Haberdashery Blog Hop

Today I am joining in with Melissa Trudinger's fab Haberdashery Blog Hop, a lovely friend of mine saw this hop and thought I would enjoy it, and how right was she!

As a young child I spent alot of my time in Haberdashery shops as my mum and grandmother were avid embroiderers, when I was not in the shop looking and beautiful coloured silks and ribbons I was spending hours watching them embroider! Any who now to show you my treasures.....

You may well notice a bit of a theme with all my pieces, buttons, I do love buttons! 

This is a simple macrame wrap bracelet I made for my oldest daughter, using leather cord, string, seed beads, a cute butterfly charm and one of my painted farthing coin buttons. I liked it so much I had to make one up for myself....

This one is much more me, in my favourite colours! I used the same macrame technique but instead of seed beads I used 4mm serpentine heishi gemstone beads (they are so beautiful) with a really cute heart charm from Daisy Chain Extra and another of my painted farthing coin buttons.

These look really lovely on, and before I knew it I was making another macrame bracelet....

I have had these beads for so very long and although I love them could not for the life of me think how to use them, then this design just happened! The lovely lampwork drops are by the amazing Laura Sparling and this time I used a silver sixpence shank button. 

It has a really nice glassy cuff look to it, but alas is very hard to photograph with out a model and my model has gone away to the coast for a couple of days! 

My last make is made up from some of the many baby buttons I have cut off my children's clothes (after they have destroyed them as only children can)....

Baby buttons mounted in silver made into earrings (they are not as big as they look in this pic, I just have freakishly small hands), I really, really love these! I have used a thin 0.3mm silver wire to look like thread.

I have decided to use some more of my baby button stash to make charms for a bracelet with the children's initials on the back and maybe even with gold thread!!! Now I am bursting with ideas!!!! 

*Shameless plug* if you would like to see more of my coin buttons they can be found here in my Bits Of NikNats etsy shop!!!

Thank you so much Melissa for hosting such a fun blog hop. I am now off to make a nice hot coffee before I take a look to see what everyone else has made, If you wish to join me here is the list of participants.... 

Melissa Trudinger                                           http://beadrecipes.wordpress.com 

Ann Schroeder                                                 http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com

Tammy Adams                                                http://www.paisleylizard.com/blog.html

Amanda Wacasey                                           http://mandyinmystic.blogspot.com

Dolores Raml                                                   http://craftydscreations.wordpress.com

Divya N                                                             http://www.jewelsofsayuri.com

Michelle McCarthy                                         http://www.fireflydesignstudio.BlogSpot.com

DiYana Brooks                                                 http://agapecreationsjewelry.blogspot.com/

Robin Kae Reed                                               http://willowdragon.blogspot.com

Andrea Glick                                                    http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/

Karin Grosset Grange                                     http://ginkgoetcoquelicot.blogspot.fr

Mitzie Crider                                                    http://needfulluxuries.blogspot.com

Janine Lucas                                        http://www.esfera.me/travel/blog/travel-stories (Will be posting on Sunday)

Rosantia Petkova                                           http://bairozan.blogspot.com/

Susan Kennedy                                                http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Leithleach Alainn Seodra                http://alainnjewelry.wordpress.com/

Kathleen Breeding                                          http://99bobotw.blogspot.com/

Shiraz Biggie                                                    http://secretsongdesigns.blogspot.com

Chris Eisenberg                                               http://www.wanderware.blogspot.com

Heather Richter                                              http://desertjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/

Lennis Carrier                                                  http://www.windbent.net/

Rebecca Anderson                                         http://www.songbeads.blogspot.com

Jenny Kyrlach                                                   http://anafiassa.blogspot.com

Rita Toltec Jewels                                 http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com (Will be posting on Sunday)

Mischelle Fanucci                                           http://www.micheladasmusings.blogspot.com

Karen Mitchell                                                 http://overthemoon-design.com

Carol Briody                                                     http://Cbriody.blogspot.com

Karla Morgan                                                  http://TexasPepperJams.blogspot.com

Carolyn Lawson                                              http://Carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com

Lori Anderson                                                  http://www.prettythingsblog.com/

Jami Shipp                                               http://www.celebratinglifewithdamamashipp.blogspot.com

Lili Krist                                                             http://pcbylik.blogspot.com/

Evelyn Shelby                                                   http://raindropcreationsbyevelyn.blogspot.com/

Raissa de Guzman                                          http://www.abloro.com

Niky Sayers                                                      http://silverniknats.blogspot.co.uk

Keren Panthaki                                                http://vasdea.wordpress.com

Have a great day

Bead soup

Hello lovely people and welcome to my Bead Soup Post, firstly I would like to thank our fabulous host Lori who has been totally amazing managing to set this all up even with every thing she is going through she is an inspiration to us all, and second I would like to thank my wonderful partner Kristina for sending me such a lovely soup and being a wonderful partner!

As seems to be tradition with these soups I got most of the work done last minute even when they are put back, quiet literally I finished my pieces at midnight and have only just finished photoing!

So I should properly start off by showing you what I got sent....

Aren't the colours beautiful! My first thoughts were to wire wrap the focal and hang it off a simple chain but that did not work (my wire wrapping skills are not as good as I had hoped) so in frustration I put it back in the bowl and started playing with the clasp instead....

Never one to do some thing easy and liking to be different I decided to use the clasp as a focal, I flipped it over, hammered a texture onto it, then popped it into the liver of sulphur and buffed it up, added a few amazonite beads, a lampwork spacer by the very talented Laura Sparling and a tiny ball chain (here is another photo as I don't really like this one on the white background)....

So back to my focal and I just kept thinking how lovely it looked with the light shinning through it and it would be such a shame to put it on a necklace as you would not get to see that, this thinking lead me to the idea of making it into a sun catcher!!! Then I saw the beautiful card that Kristina sent with my soup and inspiration struck....

How cute are these owls! 

Well we have been having a problem with mess maker having night terrors, to the point where bedtime is just full of stress for all of us, so maybe instead of a sun catcher how about a dream catcher?

I sawed out a little owl shape and added the detail using a mini flat head screwdriver and a hammer (this was a lot of fun and I will defiantly be doing this again!)

I talked the idea of dream catchers through with mess maker and then she informed me of how this will work (she has such a great imagination and loves explaining things)! If she has any nightmares then the owl with catch them and fly them away while she sleeps and if she has any good dreams they will get caught in the bead so they stay with her and she can have them ones again, how sweet is that! 

We will be trying it out tonight, It will hang from the bottom of her bunkbed so in the morning it will still act as a sun catcher, keep your fingers crossed for us please. I also made up these too...

I used one of the green spacers and the lovely stripy green bead in this bracelet along with a butterfly by Mandrel beads and clasp and wingding by The Fab Genea, I made the copper hoop from Cindy Wimmers missing link book and gave it a salt water patina and then added a little hammered copper lentil bead, I do like this bracelet it's very me, an eclectic mix of lovelies that is great for fiddling around with. I also made a pair of earrings....

With the headpins and a couple of the spacers, simply hung on my fancy ear wires and I still have plenty of leftovers to play around with, Please do go visit my increadbly talented partner Kristina, I just had a peep at what she had made and WOW you will not want to miss it!!!

I hope you all have an amazing day and enjoy the hop!

Bead Soup

My Bead Soup arrived! I'm so excited just like a kid on christmas morning, Cris really spoilt me, here is what she sent....

 Isn't the ribbon such a lovely color!

At this point I was drooling....

 We did not really discus colors and decided to surprise each other and how surprised was I that Cris sent me a selection of beads and a focal in my favorite color!

More yummy stuffs, I'm in love with this piece of coral and that shell full of shells....

And just because every girl needs cake....

None of these things are what I would class as my usual style, but I already have so many ideas, and started playing and planing the second I had them out of the bags (well the second after I ate the chocolate that Cris very kindly sent, that did not even last long enough to make it into a photo). I would like to say a massive thank you to Cris for being so generous and I hope she will like what I come up with! 

Pop by and see what I come up with on our reveal date which is 28th July.

Have a great day

xxx

Short attention span....

Each of these little glass pots (that may previously, in the very distant past, have contained mini lemon cheese cake) now contain an unfinished project, I really must try to finnish some of them before starting any new projects!

A simple stocking filler....

 (beautiful bead by the lovely Izzy of Flame and Glass)

Simple handmade clasp with swarovski crystal 

 Every cloud has a silver lining bracelet. Stunning cloud beads by the fab Laura Sparling.

With my own handmade cloud clasp, inspired by the beautiful oak leaf clasp I used a couple of posts back made by Jo of Daisychainextra. While I love the clasp I did not enjoy making it at all, sawing silver sheet is not something I have done much of and I did not feel like I had much control over the saw (thank goodness for needle files)!

I have a silver lining mark II bracelet in one of those many pots, same idea but slightly different.

xxx

The Big Bead Show....

From the moment I stepped through the door I was in heaven, shiny, sparkly bead heaven! Yep today was the day of The Big Bead Show.

Mess maker and my new beady partner in crime (my lovely cousen) Amanda of melt together beads (new to beading and new to blogging so head on over and share the love). I really should have taken more photos, but you see there were too many shiny things going on! 

Some of my lovely new stash....

I was lucky enough to meet up with some wonderful bead people today including the fantastic Becky of Chameleon Designs who came in second place in the bead awards (congrats), and her lovely friend Sarah of Flame Force Five, her stand was my idea of bead heaven and she had the most beautiful wooden display busts! 

These are what I got from Sarah, that bottom bead is my favorite buy, I love it!

Labradorite cab from Shangrila Gems

Shiny!

These little beauties are tiny, and Michaela was such a nice person!

Titanium Drusy from Designer Cabochons (I could have spent hours looking at all the beautiful stones).

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend