Some Bits and Bobs

Thought I would pop by and put up some pics of bits and bobs I've been working on.  I treated myself to one of Jolene's mini-mo club assortments.  I haven't used all of it yet but this bead is sporting the murrini, 


This bead has a core of light purple with some of the shards melted in which is then encased in clear and the design applied to the top

I bought this top the other day and decided to make a necklace to match 

The next few pictures show beads using a design I am working on whereby dots are applied on top of each other then raked to make a teardrop shape.

These have now been turned into necklaces and will be putting in an appearance in my Etsy shop very soon.

Thanks for looking!

 

Oh What a Night

We went to the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday night and what an amazing night it was.  All Cannings School took part in the Schools Prom!!!  You can imagine how excited the girls were.  It was an amazing night of fantastic youth talent with acts across a whole spectrum of genre.  There is  a photo on the Classic FM website Fay and Erica are on the picture but you would have a hard time to spot them.  The photos only give a tiny insight into the scale of the event. 

Thankyou to all the staff at the school for organising and preparing the children so well and thankyou to the children for being impeccably behaved.

On a glassy note I received a very fabulous mini-mo set from Jolene and managed to fit in a session at the torch today!!  I'll be back with some photos soon.

Fright Night

We don't normally go in for Haloween but as the children have got older they have got more excited about the whoe trick or treat thing.  This year the girls had a couple of fancy dress parties and ofcourse the youngest had to get involved too.

We ended up with a homemade zombie look.  I went into town and bought some witchy outfilts but they didn't fit the bill, they were too 'babyish' apparently.  So, we ripped up some old clothes, scruffed up the hair and applied some facepaints.  I have to say I was pleased with the results especially as there were duplicate cats and witches at the parties afterall anyone can buy an outfit right?.

For the first time for as long as I can remember I joined in the fun too, I was invited to a grown up haloween disco so I decided to go for the witchy look - be prepared to be scared....

A touch of the Wicked Witch of the West I feel.  Anywho, down to the business of beads and buttons.  Although October was a quiet month on the blog, sorry about that, I have been busy at the torch I just haven't managed to take any pics.  Hope to remedy that soon and return with some glassy pics.  Until then, take care xx

Buttons Etc...

I have had a couple of sessions at the torch since my last post and some of the resulting beads have even become a necklace!

I've attached the beads to a hand-dyed silk ribbon from Di using some cotton cord.  I'm really pleased with the combination of beads with shank style buttons.  I am also particluarly hooked on the green and purple theme, perhaps it's because Halloween is looming?

I've been practising some more with my marble press

And with my two-holed button mandrels

You know what they say about practice, practice, practice.  Who knows I might even get a chance to have another session tonight.  Having said that I have started to go to Knit and Natter at Jumble Jelly and I have embarked on a shawl project, I'll post some pics at some point.  I might just curl up on the sofa with my knitting.....



Into Autumn

My my didn't time fly!?!  Summer has been and gone and now we are back into the frantic daily routines of getting to school with all the equipment required for lessons and clubs.  Added to the chaos was a 4th birthday of a certain little boy.  A UFO cake was requested and I have to say that I was quietly pleased with the results.

It was in danger of looking abit helmet-like so I popped the spacemen on the cake board for good measure.  One of my 7 year old daughters was allowed a sneak preview before the big day, after the grand unveiling she looked at it and said 'it looks quite good but I think you should use the left over icing to make craters so it looks like its on the moon...........'  If she had seen the trouble I had with icing the cake she would have known better than to make such a suggestion.  The birthday boy was pleased with it so mission accomplished.

For those interested I made a Victoria sponge cake in a 9" tin and used the same mixture in a pudding basin to put on the top.  I sliced the pudding basin section in half and added a layer of jam and then used jam to stick it onto the base cake.  I covered the whole lot in butter icing and then in regal icing.  The decoration is fruit shoelaces and milkybar buttons, large for the bottom section and small on the top section.

The other project I have been working is a range of buttons that I can offer wholesale.

I also have blue to add to the range but I need to photograph some.  The idea is that this gives customers something to order from but I do have a section on my order form called 'Free Choice Wild Card'.  I added the wild card section so that I get to make any colour combos that I like, the customer just has to tell me how many they want and if any of them need to be sets.  I have buttons for sale in Etsy shop or if you are interested in wholesale drop me a line.

I popped into my friend's shop Eggcup Clothing today to show her some sample buttons and I am very excited that she is going to use my buttons in her designs - even her bridesmaid collection!!!!  We threaded one of the buttons through a button loop of a bridesmaid dress to get a rough idea of what it would look like - it looked stunning, if I do say so myself.

Anywho, I'm off to bed to get some shut-eye ready for the school dash in the morning.

How does your Garden Grow..?

I have always enjoyed looking at a nice gardens but it is only recently that I have started to take an interest in our own garden.  Up until now my OH has taken care of all things garden.  Earlier in the year we were given a huge batch of purple sprouting brocolli.  We put some in the allotment, they have failed due to neglect.  We went on holiday and the weeds took over and swamped the little plants.  We put most of the plants in the garden, we have recently moved to our new build and the garden has lots of blank spaces.

We have seen the Cabbage Whites on the plants for a while and thought nothing of it 'oh how lovely to have some wildlife in the garden at last'.  Ofcourse Cabbage Whites love cabbages and they also love purple sprouting brocolli!  This is what we returned to after our 1 week holiday

The plants have been stripped of pretty much all their leaf....  However, its not all bad news.  I really love to have flowers in the house but they are expensive to buy on a regular basis.  We have had Sarah Raven's book called something like 'The Cut Flower Garden' on the shelf for a while and I have flicked through it several times.  This year I decided I would take action and have a go so I headed out to the local garden centre and bought some packets of seed thinking that I would get them started to have a crop of flowers next year.  However, when we got from out hols this is what we found

You should be looking at the white flowers as they are the flowers I grew from seed I can't believe it.  Seasoned gardeners out there will be rolling their eyes now but I am really proud.  There wasn't much to it to be fair, just scattered some compost then planted the seed and let nature do her magic.  The flowers in question are Gypsophilia by the way and they are great for filling out an arrangement and adding some elegance.

I have picked quite a lot already and arranged a few vases with dahlia, roebeckia (spelling?) Michelmas Daisies and some other very pretty yellow daisies.  I haven't taken pictures as it is too dark in the house now to get a decent shot.

Feeling very pleased with myself!  Now to go sort the beads from last night's session at the torch, here is a sneaky peek

Behind the Scenes

I know things have been quiet on here for a while but there has been alot of work going on behind the scenes.  Not least working on some buttons for Jumble Jelly here is a sneak preview of some of what I have been working on

An assortment of shank style buttons that can be used in all manner of ways.  They can be added to a hand sewn purse or bag, they could become a clasp on a necklace or bracelet, the centre for a crochet flower... the list goes on.  Indeed they would also make a beautiful addition to any craft stash to await that 'perfect project'.   I am working on some larger shank style buttons and two holed buttons.

I have also been working on different ways in which I can use my beads to make accessories and came up with these lovely bag charms

They are the perfect way to bring colour to a bag that needs a spruce up.  These are a great way to use odd beads that don't necessarily want to become a necklace or bracelet.  While thinking along the lines of using up odd beads I came with lapel pins

These are my first attempts but I have plenty more pins to use.  I have been looking around for something to dress up a red jacket I have got so I think I'll put red and white glass out next to my torch to work on during my next session.

So, better get posting some bag charms on my Etsy shop which is also looking very neglected.  Then its a quick freshen up and off to our friends' BBQ to celebrate their 40th birthdays!