Jubilant at the Jubilee...

We don't let a bit of torrential rain and freezing weather spoil our days...so here is Granny and two of my Aunts sporting the Jubilee headgear I made them and enjoying the Great British outdoors!! lol  Pretty game to sit there for hours at 93, huh?? *Go Granny*

Actually, I think they came for the quiche and the pavlova as much as the Queen... ;0)

Hats off for the Queen!

It seemed it was about time I did a little crafting in honour of the Queen and her upcoming Diamond Jubilee...so I've created some headgear for a few of my relative that will be joining us over the long weekend.

First up, a red, white and blue headband:

 Secondly, with more of the red, white and blue flowers...a hat band for...well for a hat, clearly! ;0)

And finally, because every family has someone who thinks she's Queen bee...a tiara!! 

An unseasonal LO...Christmas at Berko!!

Hi everyone...its beautifully sunny here and so hot you could fry eggs on the pavement...so i thought i'd scrap a very unseasonal photo and immerse myself in cooler times. ;0)

I only allowed myself to use papers and cardstock from my scraps pile...and i even created the background pp with a scrap, some Versamark ink, a few mica powders and my hand carved damask stamp...did you spot it?
{To see the LO more clearly just click on it and it will pop up big enough for you to see all the details :0) }

The embellishments all came from the tray on my desk where I keep leftovers from other projects.  The paper flowers are both dipped into UTEE after being coated in Brilliance ink, and the wire flower is held in place by a cute brad that was also in my tray.

I stamped the journalling block using an ancient stamp and rounded the corners to match the tag i've used (upside down) on the top left.

Its another case of, not feeling great so throw it all at the page and see what happens...but i'm quite liking how it came out! :0)  And how can you fail to love the cheeky look on my BIL's face!!

I do hope you are managing to keep cool...and not get burned...but taking the opportunity to have an ice~cream or two!

more charming chainmail...

i'm loving this style of jewellery atm...check the previous post if you missed my tutorial...and couldn't resist making a slightly chunkier, more embellished version...this time i've added assorted large red and white glass beads {always buy annealed beads to avoid chipping :0) } and some cute pearly buttons.  its all mix and match and i just love it!

30 minute Thursdays...simply charming chainmail

Jewellery is beautiful...i guess that is the point of it....but it can take forever to make something that looks stylish and unique...in today's 30 Minute Thursday project i share my love of chain mail and my simple take on how to give the technique a go and create a pretty bracelet...in under 30 minutes!

You will need:
2 pairs of jewellery pliers {to open and close the jump rings}
75 jump rings {i use sterling silver ones to prevent allergy issues}
Toggle clasp
7 small glass beads
7 silver head pins

How to do it:
Creating a basic chain mail chain like this one is actually very simple...and endlessly satisfying! ;0)  Firstly use your pliers to open one jump ring and thread 4 more onto it, before using the pliers to close the ring again.

You should then have 5 rings that look like this:

Next, open another jump ring and hook the two end rings over it, and add 2 more jump rings, then close the ring.  Repeat this, hooking the end two rings and adding 2 more each time, and your chain will look like this!

Once you've got the technique, its surprising how quickly the chain grows so keep a ruler handy to make sure you don't make the chain longer than you need!  Add the toggle and bar onto the ends on a double link for extra strength.

If you want to, you can leave the chain at this stage...i think this is really *grown~up* and stylish for a subtle jewellery piece.

I have added simple glass charms to my chain mail chain.  This was done by creating a wrapped loop charm with each of my glass beads and attaching them to my chain with a jump ring at regular intervals:

I love how pretty and girlie this is...but understated too...although you could use bolder, bigger charms for a more chunky look if you should choose to!

As always, i do hope you've enjoyed seeing my make and if you do fancy giving this a go...i'd love to hear how you get on...and see the finished creation! :0)

Bubbly Scrumptious update...the whole hydrangea

Hi all...limited crafting still here due to the surgery...but i've got a Bubbly update for you...the full instructions on how to turn your hydrangea heads from last week into a full bush!  Do click here to see my full post.
Back soon...hopefully with the return of 30 minute Thursdays...watch this space!
:0)

Bubbly Scrumptious update...all of a flutter

Have you popped over to Bubbly Scrumptious to check out my latest project, yet?  I'm still playing with my Melt Pot and this time adding some chipboard and fabric shapes to create a little wearable art...just click here for all the details and instructions :0)

30 minute Thursdays...a funky button ring...

Morning all, time for another 30 minute Thursday project...a rather funky button ring.  This is a great project to do with the girls in your life...young and old...and would make a great sleepover activity!

You will need some wire and a couple of buttons.  I cut my wire into three 9" lengths:

Loosely plait the middle section of your wires to hold them together {this is much easier if you have someone else hold one end!!}...just plait enough to go around your finger:

 Check it by bending it around your finger and twisting the wire together to keep the join where you want it:

Remove your finger...and you now have a ring with 6 legs!  Notice how your plait seems so much neater when you've bent it round into a circle? Magic! ;0)

Add your buttons to 2 of the longest threads by pushing the wire up through the back, over the middle and down through the other hole:

The back of your ring will look like this and you can stop at this stage, twisting the wire gently into a small spiral behind the button and trimming neatly {making sure you have no rough edges to catch on your finger} this will create a simple button ring...

...but i like to take it a bit further and add a coiled wire petals for extra fun to my rings!  Simply use round nose pliers to make a small loop on the end of each wire and then use your fingers to make loose spirals with each of the wires.  Arrange the spirals to look like petals all facing the same way and you're done!

And here is my finished funky button ring:

...and here is another...slightly smaller buttons this time {i only have small hands}:

...and finally...my favourite but most bonkers version...the super~sized funky ring!!

30 minute Thursdays...personalised keychain...

Hi all...its Thursday again...so time for another 30 minute project...this week i've created a personalised keychain with a photo of my hubby on it. Of course, you're unlikely to want my hubby on your keychain...so feel free to add photos of your children, pets or favourite flowers...whatever you love!

Materials:

1 large Tim Holtz facet and the jump rings you get in the pack

Glossy Accents

2 charms of your choosing

alcohol inks

Stickles

a scrap of ribbon

a keychain

a scrap of pp

a photo

The first step is to adhere your pp to your facet using a smoosh of Glossy Accents. Move the facet around a bit {wiggle it} to spread the glue and allow it to dry for about 30 seconds. Cut carefully around the facet.

Next, adhere your photo to the reverse of the pp just as before, wiggling the facet for good adhesion...and allow to dry. Trim as before and using a pokey tool, remake the hole all the way through so you can attach the jump ring.

Using the jump rings in the pace of facets, make a simple chain of 5 rings with the keychain on one end and the facet on the other. Take your charms and colour them by dabbing with alcohol inks and when dry {again about a minute unless you've totally soaked them!} add a dab of glitter glue with your finger for some subtle sparkle. Leave this to dry, then using two more jump rings attach the two charms to the chain.

The final step is to simply tie on a piece of co~ordinating ribbon and attach keys!

And there you have it...a simple but personalised keychain perfect for a gift or as in my case, just for yourself...because *you're worth it* muahahahahaha

30 minute Thursdays...a very versatile pin...

Aesthetically i love this time of year and lately i've been very inspired by all the lovely flowers that are blossoming around me. Today's 30 minute project was inspired by the beautiful rambling roses my FIL grows...i hope you like it as much as i like the roses! ;0) its a simple rose pin that could be used for a myriad of things and in many situations...how about as a bag, coat or hat pin, a Wedding boutonnière {is that the right word??}, as an embellishment on a hairclip...

This is a super easy project and in fact you could create more than one in 30 minutes if felt so inclined! So what do you do?

First take a 40cm length of scalloped velvet ribbon and wind this around and around as you do when you're tidying up the tape measure. Let it slacken slightly and add a generous dollop of Tacky glue to a section of felt slightly larger than the coil. Trim the felt into a simple flower shape and layer another slightly larger piece of felt underneath, again trimming to a rough rose shape. Take a fancy pin {or create your own with regular pins and a few small beads} and push this into the centre of the rose. Now cut a piece of wide green ribbon for the leaves. Fold the ribbon in from both ends to the middle with a slight overlap...pop the pin through the middle hiding the ends and glue this into place. Finally, using small pliers bend the pin at a right angle and use this as a simple brooch attachment, or trim and glue on whatever attachment you prefer.

Easy, huh? This works well in all sorts of colourways and it looks so good in all sorts of places...mine has come to rest on the kitchen roll as i just loved the spotty ribbon agains the spotty towel!! ha haaa not a very practicle place really...i think it will come to rest permanently on my wicker type beach bag :0)

bubbly scrumptious update...simple wire flower tutorial

Morning all...especially those of you popping in from the Bubbly Funk forum...i have no idea why i've been unable to upload to the Bubbly Scrumptious blog for the last three days...so rather than have you miss out, i thought i'd upload my simple wire flower tutorial here instead!

How to Create a Simple Wire Flower:

Ingredients:

70cm length of craft wire available from Bubbly Funk {just click to buy it and see all the other yummy goodies in the shop}

125 seed beads

Method:

Thread 25 seed beads onto the length of wire and twist to create a petal shaped loop as shown below...



Thread on 25 more beads and twist again to create the second petal shape...it helps to leave a gap between the petals as the wire centre will gather here...




Thread on another 25 beads...i'm guessing you can see where this is going by now...and create yourself a third petal shaped loop...this time as well as twisting the wire to make the loop...wind it between the petals a few times to start building up your flower middle...




Thread on another 25 beads, make your fourth petal shape and continue to wrap the wire around the center of the flower about 5 times...working in between each petal...




Thread on the final 25 beads and create your fifth loop in exactly the same way, wrapping the wire around the middle another 5 or 6 times to create a juicy flower center. You can finish the flower either by leaving the two wire ends for a stem and twisting them together...or as i have done here, by tucking them into the knot of wire at the back and trimming with wire cutters or strong scissors.

As a final touch, bend each petal into a slight curved shape to give dimension and mimick a real flower...then attach to your chosen project.

These flowers are very simple to create and can be created in a multitude of sizes by altering the number of beads used per petal...or by not using the beads at all and simply measuring the length of your first petal to get an even sized flower. They can also be used in lots of ways...they look fabby on coat lapels or headbands...attached to handbag flaps or on the front of cards or scrapbook LO's.

i hope you like the flower and will have a go at creating it...and don't forget to check back in for my next tutorial where we'll take this idea and make a much more complex flower!

thanks for stopping by and to all who leave encouraging comments...they are truly appreciated!

:0)

trying again...and a bit of jewellery...

still very much a novice jewellery maker...i've been experimenting with creating a floating necklace this week...i love glass beads and chunky ones at that...and i'm a big fan of long necklaces {mainly because i've got such a big, fat neck!!} both of these things mean that a necklace can get pretty heavy, but by using crimp beads to separate the beads and float them along the tiger tail wire...i can have the look i want, with the beads i want...without weighing myself down! Rah! ;)



if anyone has any tips on photographing long thin jewellery...i'd be super grateful if you'd share them!!

i'm loving playing with beads and wire atm...and i'm working on a chain maille charm bracelet which i hope to share later in the week...so if you like that kind of thing too...watch this space...

and finally...here is a photo of my journal page from Thursday...see how much more subtle and vibrant it is than the scanned image? :0)

30 minute Thursdays!

Hi everybody...welcome to my new weekly feature...*30 minute Thursdays*! If you're anything like me,...you like to create something most days but sometimes you'll be short on time, on energy or inspiration...this is where my new feature comes in...each week, on a Thursday, i'll share a quick, and inspirational project that can be completed in less than 30 minutes...using only things that you are likely to have in your craft stash already! i'll vary the techniques and materials from week to week...so expect to see stamping, sewing, altering and inking...and even some surprises! Sound good? i do hope you'll join me on my 30 minute journeys each week...and if you leave me a link to your project...you could a win a wee prize too! :) This week i've started with a pretty beaded bag charm: To create this you'll need a bag clip or key ring, 8 or more jump rings, 5 or more headpins and an assortment of small charms and beads that you love. Tool~wise you'll need a small pair of jewellers' pliers to open and close the jump rings...and this is the most complicated part of the whole project! Start by making a chain from the jump rings, using the pliers and your fingers or tweezers to open and close the jump rings and attach the chain to the bag charm...then take your beads and one by one place them on a headpin and create a top loop with the pliers, winding the excess wire around the top to finish off...and attach to the jump rings in a pleasing arrangement...et voila! as you'll see i've made two samples {both in the 30 minutes!} using an assortment of beads and charms that i had to show you what different looks you can achieve with the same basic design...one pink and girly...and one with wooden beads and pearls which is more sophisticated :) i hope you'll agree this is a quick, simple gift idea that would be ideal for all sorts of people and occassions... do let me know if you have a go at this...and leave me a link to be in with a chance of winning a little beading gift... of course...if you have any questions...do leave those in the comments section too and i'll do my vest to help!

bridal jewellery...

i've been bursting to share this cute tiara made with real gold and pearls and enhanced with gorgeous Swarofsky crystals...but i felt it was only fair if the bride saw it first! ;) thankfully, it arrived safe and sound *thankyou RM* and the bride in question loves it :) i think you can see the effect of the pearls and crystals especially well on the band: as a little suprize i decided to make her a matching bracelet {which she hadn't asked for} and its basically the same as the headband...alternating pearls and crystals...very pretty and would look better on a less hairy arm than mine!!

i remember so well how happy, excited, nervous and overwhelmingly lovely those days before my Wedding to his Nibs were...and i was delighted to be asked to contribute to the planning of the *big day*...good luck to you both xxxxx