back blogging and beading!!

The reason I disappeared off the bloggersphere for a few weeks was because of family parties, holidays and fancy-dress costume-making. I did pop into The Beadshop Liverpool for a bit of beady respite, but didn't have time to blog-until now.

So, what have I been doing??

Well, I've been experimenting with superduo beads making a heart design to accompany one of the aforementioned costumes, making pieces to enter into blog competitions over at The bead shop Liverpool and Operation Tackle that Bead Stash. Due to lack of time, I didn't get a chance to enter OTTBS...

I wandered down to The Beadshop today to spend the afternoon beading preparing for September's monthly competition http://www.thebeadshopliverpool.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/indian-summer-monthly-challenge.html I have so many ideas running through my head for this, I have decided to make almost all of them, before deciding which one to enter!
Vicky had a new delivery of beautiful seed beads which were sprawled all over the table as I walked in! I bought a few new size 15's in luminous colours, extra needles (word to the wise - you can NEVER have too many needles) and put aside a cabochon for my foray into bead embroidery!

I'll add all the pictures I took today in another post, as they're on my phone, and this post is from my PC!! In the meantime, I'll leave you with my design for the Fairytale theme blog competition in August http://www.thebeadshopliverpool.blogspot.co.uk/2013_08_01_archive.html

Peyote, so many ways...!

I love beading with Peyote stitch. When i first get them, I look through my beading/jewellery making magazines to find all the Peyote patterns/projects and lodge them in the 'to try later' file in my brain. One such technique is flat (even count) peyote. For most people, this will be the first peyote they will learn. Not me. 

From a request to make a small extension bar-clasp for my mum's bracelet, and needing something that could be made with size 15 seed beads, be pretty and substantial. 

So I turned to this months edition of the US mag Bead & Button where a good little 'tutorial' for flat Peyote is in the back -along with a quick and clear explanation of 'zipping up' the work. A few minutes later, and I had a little flat piece of peyote even stitch ready to make into a tiny tube for the extension. It was so easy to do, I want to do more!!!

Instead, I concentrated on creating my design piece for this months competition on the new sparkly blog for The Bead Shop Liverpool (thebeadshopliverpool.blogsopt.co.uk). I think I'm going to add a bit of flat peyote to the piece now I know I can do it!

I thought it would be good to "have a play" with wire crochet...

Okay, so no wire or crochet-hook related accidents have occurred. However, what I have been left with is a half-flower-half-sprout!
This is because I had the idea "Well, I can crochet normally, I have crochet flower patterns - what is the difference?"
I would say very little. Yet, I realised pretty quickly that it's quite different. You can't see the stitches of the previous row/round after the foundation row, you lose your place, and in the end, the finished result is pretty pathetic.

I like crochet because it gives me a quick result - a couple of hours pays off with a nice little pattern or part-finished product. I don't (often) have the patience to practice with things that may/will not give me a near-finished ending. Or in my case a sprout-flower.

So a quick search result brought up a few items and tutorials on this technique. My favourite one is  from Diane at Craftypod http://www.craftypod.com/2008/02/16/how-to-crochet-a-wire-flower-pendant/ Simple and with tips that you can only ever get from people who have done the same mistakes as we have.

It's too late for me to start now, but maybe tomorrow...

Beading/jewellery making is contagious

It might have been a few weeks since I last posted, but I haven't been slacking-not at all! In fact, I have been spreading the love of beading & general jewellery making to my family. 

Last week, my fab cousin Emma came to stay and we made jewellery and learned to do Nepal Stitch at my usual place, The Bead Shop Liverpool. 

Emma has been learning silversmithing techniques over the past couple of months, and is continuing in September. As a result of all this inspiration and bead-fuelled excitement, I convinced her to start a blog about her learning experience and exploits as a jewellery maker! I will put links to her site once she has put her project photos up. 

Add to this my parents. Both are creative people in very different and wonderful ways, and I can usually find them sitting around the dining table with me surrounded by real gemstones and other non-gem beads asking where the head pins are, if I have any odd-coloured findings, and if I can get a tube of copper seed beads for spacer beads!! I came home tonight from my beading class to find them hard at work!

Soon I will put our makes up for sale online. And try and get to a couple of craft fairs. In the meantime, please ogle our display of earrings!

Like it? I got the basket from a charity shop for under £2, the material, foam insert & dowels are all our own! Marvellous eh? The credit must go to my dad though for making it look so good, all I did was buy it!

So, what have I been making in my last two beading classes? I've learned Nepal Stitch and spiral stitch. Aren't they pretty?

I might have found a new favourite stitch!!

And so, this months inspiration? I think I might have gone into overdrive on the project ideas...

I can't decide where to start!!

I'm also trying to find some inspiration/knowledge about steam punk jewellery and the genre in general. I love vintage style anything up until the 1960's

and I love the writing of most kinds of fiction but I'm fascinated by the wonderful combinations that steam punk brings. So if there's anyone out there can can give me a hand to point me in the right direction there, give me a shout!!

Now, I have to go and design my August challenge for thebeadshopliverpool.blogspot.co.uk

Where shall I begin??

New beading stitch!

ItOoh ooh ooh! Looky looky! A brand new stitch! I learned this at my usual place (the bead shop Liverpool) today. I love it there so much I just booked myself on the class without checking what we were making! Hee Hee! Anyway, it was a lovely surprise to find that it was Basic Netting weave. It's so beautiful! 

It's made with size 11 seed beads and Swarovski crystals in 4mm. 

Now, I need an excuse to go out and wear it!

Until next time 

Happy Beading!

Sunshine, beads and ogling gem strands

It's not as weird as it sounds. A couple of weeks ago, I bought some semi-precious gems from Jewellery Maker (www.jewellerymaker.com) and they arrived last week! I got some gorgeous products, including my favourite, rose quartz. Although I now have decided that I need to have a mental "top 10" favourite gems, as I now have realised there are more out there than I originally knew about. So, in said top 10 are Opal (my birthstone and absolute fave!), Rose Quartz, Aquamarine, and Chalcedony to name a few. 

I've put all my purchases away, and as I did, I simply stared at them, wondering at their beauty and the possibilities of making jewellery with them! I've also got some Sterling Silver products to compliment the gems. 

Here is one make, made from multi-coloured shell and glass chill pepper beads, on rose gold coloured chain, made for myself. 

I've also completed one of my half-finished/do again projects that I talked about in my last post, and here it is!!!

I realise that there is a very unflattering reflection of me in the stand. Regardless of that, isn't the necklace pretty? And it's all with rose quartz on silver played copper. 

Plus, as a new piece, I've made this

Rose quartz and aquamarine bracelet with toggle clasp. 

Well, I hope you have enjoyed today's post, and have been inspired a little - even to finish off that lingering project!!!

Enjoy the sunshine and hot weather, all you UK readers!

Happy beading! 

New stitches, new goodies and...

...a new meaning to bits and BOB's! 

The capitalisation is deliberate. I have decided, just by looking at the mess that is in my craft drawers and my occasional dining-come-regular crafting table, that BOB's in my case means Boxes of Bits. The other bits in that phrase don't -as yet- have boxes, or anywhere to go.  I know, be more organised I hear you say, well it's easier said than done, as I am sure a lot of crafty people out there know and understand. 

As a result of this revelation, I have decided to challenge myself to finish at least one of the myriad projects I have unfinished. Here are a couple of my newest candidates

Sorry about the quality, taken on my phone with no flash and poor lighting.

These are two strands of coloured shell with glass chillies dotted through the strand. They will be bracelets/necklaces, but I have to finish some of my older projects first....

And so to finished projects and new stitches! I've been to two more beading classes at The Bead Shop Liverpool*

in which I have learned Right Angle Weave (my second fave stitch) and flat spiral weave (my newest and first fave stitch). Have a look at the flat spiral bracelet I made this week!!!

(The crystals are all Swarovski!)

Me thinks I'll be making a lot more of these!

I have also tried my hand at bead bezzling (embellishing large beads), of course I have used Swarovski rivoli's, but I love doing it so much! I made this set for my mum with sterling silver findings and chain (from Spoilt Rotten Beads)

(With genuine Amethyst round drop on the necklace central pendant) 

I've also bought some wonderful genuine 

gemstones from the lovely people at Jewellery Maker TV (with some compelling encouragement from my family) all I need to do is make a few things and figure out where/how to sell them! I will update you as and when about all that. 

Well, it's late, and I must go, so for now have a happy beading!

* The Bead Shop Liverpool has been mentioned as a supplier in this month's edition of Making Jewellery magazine on page 55! 

Weekend makes

Fair enough, I haven't posted here since my first entry some weeks back. That doesn't mean I haven't been beading though!

In the last few weeks, I have learned how to do triangle weave stitch, spiral Cellini stitch and circular peyote, all at the lovely Bead Shop Liverpool. 

This week has been mainly taken up by thinking out designs, watching tv for inspiration, and gaining ideas. 

Over today, I have made a few bits and pieces, including a necklace which I knocked up before going to church this morning!! Hope you like them! 

This morning's project!

Some wooden beading...

A necklace made for my lovely mum...

My triangle weave bracelet (turquoise) & Cellini spiral 'necklace' that I made into a bracelet (lime green).

A New and Shiny Thing!

Hi all, Mel here.

Welcome to my new and sparkly blog!

I'm a novice beader and jewellery maker, as well as a poet and writer. This is my blog for all things jewellery and jewellery making, beading, findings, related inspiration and a magpie-like eye for shiny items, unusual items, vintage-ey items and classic styles.

Photo's will be added once I've taken some better than I have on my phone!

I welcome anyone who consider themselves a beader of any sorts (see above) to say hi here on the blog, and I will link to your blog to help spread the word! Any suggestions for jewellery/beading related books, resources, shopping sites, materials, DVD's/online tutorials, websites, etc are very much welcome.

This post will be part of (hopefully) a permanent, separate page here on the blog, so it will be easy to find!!!