Thursday 28 June 2012

Lots of jewellery stuff

I've been really busy lately making LOTS of stuff. So, i thought i'd spend the morning showing you all the lovely things i've been making.

Firstly, i've been making LOADS of bracelets. When i say loads, i actually mean 12. With matching earrings. And a necklace. They're not all for me. In fact, i didn't get to keep any of them. ANNOYING! They are all part of an order for someone to give out as gifts. So, as you are probably DESPERATE to see all these lovely bracelets (This is untrue. You're probably just a bit curious), here they are:

Red and yellow crackle beads, orange 'shard' beads and yellow crystals. (I'm not really sure what all the proper names for the beads are.)
This has to be my favourite. It's made with turquoise beads, silver bead caps, grey and black 'crackle' beads and small blue bicone crystals. I'm definitely going to make one for myself.

This one was just simply grey and petrol pearls with bead caps and silver spacers, but it turned out quite well.
Black and pink bracelet.
Silver and green bracelet.
Blue pearl and crystal bracelet.
This one has purple beads with a blue and silver 'splatter' pattern, with some pearls and spacers.

This one is made to match a necklace that i featured in a previous post (I was going to put up a link to the post but it turns out i never did put a picture of the necklace up. So, imagine this bracelet, but necklace sized. Excellent.)

I really liked this one cause it seemed to have sort of (?) spring colours. Anyway, it's nice.

This one is a sort of apple-y green colour. Probably didn't need to write that. You can see it.


A sort of coffee coloured one. Obviously.

I was asked to make a 'pink and sparkly' necklace, bracelet and earrings set.


I apologise for this post being so long, and not having much in it, but i promise i have just one more thing to show you, then you can all go back to ...hmmm...whatever you want to do.  The world is your oyster! I still don't really understand what that phrase is all about. I don't even like oysters, and i don't particularly want to live on one. But i digress...

Lastly (hooray! You've made it to the end of this endless, and not very interesting, post.) I wanted to show you a new necklace charm i've been working on.



A lovely bird nest. I'm going to buy a bird charm to hang next to it, then put it on a long necklace.


So, congratulations to all who made it this far. Don't worry, i'm going to stop now.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Nice things and not so nice things.

Here are some of the nice things that have happened to me recently:

1. I have just had some lovely new beads delivered through the post.
2. I bought more new beads when i went to a bead shop (i really need to start making things with all the bits and pieces i have left to make some room. I might make some charm bracelets. Hmm...).
3. I received my personalised stickers through the post. (I stuck one on a parcel so you could see what they looked like.)

4. I have received some orders to make bracelets, necklaces and earrings for some family friends.
I wish i could have kept this one.

5. I've received another order to make christmas presents.
6. I have just discovered that 'Despicable Me 2' is coming out next year. I absolutely loved the first film. I can't wait! I realise that has nothing to do with jewellery. Or crafts, really. But it's still nice.

Here are some rubbish things that have happened:

1. One of my bracelets broke, so now i have to fix it.
2. I drank a milkshake this morning that was so horrible, it made my nose hurt.
3. I was in such a daze this morning that i managed to put my pants on back to front. I'm not joking.
4. I slept in this morning. This may be a nice thing for some, but i actually got up so late this morning that it stopped being a nice thing. Bet you never thought that could happen! I'm not even going to write how late it was, as you will be too shocked.
5. I was still in my pyjamas when someone came round to read the meter.
6. Yesterday i fell over and hurt my hand and knee. ALOT.
7. I have been made to watch sport on the television for a million years. Literally. I hate sport.
8. This year in Britain is 'The Summer of Sport'.

Saturday 9 June 2012

Jewellery making antics

I've been pretty busy over the last couple of days with jewellery making antics, so i thought i would take a break and show you all what i've been up to.

Firstly, i finally made the long necklace that i've been planning for aaaaggggggeeeessss. I even put it on my 'to do list' post to make sure that i actually did it.
I added a few extra things to it, like small pink and silver pearls. I also added a silver flower connector to break it up a bit and finished it off with some chain as the beads were getting quite heavy. The chain sits under my hair anyway so you can't see it.

I have also been asked to make a purple bracelet and matching earrings as a gift for someone, so i thought i would make 2 different bracelets so that they had a choice.

With matching earrings.



Or this one (apologies for the picture. It seems to have come out really dark)

With matching earrings


I then spent about two hours yesterday making a bracelet using bead weaving.

Then, after spending two hours making it, i picked it up to put it on, and the CLASP BROKE! So, i took it all apart, ate some chocolate to cheer myself up (i was pretty crabbit by this point) then spent another hour making it it again (using a clasp that actually works this time), tried it on and realised it was about an inch too long. Haven't a clue how i did this since i used the same number of beads as before. So, i am planning to cut it up again and, HOPEFULLY, this time, nothing will go wrong. Although it probably will.

Thursday 7 June 2012

A rescue mission!

I just had to rush outside and rescue a poor wee bird that my cat had decided to play with. Luckily, my cat admitted defeat and let the bird go straight away and i picked it up and tried to warm it up a bit in the porch. Eventually, after about 10 minutes, it seemed to perk up a bit and, after putting it down on the bird feeder, it seemed to revive and fly away (hopefully to somewhere safer than before!).


I'm not really sure what kind of bird it is actually, but it was very cute. However, i managed to get completely drenched in the rain trying to save it and have washed my hands 6 times so far and they still don't feel quite clean enough. I don't think they ever will.

Sunday 3 June 2012

A very soggy strawberry

Today i finally started (and finished!) a beaded strawberry from an article in bead magazine (www.beadmagazine.co.uk). So, after many hours, lots of beads rolling under the table, and many injuries (due to me accidently jabbing a beading needle in my finger), here is the finished strawberry.

Now, you might be thinking, 'That's not too bad for a first attempt'. Just wait til you see the other side.

Yes, that is a very lopsided strawberry. If it had been a real strawberry, it would have definitely been soggy. The start of it went a bit wonky. And the middle. And, if i'm honest, the end as well. I still like it though.

Friday 1 June 2012

The School Fair

It's official. I actually sold earrings! It's true! I made 24 pairs (i would have made more but i completely ran out of earring wires. ANNOYING.) and i sold 19 pairs. I sold each pair for £2.50 and made £44, all of which went to Shelterbox. (For the smart cookies amongst you, yes, i do realise that £44 does not divide by £2.50, but someone didn't quite have enough money, so i let them pay a bit less). The fair only lasted an hour, so £44 in one hour is not too shabby! Also, out of the 5 pairs of earrings left, one pair i really wanted to keep for myself and one pair my mum really wanted. FANTASTIC!

So, i am now planning to sell on Etsy, and maybe Folksy.com (i only found out about this website yesterday, so should probably look at it a bit more first. And maybe buy lots of beads when i'm next on it. I'm only being polite...) However, i can't start selling yet because the school fair COMPLETELY depleted my earring wires and a few other things, so i'd best stock up first, but DON'T WORRY, i let you know when i start selling and i'll put up a link so you can go and have a wee nosey around. You know you will.