Sewing, Socks & Shells...amongst other things!

I've spent the past week doing a lot of sewing of scenery - above is just a snippet, the rest has to remain under wraps for now.  Not much more left to do on my part, then the animation will begin in earnest.

I've also completed a pair or socks - quite an accomplishment for me, I hate knitting socks.  I do like wearing hand knitted socks, so occasionally have to knuckle down and get some done.  These are little ankle socks - chosen not only for the design but also for the minimum amount of work...

I made a couple of these - the first one for a gift, the next to use up all the shells I drilled holes in!  These are winkles gathered last year in Alderney, such pretty colours.  I have an identical bracelet from a few years ago and wear it a lot.  This one is currently for sale in my Etsy shop.

The gift was for an internet pal of mine (Hi T!) from Arizona that I met for the first time at the weekend briefly as she was on stopover at Heathrow.  I was given a surprise box of treats and souvenirs from Arizona - they must be the most travelled bits an pieces around, having been from the USA to Jersey and then back here.  I'm trying not to shovel all the sweets in at once...

Finally the portrait commissions are coming in again after a worrying lull since Christmas.  This a drawing of Clovis's best friend, a gorgeous little saluki cross.  After this, I have a cat portrait to do.

At the end of the week is the local art society's exhibition - really ought to frame those pictures that are going in...

Gnomeland...

I had time this weekend to knock up another couple of these little bracelets.  They are such fun - I wear mine quite often.

They are both up for sale in my Etsy shop - I'm sure someone you know would like a gnome for Christmas...

Half term is over, so it's back to the day job today - how I wish I could be home crafting instead!

Connie & Some Other Work...

Yesterday I completed this half of the current commission.  I am very pleased with how this has turned out, particularly considering the poor quality photograph I was given to work from. This has been worked using Derwent Drawing pencils and a fair bit of white acrylic paint.  The other half of the portrait is of a cat - another challenge as it has the most unusual colouring to it's mouth I have ever seen...

Just added this to my Etsy shop - a little bracelet with a cute pug bead in the centre.  There will be more of these coming up, I just need to find the time!

Perhaps I'd have more time if I didn't mess about making hats for the Innocent Big Knit - this is my own design, crocheted from some varigated blue yarn.  I'd like to do more but just can't fit it in time-wise, so the three I made will just have to be posted off.

Currently knitting a zombie - well, Christmas is on it's way y'know, and who doesn't want a cuddly zombie in their stocking?

The Party's Over....

It's the last day of the school holidays - back to the day job tomorrow.  Sigh...
But for a last day, it has been pretty good - I've achieved a fair bit today so far, including clearing out three cupboards (which was about five years overdue), mowing the lawn, ironing a week's worth of clothes as well as the usual chores. 

I also managed to make another gnome bracelet last night - this time in shades of red.  It will be going into my Etsy shop shortly.

These bracelets have given me a bit of an inspiration boost - the idea of creating mini-scenes on a crochet band has got my creativity working overtime.  I have a vast collection of beads and a lot of them are little birds or animals, so the possibilities are endless.

I received a notification today that one of the paintings I entered into the Artists & Illustrators Artist of the Year 2013 competition has been featured on their website.  See it here. That's encouraging - if they think my work is good enough to be picked out for show already, I might stand a chance for a place later on.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Pretty Flamingoes...

Well, the gnome bracelet didn't last long in my shop - nice to know I'm not the only one who loves a bit of kitsch to wear!  There will be more for sale very soon.  In the meantime, I have made this flamingo bracelet in the same style.  I have had the beads for ages but couldn't think how best to use them - this method seems to work well.

It fastens with a sweet vintage button.

This will be the only one of these for the time being - run out of beads!  If you are interested, it is in my shop now.

There's No Place Like Gnome...

I bought these cute gnome beads just for the fun of it without any real idea of how to use them. I was initially thinking of using head pins and wire, but yesterday had a bit of an epiphany and thought about incorporating them into a crocheted bracelet.  The brown band is crocheted, the grass is embroidered and the flowers are tiny buttons.  I absolutely love this - I'm in two minds as to whether or not to keep it for myself or put it in my shop!

It fastens with a button and sits snugly on the wrist.  I have three more gnome beads which means three more bracelets - please leave a comment if you think it would be something people would want to buy. Your feedback is always invaluable - my taste is always a little left field, so I can't always judge what would be popular to buyers!

Also had time to finish this shawl/scarf last week.  As I knitted this yarn, the patterns put me in mind of the ripples left in the sand when the tide goes out, with water trapped in the ridges - so this scarf has the title 'Water's Edge'.  It will be going into the Etsy shop later today.

I have also been knitted all the various components for the  car to be used in the animated film.  It's nearly done, it just needs assembling and the detailing such as numberplates, wing mirrors etc.  I am very curious to see what it will look like when assembled!

While photographing the above in the garden this morning, I spotted this leaf with a dew drop on every point.  I do wish I was better at photography!

Sunny Saturday Morning...

For the past week I have been without a car (curse you Japanese manufacturers, why are spare parts so difficult to source - and five times more expensive?) which has meant I have had to walk everywhere.  Not so much fun when you have to carry a ton of shopping a mile home, but you do get to see some pretty scenery.  This is Basingstoke canal this morning.

We found a couple of ducks to throw bread at, and admired all the gardens on the opposite bank.  We walked home a quicker way though - bags of vegetables from the market to carry!

Hopefully with the better weather, my tomatoes might improve.  Despite their weedy appearance, I discovered we have some flowers on one of the plants.  I do know that down in Devon at Soggibottom cottage there is a tiny tomato however  - I may have already been defeated in our competition this year!

Tempting though it was to go outside and potter in the garden, I chose to get on with this repair that has been hanging over me since last week.  The bracelet belongs to a colleague of mine at the day job.  I have never re-strung pearls before but figured it would be quite simple.....  Actually, once I worked out that I needed two needles and thread in order to tie the little knots between pearls it went quite smoothly.  Very fiddly however and not something I would want to do on a regular basis.

But it is almost as good as new - I hope she is pleased with it.  I'm getting paid in red wine for this - no complaints from me about that!

I saw this pattern in a magazine last month and really wanted to try it out. It's a Waspinator - the theory being that if you hang up a fake wasp nest in your garden, the wasps will think they have a rival colony to contend with and go elsewhere.  I do hope it works as I hate seeing wasps dead and dying in the glass wasp trap we have used for the past few years, plus other bugs and even butterflies get stuck in there as well.

This had been crocheted in a combination of yarns to get the stripy effect - I stuffed it with plastic bags as per the instructions so that if it gets rained upon nothing dire will happen to it. These can be removed from the opening underneath which ties up with a drawstring.  I shall keep you posted as to whether or not it works!

Wowee!!

Look at my treasure!  This came in the post today - 40 balls of pretty, pretty crochet cotton - my mind is just exploding with ideas as to how I can use it for tiny knitted sea-creatures.......

This lovely bracelet came in the post last week - it was made for me by Sybille over on Magpie Magic. I love all the jewellery she makes and own several fantastic necklaces that she has made just for me - it's just a shame I can't wear them all at once.  The 'C' on the bracelet is an old typewriter key - reminds me of my days at school learning to type on an ancient manual typewriter that required supreme strength of fingers if you wanted the 'a's to show - those of you who learned to type on a computer keyboard don't know how lucky you are!

Tell Me What You Think To This........

I haven't made jewellery for such a long time - this set is just for me and I doubt I'll be making any similar for any one else.


Here's a close up of the bracelet....what do you think I have used to make this pretty bauble?(hands down you in the back, I know you know, but give someone else a chance!) Have I splashed out on some gen-you-wine chunks of turquoise? Nope.
Are they plastic imitation? Nope.
Paper-mache? Nope.

I'll put you out of your misery - these beads were made from............


....yes, a potato. Not only do I paint the darn things, I'm wearing them as well. It all started when I got a Secret Santa parcel through the post containing a very delicious box of chocolates and also a sheet of paper with How to Make a Potato Bracelet instructions tucked into an envelope. At first I laughed heartily, but then had a thought that if this method worked, it would make quite a fitting keepsake to remember the past 18 month spud marathon. Originally, I had planned that I would wait until I had the 100th potato finished and use that as the basis for a bracelet, but as you can read below, I never actually got Potato No.100 in my hand, so this has been made with the 99th - not quite as symbolic but close enough!


First I had to cut the potato into rough cubes, slightly larger than the beads I wanted to end up with. Then I speared them through the centre on a wooden skewer and left them to dry. The first batch were put on top of the radiator on some tinfoil and just left - these ended up quite angular and a few sort of caved in on themselves. After my son's adventures making freeze-dried potato stew with his Bolivian cookbook that he got for Christmas (a whole other anecdote...) I made a second batch and popped them in the freezer overnight. The has the effect of drawing the moisture out of the potato as it defrosts, making it dry quicker but also you can squidge it a bit and soften the edges - these are the smaller, rounded beads. Above is how they look when dry - they are as solid as pebbles.


Then each bead was painted turquoise with acrylic paint and left on a knitting needle to dry.


They needed a second coat to get a good covering - this is half the mess I got into......


When the turquoise paint is completely dry, paint the beads with black acrylic paint. Now, you have to be quick here - the instructions said paint with black paint and rub off with a paper towel - that just left me with a smudgy black bead. What you have to do is mix a slightly watery black acrylic, paint it on then quickly dip the bead in a pot of water and rub with a damp paper towel until the black is left only in the cracks and fissures of the beads.


When this is dry, do the same with white acrylic paint - you can see in the photo how little remains in order for it to look authentic.

Finally, paint the beads with two or three coats of acrylic varnish - I used matt finish as I preferred to have a soft sheen rather than a high shine on the beads - it's a matter of personal taste.

It's a very effective but quite labour-intensive way of making your own turquoise - I'm pleased with the results and wore my necklace to work today where it got quite a few compliments. The beads seem really hard and robust, although doing the washing up with the bracelet on might not be such a good idea on a regular basis!

A Bit of Skullduggery......

Some more last minute pieces as I received some larger skull and bone beads in the post yesterday.


A bead and thong necklace........


....a handbag dangle.......


...my personal favourite, a skull and bones bracelet........


...and a mini-skull and bead bracelet. These are all for sale at the Christmas fairs today - not very Christmassy I know, but I like to fly in the face of convention. If you see anything here that you fancy, let me know as even if I sell the above pieces, I can replicate them for you.

It's taken a week of very hard work, but I have everything priced and packed and ready to go - wish me luck!

What Lies Beneath......

I've just been watching the movie 'What Lies Beneath' while making a bracelet - do you think it influenced my creativity in any way?? Actually, I have had the hammered silver teardrop shapes for quite a while with the intention of making a necklace, but this evening I felt like making a bracelet instead. It is made up of S shaped links with the hammered teardrops alternating with light blue glass teardrop beads and interspersed with clear seed beads. When worn it looks fluid and water-like, lovely against a tanned wrist.

If you are interested, this is £10 + P&P SOLD!....BUT I am in the process of setting up an Etsy shop (stop sniggering - you know who you are...) and computer dunce that I am, it's taking me a while. I have got as far as setting up the page, banner & profile, but not had the time to load up items for sale - a fairly important part of the process really! It will be done very soon, I promise, then there will be the grand opening....

In the meantime, I will be at All Saints School Summer Fair this Saturday 21st June, Heatherside School Summer Fair on the 28th June, and Zebon Copse Community Fair on the 6th July, all in Fleet/Church Crookham.

Copper Fish & some other bits

Last night I got on with a commission for a necklace to match a bracelet I'd given a colleague - can't be bad, give a gift and then make a further sale out of it! It's a silver wire necklace with various pink and clear lampwork beads - very tactile and quite chunky. No more of these, that was a bag of oddments from some bead fair or other and hardly any of them left now.

Then I decided to have a go at making a pendant that I dreamed of a couple of nights ago. That happens to me occasionally, I have better ideas asleep than awake! It's shaped and beaten copper wire,' aged' using heat and hung with a few green glass lampwork beads, all on a brown suede thong. £12 + P&P

I also made the above bracelet - the photo really doesn't do it justice at all. It is with dark blue wire and dark blue AB coated glass beads. Looks very striking when worn and the beads glitter in a lovely contrast to the dark wire. I may just have to make one for myself.....
£7 + P&P

And finally, as the clock crept towards midnight, I made a delicate little bracelet using heat-aged copper wire, vintage copper butterfly charms and some little jade green glass beads. Very pretty and sweet, the beads contrast beautifully with the copper. £10 + P&P

So, feeling a bit tired today but satisfied at getting some jewellery made. Now I have to get back to that portrait.......half-way there!

Glass & Gulls

I spent an evening back at the beads and wire last night and had lots of fun. I made the above two bracelets, the first using bronze wire and AB glass beads with a little vintage brass bird and heart charm. It is very delicate and pretty, extremely feminine. The second is chunkier with turquoise glass beads decorated with white flowers on silver wire with black seed beads as spacers. Both bracelets are £7 each + P&P
The above set is made using gold-coloured wire together with turquoise and clear glass cubes, very polished and shiny. There are three vintage brass gull charms as focals. Very clean looking and with a lovely sparkle in the light evocative of sun on the sea - that was the idea, anyway! Set £20 + P&P
The above is a pendant made with a very large chunky glass bead that I purchased from Pericles the little old man in Monastiriki market, Athens. I have bent silver wire around it and used a similar smaller square bead to keep it all in place, and hung the whole thing on a soft grey suede thong. I'm wearing this as I type, it's not going anywhere....not just because I like it but because I managed to break the smaller bead with my pliers and it's super-glued together - whoops!

And finally, here is the commission I worked on over the weekend - a deep blue chunky glass bead (again from Pericles - only one left now...) with silver wire twisted around it together with a turquoise glass cubic bead, hung on a brown thong with two cubic beads on the tassels. The earrings match with dark blue round beads faced with wire and the cubic turquoise beads. Needless to say, this is sold already.

Don't forget to enter the 200th post giveaway - you have until Monday.....