Tag: friendship bracelet

Another year…

On By Michel McDonaldIn Blog, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Well, another year has passed. I can’t believe time seems to be moving a bit faster every year for me. It seems like 2024 would still have another 6 months left, but no, it’s almost finished. 1 more day.

What have I accomplished in a year? Well, my Etsy shop was very busy this year, busier every month this year since I started. Mainly due to a single item though. A simple friendship bracelet.

I added a listing for lesbian friendship bracelets with the same designs I have for my rainbow friendship bracelets, but I used the lesbian pride flag colors. I also did the bear flag colors and that wasn’t as popular as the lesbian. So this is the bracelet that someone wanted. They sent me a message asking me if I could make this bracelet and they took a screenshot from the Disney+ show Agatha All Along. I said let me see if I can do it and I opened up my friendship bracelet designer program on my computer and figured it out. Of course I did have to Google the design and I found it right away. I just had to change the colors to these specific colors which are the lesbian pride flag colors.

After I sent this bracelet off to this person, I decided to add it to my lesbian pride flag friendship bracelet listing and wouldn’t you know it? Some other people did a search for Agatha all along friendship bracelet and they found it and they bought it and so many people wanted this bracelet. I added three sizes so that it could accommodate small, medium and large.

Two people from Germany bought one (each) and someone in Norway bought one and someone in Ireland wanted to buy it, but they couldn’t afford the shipping from the United States. I got sales on this bracelet in many states and after making it so many times, sometimes everyday, I had to remove the item from my listing because I was in agony. These bracelets take time to make and they take a toll on my hands and my back.

I will eventually make up a whole bunch of bracelets for that listing and I’ll make a whole bunch of the Agatha bracelet as well because I know people will want it again. And I’ve already bought the string for it and have cut it and it’s all ready to go, I just have to start working on them. But I need a break because I’ve been working my fingers to the bone on crafts this whole year, and my hands are about ready to fall off. Not really, but you know, jokingly.

So other things that I’ve been working on are Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas box cards as well as a Christmas Advent calendar and also I’ve been knitting Christmas stockings.

The Advent calendar went to my cousin for his son and of course the whole family could enjoy it because I filled it with so much candy LOL. The Advent calendar is from SVGcuts and the fireplace box card that you see on the left side is actually from simply crafty svgs. And then there are two Christmas friendship bracelets in the front that come from an Etsy shop called The One Eyed Artist.

The Norwegian Christmas stockings are from Arne and Carlos. I posted about the stockings a couple of months ago when I made them. I’m making more because I bought so much yarn that I don’t know what else I’m going to do with it other than make a ton more stockings LOL. I’ll probably be working on these until it gets too hot to work with wool yarn.

I’ve also been reading a lot more. I made it a mission to read everyday no matter what. Even if I just read one or two chapters a day, at least I’m reading. I did the Goodreads challenge this year and challenged myself to read 30 books and I exceeded that by reading 48 books. I’m still reading a book and was hoping to finish it to make my Goodreads challenge 49 books, but I don’t think I’m going to make it.

There is one book that I have that I would like to read. That is the entire Wizard of Oz story, but it’s all one book which means there are 15 books that will count as one book unless I decide to add the books individually on Goodreads as I read them. It will most likely take me forever to read it because this one collection in one book is over 2,000 pages and I think I’m going to need to read it in stages lol. So I will add each individual book to Goodreads as I read them.

I have a lot of other books in my Kindle library to read, so I have no shortage of books to keep myself busy with. I also have a lot of books in my Nook that I can read as well.

I’m not doing the New Year’s resolution thing because I think that’s stupid. Especially when a lot of times people never follow through with it. They always say I’m going to start losing weight and I’m going to go to the gym and then they never do and they end up gaining weight. I’d rather just do it if I’m going to do it. I did lose 75 lb in 2023 with ozempic, and then it stopped on Thanksgiving Day and 15lbs have come back on gradually, but I’m still doing ozempic and I’m still trying and I’m doing my best despite the constant junk food being put in my face and constantly being asked if I want to go to fast food places. I have the ability to say no, but I don’t seem to be doing that very well. So that’s something I have to work on.

I am having heart issues because apparently my pulse is too slow. It was 41 the other day at the doctor’s office and they’re sending me to a cardiologist. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. I checked my Fitbit watch and my pulse seems to be around 100, but then I checked my pulse on my blood pressure machine and it’s around 40 something to 50 something.  So, I guess my fitbit is not really telling me my true pulse rate. I’ll see what happens.

Well, Happy New Year and let’s hope that this year is a good year.

A New I-loom App

On By Michel McDonaldIn HobbyLeave a comment

I am still using my i-loom, because I still feel like the i-loom is the best tool for making friendship bracelets. The makers of the app discontinued the app a couple or few years ago, and I somehow knew this would happen, so before that happened, I copied all of the patterns I had bought and transferred them to a friendship bracelet designer program on my computer. And it was lucky that I did because they did in fact discontinue the app.

I don’t know what made me think about it, but today, literally just now, I went to Google and searched for the term “i-loom app” just because I was hoping to find an app that was similar to the i-loom app. I was hoping someone decided to create a new app. I found the actual i-loom app and downloaded it to my phone and went to sign in and it actually signed me in to my old account with all my patterns still there. It even allowed me to create a new pattern with letters, which is something that it wouldn’t let me do before because I had too many patterns in my account. When I say too many, I think it’s because they are repeats because I accidentally clicked the restore purchase button a few times because I didn’t know what I was doing.

So the app works again and now I can buy new patterns and heck, I can buy the packs on Amazon and use the code to unlock the packs that I wanted to buy.

I hope for anyone who has lost all their patterns that they will see this and go check it out and use the app again to make bracelets.

One thing I wished the app would do was to create new patterns from the patterns I have that aren’t in the app. Patterns I have bought from people on Etsy. That would be awesome because then I could use the app with a tablet instead of having to look at a printout or the pattern on the screen of my tablet or phone. It would be so much easier to use the i-loom app.

I am working on this pattern for someone and believe me, it would be great if I could import this pattern to the i-loom app. That would be so awesome. Please make that option available

So the app doesn’t have great reviews, but I just gave them a 5 star and said what I just said here lol. Here are some screenshots. Apparently it came back last year in October.

i-Loom App Gone, But I Saved Patterns

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts11 Comments

If you bought one of these brilliant friendship bracelet gadgets, then you are disappointed that they have removed access to your entire library of patterns in their app. How much money did you spend on these patterns just to have them all disappear? Or how many Loomies did you earn from making bracelets to buy new patterns just to lose them when they removed access to the app?

I got a notification that they were going to remove access, but somehow I had an idea this would happen, so I opened my Friendship Bracelet Design program and copied all of my patterns, just in case.

This is the starter pack that came with the i-Loom. I had bought many other packs, like Awesome Animals, Ice Cream Party, Midnight Sky, Tote Case, and Tropical Twist. I have many more patterns on top of that that aren’t in packs that I bought separately. Chain Reaction, Easter Basket, I heart you, Lucky Clover, Retro Hive, Secret Garden, Summer Daze, and Watermelon. There were a few that I found a video of on YouTube and copied the pattern as they were making it on the video like Dear Santa, Rockin Rudolph, and Santa Hat. I also have from the pack Rainbow Pop patterns 1-4. To be honest, I don’t know how I got those lol. But I have them and I don’t know the individual pattern names so that’s why I just named them 1-4. There are two more patterns in the set that I don’t have.

So anyway, what I’m getting at is if you want any of these patterns, let me know. I can share the image of the pattern itself with you. I don’t know if this company is even in business anymore, but I do know that they still have social media and they still have an Amazon store, so I’m not positive if I’m even going to get into trouble for sharing these with you, but since we no longer have access to their app or to the patterns that we paid for, there’s absolutely no reason people shouldn’t have access to these patterns again. Especially if you really wanted these patterns.

So, message me here or on Threads. I cannot guarantee that I will get the message on this blog because I don’t always get emails or any notifications of messages. I am Xanapus on Threads. I will most definitely get your message there.

These are the i-Loom patterns that I saved.

Update: I am working on a new way of finding out the exact DMC color numbers for some of the packs that came with an image for the pack that shows all 6 patterns. When I find out the exact DMC number, I’ll change the pattern to those exact colors and I’ll include a DMC list of colors to buy. Otherwise, I chose the colors I thought were the exact colors when I transferred the patterns from the i-Loom to the Friendship Bracelet Designer.

I didn’t transfer them in the sense that there was a physical transfer, I basically looked at the pattern row by row in the i-Loom App and added the colors and changed the arrows in FBD to match the pattern exactly.

Finding out the DMC colors actually also helps me so I can buy embroidery floss if the exact colors that were meant for the patterns.

If you are ok with these as is and just want the patterns that I have, that’s fine, otherwise I’ll update this again when I’m finished and delete all of this current update.

Style Me Up i-Loom

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts4 Comments

I bought this i-Loom from Amazon in January 2018. At that time I had a 10 inch Nook hd tablet that fit perfectly in there, but it stopped working and now I use my 7 inch Samsung Galaxy tab a6 Nook. It is a bit tiny, but it still works.

Style Me Up doesn’t seem to offer any help with their app, which by the way has been discontinued for Android. It’s now only available for iOS iPad. The app still works on my tablet though. My issue with the app is there are 6 duplicates of each pattern in the app and because of that, I can’t make any custom patterns.

I would love to see an app that has a simple interface that allows you to create patterns in the app and not just allow you to make bracelets from patterns they create.

I have program on my computer that allows me to do that, and I can save patterns and the image of the pattern and look at it on my tablet, but it doesn’t show me which row I’m on, I have to just remember where I’m at or put a piece of paper on the row I’m on. But it would be nice if that program is an Android app.

I copied their interface and added the pattern like this, but I had to create 48 pictures just to be able to keep better track of where I’m at in the pattern. It would be nice to see an app similar to this that allows you to insert the image of a pattern, and then tap the button to go to the next row.

The Style Me Up i-Loom is an awesome product, and I don’t understand why they have given up on it. They haven’t posted anything on social media since 2016 and their website doesn’t exist anymore. It’s such a brilliant idea, and it would be nice if there were more apps available.

Friendship Bracelet Patterns

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, EtsyLeave a comment

I don’t make Friendship bracelets very often, so when I do it’s usually a custom order where someone requests that I make a bracelet. They usually ask what patterns I have, and I privately share the images, but I think what I will do now is just write a blog post with all the graphics and their names.

I have an i-Loom that has its own patterns, and I have a list of patterns not in the i-Loom, so I will show the patterns NOT in the i-Loom first. If you are interested in buying a pattern with a special button, please let me know by contacting me through my Etsy shop. My Etsy shop website is GayNerd.Etsy.com.

FBD 1FBD 2

These are the patterns that are in the i-Loom. These are broken up into their star ratings. The ratings aren’t rated by difficulty because a 4 star pattern might be just as easy as a 1 star pattern, and a 1 star pattern might be more difficult, so I think they are rated based on the amount of strands in a bracelet.

1 StariLoom 1

2 StarsiLoom 2

3 StarsiLoom 3

4 StarsiLoom 4

Patterns not in the i-Loom app

On By Michel McDonaldIn craftsLeave a comment

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I have been having fun with my i-Loom. I’ve made 4 1/2 bracelets so far (the half is still in the i-Loom as a work in progress). One issue I do have with the i-Loom is that it doesn’t have patterns that were created outside of the app. I have a program called FBD which is short for Friendship Bracelet Designer, and I have used that to create and print patterns in the past, and I could still use that option for making bracelets, but why would I want to do that when I have this new system with the i-Loom?

So how do I get those patterns into the app? Well, this is how I do it. I took a screenshot of the app with a pattern loaded, then in Gimp I removed all the pattern stuff and replaced it all with the pattern I want to add. The only problem is, the only way for me to work on those patterns using this method is to create many images numbered starting with 01, then add them to the Nook, and I have to go into the image gallery, load the first image, work that row, then swipe the screen to show the next image. This way each image shows each row I’m on inside the pink lines. When I get to the end, I have to swipe back to the first image and continue from there. Here’s an example of all 14 images for the pattern I want to work on. It’s supposed to be a Finding Nemo pattern.

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This is not an option I will do instead of the patterns they have in the app, this is only an option for when I need to make a pattern that someone wants me to make that isn’t available in the i-Loom app.

I really love the i-Loom app, it would be nice if I could add more patterns because there are tons of patterns that I would like to make that I have in the FBD library. Fortunately for me they have some holiday patterns in the boutique already that I was able to buy, like the hearts patterns for Valentine’s Day, then there’s one with shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, and of course there is a pattern called Easter Baskets. Images below.

Happy HeartsHeart StripeI Heart YouLucky CloveEaster Basket

I’ve already made the first one that is the pink heart with the purple background, I currently have the same pattern in the i-Loom (that’s the one in progress) with red hearts and a pink background, I’ve made the heart braid, except I traded the darker pink with red. I haven’t started the 3rd heart bracelet yet, that one is TBD. Valentine’s Day is still 2 days away, so I’m probably going to skip over that and work on the Shamrock and the Easter Basket one soon.

The first 4 bracelets in the image above from left to right were made with the i-Loom, the other 2 were made with the printouts from FBD. I made the i-Loom bracelets according to the patterns for 7.5 inch bracelets, and naturally neither of them were 7.5 inches. They should’ve had another inch or so, but I made them from the patterns and didn’t go off course, I just stopped when the pattern told me to. Oh well.

And finally… the image next to the bracelets is my embroidery floss collection. I tossed all the i-Loom string because it’s crap, I’m using the DMC and Loops and Threads embroidery floss exclusively because it doesn’t break easily.

My bracelets are listed on Etsy with this link.

Style Me Up i-Loom Deluxe Starter Pack

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, EtsyLeave a comment

iloom.jpg

My partner and I were at Hobby Lobby yesterday, and I saw this thing in the yarn section next to the latch hook stuff, and I wanted it. I didn’t buy it there because they wanted $60 for it, and I looked it up on Amazon and they were only charging $24.99, so I bough it and a Midnight Sky 12 pack for $5.99 so I could get free shipping. They offer free shipping on orders $25 or higher, so I couldn’t get free shipping over a penny lol.

iLoom Midnight Sky

I actually have a tool that’s like a clipboard called My Friendship Bracelet Maker, but it only goes up to 10 strands, maybe 12 strands if you let the 2 on the ends hang off the sides. This i-Loom looks like it can hold 40 strands of thread, which is awesome because I don’t want to be limited. You can also create your own patterns in the app and it’s on the screen of your tablet which is in the device, so you don’t have to print patterns. It also has the pattern on the screen according to the spot you are on, and you press the arrows to continue with your pattern to the next row, and you can save your place when you want to stop. You can’t do that with a printout.

I won’t actually get this thing until next week, so when I do get it I will make a video. I am super excited because I’ve wanted to make a bigger bracelet for myself for a long time. I also want to make bracelets for other people, and I would love to add new bracelets to my Etsy shop. It’s about time I start adding new products.

Of course, I don’t have an iPad, but the app works on Android, so I will be using my Nook HD+ since the app works on my Nook. My Nook doesn’t have a camera, so I will have to install the app on my phone and use that to scan the QR code of the patterns I will get from my order and the refill kit. It will appear in the Nook app after that. I hope…

I did have to buy the starter set in the app to be able to create my own patterns, and it still won’t let me create my own patterns, so I will have to find out what I can do when it arrives. I hope I can create my own patterns because I have a shit ton of patterns on my computer that I would like to add to the app. I’d also love to create some new patterns, so we’ll see what happens when it gets here.

PlayStation Vita

On By Michel McDonaldIn GamesLeave a comment


I have a Nintendo Game Boy that my partner bought for me in 1994 or 1995, I honestly can’t recall when. I was so bored because we didn’t have much in the way of entertainment, other than the TV with 7 channels of course. He used a Sears credit card to buy the Game Boy and he would buy me games every now and then. It took me months to play one game, and if I knew we couldn’t afford a new game, I would just play the game multiple times. Occasionally we needed the money for food, so we had to sell the games to game stores. We only got a fraction of what the games were worth, but desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s sad too because I still have my Game Boy, but I only have 1 game; Tetris.

In 2007 I bought myself a PlayStation Portable Slim aka PSP -2000. I bought many games, and didn’t have to sell any for the money. I played the heck out of that game system, and now it’s tricky just to turn it on. The power button is glitchy, so it’s difficult to turn it on or off. It still works, but it doesn’t connect to our WiFi because the security is different from when I first bought it, so I can’t buy and download games. If I want to buy a new game, it has to be on the UMD format which I can only buy on Amazon and eBay.

Last Christmas my partner bought me a PlayStation 4. My PSP-2000 talks with a PS3, but not a PS4. If I want to play my PS4 games in the living room, I need a PlayStation Vita. I can also download tons of PS Vita games that I have gotten for free over the last year with my PlayStation Plus account.

I know that I don’t deserve to buy a PlayStation Vita because I haven’t worked for it. I know that I would prefer to play the games I own on my HDTV instead of a smaller screen in my hands, but I feel like there are times when I can’t play games on my PS4 because I’m watching tv in the living room with my partner. He stares at his iPad the entire time, that is if he’s awake, and I sit and stare at either my Nook HD+ or my phone. Sometimes I’d prefer playing Minecraft or whatever game I have instead of staring at Facebook. I have Minecraft PE on my phone, but it’s harder to play on a touchscreen because the screen gets too hot, that’s why I prefer to just stare at Facebook on my phone.

I know I’m coming off as the most spoiled brat in the world, and it’s true, I am. That’s why I haven’t bought the PlayStation Vitayet, because I know I don’t need, nor deserve it. I just want it, and that’s not a reason to spend the money I don’t have to buy it. I could put it on a credit card and pay it off over time, but it’s just not right for me to do that. I have this stupid need before greed thing, and I honestly don’t need it, but I would really love to have it lol.

When my hands heal from the recent order of 200 mini DNA keychains that I recently finished, I will start making different kinds of earrings and keychains to put on Amazon Handmade, that is if they approve me. I recently applied, and they don’t have a category for “Accessories” which is what I classified my craft as. I can’t really call keychains jewelry. My earrings and chokers are considered jewelry, but since they don’t actually have jewels in them, are they really jewelry? The earrings are plastic stems with plastic lanyard. The chokers are hemp with wood beads. Not exactly jewelry. I also make the friendship bracelets, which I really need to make more of. They sent me an email telling me I can change my category to jewelry, so I did. I can’t sell keychains as jewelry, but I can sell earrings, chokers and bracelets.

I’m sure I will need a huge inventory for Amazon Homemade, so when I can start working again, I will make a bunch of things and put them in a drawer to have them ready to ship if anyone orders them. If I make any money, I will keep the money in Amazon so I can buy a PS Vita. I could also start buying Amazon gift cards every month and put them in my account. I’m also playing around with Swag Bucks, so I’ll do surveys and watch videos and install useless apps for SB’s so I can get a Amazon gift card. If I do all those things, then I can say I deserve a PlayStation Vita.

By the way, all these links for PlayStation Vita will earn me money if YOU, the reader click them and buy one for yourself.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Daily Blog, Etsy, Health, Hobby5 Comments

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I was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in 2007 after 20 years of crocheting started to take its toll on my hands. I didn’t just have it in one hand, I have it in both hands. I was given wrist splints to wear at night when I went to bed. I was told I didn’t have to wear them during the day, that they should help me when I sleep. Okay, no problem. I’ve worn them every night since then up until last year when I stopped using my bipap machine for my sleep apnea because I didn’t need it anymore because I had lost 70lbs. Wearing the bipap mask became uncomfortable because suddenly the pressure was too high.

I wore these wrist splints faithfully for 6 years from 2007 to 2013. They did help and last year I started making keychains and opened an Etsy shop. Since then I have added dangle, hoop and stud earrings and hemp and friendship bracelets. I received an order for 8 tassels for a company who makes purses, then they placed another order for 34 tassels and that took a huge toll on my hands. Someone else ordered 60 rainbow keychains. I made 36 of those and had to stop because it was hurting too much. She wanted them for her June wedding which apparently has been pushed back to November. That gives me more time to finish the rest of them, but I’m not quite sure they will follow through with buying them from me. I’ve had several people place a custom order and then not pay for it.

I’ve been working day and night making friendship bracelets over the last week. I really love making things. I don’t know if it is a gift or a curse. A gift that I can make something wonderful out of raw material with just my hands, but a curse that something I love to do can cause so much pain.

The pain is just too much on my hands. I wake up every morning with painfully numb hands and this morning my right hand was still numb for an hour after I woke up, and it was extremely painful. I put my wrist splint on and the pain and numbness eventually went away, but I am going to continue wearing the wrist splint for the rest of the day and perhaps wear it every day and night while I take a rest. I hope that helps.

Here are just a few things that I’ve been making. I am very proud of the hard work that have been doing that is ruining my hands lol.

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I had all these plans for the camouflage bracelets. I bought the different colors to make a red version and a blue version. I also had planned on buying the different shades of brown to make a brown one. People have suggested I go with a complete rainbow and make orange, yellow and purple camouflage bracelets. I can’t see that happening now.

The rainbow braid bracelet on the bottom is actually a bracelet I wanted to make for a very long time for a specific person. I actually wanted to make 2 of them, and I made this yesterday and last night I started a second one. I listed it just because it was very easy to make and if someone ordered it, well I could make another one. But now I’m not so sure about that. I do still plan on giving this one and the other one away to the specific people just because I like to give people gifts.

Well, that’s all for now I guess. Today is the first day of my new vacation from crafting. I love what I do, so I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to stay away from it. It’s addicting for sure lol. I will try though, because my hands are more important to me than making something that no one will appreciate or even buy even though they asked for it.

Friendship Bracelets Designer Program

On By Michel McDonaldIn craftsLeave a comment

lightning bolt in designer

I’ve been having a fun time with my new “My Friendship Bracelet Maker Clip Board.”  I’ve been working mostly on the beginner patterns, but there are some more complex ones that I’ve been working on as well, such as the lightning bolt for example.  They have this one listed as a beginner pattern, but when you actually look at the instructions, it says it’s intermediate.  Unfortunately, the instructions aren’t quite as clear as I would have liked them to be, so to be able to make this one, I had to open this program called “Friendship Bracelets Designer” so I could manually add all of the instructions so I could get a more clear picture of what I was supposed to make.

lightning bolt Last night when I first started making this bracelet pattern with the instructions on the MFBM website, I totally screwed it up and today I had to take every single knot apart and start over.  I had worked the entire pattern too and it was so screwed up, I couldn’t even begin to tell you what I had done, but it wasn’t good.  Now when I say the entire pattern, I don’t mean everything you see, the pattern only does 6 rows, so it wasn’t that much.

Using this program has really helped, as you can tell by the image above.  The bracelet on the right is one complete rotation of the pattern.  The pattern image you see to the left is the complete rotation.  That is only one rotation from beginning to end, you may need 3 rotations to complete the bracelet.  The instructions don’t see you all the way through for some reason, but this will.

If I have trouble with the instructions, I will be using this program again in the future, because it is so much easier to follow a visual map rather than written instructions, especially when it’s row by row.  There are some patterns like the cause ribbons and the BFF hearts that aren’t row by row, so those may be a bit more difficult to follow with this program.