Hand painted badger pendant

I tried something a little different this week after seeing the cutest little painted stone on Pinterest. I found a tiny stone in the garden that would suit my needs and decided I wanted to make a pendant with it. I wanted to add a little badger because, well, anyone who knows me knows I like to paint badgers. This is the final result:

The stone is only 2cm in width at its widest point. I added a little gold plated bail and strung it on some of my apple green silk cord. 

This one isn't for sale. I made it just for me.

Jewellery

It's been ages since I did any jewellery making. Just as I don't have a thing for handbags, I don't have a thing for jewellery either. So I don't wear it very much. However, I do love beads and I recently came across beads and charms from Mykonos. I love them! As a student of ancient history I love all things Greek and these beads remind me of ancient Greek statues that have been covered in a patina of the ages. My first make using them was a tiny, delicate pair of silver earrings followed by a bag charm (apologies for the slightly out of focus photo).

 

 

Of course, I fell in love with the little Mykonos whale and he's been made into a necklace using silk cord. In the photo are a few more of my jewellery making attempts with recent bead purchases.

   

Beaded snowflakes

In my moments of internet surfing I came across this really nice tutorial for making beaded snowflakes. With the festive season just around the corner - and hopefully lots of snow - I thought I'd make one or two. Great for sticking on greetings cards, adding to packaging or hanging from the Christmas tree.

Tudor inspiration

I was watching the craft channel the other week when I saw a sparkly, pretty thing. It was a jewellery kit by Kleshna. As I have mentioned before, I don't wear much jewellery but this appealed to me. It reminded me of all things Tudor, like something Queen Elizabeth I would have worn. Having purchased a kit and made my first necklace I wanted to try other colour combinations. My first was gold and green then I made pendants in wine and cream and purples.

I made the gold and green one into a proper pendant with a silk cord and tassel.

 

I am sure there will be more of these. They're simple to do and the components are readily available. That's always good when you've learned a new skill and want to recreate it. The real problem is coming up with things to use them for.

I'm on a roll!

My second downloadable tutorial is ready! Hooray! It seems I am on a roll. I had been struggling for months trying to get one done then I get two finished and a third written in one week.

This tutorial is for making paper jewellery components that I call Paper Pebbles. You can turn them into pendants, earrings, rings or brooches. You can even add them to scrapbook pages or cards if you want. I love the feel of them in my fingers. They are rounded and smooth - just like a pebble found on the beach - which is why I call them paper pebbles.

Here is a photo of some of the things I have made with the pebbles. They are very versatile, addictive to make and use watercolour paper, glue and some sanding skills. I hope they will inspire some people to create something a little different.

Tutorials!

I have started selling downloadable tutorials on Etsy! Yes, I have caught my fear by the tail, given it a shake and told it I was going to give this a go. Having been asked a couple of times in recent months to write tutorials for publications. So I thought I had nothing to loose in selling digital downloads of some of my paper jewellery ideas. I really hope people enjoy them. Personally, I have spent a small fortune on digital downloads for a variety of crafts and always enjoy learning new things from them. I would love to think that people are inspired by what I show them - and that I show them in a clear manner that makes it easy for them to learn.

The first digital download is for a Paper Bracelet Cuff. It is simple and uses watercolour paper, glue and some pretty papers to make a lightweight but sturdy and interesting item of jewellery.

My next download, which I hope will be up very soon (but I will keep you up to date here about that), is for paper jewellery components I call Paper Pebbles. After that I have another tutorial in my head. I just have to sit down and write it out. Who knows where this will go but I have enjoyed producing them. I hope people will enjoy playing with them just as much.

Simple silk bracelet tutorial

I am not a big jewellery wearer. I find I feel restricted and almost claustrophobic wearing jewellery of any kind. However, I have recently been making very simple silk bracelets that I love. They are made from my fine silk cords and really simple to make. Here's how.

What you will need:

Silk cord (Mine is 1mm thick)

Crimps (I used 2mm)

Jump rings (small)

Clasp (I used a lobster clasp)

Sewing thread

Scissors

Measuring tape or ruler

Crimper pliers

Two pairs ordinary pliers (for opening jump rings)

Method:

1. Measure your wrist to find out how long you want the bracelet to be. My wrist is 6.5 inches (16cm) around at the narrowest point but I want the bracelet to be a bit looser so I will make the bracelet roughly 7.5 inches (19cm) in length.

2. Take a length of sewing thread and fold it in half. Put the end of the silk cord in the loop of the thread pulling it through about half an inch (1cm). In a moment this will form the bracelet's first looped end.

3. Pull the two ends of the sewing thread through a crimp and pull the crimp down so that it goes over the silk cord to form a small loop (as in the photo above). Use your crimper piers to squeeze the crimp closed and catch both sides of the silk cord securely. Remove the sewing thread and trim the knot off of short end of the silk cord to neaten it.

4. Measure the silk cord from the end of the loop you just made to the measurement you decided on in step 1. In my case this was 7.5 inches. Using the length of thread, lay it under the silk cord at the 7.5 inch point and double it over, trapping the silk cord in the loop as in step 2.

5. Put a crimp over the two ends of thread (just like you did in step 3) and pull the crimp over the loop of silk cord. Check your measurement again - just to make sure your bracelet is the right length - then use your crimper pliers to squeeze the crimp closed, just like before.

6. Now you have a length of silk cord with two loops. Take a jump ring, open it and slip it onto one loop. Repeat with the other loop but add the clasp to the second jump ring too.

7. Fasten it on and wear a simple and original piece of jewellery that is ideal for the summer - or autumn, winter or spring. Make lots more and layer them up.

You can also add little charms to the jump rings, add a short length of chain to a shorter piece of silk cord or make an extra long one and wrap it your wrist around twice for variation.

Charming

A couple of weeks back I made some tiny charms that match some of my paper beads. Some of the patterns on my beads are so pretty (courtesy of some fabulous Etsy sellers) that it seems a shame not to make additional items that will add a little extra to creative projects. They are great for making jewellery, either with extra beads or on their own. Earrings, pendants, charms, the list is endless.Or even adding to cards or fibre arts for a little dangling detail.

Bangles and Beads (and other stuff)

Just a quick post with a few pictures of my recent samples for Gina-B Silkworks today.

 First up is a bracelet made using gold memory wire, a beaded cartwheel button (made using instruction from Gina's Making Even More Buttons DVD) and some paper beads made using Gina's Paper Bead Stencil Kit. I started out by using one strand of memory wire but felt it was too thin compared to the size of the button (see the picture below for the 'before' bracelet). So I added a second strand and used a soutache braiding technique to fasten the two strands together. Chunkier and more substantial.

 

Next is a coin purse that I came across. A lot of the things I make are targeted at women. However when I saw this purse I thought that it could make quite a nice masculine gift with the addition of a button. Worked in yellow, greens and cream, I think it adds a little bit of originality without being sparse.

 

And on the subject of the feminine objects I make, here are a couple of tins/jars that I have decorated using Teneriffe lace that I made using a Teneriffe lace kit . I had never made Teneriffe lace until I tried the kits but it makes some fabulous roundels that can be used on all kinds of crafts. 

Kumihimo

With all the recent biz I haven't had a lot of time to play around with new crafts. So it was a great pleasure to find some time this week to try kumihimo. I started out using the instructions and printable template from Friendship-Bracelets.net and followed up with the information on Weir Crafts' web site. I found that it was super easy to produce beautiful cords, both round and flat. In fact, it's so simple an amoeba could do it - if it had fingers.



My first kumohimo disk was made using the printable template stuck to corrugated card and stood me in good stead for my first attempts. However, after an evening of making cords it became a bit dog eared. So I ordered a proper one and have been making cords whenever I have five minutes to myself. Being a bit of a fibre freak, I dug around in my stash and found yarns in acrylic and wool, rat tail plus some cotton perle and hand dyed silks. All of them worked beautifully. I didn't even have a problem keeping the tension to form even cords. However, you can use a small weight (e.g. a keyring or heavy bead) hung from the bottom of the cord to keep it hanging straight if you have difficulty forming an even cord.



Now, what to do with the cord? No doubt some will be used on cards but I made a cute little bracelet from a thin spiral cord using silver plated findings. I have also ordered some larger findings so I can make the other cords into jewellery too. My new favourite craft? Definitely. How long will that last? Probably until I find the next new craft.

Day of the Dead earrings

Yesterday one of my fabulous customers, Eri, sent me a link to some earrings she made using some of my Day of the Dead beads. Absolutely magical. The triangles are made from wood, decoupaged and decorated with glitter glue and swarovski flatback rhinestones to make individual and funky earring tops. My beads are sandwiched between gold plated rondelles with AB clear rhinestones that show them off to perfection. I always enjoy seeing what people use my beads for but these earrings really blew me away. If you want to see them in greater detail then take a look at Eri's Etsy shop, ericosmicgirl, or the listing here.

More pendants

These are the three completed pendants from the photo yesterday. The photo isn't brilliant but they look lovely in real life.

Pendant Project

I'm giving making my own pendants shot. After seeing a few blog posts and videos on YouTube I figured that I could print out some of my own paintings to a small size then stick them into pendant trays. So, it called for a trip to Ebay to pick up a few essentials.

Then I put them all together using this tutorial from Jasmin Studio Crafts (from where I bought the pendant trays, glass, chain, etc). This is my first attempt - my Contemplation Panda. I'm quite pleased with my first attempt. Maybe a little tweaking is required for the edges because one of them became a little ruffled and looks magnified under the glass. But overall it is a nice, simple, effective project. Ideal for making gifts for birthdays and Christmas too.
In other news - I've added new Dia de los Muertos beads to my Etsy store.

JANUARY SALE

Yes, it's that time again. I have slashed prices in my Etsy store on many items, from beads, to art. Looking for a bargain? Then pop along and see if anything catches your eye. I have new ideas for my store for the coming year, with new products to make and sell so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, many of the items that I have put in my sale will not be renewed once the listing expires. Time for new things. Who knows what the coming year will bring but I hope that all you you will have a happy and prosperous 2011.

Birthday biz

There has been a flurry of big birthdays in my family recently with more to come so making birthday cards has been top of the agenda. My Gran was 91 at the end of August and my Uncle and Aunt will both be 70 this month. However, to top off the birthdays this year is my Grandfather's at the end of the year. He will be 100. It is hard for me to imagine what that would be like. He still lives by himself and is fiercely independent so it even more amazing. Anyway, I have added a couple of the birthdays cards here. The first uses K and Co papers but the photo doesn't show it off at its sparkly best. The papers are foiled and I added some glitter and a shiny blue peel off to match the foiling. The other card is made from a kit bought from QVC UK and designed by their resident craft expert, Dawn Bibby. It's a lovely kit, pale and soft but with foiling and lots of butterflies and dragonflies.

The other photos include some of my Halloween themed swaps - a ribbon fairy/witch swap and a recipe card swap. But, not content with paper crafts I have gone back to making some jewellery. The pictures here are some of the pieces I have uploaded to Etsy. I enjoy making jewellery very much but I don't wear jewellery very often. So I figured maybe I could make a little money selling it. We shall see if it works out that way. The final photos are of a couple of Halloween bookmarks made using Cosmo Cricket papers and some of my own zany skulls which were then laminated. One is for a swap buddy and the other is currently in my copy of The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle. You can never have too many bookmarks.