Fab finds

It's giveaway time, and I've got a few finds for you to browse!

Firstly, let me remind you of my giveaway for this cute embroidered flower, the entry guidelines can be found here. Remember - you can have it made into whatever you choose!

I've been having a little browse since I got back from Download (what a weekend!) and found a few new sites, blogs and giveaways for you all. I hadn't realised what fab sites are out there for us crafters. If you haven't either, make sure you check out Craft Blog UK - a comprehensive list of jewellery, sewing, papercraft, art, photography, knitting and all kinds of other crafty blogs. Get involved! I will be. They are currently running a Craft Photography competition, designed to get your product photos seen and to help us all understand what makes a good photo. The competition page can be found here - it's great even just to have a scroll through and see how other people present their items.

Kate at Tropical Blonde is also holding a giveaway - click here for a chance to win one of these lush pendants. Two lucky people will win one, so get commenting!

Moonlitfantaseas is holding a giveaway for Metalworking 101 - clicky here

Copper Diem is holding a Pass It Forward giveaway, and is giving away a selection of beads, charms and a lovely toggle clasp, which can be found here

Now, here's the biggy - Lana at somethingunique is having a MONSTER giveaway, and you will have to go to her blog to see the amazing collection she has put together, here are just a couple of things:

So - let me know what takes your fancy, and I'll see you over at these wonderful blogs. Just don't enter these too many times - I'd like the lot please! Coming soon, we are making a light box to try and get better and more uniform pictures - watch this space.

Happy crafting

Hey everyone, I know I've not been around much on here but I've been keeping up with all of your blogs. In the meantime whilst I've been away I've been knuckling down and making this necklace from Beadwork! Goodness knows how long it took me, but it's been one of my favourite projects so far.

I've been absolutely shattered recently, but in March I'll be working four 4-day weeks thanks to the 4 days holiday I have to take before the end of March - that'll be a treat.

Soo... In other news, I've got a bunch more beads in my collection now so I *really* need to get on using them up.

What plans have you all got for Valentine's?

Reincarnating the dragon

Hey everyone, I've had a busy beading weekend this week! Makes a change I know. It all started at the beading class on Saturday morning, when we did a new variation on a twisted chain - I immediately knew I wanted it to finish my dragon bracelet and make her into a necklace. It took a bit of trial and error to get it to fasten as I wanted it to, but I'm so pleased with it.

I had originally attached jump rings and a lobster clasp but it showed a little too much - now there's just a jump ring with a beaded toggle clasp and it all goes a lot better. Here's what it looks like together, this is before I put the toggle clasp on though sorry!

I've also been productive and managed to do a temporary repair of one of my sister's necklaces, will have to re-do it when I have some gunmetal/antique bronze wire for a better match.

Have any of you heard about the Little Book of Crafters (LBOC)? It's run by Mimi down in Cornwall, UK and she doesn't charge anything for it. All you need to do is head over to her facebook page for the details. All you have to do is send a few business cards and even a few small samples if you fancy it, and they get put into little packs that are handed out at the craft events that Mimi attends! She's a seriously lovely lady I think. If you want to take part, you need to get your cards/samples posted out to her by April 15th. Have fun!

Christmas Cheer!

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you have all had a fantastic and festive day - I've had a great time, and seen plenty of family, it's been lovely catching up. As I may have mentioned, my beloved hubby made me a stocking of beautiful beady goodness. Just in case you'd like a bit of an eyeful, here follow the full stash :)

I also got a lovely surprise in getting Laura McCabe's Embellished Beadweaving book from my sister! The paper was off this little beauty faster than you can say THANK YOU SO MUCH! Now I just need to find more time in the day to be able to do more beading... Any tips would be greatly appreciated. 

So how did you celebrate your Christmas Day?

Christmas Countdown!

Can you believe it is less than 2 weeks to Christmas? I don't know where the time has gone at all! I've managed to get my Secret Santa all packed up and now ready to go, hopefully it will arrive safe and sound. Had a bit of a faux pas with a finding and a last minute borrow from a friend - what a nightmare! Will tell you more when all is revealed after Christmas :) I'm quite excited to share as it's a first for me, having to use supplied materials.

I also invested in a pretty flower cutting stamp thing which I'm now obsessed with and have put into my Secret Santa, oh what fun and joy such simple things bring me...

So have you done all of your Christmas shopping? I think I'm almost there now, and have even written most of my Christmas cards... All that's left is to get them delivered to the recipients now ;) that's the bit I normally fail on. I just hope that my postie gets all of my mail delivered in time as there's more snow forecast, and the last bout meant no post for over 3 days! I would hate to think what the post system must be like out of town if it was that bad in the town centre...

I'm afraid as I've been finishing off my SS pieces, I don't have anything new to show you, so I will leave you with this!

Branding!

I feel like I've been a busy bee this week! I've made more progress with my Secret Santa, finished a Christmas Bauble, and now want to make more, and got plenty of housework and paperwork done. Also, you will notice everything gradually being re-branded - I finally got off my butt and made myself a simple but quite pretty (I think) logo. What do you think?

I'm having real problems at the moment with ribbon ends, and have had to resort to using a different technique for my SS - I guess some things we are just not meant for, and ribbons are not my thing.

I've also indulged the last two weeks in two of my favourite magazines, Bead & Button and Beadwork. There are some absolutely beautiful patterns in there this month, and there just aren't enough hours in the day. What's your favourite magazine?

Two items listed in my Folksy shop now, hopefully more before long - any comments would be appreciated.

Happy crafting
x

Revelations

Last night I took a little return trip to where this jewellery making adventure started - simple wire work! This adorable handbag charm was the outcome. Think I'll be making a couple more for the craft fair on Saturday... Which I am panicking about because it's my first one and I have no business cards/flyers/posters or anything!!

Any tips - greatly appreciated

I've recently been taken in by the beautiful bead embroidery pieces by  Sherry Serafini, and have just purchased my first aluminium cuffs with my first sheet of lacey's stiff stuff and ultrasuede - how exciting! To go with these buys, I have treated myself to two new books to get me started :) All that I need to do now is get some cabochons ordered... Oops. Well out comes the sketch book, it's time to get some ideas about what I'm going to do with this new found beautiful way of beading.

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

A little treat for Littletreats

Well I've had a bit of a spendathon today, I desperately needed a new wardrobe and have spent probably far too much on not enough but it sure has been nice :)

Included in the spending spree is this adorable bag by Jentwinkle which I will be eagerly awaiting the arrival of.

Not so good on the beading front, sorry all - it's all the worse as I'm supposed to be making pieces to take to the craft fair in a matter of weeks, and I just can't find my creative mojo! I'm in need of getting some bookmarks and phone charm dangles to pretty up and bulk out the stock I think... Pinks and purples? I think so... I'm in a pinky purpley mood.

Saw the photos my sister has been working on today, they're looking good - I just hope the weather clears up for a day so she can finish them as I really would like my jewellery back sometime SOON!!

Happy crafting
x

Love Admiral

Managed to get my insurance brought forward at the same price by 9 days :) Hurrah!

Beading has unfortunately taken a back seat these last two weeks, but I am happy to say I'll be back at the Bead Shop on Saturday morning (even if I will be leaving 15 minutes early so I can go and collect my new car!) :)
I have managed to finish my second commission piece though, minus the lobster clasp, so pictures soon.

Note to self: next time asking sister a favour, don't expect it to be done when advised - times it by at least 10! Still not got those photos of my pieces for the website, may have to get a bit snap happy myself this weekend.

Piglings!

Ooh, I did make some cute piggy earrings last night though! Swarovski crystals, pink pearls and adorable lampwork pigs on sterling silver earhooks.

Happy crafting!

LittleTreats BUYS...

A VW Golf! At last! I'm so ecstatic, although aside from collecting it on Saturday, I won't be driving it until the end of the month. But it's ours, deposit paid!

So in celebration, here are all things motor-y :) take a look

VW Camper Cushion by Blue Stripes - might have to get one for the new car :P

VW Camper Wine Glass by Rose Petal - I LOVE this, and, because they are hand painted, they can be made 100% personalised! 

Framed VW Badge by Framedup - to remind you how much you love your Dubber, or just in case a little ratbag steals yours? ;)

Silver cufflinks featuring vintage die cast micro machine cars by O'blue - These were too cute not to feature (I love miniatures, they always look so cute!)

F1 racing fan meerkat by Niftyknits - and where would we be without a driving fan meerkat? Adorable, and all meerkats are hand-knitted with their own little personality :)

Happy crafting!

All things new :)

It's September the 1st? Already?

Spent the day up in Dereham today preparing for the handover of contracts in my job - it's all change as of Monday (Exciting! Different! Scary? A little...) Also got to take the company Mondeo out for a drive - I should point out that I have a stupid thing about not driving big cars in case I scrape/bump/mark them in any way. The Mondeo is an estate car. Scary! But oh so fun when used to driving a small 1.4 Clio :)

So, the new website design is coming along swimmingly - no sneaky peeks yet though, but I think you'll be impressed :) and also on that note, dear sister who is taking my photos (hopefully very soon... Yes, as a beloved sister I'm left waiting!) has made her own portfolio website, which you can view here. There's some impressive stuff!

I'm also about to start my next commission, a choker to match the anklet, only this time with firepolish instead of swarovski, which I received today and are a perfect (and lush!) match. Duly noted that I have found a fab new supplier in Sheffield where I can get very reasonably priced, very lovely beadies from - Jencel - hop on over and take a peek. I was very impressed!

Ooh, and check out my bargain buy for the day from a fellow bead buddy Claire - 4 lovely display stands :) just as I was wondering what I was going to display my pieces on for that fair in October... Thanks Claire!!

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!!

New Website!

Hey everyone, it's been quiet on the western front while I've been building my very first website! I decided to take the plunge and see how it went - here's the result! Have a click, take a look around, and let me know what you think!

I've got new photos to come as well (the ones featured are a bit all over the place!) so it will hopefully look a bit tidier in the next couple of weeks with the full range of pieces I have made so far.  Following my first sale it's got me really excited to be able to share my jewellery with more people - even if it is still hard to part with a piece!

Suggestions welcome

Happy crafting

x

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:

Oh how time flies

I can barely believe how fast time's going by at the moment. I can happily say that I HAVE been beading this week though :) I'm half way to finishing my spring lariat, and I completed a St Petersburg necklace, which you can see on the left!

We went round to celebrate my little cousin's first birthday today, it doesn't seem like 2 months ago that she was born! Now it's less than 5 weeks to my wedding and I'm starting to worry that I've forgotten things!

Even when I'm not beading, I try to keep up with the latest on BeadBuddies and everyone's blogs, I barely seem to get 10 minutes to myself at the moment, but it's not long until I get to breathe a sigh of relief and reap the benefits of my hard work :)

In other news, thanks to Sooz on the BB forum, I'm now starting to attempt beaded beads! Watch this space... :P

Happy crafting!

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

Blimey! Whirlwind week

Well hello there - a long time I know! Good news though, my first week at my new job went well. Just got to hope I can handle the pressure on my own after the next two weeks when my trainer leaves :S

Me and Jim went shopping today, a big fun shopping spree at Freeport in Braintree, and it was fantabulous. I even had enough money left over to treat myself to a new amber ring - photos to follow as I'm most excited about it. I do need to see if the lovely people at the Bead Shop can make the band slightly bigger so that I can wear it on my middle finger, as all of my rings seem to fit my second finger (ring finger) which doesn't really help :P

Sooz kindly posted a very useful chart relating to bead sizes on beading buddies, which I will share here - as much for my future reference as anybody else's:

size        mm diameter          beads per inch
 
6/0             3.3                          10
8/0             2.5                          13
9/0             2.2                          15
10/0            2.0                          16
11/0            1.8                          20
13/0            1.5                          27
14/0            1.4                          24
15/0            1.3                          25
delica          1.8                          20


I am always getting confused when one site kindly offers me the 11/0 sizing, but another offers its sizing in mm... Now all is solved :) I just need to get back on the beading now; this week has flown by in an absolute whirlwind with my new job and everything else going on - the wedding is less than 7 weeks away now. Plus I didn't even make it to my beading class this weekend as we made a last minute decision to do our honeymoon clothes shopping today at Freeport, which was lovely and I really enjoyed spending some quality time with Jim. Babbling over, I will be back soon with new work I promise!


Happy crafting

Blog Overload!

I've just been reading lots and lots of blogs and subscribing - now I've not a clue how I will keep up with everyone's scribblings! Thanks though Joelleabelle for starting a blog sharing thread on Folksy, it's great to be able to see what everyone else does. I've started adding... I think I'm about half way through (once I start reading I can't stop :P) How do you all organise your subscribed blogs? I've no idea how to work anything technical on Blogger - I've seen a few people mention Google Reader, but that confuses me too...

I took a few photos of my latest necklace today, back in the Zen garden. I'm particularly proud of this piece as it's not from any pattern, it's something that I decided to do at home, not anything that I started at one of my classes and then carried on with afterwards. Let me know what you think:

Having just put these photographs on here, I'm now wondering whether I should transfer all of my photos onto my Picasa account for ease of adding... Hmn, food for thought.

I'm now off to make spaghetti bolognese with the lush ingredients that came in my hamper - the girls know me so well and I'll miss them ALOT. Fingers crossed my new job and new colleagues are half as good and nice! I'll let you all know tomorrow night after badminton ;)

Happy crafting!

Holiday

Well I've just settled in for my first night at my parents house, as my mother and sister are away for the next fortnight and it's been lovely. The cats are affectionate and my little Baby cat is adorable as ever. I'm sure she remembers I'm her mummy! Oh, still getting used to using a laptop instead of desktop though... Might take a few days. Photos soon.

I did get excitable today, and ordered myself a velveteen necklace display stand so I can take better photographs of my jewellery - not bad value actually www.boxesandbusts.co.uk take a look if you haven't looked on it before. On the other hand, if anyone knows of better places to get boxes from please let me know, if not I will probably get a few from them! I should keep making them really though...

There are a couple of nice projects in this months Make Jewellery, I keep wondering whether to subscribe. The only thing is, I can subscribe to Bead magazine for significantly less and it might be more affordable at the moment. On the bright side, my job prospects have increased slightly and I have an interview on Wednesday afternoon - wish me luck!

Happy crafting!