MinXtures treat

You may recall my first Wednesday themed post on butterflies. Yes, I have now been paid and I'm pleased to say that I've finally been able to spare some money to make my first Folksy purchase. If you liked the butterfly tote bag by Minxtures, I'm sorry but it's now mine! I just couldn't resist the beautiful simplicity - and of course the butterfly.

I'm looking forward to seeing the ladies at my beading class tomorrow and looking at everyone's finished necklaces from last week. I was so pleased with mine, and I can't wait to see how everyone's turned out. I'm going to try and get photos if I remember to take my camera. More news tomorrow on what we make.

Happy Beading!

LittleTreats loves

Wednesday is my picks of the week day. Starting now. So today I have chosen butterflies as my theme, and Folksy has some very talented crafters!

1. Wrapped Up With String "Butterfly Notecard"  2. MinXtures clothing and accessories "Black Butterfly Bag"  3. Em Teacup "Butterfly Passport Cover"  4. Little Bird Too "Cute Butterfly Stationery"  5. ChakraSensations "Chakra Butterfly Bracelet"    6. TerrorDome "Butterfly Art"

I can't wait to have a little studio room and deck it out with handmade lush crafty things! My final love for tonight is this adorable "Butterfly Beauty" cushion by Sewflair. I love the detail and would definitely give it pride of place on my sofa... Or bed... Or chair...

Happy beading!

Spare pennies

I need a new wishlist item... And I think I've found what it will be. I've just discovered Quernus Crafts - Kirsten launched her business in 2009, and is currently working primarily in polymer clay. I just can't resist her wee horses, and they shall be next on my wishlist. Her link can also be found as a permanent fixture on my blog to the right.

On a personal note, my hubby-to-be has opened up a hopefully fantastic job prospect where he works, which may allow me to work fewer hours in the next couple of years and focus more on jewellery - who knows, perhaps I may even get to have my own studio when we get ourselves a house! Discussing with the girls at work, a couple of them seemed to think that they'd get bored working less hours but I couldn't think of anything better. Rush around and do a tad bit of housework before settling down and making beautiful crafty designs all afternoon; yes please. Perhaps then I can try and experiment with more things.

Happy beading!

Confidence building...

Ok so I couldn't wait for the opportunity to get photos in daylight, so you'll have to settle with average photos taken under lamplight. I'm so pleased with how my Wisteria necklace has turned out I just had to share!

I loved the idea of having something organic, and when I got to the bead shop on Saturday morning, this was in fact the colour scheme that Tish had used but I fell in love with it and had to have my own! I was chuffed with how it ended up looking with the green stone as the focal bead, it really has finished it off just as I wanted.

Away from beautiful and gratifying necklaces anyway, I finally got around to doing a bit of a tester with even count peyote and am quite enjoying it. Not wanting to make a huge long song and dance out of practising, I've made myself a basic ring and found myself a reason to use one of the lovely wooden heart beads that I got for Christmas.

I love beading!







I've had a quick look and there's a beaded ring that's really caught my attention. Step up Sarah Paris Style and your beaded Cocktail Ring - this is absolutely stunning.

Happy beading!

What weekend?

I absolutely feel like I've not stopped today! Having gotten up early to get the best fruit available from the market I dashed off to try and find a suitable replacement toilet seat... And ran out of time before I had to get to my beading class. Two hours of blissful beading a beautiful stitch, and getting half way to completing my necklace and I was off to the office to work some overtime as we are so so busy at the moment!

I will have photos of today's beading class project on here very soon, but I will try to get some photos in daylight without varying shadows. The stitch we used was called Wisteria, and I used a green and purple scheme which I think looks fantastic; I still continue to be surprised at what I can do with a few (hundred) beads, a needle and some thread.

We also had the pleasure of seeing some of the lapidary projects going on at the bead shop today, including a stunning pair of finely faceted briolette amethyst earrings made to order worth around £200, which of course left me racking my brains for a good excuse to be deserving of a treat... My brain train is still puffing away on that one! We had a quick low-down on the best Amethyst (from Zambia if you didn't know!) and also how to tell the best from the bland - all to do with reds and blues. If you like the facets on this briolette angel charm, D & K Designs, you would be in awe of the earrings! They caught the light so beautifully - if they were mine I wouldn't be able to walk away from the mirror! Now to start saving the pennies...

Manic Mondays

No rest for the wicked, I was hoping as it's half term that work would be easier going today but no such luck. I'm finally sat down ready to bead but thought I'd share a few pretty colours with you all - I need some vibrant colours to brighten my day!

From top left to bottom right: MysticDNA "Rainbow Circles", MysticDNA "Rainbow Peyote Bracelet", By Anne "Rainbow heart (resin)", The Rainbow Room "Pocket Rainbow"

I do love the peyote bracelet, and I am definitely going to be trying that particular stitch out very soon, so watch this space. Fingers crossed it will go well - from what I understand from reading various articles, beading rivoli's are achieved by stitching in peyote and that is what I ultimately would like to do in the future! They all just look so lovely:

"Pool of Gold ring" by Songbeads. This will be a favourite for a very long time.

Well I'm now experimenting with wider herringbone weave bracelets, so I will be back soon! 

Guilty as charged

Yes, still no new jewellery bloggage - but just look at the pretty blog I have now! I've been slacking the last two nights with my beading, but it's been worth it. Oh, and I'm off to the gym tomorrow (again!) so if I blog it will be late once more... I'm still working my way through the Bead Soup pieces, and adding yet more blogs to try and follow! I did get a bit excited today to find that Suffolk New College offer 6 week classes working with silver clay, though the 6 week course starts 4 weeks before my wedding in May, so I think I'll have to wait for the next course to be announced! It would be awesome to be able to make my own focal designs and have a good old play around!

Happy blogging
x

Bead Soup Beauties

Well I sat down at my computer this evening with every intention of blogging... But then I got way-laid by the Bead Soup Blog challenge hosted by Lori Anderson. With 84 participants, there are some stunning pieces and I am not even a quarter of the way down the list of blogs yet! Not to mention I've not a clue how I'll keep up with you all now - I am now following several more blogs and look forward to seeing all of the new updates and work :o)

And chill

Oh my goodness, I'm just so grateful to be at home and not work, what a day! So, I've been relatively busy on the beading front and I really am loving it. My other half is always bemoaning the fact that I can't put a bracelet down until it's finished, and when I'm not beading I'm reading all of your lovely and inspiring blogs or browsing Folksy to see what new treasures have been listed. I have a small collection of beaded bracelets now in various colours, and am going to have to start creating matching earrings soon I think! I just love how relaxing it is to sit and make these, and the reaction I get from friends is fantastic - I have to explain that it is easy when you know how!

I've been reading all about bead cruises and craft fairs and am hoping that the Summer will bring some craft fairs down my way... I'm not sure where to start looking to find them though! It would be brilliant to go to a couple and buy some beads by independent artists, and see what all of you come up with - some designs I come across are so beautiful.

I have got some floral focal beads for my next project, this time a necklace that is featured in 100 Beaded Jewellery Designs by Stephanie Burnham (a treat for myself last weekend!) I just loved the spring colours of pink and green, and it will match my spiral bracelet perfectly.

I am going to give some different stitches a go once I have made my necklace, we've covered herringbone and double spiral at my Saturday classes, which are great, and I really want to learn more. I did particularly like the flower bracelet that we made - it's satisfying to know at the end that I've made something so pretty.

In other news, it's now less than 4 months to my wedding, and I'm now starting to think about gifts for my bridesmaids... At a loss! Butterflies, pearls...Weddingy things! Pretty weddingy things. It's also not long until I start having my dress fittings, oops, better be getting to the gym soon then.

I'd just like to finish by mentioning Songbeads on Folksy - Rebecca Anderson makes beautiful flowery beaded jewellery, and I especially love her Dragonfly Dreams bracelet.

Back soon!

I love beading!

It's certainly been a while, and boy has it been hectic - wedding plans seem to have taken over my life! I do now have a beautiful honeymoon booked though so all is well.

On a fantabulous note, I finally attended my first beading class at the Ipswich Bead Shop and loved it. I didn't think I could make much from nylon thread and seed beads, but now I'll be threading in the evenings where I can! This is a peek at the results from my first class and the subsequent evening of beading that night.

Needless to say, I will be returning this Saturday before heading out to my work 'do'. I did have a bit of fun making a larger flower to become a matching pendant for the silver and blue bracelet. And I've excitedly just ordered a mix of amethyst swarovski bicones and jet seed beads to make myself a bracelet for said 'do'! I can't wait to see how it looks! Watch this space!

x

Let's get organised!

I have just fallen in love with lampwork - these little piggies I found in my stocking are the most adorable little creatures! I can see these being used many times :o)

So I thought I'd share my Christmas joys, and here are just a few of the things that Santa brought me.
As you can see, I've just about got around to labelling up 4 drawers of my new storage unit (isn't she a beauty) and I'm waiting for my 2 shipments of Christmas-money-bought beads before I finish organising - I can be a bit fussy about how things are stored! I just love the glass heart, it will make a lovely focal piece on a simple necklace, and the snowmen will be making a necklace and matching earrings :) for my own personal enjoyment when the snow returns in February (probably!)

You may notice a bit of a theme... Purple, and hearts, my Santa knows me so very well :) Now just to get myself some proper beading wire, and I can get threading! Tigertail is fine for now, but I don't think it's going to take me too far, can anyone suggest what to use?! I can't wait to make myself a beautiful bright bracelet out of these wooden hearts!


All that's left to do is to wait for my beadsdirect and e-beads orders to be delivered and I'm away! Oh, and find some time of course... 

Christmas Excitement

Finally! Christmas has been and Santa (otherwise known as the beloved fiancée) has delivered me some beautiful beads and I've even got a fab storage unit which I need to utilise! I can't wait to get my hands on it all, so watch this space!


On another note, I've spent more time looking through the wild world web and found this blog. Kate has put together some very helpful basic jewellery making tutorials, including making head pins, wire wrapping and securing bracelets/necklaces. Absolutely one of the best blogs I've found yet for help on the subject! 


And if you've not got the beads direct newsletter set up, head to www.beadsdirect.co.uk now and get some amazing bargains - I did on Christmas Day as soon as I received the message! There are some magnificent beads, charms and kits on offer, not that I'm trying to make you spend all of your Christmas money!

Christmas Giftage

Christmas is nearly here and I've managed to find a little bit of time to try my hand at making my first necklace! Just as well, as my mother in law was missing a main present! I did try to take a photograph, but as it was evening it didn't really come out too well!

Having made my first necklace, I am going to have to buy myself some beadalon wire, as tigertail does the job but I feel that it could have been better. It could also be time to invest in a beading mat... Basics basics basics! Once I am able, I am looking forward to being able to experiment some more with various materials and wires.

It's amazing how lovely it feels when you finish a piece of jewellery though, and you know that it came from your own hands. I've received good feedback from family and friends so far, and I'm hoping that I can make some lovely pieces to share with you lovely people in the New Year. 

3 sleeps to go until Christmas Day, and for the first time in several years I am really looking forward to it - the time off work will be a pleasant experience too! All of my shopping is done, including my Secret Santa, and tomorrow I get the honour of joining my supervisor to do the shopping for the company raffle! One of our suppliers has already donated what I'd like though... a Lambourghini! Remote controlled of course... 

I'll be blogging again soon!

Starting Out

So here's a few of my first attempts at jewellery making. I absolutely adore the purple butterfly set, and I want to try and make my first necklace to complete it! I'm also happy with the angel wings earrings (there are actually two but my niece was playing with the other at the time...) but I'm still not sure about the other navy bead earring... I never made a second as I'm not happy with how it turned out. I think it needs an extra silver ball on the bottom or something to finish it off. The thing that did please me about this was that I got to practise wire wrapping with the beads! It's really not as easy as it looks, but they did seem to get a little tidier by the last one.


I really need to start looking into what these classes entail as I'm desperate to start getting my jewellery out there - it would be lovely to know what everyone on the great wild world web thinks of my initial attempts! I would definitely feel happier putting jewellery out that I know has been made to the absolute best of my ability, and to that end I think I may have to invest in a wire jewellery book too - I just love these earrings by Cinnamon Jewellery and there are so many other beautiful things in her shop on Folksy, do go and take a look!




Anywho, I am off to try and find myself a suitable storage solution for my now-growing bead collection (the only thing now is to set myself up a proper work station, but that will probably have to be a thing for the future when I have a spare room...)

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!

Hi there

Well, this is the start of my blog!

I've recently acquired an interest in jewellery making, and in the run-up to Christmas I'll be snatching every spare moment possible to learn more! I live in Suffolk in the East of England, not far from country, beach nor city and it's quite lovely sometimes.

I started thinking it would be nice to be able to make my own jewellery but it would just be another one of 'those things' that I would just never get around to. Then my mother in law had kindly purchased Make Jewellery magazine and whilst I was house sitting I came across it. That's what made me decide to spend a little money on a jewellery starter kit. Since then I've had small time to make small things, and a few pretty pairs of earrings have wound their way into my hands. Having shown an interest, my lovely attentive fiancee has been buying me beads left right and centre for Christmas so i'm very much looking forward to January after the Christmas rush when I'll finally have some time on my hands!

I love silver jewellery with semi-precious stones, and am interested in trying out wirework - thankfully I've just found a lovely little bead store right near my office which do classes for a wonderful £6 for 2 hours! I've hinted for Christmas....

When I'm not scouring the internet for pretty sparkly things and being a total magpie, I like to read and spend time with my amazing fiancee, and just recently have had a bit of time taken over by my wedding plans - who'd have thought?! I love horse riding - though don't get much chance any more - but I look forward to getting back on a horse soon!

This is where my adventure begins, and I can't wait to learn more about the beautiful wonders of jewellery making, and hopefully I might even be able to start selling when my pieces come up to scratch (then I'll be able to justify spending more on pretty beads!)