Did you think I wouldn't be back?

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...

Crazy Christmas

Lads and ladies, how are we on this lovely New Years Eve? If you're reading this, chances are that you're bored out of your tree!

I've decided it's time to let you in on my recent little project. My dear friend Deirdre asked if I'd make her a hairband/headdress for a very special day, and of course I was only delighted to oblige! 

Back when a hairband was an option, I ended up making this...

Gold was always going to be the colour of choice, but aside from that I love this...

I just love modelling for y'all.

So, the hairband idea never transpired. Instead, a flapper, 1920's style headband was decided upon. Even though I loved the variation in bead size in the hairband, simplicity was key in my eyes for this project. 

In the process...

The finished product.

My drop dead gorgeous model!

I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet guys, just wanted to fill you in on my very special project for a very special friend. I've a few other bits and pieces in mind to write about in the new year, I'll try not to be as lazy with my blog next year as I have been this year! 

Thanks for all the kind words by the way guys, it always means a lot!

Let's not forget what this time of year is about, having fun and being with the important ones. And of course, foreign subtitles.

This one's for Deirdre... Au revoir mon chéri!

I feel bad. I've been off, although I haven't been task-less, but I didn't blog as much as I would have liked to over the Holiday Season. So my apologies for that lads, I'll try to be better in future! 

I did actually make another piece over Christmas, but I hate writing when I don't have much to show ye. It's your fault really! SHAME ON YOU! JK, LOL, ROFL. No shame flying around anywhere, we're all good. Now, back to business. Jewellery. 

I made a necklace during the first week of January, and I must say, I was pretty pleased with the result. Again, I threw some chain in, cos I flipping love chains, but it was a different spin on the theme. 

I used this cute wee ball pendant thingy that I salvaged from a necklace I dismantled over the summer. Cute, right?

I'm still contemplating whether I should shorten the necklace a little, I wore it this week, and I was a bit unsure how happy I was with it, but I adore the colour and how delicate it looks when worn. A triumph really.

See? Super long. Ah well. I still heart it loike.

My New Years Eve was a different affair to other years. Instead of going out, and having one of those nights where everyone scatters and you only have a mediocre night, I went and stayed with the wonderful, the fantastic, the incredible Jess! We had a wild night. We had a Harry Potter marathon, we ate chocolate and crisps and SAUSAGES and just had an absolute ball. It was brilliant, had such craic with her, but I think it's fair to say that the craic is always mighty when Jess is involved!

After my last work of art, there was a serious drought. I wasn't well for a few weeks, so I was holed up in bed watching episodes of The Office. Some of that stuff just doesn't get old! I'm not going to lie though, I miss Michael Scott from the new episodes an enormous amount. Feels like the series is in limbo somehow.

I came back to Dublin two weeks ago, and I went straight from one train to another, as I went to visit my lovely ladies, Lisa and Anneka, in Louth. And they did the most wonderful thing ever. They brought me to Newgrange! I was like a small child who'd eaten too much sugar, I was so giddy about the whole thing! It was terrific. I'd wanted to visit Newgrange for years and years, so it really was a dream come true. And no, I never got to go there on a school tour... Contrary to popular belief, being from Kerry has it's drawbacks! They're rare, but they do exist. Anyway, take a look!

The place really did take my breath away. The sheer scale of the thing is incredible, and when you realise how short the passage is relative to the size of the entire structure. Plus, the corbelled roof was so fricking deadly!

I didn't get a decent shot of the entrance stone (some idiot tourist kept trying to get in the picture!) so this is of the stone at the opposite side. The carvings are just amazing, and it's cool how the rock's imperfections are worked into the pattern...

Needless to say, that weekend kicked the ass of all other weekends that have been had. Well, not really, but it was deadly, alright?

I'm a week back into the new term of college now. My last term in fact! So strange to think that it's finally here... College has been a bit of an uphill struggle, but I really am looking forward to kicking ass over these next few months. Several sources have informed me that it is actually worth it, so I may as well go for it!

I was up and bright as a button this morn, and I went for a really good gym session with the awesome Kate. We pumped some iron, and then we met the bewitching Caoimhe (I used a thesaurus to come up with that one... I needed an extraordinary word for that girl cos she's just the bees knees!) for a little lunch! It was well needed and they gave some great advice for the next few months.

Tonight I felt like I should make something. I felt the urge that I hadn't felt in a few weeks. I turned on my YouTube playlist (which now features Walk Off The Earth, they're awesome, look them up!) and got to work. 

Instead of making a random bracelet like I usually do, I decided I wanted to make some earrings. I had an idea, but for it to work I decided to sketch a little, and sure I might as well show you guys how some of my pieces come about... Sketches!

I know. I'm the next great artist of our time. But please don't go giving me a big head. I know I'm awesome. It's cool. We should just leave it at that for now...

I knew these were going to be a bit fiddly around the ends so I wanted to make sure I had a plan in place to prevent the littering of my room in beads. I've only made one of them so far, but I think it's quite cute... Might even take them on a test drive some day next week... Purely for the lolz.

This shows the completed earring, and the start of the other one.

I don't think a whole bunch else is going on with me these days lads. I haven't had the time to read any books, which is bumming me out a little, but such is life. Special mention should be made to who this particular post is dedicated to... Dee is moving to Switzerland tomorrow, and I couldn't be happier for her, but Holy Underwritten Metropolis (yes, this was once said by Robin, I looked it up), am I going to miss that gal! I'm hoping that a trip to auld Lake Geneva will be my first of the summer... I'm tempted to start counting down the days already! 

Well I guess that's it for tonight guys and gals (mostly gals I'm guessing...). 

Bam! said the lady...