One year on.

Yes faithful fans, it has indeed been one whole year since that fabulous first blog post of mine. Oh how things have changed, but in many ways not at all! I'm (slightly) bored at (roughly) the same time on the very same day. As the year went on, I feel my blog posts got a little meatier, but overall, I haven't blogged a whole bunch so sorry about that! 

I've had an interesting week. I was working in my old office Monday to Friday... Mad craic. Ish. Things got exciting towards the end of the week when mince pies and platters of fried stuff started to turn up in the canteen. And of course there was the day Santa and his helpers came to visit. Oh the excitement!!

He took time out of his very busy schedule just for us. What a dude.

So, other than a week full of work, I also FINALLY made it out for Thursday night pints with the awesome Sarah! So, there's me, expecting a few quiet ones by the fire. That's how it started off. But soon enough, the pints kept coming and the night just went nuts. It was fantastic! It was a night that involved a trip to the chipper... Nothing wrong with that at all I'd say! Many a lol was had.

Then came Friday. Myself and a gang did the 12 pubs of Christmas thang in town. I reused my naff jumper from last week, and once again it was a hit! We didn't quite hit 12 pubs. We sort of ran out of time, and we all wanted to get into the nightclub in town for free so we all skittered across the road and in the door just before 12. The place was nuts! And warm. I ditched my jumper in the cloakroom for the night, and let me tell you, that decision did not go down well. However, once again, much fun was had, EVERYONE was out, so it was a darn savage night!! 

I wasn't just out boozing this week I'll have you all know. I started the week quite well, as I made more jewellery! I'd had enough of bracelets so I switched to necklaces for an evening. I had some really chunky, sparkly beads and I wanted to use a coloured thread rather than wire or anything else... This is what happened then.

I stuck with the chain thing, but it was on a very different scale which I liked.

I also came across some beads which my wonderful buddy Dave gave me AGES ago. Don't know where he found them, but I loved them!!

Cool, right?

I thought the crescent moon one was really cool, but it took a bit of thinking to figure out what colour to put with it. I could have put green, but my green beads were completely the wrong shade. I could have chosen the bright yellows that I have, but then it would have looked like the Kerry colours around my neck. I wasn't up for that at all (nothing against Kerry though, because Kerry is the most awesome of all counties, but you guys already knew that...)! In the end I went for some clear beads tending towards a pink shade... I think it turned out so well, even wore it into work a few days later.

Too pretty for words, I know.

Not a whole lot else going on in this hip and happening place. I got a few lovely goodies for Christmas, and I gave a few too (I hope!). Gearing up to take on town yet again tomorrow night, and to see more long-lost buddies! The excitement. Isn't Christmas awesome?

Over and out.

Jingle Bell ROCKS

Right guys, I've been hounded by a certain someone *cough* Caoi *cough* to make lots of new stuff and to blog about it! It was a bit tough doing that when I was around 190 miles away from all my supplies... But now... NOW I'M HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! Arrived two days ago, and it almost feels like I've never been away. Almost. Except for the fact that our pest of a kitten has become bigger and bolder... She's too adorable to stay mad at for long though.

Benny in all her now-female glory (we thought "she" was a "he" for quite some time...)

So, now that I'm back in front of the fire with a belly full of home cooked dinners with my faithful mascot by my side, I'm flying back into making more shizzle than I can handle. I actually launched back into it after a MEGA nap on Saturday eve after my train home. Wrecked doesn't cover it. Final year is all sorts of tough, and I would say "half way there, woo!" but this has been the easy half. Very much so. Oh goodness. But now's not the time to be worrying about that! Now's the time to talk about beads!! So, Saturday night I decided I wanted to make something seriously, incredibly festive, and possibly a little gaudy. That's just my style. So, straight away the red and gold beads came out, and a section of chain because I decided this work of art DEFINITELY needed bits hanging off of it.

I know this pic is mostly arm and tree, but deal with it, right?

Yes, I wore my new piece of bling on Sunday to decorate the Christmas tree. The festive celebrations didn't start til I arrived home, which meant that I had to decorate the whole house. Not that I minded. If decorating Christmas trees is a chore it's the most awesome chore ever. 

I ended up covering the tree with red, gold and silver baubles. Mostly because they were the ones that came out of the attic, but it does look rather delightful so that's a win-win-win situation right there. 

Amazeballs, right? Thought so. Ha, accidental pun right there!

So, Sunday, obviously enough, didn't feature any making and do-ing at all. Instead I sprinkled the house with Christmas cheer (wearing a Santa hat, because there's no other way to do that sort of thing), and then I had a visit from the most amazing and incredible Jess! I'm actually so gutted, I bought some deadly penny farthing charms in Dublin a week or so back, and I was planning on making wee Jess a savage Christmas present featuring a teeny tiny bike, but I've had to put that plan on the back burner cos I left the charms in Dublin. Argh. Anyway, to ease the pain of that, we ate lots of yummy food and we started our Christmas session of HP. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone is so much better when my gal and I quote along with it I'll have you all know. The only word is wow, I mean it! 

Started back to work today too. Life's all go these days. Bet you're all mega jealous. Not. Anyway, I decided to unwind after a long day in the office with some music and sparkly things. I decided I wanted to make a little something for my long suffering mother for under the tree as the rest of my family and I have all gone in together to get her a big present. She's not a red & gold gaudy jewellery lady though. She loves blues and greens, they're colours I always look for when trying to find things to suit her. Anyway, I still liked the dangly sort of thing I was doing with the chains hanging off my bracelet on Saturday, so this is what I came up with. 

It's still got a bit of bling to it, but I think it's a little more subtle. Not a lot. But a little.

I was really in the zone at this point. I was well into my playlist (still grooving and shaking to The Airborne Toxic Event), and I was in no mood for wrapping up for the night. I had a bracelet that I'd been promising to fix for her for a LONG time, actually one I bought her yonks ago. So I did that. Then I decided that my sparkle-tastic bracelet from Saturday needed a sister, a twin, to guide her through the party season.

Extreme close-up...

They look super with my knuckle-duster even if I do say so myself...

And then there were two!

Oh goodness, I almost forgot to tell y'all about my class pub crawl last week. We were told (and rightly so) that Christmas wear was essential. DISASTER, I didn't have a naff Christmas jumper! My options were splash out on a geansaí and not drink for the night, or come up with a plan and have a hum-dinger of a night. I think you can already guess which option I chose. Trotted down the road from college to the €2 shop and got myself loads of those red velvet bows and some super glittery, gold snow flake decorations. I rooted out an old jumper of my mothers from the good auld 80's and I swiftly got to work. I totally won the best jumper prize... A high five from the coolest guy in the class. Enough said about that already. Want to take a peek?

I was beyond chuffed with it, it must be said.

The pub crawl was a big, fat success anyway. We all had the craic and the lolz I do believe and some much needed boogying was done. Oh, and I got complemented on my Spanish accent which always gets a big thumbs up in my books!

Right. So. Last story, I swear! I bought something. An accessory. For my bike. On a different visit to the €2 store. Several of you have heard about this purchase A LOT already, but for those of you who haven't...

No. You're eyes aren't deceiving you. I bought a bike horn for my bike. I don't think I've been so excited about something so silly in quite some time (although many of you may argue that fact). Bottom line, I'm dying to come across a careless pedestrian or a dismissive driver or something. Fact is EVERYONE will be able to hear me! 

Hasta luego bbz...

Posting in a Winter wetland

November eh? Not loving the weather... Wet. And still too warm. Not cool. Also it's been 5 gigantic months since my last post, and I am oh so ashamed. Life has been NUTS over the last few months... I was up to my eyeballs in exams (sat a total of 18 this year, like a boss) and being honest, things are still mega hectic. Haven't found my humble abode for the year yet, though not through lack of trying, and final year is just as busy and frantic as everyone says... Why didn't I believe them!?!? And by "them" I mean all my amazing buds who've been nothing but fantastic this past year.

The worst part about all of this homeless thing is that ALL of my jewellery making bits are all the way down home in Kerry. I haven't felt the cool sensation of my pliers in months, and I miss it (the jewellery, not so much the pliers...) SO MUCH! I've been feeling like I've left y'all down enough lately though, and I still have a few pics that I haven't blogged about yet, and I know ye all miss me, so here we goooooooo!

I'm totally out of my groove, can't even remember how to write awesome posts like I used to... So, back in July I decided to continue with my making-jewellery-for-my-lovely-ladies quest, and it's fair to say that the lovely Jess is rarely off that list! I'm fairly sure she ended up getting this particular bracelet around the time that we went to see Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows pt 2 (in 3-D, obviously) twice in one week... What a week that was! Oh, and by the way, my HP obsession has eased into a lifelong love affair. Just thought ye should know.

Anyway, Jess deserved something pretty. I always think of birds and animals, and the great outdoors in general when I think of her, and I had this lovely wee bird house trinket that I decided would go great on a few bracelets to make her wrists sparkle.

Pinks and purples always remind me of Jess, they're so her colours! Along with turquoise, obviously... Duh.

I decided to thread a few bracelets through, to bulk up the dainty beads so that they could stand up to this awesome birdhouse. I didn't want it to feel too heavy or solid though so I made sure I changed up the bracelet in terms of size, colour, and texture of the beads I used...

The finished product - Tah dah!

The soundtrack to my last few months has changed quite a bit... I had a real Kimbra and Gotye moment around August, as the rest of the world did I'm fairly sure. Tune-sters so they are! Lately though I've been grooving to my favourites playlist on YouTube which currently consists very heavily of Lana Del Rey and The Airborne Toxic Event, among others... Oh, and all my shows are back on, but because of my exams I fell way behind so several marathons have taken place in recent weeks. Oh HIMYM, well done on coming back with a vengeance! Oh, and I haven't mentioned what is set to be one of the most exciting events in recent history... The Darkness reunion tour! I know very few others see what I see when I look at those hairy, tattooed men, but let me tell you guys, it's pure, undiluted awesome. I'm beyond excited, and it's only two weeks away! BAM (said the lady apparently...).

Now, I didn't just make one wee bracelet for Jess back in July. I also made stuff for the fantastic Gordonka. Thing is though, she hasn't been given said stuff yet. I'm not sure how she'll react to it, but I might as well just debut it here, I'm sure she won't mind, especially if she likes what she sees! If she doesn't she can always leave the country or something...

Red. This is the Gordonka colour in my mind. Although, she recently rocked a pair of mustard yellow tights so I may have to change my mind a little on that front. But yeah, RED. It suits her colouring fantastically. But red alone can be overwhelming, I always feel the need to break it up a little. So I did, months and months ago when I made her a wee bracelet...

Unfortunately, this is now an ex-bracelet.

I've been promising to replace this bracelet for quite sometime, and I fully plan to. Sometime. Soon? Maybe before I hit the big 2-3 and can almost say I'm in my mid-twenties... EEEEEKKKKKK! Frightening stuff. Back to the issue at hand though, I decided red was definitely going to play a part again, but I felt that I should move away from bracelets cos I make tonnes of them, and not a whole bunch of anything else.

So I made some earrings!

Now, because of the nylon I used, when they're not hanging, they scrunch up a little, and look funny. Bodes well, right? I wasn't able to get a great shot of them hanging, tried to use my computer screen as the background, which made sense at the time, but didn't yield my finest picture...

But at least it gives you guys a better idea of the shape of them. Eh? Yeah? Huh?

So, she hasn't got them yet, but I hope she'll like them when she does! There's something very classic about her look and I felt the pearls would reflect that, and at the same time the punchy effect of the scarlet hue isn't lost. 

I think I'm all blogged out. I thought I'd have more in me after so long, but I've got a million and one things to do today, including picking up my auld bike from the shop. Was on my way to the bike shop yesterday to get my brakes sorted, and I was literally about 30 seconds away when I heard a big "HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS"... I guess it was better to get a puncture on the way to the shop rather than on the way home. But seriously? Come on lady luck, throw a little my way! 

Happy Sunday.

Later.

Hello, hello - hola! I'm at a place called Vertigo...

Just to state, for the record, that this blog post is dedicated to my colleague, the lovely, Niamh Pigott. What a sap. :-)

Anyway, I've been busy making since my last post. I've gone overboard really, making jewellery in the evenings, when I've got other things to be doing, so from now on, I may be a little quieter on the blogging scene. Although, my posts are few and far between, so maybe just expect as many posts as you usually do! I'm a busy woman I'll have ye know.

Since my last post I completed the green/brown necklace that I showed you a preview of. Want to see? Who am I kidding... Of course you do.

Unfortunately laying it down on the kitchen table doesn't really show it off very well, but I've got a (non-existent) style of picture taking, I might as well stick with it!

After finishing off that necklace, I wanted to create something completely different. Lighter colours, and something other than the heavy, full-on statement piece that the necklace was. So, I pulled apart an old earring, as one does, and used it as the center-piece for a wraparound bracelet. Something about this bracelet makes me think of rosary beads, not sure why, but that wasn't my intention. I love these crushed pearly beads that I picked up in Dublin months ago, but I felt I wanted to break up the piece with a splash of something... Orange just took my fancy that day!

I'm having a bit of a lust moment with gold things this summer too. I'm just throwing that out there. It may become apparent as you read on anyway...

I promised my lovely friend Kate that I would make her some jewellery. I promised her this months ago. I had the beads that I knew I wanted to use. I just wasn't sure. I had a bit of a brain block or something I think. But then I just came across a piece, as it turns out, of an earring, that I decided could act as the pendant of a delicately beaded necklace. It is with my deepest regret that I tell you upfront that the true colour of the beads didn't really come up in the picture. They were a really sparkly, pretty green colour, but they appear quite washed out here. Still, you'll get the idea of it I hope. 

The center piece is quite pretty and suits both the vibe I was going for, and the wearer herself. 

After this, I took a few days away from the bead game. It's stressful stuff I'll have you know. Plus it was the weekend, and I had decided to dedicate myself to Harry Potter. I'm the newest of new fans of the series, but I've become so invested in the lives of the characters that I just can't help myself anymore! I'm beyond excited about the final installment, The Deathly Hallows Pt 2 in 3D this weekend... The Ron-Hermione kiss! It's going to be fantastic, I just know it.

I went to Penneys (or Primark as some of you still call it) at the weekend too. Mostly just to buy clothes and bits for work, but how often can anyone go into Penneys and not buy at least one thing they don't really need? I did have an alterior motive when I waltzed in there last Saturday. I knew that the place would be absolutely teeming with big bracelets and necklaces full of lovely shiny charms that I could use for my jewellery making! I restrained myself and only bought two pieces, a charm bracelet with lots of lovely beads and hefalumps on it, and a really gorgeous necklace with an aviary kind of theme to it. I loved the idea of it, but the long dangly necklace thing doesn't really suit me. 

Now I've made a few bits for particular people, so obviously I can't be posting pictures of them just yet, surprise and anticipation are part of what make presents so exciting! But, I can tell you about the other things I've made...

One charm I salvaged from the hefty birdy necklace was a small gold owl. I'm having a bit of an owl moment right now if I'm being honest. I love the look of them, plus, again, Hedwig anyone? She's like the ultimate owl!  But in my books, any will do, so long as I can wear it. So, maybe not Hedwig. Anyway, I'm rambling, and no one wants that happening. I knew I didn't want a delicate, flimsy necklace for my owl, oh no. I wanted something tough and chunky to balance out the pretty gold shine. I received some incredible, angular wooden beads from a friend last Christmas, and I decided it was time to put them to good use. Once I had all the materials in front of me... 

... I had to come up with an idea for how I wanted to lay them out...

... And after that it was pure magic on my part bbz...

I like the angular beads with the diamond pattern of the chest of the owl...

From there I decided to go back to what I know... Bracelets. I used the general layout that I've used several times before, blocking a few colours along the length of the piece, but I included a charm, just for the lols. 

My gold hefalump on the cats-paw oak... Like that'd ever happen in nature. Ha!

I love the yellow beads I used for this bracelet... I'm struggling to remember where I bought them, but I have to try... I definitely need to invest in some more of these! I'm thinking I might hit a nearby town this weekend, in Kerry, to see what pretty bits I can find. And, obviously, I'm hitting Penneys again. 

My last piece that I'm showing you tonight is another necklace. Now, this is a longer piece, that once again I wouldn't go for myself, but I think the colour is rich and warming, and it's nice and sparkly which I love.

Again, it looks a little anemic in this picture, but the diamante bits at the end are a golden-orangy colour, and the beads are a slightly browner version of the same colour... LOVE.

Well, I think that's me sorted for another evening I think. I've sort of spoiled you this time, but as I said, I've been busy! Maybe, if you guys are lucky, I'll fit some more jewellery making into this weekend, and I'll have enough ammo to blog a little again next week. For now though, I must say toodles.

TIL: to write with a broken pencil is pointless...

True Blonde

I got my hair done at the weekend... I was feeling a little bored of the auld brunette thang, so I've got a bit of blonde in my hair now! And I'm loving the new series of True Blood that started last week... Sookie is mine!!!!

I've not been doing a whole lot of jewellery making of late. I'm not quite sure why. Work just has me a little exhausted, which is quite annoying but that's a whole other discussion, and it has nothing to do with beads! I've been having a real Incubus moment lately too, they've a new album out next week which I'm MEGA EXCITED about... Guess that's what's getting me going these days!

I've started making a necklace, it's a work in progress, I want it to be a striking, heavy multi-strand kinda job, but at the moment there's just two chains done.

I'm thinking of keeping the colour palate in the greens and browns arena...

The trouble with some of the stuff I make is that I tend to make for myself. I use bits and colours that I really adore, and that means I end up wanting to keep the jewellery a lot of the time, and that's not a whole lot of good to me when I want to sell some stuff at a huge profit! I think I just don't have enough supplies... I reckon that if I start to buy my lovely bits in bulk I can make something that I really like, and then duplicate it... I think that's the way to go. I hope. Cos it's the only plan I've got!

So last night I was in the mood for a session with my pliers. I decided to use some shining beads that I purchased a few weekends ago on a trip to Cork. My friend Maura brought me to a terrific shop called Vibes and Scribes, and they had a lovely collection of sparkly bits and pieces, along with gorgeous wools, and more books than my head could handle! 

I started off with a silvery metal tassel that I got in a big bag of broken bits from Kate way back in February for my birthday. I decided that I wanted a rich colour like red to go with it. I also wanted the tassel to be the focus, so I made it the right size to be able to slip on and off my hand without needing a clasp. 

Good, huh??

There. Used some of the first lot of beads I got in Cork. But I couldn't not use the other ones! They'd feel ever so left out. So I rummaged through my bags of bits, found some really cool bronze coloured beads with a sort of Aztec pattern on them, and I incorporated them into another wee bracelet.

I'm not sure which I prefer. 

Here's a small close up, just to try to show off the pretty beads I was using!!

Close-up, modeled on our cats-paw oak table... Cute, huh? 

I feel like I'm at a bit of a loss for words this evening. The rain and work of the day has kinda zapped my energy. I got Cosmo (August issue) yesterday, kind of just because it had a cool aqua-blue nail varnish free with it... That's about the only thing pepping me up right now! I've lots to do as regards housework at the moment, along with trying to come up with new and exciting things for us to have for dinner!

My new nails with my new bracelets. 

I feel like a very boring blogger after this! I haven't written in almost a month and this is possibly one of my skimpiest posts to date! I will say now, I have decided to dedicate this entry to my wee little scarf model Radley who sadly didn't survive the being-silly-and-eating-plastic incident. The house seems really quiet without her. She was one of the good ones...

I'm going to stop blogging now, before this becomes a cat-astrophe!