The Bead Peeps Swap and Hop 2017

Hi Everyone,

It's that time of the year again! The Bead Peeps Swap and Hop.

This year I was paired up with Sam Waghorn from Pale Moon Creations.

Sam's work is amazing and I was very nervous when I received her package as I wanted to do her proud. Here are the awesome items I received from Sam.

 So... Straight into the reveal.

 It was really hard to take a photo of this Quartz necklace but it's gorgeous in real life. I wrapped the end of the crystal with wire so that I could use it on a necklace. Simple and striking.

I decided to incorporate the natural agate beads into a memory wire bracelet inspired by a river - the rocks and grey fast flowing waters. This is my favourite piece.

  

For something different I used the dragonfly clasp as a focal for this simple bracelet that also includes the beautiful cracked purple beads from Sam's collection.

 

I love Amethyst and these delicate beads were perfect for a simple chain bracelet. I cant wait to wear this one.

I found this last piece the most challenging. I made and remade the bracelet a number of times, trying to match the colours in the focal, but in the end I realised that it doesn't have to match. And I love how it turned out.

 

I know my pieces consist mainly of bracelets this year, but I hope you enjoyed my creations. Please pop along to Sam's blog - Pale Moon Creations and see what she made with the beads I sent to her. Then hop over to Linda's blog - From the Bead Board to check out all the other participants this year.

For a bit of fun, have a look at my 2015 and 2016 hops too.

Thanks for stopping by,

Take care everyone

xxx

 

 

Bead Soup Blog Party - Hoarder's Edition

Hey Everyone,

Its time to reveal my pieces for the latest Blog Soup Party! This year my partner is Blanchy Medina from Medibeads

She sent me this awesome collection of beads with a very cool blue Druzy focal.

  

The ideas just flowed with this soup and I created my pieces really quickly.

First up is the Glade necklace. I used all the green and green toned beads along with a delicate chain to create a necklace that can be worn doubled up or as a single strand.

 With the Druzy focal, I decided to do a very simple yet elegant bracelet. I love the clean lines of this look.

 

 There were a collection of similar yet different beads in the soup that reminded me of tartan. I created a statement necklace and really love how the beads look together.

My all time favourite look is this cuff bracelet. The little square beads are simply gorgeous! 

 Please pop over to check out my partner's creations.

Click on the image below to join in the blog hop and see what everyone has created with their soups.

Take care everyone

xxx

 

Painted Love Heart

Hi Everyone,

This week I'm taking part in another Crafty De-stash challenge hosted by Megan from C'mon, Get Crafty.

The goal of the challenge is to use as much of your own crafty stash for a new creation. We are allowed to spend up to $10 for anything that may be needed to complete our projects - Again, I didn't spend a cent! 

So I've had this huge wooden heart cutout for ages and it has been crying out for a makeover...

Of course if you know me, you know I was always going to paint the heart white....right?

Step 1: Paint the heart white

Step 2: Create a graphic - I used Pic Monkey and tried out many different fonts

Step 3: Print the graphic - I stuck paper together and cut out the heart shape so I could get a feel of the end result.

Step 4: Transfer the graphic onto the heart base - I used transfer paper (the kind used by dressmakers)

Step 5: Paint the graphic - I used a dark charcoal and a turquoise for my words.

   

Once the paint was completely dry, I sanded very lightly and sealed with wax. Then out into the garden for a quick photo shoot!

I was so surprised at how my project turned out! It's way, waaaay better than I envisioned.

I hope this inspires you to try this type of project. It's easier than you would think. If anyone would like my graphic, let me know and I can email it on.

Take care everyone

xxx

 

Painted Wooden Pendant Necklaces

 

 Hi Everyone,

This week I'm taking part in a Crafty De-stash challenge hosted by Megan from C'mon, Get Crafty.

The goal of this challenge is to use as much of your own crafty stash for a new creation. We were allowed to spend up to $10 for any extras that may be needed to complete our projects - I'm happy to say I didn't spend a cent! 

I decided to create something with these large wooden discs that I've had for ages! I think I may have purchased them from eBay.

To be honest I wasn't sure my idea would work. My plan was to make painted wooden pendants.

What I did:

1. Paint a base colour 

2. Tape a section off and paint a second colour.

3. Paint a third colour (maybe)

4. Print a word or image (I created mine in PicMonkey). Rub chalk on the back.

5. Transfer the word or image to the disk by writing over it and pressing down hard.

6. I went over the words with a pen so that I could see them properly.

7 Paint.

8. Ta-da! Painted pendants!

9. Add a jump ring and thread a chain through it. 

I also rubbed some beeswax polish over the pendant to protect it.

I was pleasantly surprised that my plan had worked. Obviously some looked way better than others but my girls were more than happy to have the disasters to play with.

With the white pendant, I used a small plastic bottle, painted around the edge and "stamped" the edge onto the pendant. I used the same procedure a couple more times, to create an overlapping pattern.

My beautiful girls very proudly modeled my creations. They're growing up so fast!

I made one of my not so favourite pendants into a key chain.

Hopefully I've inspired you to have a go at creating some painted pendants. They were so easy, and pretty quick to create, once I'd decided what I wanted to do with them.

Take care everyone, thanks for visiting, please pop by and visit the other bloggers who are de-stashing too.

xxx

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Super Easy Fridge Magnets

 

Hi Everyone,

Happy New Year! I hope you've all had a great start to the year.

I'm going to keep my promise of blogging more often this year and today I'm going to show you a super quick and easy craft. I made these with my girls as they just love fridge magnets.

What you need:

Cardstock or pretty paper

Clear Epoxy Stickers (off eBay)

Magnets (I have a magnet sheet that I cut up)

 

Stick the clear epoxy sticker onto the card (I used scrapbooking card). Press until all the air bubbles have been smoothed out. Then simply cut around the sticker and glue a piece of magnet onto the back.

 

Stick them onto the fridge and ta-da!

This is the perfect activity to do with the kids on a rainy day. Any design or picture would be perfect!

Take care everyone, thanks for visiting.

xxx