I've been slowly working through my stash of broken jewellery and disassembling them. I've also been having a brutal look at some of my older jewellery that I made. I've had a bit of a cull and taken those pieces apart too. I'm quite chuffed with the amount of jump rings I've salvaged. It may sound a bit odd but I find the whole process of taking dead jewellery to pieces and sorting the parts really relaxing. Also by sorting them by colour I've got inspired by some nice colour combinations. I made these earrings last night and I'm so happy with how they look.
All the earrings have also been added to my shop so if you fancy snapping any of them up, just pop on over to here.
Finally for those of you who are reading this from my blogspot account, don't forget I'll be moving over to my new site permanently from the 1st December 2011. My new site address is here.
After all the goings on on Folksy its been a relief to get back to making jewellery again. I've been going through the stash I got from Oxfam earlier in the month and taking the broken jewellery apart and sorting out what findings I can salvage. So far I have managed to get some really nice copper jump rings and loads of pretty beads and spacers. Here's what I got in the jar.
It only cost £4.99 so I was chuffed to bits :) I've so sorted a lot of the beads and made a pair of earrings. I used some blue beads I got given a while ago and added them to some spacers I got in amongst the latest haul. I'm really happy with how they've come out and have just listed them in my shop.
Finally, a note to all my followers, I have decided to move over to my new blog permenantly on 1st December 2011. For the next month I will post all posts on both sites but from the 1st December I will only be posting at my new address on my site. The address for anyone wanting to make the move over now is here.
I've been creating more stock for my stall and now have 9 little cat brooches. I'm really chuffed with them and hope people like them. Here's them all together :)
I've also been shopping for cheap picture frames today and picked up a couple from my local Pound shop. The plan is to remove the glass and cover the backing in black fabric and then use them to display me earrings. I'm planning on getting some bowls to put my brooches and bracelets in and then hanging my necklaces up somehow. I also need to pick up a cheap mirror as I've learnt from past experience that people like to see what items will look like on.
I'm so looking forward to doing the fair and it would be even better if I sold enough to cover the stall cost. I figure either way it will still be great experience and a great opportunity to give out some business cards and SHHIM flyers :)
I've finally got back to crafting \o/ I got some great owl charms from ebay which have already made their way into my Folksy shop in the form of some cute earrings :> I've also been using some of the blue glass beads I got from Oxfam and combined them with some silver ball beads I picked up second hand ages ago. I'm very chuffed with the results and it feels great to be making again.
I've also signed up for a Chr*****s craft fair that's running on the last week of November so I need to get my crafty arse in gear and get stuff ready for that. I've been playing around with some ideas for brooches and have so far made my first successful flower brooch. Its made from odd scraps of fabric and beads and some cool wool I picked up in Cancer Research shop in Hemel. I forgot to take any pics so will get some done next time I play with the camera.
After my unwelcome, non-cultivation notice from the council, I've also been down the plot loads. I got some great bargains in Wilkonsons last week - they had bags of 50 mixed onions for £2. I also got some shallots and garlic, also for the same price. I've also picked up some spring bulbs from the Pound shop too and they were on offer - 2 for £1. I'm hoping to get as many of them in over the next few weekends so I can keep up the growing over the autumn and winter.
The weathers been really sunny and warm so I've been down the plot quite a bit. I also have been continuing on the decluttering/reorganising spree and have reorganised my beads so that they are now sorted by colour, not type. I saw the tip on another blog I follow (sorry can't remember which one) and thought it was a cool idea.
It took a little while to do but it was well worth it. Its a really good way of seeing what works well together and it has also help get me inspired.
Here are my latest creations (also in my Folksy shop :) ) All the items are made from recycled beads.
Icicle Necklace
Lavender Necklace
Buddleja Bracelet & Earrings
Rock Pool Necklace
Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway. You have until midnight Sunday 29th May (1 week) to enter :)
I've been enjoying all the extra sunlight the last week and I've been doing a fair bit down the allotment. I've been mostly digging, pruning and clearing ready for our mass delivery of poo tomorrow morning. We're also getting some seed potatoes delivered so we need to be down the plot bright and early tomorrow. I'm also planning on waving goodbye to my vinyl collection this weekend. After a scour of the web I've found there is a second hand record shop in Letchworth that takes vinyl so I've dropped them a quick email and we're planning a trip this weekend. It will be a bit of a wrench saying goodbye to my record collection but I haven't had anything to play them on in donkeys years so I'd rather someone had them who could play them and enjoy them. I've also been playing with all my new beads but haven't made anything wearable yet. I'm just experimenting with some old wire and the new round nosed pliers I got from beads unlimited. I'm getting the hang of looping the wire so I'm hoping to make myself a bracelet with my new goodies so watch this space. I've also been reading loads just lately. I've finished Nick Hornbys' Juliet, Naked. I read it in less than a week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very likeable characters and very funny in places. I'm now reading Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris. Its also really good so I'm already about a third of the way through it.
I got an email yesterday to say I had won joint first prize in a beading competition on Cut Out & Keep. I'm not totally sure what the prize is but I'm just so chuffed to have won something :) My winning entry was my tutorial for a crocheted wire bracelet (piccy of one I made for myself below).
I've mailed back with my address so hopefully a prize will be winging its way to me. I can't wait!
I've also had a fun and cheap day today visiting some of the charity shops in the Fleetsville area. They're a bit of a stroll but usually well worth the walk. Today I picked up a new work bag for £1.99, some more beads and chain for £2 and a book by Joanne Harris. I'm pretty chuffed with the bag. Its just the right size for work and has lots of handy compartments for my phone, purse and other assorted stuff I carry round with me.
On Friday I was also able to pick up some more seeds for the plot. I've picked up some cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn, lavender and courgettes. They should go nicely with the ones I fished out of the shed last week. I found tons of squash and pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, parsnips and onions (red and white). I just need to get my arse in gear now and do some digging and weeding so they are ready to go in when the time comes. Fingers crossed it will stay dry.
I've been itching to get down my plot and start work on it but the weathers been far too cold. I started trying to sketch out a plan for next year but abandoned in for a beaded, felt allotment plot :) It took me a couple of days and I used up odd scraps of fabric and stray beads I had laying around along with embroidery thread. I'm pretty chuffed with how it came out. I have even put in a little, ginger allotment cat at the front of my shed :)
I've got the chestiest cough at the moment and its driving me absolutely potty! To try and distract myself I've been having a bit of a sort out of the stray junk that just accumulates on the shelve, drawers, pots and corners of the flat. Its odd stuff like paperclips, rolls of tape (so far 14 rolls of tape!), note pads, postits, scraps of paper, bits of string, shoe laces, envelopes, old jiffy bags, you name it! I've cleared one box out which I'm going to use for 'stuff to donate to the scrap bank'. I've put a ton of paper in the recycling bin. I've also collected the useful leaflets, timetables, menus, etc. together and put them in a little A5 folder of plastic pockets. All the pads are now in one central place too along with the safety pins, treasury tags and paperclips. The Borrowers would have a field day if they visited our flat. In celebration of my tidying I thought I'd share with you some words of wisdom from the late George Carlin. Such a funny man and he hits the nail on the head when he talks about stuff. Enjoy :)
I've been busy with fimo again. This time I've been making keyrings. I've been using the stamps I picked up a couple of weeks ago in one of the charity shops and using them with fimo to make some pretty flower charms. I'm really pleased with how they've been coming out. I used to find having no local craft shop a real drag but I think I've learnt that if you keep your eyes peeled you can find crafting items all over the place. My favourites are the local charity shops and car boot sales. You can pick up beads, jewellery findings, fabric, wool and all sorts of crafty goodies. I particularly like these as I like recycling. I also like knowing that the bits I've picked up aren't in abundance so the bits I make will be one of a kind. I'm also pretty lucky in St Albans as we have a good market. I get most of my felt and ribbon from either St Albans or Watford market. I also buy a lot online and love beads unlimited and ebay. In other news I'm also reading a couple of books at the mo - Robert Winstons 'The Human Mind' and Jane Austens' 'Emma'. I've been slowly plodding through Robert Winstons' book for a while now but its a good read. I started reading Emma last weekend and I'm really enjoying the story and I'm whizzing through it.
Today I visited my first ever Scrap Bank. Wow, what a find - I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. If you have never been to one before, they are places where you can pick up materials for crafting at little or no cost. The idea is that people/companies/schools/etc donate any left over craft materials or general waste that can potentially be repurposed and crafted into something new. I can see that these places are not everyone's cup of tea as you need to be prepared to forage, but as far as I'm concerned it was like visiting Aladins' Cave. I came away with a small stash of fabric scraps and offcuts, some buttons, 3 rolls of stickyback plastic, some broken jewellery and some sticky back foam sheets, a tiny ball of orange wool and some broken Christmas decorations. I really like the heavy duty, laminated fabric with daisies on. I thought I could make a few purses/wallets from that. Also the little scraps of fabric and broken Christmas ornaments will be great for inchies. The best bit of all was that it didn't cost me a penny. Most of these places work by having you sign up a yearly subcription and then you can go along whenever you wish. The place we went to today charges £20 a year and I was lucky as my bf is a member through work. I'll definitely be back. Just the thing as I love turning old stuff into something new.
I like Art, Crafting, Cooking, Ankhs, Cats, Bats, Reading, Pottering, Spodding, napping, drinking coffee and eating cake :)
I believe in people and not a set of religious beliefs. I don't eat meat and I try to be as green as I can. I love the challenge of recycling and making something new from something old.
I Love TheHIVE
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