My first 'artisan' ceramic bead bracelet

It's pretty dark indoors - no sunshine - torrential, never ending rain outside!  So any painting craft work was not really the thing to do - so I had a rummage in my beads drawer and pulled out a tin with a selection of ceramic beads which I have bought in little collections over the past couple of years.

 Today this little ceramic blue bird arrived in the post, along with four others which inspired me to get those beads out and try and make a bracelet that I would be proud of.

On the internet there are a number of amazing jewellery makers creating wonderful unique works. It's a great feeling to own a unique piece of jewellery.

The blue bird beads I bought from Blueberribeads

Each bead from Grubbi

is individually created by Grubbi and no two are the same.

Which is why I love them

If you are looking for inspiration then head off to Songbeads  blog

I am the proud owner of a few of her creations and it gives me a wonderful

 'lift' to know that no-one else will have a piece of jewellery exactly

 like the ones I have bought.

I decided to try using waxed cord for this bracelet, instead of wire

or a ready made metal chain bracelet. 

I have bought some different colours and thicknesses from Songbeads

so it was a great project to try them out on.

With no instructions to follow I set myself quite a challenge

But with the rain hammering down outside, and Mr Lottie out,

it was the perfect way to spend an afternoon!

Among my Grubbi stash I found this cute little kitten and beads

so she will be my next challenge I think - but I have absolutely no idea

what I will make with them.  Do you?

An attempt at making a bracelet

I haven't been crafting very much of late.  I have tried - really hard - and made attempts at creating journals - but nothing that I feel good enough to post on here.

I really am missing crafting - so last night I made an attempt at playing with beads.

I needed a bracelet to match a dark olive dress, 

which I wear with a pretty red and dark green 

and purple/plum silk scarf.

After a rummage in my bead tin I found just the right beads to match.  They have a lovely sheen to them and when they catch the light they have a rainbow of the olive and purple shades - it's like looking in a puddle on a summers day when you see those oily colours!  

There were only ten of them - but just enough for a bracelet with the added olive shades of the matte finished beads I used in between. 

 I found the old Chinese coin in my button box!  I think folks use them in crafting - but I like the flat disk, it feels comfortable on my wrist being flat, and it stays central, rather than with just beads that move around quite a bit and often the connectors ends up on top and not the nice focal beads.

Shame about the dark photos - roll on summer sunshine

A life made by hand journal page 3

I will never look at the Sunday supplements as 'rubbish','junk' a 'waste of paper' again.

I have been looking through them with 'different' eyes for supplies and inspiration

for art journalling.   Gluing and sticking is probably a better term for what I am 

doing at the moment.  The 'art' perhaps will come later!

 The background and wording and the backing paper

are all from the Sunday supplement magazines.

The  blue backing paper is in fact a shuttering on a window which I managed to cut enough little strips, and turned them on the side and shaded!

I have inked around the lettering to make it show up - I think that was from a food advert which I cut and took out the words I wanted to turn into a prompt!

This is the journalled page.

I am not being 'picky' about my writing as Kelly Kilmer said not too.

I think that it will improve if I could find a pen that will write better on shiny paper

and also if I practice writing more.  I have been typing for so long on a computer

my writing has suffered as a consequence!

If any of you know of a pen that will definitely work on shiny surfaces I would very much appreciate the name and a link too if possible.

Thank you for looking

A life made by hand - journal page 2

I managed to get another journal page done this afternoon.

This course differs from the others in that it is not an arty painty

type journal - its more like the very old original idea of scrapbooking

of 50-60 years ago - but with the twist of journalling  your thoughts.

 

I am not photographing this one close up as I have journalled 

from a prompt  and it is personal to me.

It is very liberating just cutting and gluing, then picking a prompt

totally unrelated to the pictures - and just write.

Kelly Kilmer stressed not to worry about our handwriting, as it doesn't

have to be beautiful - one just has to write what flows out of our brain.

A first for me!

First attempt at my online journal course

Well it was about time I dived in feet first and had a go - wasn't it.

I must confess that I am finding it very very difficult.

I made my first page - then didn't know when to stop - as is usual with me

and ended messing it up, and it is in fragments in the bin!

This is my second attempt

I have had to photograph this on A4 white paper to make it show up better.

Why I chose black and white I do not know - I was just taken by the

image of the very elegant lady in a weekend magazine.

I had to resize her and cut her out of all the advertising, and outline her,  The background is strips of papers

torn and glued with a glue stick - and a bit of painting in the right hand corner.

I haven't braved any of the journalling on it yet - that is my down fall.  I will take my time and read some prompts to get subject ideas.

I really do not want this one to end up in the bin!

As I am following instructions which give no sizes, I am just using random pages torn from on old dictionary.   As you can see it is rather a  big page!

It is proving to be a relaxing past time -  but one needing lots of space and choice of papers.

I think that if I keep practising it should get easier - at least I hope it does

She's back - SHE IS BACK - I am so happy

The wonderfully talented  Jo Capper-Sandon is back blogging.  What a joy to see.  Her fabulous Stampotique stamps were the first I bought from that company - and Jo is back with a fabulous designed work of art using them.

Wonderfully bright and sunny colours, and a technique I haven't tried - but will definitely do so over the next few days - I will need to have a rummage in my drawers for the colours though.

Do pop over and see - you will be amazed!

If I am not back on here before the 31st December - have a wonderfully happy and healthy and solvent 2014 everyone.

A Christmas Bush

 We decided not to have a Christmas tree this year.

Mr Lottie isn't back to full strength, and I have hurt my back.

 

Totally on impulse I decided to get a little bush instead.

 I need to have another go at trimming the top - but it looks very pretty with the sun shining on it.

 I crammed on lots of little surprises, even cinanamon sticks 

(you can just see one of a bunch poking out at top - the smell is yummy)

 

Even if your home is tiny like ours you can still have a festive  'tree'

I sprayed bits of holly gold and some twigs, as I mentioned - lovely cinnamon sticks

very Christmassey, strings of beads, pears, artificial poinsettias and ribbon etc - everything from my 

flower arranging stash box - long ago hidden under a pile of other boxes under the table in my studio.

I wrapped the plant pot up in a big carrier bag and plonked it into a big green plastic plant pot, and wrapped it in potato sacking and added a ribbon.

Not quite big enough for a fairy - but it smells heavenly and fits in our little room perfectly.

And after the Christmas holidays it will be planted in a gap along my fence in the front garden

that has been crying out for a shrub for over a year now - but I have not had to time to buy one!

Until now!

Happy Christmas everyone.

Thanks for popping by