A super quick make

First up thanks for all your comments regarding my little crochet dilemma, there was an overwhelming majority of you who said keep going, I think you're right I guess I just needed a kick up the bum.  I will persevere with these as and when and hopefully I will do a big reveal sometime mid 2014 :0)

Now onto my little super quick make. I bought this necklace in the Boots sale in December and thought it would brighten up a couple of my darker and dull outfits.

Was £9 reduced to £3.50.

I am a bit of a bracelet freak and I own hundreds of them, I scoured the racks for a colourful bracelet to go with this but there was nothing, so I bought two necklaces and thought I'd make my own.

So simple, just snipped the beads off and threaded them onto some jewellery elastic and added a sturdy knot.  

My hubbie is a fisherman so my knots are really good, even if I do say so myself!

Even with a sturdy knot elasticated knots need a little dab of glue.  Superglue does work but it becomes brittle in time, I like to use GS hypo cement.

I popped a dab of glue on the knot and shoved the knot inside of one of the tiny beads.

There you go, simple, I often see necklaces in the charity shops, I don't think I'd wear them but I buy them anyway and snip and elasticate them and make bracelets which I always wear!

Gratuitous boobage shot!

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~ 

Bank Holiday Discount & Knitted Bracelet Anyone?

I found some lovely knitting pattern books at the charity shop this weekend.

Some of the 'must makes'

 

 

 

 

I will be knitting this sometime, a country cottage bag!

These books had lots of lovely ideas and patterns in and itching to make something I jumped in and knitted this little bracelet, or 'Artisan Cuff' as it was referred to in the book:

 

Lots of cable and little needles = time consuming, but I enjoyed making it.  I changed the pattern as I thought it would be a right faff to have to fasten cords each time you wear it, so I extended the pattern a bit to make it longer and added a crochet loop and button fastening.  Made in super soft baby cashmere dk.

I added little shell buttons to the cable spaces to finish it off.

I can see more of these coming on, I want to try a few different colours and button/bead combinations.

 

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As we are on the cusp of another wonderful Bank Holiday Weekend ~ I want to spread the Bank Holiday Love and as such I'm offering a

15% off everything

 in my little Folksy Shop from now until midnight on Monday.

You don't have to do anything at all, each and every purchase (including the postage cost) will be refunded 15% through Paypal ~ as folsky does not allow for discount codes.

If you were thinking of snaffling anything up, now might be a good time.

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~

I've Been Busy...

First day back to work yesterday since before Chrismtas and all I can say is Blahhhhhh! I was so used to lie in's and lounging about until lunchtime that it has hit me hard, but I do love the money they give me every month so I will just have to pull my socks up and get on with it!

So back to Christmas, I did manage to keep to my handmade pledge and I made many of my gifts, I did however forget to photograph them all, but during my time off work I have been pottering making bits and bobs, first there is the jewellery, which is rather addictive hence the box full of it on the right; I am handy for quick presents as my teenage son has cottoned on to!

This one was five strands of tigertail and I made it a little on the long side, I am not too happy with it and might have to fiddle with it a bit, but I did love the clasp which is a two part magnetic heart. This bracelet reminds me of a spider somehow??
Here we have another of those cable scarves, the black scarf was very chunky indeed and was made on request from my son as a gift for one of his friends. The cushion was made way back in the late summer when I was learning to crochet, but I never got round to making a back for it I didn't quite know where to start but I sat and and made a back for it last week, it does not have an opening but I can unpick it if I need to wash it.

Now on to the hat, this may look like a disaster but it was a suprise gift for my teenage son. It's based on a Sci Fi movie and series Serenity and Firefly ~ one of the charachter's (Jayne Cobb)mothers made him a dodgy hat and he wore it throughout the series. My son has not had it off since Christmas Day ~ go figure?

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~

Making Gifts for Christmas

As we are coming up to Christmas I really must get my list organised for what to make for whom and get cracking. I am quite protective of my little blog and not many people in the real world know about it, only my hubbie, boys and best friend. This has the added bonus of me being able to show the things I am making for people for christmas as it won't spoil any suprises.

First up is a pink and brown bracelet I made with matching earrings, which I managed to drop and smash on the hearth as I was taking their photo, I will fix them though.

Not sure who this will be for but I will add it to the box of pressies.
Whilst I had the beads out I made myself this, it's a bit Cath Kidston esque I have had the charms for ages and was looking for a reason to use them:

It is hard making for my family and my hubbies family as apart from our Mothers and my best friend most of our family do not really appreciate hand made items and would prefer a faceless, thoughtless gift set from the supermarket, well tough, I am sticking by my handmade pledge and if I have to add some bought items to it I will but I hope to give everyone at least one handmade item, whether I make it myself or buy it handmade by someone else.

What are you making for Christmas?

Oooohh on another note, what a week, I have had two blog wins, I can hardly believe it. I won this from the beautiful Daisychain - look what arrived:

Amazing Barry M Crackle Glaze:

Beautiful handmade earrings - I love these lots.

My nails before the crackle glaze - In Barry M Pink, this was Thursday night - I had painted these last Sunday I ♥ Barry M. (Please ignore the cuticles and dry skin I have been decorating).

And this is after - it is amazing, I love it.

Thanks lovely lady xx

One other thing, I should wait until I recieve it but I have won Jackie's giveaway at Sew Special Bears the beautiful Cherish!

I am so pleased I can't tell you - have a look at her amazing creations she is a very talented & generous lady! I will post pics when she arrives. Thanks again honey xx

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~

Daring to play with wrapped loops...

Shopping for felt in Hobbycraft last week, I found a lovely green mix set of glass foil beads from Beads Unlimited (I couldn't help it, honest!). I have been trying to stop buying beads until I use up the ones I already have, which should take me a while as I have lots!!!

Generally I am attracted to anything purple and pink and always go for mixes in those colours, so I thought I would step out of my comfort zone and create something with green for a change.

Rather than the usual I have been keen to learn how to do wrapped loops, it makes such a difference to the finish and it is so much more secure than a normal loop. Getting the loops the same size is difficult and I kept wrapping the loops and forgetting that I had to add them to each other. It was so frustrating, when I finished my necklace I found that I had a small compartment on my bead tray full of wrapped loops that I had snipped off in frustration. Here is the finished item, necklace, bracelet and earrings:

I have a box of pink mix seed beads, and many of them are what I would consider girly pink and was not sure how to use them, my lovely friend (who also makes jewellery) visited us yesterday and she suggested that the bronze metal beads I recently liberated from an old necklace would work well with it, so this is what came of that collaboration:

Once I get sat down making stuff I find it difficult to stop, and ended up trawling through my beads for something else to make, and found this old necklace from New Look that I bought last year. I wore it to death until it snapped and all the spacer beads had worn away so I have made it into another necklace and stolen a couple of it's original beads to make some earrings to wear with it:

Been spending time tidying the garden up today, it's first real tidy since autumn, and whilst the sun is still out I should get out there and enjoy it.

Back soon

Luv Kandi x

Sewing, beads and bits and bobs..

As mentioned yesterday, here are a few bits and bobs I have been making recently. I don't really have a plan for any of it, I simply enjoy making it. Some of it has already been given away as gifts to friends and family I guess at the end of the year when I have a stash of stuff I will have to do a craft fair or sell online.

Most of my beads and fabrics were previously something else, or were bargains. I am unable to pay full price for anything and I am always on the lookout for bargains. Now and again however, something comes along that I just have to have at any price, but I think my general thriftyness makes up for it somewhere along the way (is there such a thing as thrifty karma?)

Some of my fabric makes:

Some of my jewellery / beading makes:

Be back soon

Kandi

x