Thursday, November 13, 2014

Thoughtless Thursday: DIY Clicker Bracelet!

Hello, Sadie Nation!


Today, we thought we'd do another craft posting.  They're too much fun to just leave out in an imaginary crafting cloud!  Keep in mind that Mom is not a professional beader, but just does this for fun, so it might not be the perfect process or result!


So, this past summer, Mom and I were signed up to do a "Comfort Dog" class to get me certified with Possibility Dogs.  We thought it would be a great experience for me, as my Mom has worked in a nursing home in the past, and currently works with special needs children in a public school.  There's a dog in the special needs department that works with one girl, and Mom thinks it's so cool to have her around.  Someday, her pipe dream is to bring me to school, too, but I need more obedience training and certifications before I pitch my idea to the school.  So, this class was going to get me to listen better and learn how to be as comforting and therapeutic as possible!


Unfortunately, the class was at 6pm every Friday, which made attendance really tough for us.  Mom worked a different job over the summer, and didn't get to come home until 5, and then the whole process of packing my things up, packing me up, and driving there got to be too much.  Plus, let's be honest, Friday is for playing and spending time outside, too.  I thought so!  We had to stop the training, but we plan on starting this again sometime in the future.  Maybe when I stop being the class clown, because I am pretty notorious for that in obedience class!

For the class, our trainer required we use a clicker.  I've never seen one of these clicky devices before, but they're pretty cool.  Well, at least I think so, because every time that thing clicks, I get tasty grub.  Good deal!  Mom always kept losing the clicker, because the one we received is pretty small.  It got lost in her purse constantly.  She decided she could make a bracelet for it so it would always be on her wrist when we were doing our training!


Things you'll need:
Flexible beading cord OR elastic
Cute beads of your choice (ours are an assortment of glass beads)
Clasp (ours is called a "lobster claw")
Jump rings
Round beads (2)
Crimps (2)
Needlenose pliers or beading pliers
Scissors or a wire cutter if you are using metal wire
A clicker, of course!

An example of the wire we used- flexible, but sturdy
Picture of the jump rings, clear seed beads, and lobster claw
In the tutorial, Mom will use pink beads, and no clicker since we only have one! :)
First, we started off by grabbing all our materials, and placing them on a soft piece of fabric so that our things wouldn't roll around if we dropped the project.  Mom's learned this the hard way.  Oops.


Once we have everything laid out, the next thing we did was take the lobster claw and attach it to one end of the wire.  We did this by attaching a jump ring to the lobster claw.  Now, the next few parts get a tad confusing, because it's all about stringing things in the correct order.



For the next part, Mom put three items onto the string: a crimping bead first, a small round bead (or seed bead) on second, the jump ring with lobster claw on third.  We made these into a loop by taking the end of the string and putting it through the small round bead and crimping bead one more time.  Once the loop was made, Mom used the pliers to squish the crimping bead, sealing the end of the bracelet.  Now we can start beading!


The next part is Mom's favorite part: the actual beads.  They're way more colorful and exciting than putting the components on.  So, this part is ALL up to you!  You get to pick the beads/findings/etc that you want to use to make your bracelet pretty.  We used blue and green glass beads since we had a bunch here.  One thing you shouldn't forget, though, is the clicker. ;-)  We put ours in the middle of the bracelet, but you can put it anywhere!  We didn't have an extra clicker for the tutorial, but just pretend it's a bead and string it onto the wire.



Once you have all your pretty beads on your string, it's time to seal the other end with a clasp to use with the lobster claw.  We used another jump ring, round bead, and crimp.  Again, put the crimp on first, then the round bead, then the ring.  Make a loop by stringing the string through the round bead and crimp, then press the crimp shut with the pliers.  We didn't clip the wires from the end yet in these pictures, but you can clip them with a wire cutters or scissors to make it look neat.





And there you have it!  A clicker training bracelet that's pretty and useful!

Don't want to make the bracelet yourself?  Maybe you can sweet talk my Mom into making you one ;-)

Chow!
Ruckus the American Eskimo Dog Blog
- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/2014/11/thoughtless-thursday-43-righteous-hound.html#sthash.8dIXzn6m.dpuf

14 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    Now that is pawfect!!!!~ hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why thank you! :) Mom is better at other crafts, like sewing and knitting, but she says she likes to bead, too! :)

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  2. Oh wow!!! That is SO cool!!!! I wish I was that crafty! The jewelry and other items I sell at my handmade shop are not made by me, my mother does that part, I just sell. I wouldn't be able to do this stuff if my life depended on it! BOL! I absolutely love though!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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    Replies
    1. Mom prefers to sew or knit, but her sewing machine is broken and out of commission, so she has to find something else crafty to do! We love your jewelry at your website, your mom does awesome work! :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. What a great idea!!!
    Smileys!
    Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! :) We don't really use it anymore, because we don't go to classes with clicker training anymore, but we thought it was kinda fun!

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  4. THIS is a GRAND Idea... and PRETTY TOO.... we have seen clicker training classes and the Peeps are always ... searching Pockets and such fur their clickers...

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    Replies
    1. Mom was always fumbling through her purse or sweatshirt pocket looking for that little clicker, so she had enough! :-P Glad you like it!

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  5. What a great idea! And so much pretty than the piece of elastic I'm using....
    DM

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    Replies
    1. Ha! But as long as it's functional, "funtion over fashion", right? ;-) Enjoy your day!

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  6. Crikey ... Your Mom would be the Belle of the clicker class with that pretty bracelet, aye? My Mum'd use a lump of rope or something. She's got NO talent for crafts..

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  7. Mom says it is impawtent to have a clicker nearby cuz training opportunities always pop up! And yours is just plain pretty!! Thanks for the instructions. maybe I will make one for mom for Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I am the lucky one with Sadie's name. Please email me to tellme what kinds of stuffs she likes as well as what she does NOT like. We also will need her mailing address. Thanks so much!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley
    cecampbell@msn.com

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! You're "paw"some. I do my best to respond to my "fan mail" within 24 hours of it being received, but please be patient- my paws are pretty clumsy at the keyboard! :)