Nostalgia

When I was little I was a big fan of pressing flowers.  My Dad recently showed me a pressed flower bookmark that I'd made him for Father's Day when I was 7 or 8.  A relative made me the flower press - I still have it - but I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten who it was.  They also made a Fort for my brothers.  

UPDATE!  Ooops it turns out that my Mum designed my flower press and my Dad made it for me.  My Dad's Uncle Albert did indeed make the Fort for my brothers but he made me a doll's house.  It obviously got mixed up in my mind over the years!  Sorry Mum and Dad!!

The Hydrangea bush in my garden is looking great this year so I thought that I'd go back to my old habit of pressing flowers.  Once they were pressed, I encased them in resin and made one into a light, simple necklace.  I think I might try doing this again......

Cocoon Bracelet

I'm still enjoying my new Coiling Gizmo.  It makes coiling much faster - and makes neater coils that I could achieve by hand.  However you do have to keep an eye on it - it is easy to get distracted and then look down and realise that the coil has started back on itself.  This is easy to fix - just unwind it and carry on coiling.  However, as an experiment, I thought I'd see what happened if I carried on letting the coil go back on itself.  I coiled back and forth until it started to look like a cocoon and then I coiled on a few seed beads for a contrast in colour.  I was so pleased with the result that I made two more 'beads' and strung them together into a bracelet for myself.  Of course this experiment meant that I got completely distracted and didn't finish the piece that I was intending to do but I'm pleased with my new bracelet!  

Boot Camp

It is time for Boot Camp again and this time it is all about clasps.  Last time I showed you some coiling work that I'd done with the Coiling Gizmo - and I wondered if I could make a clasp with these coiled components.  The answer is yes!  I've made a series of coiled links, incorporating some glass beads for some added interest.  I've paired this with a resin leaf that I made some time ago - it has been sitting in my 'to be completed' pile for a while now and it is good to find it a home!

Here is a close-up on the clasp since this is what Boot Camp is all about........................

Please go and have a look at what everyone else has been making for boot camp - there is always beautiful  and varied work on show.  

Beyond Excited

I am very excited because my work is in this month’s Beads and Beyond – my favourite jewellery-making magazine!! Back in the summer, Beads and Beyond announced on their blog that they were opening up their Designer Challenge to their readers for one month only. In case you don’t know, the Designer Challenge is where they send out the same package of beads to four designers and challenge them to make jewellery with them. I thought I would apply and was thrilled when they chose me. The beads arrived by recorded delivery early in June - as well as a brief on what to write about. The copy date for the magazine to receive my jewellery and text back was the end of June so I was busy getting everything finished. I had a strict word count for my descriptions about how to make the jewellery (120 words) – which was a really fun challenge – I think my first draft was closer to 400 words each so I had to slim my descriptions down rather!

It has been a complete joy working with Beads and Beyond – I am so happy to have been part of the Designer Challenge. Please go and buy the magazine to see what I made – it is the September 2013 edition which will be available in the shops on the 8th August..........I'm on page 68!