eyelets have been a part of all of our lives since birth.  remember some of those first pairs of shoes?  yeah, eyelets held your shoelaces. 

 great little marvels, eyelets. 

here’s some info on eyelets and setting tools, and what progress has been made over the years in terms of eyelet setting.  much easier now than back in the day, that’s for sure.

check out this non-industrial eyelet/snap setter, which was probably used to add eyelets or snaps to children’s clothing.  maybe craft projects too.  but you’d be really limited where you could place the eyelets, because the tool would reach only ¾’ in from any edge, be it paper, leather or cloth.  although the setter itself was virtually silent, i could practically hear the groans of the user as (s)he squeezed the tool with all their strength to set an eyelet or snap.  oh, if one could only put an eyelet anywhere one chose, and with ease…

welcome to the 1990’s

hello leather hole punch, self-healing mat, hammer, and eyelet setter! now i can set an eyelet anywhere!  only problem was that the smaller the eyelet, the more difficult it was to find a smaller punch and setter.   this type of eyelet setting was noisy, but long gone were the days of the ¾” edge restriction.  many crafters started using eyelets at this point because of this newer, “easier” method.

i remember banging away on eyelets with my hammer long into the night and the honey saying from the bedroom, “can you maybe set those eyelets in the morning?!?” bless my sweet man’s patient soul.

before too long, martha stewart came out with an eyelet setting tool kit, which of course i had to snatch up.  then Making Memories introduced their eyelet setting tools and 3/8” eyelets in 20+ colors. Screw you, martha, and your wishy washy silver, gold and copper eyelets.  although still noisy, i still held out hope and would often tell the honey, “why can’t they just come out with something that is quieter and easier on the hands…like a hole punch, but for eyelet setting?”

yeah, if i had a dollar for every time i had a thought for “they”. millions, i say.  millions. 

the new-and-improved versions

about five or six years ago, there was a great jump in the evolution of eyelet setting.  three companies introduced a single setting tool that eliminated the need for a punch tool, setting tool and hammer. good on them, I say, and if you’re not ready to part with your clikit, instant setter or silent setter for a crop-a-dile, then don’t.  keep it, and get a crop-a-dile too! 

if you’re in the market for an eyelet setting tool, here’s the lowdown on the clikit, instant setter, and the silent setter:

karen foster design – clikit

this is a spring-action tool that punches holes, sets eyelets and embosses with a simple handle push.

the clikit releases about the same amount of pressure as a hammer, but with a little less noise.  it comes with 10 interchangeable tips, two sets of different sized eyelets and a setting pad in a slide-top wooden box. 

if punching letters into metal is your thing, additional embossing alphabets are available with complete instructions and diagrams included in the box. nifty.

making memories – instant setter

the instant setter is spring-loaded, tension-adjustable, easy on the hands and a little less loud than the clikit.  it does still make some noise, so don’t get all excited.  the instant setter comes with three interchangeable punching tips (1/16”, 1/8” and 3/16”), four setting tips and a setting mat, which is all neatly tucked into a metal box. 

the handle is comfortable to hold and use, and each letter die from the stamping die set fits easily into the tool head.  simple to follow instructions on the back of the package. 

provo craft – silent setter

a quiet eyelet setter…no noise, and ergonomically designed.  but like anything “ergonomically designed”, it can take some time for your body to adjust to a new way of doing things.  doesn’t screw up the shape of the back of your metal eyelets the way some other setting tools can.  the set includes a zippered case with a setting mat, three punch tips and three setting tips in micro, standard and large.   

all you need is a medium to firm push downward and a slight rotation of the tool to securely attach an eyelet to any layout or craft project.

works best on aluminum eyelets.    

crop-a-dile

if you don’t yet have a crop-a-dile, stop waiting.  durable, easy to use, quiet, feels good in your hands, and you can set eyelets all night without waking your partner.  works on paper, leather, plastic, metal, chipboard, acrylic, fabric, and wood. 

only down-side to the original crop-a dile is that you can’t reach the center of your pages or projects…it can only punch about 3” in from the edges.  for most projects this is fine, but if you do need to reach the middle, you’ll need one of the other tools as well or the newfangled long-reach version of the crop-a-dile called the “big bite”. 

again, a point i made to my honey one day…“why don’t they make one where you can reach further into the middle of the page?”  i swear there are product designers following me and stealing my product ideas.

this bad boy even works on metal pails!

in sum

like most inventions, each new product solves a different problem posed by its predecessor. still can’t decide what to do? here’s some thoughts:

if you’ve got an old gripper tool, keep it because it sets an industrial snap, and most newer products don’t.

if you’ve got some of the early making memories tools (or those from other companies), why not donate them to a local school for student use? that’d be most appreciated.  

consider purchasing the karen foster clickit because it will easily set non-aluminum, heavier eyelets, it has many tip options, and cool alphabet embossing options. 

consider the making memories instant setter for its simplicity, comfortable handle and great box.

purchase the provo craft silent setter IF you’re looking for something quiet without a lot of bells and whistles.  just remember it won’t sent heavy-duty eyelets, so you may eventually end up purchasing something else that does.

purchase the crop-a-dile. this handy tool punches through just about any material and it’s easy to use.

I’ve had some great questions since posting my felting tutorial yesterday.

Kelly wanted to know what the difference is between eyelets and grommets?

Glad you asked, since I just found out myself!

Eyelets have two pieces: a washer with a barrel attached (much like a grommet), and a washer with teeth…

One eyelet set

Grommets, on the other hand, have sets containing washer/barrel combos and domed washers with no teeth…

One grommet set

From what I can surmise, eyelets are useful for “grabbing” and adhering to material.  Grommet parts get “smooshed” onto the items they are being attached to and adhere by being crimped together.

Kelly also asked why one of the bags required more yarn than the other.

Hmmm…I wondered that myself.  I think that one reason was that the strap of one bag was shorter than the other bag.

Maybe.

I did weigh the bags before they were felted, so I know my numbers are correct.

It could be that the difference in the yardage/weight was due to the varying thickness of the yarn.  Noro Kureyon is notorious for having thick and thin sections.  It can take a little getting used to, but when things are felted, it really doesn’t matter a whole lot as far as appearance goes.

Another reason could be tension.

I might have had a tighter tension for the second bag (I was subbing when I knit half of it).  When you knit tighter, you use less yarn…especially when you’re making multiple projects using the same pattern and are going by round count instead of measured “done-ness.”  By that, I mean that I didn’t knit the bag (unfelted) to certain dimensions.

Three skeins will give you ample yarn for your project.  I suggest knitting the straps a full six feet in length.  It’s a pain to do i-cord for that long, but it ensures you get one suitable to hang over your shoulder.

Another reader commented that it was too bad I couldn’t sell these bags.

Yep…it is too bad, but I’m going to honor the designer’s requirements.  She freely offers this pattern — at no cost to the knitter.  One of the main requirements is that the project is not made for resale.

If you are looking for a place to purchase the yarn, I suggest Hook ‘n Needle.  I purchased the pink Noro during one of my soccer trips to South Carolina.

The owner does not have a website, but she gladly takes phone or email orders.  She is a lovely lady…does business the old way.  She said she gladly ships without taking payment first.  She uses the honor system and asks the buyer to add on the cost of shipping when sending payment (she includes an invoice in the package without factoring in the shipping).

Talk about trust!

Here’s the contact info for the shop:

Hook ‘n Needle
28 Diamond Lane
Intersection Center
Columbia, SC 29210
803-772 1335

One last piece of advice.

Before you begin this project, I suggest you wind all three skeins of yarn into one big yarn cake.  These were the first two bags I did this for, and I found it much easier to match up the striping, tie the yarn ends together, and go from there.  I stuck the yarn cake in a large, plastic storage bag and knit from there to keep dog hair off of my project.

Good luck to you and let me know if you have any questions!

MESH AND EYELETS.. YES, YES, YES…!!

So if you hv’nt already known that designer Christopher Kane is producing his biggest collection for Topshop!
theres about 39 pieces I think.

Chris said the collection is more than just a capsule collection (there are bags, shoes, knitwear and dresses).
check it out!

What do you think?! I love the mesh eyelet legging! the black eyelet jeans, the mesh platform and the eyelet platform.. and how cute is the black eyelet knickers?! me love me love me love.
too bad there’s no Topshop in Sydney.

Teri Anderson

I’m just going to put it out there. My name is Teri, and I am an eyelet hoarder.

I have been hoarding eyelets for years now, since I first got into paper crafting. I have every color of eyelet you can imagine: red; red-orange; pink; dark pink; green; green-blue and many more.

Funny thing is for all the hoarding I wasn’t using them. So I recently dumped all of my eyelets into a spice jar. I put it on my craft table and left it out so I would see them every time I sat down to play. Guess what? It’s working. I’m making more cards and scrapbook pages than ever with eyelets on them. And I’m rediscovering long-forgotten, fun ways to use them.

I used eyelets to make the circle on this card.

I used a placement template from Timeless Touches to mark the holes for the eyelets. If you don’t have the template, you could do the same thing by drawing a circle with a pencil and marking the spots for your eyelets.

I also used eyelets for the flower centers on this card.

The eyelets provided a nice alternative to the brads and gems I normally use for flower centers.

I also like to use eyelets to:

• Embellish patterned paper. It’s fun to randomly add them to the circles and squares that often appear on patterned papers.
• Make hearts and letters with them. Draw your letter or heart with a pencil and then poke holes for the eyelets.
• Adhere sentiment strips and tags to cards.

Are you an eyelet hoarder, too? Tell me about it. What ideas do you have for using them? If you are not an eyelet fan, is there a supply you hoard? Leave me a comment and I’ll pick one random winner to receive both of my eyelet cards shown above. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Thursday, Sept. 17.

Teri Anderson,
Paper Crafts Go-to Gal

P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners from Kim Hughes’ Back to School-Part II post! Here they are in no particular order:

1. Sherry (Sept. 14, 7:25 a.m.)
2. SMK (Sept. 14, 9:24 a.m.)
3. Jen (Sept. 14, 10:15 p.m.)

Congrats, winners! Each of you will receive a copy of Stamp It! Cards! Kelly will be contacting you shortly for your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

New Jewelry!

In celebration of my new 6 gauge status, I of course needed new jewelry to fit.  here are some pics of my new bling.  The first, pictured above, is a pair of Industrial Strength single-flare  titanium plugs. You know, the kind that you have to pre-order, and decide what combination to get.  There are so many–so many colors of titanium, and gems to choose from!  It can be hard to visualize what the combinations look like.  I decided to get yellow titanium, because I wanted something that was not silver (or black); and get AB gems (aurora borealis); you can see the result.  The end part (that is visible in front) is a bit chunkier and sticks out farther from my ear than I expected. They are a bit gaudy, and girly, but that’s okay.  Nice to wear to work, when I want to wear gold-toned jewelry with my outfit.  You can see all the possible color combinations here at BodyartForms.

Next is a pair of Anatometal 6-gauge single flare steel tunnels (or eyelets).  As always with Anatometal, the finish is smooth, shiny, and flawless (which you can’t tell from the crappy picture–sorry).  Tunnels are always fun, because you can see daylight.  These are lightweight, comfortable, and good for stretching, should I ever decide to go bigger.  Here’s the linky to Bodyartforms.

One odd thing about these two pieces of 6 gauge jewelry–the IS pieces are noticeably thicker, both to the eye, and to my calipers when I measured them.  There’s a very slight–maybe 1 millimeter?–difference.  This surprised me, since I thought the gauges related to a specific measurement, and Anatometal and Industrial Strength are two of the leaders in making quality body jewelry.  I’m not sure why there would be a difference, but there is.  My ears didn’t seem to care, though.

BTW, the IS colored/gem plugs were “pre-order”–I guess they make them up on the spot after ordering and payment. They took about 10 days to ship, which I don’t think is unreasonable at all.

“Earrings” just sounds so wussy and mainstream, don’t you think? It’s body jewelry! They don’t come in pairs.  They are plugs, or tunnels, or eyelets, or spirals, or barbells, or . . .

fin

Tonic Studios is introducing an innovative new punch line called Ribblets, which allow you to create striking borders incorporating ribbons, eyelets & brads.  4 Ribblet punches are being released at CHA next week.  The design ideas you can come up with using the Ribblets are endless!  The new Tonic release will be expanding on the Border System line as well, introducing 6 more holiday/winter punches.  All the new punches are expected in stores in early September.  At an MSRP of only $7.95 they’ll be an inexpensive addition to your tool collection.

]]> http://cottagewindow.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/discovery/ Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:15:08 +0000 Michelle http://cottagewindow.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/discovery/

This is the most recent page in John’s album and documents the first time we took him to the beach.  I’ve started venturing out a little bit and am trying my hand at using different textures and techniques to liven up my pages.  I like layering and using embellishments to add dimension.

I created this page before I started keeping detailed lists of products used so I will list the things I know for sure.

Card stock:  Paper Studio, Marcella by K (photo mats)

Vellum (journaling), Blue Mulberry paper

Eyelets: Making Memories

Sea glass is from my personal shell collection

I bet you want some eyelets. Am I right? Okay, so maybe this is an easy bet to make, considering eyelets are fun and functional. If I’m right and you want to add a bunch of colorful new eyelets to your scrapping stash, then I’m happy to say you’re in luck. We’re  giving away an eyelet assortment pack from Eyelets Etc. right here on this blog.

If you caught my “Tips & Tricks” column in the August issue of Creating Keepsakes, you know that I shared an easy organization solution for eyelets, using bitty boxes and grommets. Well, the colorful eyelets we used in that magazine project are looking for a home, and it could very well be yours.

Here’s how to enter:

Leave me a comment, stating your favorite thing to do with eyelets between now and Sunday, July 19. From the comments received, we’ll randomly select a lucky winner. The winning name will be posted on the “Giveaways” tab (at the top of this blog) on Monday, July 20, so please check back to see if you’re a winner.

Eyelet forward to reading your ideas soon! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the opportunity for a silly pun.)

Cheers!
Megan Hoeppner, Creative Editor

I am currently sitting making eyelets – and I must say that it wasn’t as much hard work as I had anticipated! As soon as you get your speed up it all goes rather smoothly! I guess just knowing that I’ll be able to try it on proberly for the first time makes my hands work faster (don’t ask). =) I can’t say the eyelets are all very beautiful, but I think they’ll do, hehe. I’m using a flax (?) thread in a slightly darker color than the fabric. And yes – I am placing them according to custom for stays:

Oh, right! Just 6 eyelets left! *Swooshes away to finish the job!*
Ta-ta!

welcome to the eyelets blog, this is our first post and keep your eyes peeled for all the information you will ever need on eyelets, grommets and other metal, deep drawn objects.

This card I made in the early hours of yesterday morning! I couldn’t sleep so I got up at midnight and decided to play!! …like you do!!! lol!!! Actually it was a really nice time to be creative, the night breeze was refreshing and soft and there was no noise except the occasional stirring of the dairy cows outside my window. Even when I finished this card I still was not tired and didn’t end up sleeping until about 5.15 am!!! Then I was awake again at 7am!! I am really happy with my card though. I used the markers to colour the stamp so I could have one bashful blue and the rest of them close to cocoa. I triple matted the trees so they popped off the chocolate chip card stock which I have stamped with the berry stamp out of Always as a background effect with close to cocoa ink, then I used the corner punch to round off all 4 corners. I love these colours together don’t you? Thanx for dropping by, Sally x

Okay, so I’ve decided to take the plunge and submit one of my layouts for a contest on the “Use Your Stash” site.  The details are posted here. 

I love eyelets and use them quite frequently on my pages.  The idea for the beads came to me around midnight Tuesday night.

Since I started making my stays I have been pondering what the best technique for making the eyelets would be. I have never done eyelets without those metal thingies. Now, I know not to stance holes in the fabric but rather pull apart the threads to make a hole in the weave. But then what? Wouldn’t it be hard to make the hole evenly round?
   A couple of days ago I found the Diary of a Mantua Maker! Here Nicole Rudolph, author of the blog, mentions that the best tool to have around when making eyelets is an awl! Why didn’t I think of that – that’s brilliant! She says:

An awl just pushes the threads out of the way and prevents it from fraying later. By doing this you can use as many stitches as you like.  I’ve seen extants with only four stitches holding an eyelet open.  I prefer enough to cover the inner edge.

As my other half Robbie is a very handy man I know there ought to be an awl lying around somewhere! ;D

 

An awl

I was delighted this Christmas when my husband surprised me with a very special gift. For the very first time in his life he completed a scrapbook page (a pretty impressive one too for a first-timer)! He tried his very hardest to incorporate all of the techniques and styles that I enjoy most, such as: inking, stamping, using eyelets, sewing, and of course buttons! It was the cutest thing. It reminded me of why I got into scrapbooking and the meaning behind the memories. But what made it so special was what he wrote…

“My love, I am your scrappin’ king and with you as my scrappin’ queen, we will rule the lands of scrapping with justice and good favor. I look forward to the times we will spend exploring the lands and keeping colorful order. I love you with all of my heart and support you in everything and anything you do (no matter how many shapes, colors, and embellishments it has). As your king, I support you in any quest you take and will promise not only to take those quests with you, but to make them more fun at that! Onward, to scrapbooking VICTORY! Your Froggy King, Sir Leonard O.”

First step in scrapbook victory: find your scrapbook king and make sure he supports you in your scrapbook victories. (Trust me, it makes scrapbooking much more enjoyable and completely rewarding.)

Second step: find your inner scrapbook queen and let her ideas and inspirations run wild.

Third step: conquer the lands of scrapbooking and make them your own. Be daring, take risks, and never be afraid to try new things.

Soon enough, you’ll be on your way to scrapbook victory!

Well, other than a paper cut that is. 

It was just so fast and so silly, I should have been more careful. I was busy creating a page for an online crop at Scrapshotz – be sure to check them out if you haven’t already – and I was using eyelets.  My toolbag was sitting on my desk, my scissors were in there, pointy side up, you can see where this is going can’t you, and I dropped an eyelet.

I bent down to pick it up, and poked myself in the eye with my scissors! Now it could have been so much worse, I was very lucky. I caught the corner of my eye, and luckily didn’t cut it.  I did go get it checked out and it’s basically just a bruise.  It really freaked me out though, so fast, and so preventable! That’s the bad thing, it didn’t have to happen. But I’ve learned a good lesson and I did manage to finish the page. Here it is.

soccer layout

I think my eye was still a little wonky because I notice the eyelets are not evenly spaced.  It will be a good reminder for me now!

Hi! Happy Friday!!

I just realise that I haven’t posted a couple of my watercolour class cards still. I picked this one to share tonight. It is very Christmassy and I know some of you are probably thinking I’m crazy, but it is already halfway through the year and so I thought this was a cute card to get me started thinking about Christmas!

It’s a Gel Card and I have stamped in Balck Stazon before watercolouring the image, then layered a little plastic bag that contains hair gel and glitter over the image before covering it with more card layers (I punched the holes using various SU! punches). You do have to use Eyelets or brads to hold the front all together as the gel bag does weigh a bit on the front of the card, however it looks lovely and sparkly IRL - just right for Christmas!

Have a great weekend! K

Eyelets are the new challenge at Wednesday Stamper. Haven’t used them for quite a while, just like the stamp from RBBB. Really don’t why I didn’t.

Eyelets sind das neue Thema bei Mittwochstempler. Die hab ich schon eine kleine Ewigkeit nicht mehr benutzt, genau wie den Stempel von RBBB. Ich frag mich echt warum nicht.

Happy Mother’s Day for Sunday. I hope all the lovely mums out there enjoy their day and are spoilt well!

At my technique class the other night for Mother’s Day I had a few sample cards that my ladies could choose from. So, no one walked away with the same card that night. There were quite a few different cards! But, importantly, everyone had a turn at embossing and using my new crop-a-dile. We embossed the background paper, the En Francais back stamp, and we embossed on vellum paper the flowers using Petal Prints. And we had eyelets to set everywhere!

This card below used Dazzling Diamonds and Heat & Stick powder for the En Francais background stamp – everyone chose to use the Dazzling Diamonds!! How can you avoid that gorgeous sparkle, heh?! Everyone was able to personalise their card because they could choose their words from Life Definitions or Everyday Flexible Phrases. So many combinations to choose from! One popular stamp combination was used on this card … “Birthday Wish” …

The main word definition was stamped over the flowers from Boho Backgrounds (stamped off). Gosh, I love Boho Backgrounds!!

This last card below I made at the end of the night and it was simplier (I was a bit tired by then!)

Which card do you like best?

Subscribe to my blog and newsletter today so you know when my next technique class is on. Then you too can learn a new technique because you will know when it is on!

I have chosen to scraplift an LO by BethM at KTCrafts Forum, I just loved her Treasure-LO! This is my take on it!

CS: Worldwin, PP: SEI Jolie, flowers: Junkitz, leaves: Alvin, Fluid Chalk, Stickles, Liquid Pearls, jewelry findings, copper wire, embossing powder, eyelets, brads, pearl floss, alphas: Cuttlebug Olivia, stamps: Bo Bunny