Midnight Monday

Midnight - Disassembly-Boy on deviantART

Because - can you believe it - it was dark when I left work today. DARK! Pitch black. And I wasn't very happy about it. Apparently today is one of the most depressing days of the year, and I would be quite prepared to believe it. How rubbish is it when you get up in the dark to go to work and then when you leave to go home... It's dark!?

I have had a peek and tried to find some brighter takes on 'Midnight' - just to cheer myself up a bit!

Midnight Garden Pendant - Lottie of London

Midnight Garden cards - made by lolly

Pink Owl Necklace - Ich Bin

How cute is the little pink owl? I love it :P Suddenly, I feel much happier. I had a slight glitch in the starting of my embroidered cuff this evening - I thought I would make sure the cabochon had stuck properly, and possibly pulled it a bit too much... Right off in fact (oops!) Lessons learned, I definitely need some sort of sanding paper to rough it up for future pieces, and also, just let it be and bead a tight bezel to keep it there?? Numpty that I am. The learning curve has begun.

Happy crafting x

Mythical project alert!

Finally, the mojo appears to be making a return, and I think it must in part be down to Donna of Delicate Sparkles and her fantastic dragon bracelet. I came across a thread on Bead Buddies wanting the pattern testing and thought I would be too late, but hurrah for bead buddies and hurrah for this fab project :) It's the first set of instructions that I've worked from that is entirely words, but I'm 3/4 of the way through the body and think I have everything I need except for some 11mm bugles which I couldn't find anywhere at the bead shop! Wings will have to wait then...

You can take a look at the thread here and see all of the other little dragon critters the buddies have created so far. I just loved them all, especially Bernie (who you can see in traditional dragon colours on page 5!)

In other news, my friend has called today to tell me my car has been sold, and it will be collected tomorrow - sad times! But she sure does look smart with her new paint job - no more white bonnet for Milly it's all red all the time from here on out!

Must get back to the dragon - pics to follow soon :) Ooh and don't get too excited just yet, but once I reach 50 followers... I feel a giveaway would be a lovely idea - yay for beady friends!

Happy crafting
x

And to join the new website...

A fresh blog layout, courtesy of Blogger templates - thanks guys!

Still chasing up those new photos (that's what you get for asking a favour of a younger sister...) but here are some temporary pictures of my latest creation, a patchwork beaded bracelet - still deciding whether I like it or not but it is slowly growing on me. What do you think?

It's something different, a bit random and totally how I feel at the moment - all over the place! Mum has already tried to steal it, so I've no guarantee that I'll get it back after it goes for its photograph!

Coming next... An exciting charity auction that any beady lovers just can't miss!!

It's a bit dark in here!

Ooh it's a bit lonely on here... Haven't seen this page for a while!

So, now that I'm married, have been on honeymoon, have a new and better job, and have taken the plunge and decided to make myself a full inventory of my beady bits, I'm hoping I'll have a bit more time to enjoy the beading and the blogging :)

It's nice to see everyone else has been keeping up appearances, and I'll enjoy looking back through everyone's updates. I'm pleased to say that I've still been making beaded pieces, here are just a few of my recent creations:

Baby pinks

I had a really good day yesterday...I thought I was never going to make it back in to Ipswich in time to catch up with the girls at my beading class but guess what, I did, and not only that but I made my mum a baby pink bracelet that she'd asked for only the night before - now there's service! Pictures to follow shortly :o)

So anyway, I went on a happy little jaunt up the A14 to drop Jim off and came across a lorry that had tipped onto it's side, adding 20 minutes onto my return journey - not so cool, but it was one of those things that everyone stops and looks at whilst driving along at 2mph... Also not cool. So then I had to take a different route back into town because they're doing work on the A14 and my regular slip road was closed. Thankfully I arrived only 10 minutes late and the girls had only just got their beads and bits together so I didn't miss anything :o)

Isn't it lovely when you have the first bbq of the summer? We had one yesterday at our friends' new house, and boy did it make me want to get out of here - I want to get saving on a serious note and get me a beautiful house like that one. Just as well I have a new, better, permanent job then hehe. On that note, you'll be pleased to know that so far it's going well at my new place, and fingers crossed by the end of this week I'll be ready to take it on solo - I have to take it all on either way, so that might be nice! Everyone's really nice though and I think I'll get any help that I need so yippee. 

In jewellery land, I currently have three outstanding projects which I really want to get done, so hopefully I can show you those very soon. First on my list is my spring necklace which I really hope I have enough bead-age for, and then a net necklace which I started several weeks ago (slap my wrist!) and one other necklace for which I may have to wing it because I'm not sure I still have the pattern... Ermm... Teehee.

I hope you all are well, and crafting merrily away

Mothers day handmade...

Mother's day tomorrow! I'm all organised although I must admit that cards have been missed from the equation, perhaps that needs to be tended to in the morning. I've made bracelets and the boxes that they'll be given in - I feel really quite accomplished this week. Not to mention that I now have 3 works in progress, my two latest pictured below.

I do love swarovski bicones. They always sparkle so beautifully, and my garden necklace (pattern by Deborah Roberti) is no exception - after all it is entirely made of swarovski's and gold seed beads. Lush. 

On a more personal note, I came home after a long day on Friday and my lovely fiancée had made a pie:

It was a nice touch I must say :-)

Happy crafting!

LittleTreats loves... Time!

Could it really be Wednesday again already? I can't believe how fast time is going by at the moment. There's so much I need to do! Anyway, I have been a bit busy when free of jury service, Mothers day is looming on the horizon and I've been tasked with making a bracelet for my own and my mother in law - boxes and all :) I've got my mum's bracelet and box made, just got to wait for the clasp to arrive tomorrow (I don't work in gold much, so I've ordered in a one-off gold clasp) along with my mother in laws pearls that I need. I don't have a photo of the box but I'm pretty pleased with it. I used the basic pattern given by clairenobledesign on Folksy for gift boxes and have adjusted it as necessary to make a square but flatter box. Lush.

 

This was the fruits of Saturday morning's labour this week - I'm appalled it's taken me this long to show you all! The necklace isn't finished yet but it sure is on it's way. I was feeling a little risqué this week, for my troubles, and the girls were quick to tag it Burlesque! I like it though. On one other creative note, one of my first posts showed the many beads I got for Christmas and I'm finally going to show you my adorable piggy earrings. 

My good friend thought it amusing that I'd worn them on jury service this week ;)  

So without further ado, here are my picks for this week, on the theme of 'time' as I have so little of it at the moment!

1. In Love's Own Time Steampunk Pendant - LondonFogg  2. Penelope's Tea Time - Tangerinie & Purple Hippos  3. Half Time, Wooden Round Pocket Watch Pendant Necklace - comedaygoday  4. Bracelet, Tick Tock - MyBeadyEye  5. Butterfly Effect Pendant - LondonFogg (yep, I like alot!)  6. Vinyl Record 7" Clock - BeetleJuice

Happy crafting!

LittleTreats loves... Monochrome

Good evening one and all, here are my picks for tonight

1. Ikat Millefiori Cat Quernus Crafts  2. Alice in Wonderland necklace Niche Handmade  3. White Flowers on Black bracelet Sorcery & Sparkle  4. Black satin hair bows Talulahblue  5. Black lace boudoir resin picture frame PennyDog Jewellery  6. Nora Evening Bag Clutch one off Les Sacs Magique

I'm loving these pieces, and I think I could be developing a bag fetish as well as my ever-growing bead fetish! Oh dear, perhaps I'd better apologise to my bank account in advance... 

This theme brings me neatly onto Zentangles. Have you seen any? They're amazing! Here are a couple of Maria's pieces just to whet your appetite, you can view more of her pieces and others here

Maria and Rick developed this art movement, seeking to help people find a state of relaxation, almost meditation. They say that anybody can use Zentangle to create a beautiful and elegant piece of art, line by line. If you're interested they offer a Zentangle starter kit for $49.00 on their site, linked above. I can't help but be fascinated by how these pieces come together, and especially at the fact that you're not allowed to erase anything - eek!

Happy crafting!

Autumn Treats on Folksy

I've just had a pleasant browse (again!) through Folksy and loved these Autumnal shades. From top left, these are; Autumn Leaves Handbag by Brigantia Designs, Brown Corduroy Puff Bag by Erin, Chunky Charm Bracelet by Elca Designs, Autumn Days Pendant by Red Bird Jewellery, Autumn Leaves Bracelet by Paisley Chainsaw & "Forever Autumn" Charm Bracelet by LJL Designs

I'm hoping to get chance tomorrow to upload photos of my first earring attempts - of course all feedback will be appreciated! I'm having trouble with being patient enough to wait until after Christmas when I know exactly what beads I already have before buying more! There are such endless options! I think even my mother is getting the bug for bead hunting now - but that could work in my favour :o)

On another note, I'm also having trouble in deciding on my Secret Santa present... I was hoping to have one of the girlies so that I could try out my new jewellery making 'skills' but unfortunately I have one of the guys... Oh what to do??

Oh and if anybody can tell me where I can get back issues (or anyone has old issues they wouldn't mind passing on!) of Make Jewellery magazine, that would be fantastic!