Kitty Tassels

If you know me, you know that I love tassels and I also love making them. I even did a tutorial HERE so you could learn just how easy it is to make anything into a tassel.

Old Chandelier Turns Teacup Candelier

In Week 8 of my Diamonds In The Rough! post I shared with you a very old, very cool chandelier.

Tassel Tutorial

I did a post on some of the many tassels that I have made, and you can see that post here. Several people asked me if I would do a tutorial on tassel making, so today I will show you how I made these two tassels in less than 1 hour.

First, you need to select something that you want to make a tassel out of. You can make a tassel out of just about anything. I selected a paper mache bunny and a 25¢ garage sale bell with a rose painted on it.

I will concentrate on the bell first. You need to be able to tie a ribbon from your object to hang when it's completed. Luckily, the bell had two small holes in the upper back where the ringer inside is attached.

 

I cut the string off and took out the ball from inside.

Supplies needed are a button, decorative or plain paper, old spool that you would normally throw away, the bell in my case and 1/4 inch ribbon.

I threaded my ribbon through the two holes in the button, through the paper, through the spool and up through the bell and out those two holes in a loop fashion. Both ends of the ribbon should come out the top.  I did use hot glue on the paper before I quickly pulled the string tight. By threading this ribbon all the way through everything will hold the whole tassel together. The decorative paper is there for when someone turns the tassel over (to inspect your craftsmanship), they would see a cute button and pretty paper.

I then glued the spool to the bell using hot glue. This just keeps it stable because it wanted to rock inside the bell.

This is where you can get creative. Gather together your supplies for what you want the tassel made from. In this case, I wanted fringe as a base, then ribbon and finally a piece of feather boa was used. This is also a good way to use up scrap ribbon since it doesn't take much.

Start layering using the hot glue gun.

For the ribbons, you can use them straight or bend in two, hot glue ends together and then glue the tops to the spool. It just depends on the look you want. For calculating the size, I just held up the ribbon to the spool and sighted a measurement where I would glue it and where I wanted the ribbon to end. If you are doing looped ribbon, loop four ribbons first all the same size then glue them on the spool one at a time going around the spool. You will be building layers up the spool from the bottom to the top.

Keep layering. Your next row of ribbons would need to be glued in the open spaces between the previous ribbons.

When you get to the top of the spool, your final layer should be something that would go around vs. hang down. I used the feather boa piece for this.

Final step was to add a bow to the ribbon up top to make it look pretty. This is an area where you can do whatever floats your boat. Be creative.

Okay, back to the bunny. He didn't have any way for me to thread a ribbon all the way through him, so I used a screw eye, screwed and glued between his ears.

I did the spool, button and paper method the same way, but instead, I just glued the spool and ribbon to the under side of the bunny.  I did some of the same techniques as the bell, but I put the fringe over some ribbon instead of first and I also have some ribbon straight instead of all of them looped. Like I said, this is the creative fun part.

 

I added a bow at the finished area on the upper spool with a lace scrapbooking embellishment. This is the area where something needs to go around the upper spool to hide the last row of looped ribbon. Lastly, I simply tied a ribbon through the eye hook between his ears and he is finish and ready for Easter! If you don't have an empty spool, you can buy little wooden spools at the craft store in the unfinished wood aisle.

Tassels can be made in various ways. I have just shown you ONE way to easily build a tassel tail by just gluing layers of ribbon or fringe on a spool.

Please try this. It is not only fun and creative, but inexpensive and impressive. Hang it from a door knob, a dresser knob, a curtain, a lid on the wall like I did or just anywhere. Trust me, these are so easy, you will get addicted!!

NOTE: You should be able to click on most of the pictures to enlarge to see further details.
These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Make It For Monday @ Cottage Instincts
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
Making The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter
Twice Owned Tuesday @ House Of Grace
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Power Of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
White Wednesday @ Faded Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Piece of Work Wednesday @  Primitive & Proper
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
100 Ideas Under $100 @ Beyond The Picket Fence
Time Travel Thursday @ Brambleberry Cottage
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground 
Creative Girls Blog Hop Friday @ The Girl Creative
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Strut Your Stuff @ The Saturday Morning Blog
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
DIY Project Party 
Sew Darn Crafty @ Sew Many Ways

The story of The 3 Little Roosters!

Mr. White Rooster!

This is the story of three little roosters. One is Black, One is Red and One is White. They were given to me by a dear friend that is in the chicken business. They are known for being cute and adorable. They used to stand on their own legs at different heights, had all different patterns on their bodies and cute raffia tails...
And they gathered above my refrigerator but when this photo was taken, they must have been gone chasing the hens...

So one day, the owner of these roosters decided to get a new perch (refrigerator).

This led to a new problem for the roosters, oh my! There was no room in the Inn left for them. What to do? The owner knew that all the rooms in the Inn were full, but wanted to keep these cute and adorable roosters around.  She came up with a great idea! (light bulb moment, please). Surgery is involved but won't be seen due to the graphic nature of process. However I will tell you that she, the doctor drilled a hole with a spade bit in the under part of the belly where the legs used to be attached.  This allowed a hole for gluing in all sorts of cute ribbon...perfect for a tassel! Yes, these roosters will be transformed into more sweet tassels for the house. She, the doctor also surgically removed the raffia tails and replaced with a newer, cooler and cuter version of a tail.  Here is the new and improved versions of these guys. Terry

I hope that you enjoyed the story of the three little roosters and their transformation into a new and improved life.

I am linking up to these parties:
Transformation Thursday
Frugal Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Saturday Nite Special 
Sunday Showcase
SassySite Friday

Tassels, Tassels and More Tassels

Made using a Warren Kimble Cat Statue.

These are all tassels that I have made over time. I really enjoy making them too. The sweet ones here I made using cat statues...

        I found an old header at at garage sale for $5. I painted it white and distressed it. I then attached old black door knobs and hung it in my stairwell. I have all kinds of tassels hanging from it. You really have to click on the pictures to see more of the details.

This tassel was a piece of wood that I painted first.

This was a curtain rod finial and a wooden napkin ring that I painted.

At one time, Hobby Lobby sold wood blanks for tassel making. I painted this one.

Found this piece of wood at a garage sale for 25¢. I painted it and made this tassel.

Here is a snowman tassel I made...Sorry it's blurry, but it's cold here!

I found many vintage jello molds at garage sales. Most I have painted for a Christmas tree that you can see here. However I did take one and made this tassel out of it.

I found this sewing machine ornament at Hobby Lobby one Christmas. So I made a tassel out of it for my sewing room.

This is made from a painted wood candle cup. He's a tiny guy.

This one is made with a polka dot drawer knob.

This is another tassel wood blank that I painted.

I just found another picture of one I made for a friend...

I find that a tassel can be made out of just about anything. The newer ones are made using ribbon. I think they are cute and add ornamentation to a room, a piece of furniture or just bring joy to the eye. Terry

Linking up to these parties:
Wow Us Wednesday
Good Life Wednesday 
Tip Me Tuesday 
Masterpiece Monday
Transformation Thursday
Frugal Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Saturday Nite Special
SassySite Friday Sunday Showcase