When it comes to blogging on a regular basis, it turns out I'm completely pants. My last blog post was New Years Eve. Come on Val! Time to pull the socks up!
I actually just so happened to check the Blogger homepage tonight to see what was going on with blogs that I follow, and I spotted that I had 16 page views today! I decided that since someone (in the U.S. apparently) still enjoys reading my blog, I should keep on chugging away with it!
As I've been away from this for so long, I've actually got lots of small bits and pieces to write about. Since the start of the year I've moved away from jewellery from time to time, and have been inspired by my friend Anneka, among others, to get my craft on.
I guess I should begin in January. I didn't have a whole lot of time off work, and Christmas was definitely hectic with my lovely sister around for our best friend's wedding! After all the excitement died down in the new year, I managed to do a few bits and pieces.
The first thing on my agenda was to finish a pair of scarves for my friend Caitriona's two children. I used the ends of the wool from Jess and Anneka's scarves to make a really pretty woolly scarf for Saoirse, while I used nice muted stripes for Joe's scarf.
I'm really pleased with how they turned out, and Joe and Saoirse looked so cosy!
Anyone who knows me, knows all too well that I love to have a little fun when I'm painting my nails, and in the gloom of January, I decided to cheer up my nails.
The paint job is particularly messy around the edges, but I really loved having my nails like this, and it lasted a surprisingly long time.
Following these departures from my usual carry on, I decided to go back to basics and make a few trusty bracelets. Seeing as it was early January, and we still had the Christmas runner on the table and decorations around the place, I chose rich reds and sparkly golds for my pieces.
Because these gold beads are hollow, they make a lovely little metallic jingle as the bracelet moves. FUN!
As I mentioned, super-festive. That said, I love these colours regardless.
After all this excitement, I hit a bit of a slump. One day, while browsing around Aldi, desperately hoping I'd find more warm fuzzy wool, I came across a book on learning to crochet. Now, you've all read about me "crocheting" things for my friends over the years, but as far as I've been told by those in the know, what I'm doing isn't actually genuine crochet. Obviously, I invested in the book, and got to work right away!
Exciting, huh?
I didn't get a whole lot of this done in January, I just tried out the different basics. I must get back into this because there's some beautiful patterns in here, and it really isn't too tough, it just requires patience to make sure everything stays even and lovely.
Now, that brings January to a close. Onto February, a.k.a. Birthday Month!
Okay, I'll be honest. I did very little in the way of making things in February. I must have been preoccupied with getting old! The only picture I've been able to root out of my stash from then is one of two more bracelets I made.
Alright, not the most exciting, but still pretty and elegant in my humble opinion.
Oh, while I think of it, I may as well tell you about a project I embarked on this year. Did I ever mention my friend Jess's 365 project that she began on her 23rd birthday, and completed on her 24th? Yes? No? Maybe? This year, with the exception of one or two days which I may have forgotten, I've been taking a picture every day. I had a look through them last night, and to be honest, there's a lot of skies, candles and cats. Boring, perhaps, but I've found that I'm remembering my year so much more vividly when I look back through my photos. I've also found it's sort of great to always have a camera to hand, as you'll never know what sort of beautiful photo opportunity you're going to come across. Within the next week or so I'm going to try to update my Flickr account with my first 6 months of pictures so you guys can check out my vast array of candles. A sight to behold indeed.
Now, getting back to March. Let me see...
Ooooh! I did lots in March! It all began with a charm Anneka got me for my birthday. I decided I needed a necklace to wear it on, and hey presto!
I vividly remember what I was watching when I made this. In fact, I believe I watched two films that day, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Big Fish. I'd like to think some of their whimsy and colour rubbed off on this.
Myself and a few friends had a weekend away in a lovely Kerry town called Kenmare planned for March, and seeing as Anneka's birthday was coming up, I decided to get crafty. I thought about making something for her to hang bits and pieces up on. It doesn't technically have a name... I'm still not entirely sure how well this project worked out, but I like to think it was a starting point.
I started off with an old laminated chunk of chipboard that Dad found for me, and I sanded it down to make a better base for acrylic paint to take to.
Ideally, if I was doing a project like this again using acrylic paints, I'd use an unlaminated board as I think the finish could have been a lot better. However to keep the weight down, I used chipboard as opposed to solid timber, so I'd have to look into materials a lot more.
I picked up a few mismatched hooks in Homebase and screwed them into that bad boy.
I tried to scalpel off little bits and pieces on the board to give it a weathered look without being contrived. Again, more thought would have yielded a better finish both for the board and the actual paint job.
After I'd put the board together, I stuck some bits to it...
Pretty, right?
And I made a few bits to hang off of it...
I heart pom-poms. And I heart hearts. Obviously.
Confession time. I didn't make either of these hearts, but I did customise them, so it totally counts.
Some teeny-tiny heart cut-out bunting. It's seriously tiny.
If I knew more about Blogger, I'd try harder to rotate this image. But it's late. I'm ever so sleepy. Forgive me?
So, all in all, it's no Sistine Chapel or Golden Gate bridge. It was an experiment. Anneka was very lovely, and didn't give me any funny looks when she pulled it out of the bag, which I probably deserved. She's too kind, especially since she's a master crafter. The woman is insanely talented, but that's for another day's story-telling.
You know what lads? It's getting pretty late, and I'm still only half-way through the year so far. What I think I'm going to do here is finish up for the night, and pick up where I left off tomorrow evening. Sound like a plan? Can y'all get on board with that? I sure hope so!
À demain...
