Shona Bee........

If you visit me often you are aware that we spoil our Bear.

She has everything she wants ... up to a point and often pinches things that aren't hers.

The Cushtie Pillow Thief! ... It is mine but she borrows it often (it's now going very flat!)

So while at work I spotted something that I thought might be an excellent purchase (checked on line but it was the cheapest price at work) but knowing what she's like it might have been a waste of money ... If we buy her something specifically for her she's not interested but wants something she can't have lol!

So I bought this when I finished work yesterday .... You can't imagine how pleased we were that she took to it like this lol!

It's a 'Pillow Pet' and has a Velcro tab at the sides so you can stand it on it's feet ... otherwise when undone it's just a square pillow.

The Bee head sticks out a bit and is quite firm (but still soft) so Shona can rest her head on it.

So it's a Bee for Bear lol!

If you are wondering ... she's still on the medication every other day but eating well and everything else is working okay.

Hope you enjoy my little Shona Share.

Many thanks for looking

Beading Heaven.............

I managed to get hold of a wonderful Glass Bead Bargain the other week from Create & Craft/Beaders Companion.

Really Beautiful Beads......... this was the Blue Option.

But when I laid them out in front of me.... I had a rough idea what I wanted to do (Bracelet) but I got really over-whelmed and just sat there looking at them for a while.

There were some lovely turquoise blue Beads which caught my eye so I mixed them with these spacers....

And this was the result......

Unfortunately the turquoise is showing greener than it actually is.

So this is the whole set........... Necklace, Bracelet and Earrings.

Another view of the Necklace.

A closer view of the Necklace.

An even closer view of the Necklace ...  A little wire work detail under the pendant section.

The matching Earrings ... I also matched them to the Necklace Pendant with a little wire work at the base of the drops.

The left-over oddments which made the perfect Bracelet.

I have a packet of multi-coloured seed beads and the turquoise was a perfect match so I incorporated them into the design between each gold spacer.

Now I just have to work out what I'm going to do with the other colourway and the rest of the blue ones ... hopefully I won't be overwhelmed again lol!

Many thanks for looking

Doggy Biscuits..............

...................but not for Doggies lol!

I managed to get hold of this brilliant Tala Biscuit Set the other day ... just had to have it for the Dogs Biscuit  shape lol!

So............. Trying to stay awake during the day on Friday (I was at work very early Friday morning. When I'm on shift, if I nap during the day, I can't sleep at night and as the alarm goes off at 3.30am I only get very broken sleep as I keep waking up ...  so if I can I try to stay awake ... it doesn't always work though and even if I do stay awake, I get so tired I can't function and when I fall into bed I do go straight to sleep but again it's broken as I keep waking to look at the clock so I don't over lay ... I can't win either way lol! ... Probably one of the reasons I lose my mojo!)

Anyway I digress.............

Back to the Biscuits............. and delish they were too!

The biscuit is a very basic butter base recipe but I had some left over creamy butter icing in the fridge so I just had to make .................... you've guessed it.  Westies lol!  

I know the shape isn't quite right for a Westie ... more of a Wire Haired Terrier but it is a Terror Terrier lol! ... and she did try to help us eating them but could only watch as they certainly weren't gluten free and certainly not for our delicate lady!

Many thanks for looking

Another New Technique.............

...............on  my Jewellery Journey ... Chain Mail!

I saw this on Create & Craft towards the end of last year and was intrigued............. so I just had to have a go.

The Necklace came as a Kit with all the instructions and also instructions to do many different techniques with Jump Rings.

I also managed to create a Bracelet with the left overs.

I also made a different Silver Bracelet following the instructions in the booklet and also another version using the extra Pink Rings I had left over ... you can just see the Pink/Silver version in the background.

Here's the full view!

So this was my Journey so far up to the end of 2011 ... in between my Card Making Mojo returned and the Jewellery Making was shelved for the time being.

I hope I've inspired you to try something different if your Card Making Mojo leaves you for a while.

Many thanks for looking

Mother of Pearl Jewellery Set..............

.......... was my next little attempt.

This time I was getting a little more adventuress and tried my hand at Eye Pin Findings and making loops.

I'm lucky enough to have a Beading Shop in town and find as I go forward in my Jewellery Journey that I'm leaning towards natural stones, gems and glass beads for my jewellery.

Another view of the Necklace.......

I've added a small gold bead in between each of my Mother of Pearl clusters.

So are you enjoying my Jewellery Journey so far?

Many thanks for looking

So, What Came Next...........

...... So after having caught the Jewellery bug I managed to find a book on Jewellery Making Beginners Basics in a local Bargain Bookstore ...  I also went to the local library and managed to borrow a few books.

So after browsing through the instructions I had a go at a Beading Technique and came up with this!

And I forgot to tell you it was a Bracelet so I've just had to edit the post lol!

I used one size of black seed bead and a larger size clear glass bead with silver spaces and bars and used nylon thread.

Another view.....

A little bit more of a close-up....

Well I hope you like my other crafty bits.

I have a few more to show you on my Jewellery Journey ... I just have a few more pieces to show you to keep you up to date ... Hopefully I won't bore you too much.

Many thanks for looking

When I Lose My Mojo..............

....................I try to keep busy by doing other Handicrafts!

If you've followed my Blog for a while you will be aware that last year I had a spell a couple of months in the Summer when I didn't post at all............

Well, to still keep myself  occupied I did this first of all.

I caught a Jewellery program on Create & Craft which perked my interest, although I didn't buy anything ... then on a visit to Hobbycraft I saw this Acrylic Bead Necklace Kit ... not too expensive and I saw a possibility to wear this with a number of things ...  The Necklace and Earrings Sets were made from the left overs.

The Necklace....

The Bracelet....

The Earrings.....

A close-up of the Earrings...

The Kit had all the findings in it to complete the Necklace ... I did have to buy the extra findings to complete the Bracelet and the Earrings.

So this was my first venture into Jewellery Designing lol!

So now you know another of the things I do when I'm not card making.

Many thanks for looking

Beautiful Bloom & Butterflies......

...........................this was supposed to be an entry for The Play Date Challenge but unfortunately although I finished it, I didn't photograph and post it in time....

I've used all Hero Arts Stamps apart from the SU Sentiment and I really enjoyed creating this one .... can you tell?

It's a little bit busier than my usual of late.

I've stamped onto Ivory Linen Card (such a great texture) ... The colours I've used are London Fog and Black Memento and also an SU Sunshine Yellow Ink Pad.

The Black Flourish is a Memory Box Die and the Sentiment is stamped onto a Spellbinders Label (I added a little stitching interest).

I also created a little added interest with my Spellbinders Scallop Circle which I stamped prior to cutting out with my HA Starburst Lace ... I didn't trim it at the edge, I had intended to but it just looked right peeking over the edge!

The rose is a scrap from another project and the Bazzill Card just matched the yellow ink perfectly so I just had to add it and it fit perfectly at the side.

I sprinkled a few pearls for a little bit of bling.

Many thanks for looking

Last Minute Entry to LIM...........

I didn't think I was going to be able to post this in time..............

I just loved the colours for the Challenge over at The Play Date Cafe this week and had intended to also enter that challenge as well but didn't manage to in time.

I used my SU Strength & Hope Set for this one and also used a Heidi Grace Flourish in a lighter shade of Lemon (SU Pale Marker Set).

I created this with a little masking for my butterfly so it looked as if it was fluttering over the rest of the image.

Well I'm of to enter this before the deadline.

Many thanks for looking

Wild Flower Watercolours................

After having a play with my Hero Arts Wildflower Stamp I went through my other stamps to see what else I could create the same effect on.

This Hero Arts Flower Stamp is one of my very first stamps .. hardly ever inked but I think you might see a bit more of this one again.

I used Bundled Sage Distress Ink on the HA Large Plaid Pattern Design Block Background Stamp first ... Then I inked up my HA Flower Stamp with SU Earth Elements Markers and also a Butterfly (from the HA Dogwood Framelits Set) ... I then used one of my Spellbinder Dies ... Then came Hello (HA Everyday Sayings Set) inked with Dk Brown. 

At this point I wasn't sure what I was going to do next ... I knew I wanted to add a contrast but didn't want a full coloured layer under my stamped image ... I drew a pencil line around the inside of the Spellbinder Die that was a size larger and cut it out ... then I added some stitching.

The layers have been attached with foam pads.

I added a little detail to the base card by punching with my Fiskars Border Punch.

Here's a close-up!

My second option was using a Stamp I managed to find in a bargain bin at my local craft shop ... I couldn't believe my luck, there were brand new, un-inked HA Stamps ranging from £1 to £2 so I just had to invest in a few.

I applied my inks so the Sentiment on the stamp wasn't stamped.

This time my Plaid Background was stamped with Wild Honey Distress Ink.

I again used SU Earth Elements but there wasn't enough detail in my sheaves of corn so I added a little extra yellow with the brush marker ... the Butterfly was stamped and cut out at the same time I made the first card.

I made little holes on the wheat so I could thread through a little SU Linen Thread and tied little bows.

Just Because is also from the HA Everyday Saying Set and this was also inked in Dk Brown.

I changed the thread colour on this one to make it a little different .. the layers have again been attached with foam pads.

So which one is your favourite?

Many thanks for looking

 

Hero Arts Velveteen Challenge.............

The Challenge over at Hero Arts this month is to use a technique that Shari has called Velveteen ... the rest of the options are a colour palette and also Fabulous Blooms.

I just had to play along and have a go at this new technique.

I stamped the base of my card with my Hero Arts Daisy Reverse Woodblock Stamp and a white ink pad ... I'm still playing with my SU Earth Element Markers and having dug out one of my Shadow Block Stamps, I realised I also had a large four square version (HA Square of Four Backgrounds) .. perfect for my background interest.

I didn't breath over my stamp to revitalise my ink this time, so it is only lightly stamped so the Daisy Reverse Stamp doesn't show through .. purely accidental.

My Flowers are from the HA 4 Flowers Set, you can just see the Daisy Reverse Stamp showing through the Flowers which have been stamped directly onto the card.

I've used a large Sun Punch for the larger flower centres and the small flower stamp is from the HA Everyday Sayings Sentiment Set ... I've dotted the smaller flowers with white Pebeo liquid to add a little interest.

A little extra interest with my Fiskars Border Punch and my stamped layer has been attached with foam pads.

Thanks for looking