All posts filed under: Jewelry

‘I like’ Friday

Published by

Here are some things I am liking this fine Friday – I have been using smoked paprika a lot in recipes lately and I love to put it on fries, especially with an egg. Yums! Zines and handmade books  are the subject of a new Creative Bug class which has totally made me want to make a zine or two.  I have been making sketchbooks lately and the zine format is very appealing. The book I am now reading is Harmless Like You by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan and I am enjoying it so far.  I started a couple of books which I gave up on, but I think this one is a winner. Neocolor II crayons are my art supply of the moment.  I used water soluble crayons in art collage about a hundred years ago but I have not revisited them until very recently.  I have a handful of colours and I love to use them with a little water or gesso to spread them around. Handmade jewels used to be something I made all …

10 on the tenth and weekly photos 19/52

Published by

  10 on the tenth from Saturday, I didn’t post on Saturday because it was the Bead Soup Blog Party reveal and I didn’t want to be posting all day!  So here they are! 1.  Mr Y and I got up early to go a local church ‘Garage’ sale.  We got there so early we had to join a little line to get in.  Very keen!  I spotted this box as soon as we got there and I thought it would be ideal to store photos in.  When I bought it, it was labeled ‘suprise hardware $1’, so I took my hardware chances and got the box.  Turns out it is great for my photos and it was indeed full of hardware including some very nice hooks I will most likely use.  Good start to the sale! 2.  The jewels I made with the beads I received as part of the Bead Soup exchange. 3. and 4. A tin and buttons from the sale. 5. and 6. Award winning magnets!  Another score from the garage …

Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal 2014

Published by

Remember I wrote about the Bead Soup Blog Party a while back?  Well, I mixed up my soup, added a few ingredients and off I went to create some jewels! This is the second year I have taken part in the ‘Pretty Things’ Bead Soup Blog Party and it is always so much fun. From the initial partnering up to the excitement of receiving my bead soup in the mail, to the making of the final pieces.  Here is what I made last year, I have to say I am still a little in love with that butterfly ring. I knew I wanted to make a ring this year and I also wanted to use linen thread in the main piece.  One of the coconut buttons begged me to be a ring and who was I to argue?   The salmon hue of the linen complements the heart focal perfectly I think. Thanks to Cassi of Beads: Rolling Downhill blog for my lovely Soup, I can’t wait to go and see what she did with …

CatsEatDogs New Wrap Bracelet

Published by

I love to make jewelry and I love to wear it, so that works out!  This bracelet is for my Etsy shop, so I haven’t worn it, but I might well make another for me. This little number can be wrapped around your wrist or your ankle and even worn as a necklace. Yay, what choice! I used lots of wooden beads as they are my latest love. Among them, I added shell heishi and trade beads in pink and aqua. I piled all of my current bracelets onto a painted branch and I think they look super cool!  I enjoy colour and mixing colours and then making jewelry with the ensuing mix.  Here they are sitting in my mint patch, so maybe they smell nice now too!

New necklaces at CatsEatDogs

Published by

I have been busy making new jewelry this week, once I started making these necklaces which can be worn short or long, I couldn’t stop!  I still have lots of ideas for more.  They are so easy to wear and go with almost everything. I have listed the necklaces in the pictures in my Etsy shop and each photo is a link to the item if you fancy popping over and visiting my shop. These necklaces like to be worn alone or together at different lengths, the knots slide to adjust the length. I have used acrylic faceted beads which are lightweight with just the right amount of sparkle and lots of wooden beads including some lovely vintage wood (the last photo).  I think the vintage is my favourite! What are you wearing this summer?  I love to pile on the bracelets and necklaces but not together, usually a pile of necklaces or an arm of bracelets! Happy weekend.

Bead Soup Blog Party Begins

Published by

I have my hostess gift (for Lori at Pretty Things) and I have my wonderful bead soup from Cassi at Beads Rolling Downhill blog.  Now I just need to get my party hat, a drink and join in! I am quite happy that this is a virtual party on the interweb as I am not a party person at all, I would be the one standing at the door smiling inanely all night until I see someone I know. Thankfully the whole point of the Bead Soup Blog Party is to create jewelry from a selection of beads (the soup) sent to you by your allotted partner.  I like that we get random partners and that we are not paired with someone because of similar styles. The beads we send our partner are supposed to be a little bit of a challenge, a little out of their comfort zone. I am sure most of us who take on the BSBP challenge are in agreement that any beads are good beads. I mean I don’t want broken …

Weekly photos 11/52

Published by

This past week saw a couple of very nice sunny warm days which was a very nice peek at Spring.  The garlic is growing healthy green shoots and the bulbs are starting to come through.  The rest of the week was pretty chilly though. Here are last week’s photos, starting with a funny doggy face!  He was barking to get me to throw his ball when I snapped this. I took a few photos for a post I wrote earlier last week, but here is a photo I didn’t use which shows the vintage tray off. It poured with rain one night and in the morning everything was damp, but not soaked.  I spotted this solitary leaf with it’s load of raindrops so I got a picture.  When I went back later in the afternoon, it was still there, with just a few less drops, so I got an update! I took this photo of the sun behind clouds behind the magnolia tree.  Then I mixed it in with a photo I had taken of …

Ten on the 10th March 2014

Published by

A gorgeous Spring day, hurrah! It is amazing how mood boosting a spot of sunshine and warm air is. For ten on the 10th this month, I have all sorts of things to show you!  It has been a lovely sunny and warm day and even though the dastardly clocks went back an hour over the weekend, everyone is in a good mood. Today I have been admiring the flowers I bought last week. Wondering what I should do with the treasures I found at the antiques mall?  I bought a perfume bottle stopper and some chiffon ribbon which by coincidence is the same colour almost exactly as the stopper, so pretty. Pablo has been enjoying the sunshine too.  Chasing his tennis ball up and down the garden! I made and listed a couple of new bracelets, I think they are both beauties!  If you want, click on the image to magically fly over to my Etsy shop. My new notebook and my favourite scarf. The garlic is starting to peek through.  Remember when I …

Weekly photos 9/52

Published by

Last week was a little warmer and then little colder, and then it snowed…again.  I had a root canal on Wednesday which instead of being the nightmare I was expecting,  dispelled all of the tooth pain I have been having.  Now I just need to drink lots of water to cleanse my pain killer abused liver. I made two bracelets of similar beads and the pictures above are of one of them.  I ordered some new beads and I am super excited to get them, I nearly bounce out the door to greet the mail lady when I am expecting beads in the post!  Will they come today?  I wonder. The colour of the week was orange which was another hard one to find, check out Andrea and Xanthe‘s blogs for some fab colour inspirations. Suddenly every traffic cone everywhere I go pops into my vision!  No, I did not take a photo of a cone… I did find a cool old truck which is parked locally, so I stalked it and got a couple …

Is it Spring yet? Here are some new bracelets.

Published by

I have listed these two bracelets in my Etsy shop today, I am happy with the photos and I love the bracelets!  These might be hard to part with, I mean how good they look together.  If you fancy a gander at my Etsy shop, click on either bracelet and you will travel by magic Etsy carpet over there! They are made with linen thread which holds together glass, lucite, shell and wood beads in an array of pinks then in a lovely array of blues. I wanted to go for an early Spring/Summer look, short sleeves will mean time to show off those bracelets and these bracelets are versatile little beauties as they can also be worn as necklaces.  Hurrah! Pop over to my Etsy shop where new jewels will be arriving on a regular basis.  I am working on a necklace at the moment which uses similar blues to the bracelet here.  As soon as it is finished, I will share! Happy weekend!  I will be back later with Six Word Saturday, when …