' LIghtweight Metal mix, along with a with a few of our customer favorite ~ 10 yards of seed beads necklace in amber red fall hues.

Our annual FALL SHIPMENT is here! Make sure to check out ALL 125! of our new items this month! Also, make sure to use your 20% savings code OCT2011 at checkout AFTER you sign in (this means, make sure to register ~ you'll receive 20% on everything in your cart) at checkout when you use code OCT2011 in the promo code box. Please e-us or type a note in the comments section of your order if you have any problem getting your code to "take" after you've signed in.

About the designers:

Anne Strasser is a crafty soul. Watch out - if you turn your back, she will have glued something to something. When she's not here, she's busy gluing stufff, gardening and raising her wonderful daughters.

Cheryl Satterlee is also a crafty soul. Watch out - if you turn your back, she will have beaded something or organized something! When she's not here, she's busy being a grandmom to 3 wonderful kids.

Shenoa Satterlee is a theatrical soul who also just happens to be Cheryl's granddaughter. When she's not here, she's in middle school, or at theater practice. We miss her during the school year but we are happy to have featured one of her creations this month!

Jewelry Ideas Made with our "In Black and White" Freebie Collage Sheet

2011-08-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

Beyond Black and White! 6 New Inspired Projects for You!

Wow! We had an amazing response to our "In Black and White" freebie download collage sheet from the July newsletter and Facebook post. We hope you find these 6 projects as inspiring as we did! Click on any photo to for a closeup.

First up, Kristine Richards joins us as a regular contributor and creative force extraordinnaire. Lucky us! She works in many mediums - this time she used polyclay along with our clear epoxy domes and favorite inks, wire and crystal faceted beads to transform our "In Black and White" freebie download collage sheet into the gorgeous necklaces you see here. Hang on to your collage sheets ~ there's more to come! This is probably do-able for a medium-level crafter. For a detailed project sheet (PDF format - printable instructions) on Kris' necklace, just e-us.

Next up, our friend and coworker Hannah Greenberg came up with a different rainbow interpretation of our "In Black and White" freebie collage sheet - using watercolors on a black/white printout. She trimmed and rolled the colored squares of paper inside of our mini glass bottle charms. The results are gorgeous - and probably just the right level for beginning crafters. For a detailed project sheet (PDF format - printable instructions) on Hannah's' mini bottle charms, just e-us.

For our bead loving readers, our friend and co-worker Cheryl Satterlee came up with two ingenious ways to incorporate our ball chain necklaces with our spunky black, white and pink lampwork beads. Her latest creation is a new twist on a beaded necklace and chain using 20 gauge wire and assorted glass pearls.

Here is another variation on this new technique from Cheryl. She chose the focal bead with the largest hole for the centerpiece of this pendant. Again using 20 gauge wire she threaded a mixture of focal beads, spacer beads and metal bead caps onto the wire. But this time she created a loop at the bottom and threaded the wire through the center bead twice. The tops are just loops of wire connecting the pendant to the ball chain.

For a detailed project sheet (PDF format - printable instructions) on Cheryl's ball chain technique, just e-us.
Last but by no means least, our friend and co-worker Shenoa Satterlee (Cheryl's granddaughter) made a beautiful necklace for Grandma Cheryl in all of her favorite colors. Here she used one of our Batik Focal beads as the center of this design. She created a pattern of beads and chain for this necklace. Try one of ourJewelry Makers Mixes in your favorite colors. A few findings of jump rings, headpins, chain and clasps are all you need for a gorgeous new necklace.

If you're still reading this, then you are a die-hard crafter indeed! Don't forget to use your 20% Newsletter Subscriber coupon code SEP2011 in the promo code box on the payment page at checkout. You must be signed in for this promo code box to appear.
If you cannot see it, or you bypass it at checkout, just e-us in the "comments" section on your order - we'll arrange a discount for you in the form of a refund when your order ships. Remember, SEP2011 in the promo code box saves you 20% on every order this month!

Thank you to our wonderful contributors this month:

Kristine Richards lives happily ever after in the mid west, taking time to smell the roses, create poly clay and lampwork beads and jewelry, attend craft and bead classes, spend time with her family, all the good stuff. There is probably a more accurate bio to write on her - but the newsletter deadline is near! We'll do a formal bio on her project sheets. Welcome Kristine! You are our fairy godmother of craftiness!

Cheryl Satterlee lives happily ever after here in Northern California with her family and grandchildren nearby. We're very grateful to have her help on EVERY front! Packing up your orders, looking after things that would normally slip thorugh the cracks, and creating beautiful jewelry in her spare time. She is multi-talented and enjoys beading, baking and babysitting for new family members!

Shenoa Satterlee lives here in Northern California just a stone's throw from Grandma's house. She is a bright, industrious middle schooler who happens to love absolutely everything about the theater ~ writing! acting! singing! lights! camera! action! She has helped us a lot over the summer here in the office. Thank you Shenoa!

Hannah Greenberg also lives here in Northern California, works hard in high school, love to dance, and does some amazing bending of wire and beading of beads in her spare time! We're lucky to have her here helping us and thinking up so many COOL new uses for our craft items!

DIY Typewriter Keys & Wistful Traveler's Jewelry + Freebie Download for You!

2011-08-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

We've got a really great FREEBIE printable collage sheet download when you “LIKE” US on Facebook (click here)!

If you're already a fan, you'll see the link here

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ECrafty/135397089827981

If you're not on Facebook, you can still get the same freebie - just refer a friend to our site here or sign up for our Monthly Savings Code & newsletter here, OR just e-us using this link mention "Freebie collage sheet July 11" in the subject!

Use these as we did for the jewelry samples above, or embellish our bamboo tiles. Great for scrapbooks. These also make a killer set gift set of fridge magnets. Add our 1" pendant bases + instant adhesive domes - or print out slightly larger and punch out 1" circles too ~ use with our bottle cap pendants and magnets !

Make instant pendants, magnets, more! Add our epoxy domes, or e6000, 3D Crystal Lacquer + glass domes. Easier still, just stick down epoxy bubbles and trim. Done.

We hope you’re having a wonderful summer with some extra time to set aside for crafts and family.

Don't forget the savings!

Remember to use your subscriber savings code (type it on payment page after you've signed in - promo code box will appear) for 20% off your cart contents with your exclusive member savings code AUG2011 good thru 9/1!

Happy August! Here's 3 fast and fun ideas for near instant art jewelry.

We made our Typewriter key jewelry charms and Typewriter Key Finger Rings, as well as a Bahama Mama necklace using just a few of our newest charm blanks, domes and this month's freebie collage sheet download. (see below). Let's get started!

Plan ahead - attached to a charm bracelet or hung from a chain or ribbon, these make easy, fun & personalized holiday gifts.

1. Faux Typewriter Key Charms (click image above)

Our newest charm bases and matching domes just arrived - 18mm - dime size - just about typewriter key size - perfect for faux typewriter art jewelry.

2. Faux Typewriter Key Rings (click to enlarge)

Our finger rings and matching domes just arrived - 16mm - actual typewriter key size - perfect for faux typewriter art jewelry.

How to Make Typewriter Jewelry Using our Glass Domes and Charm bases:

1. Print this month's freebie typewriter collage sheet at 30% of actual size. 2. Add a small dollop of e6000 adhesive to printout. 3. Press glass dome down firmly for a thin, bubble-free seal. 4. Speed dry in your microwave (1 min, 10% power) or oven (250 degrees) briefly. 5. Trim around the glass edge with sharp scissors, 6. Dry fully. (Back in the oven or let sit overnight). 7. Glue your art dome into the rimmed base - perfect fit, perfectly finished charm!

3. Bahama Mama Necklace. I'd rather be in the Bahamas today, wouldn't you? Armchair travel your way around the globe with a custom armchair traveller charm.

Our new 1" thin-rimmed SP square bases with matching epoxy bubbles just arrived - I made fast use of them on this nearly instant project!

How to Make our Bahama Mama Necklace Using our Charm Bases and Epoxy Domes

1. Find a cool map scrap. (National Geographics are good). 2. Peel n stick our epoxy bubble on top. 3. Glue into charm base.(e6000, etc.) 4. Dry fully. (try a low-temp oven if you're in a hurry ~ like headed out the door trying to give as a gift!) 5. Embellish with our Mini Message Bottles, Starfish and Scallop Shell charms 6. Attach with jump rings onto one of our simple chains or cords.

August FREEBIE Download Collage Sheet ~ Smith Corona style Typewriter Keys

We've got a really great FREEBIE printable collage sheet download when you “LIKE” US on Facebook (click here)! If you're already a fan, you'll see the link here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ECrafty/135397089827981

If you're not on Facebook, you can still get the same freebie - just refer a friend to our site here or sign up for our newsletter here, OR just e-us using this link or mention "collage sheet" in the subject!

Make instant pendants, magnets, more! Add our epoxy domes, or e6000, 3D Crystal Lacquer + glass domes. Easier still, just stick down epoxy bubbles and trim. Done.

We hope you’re having a wonderful summer with some extra time to set aside for crafts and family.

Don't forget the savings!

DIY Typewriter Keys & Wistful Traveler's Jewelry + Freebie Download for You!

2011-08-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

August FREEBIE Download Collage Sheet ~ Smith Corona style Typewriter KeysFREEBIE printable collage sheet download when you “LIKE” US on Facebook (click here)! If you're already a fan, you'll see the link here:

We've got a really great

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ECrafty/135397089827981

Use these as we did for the jewelry samples below, or embellish our bamboo tiles. Great for scrapbooks.

These also make a killer set gift set of fridge magnets. Add our 1" pendant bases + instant adhesive domes - or print out slightly larger and punch out 1" circles too ~ use with our bottle cap pendants and magnets !

Make instant pendants, magnets, more! Add our epoxy domes, or e6000, 3D Crystal Lacquer + glass domes. Easier still, just stick down epoxy bubbles and trim. Done.

We hope you’re having a wonderful summer with some extra time to set aside for crafts and family.

Don't forget the savings!

Here's 3 fast and fun ideas for near instant art jewelry.

Plan ahead - attached to a charm bracelet or hung from a chain or ribbon, these make easy, fun & personalized holiday gifts.

1. Faux Typewriter Key Charms (click image above)

Our newest charm bases and matching domes just arrived - 18mm - dime size - just about typewriter key size - perfect for faux typewriter art jewelry.

2. Faux Typewriter Key Rings (click to enlarge)

Our finger rings and matching domes just arrived - 16mm - actual typewriter key size - perfect for faux typewriter art jewelry.

How to Make Typewriter Jewelry Using our Glass Domes and Charm bases:

3. Bahama Mama Necklace. I'd rather be in the Bahamas today, wouldn't you? Armchair travel your way around the globe with a custom armchair traveller charm.

Our new 1" thin-rimmed SP square bases with matching epoxy bubbles just arrived - I made fast use of them on this nearly instant project!

How to Make our Bahama Mama Necklace Using our Charm Bases and Epoxy Domes

Goodies, Deals and DIYs + 20% off Code for you!

2011-07-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

All subscribers and Facebook fans - here's your 20% off coupon to enjoy NOW and some eye candy too!

FREEBIE Download Collage Sheet + 5 New DIYs for You to Try!

2011-06-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

We’ve got 5 fresh new projects for you to try, as well as a FREEBIE printable collage sheet download when you “LIKE” US on Facebook (click here)! If you're not on Facebook, you can still get the same freebie - just refer a friend to our newsletter here or sign up for our newsletter here, OR just e-us ~ we’ll send you the link.

Use these for backgrounds for your own words, initials - or trim out an initial from a magazine or print out from your computer. Add our 1" pendant bases + instant adhesive domes - or print out slightly larger and punch out 1" circles too ~ use with our bottle cap pendants !

Make instant pendants, magnets, more! Add our epoxy domes, or 3D Crystal Lacquer + glass domes. We hope you’re having a wonderful summer with some extra time to set aside for crafts and family. Let’s get started!

Wondering what do to with our Yard of Beads, or 10 Click here!. Anne took our 10-pack seed bead necklaces by the YARD assortments and added a few simple dangles – the results are really great. Make these necklaces your own with a few simple charms, beads, etc. Click on the sample to see three great color combos!

Look at these fun sets of wine charms Anne made with our word and message charms.

You can do the same with any of our photo charms, or themed charms below, with just a few wine charm rings.

Very easy, really fun! All new themed charms are in – wonderful for wine charms, charm bracelets, earrings and necklace inclusions – even scrapbooking ~ see them all here.

Some of these charms even work as bails – see some examples here.

In praise of ginormous beads and return address labels. A little light went off in Anne’s head (it doesn’t take much!) when she came across some free return address labels - the result? Gorgeous wine charms! The outcasts from our Everything but the Kitchen Sink 1135 mix lead to the picnic tablecloth weights below.

Here’s some simple tablecloth weights she made from our Ginormous Beads (2 for $1) and our Crystal Ice Pendants, Tumbled Glass Beads, along with some headpins, eyepins, jump rings and a few curtain clips (from IKEA). What a fun hostess or neighbor gift! If you don’t need Ginormous Beads, you might want to check out our expanded selection of our customer favorites – our amazing Jewelry Maker’s Bead Mixes – color coordinated with spacer beads and matching pairs ~ just waiting for your next inspired idea.

Sweet Summer Earrings. Our friend and newest co worker Hannah made these breezy summer earrings with our ear wires, a few bicones and some of our new flower charms. Our new bicones mix contains all 4mm bicones in a rainbow of colors – just perfect for earring pairs and smaller scale jewelry projects, dangles, random rainbow designs.

Quickie last project idea: Instant inspiration from magazine pages -Kim made this Buddha pendant in a flash from a home decor magazine page. Magazine clippings are perfect for our cameo and collage pendants because the paper is already sealed - just use a small drop of 3D Crystal Lacquer directly on the magazine image, place your glass tile on top, slide tile on surface to remove bubbles, let dry. e6000 your completed art glass tile into the base.

This was a super simple version - very cool additions would be to find some inspiring words in the article, or grab some cool lettering or smaller pics/patterns - collage it. In addition to squares, we have a TON of new ovals and rounds - all in 4pc kits ready to use!

What else can you do with magazine, newspaper, wrapping paper and other things found in your recycling bin? Use our memory frame minis - the 2-sided acetate insert is your template - trim and wear. Any of our fine glass tiles can be made into a personalized pendant, with a little glue-on bail, a magnet, dab of our 3D Crystal Lacquer or Diamond Glaze or e6000 – you’ve got instant wearable art or fun customized fridge magnets. Remember, like us on Facebook or refer a friend, get a free printable collage sheet to use now!

Remember, you can save 20% off everything in your cart (non-bulk/wholesale items) by typing JULY2011 in your promo code box AFTER you SIGN IN - on your payment page. You must be signed in in order to see the promo code box appear! That's $20 off a $100 order or $4 off a $20 order - whatever the amount - the discount is the same - GREAT! See you soon at Rubber Nation Crafts and eCrafty.com!

5 New DIYs! Try our New Jewelry Bases + Glass Domes

2011-05-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

What fun we've got for you this month! So many new things to try! Let's get started!

1. Time Flies! Collage Pendant Mixed Media Necklace.

Both Anne and Kim's daughters are graduating HS seniors this year ~ an exciting time for all. (Hooray! Oh No! Yay! Aaauuugh!) Know the feeling? With that in mind, Kim made this Time Flies Necklace from nothing more than a magazine clipping (closeup of a great watch face), one of our new collage pendants + glass tile tops, and an assortment of our mini bottles (stuffed with secret message of course!) and our key and wing charms.

2. Bollywood Vintage Matchbox Label Bracelet

I've been a fan of Vintage Matchbox Labels from India and China for a long time. I made this Bollywood inspired Matchbox Label Bracelet with our new glue-on acrylic bracelet forms, (3 shapes and sizes available) our 20mm matching glass tile domes, and a simple ink jet copy from one of my matchbook art books. I sealed my ink jet prints with our Fixative Stick, then applied a small drop of 3D Crystal Lacquer and firmly placed my glass domes on top of the sealed art making sure there were no bubbles. Once dry (low microwave or baking oven will help them dry quicker), I gave them a close trim with sharp scissors (you could use an exacto blade or box cutter also) and applied my finished art tiles to my bracelet base with a drop of e6000. I let them dry overnight.

We have a ton of new bracelet bases and matching glass dome tops - these are GREAT for either collage art, alphabets, sayings and ALWAYS, photos!

3. Typewriter ART Glass Dome Bracelet

I'm hoping you can see the exciting potential in these new stretch acrylic bracelet bases! I used our downloadable typewriter art, printed out at 130% (slightly enlarged from the original file), and followed the same techniques as Bollywood above, I used our large 1" round bracelet form and our new 25mm clear glass domes to complete my design. Really easy. These domes sit just slightly within the edges of the frame so make sure to seal the edges well with e6000 and dry overnight. Our bracelet and pendant forms have so many options: magazine clippings, fabric samples, copies of old photos, alphabets, family photos....on an on!

4. Custom Dog Tags!

We just got these in and the possibilites for instant crafts seem kind of endless. I'm thinking especially of summer crafts but you can get very nice results for grown-up crafts as well. I used a postcard printout and an image from a magazine to create these samples with our new dog tags with matching epoxy covers (two sizes availalble). Add a ball chain, cords, etc., a couple of charms, you've got a nearly instant, really cute and easy project for all ages!

5. Dream Big Scrabble Tile Bracelet

Bear with me, you know how I love to use scrabble tiles for everything - This is a ROUGH idea - I did not take the time to glue in the scrabble tiles so it's a little wonky - take any 8 scrabble tiles (I used DREAMBIG) and glue them in to our square bracelet form. Done.

6. Glass Domes for Near Everything Else!

We are now well-stocked in all sizes and shapes of glass domes, cabochons, and matching pendant bases. Take a peek - a little dab of e6000 or 3D Crystal Laquer is all you need to take your printouts, scraps, family photos or collage art to a new wearable (or fridge-magnet) level! Great gifts, fun for kids too! You can see them all here.

We hope you find some fun new things in our store as we prepare to open eCrafty.com shortly. Stop by and visit us atRubber Nation Crafts, check out all of our new items for June 11, and remember to use your code JUNE2011 for a 20% instant savings in your cart!

New Glue-On Bracelet Bases, New Custom Dog Tag Kits, Newly Restocked Memory Frame MInis

2011-05-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

I'm usually a little more informative than this - suffice it to say, it's the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and we're unloading a new boatload of nothing but NEW FUN STUFF to play with. So here goes - the short version! Click here to see them all - including some new bracelet and pendant bases to match up with our expanded clear glass domes and cabochons.

We will be making some samples this weekend for Monday's big newsletter, so watch this space! Anyone reading this blog can enjoy our 20% off code: MAY2011 ~ enter on your payment page after you've signed in. OK, a couple more pretty pictures, then it's up to you! See you in Monday's newsletter if not over the long weekend! Thanks always and Happy creating!

http://www.rubbernation.com/servlet/the-NEW-cln-Jun-11/Categories

How to Make a Simple "Key to My Heart" Necklace

2011-05-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. Our friend and co-worker Anne recently whipped up this little gem from our new arrivals box. It couldn't be simpler. Attach a silver prong bail to one of our crystal heart pendants which you can find in the dollar beads section (yes, .99 cents!). Make a simple crystal dangle using one of our headpins or eyepins, little crystal bicone, and spacer beads of your choice. Add one of our new antique key charms and voila! Simple, heart-felt, easy and ready to give. What could be sweeter?

5 Charming Jewelry DIYs for the Merry Month of May

2011-04-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hooray! It's May! A great time for celebrations of every kind - weddings (including royal ones), graduations, proms, promotions and flights of fancy. With those in mind, we hope you enjoy our latest DIYs. You'll find most of the items mentioned below are in our May 11 or Apr 11 new arrivals.

Anne made the beautiful pink and black polka dot cha cha bracelet above with our chain maille link charm bracelet, some of our pink rose beads, pink and black jewelry maker's mixes, and pink/gold lampwork beads. She secured all of her dangles with some of our head pins and jump rings. You cannot have a bad day once you pick up this bracelet!

Royal Couple Spotted at eCrafty Headquarters!

We really love packing your orders. So, too, apparently do Will and Kate! Imagine our surprise when they stopped in after their

busy week to say "hi" and pack a few sets of freebies with us before they continued down the Californiia coast on their top-secret honeymoon. They left even happier than when they arrived - we really do have tons of fun packing up your goodies and freebies!

Our friend and co-worker Helen just got off the plane from England and brought us much-needed Will and Kate memorabilia – I’m happy just looking at the tea towel and Commemorative Pictoral Tin with shortbread! (But let's face it, we'll cave at some point and open it). You may catch us Windexing the tin from time to time....it's lovely!

Helen made up these incredibly sweet earring pairs and bracelet with our encased rose lampwork glass rounds. If you haven’t yet tried them, you should – they’re very easy to use even for beginning beaders with beautiful, romantic, sweet results

Anne was especially inspired after our royal visit to make a beautiful cha cha bracelet and with our Blue Jewelry Maker’s mix and our Chain Maille Bracelet form. She

made tons of little dangles while chatting up the royal pair, then attached them to with jump rings to the bracelet form. Simple, easy, done! Beautiful!

Anne also made a very sweet "Key to My Heart"little ball chain necklace that would be perfect for mother, daughter, a brand new big sister ~ lots of possibilities, variations, but very quick to do! Key to my Heart Necklace

Facebook Bracelet and Earrings Kim, feeling slightly overwhelmed by all the Royal festivities, coupled with the pending e-newsletter deadline, made this silly little tribute to Facebook and our Facebook page fans ~ (are you one yet? If not, click here to check it out!)

here’s some of our latest fimo women FACES adorning one of our glue-on bracelet forms with a little dab of E6000. This latest batch makes us laugh as they’re a little crabby – not quite so smiley – kind of like Monday morning at the office with not enough coffee! Just the same, they still make us smile – enjoy!

Hope you've had as much fun reading this as we've had preparing this month's newsletter. Best crafting advice for May ~ approach your deadlines with a healthy dose of humor and enjoy the moment! We hope you find some fun new things in our store as we prepare to open eCrafty.com shortly. Stop by and visit us at Rubber Nation Crafts, check out all of our new items for May 11, and remember to use your code MAY2011 for a 20% instant savings in your cart!

Here are some of us (Kelly, Anne and Helen) busy either packing up your orders, packing up your freebies, or thinking up the next great DIY project

Facebook Bracelet and Earrings ~ Easy FREE DIY Instructions ~ Enjoy!

2011-04-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a silly little DIY for die hard Facebook crafters! :-)

Kim, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the looming e-newsletter deadline, made this silly little tribute to Facebook and our Facebook page fans ~ (are you one yet? If not, click here to check it out!) Lots of quick (and usually easy) DIY Jewelry and wearable art and craft projects!

Here’s some of our latest fimo women FACES adorning one of our glue-on bracelet forms with a little dab of E6000. This latest batch makes us laugh as they’re a little crabby – not quite so smiley – kind of like Monday morning at the office with not enough coffee! Just the same, they still make us smile – enjoy!

Find more crafty items and inspiration online all the time at

Rubber Nation Crafts and very soon eCrafty.com!

5 Charming DIYS for the Merry Month of May

2011-04-29T11:24:00.001-07:00

Royal Couple Spotted at eCrafty Headquarters!

We really love packing your orders. So, too, apparently do Will and Kate! Imagine our surprise when they stopped in after their

Anne was especially inspired after our royal visit to make a beautiful cha cha bracelet and with our Blue Jewelry Maker’s mix and our Chain Maille Bracelet form. She

made tons of little dangles while chatting up the royal pair, then attached them to with jump rings to the bracelet form. Simple, easy, done! Beautiful!

Here are some of us (Kelly, Anne and Helen) busy either packing up your orders, packing up your freebies, or thinking up the next great DIY project

Whimsical PolyClay Beaded Women and Mini Bottles!

2011-04-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

We've just restocked our very popular Whimsical Women Poly Clay Handmade Beads, and we've added some really fun min i glass bottles - they're been all over the craft channels lately with tons of different uses. Our mini bottles are available in 2, 10

, or 25 packs - they're great for storing our new collection of encased glass seed beads or our Matsuno "e" beads in style. Very stable - they stand upright on their own. They're great fun to play with - Stick an eye pin through the top cork along with beads of choice and you've got an instant place holder, desk buddy, or a just for fun arty pendant or hanging decoration.

Our talented friends Anne Strasser and her mom Janet Hyland made these really cool beaded lady samples with some of our fimo lady heads, bottles, eye pins, jewelry maker's mix and Matsuno "e" beads. Click images for detailed view. These would be incredibly fun for a ladies night (in?) , a wedding shower, or craft night. Which one are YOU?
See more at Rubber Nation Crafts and soon, very soon, eCrafty.com!

Create a Mini Beach, Beach Jewelry with our Mini Bottle, Message in a Bottle Charms!

2011-04-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

Mini Beach, Beach in a Bottle, Message in a Bottle
Charms & Ideas from eCrafty.com

See our entire line of mini bottle charms and message in a bottle ideas here!

Spring is in the air and already our thoughts are turning to summer! Our friend Anne made these adorable mini beach bottles from our 1200A and 1200J Mini Bottles (3/4", clear, sturdy, lightweight, borosilicate lab glass)

It might be a little hard to tell from this picture, but these are SO small you can actually wear them dangling from earrings. Under 1" each. We stock 3/4", 1", 1 1/4" and a little larger with capacities from .5 to 1.5 ml.

To make your design permanent, just add a drop of e6000 or jeweler's glue to the cork before sealing. You can do the same with colored liquid for imitation oceans! No leaks! Add, along with our jump rings if you need, to any of our neck cords, ear wires, bracelet forms. Let us know what you think or how you might use your mini-bottles - send us the results via e-mail - if your entry is published in our DIY gallery and we'll send you a gift certificate good for $50 on either of our websites eCrafty.com and RubberNation.com ~ have fun and happy CREATING!

Craft Tips for Connecting your Message in a Bottle Pendants to Neck Cords, Charm Bracelets or Earring Wires

2011-04-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

Q. I just got my mini bottle / message in a bottle pendants and I'm not sure how to get them to fit on the neck cords I want to use. What do you suggest? Thanks, ~ D

A: Hi D: We usually attach the mini bottles with a simple jump ring to our neck cords - there are not many ready-made cords with clasps that fit the little loops in the top of the mini bottles.

Here's 2 ways to attach any size mini bottle / message in a bottle pendants to our charm bracelets, neck cords or ear wires (yes, they're small enough for earrings!)

Here's another:

A pack of our 10mm jump rings, or 8mm jump rings (100 packs) should do the trick - most all top-looped items connect with cords with the help of a simple jump ring ~ grip with two sets of pliers, open like an "s", loop on or connect your pieces, close the "s" - you're done.

See all our our message in a bottle pendants and charms here:

http://www.rubbernation.com/servlet/the-ALTERED-ART-JEWELRY-cln-Mini-Bottles/Categories

Spring Forward with our WaterColor Batik Jewelry DIY Project

2011-04-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

Spring is bursting out all over! (at least in our zip code!) Get in the mood for Spring with all things flowers. We have a huge selection of beads with a floral theme ~ click here to see some of them. Our friend and co-worker Cheryl used three colors of our Batik Print Shell Beads to make matching pendant necklaces and bracelets. Paired with our suede necklace cords, this is a fast and easy project that will impress your friends. Above, Our Pink Floral shells are combined with glass pearls and Tropicana seed bead mix for a fresh fun look.
Here's some more fun variations in Purple and Red. Sparkle beads and bead caps add an elegant touch to the Purple Floral batik beads.
For a dramatic look, the Red Leaf batik beads are surrounded by Red Chinese Porcelain coins. Add our findings and the fun begins.
Check out some of our other floral glass and floral porcelain beads such as encased floral lampwork, appliqué floral lampwork, Chinese porcelain, and our great variety of millefiori (thousand flowers) beads.

You can find more spring florals here: See our SKUs:
1000 A-G Batik Printed shells
Encased roses

626.5 – 626.7 Porcelain floral rounds1712.1- 1713.26 Millefiori strands520-533 Just the Fancies strands640 Pewter Lily pendant

Quick Crafts with Kids for Parties, Teachers

2011-03-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

With Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Teacher Appreciation Week approaching, we wanted to remind you of some kid-friendly crafts we stock - as simple as peel n stick with rewarding results!

DIY Scrabble Tile Fridge Magnets

Quick craft with kids, perfect, adorable, affordable, as personalized teacher gifts in tins with a pretty ribbon, or perform a family fridge upgrade and magnetic game board in one! Just peel n stick these squares to the back of any scrabble tile, you can also instantly seal the tops with our scrabble tile dome lenses - again, just peel and stick - my kind of craft!

DIY Bottle Cap Pendants
Quick craft with kids, craft night, slumber party Instant bottle cap pendant kits. Trim, stick, done, fun!

DIY Bottle Cap Magnets
Quick craft with kids, craft night, slumber party Instant bottle cap pendant kits. Trim, stick, done, fun!

April DIY Projects: Button Jewelry, Terra Cotta Pot Windchimes

2011-03-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Our inspiration for March/April is Spring Cleaning ~ make recycled jewelry and art!

Here's two quick projects using a mix of new and old ~ We created this button jewelry trio using our vintage button mix in white/pearls, and e6000'd them onto our glue on ring, bracelet and pendant forms to make a whimsical, breezy jewelry trio. Click here for closeup.

Our second idea came from Anne and her sister - who sat around one morning dreaming up ways to use their little terra cotta pots left over from an herb garden kit. They painted the pots, wrapped them in hardware wire, and used an assortment of our bamboo tiles,Fearless Crafter's Metals Mix, and many different styles of our glass and shell beads secured with our crimp beads and crimp covers to tiger tail cording to make these incredibly cute windchimes! Click here for closeup.

Substitute, replace one idea or material for another - the main idea is to experiment with some found objects around your house and add some whimsy. Have fun experimenting!

We have some really FUN new items for April including

NEW photo charm kits (each kit comes complete with 2 metal bases and 2 adhesive domed covers), NEW memory frames in exciting new shapes!, new mini bottles in assorted shapes and a new color- amber, NEW bamboo art beads including a larger 1" size perfect for windchimes! cigar box purse handles, leather cord jewelry, etc. NEW bottle cap pendants and ready-made bottle cap magnets - wonderful projects for kids to make with the family.

Save 20% on your order thru April by using your newsletter subscriber code APR2011 on your PAYMENT page, in the promo code box on left hand side of your screen. You need to SIGN IN in order for the promo code box to appear.

OK! No more excuses! Get to it - there's plenty in your hardware or scrap booking drawer to get you started in your own creative reuse jewelry or home decor project! Happy creating from all of us at Rubber Nation Crafts and soon, eCrafty.com!

3 Easy Scrabble, Domino Tile and Bottle Cap Jewelry Ideas to Try

2011-02-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

This month's inspiration comes in the form of mixed media – wood and metal. You can make any of these more fabulous with some extra charms or beaded dangles. I made this bracelet in under 5 minutes. Just put a dab of e6000 adhesive on our oval bracelet form. Peel and stick our scrabble tile covers to each pad. You're done!

Click on this image for a detailed DIY view.

Our new extra large 4mm hole glue-on bails have arrived. Very easy to work with ~ fits all of our standard neck cords 3mm including clasp ends. I used e6000 to attach one of our new rectangle bails to either a scrabble tile or a bamboo tile, then strung through one or our 2mm leather cords. The end result is a ready-made custom initial charm or a beautiful blank jewelry palette to inspire you.

Click on these images to see our new glue-on rectangular backed large-holed bails strung on our finished leather cords.

We used our scrabble tiles and bamboo domino tiles here. Super easy!

You could also use pebbles, beach glass, dominoes, glass tiles, microscope slides, mosaic mirrors, cabochons, bottle caps or shrinky dinks. Click on the pendant image to the left for a closeup view of a finished bamboo domino tile pendant made very simply with our cord, tile, bail, e6000 and a calendar page scrap. Pretty much, with a little e6000, nearly any flat-backed item can become a pendant or charm.

We're very excited to introduce our fun, family friendly instant zipper pull kits – each flattened bottle cap charm comes with it's own adhesive dome – ready for your art, photos, more. Just clip to your backpack, jacket, button hole, purse, charm bracelet, necklace or key ring. Finish your image with a 1" circle punch or exacto knife on a cutting mat.

How cool is this? (They are still drying as I type.) I used our flat round glass tiles with our downloadable typewriter key art sheet and just ONE sampler tube of our 3D Crystal Lacquer and made these beautiful 3D glass typewriter key tiles - they are about 1" across each and will work great as pendants, fridge magnets (what a FUN gift idea! Somebody make me some!) :-) I just printed them out from my laser writer on plain recycled copy paper. We'll have a full project sheet shortly.

Click here to see what's NEW for March. We are busy preparing our new web home, eCrafty.com, for a very well-deserved grand re-opening party. It's getting very close! In the meantime, please use your exclusive newsletter reader's March code MAR2011 to save 20% off every non-bulk/non-wholesale item in your cart at RubberNation.com. Your promo code box appears on the payment page (last page of checkout) after you SIGN IN.

About the designer: I'm Kim Noland, founder of Rubber Nation Crafts, soon to be eCrafty. I love to see your ideas and hear your comments!

I am really lucky to have such an enthusiastic, talented bunch of crafty folks that work here and help make sure your orders go out with LOTS of care and freebies. We are very much an extended family business now ~ Besides my own kids, Kelly and NIck, we have an array of talented teens that help us part-time after school including Molly, Robin, Christian and Shenoa. They are backed up daily by moms Helen, Anne (mom of 2 of them) and Cheryl (grandmom to one of them!).

We put aside some of our profits annually to benefit our local schools as well as charities involved in giving families a helping hand.

We will soon have our new web site (eCrafty.com) completed ~ including a project gallery - we'd love to see what you do with all the goodies we pack up! Send us a picture of your completed project, along with a few sentences about your inspiration. Don't be shy! We love to see what you create! If we include it in our new project gallery - we'll send you a $50 store credit to spend with us on more goodies!

Tell a friend, come find us soon on Facebook as eCrafty, and thanks always for making our 12th year in business our best and most fun ever!

Happy creating from all of us at Rubber Nation Crafts and soon...eCrafty.com!

11 DIY Beaded LOVE Projects for Valentines, Mother's Day, Graduations and June Brides

2011-01-25T22:21:00.000-08:00

With Valentines, Mother's Day and Wedding Season just around the corner, we present Made with Love ~ an assortment of 11 inspired projects from our very talented friends and coworkers ~ Shenoa and Cheryl Satterlee (a grandaughter/grandmother team!) and the ever-crafty Anne Strasser. (Step aside! She's armed with Weldbond again!) Love is surely in the air with all the inspiration our crafty friends found to share with you this month! Enjoy!

#1 Sweethearts

You will love this darling choker made by Shenoa. We just love these red Millefiori hearts (our SKU 1712.25) that were the inspiration for her work. Pairing the hearts with some of our crystals and seeds beads, she added a focal heart from our #405 special heart bead strand. You too can make a sweet heart necklace. (Items used are 1712.25, 378, 417 and 405)

#2 The Case of the Missing Chocolates

Anne came across an empty box of Valentines chocolates the other day - imagine her surprise - and decided to fluff it up a little. She got out her Weldbond and/or e6000 craft adhesives and went to town - smothering the top in our Tropicana Seed Bead mix 417, and adorning the sides with our Berry Red glass pearls 446D. Now it's way too pretty for the recycling bin - she can use it year round for jewelry, beads, findings, small office or even small hardware items.. Pretty cool, eh?

#3 I Love Pink

Another great creation from Shenoa. We love pink just as much as she does. This new creation features our rondelle beads with pink appliqué roses and black dots. A very modern color combination is off set with our pink glass pearls. I’m sure you will find lots of outfits that need this accessory. Shenoa used our 1261, 444AA, 417 along with our findings.

#4 Pink Pearl Perfection Classic glass pearls in a brand new twist makes for a stylish necklace of chains and pearls. Shenoa made pearl drops with our headpins and pink glass pearls. Then she attached them to multiple chains for a sophisticated necklace to that will never go out of style. And look at the earrings that she made to go with it. See all of our glass pearls in 4mm, 6mm, and 8mm sizes in a rainbow of color choices.

#5 Framed with Love

There is no end to the possibilities for a framed art necklace. And so easy! Shenoa created the floral artwork in her charm frame. But you can add a photo or decorative paper in your creation. With a simple charm and one of our organza neck cords, you will have a memorable one-of-a-kind piece for yourself or others. Our neck cords come in a assortment of colors for every project. Check out our photo frames 103 A-E and our cords 368-369.

#6 Beach DreamsAnne also recently came across an empty Altoid Mints tin and promptly ran for the Weldbond, again! She used a laser print out of a balmy beach scene, a strand of strung shells from the thrift store, some sand, some scrapbookking tape from the dollar store and some of our Tumbled Aqua Glass Beads 545, our Flip Flop pewter charms 1226, and our Wander Message/Word Token 1213V. The results are almost too inspiring to continue writing this article! How exactly does this fit into our current theme of love, mothers and weddings? Well, every mom would LOVE to get to the beach about now, AND it's blue (as in something borrowed.....something.....!) Any further questions?

#7 Spring Garden Butterfly

Get ready for Spring! We have the beads for all your Spring crafting needs. Get inspired by Shenoa and the fancy Lampwork beads she used in this beautiful necklace. Shenoa chose to feature our “Just the Fancies” pink collection along with our Green and Pink Bumpy Dot beads. But you can choose any of the other “Just the Fancies” colors. We have red, blue, green, yellow, aqua and even a black and purple variety. (Items used 1264, 550, 378 and 417)

#8 Color Riot

You will just bubble over with joy and laughter when you see the new necklace using our “Just the Fancies” red and yellow beads. Shenoa has again created an original design that has gone crazy with color. She used three strands of beading wire for this necklace. First she treated seed beads on each strand and then put all three strands through a fancy lampwork bead. She continued on in this pattern throughout the necklace using both red and yellow beads. The variety of beads in our “Just the Fancies” is amazing and such fun. Check out the Lady Bug earring Shenoa made from beads in the mix. (Items 554, 556, 417)

#9 Your Heart Shines Through

Red heart Millefiori beads and Lustre beads made a darling bracelet just in time for Valentines Day. Shenoa combined these two items into a sweet simple bracelet will inspire you to get creating. She used our 1712.25 Millefiori beads and our 1348 Lustre Bead Mix. How Beautiful!

#10 Crystal Heart

Here is an easy quick necklace that is sure to be a hit. Cheryl used one of our pink 3-strand organza cords as a base and attached a variety of hearts on headpins and jump rings. The star of the creation is our Ice Crystal Faceted Glass Heart (433.13). Surrounded by beads from our 1348 lustre mix, the crystal heart really shines. You might like to make a pair of earrings to co-ordinate too. Check out all our bead mixes and findings to get inspired.

#11 Frosted Heart Valentine

A new creation by Shenoa is a beautiful necklace with a heart theme. Using our Pink Sherbet Frost bead mix along with our pink glass pearls and our Tropicana seed bead mix, she gave us a stunning necklace to wear at Valentines and many months after. Check out the beads she used = 378, 417, 444AA and all our findings.

Find it! Buy it! Craft it! Type any of the SKU numbers mentioned in the articles above into our search box at www.RubberNation.com and www.eCrafty.com. Click here to save 20% monthly on your entire order just by joining our e-newsletter list - we'll send a fresh code to your inbox every month good for 20% savings on all non-bulk/non-wholesale items.

Current newsletter subscribers, simply type in JAN2011 in the promo code box on your payment page - your 20% discount will be applied to all non-bulk items.

About the designers: Cheryl and Shenoa Satterlee are our dynamite grandmother and grandaughter jewelry design team. Cheryl wears many hats here - packer, designer, copywriter and inventory tracker. When she's not here, she switches to her most favorite hats of all as mom and grandmom! Shenoa is a multi-tasking 7th grader who has a real gift for creative jewelry making. How lucky we are!

Anne Strasser just keeps getting craftier, if that's even possible. Spring is in the air and we'd better get her winter projects published before we lose her to the great outdoors ~ the e6000 is headed outdoors as we type! Anne wears many hats too, of course, mom, aunt, crafter, gardener, editor, baker, let's face it, she's our Martha. It's a good thing.

Crafting a Family Tree

2010-12-30T17:53:00.003-08:00

This month's crafting inspiration comes to us from our wonderful reader and inspired crafter, Sharon Sullivan. She writes, "I thought you might enjoy seeing what I did with your wonderful bamboo tile beads and beading cord." Click on the images for full-size views.

"Family is everything to us, and I came up with this idea one night while working on ancestry.com! 'Our Family Tree.' " Her whole family is on the left, and her immediate family is on the right. "As you can see, there are a couple empty branches for future growth of the family."

Well, we just love this idea, and Sharon was kind enough to share her photos and inspiration with us all. In addition to our bamboo domino tiles and cord, Sharon used an arty branch from www.save-on-crafts.com. Thank you Sharon! We are sending you a super duper goody bag for your inspirational project idea, as well as a $50 store credit good towards your next visit! Keep on crafting ~ we can't wait to see what's next!

This is Sharon's OTHER creation! She writes, "Oh, I'm attaching another picture to show you what I did with one of the freebies you sent. It was truly one of my daughter-in-law's favorite gifts! I put pictures of our grandbabies on a black background and affixed them to the bamboo tile. The holes were a bit too small for the cord on my freebie necklace, but a bit of careful drilling bored it out just enough that the necklace slipped right through. A couple of silver beads and voila! A beautiful way to show off her kiddos! Again, thanks."

Do you have a favorite creation made with our supplies? Care to share with us? Just e-mail us, rubbernation@comcast.net. If we use your finished project on our site or in our newsletter, we'll send along a $50 store credit for you to use as you please on your next order!

A small plug - check out our Dollar Beads and End of Year 50-80% off Clearance sections ~ you'll be glad you did.

Happy Crafty New Year to All - wishing you a happy and healthy 2011 with time to spend with family, craft, and to share your stories with us!

Thank you all for an absolutely wonderful year here, from Kim, Cheryl, Anne, Helen, Kelly, Molly, Robin and Nick! Hope to see you soon! Watch for us in the New Year as we begin the transition from www.rubbernation.com to our zippy new home on the web, www.eCrafty.com!

Check out our family friendly crafts: Try our fridge magnets, scrabble tile crafts, or flattened bottle caps pendants, add clear self-stick epoxy domes - all are extremely easy projects for kids to finish on their own!

Dichroic Glass Bracelet on a Shoestring Budget, Crafting Simply for the Holidays

2010-11-29T06:43:00.000-08:00

December's inspiration is all about keeping it simple. I was inspired by a dichroic bracelet I saw in an artists gallery this summer and asked my 11-year old son Nick for his help.Look at the gorgeous results- this took him 5 minutes - (granted, he does everything fast) it couldn't be simpler - he picked 12 of our flat-backed dichroic glass cabs and e-6000'dthem onto one of our bracelet forms. Done! Literally, 5 minutes or less. Coordinates beautifully with ourready-to-wear dichroic glass earrings.

Take it Easy! Shop in your PJs! My favorite tip for a stress-free holiday is to relax, stay home, and shop in your pajamas! Put on a fire and get out the cocoa - We've got a ton of fun little gifting ideas to keep you in your jammies and out of the malls - here's just a few!

PS ~ Stress less ~ Save 20% instantly ~ use your payment page savings code NEWS1210.

Our Top "Keep it Simple" Gift Ideas (by Technique)

1. Peel n Stick!

Scrabble Tile Magnets

Bottle Cap Pendants

Adhesive Magnets (circles or rounds)

Beadalon Peel/Stick 1" squares

Photo Charm/Pendant Forms with Epoxy Dome Lenses

DIY Typewriter Letter Charm Kits

Bottle Cap Pendants with Epoxy Dome Lenses

2. Just Glue It!

Glue On Bracelet Forms

Glue On Ring Forms

e6000 Adhesive

Dichroic Cab 10 packs or Scrabble Tiles

DIY Scrabble Tile Pendant Kit Makes 10

3. Just Hang it!

Ice Crystals

Photo Charms as Ornaments

Memory Frames as Ornaments

4. Just Click It! (Already assembled, boxed or bagged, ready to give)

Photo Bracelets with Gift Box (6 new styles for December!)

Dichroic or Swarovski,Glass Earrings with Organza Bag

Holiday Sayings Bracelets 2 for $1

Boxed or Organza-Bagged Gifts Ready to Give

Jewelry Sets with Gift Box

Jingle Bell Earrings with Gift Box

Jumbo Jingle Bell Necklaces

Typewriter Bead Charms, Necklaces

Instant Photo Charm Pendants (Square or Round)

4. Gussie it Up!

Organza Bags for Gifting, Goodie Wrapping, Bath Salt Making

Organza Ribbon Neck Cords

Velvet Neck Cords

About our lead story - that is one cool bracelet - I think I'm getting it for Christmas! Woo hoo!

About the artist: My son Nick is an 11-year creative force of nature who loves to dabble in many many things in his spare time. Watch out world!

DIY: 5 Easy Holiday Ornaments, Gifts, or Pendants in Under 5 Minutes!

2010-10-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

I'm an impatient crafter. I like to make simple things, quickly, with great results. If this sounds familiar, read on!Our newest Memory Frames have just arrived - In a wonderful new larger size - 1.5" tall - 1 inch wide - classic jewelry and ornament proportions. reversible, changeable silver plated brass metal frame charms. We also stocked up on our 1" frames - perfect for ornaments, charms, etc. Top loading photo frame. 2-sided clear acetate photo/art protector insert included.

Make a customized two-sided altered art or photo charm/pendant in an instant! No sealers, no glues, no coating to apply - just place your art or photo between the folded acetate insert, load into the top of the frame ~ that's it.

Less talk, more crafts! How about some inspiring pictures? Our instant memory frames come in 5 sizes from 3/4" charms to our newest 1 1/2" tall pendants.
No matter what the size - We like to secure the artwork on the inside with a drop of 3D Crystal Lacquer, Weldbond or Diamond Glaze.

Complete the look with our jump rings, organza cords, cords, organza gift bags, chains orpendant watches. PS ~ Our newest jump ring mega mix contains 5 bags, 100pc each, of jump rings in the most used sizes from 5mm up to 12mm - check it out! Customer favorites!

Find a BARGAIN in our Dollar Beads and Craft Supplies: FYI - we usually try to keep about 50 items in the dollar bin! Stop in! We offer organza cords by the each, for just .99 cents in some cases. We also offer handy packs of glass beads, charms, more.

We have SO many ways to personalize your holiday gifts - this is a quick start - for more memory frame ideas and photo charms, click here.

If you're not the plan ahead type and like living in the moment, we've included some anytime ways to craft up a storm with our instant frames ~ see our samples below! Happy creating!

http://www.rubbernation.com/catalog/memoryframeinstantpend700.jpg

MEMORY FRAMES \| Minis
	DIY Photo Charms Art Jewelry 1" 2-Sided Silver Plated Square w Clear Acetate Insert Reversible, changeable silver plated brass metal frame charm. 1" or 25mm square. Top loading photo frame charm. 2-sided clear acetate photo/art protector insert included. Available by piece or in bulk packs - see details page.	Price: $2.99 Retail: $5.99 You Save: $3.00 (50%) See more details and bulk pricing
	DIY Photo Charms Art Jewelry 1x1.5" 34mm 2-Sided Silver Plated Rectangle w Clear Acetate Insert 1 reversible, changeable silver plated brass metal frame charm. 1"x1.5" rectangle or 24x35mm. Frame style E. Top loading photo frame with 1 top loop. Perfect dimensions for pendants, photo, altered art charm bracelets and linked or embellished pendants. 2-sided clear acetate photo/art protector insert included. Also available in bulk packs - see details page.	Price: $2.99 Retail: $5.99 You Save: $3.00 (50%) See more details andbulk pricing
	DIY Photo Charms Art Jewelry 3/4" 17mm 2-Sided Silver Plated Square 2 Loops w Clear Acetate Insert 1 reversible, changeable silver plated brass metal frame charm. 3/4" square or 17mm. Frame style D. Top loading photo frame. 2 loops for photo, altered art charm bracelets and linked or embellished pendants. 2-sided clear acetate photo/art protector insert included. Also available in bulk packs - see details page.	Price: $1.99 Retail: $3.99 You Save: $2.00 (50%) See more details and bulk pricing
	DIY Photo Charms Art Jewelry 3/4" 17mm 2-Sided Silver Plated Square w Clear Acetate Insert Reversible, changeable silver plated brass metal frame charm. 3/4" square or 17mm. Frame style A. Top loading photo frame. 2-sided clear acetate photo/art protector insert included. Available by piece or in bulk packs - see details page.	Price: $2.99 Retail: $5.99 You Save: $3.00 (50%) See more details and bulk pricing
	DIY Photo Charms Art Jewelry 7/8" 22x16mm 2-Sided Silver Plated Rectangle w Clear Acetate Insert Reversible, changeable silver plated brass metal frame charm. Frame style B. 7/8" tall rectangle or 16mm x 22mm. Top loading photo frame. 2-sided clear acetate photo/art protector insert included. Available by piece or in value packs - see details page.	Price: $2.99 Retail: $5.99 You Save: $3.00 (50%) See more details andbulk pricing

http://www.rubbernation.com/catalog/memoryframeinstantpend700.jpg

NEW SIZE! DIY Photo Charms Art Jewelry 1x1.5" 34mm 2-Sided Silver Plated Rectangle w Clear Acetate Insert

2010-10-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

New Large Rectangle DIY Photo Charms Make Great Art Jewelry and Christmas Ornaments

FRAME STYLE E. 1 reversible, changeable silver plated brass metal frame charm. 1" wide x 1.5" tall or 24mmx35mm with top loop ~ great for bracelets and linked or embellished pendants. Top loading photo frame charm. 2-sided clear acetate photo/art protector insert included.

Make a customized two-sided altered art or photo charm/pendant in an instant! No sealers, no glues, no coating to apply - just place your art or photo between the folded acetate insert, load into the top of the frame ~ that's it. We stock the mini frames and inserts in five sizes: .75" and 1" squares with top loops, and .75" squares with 2 loops for connecting as bracelet components or pendants, as well as .65 x .85" (16x22mm) rectangles and 1"x1.5" (24x35mm) ~ good for word and message charms.

To finish: Place your altered art, photos, collage elements (see our coordinating downloadable collage elements for instant inspiration), printouts, clippings, etc. between the folded clear acetate sheet insert, slide down into the top of the metal frame, and you've got instant charms or pendants without custom soldering for a beautifully finished art piece to wear or to hang. Coordinates with our 1" craft/paper punches.

We like to secure the artwork on the inside with a drop of 3D Crystal Lacquer, Weldbond or Diamond Glaze. Complete the look with one of our jump rings, organza cords, charm bracelets, cords, chains or wires.Plan ahead! This is a WONderful idea for holiday presents, jewelry and ornaments!

See more instant memory frames here (click)
See more classic memory frames (glass inserts) here:
See more photo charm and art pendant forms here:

Make Photo, Altered Art Jewelry in an Instant with our New Charm Recipes!

2010-10-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

You've got questions, we've got answers! We've taken the guesswork out of all of your round photo charm needs.

Click on the picture for a detailed view -you can quickly find magnifying cabs, bases, domed epoxy bubbles, matching bases, and charms by size by typing in the appropriate SKU in our search box.

Our square pendant bases are a little less complicated - we offer 1" square epoxy domes, 1" thicker square glass tiles, or 7/8" rectangles suitable for scrabble tiles.

No matter the shape - all of these methods avoid waiting for the layers of glaze or resin to dry on your photo and altered art jewelry!

Check out our ALL of our new pendant forms with a thinner 2mm rim and a 1" opening (25mm interior) to coordinate PERFECTLY with our clear instant adhesive epoxy dots and 25mm glass tiles as well! Our SKUs 1240, 1241 and 1242 coordinate with 1" squares bubbles, our SKU 1238 works with 1" circle bubbles.

We have pendant kits, plus extra squares, circles, clear epoxy dots AND glass tiles. Two of our square pendant styles are available in 2mm or 4mm thicknesses ~ letting you can choose your pendant depth and glass tile effect (sealed or exposed edge).

You can make a pendant out of nearly any flat art with this system - and if you don't have a hole punch nearby, you can use the clear adhesive epoxy dot as a trimming template after you've applied it to your image.

Plan ahead! These make wonderfully easy and personalized holiday gifts ~ and, they're easy enough and lots of fun for the kids to do! Happy creating!

In other news this month, check out our newest arrivals including new 1 inch clear ICE glass tile 10-packs (no discounts available on the 10packs or bulk items) in both squares and circles (slightly larger than our previous 23mm stock and the perfect fit for your 1" craft punch, our 1" pendant blanks, 1" magnets, 1" adhesive magnets, 1" bottle caps, etc!.

Don't forget the adhesives for your base - we recommend ourE6000 craft adhesive, as well as our 1" trimmable instant bonding dots and our 3D Crystal Lacquer sealer/adhesive.

Look for lots of excitement as we begin to make the transition from our well-loved web home Rubber Nation Crafts to the larger and zippier eCrafty.com over the next month or so.

And, bargain hunters and crafty souls - keep a look out for grand REopening member specials as well as a boatload of new items (yes, it's that time of year again! ~ our annual FALL BOATLOAD shipment is on the way!).

If you're still reading - start clicking! We have over 40 new items for August and another 20+ sneek peeks already for September - Happy creating, happy last gasp of SUMMER from all of us at Rubber Nation Crafts and soon...eCrafty.com!

DIY Photo Jewelry Keepsake Bracelet Silver Plated 6- Link 9"

Add photos, mini artwork or stamps. Just glue image into frame, add one of our clear sealers over it! Picture/inner area: 12mm x 16mm, Frame/outer size 22mm x 18mm. Bracelet form measures 9" including chain and clasp. If you'd like it shorter, simply remove a link.

Price: $4.99

Buy Now

Quick and Easy Gift Ideas: Make your Own Personalized Typewriter Pendants

2010-10-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

Quick and Easy Gift Ideas: Make your Own Personalized Typewriter Key Pendants with our Downloadable Collage Elements 1" Typewriter Keys 2 Smith Corona Style Black Tan

Instant download after purchase ~ no waiting! Free shipping! Full sheet ~ 8 1/2x11". Beautiful hi-res 300 DPI artwork for use with our bottle caps, glass tiles, epoxy dots, acrylic cabochons, pendant jewelry forms, microscope slides, memory frames ~ make collage, jewelry and altered art projects. Instant download link will be e-mailed to you following checkout. See our expanding downloadable art section. Jump start your creativity with fun artwork pre-sized to your next project ~ lots of possibilities!

Printing instructions:

Instant download link will be e-mailed to you following checkout.

If you are registered on our site, you will also find all of your download links in the "My downloads" section

Open or save the .jpg file on your computer

Files are at high-res 300dpi in .jpg format.

Print on glossy ink jet photo or good quality coated gloss paper if possible.

Full size: Print as is or use "print to fit" setting on your printer, along with "high" quality output for best results.

This set is SCALABLE based on your own printer's capabilities ~ to print out at 1/2" or 3/4" circles - adjust your printer (50% or 75% output scaling). Similarly, you can increase the scale to get 1" circle with no border design.

See our other alphabets for more design options. Each printer is different - you might experiment with brightness and contrast settings to calibrate the art to your liking.

To use for finished jewelry with our pendant bases & bottle caps: You can do alot with just one sheet! : It is a 300dpi (will appear larger on screen) prints out to 8.5x11 letter size sheet. Increase printout size slightly (about 105% on your printer settings) if you're planning to punch or trim. You can also decrease the size for 3/4" charms, etc. by proportionally decreasing the output size on your printer (75% etc.).You can use our instant peel/stick epoxy dots to seal your images on to bottle caps, magnet bases, etc.You can use your own ink jet or laser printouts, dry, SET THE INK with a little chapstick or wax based lip balm on both sides, let dry. Then use one of our clear sealers (3D Crystal Lacquer, Diamond Glaze, even Mod Podge) let dry completely, overnight, with several thin layers.

Beads Wholesale and Jewelry Making Supplies -Mini Glass Vial Bottle Pendant Necklace 25mm w/ Cork Charm & Cord GREEN Dragonfly Wish Keeper

2010-09-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Introducing our Wish Keeper Necklace. 1 filled mini glass vial bottle pendant charm necklace. Filled with metallic mini beads ~ available in a assortment of colors such as blue, green pink, aqua and gold. Includes beaded decorative cork stopper, charm and cord. 25mm each. (approx. 1" tall). A delightful pendant necklace. Think outside the bottle ~ use the beads and fill with whatever you wish! Great for a gift or to wear yourself.

Beads Wholesale and Jewelry Making Supplies -Just the Fancies! Lampwork Beads Mix BLUE 6-24mm 50g

2010-09-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

Don't know if you've heard - but we're UNLOADING 35 BOXES from our fall craft supplies and beads shipment! Here's a new arrival we're just thrilled about - we can't post pictures fast enough...these lovely lampwork glass bead strands come in a rainbow of colors - pink, black, blue, aqua, green, red ~ take your pick, add some crystals and findings and have FUN creating!

Approx. 30 beads. 6-24mm mainly. 50 gram bags or stands. Just like the name says, ONLY fancy lampwork beads in the most popular sizes for jewelry making. Focal butterfly, little ladybug, encased roses, florals, appliqued, striated, fancy and foiled art glass beads. Random assortments ~ we update the product picture as new mixtures arrive - bead count and mix will vary. Fantastic price for super fancy lampworks - keep a couple packs on hand for those inspired moments! See our findingssection for related add-a-bead pendant makers, head pins, earring hooks, cording and other helpful jewelry making supplies.

Beads Wholesale and Jewelry Making Supplies -Fearless Crafters Metal Beads Charms Pendants Mix 100g

2010-09-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

Just arrived! If you are looking for some inexpensive CRAFTY FUN, try our new Fearless Crafters Metal Bead Mix! A free-spirited mix of lead and nickel-free solid metal alloy beads, charms, connectors, pendants, even bookmarks in some cases! Mixed finishes, colors, themes etc. 100 grams. 4-100mm. Bead count varies greatly - expect about 50-70 pc. per 100 gram bag. You are purchasing solid non-tarnishing metal alloy NOT sterling silver beads. Combine with others, save BIG on shipping!

To see all of our new arrivals, just click here

To make sure you don't miss our BOATLOAD SHIPMENT news, join our newsletter list and get upgraded to SAVINGS CODES monthly!

Beads Wholesale and Jewelry Making Supplies -Watch Face Charm Pendant Necklace w Ant Silver Plated Ball Chain 30in

2010-09-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

Just in! Our favorite new doodad! (1) 22mm (just under 1") light weight, working top-loop watch (with new battery) on a 24 or 30 inch ant. silver ball chain necklace. A fun and simple gift! Make it more unique by adding our word charms, photo charms, message charms or other embellishments for a truly customized gift.http://www.rubbernation.com/servlet/the-4216/Watch-Face-Charm-Pendant/Detail

Beads Wholesale and Jewelry Making Supplies -Message in a Bottle Keepsake Pendant Kit Copper Fillable Tube Vial Altered Art

2010-09-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

Beads Wholesale and Jewelry Making Supplies -Message in a Bottle Keepsake Pendant Kit Copper Fillable Tube Vial Altered Art

Our New 1" Pendant Kits Make Photo, Altered Art Jewelry in an Instant!

2010-08-26T21:13:00.001-07:00

Well, for something little, this is BIG! NO waiting for the glaze to dry on your photo and altered art jewelry! Check out our ALL of our new pendant forms with a thinner 2mm rim and a 1" opening (25mm interior) to coordinate PERFECTLY with our clear instant adhesive epoxy dots and 25mm glass tiles as well! Our SKUs 1240, 1241 and 1242 coordinate with 1" square bubbles, our SKU 1238 works with1" circle bubbles.

You can make a pendant out of nearly any flat art with this system - try ourdownloadable art sheets for instant inspiration. If you don't have a hole punch nearby, you can use the clear adhesive epoxy dot as a trimming template after you've applied it to your image.

Plan ahead! These make wonderfully easy and personalized holiday gifts ~ and, they're easy enough and lots of fun for the kids to do! Happy creating!

Don't forget the adhesives for your base - we recommend our E6000 craft adhesive, as well as our 1" trimmable instant bonding dots and our 3D Crystal Lacquer sealer/adhesive.

Look for lots of excitement as we begin to make the transition from our well-loved web home Rubber Nation Crafts to the larger and zippier eCrafty.com over the next month or so.

Super savings for our subscribers! Don't forget to use your 5-day member's 20% off code - NEWSAUG10 good on everything on our site except bulk lot items (10 packs, 100 packs, etc,)....most of these are noted on the site as no additional discounts available.

MAKE it TONIGHT! Cornucopia Leaf Leaves Cha Cha Bracelet **KIT* *OUR KIT Includes beading cord, beads and instructions. To make this bracelet: String a 100-gram bag of our organic glass charms mix (see suggested materials below) onto clear super stretch cording and voila! You've created a VERY easy masterpiece to keep or to give. Bracelet measures about 7". You will need 2 bags of our SKU 1384 Organic Leaves and Shapes mix (our kit includes 1 bag) or add spacer beads for larger wrists. Add some ear wires and a few extra dangles if you're having too much fun to quit. If I can do it, ANYone can! Estimated time: 15 minutes - 1/2 hour. Have fun!

Life's a Party Keepsake Necklace

2010-06-24T11:20:00.001-07:00

My friend Veronica really knows how to turn 50. She was born to party. She had great invites, great food, great friends, great band (you get the idea)! I couldn’t resist making her a keepsake necklace with her own party invite. Using our memory frames, ball chain, our 15mm round silver charm blank, a little headpin and crystal, our downloadable typewriter key alphabet, and our 15mm clear adhesive epoxy dots, I created her memento in under 20 minutes start to finish!. We started with silver chrome finish for all. Alternate versions could easily include our mini memory frames and links, jewelry maker’s beads, our word charms, change up the neck cord, add an origami art dangle – this is just a jumping off point!

Here’s the easy steps to making your own keepsake fun.

1. Unhinge the memory frame. Use the glass inserts as your cutting template and trim your art.

2. Add thin layers (words, magazine clippings, etc) to complete your mini collage.

3. Place your finished art between the glass inserts, reload and close your memory frame.

4. Using a headpin or eye pin, load a small spacer or bali bead, a simple crystal or favorite lampwork bead, another spacer, form a top loop (simple or wrapped). Set aside.

5. Print out your letter (we used our downloadable typewriter buttons) printed at 60%. Trim with our 5/8” paper punch.

6. Glue to 801F silver charm blank with our trimmable Bead Fix adhesive dots or E6000 adhesive. Let dry. Top with our clear adhesive epoxy dot.

7. Attach letter charm to bottom of memory frame with split ring (included).

New for June! Bali Bead Deluxe Mix returns! Eiffel Towers, Flip Flops, Cell Phone Straps, Waxed Cotton Cords, NEW photo charm blanks (rounds and ovals in larger sizs, 50 More.Click here!

20% off Savings Code for our Newsletter Subscribers only - Save 20% off your entire order (some wholesale lots excluded) starting today and lasting until the end of June with your subscriber's savings code NEWSJUNE10 typed in the promo code box on the left hand side of your checkout page. You must be subscribed to our newsletter and signed in to see the promo code box.

Stop in and see what's brand new for June ~ Lots of instant summer fun crafts including flattened bottle caps, clear epoxy dome lenses, new photo/altered art picture keychains, photo bracelets, photo charms and photo pendants, sampler 3D crystal lacquer tubes for crafting or birthday parties, 3 sizes of eiffel tower pendants/charms, new waxed cotton cord necklaces, downloadable typewriter alphabets, NEW black bamboo domino tiles in LARGE size – very hard to find! Too much to list here – just click it!

Summer Fun! DIY Beaded Watches, Bottle Cap Pendants, Celebration Centerpieces

2010-05-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

Whether you're a seasoned pro or a beginning crafter, beaded watches are quite simple. Think of them as a stretch bracelet that happens to contain a watch face! You can use one of our brand new watch faces, or swap out the worn watch band on your own watch.

One of my favorite beaded watches is pictured here - a mix of cane glass discs, bali beads, stretch cord onto a watchface from a former favorite watch. Another very comfortable favorite beaded watch of mine is simply several strands of good old seed beads strung on our stretch cord and looped through the watch ends. It's incredibly comfortable and goes with everything I wear.

Here's some very basic supplies you will need to get started on your own beaded watch.

Our clear stretch cord
Scissors
Beads ~ Try our cane glass discs, Jewelry Maker's Mixes, or our lampwork rondelles, mixed with our bali style beads.,
Watch face

1. Measure a length of Our clear stretch cord to your wrist by simply wrapping a strand around your wrist. Note the point where the thread meets and add approximately two inches before cutting the thread.
2. Cut 1, 2 or 3 strands of elastic thread, depending upon whether you want your watchband to be 1, 2 or 3 strands of Beads.
3. Bead the strands with the beads of your choice in any pattern or design you wish. Leave 1 inch of the thread free on each end to use to tie the strands to the Watch face.
4. Thread the ends of the strands through the ends of the Watch face. Some Watch face will have two separate metal sections on the corners of the watch face allowing for a band, whereas others will feature one large bar spanning the length of the watch face. Still others offer one solitary metal section in the middle of the Watch face intended for a single stranded band.
5. Loop the ends through the openings on the watch face, and then pull them back down towards the beads and tie them between the first 2 or 3 beads on the band. Do this for both ends of the thread for each strand, and cover the knots with the Beads.
Attention impatient crafters, (like me!) we have some gorgeous beaded watches, including new safety pin designs, completely finished, just in! Click here - we have just a few of each design - claim yours today if you see a style you love!

Quick Summer Fun! DIY Flattened Bottle Cap Pendants Ready to Wear!

Just arrived and ready for summer crafting - grown ups and kids alike love these - we've done all the extra work for you! 1 brand new flattened bottle cap pendant. 1" diameter interior. The perfect little blank canvases for your imagination! All the hard work is done! These brand new, linerless bottle caps have been flattened, drilled and finished with a split jump ring. Add any of our necklace cords, cords by the yard, downloadable art, punched art etc. Finish with our1" clear epoxy bubble stickers, 1" circle magnets, 1" craft punches,and/or 3D Crystal Lacquer sealer. Faint gold inside, silver chrome throughout.

How to Make your Own Bottle Cap Charms and Pendants in Under a Minute! (told you this was quick!):

Punch a perfect circle with our1" circle punch.
Seal your art front and back with Mod Podge, or basic lip balm.
Peel and stick our adhesive epoxy 1" circles or finish with one of our clear dimensional sealers

You've just completed an instant finished pendant. Wow! That was easy! Add some of our findings (chain, cord, ear wires etc.) for instant jewelry.

Personalize your Celebration Centerpieces with our Memory Frames
We've been getting many requests lately for wedding decoration ideas. Still in a memory frame of mind, our in-house resident crafting tornado Anne came up with this idea to personalize centerpieces or floral arrangements. With a beaded wire frame around a memory frame you can add a beautiful personalized and professional touch in an instant! Our sample shows a wire heart using our 6mm lavender pearls (SKU 445F) and our Champagne lustre bead mix (SKU 1350) strung on 22 gauge hardware wire surrounding one of our new 1" memory frames (SKU 103C).

Our 1 1/2" size memory frames would work here too and would give you more frame color options. Or you could try one of our 17mm square frames (SKU 103C) with two loops attached to another frame. I'm thinking a picture of the bride on one side, the groom on the other, and then below that in a bigger frame a picture of the happy couple with the wedding date on the back.

Of course, we have beads and pearls to match any color scheme. With one string of 6mm pearls and one bag of lustre beads, you can make at least 4 and possibly 5 of the sample size shown.

PS For you hopeless romantics - this project is timeless - the wedding cake couple pictured here just happens to be Anne's parents - happily married over 50 years now! Congratulations Janet and John! :-) Here's to many many more!

NEW Flattened Bottle Cap Charm Pendant w/Split Jump Ring DIY Photo or Altered Art Jewelry

2010-05-17T09:08:00.001-07:00

Just arrived and ready for summer crafting - grown ups and kids alike love these - we've done all the extra work for you! 1 brand new flattened bottle cap pendant. 1" diameter interior. The perfect little blank canvases for your imagination! All the hard work is done! These brand new, linerless bottle caps have been flattened, drilled and finished with a split jump ring. Add any of our necklace cords, cords by the yard, downloadable art, punched art etc. Finish with our 1" clear epoxy bubble stickers, 1" circle magnets, 1" craft punches, and/or 3D Crystal Lacquer sealer. Faint gold inside, silver chrome throughout.

How to Make your Own Bottle Cap Charms and Pendants:

Punch a perfect circle with our 1" circle punch (below).
Seal your art front and back with Mod Podge, or basic lip balm.
Peel and stick our adhesive epoxy 1" circles or finish with one of our clear dimensional sealers below (we stock several).
Add some of our findings (chain, cord, ear wires etc.) for instant jewelry.
You've just completed an instant finished pendant.

Warning! Can Become Habit Forming! Make Instant Photo, Collage Jewelry with our New Memory Frame Minis!

2010-04-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

We're very excited about our new Memory Frame Minis (10 and 25pc Value/Bulk packs available - see product detail pages) instant photo and collage charms! After giving them a try, Anne e-mailed that these mini frames are so much fun they're dangerous! You be the judge! We are having immense fun exploring the design possibilities. What has us won over in addition to their extremely wearable size, is how easy they are to use. Each frame has a doubled piece of acetate in the center. You slide the acetate out, slide your art into it, and slide the whole thing back in the frame. Voila! You're done.
Although we'd never think of giving up our Weldbond or 3D Crystal Lacquer, using these charms completely eliminates drying times. Your art is framed and ready to wear instantly. (You can use one of our downloadable collage sheets and one of our matching craft punches for instant inspiration). Another big plus is that once you make your piece of jewelry, you can easily change the art in the frames to match your mood or your outfit, and, as sometimes happens, you don't quite like how the art looks, just take it out and try again. Excellent!
Another thing we like about them is that you don't have to have the art perfectly trimmed before inserting. You can get it the approximate size, put it in the acetate, and then trim to fit using scissors. I was playing with them yesterday and was having such fun that I didn't get any housework done at all.

Some of the samples we show here are a bracelet made using chiyogami paper (a fancy origami paper), inserted into our 17mm squares with loops on 2 sides (103D) and our closed loop 6mm jump rings (806K and 806L) For a 6.5" wrist, 6 frames with 1 jump ring between each and a lobster clasp will create a bracelet that is a perfect fit.

I recently bought seeds from Botanical Interests Seed Company and was struck by how beautiful the seed packets are. Shrunk about 80% and put in the 17mm 2 loop frames, they make a pretty little bracelet. Rather than using 6 frames, I used four and then strung some of our jump rings together to make a length of chain to fit and added a lobster clasp. I'm ready for a garden party.

We have a french exchange student staying with us and she made a necklace with chiyogami paper, by attaching one 103D 17mm 2 loop square frame and one 1" 103C square frame and hanging them from a chain.

A different chiyogami paper pattern made me think of Gaugin, so I used 5 103D, strung 4 together for a necklace, dangled the fifth from the jump ring between number 2 and 3 and hung some of our Czech crystal leaves (1386D) from them. Terribly tropical.

Feeling a little musical? How about a pair of earrings and matching necklace?

The sky's the limit? I made one with clouds. Botanticals are all the rage? Copy a piece of fern, reduce to fit and add a band of our magnesite puffed pillow beads with our tiny silver spacers (541a).

I had to stop playing to get some other things done, but when I have time again (and it doesn't take much), I am going to cut up the cover of the May 2010 issue of "O" Magazine and make something beautifully floral.

About the designer: Our friend and coworker Anne Strasser is always busy! When she’s here she channels her inner Martha big time! Otherwise, she’s mom to two lovely daughters and enjoys cooking up a storm and crafting with whatever crosses her path! She’s one crafty force of nature!
About our Memory Frame Minis: We stock these mini frames and inserts in four sizes: .75" and 1" squares with top loops, and .75" squares with 2 loops for connecting as bracelet components or pendants, as well as .65 x .85" (16x22mm) rectangles ~ good for word and message charms.
Coordinates with our 1" craft/paper punches and our growing selection of downloadable art sheets. We like to secure the artwork on the inside with a drop of 3D Crystal Lacquer, Weldbond or Diamond Glaze. Complete the look with one of our jump rings, organza cords, charm bracelets, cords, chains or wires. Plan ahead! This is a wonderful idea for Mother's Day, holiday presents, jewelry and ornaments!
Newsletter subscribers exclusive savings: Use promo code 410NEWS to take 20% off your entire order between now and April 30th! Newsletter subscribers exclusive savings: If you're not yet on our list, Just click here to join our e-news and savings list and start saving now!

Memory Frame Minis are Here ~ Reversible, Changeable, Adorable Photo Art Charms!

2010-04-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

Our new Memory Frame Minis have just arrived - reversible, changeable silver plated brass metal frame charms. 4 sizes from 17mm to 25mm squares and rectangles. Top loading photo frame. 2-sided clear acetate photo/art protector insert included. Make a customized two-sided altered art or photo charm/pendant in an instant! No sealers, no glues, no coating to apply - just place your art or photo between the folded acetate insert, load into the top of the frame ~ that's it.

We stock the mini frames and inserts in four sizes: .75" and 1" squares with top loops, and .75" squares with 2 loops for connecting as bracelet components or pendants, as well as .65 x .85" (16x22mm) rectangles ~ good for word and message charms.

To finish: Place your altered art, photos, collage elements (see our coordinating 1" square downloadable collage elements for instant inspiration), printouts, clippings, etc. between the folded clear acetate sheet insert, slide down into the top of the metal frame, and you've got instant charms or pendants without custom soldering for a beautifully finished art piece to wear or to hang. Coordinates with our 1" craft/paper punches. We like to secure the artwork on the inside with a drop of 3D Crystal Lacquer, Weldbond or Diamond Glaze. Complete the look with one of our jump rings, organza cords, charm bracelets, cords, chains or wires. Plan ahead! This is a WONderful idea for holiday presents, jewelry and ornaments!

Easy How Tos: Beaded Jelly Jar Tealight Candle Lantern, Fridge Magnets, and Remember Mama!

2010-03-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

We've been dreaming of spring for awhile here at Rubber Nation Crafts! Our friend and co-worker Anne has been busy creating some wonderful inspired projects for spring. Here's a recent favorite of ours!

Beaded Jelly Jar Tealight Candle Lantern

These are perfect for spring or summer events - plus they're GREEN - using recycled clear jars that you already have on hand in your recycle bin. This design could be made up in our glass pearls for outdoor weddings - just add a little tealight, maybe a little sand in the bottom and hang. Send us your ideas!

You can find the detailed project sheet on our site by clicking here ~ or just e-us - we can send you the instruction sheet by e-mail. Go play!

Remember Mama!

It's that time of year again - graduations, Mother's Day, weddings ~ we've got some very easy ways to give your gifts a thoughtful touch with ourpersonalized keyrings, photo bracelets or photo charms.

Each of our photo jewelry items comes with a simple instruction sheet. We even have photo key chains for kids!

Our ready-to wear photo bracelets have been customer favorites for many years now for MANY reasons! Mainly, they're well-made and VERY easy to use. They're ready-to-wear - lead and nickel-free silver plated solid metal alloy - all you need to do is pop in 6 of your index prints or cropped photos under the acetate sheets in each frame - The only supplies you need for this project are a pair of scissors! Voila! Your gift is done! Now that's EASY!

Lip Balm for Photo and Altered Art Jewelry!

You might not realize it just yet, but the lowly lip balm stick at your neighborhood drugstore IS your favorite new craft supply!

To prevent your ink jet print outs from running before you apply your clear sealer (we think 3D Crystal Lacquer works best), just spread a very thin layer of generic lip balm (the simpler, the better) across your art work and allow it to air dry a few minutes. Then continue with your glaze layer. The lip balm forms enough of a water-resistant barrier to protect your art, but still allows the sealer to do it's job. Try it! It's a life changer for altered and photo jewelry artists!

Peel n Stick Magnet Squares 3/4" 10pc Fits Our Scrabble Tiles for Fridge, Art, Photo Magnets

10 rectangular/square 3/4" adhesive-backed magnets. Fits traditional Scrabble game tiles. Make scrabble tile letter fridge magnets and much more! Scrabble tiles sold separately, by letter or by lot. We also stock circular 1" magnets which fit our bottle caps and glass tiles perfectly! Finish your art with our 3D Crystal Lacquer for professional level results!

Price: $2.99

Buy Now

Unmounted Rubber Stamps Return! African Textiles, Mayan Carvings, Celtic Designs, Vintage Suns, MORE!

2010-03-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

Our unmounted rubber stamps return! Each is a 4x5.5" sheet deep-etched red rubber sheet with freebie adhesive indexing sheet (for tops of mounts or for your storage binder or flat storage system) along with a free Rubber Stamp Primer on the basics of using unmounted rubber stamps. We have lots of really interesting designs restocked - from African to Tribal, Vintage to Snickers, Celtic, Mayan - there's some really great high-quality images ready to use in your altered art, jewelry, scrapbooking or clay projects.

I like to combine some of the cultural imagery with our bamboo domino tiles, along with metallic inks for some really interesting ready to wear pendants. I'll post a new pendant pic shortly! We also stock some beautiful unmounted rubber alphabets - also very fitting for a personalized piece of jewelry. Send us your finished project to post here - we'd love to share them!

By the way ~ one of the fun freebies we have available on our site is an inspirational Fun With Bamboo Tiles ~ you can find it by clicking here. Enjoy!

Make your Own Message or Photo Gifts, Necklaces, Typewriter Charms

2010-02-26T10:21:00.000-08:00

Wow! We are having so much fun with these new word sticks and typewriter charm kits. Just add our jump rings, ball chains even a memory frame to personalize or complete the message or theme. I made these necklaces for my kids for Valentines Day - they are really FUN and very EASY to personalize with different words, messages and initials. An A+ beginner's project!

These also work great with our mini dog tags and photo charms. Plan in advance for Mother's Day, Father's Day, wedding and graduations. Have FUN and happy creating!

Combine with our memory frames to make a customized two-sided altered art or photo charm/pendant in an instant! Get the look of a soldered custom art piece with the flick of a hinge! Add a few doo dads with eye pins, head pins, a couple simple flourishes (like our friend Betsy did in the sample above) and you've got a fun little arty treasure on your hands.

A crafty reminder - our embellish any of these little treasures with our gorgeous Jewelry Maker's Mixes, some jump rings, ball chains or cords, some headpins, bali bead spacers, and some millefiori glass beads from our smorgy selections.

Save $5 off your next order of $10 or more through end of next month! Good once per month per subscriber. Type your subscriber's savings code: SAVE5MAR10 in promo box at checkout on our site.

Newsletter subscribers - save BIG with your special subscriber discount - 20% off everything in the store thru FEB 28th (end of this month) with your savings promo code FEB2010 entered in the promo box on your payment page.

Armchair travelers! Looking for some instant inspiration?Check out our South Seas collection! Over 100 beachy-related items - have fun!

We've been very busy around here loading up the site with so many cool new goodies there's no good way to show them all here - please check out What's here's what's NEW for February click here! And, here's what's NEW for March click here! Lots of treasures! We now stock 3D Crystal Lacquer Glaze starter kits for use with all of our dimensional photo charm blanks. The best of the best. Acid free, won't run water-based artwork. Use where dimensional and glass like finish is wanted.

3D Crystal Lacquer is a recommended finish for our deeper walled pendant blanks, scrabble tiles, glass tiles, altered art jewelry! You rim the edge first with the needle-point tipped applicator, then fill, pull the glaze toward the middle. Less bubbles and crystal clear results! Use as a gel glaze on flat and thicker walled pendants - see our Diamond GLAZE for thinner projects. 3d Crystal Lacquer is a dimensional adhesive that dries to a clear glass-like finish or can be thinned with water for a lacquer-like finish. Needle point tip and instructions included.

3D Crystal Lacquer is the perfect crystal clear finish for our fridge magnets too - front or back. Check out our jewelry maker's glass tiles - they're crystal clear ~ just divine.

Customer favorites sparkle beads are back - along with some new cousins ~ our collection of glass pearls, lustre mixes, and confetti foil swirl beads.

They all look way fancier than their actual price and they're SO much fun to create with ~ make sure to check them out!

Don't forget to check our all-new Dollar Bin! The deals keep stacking up - we add new items several times a week - watch out - it's habit forming!