Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Dream catchers

One of my first dreamcatchers
Photo by Alexis Richey

A couple of months ago my grandmother moved and was getting rid of some old 45 vinyls. I grabbed them knowing I would come up with some kind of art project for them.

My first completed dreamcatcher
3 little birds

To make the dream catchers, I start by making holes in the vinyl. I do this by heating up a drill bit with a lighter until it's hot enough to push through the record. It's important to do this part in a well ventilated area because it smells awful and the fumes should not be inhaled.




I make one hole at the top, 5 to 7 holes at the bottom and 6 to 8 holes around the inside circle.




It took me a while to figure out how to get the actual dream catcher part right. I tie the string in one of the holes and thread it through the rest until I come back to my first knot.


Then I loop the string through each of the loops I just created. With the 45s I can usually go around 3 to 5 times.




I've added beads and experimented with different strings.


Now would be the point to add glitter or decorate the middle.



When I first started making these dreamcatchers, I cut out feathers and other shapes from felt.


Now I mostly use faux feathers I picked up from the craft store.


I hot glue string or hemp cord to the feathers or shapes. I add beads and tie the ends into the holes I made at the bottom of the vinyl.


I've had so much fun making these. I've given most of them out as gifts and gotten great feedback. I love being able to turn something that was headed for the trash into something beautiful that people can enjoy.