Long Time No See

Apparently that saying is an imitation of  pidgin English, along with "no can do" and many others. So there. I thought it was fitting since I have seriously neglected my blog this year... And it's not that I haven't been making stuff, because I really have! 

I might as well start with a disclaimer: if you don't have any interest in home made things, and dislike cat pictures, it's probably for the best if you close this tab now. Don't say you weren't warned!

Right, I don't think I even know where to start! It's been a funny sort of summer... Hang on, I keep talking like it's still summer time now. The fact that I haven't had college to go back to this year has been seriously strange. While I'm thrilled to be finished with all of that, graduation at the start of the month was seriously good craic.

I got a new camera this summer (ish) too, so you'll be seeing much less of my blurry BlackBerry photos from now on! I might as well start off by telling you that Benny had kittens back in June...

I'll have to give the credit for photo-taking here to Jess, this picture featured in part of her 365 project, really chuffed that me and one of the wee wans made the cut.

I've mostly been making bracelets, jewellery-wise, over the past few months, and in particular, I've really been feeling the plaits! Now, I haven't got very good pictures of all that I made as some were gifts and are already with their new owners...

I initially made this one for Jess (of aforementioned 365 fame) as she strikes me as a very purple person...

... But then I decided that it worked well enough to give another one to Sarah Jane as she's got a bit of a thing for purple too! Apologies for the truly awful pictures, the bracelets themselves are much nicer. 

I don't do modesty.

I've still got a bit of a thing for fragmented bracelets with some beads, some chain, so I thought this pattern worked well. I used the same general template, but I changed factors like bead and chain size.

Snazzy picture taken with a snazzy camera. Amiright? I always love red and gold together.

Personally I prefer the chunkier chain. 

I didn't just do the plaited thing on bracelets either, oh no. You'll all be delighted to hear that I branched out as far as necklaces and (wait for it...) A HAIRBAND! Crazy, right? Right.

So this is a necklace that I made back around July I think. It's quite a loose plait as I just wanted to add a little interest, and didn't like the idea of 3 stand alone strands of similar length.

This was actually intended to be a necklace. The evening I made it, I was trying it on, trying to decide if I liked it. When I was taking it off, I didn't judge the size of my head relative to the necklace correctly, and I realised it was the perfect size for a hairband that stays put on my giant head perfectly! Winner.

Before I continue, I should really tell you what else I've been doing with myself. I finally made it to Electric Picnic this year, after years of heartbreaking repeats at that time of year, and it was so worth the wait. A fantastic weekend with fantastic company. Not only did I get to see some INCREDIBLE acts, but myself and Jess also managed to fit in a small bit of jewellery making. 

See those swirly silver ones? Yep, we hammered and soldered and beaded and pickled that silver until it was perfect! The gang at the ForGotten Silver stall guided us through the entire thing, while having a bit of a laugh too. Just what we needed on the Sunday morning!

As a result of EP, I've become absolutely obsessed with amazing music such as The xx, Bat For Lashes and Wild Beasts among many others! Thanks to a few of the girls I'm completely hooked on Revenge now (come on Emily, kick Victoria's skinny ass and run away with Jack!) and I'm mostly reading Kathy Reichs books. She's the lady who inspired the series Bones, and who the character is loosely based on. They're pretty easy reading, but interesting at the same time. Plus the chapters are super short, I love short chapters.

The kittens continued to be cute and grow as the summer went on...

I don't understand how people don't like cats sometimes... They start out as cute wee kittens WHO WINK AT YOU for crying out loud!

The credit for this one must once again go to Jess and her fantastic 365 project.

This was around the time we had to start deciding which kitten was most awesome and cute. One of them was too lazy to join in with the pose-off.

And it totally worked in his favour... Lads, this is Harry! Deadly name, I know.

Right, that's the cat section over and done with, for now at least. Believe it or not, I don't just arse around with beads. I also (as you will have seen in previous posts) enjoy arsing around with wool! When it came to deciding what to dress up as for Halloween, I came up completely blank. I hadn't a clue, but I knew I couldn't get away with my Princess Leia costume for a third time.

Then it hit me. What do I like other than cats? Yep, that's right... Owls. I mostly enjoy the kitschy, retro, colour-block owl images that are in all the shops at the moment, so I decided to take a few ideas and run with them. So, I crocheted "feathers". I'm pretty sure every single person I mentioned this to thought I was absolutely not well. 

This was the top in the middle of the process. Loose ends were later snipped off, and the "feathers" were ironed also. The top itself was made out of the lower portion of an old gypsy skirt. Remember gypsy skirts? Ah yeah, those were the days.

I felt the most important part of this costume would be the mask, and I was actually thrilled with the finished product...

Pretty sweet, right? I mounted the mask on a pair of frames from 3D glasses so it would sit nicely on my head when I didn't want to wear it. 

Twit twoo!! Yep, I look like an idiot.

So, moving on, I didn't just focus on plaits over the last couple of months, I also had moments of inspiration where I made some pretty cool stuff!

My take on the recent collar trend. I plan on going further with this idea, but for now this is all I've got!

Earrings. A huge departure for me... And I love them!

I've had this pendant for years, I actually made a necklace using it when I was about 17, but the chain subsequently broke, and the cross was lost for years.

Have you had enough? I told you guys I've been busy. I was crocheting again at the weekend, and with the end of one of my reams of wool I decided to make one of those headband, ear warmer thingies.

Isn't the wool just to die for? Aldi's finest!

Fancy effects with my snazzy camera.

The finished product. Ridiculously cosy.

I forgot to tell you guys about my first (unpaid) model. Well, I made a bracelet for Caoimhe B. I'd been trying to figure out what to make her for ages, cos she deserved at least one gift from me! Anyway, I knew I wanted it to be pearly, but after that, I hadn't a clue. I took pictures of the finished product before I popped it in the mail to her, but the photos were, quite honestly, rubbish. So I took more when I went to visit her and the rest of my ladies in Dublin.

Yay Caoimhe! I was well chuffed when I spotted this on her wrist at graduation too... Whoop.

While on this Dublin trip I was given a graduation gift from Anneka that I can't not mention. Bunting! Incredible! 

Badassery at its finest!

Right. As crazy as it may seem, I think I might actually be finished talking. Or typing. You catch my drift. Once again, I must apologise for the giant delay between posts, I'll try to behave a little better in future! 

Oh, and just in case you'd forgotten what Harry looks like...

Aiiiiiight señoras y señores, buenas noches.

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...

Late night modelings...

Between yesterday and today I've had a bit of an ANTM marathon... Not a major one, just a few episodes here and there. To let everyone know in advance, this post will lean towards the girlie. Anyway, all that modeling blah blah etc got me in a creative mood so I decided to crack out my pliers and beads! The bf (<3) got me some super cool stuff for Christmas - a proper pliers, a bead board for planning stuff out, some catches, and a great box to put everything in!!

Bead box FULL of goodies :-)

So, all this intention to make stuff got me wanting to take photos of the pretty stuff, which lead me to want to share pics, but no one wants me posting loads of pics of crappy homemade jewellery on fb, so that's what I'll use my supa-mega-wicked-cool blog for... Showing people what I'm making and doing! As a result, don't expect to see much of me...

I mostly make stuff (jewellery, cards, cakes etc) for people, either for presents or just because I feel like giving them something! Homemade jewellery served as excellent going away gifts for two friends over Christmas... Sorted! I was always a little bit of a maker, but never a very good one... If I tried hard enough I could be kinda good though, just have to finish this silly engineering degree first. 

Anyway, I resized a few bracelets for people, and then I was looking at my beads, the small bit of nylon I had left over from a dissembled piece, and I decided I just wanted a few small, dainty, simple bracelets. 

I ended up with three - one was part of an old necklace, it was a bit heavy and black before but the small strand of it works quite well. It's a small bit too big on my wrist which I like. The other two are the same idea, just with different beads. 

They're hardly masterpieces, but I figure they'll cheer me up when I'm sitting tap-tapping at my desk at work tomorrow! Want to know what else is cheering me up these days? (not that I need cheering up, sure what have I to be down about?)

The bag that accompanies this coin purse is just as epic as this coin purse...

It's got owls on it for crying out loud!! :-)

I still don't know how to sign off this blog business... It seems a bit rude to stop typing without acknowledging that I've stopped typing, no? 

Good hustle?