Monday 9 May 2011

May's Meanderings (Post 41)

Hope you all had a nice long break; in the UK we not only had Easter but also an additional holiday for the Royal Wedding.  I took advantage and turned it into a holiday touring in France and Devon.  

Its been an interesting couple of weeks and I'd like to start by thanking Debbie of Abracadebra Designs for the two pairs of earrings she very kindly made for me as a Pay It Forward prezzy.

... thanks Debbie, they are, like all your jewellery, just beautiful!

I was a little surprised to see that nobody had picked up on my last Post ... with the offer of Paying Forward.  Maybe its the commitment for 5 gifts?  So, I'd like to revise that ... why not take part and Pay Forward just one little prezzy.  Pay It Forward - to the 1st person who writes a comment

PAY IT FORWARD CLOSED - THANKS TO ZUKIESTYLE FOR TAKING PART.

Next I would like to welcome two new followers which brings my total virtual friends to that magical number of 50 !!!!!  More on that later ... A very big welcome goes to:
  1. Little Harriet  Harriet makes lovely handmade gifts and jewellery and has very recently made that big move of opening her own Folksy shop.  Congratulations with that Harriet, hope its a great success for you.
  2. Nancy  A very interesting lady with a variety of talents, who calls herself 'the craft lady' but who is in actual fact so much more!  Her blog is very versatile and Nancy is very sharing with tutorials on so many unusual items.
Take a peek at both of these sites, you'll be pleased you did.

Whilst your in the mood for browsing, just a reminder that today is Handmade Monday No. 15 hosted by Wendy.  A showcase of all fellow artists work - always worth browsing.  Why not pop over ...

What Have I been Up To?
I've been teaching myself a new beadweaving stitch - 
'spiral chain'.  Its a tutorial I came across on Tackle That Bead Stash Blog, written by Liz Reed - thanks Liz, lovely clear instructions.

It really is easy to do, once you pick up the rhythm.  I've been merrily weaving spirals to my heart's content.  However, I've yet to finish it and foolheartedly attempted to do a peyote stitch clasp - oooh ... a bit too tricky; so have not quite completed it.  
Undaunted with my new found confidence I went on to make a royal blue/metallic grey chain necklace, which I finished with a beaded loop and clasp.  I've since been given instructions from Liz on a method to use - so my next one should be even better!



The chain matches my blue silk dress just perfectly!  I need to do some earrings to match next.

Still on the spiral chain theme, I'm currently making a chain bracelet or will it be a necklace? (running low on beads ...) for this months OTTBS Moodboard Challenge.  That is ... if I like it when its finished!

Work In Progress .... we'll see
Still To Come ...
I'm planning a 'giveaway' to celebrate reaching 50 Followers ... 
'Keep Watching, and ... I'll Keep Blogging'

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9 comments:

  1. Your spiral chain work looks great. It's fun learning new skills.
    Love the ear rings in the second photo. Unfortuntely i wouldnt want to commit to sending out 5 handmade gifts but it sounds like an interesting feature.

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  2. Wow the bracelets look very fiddley!!! But lovely, I hope you are happy with them. The pay it forward looks quite interesting, I'd be happy to take part and give away some of my new mobile socks or doggy bandanas if you think these would be ok?x

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  3. Your spiral chains are brilliant, I'm so pleased you found the instructions easy to follow :) And I'm looking forward to seeing the green bracelet/necklace finished, it's looking wonderful so far!

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  4. Dreamstar:
    Thankyou for your lovely comments. The earrings are lovely, made by Debbie of Abracadebra Designs. I agree the Pay It Forward is daunting, 5 gifts. I have revised this to just ONE now and fully understand why there has been little takeup with it.

    Zukiestyle:
    Thanks, the chains look more complicated than they are, and what's interesting is you can use up all those oddments of beads which we all have tucked away.

    TheCrimsonMoon
    Great praise, knowing how lovely your work is. I hope you will have a lot more visitors who are keen to try out your tutorials.

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  5. ZukieStyle:
    Oops, meant to say: Thank you for picking up Pay It Forward. Your mobile socks and bandanas are fab! An ideal gift. Let me know your contact details so I can link in to send you a PIF gift.

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  6. Big thank you for the mention- it's made my day :)
    Love the spiral chain, I had a go at it once but gave up when I couldn't figure out how to add clasps- might be time to pick up those seed beads again and have another go!

    LH
    x

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  7. LH your welcome, nice to meet new friends, it all adds to the whole 'blogging' experience. Look forward to seeing more of your work.

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  8. I love beading but always end up with half the beads on the floor, lol. Love your necklaces

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  9. Your welcome for the earrings. Wow, your spiral ropes came out great. Looks like you've been doing the stitch for years. Can't wait to see more. Love your sense of color

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Thank you for reading my blog, I appreciate your feedback and look forward to your next visit.

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