LOTV Japanese Birthday for my sis’ 18th... :)

Hello everyone!! :)

My ‘baby’ sister turned 18 in November (where the time went I do not know!!lol) and today I am going to show you the card I made for her...

As some of you who have been following my blog a while may remember from last year’s card, my sis has a fascination with all things Japanese and when I was wracking my lil’ old brain to think up a card that would be truly special for her, I remembered the fab Geisha Girls stamps Lili of the Valley had released a few months previously... and so off I popped for a wee shopping spree as I knew they would be perfect!! :)

I knew I wanted to use my gorgeous Kioshi papers so, after a quick look to choose likely sheets, I settled down to colour the beautiful Aimi with Lantern image with my PMs and FMs... first time I’d done any colouring in ages, colour combos I’d never used before, first time colouring this stamp *and* no time to do-over if it all went horribly wrong after I’d got halfway through... so no pressure on myself there then!! :S lol Luckily, thanks to a spare image (or three!!) to test my colours on first, it actually worked pretty well first time and I was pretty chuffed :) So that was day one... now for a night’s sleep and a rest for my aching neck/back!!lol

Then back again the next day to put image and papers together... I wanted to use this lovely paper with the flowers over one side as my main piece and didn’t think it need too much fuss on it, both because that’s not really my sis’ thing and because the paper is just to pretty to cover up. So I just embellished what was there with glaze, glitter and some stamped Japanese- my sis says Kanji?!l- characters which I gilded with Flitter Glu and flakes... all (except perhaps the glitter, but you just *have* to have glitter, right!?!) to add to the traditional gilded and lacquered oriental feel... :)

I cut the numbers on my electronic cutting machine and layered them on another piece from the Kioshi pad with some more gilded characters for interest...

For the base of my easel I also cut one of my Cherry Blossom border svgs, which I designed last year, to make the stopper. The happy birthday stamp and handwritten ‘sister’ are heat embossed with gold glitter powder as I don’t ever like the look of gilding on fine text stamps. The final touches were just a few punched butterflies dotted around and some pretty blue pearls :)

The List:

• 6x6in Sq. White card blank plus extra panel for easel front
• Geisha Girls Aimi with Lantern stamp from LOTV, stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers (no list this time as I can't lay my virtual hands on the photo... but if you really want to know something, ask and I'll have another look!!)
• Basic Grey Kioshi paper pad
• Scissor blade (from an old broken pair!!) for distressing edges
• Japanese character stamps from Aspects of Design’s Japanese Plum Blossom stamp plate
• Indigo Blu Flitter Glu and Variegated Green Gilding Flakes from Crafty Notions
• Quickie Glue Pen (for gilding flake detail)
• Diamond Glaze
• Sakura Clear Stardust pen
• Happy Birthday stamp from Penny Black, VersaMark ink and Gold glitter embossing powder
• X-cut label dies
• Electronic cutter for my own design Cherry Blossom border cut-file and numbers (cut from gold pearl card)
• Tiny Butterfly punch from Lakeland years ago
• 3mm Pale Blue Pearls

As I wasn’t going to be seeing my sis’ before her birthday and her main pressies was absolutely not postable (you’ll see why if you stop by next Monday...!!! ;) ), I also made a little gift to pop in the post with her card... a little glass cabochon necklace made with a piece of matching Kioshi paper :)

I added a few coloured beads to the bail on a jump ring for interest and was quite pleased with the pretty way they hung over the heart :)

And a pic of both together :) I was pleased with how they came out... and my sis' loved them too, so smiles all round!! :D

I’d like to enter these in the following challenges (either the card, necklace or both as each challenge allows): Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes :) ; Moving Along with the Times - Only Girls Allowed :) ; Beading Friends Forever - Anything Goes :) ; Inspire Me Fridays - # :) ; Happy Hour Projects Friday Linky Party - 02.08 :)

Thank you so much for popping by today- I truly appreciate the comments people have been kind enough to leave for me and am trying to do better at leaving comments and returning visits just as much as my health/energy allows :) I hope you’re all well and have a lovely weekend!! :) Oh, and don’t forget to pop back on Monday for a special post with my sis’ gift!! :)

Snowflakes and Sparkles... :)

Hello Bloggers!! :)

Well, it’s been sooo long since my last post that I am having major problems remembering how all this blogging malarkey works... but I’m back and want to wish you all a very Happy 2013 a tad belatedly- I hope it’s been good to you so far!! :)

Now, you may (or may not!!) have noticed that I’ve taken a bit of an unexpected break from Blogland over the last few months... I won’t go into it in too much detail but 2012 turned out to be a bit of a rollercoaster year for me- some additional health issues made for some very extreme lows but despite that, the few extreme highs actually left me feeling this has been one of my better years so I can’t complain too much... the health stuff has just taken a bit of adjusting to and something had to give- and unfortunately, along with a lot of other things, that was my little blog and, to a lesser extent, my crafting :( But I have still been creating, just at a slower pace and a little less of the papercrafts, and have been checking out your blogs when I have been able too... and since Xmas particularly, my blog has been calling to me so I am going to attempt to get back into it... I just don’t know how regularly I’ll manage to post for a while as I am very much still feeling my way in terms of what and how much I can manage and trying to find a better balance between the different things going on in my life... but let’s get on to the crafty stuff, eh!!lol

This year I didn’t make many Xmas cards- one of those rearranging priorities and being kinder to myself things!!- but I did make some gifts... and this little set of beaded snowflakes was one of them...

After being given one of these gorgeous decorations by a lovely friend a few years ago, I made some for friends and family but never got around to photographing them properly to share... so when I finally got this set made for some lovely friends (who visited me in the summer- one of the highs that helped turn my year around :D) I made sure to get some decent pics!! :)

They are pretty simple to make- just adding beads to a pre-bought wire snowflake form... I added the wire circles too, as I loved the effect of them on the one I was given, but you don’t even have to do that, just the six beaded spokes look lovely!! :)

The beads are Czech Firepolished Glass- Opal and Clear with an Aurora Borealis coating- with a few seed beads as spacers... and they are just beautiful when they catch the light!! :)

Which would be why I took so many pics and just couldn’t choose my favs... some things never change!!lol

Whew- well, I think I made it to the end of my first post!!lol Glad there was no big papercrafting supplies list to tackle this time though!! ;) Thank you so much for stopping by and reading this and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did- I am so happy to be back in the wonderful land of blog!! :)

{{{ Ooops- knew that was too good to be true- I forgot all about challenges!!lol I’d like to enter my snowflakes in my lovely friend Elaine’s fabulous All Crafts Challenge  and to Inspire Me Fridays #91 }}}

Shades of Grey for Anything Goes at Dream Valley!! :)

Hello again folks!! :)

I had hoped to be back before now but my body has had other ideas this last few days- had hoped I’d be able to report on my first experiments with my new toy the Grand Calibur, too, but I have done nothing remotely constructive since my last post as I have been either in too much pain or half asleep from the pain-killers, which I normally try to take rarely as they make me so extra dopey- like I need any help with that!! :S lol Will hopefully be able to get back to my desk soon, though- I have so many ideas... which is always better than none!! :D

Anyway, I’m here today to tell you about our first challenge of the new year over at DreamValley... the lovely Melly is making it nice and easy for you (and us!! ;D) with an ‘Anything Goes’ theme and so I’m taking the chance to share a beading project with you!! :) We are sponsored this time by our monthly sponsor, One Stop Card Crafts, and the winner will get a voucher to spend on lovely goodies!! :)

This is a bracelet I made last year for a lovely friend of mine...

I had seen this style of bracelet around on craft tv and in blogland and was itching to try it... it’s very simple as you just curl the whole head pin that the bead is on to create a coil instead of trimming it to just long enough to make a loop as normal, then tread onto tigertail... and the result is a very pretty clustered effect... mine didn’t end up as full as the ones I’d seen as I used smaller beads, but I really like it and it felt lovely on- nice and substantial as there’s a fair bit of weight between the beads and all the coils, but it still moves and falls nicely :) Most importantly, though, my friend loved it, too!! :D

I used a big selection of beads- Czech Fire Polished Crystal, pressed glass, glass pearls, seed beads and stardust silver- plus a few little silver charms... I had all the beads from making a charm bracelet watch for my sis’ 16^th last year (which I’ll show you soon... if I can only find the pics!!lol)

A couple of close-ups to show the beads, clasp and the coils better- I love the effect and will be making more like this soon with different beads!! :)

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges:  {{ I can't find any that don't say just 'papercraft' items at the mo'... think I've entered at Dream Valley with jewellery before but guess that's out this time!!lol Will add later if I can find any!! }}

Well, I hope you like my little bracelet- if you do and want to see more then click the tab at the top of the page :) I love to see other people’s jewellery and beading makes, too, and don’t come across too many in blogland so please let me know if you have any jewellery projects on your blog or know a blog that does so I can pop by and have a look!! :)

Don’t forget to visit the Dream Valley blog to see all the fab inspiration from the rest of my new teamies... there’s a great variety of styles on the team so really worth a look!! :) And, of course, joining in couldn’t be easier this time!! :)

I hope you’re all well, having a lovely weekend and keeping warm and safe in this weather... thought the winds were supposed to be over but it picked up again here last night and now it’s calm but sooo dismal!! :S See you soon, I hope- thanks for stopping by today and for all the comments on my last card... it’s so nice to be back in blogland properly and I will hopefully start feeling up to visiting a few more of your blogs and commenting  again soon, too!! :)

Beads beautiful beads...

Hello again!! :)

I’m back to (properly!) show you the bracelet there was a sneak of in my earlier post- it was made to go with that card for a purple loving friend’s birthday a little while ago but I wasn’t able to post either at the time...

It’s an idea that I’ve seen around in quite a few places and thought these giant (Size 2/0 for those that are familiar with such things!! :) ) seed beads would be perfect for.

It’s very simple and needs only the beads and some large (7mm) jump rings to create... I just made a chain from the jumps and then attached more jumps with beads on them to the chain :) It didn’t take too long to make, either, though opening and closing all those thick and rather stiff jumps was a tad hard on the hands and I’ll do it in even more stages next time!! ;) But that’s the joy of jewellery making- it is much easier than some other crafts to pick up and put down as the mood (or energy/pain level) takes you!! :) Plus, the stash piles to find space for are considerably smaller than for papercrafting!!lol

So very simple that I can’t think of anything else to say to go with all the piccies I took!!lol My excuse is that my camera hates purple beads and none of the pics looked true to colour at the time... but then I found I could get a true colour while I was editing them last night and now I can’t choose which I like best!!lol

This style of bracelet may be simple but it moves really nicely and feels lovely in your hand or on your wrist :)

Well, while I know that most of you are more into cards than jewellery, I hope you’ve enjoyed a bit of a change of scene tonight as much as I enjoyed a change of craft when I made it!! :) There are some more of my jewellery pieces if you click on ‘Jewellery’ in the Labels if you fancy seeing more!! :) Thanks for stopping by and for any comments you leave- I really do appreciate every one :)

A Gift...

Hi!! :)

I’ve got another quick little post today, as I’m still not feeling good, but just to keep things going... :) These earrings were the pressie I made for the same friend as the purple flower card in my last but one post...

I love making earrings- for myself, as they’re great fun, and as gifts, as you have no worries about getting them the right size, ect. as sometimes with bracelets/necklaces :)

For these I used some absolutely gorgeous butterfly charms- of which I have bought several sets, one each time I order from somewhere that stocks them, as I just love them!! :D- chain and some of my fav Czech Fire Polish Glass beads from a purple selection :) Beads- and particularly purple ones, for some reason! :S – are really quite hard to photograph with their true colours and they have more life and are far prettier in real life, especially as they have an Aurora Borealis coating which doesn’t show up well either!!

A close-up of the charms :)

And another... just ‘cause I was having fun playing with the Super-Macro mode on my camera again!!lol

I hope you like looking at my little jewellery projects and don’t mind the occasional deviation from papercraft too much!! :)

Hope you’re all well and warm and that the snow’s melting away to some degree wherever you are- ours is going slowly, just the horrid and dangerous thin layer that keeps refreezing every night left now :S I’m really hoping the weather forecasters are right about it getting warmer for the weekend in time for my birthday- it’ll be a lot nicer a day if I’m not aching from the cold the whole time!!lol Trying not to get my hopes up too much, though, considering they had the temperature here for last night at midnight as -3oC and it was actually -8oC!! :{ Still, crafty pressies (and money to spend on more crafty goodies!!) will make up for the weather quite well, anyway, I suspect!! :D I have quite a wishlist!! ;D

hugs,

Silver and Pearls...

Hi!! :)

Eurgh- it’s sooo cold today!! :( I have enough trouble with feeling cold all through the year (another M.E. thing :[ ) but I’m really not too pleased about having to be permanently within reach of a hotwater-bottle before the end of October!! I’m sensing I’d best get used to it though- feels like we might be in for another bad winter :[ Anyway, to more pleasant things... today I thought I’d show you the second instalment of my crafting spree for my Gran’s 80th birthday – a necklace and earring set which I made for her :)

It’s made with Glass Pearls and Sterling Silver findings; the pearls are a mixture of white, cream and mocha colours as those will work well with my Gran’s favourite clothing colours- browns/caramels/creams :)

The design was inspired by a necklace I saw on tv somewhere, but I adapted and built on that to make it more interesting, using different colours and sizes of bead :)

The earrings made to match :) The large pearls are hung on two links of chain and then the smaller ones are attached to the top link so they nestle onto the main one a little closer than in the necklace :)

My Gran hasn’t received this yet as I gave it to my Dad to take down when they visit, rather than chance it in the post, and that’s not ‘til this weekend, so I’m still feeling a little nervous about whether she’ll like it :S She and my Grandad have never really seen any of my jewellery before, though they do know I’ve been making odd things for a while, so I’m hoping it will be a good surprise :)

My Gran did, however, really love the card (in my last post below)- it’s a lovely feeling, isn’t it, when you make something that’s really personal for a special occasion and it’s truly appreciated?! Though, of course, I wish so much I was able to be there with her as I know that would mean more than any card, I could tell from her voice when we spoke that she really did love it and appreciate every bit of the time and energy that went into it, and I have to say it made me feel very happy that I’d made her feel loved as she always has me :)

...but enough of my soppiness!! ;) I don't know if it's okay to enter jewellery into challenges that are probably designed for cards/papercrafts but, if it is, I''d like to enter this in the Top Tip Tuesday Anything Goes challenge :)

Thank you for all the lovely comments I’ve had on the card already!! :) I’ve been trying a new technique I’ve seen around blogland recently in the last couple of days so I’ll be back soon with the finished articles, I hope :)

hugs,

Something different...

Hey!! :)

I'm back again- so soon!!- with a slightly different post to the usual as I've been having a play with my beading stash for a change...

I've had another pretty rubbish few days as I've been feeling very down and also not great M.E.-wise either. At times like this, it's usually crafting that comes to my rescue, giving me something to do to take my mind off things and a sense of having achieved something good and maybe even useful when I've finished. So on Tuesday I tried making a card... but, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, it all went so horribly wrong from start to finish that I ended up feeling even worse than I had before :{ So yesterday evening, having shied away from the thought of trying again with the card all day (and being really fed up with myself for/about it!!), I decided to try something different and I thought I'd share the results with you :)

I got myself the antique gold findings at the end of last year as I really like the look but haven't got around to doing anything with them until now as I've not really had much time for jewellery making this year in amongst all the cards!! I also got several mix bags of beads including a Czech Glass mix in natural golden and brown tones which all the beads came from with the exception of the large discs which I bought individually :)

I had root through my beads one night last week when I made an order for some new bits and bobs (which I'm hoping to make some Xmas pressies with and I'm trying to be more organised a bit earlier this year!! ;) ) and picked out the combination of beads I wanted to use- though, of course, I changed my mind somewhat when it came to actually putting them together!! lol

Making jewelley is a great way for me to still be creative but take a break from cards sometimes- especially when I've got myself in a mess with something or am suffering form cardmaker's block!! And making these definitely let me go to bed last night feeling a little better about things!! :)

Another nice thing about this litle project is that it's just for me!! :) Don't get me wrong, I love that my cards are for other people and the feeling I get when I know that they've got pleasure from my work is wonderful but, just sometimes, it's nice to get to keep my hardwork and enjoy it myself!! ;) :) I guess that's why so many people love scrapbooking so much but, no matter how many times I say I'll try that, I never seem to!! ;)

Well, I've blethered (as my wonderful Gran would say!! :) ) on long enough- thank you for looking at my latest efforts!! :) Hopefully normal service will be resumed soon and I'll find myself able to get a card right again...but we'll see, I guess!! :S

ETA(which I'm assuming means 'edited to add'- pls correct me if not tho!!) (before posting): I wrote this a few hours ago but when I went to take the photos I remembered that my camera battery died last night and, while it was charging, I'm very pleased to report that I've gone back to the card that was going so wrong the other day and, by redoing some bits and modifying others, have manged to finish it and am actually pretty pleased with the result!! :D Hopefully this might mean that my crafty mojo's back- for a while at least as it seems to be a very transient thing at the mo'!! Not so sure about my life mojo but the crafty version's a good start!! ;) Wiil take pics of the card when the stickles is dry and hopefully post soon as it was inspired by a few challenges so I'd like to be in time to enter them!!

Bye for now,

hugs,

The Mystery of the Seed Bead Stringer...

Hi!! :) (I feel justified in saying that now that I have a few more followers- seemed a bit silly when there was probably no-one reading my blog in the beginning!! :) :) )

Just a short post from me for now as I'm feeling pretty rubbish this evening but I wanted to put a pic of the aforementioned Seed Bead Stringing gizmo on here so people would have a clue what I was talking about!! I had never seen or even heard of one before I spotted and ordered mine a month or so ago, either, but I'm glad I found it as I've always been put off stringing even larger beads, let alone tiny seed beads, in any number because of how awkward I find it :)

Anyway, the pic...

Basically, you put your beads in the bowl and use the handle/pole in the centre to spin the bowl around (the base the bowl rests on is seperate and has it's own pole, which the bowl's hollow handle/pole sits over the top of to let it spin, if that makes any sense...). You have a long needle with a curved end (in front of the spinner in the pic) which you dip into the spinning bowl so the beads find their own way onto the needle and then you just push them up the needle and onto the thread as normal- except it's far quicker, far less fiddly and, in my case far less pain-inducing!! It's also quite good fun just to spin the thing and slightly reminiscent of those spinning-top toys I remember playing with when I was little!!

Not sure if I've explained that well at all- I really am very tired atm :S If it doesn't make sense, I'll take another pic with the parts separated or with me using it when I have more energy!!

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a card I made yesterday :) for now, I'm off to bed, sweet dreams,

Bracelet for a 21st and my new toy...

Well, I'm really getting into this blogging lark now, even have a couple of followers -WOW!- including the very talented Rachel whose blog is what inspired me to start mine! :) - and a lovely comment on my last post!! Thank you- makes it feel a bit more real to know somebody actually read my ramblings!! ;)

But on to the real reason for my post... the twist bracelet for my friend's 21st, currently winging it's way to her with the Cupcake Easel Card, I hope! Does anyone else get nervous when sending their hard work through the postal system?! :S

I got a new toy, a Seed Bead Stringer, a few weeks ago and this is my first attempt at using it. Apart from a minor disaster when my knots started coming undone- I seem always to have problems with knots, give me Tigertail and crimp beads any day!!- I was pretty pleased with how the process went and I think it'l definitely make stringing quicker- and less painful for my arms and shoulders, which is definitely good! I really like the end result, too, so I can see more of these being made in the future!! :)

And this is me experimenting with my new camera again!! I just love the Super-Macro mode- the lens was practically in the bowl with the beads!! :) I love this mix of white and clear AB-coated seed beads- I think I might make something similar for myself with the beads I have left!! :)

Thanks for looking, I hope you like it and are having a good week!! Fingers crossed the sun will stay for the weekend for my friend's party!! :)