Fall In Love

Autumn really hasn't started in quite the way I expected, the weather in my little corner of Britain is clammy, grey and very uninspiring. I was hoping for chilly, but crisp mornings; afternoons filled with golden sunlight breaking through the clouds and slightly blustery evenings that make me feel glad to be at home with the fire on. Oh well.

Thankfully, I've had Kara's lovely, lovely Fall in Love Class to help me make the transition from summer to autumn. (Not that I've noticed much of a difference as yet!) I finally managed to sit down and read through all of the prompts properly over the weekend and get together some of my materials. Then, with much excitement, I started working on this yesterday afternoon.

I've chosen a fairly plain palette of colours, but have lots of textures to work with including chunky cardboard, masking tape and threads - just to give it a bit of autumnal detail. I've also kept my mini-album at 6 x 4 inches, so that as autumn progresses, I can just print any photographs and stick them straight into the booklet or adhere them to the back of some of my pages with minimal fuss and effort. Less effort = more chance of finishing.

Scrap Sketch Challenge

It might seem a little strange that, as a scrapbooker, I've never really tried working with sketches before. I've always found them a little bit limiting. But, as part of the big 'Challenge Blog' Blog Hop the party started at Scrap Sketch and decided that I really should try using a sketch - just to see.


In the end, I flipped the sketch over and worked with it upside down, but I'm sure that's allowed. I can't decide whether I like the final layout or not, but it did challenge me and I'm sure that if I give it another go, I'll feel less restricted and come up with something a little bit more 'me'.What do you think? Did I do okay for a first timer?

For The Love Of Thrifting

I went home home to visit my folks this weekend and, if there's one on, there's nothing that we like doing as a family more than sniffing around the local car boot sale. Unless you count Scrabble. I ended up with so much thrifty goodness that I couldn't carry it all home on the train and had to leave it behind. Trying to choose what to bring home and what my parents could bring when they visit in a few weeks was quite the Saturday morning chore.

Amongst my treasures were some photography books, lace, fabric and some photograph frames - including these dinky, little cute ones which had never left their box.

I also managed to score this embroidery thread case and over 100 extra bobbins, which I snapped up for £2.50. Oh my! I've been coveting one of these for quite a while - my embroidery threads currently resemble a plate of spaghetti. The majority of the threads are spare bits of yarn, but there are some cute, little embroidery flosses in the mix and sorting them will be half the fun of the haul.

Anyone else been up at the crack of dawn for a good rummage around the car boot?

Autumn 2009 'Challenge Blog' Blog Hop

Okay, so I've been a little bit distracted this week and have been neglecting my blogging duties (and lovely readers) but I've got just enough time today to tell you about the 'Challenge Blog' Blog Hop currently taking place.

There's lots of inspiration for scrapbookers and crafters - and a few prizes along the way. The first stop is Scrap Sketch followed by the awesome, wonderful and totally inspiring All About Me. (You can't tell I'm on the DT there at all, can you?) Each of the participating challenge blogs will have a link to the next site, so you'll never be without a bit of direction.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the inspiration!

What Colour Are You?

The second All About Me challenge has now been revealed by the Design Team and we're asking you, what colour are you?

Really think about it though, won't you? The colour that represents you may not be your favourite colour; it might not be the colour that you wear or decorate with most often; it might not even be an obvious colour. You could even be cheeky, like some of the Design Team and choose to be represented by more than one colour. And I know I gave some thought to representing my often...um...colourful language!

Having said all that, though my choice of colour may seem a little less obvious than most, I knew almost instantly how I wanted to approach this challenge. I used to be a lively, confident sort of person - always the life and soul of the party; out with friends and family all of the time; quite the socialite. I had a colourful and interesting life. Over the past few years, I've had a few knocks and I've found myself making careful and considered choices; safe choices. Choices about what clothes I should wear to look more professional. Choices about which career moves I should make to show that I was progressing. Choices which meant staying quiet rather than saying what I felt and rocking the boat. Choices, it seems now, that were much more about what was expected of me, than what I truly wanted for myself.

I thought that making the 'right' choices would increase my confidence; would make people see me in a new light; would make me stand out. Instead, I felt more and more as though I was just another person in the corporate machine. I was starting to blend into the background, but the more I tried to be seen, the more invisible I was to other people. I became beige.

Beige. Safe, conservative, unoffensive beige.

Since leaving work in April, things have started to change and 'the old me' is starting to resurface but there are still times when I feel as though I've lost something; lost a part of who I was but at least I know that there's a colourful future ahead!

Geek Is The Colour For Autumn

Today feels like the first day of autumn. I think it's the combination of the cool, crispness in the air, the golden sunshine and plenty of tea and biscuits. I'm assuming that it's a direct link between years of starting a new term in September, but this particular season almost always teases me with the idea starting over and learning something new.

I'm excited that this year, I'll be spending my autumn taking some practical photography classes; taking a flower arranging class and participating in Kara's lovely Fall In Love Class.

Nerd?!?!?!? by Yumy (Plz join in my new group) featuring Ted Baker

That's right, when it comes to autumn, I feel I can embrace my inner geek freak. Out come the books, the thick tights and the nerdy spectacles. It becomes perfectly acceptable to layer your clothes in an odd fashion; go for walks in your wellies and drink tea from a flask. But it's also okay to stay indoors, read poetry and watch old, romantic films like Barefoot In The Park. Oh, autumn. What's not to love?

Easy Chain Maille Necklace Tutorial

You'll remember that I recently discovered the Exchange Program over at Totally Tutorials. Dotty, who is the brainchild of the Exchange Program, puts suppliers of crafting materials in touch with crafters (like you and me) who receive free supplies in return for sharing their skills and creating tutorials. There are some wonderful suppliers taking part, so do go and have a look - you might get yourself some goodies to play with.

I've been lucky enough to be asked to complete another tutorial by Jen at WeekendJewelry1 and - lucky me - Jen let me choose my own supplies.

I've been dying to have a go at some chain maille for a while now, but couldn't seem to find any suitable jump rings. I wanted something just a little bit out of the ordinary and, when I saw these beautiful 8mm Twisted Wire Silver Jump Rings, I knew that I'd found the perfect supplies for the project I had in mind.


Jen also has some chunkier 12mm Stainless Steel Flattened Rings which would make a nice Steampunk/Industrial piece and some super cute Pink Anodized Aluminium Jump Rings perfect for a kitsch look.

To make your own necklace, you'll need:

8mm Twisted Wire Silver Jump Rings from WeekendJewelry1
Silver Plated Brass Cable Chain from WeekendJewelry1
100 5mm Silver Plated Plain Jump Rings. You will need exactly 100, so if you're unsure, I would advise you to order more just in case you fudge a few. They also have a tendency to want to fly around the room!!!
Necklace Clasp - I used a toggle clasp as I find these easiest to fasten.
Jewellery Pliers

If you aren't familiar with using jump rings, please have a look at this Wiki Tutorial on How To Open A Jump Ring before you begin. It's worth it! Now, do yourself a favour and do the tedious bit first - open all of the 5mm Jump Rings. (The Twisted Wire Jump rings don't need to be opened at all.)

Then, line up the 8mm Twisted Wire Jump Rings into a basic design, as in the pictures below.

Join the rows of 8mm Twisted Wire Jump Rings, using two 5mm Jump Rings for each join.

When each of the rows is complete, begin to join the rows together, following the diagram below. (In the diagram, the silver circles represent the Twisted Wire Jump Rings and the gold lines represent the 5mm Jump Rings.)

As you lift the piece to join the rings together, it's quite easy to become confused about which rings you should be linking - especially if you're a beginner. Use a piece of wire, drinking straw or something similar, and push it through the Twisted Wire Jump Rings that you want to link together. Then lift the wire and add the 5mm Jump Rings. It makes it a lot easier (and I wish I'd thought of this when I started the project!)

I chose to use six rows for this project - giving me a triangle of chain maille with six Twisted Wire Jump Rings on each edge, but you can add more rows if you like -just be sure you have enough of both types of jump rings.

Next, take your length of Cable Chain and, using your pliers, split the chain to give you two 8" lengths. When combined with the clasps and the chain maille triangle, this will you give a necklace of roughly 18". (If you'd prefer a choker style necklace, reduced the Cable Chain lengths to 7".)

Take one length of the Cable Chain and, using a 5mm Jump Ring attach it to one part of the toggle clasp. Again, using a 5mm Jump Ring, attach the other end of the chain to a corner of the chain maille triangle.

Using another 5mm Jump Ring attach the remaining length of Cable Chain to the other part of the toggle clasp. Then attach the other end of the chain to another corner of the chain maille triangle.

Et voila!


I think the design is quite elegant and has the potential to be worn with practically anything, but it could be customised by substituting the style of the jump rings; the size of the chain maille triangle; and the addition of extra components. In fact, Jen sent me some beautiful leaf charms as well and they'll be coming up in a simpler tutorial over the weekend.

Thanks again to Jen at WeekendJewelry1 and Dotty from Totally Tutorials for giving me the chance to have a play around with these lovely supplies. If you have a go, please leave me a link in the comments section below so that I can come and have a peek.

Jewellery Making Aftermath (My Creative Space)

I have to confess that I am an easily bored crafter. I will happily sew, embroider or scrapbook for a day or two - maybe even a whole week - but then I'll need a bit of a change. In a way, I think that it helps me stay creative. I know a lot of people lose their 'mojo' from time to time, but moving from one craft to another stops me from becoming too comfortable and, thus, bored.

It's some surprise then, that after last week's Wire Wrapped Daisy Chain Bracelet Tutorial that I've spent this week in a jewellery making frenzy - as you'll no doubt be able to tell from one look at My Creative Space. Sometimes, I suppose you just have to go where the spirit takes you!

There are small bits of wire all over (they tend to fly around when I snip them with the wire cutters) and a few minutes ago I had to fish one out from under one of the laptop keys where it had lodged itself and prevented me from pressing down on the 'M'. They get everywhere!

Still, there is an upside to all this upheaval. I've been super productive - necklaces, earrings and bracelets abound - and some more tutorials are also on their way, including one for this little lovely later on today.

It's actually a late night/early morning post for me. A bout of insomnia means I am currently keeping similar hours to my hamster. So, I'm off to try and get some sleep. In the meantime, enjoy your creative spaces - I'll be coming to have a nose around them once I've had some shut eye. Night x

Edited: The Chain Maille Necklace Tutorial is now up!

Please visit kootoyoo and have a quick look at the My Creative Space guidelines if you fancy joining in.

The Way To My Heart

This super cute Polyvore set really made me laugh today - it's just too true. I've been a bit busy on the home front this week, so sorry for neglecting you blogworld. Just know that I've also been a bit busy creating some new jewellery and crafty tutorials to appear over the next couple of weeks - starting tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Chocolate Hugs by ♥ℓiaa♥ on Polyvore.com

Lessons Learnt

So, I'm two weeks into Shimelle's class Learn Something New Every Day. Now I knew even when I started that I wouldn't be able to post something about the class every day - I haven't got a photo printer, I like to scrap in a big scrap sitting and I also like to think things over for more than the odd half an hour. I am a slow scrapper! But, I really didn't think it would take me this long to get around to a bit of a Learn Something New Every Day Round Up - blame it on my shoddy internet connection and totally lack of scrapping.

Cutting things ready for future projects is very therapeutic.

So, what have I learnt so far?

1st September: I made the DT for the new All About Me Challenge Blog. What a way to start September!

2nd September: To feel creative, I really need some sleep.

3rd September: I really hate html. No matter how hard I try to understand it, it eludes me. Like statistics. Meh!

4th September: A few days without the internet will not kill me, but it will be frustrating.

5th September: The world is a much smaller place than I once believed. Mel from I Speak Melsh and I have been following each other's blogs. It was only when I posted to the local Freecycle Group and Mel got something from my e-mail address that we realised we're within coffee and cake distance. Yay!

6th September: Experiment more. Sometimes new things are fun.

7th September: Listening to old music favourites is good for the soul.

8th September: That blog tutorials take longer to write than you would ever expect.

9th September: That waiting for your first DT piece to go live is a little traumatic.

10th September: That niceness is totally under-rated.

11th September: The house will not clean itself. Bad house!

12th September: When creativity fails, cutting things with a guillotine is very therapeutic.

13th September: Sometimes people are only in it for themselves.

Today's lesson? I have to work on my priorities. It will be worth it in the end.

I really need to work on some more personal projects this month and, unfortunately, that means a little less scrapping. However, I have been managing to journal my lessons every day, along with some sketches and ideas for colours, etc (thank you so much for the notebook idea Shimelle!) and will, at least, be able to scrap them when the opportunity arises.

How's everyone else getting on?

A Little Link Love

During yesterday's mad craving for creative prompting, something inspiring and all things new, I came across a few things that I'd love to share - just in case you should ever have a moody, 'bleh' kind of day.

Due to my general love for thrifting and dressing a little oddly, these steampunk inspired Easy, No Sew, Collar Mods have had me riffling through my costume jewellery looking for natty brooches.

This Little Letter Needle Book Tutorial from the loveliest new blog on the block Skebba made me swoon with it's glorious cuteness.

And I've finally found a reason to accept the fern cuttings that my dad keeps trying to foist on me every time I take a trip home. These Pressed Botanical Specimens would look awesome in our hall. (When we finally finish decorating!)

I feel lonely; uninspired and more than a little bit bored today. Can you tell? I hope you're all having a wonderful Friday night and that you'll have a special weekend. I'm at my local scrapbook club tomorrow, so hopefully a bit of crafting and some gossip will lift me out of this 'funk'.

Feeling Blue by OPCreative featuring Forever21

Wire Wrapped Daisy Chain Bracelet Tutorial

At the beginning of August, I discovered the new Exchange Program over at Totally Tutorials. The Exchange Program puts suppliers of crafting materials in touch with crafters (like you and me) who receive free supplies in return for sharing their skills and creating tutorials. What's not to like about the idea of free supplies?

So, I applied to take part and was lucky enough to be chosen by Pam who runs Etsy store, blacksheepbeads. I was able to choose my own supplies and decided to use some vintage glass beads in a gorgeous teal colour, along with some copper daisy shaped bead caps and a few of my own supplies to make a beautiful bracelet.

You'll need:

Round Glass Beads - I chose mine from a massive selection of colours.
Copper Daisy Shaped Bead Caps - These could be substituted with these beautiful Copper Snowflake Filigree Rounds for another great look.
18" Copper Wire - Choose a suitable gauge for wire wrapping. For this project, you need to make sure that the wire is thin enough to fit through the centre hole in the bead caps six times. If you can comfortably cut the wire with normal kitchen scissors, you should be okay.
Seed Beads - You won't need a lot of these, I used some seed beads leftover from another project. (Mine were Gutermann's Colour 6855 and they matched the teal coloured rounds perfectly.)
Wire Cutters/Kitchen Scissors
A Small Hand Towel - To work on, it stops the beads rolling around.

If at any point you need larger photographs, please check my Daisy Chain Bracelet Tutorial set on Flickr, where you can see individual photographs of each step.

1. Thread a seed bead and a glass bead onto the wire, leaving about 3" at the end.
2. Bend the wire around the seed bead and take the end of the wire back through the glass bead forming a loop.
3. Pull tight.

4. You should now have one long tail of wire and one short tail of wire. Thread on three seed beads, a glass bead, three seed beads, a glass bead and ten seed beads. At some point, you will cover the end of the small tail of wire.
5. Take two of the copper daisy shaped bead caps and hold them together with the smooth, finished sides facing outwards.
6. String onto the wire and push up until the central hole is right next to the seed beads.

7. Bend the wire across the front of the daisy and pass it between two petals on the right. Take it around the back of the daisy and out through the central hole until the wire is once again at the front of the daisy. Repeat this step once.
8. Bend the wire across the front of the daisy, this time passing it between two petals on the left. Take it around the back of the daisy and out through the central hole until the wire is once again at the front of the daisy. Repeat this step once.
9. Now bend the wire across the front of the daisy, passing it between the bottom two petals. Again take it around the back of the daisy and bring it out through the central hole until the wire is at the front of the daisy. Repeat this step once.

10. Now take the wire around to the back of the daisy (the two photographs on the left below, show the back) and pull the tail of the wire through the loops at the bottom of the daisy. This secures the wire to the daisy to stop it moving.
11. Add ten seed beads and then repeat from Step 5 until you have five sets of copper daisies threaded onto the wire.

12. When you have threaded on the five sets of copper daisies, thread twenty five seed beads onto the wire.
13. Loop the wire around and take the end through the first seed bead of the twenty five.
14. Pull tight to form a loop at the end of the daisy chain.

15. Take the tail end of the wire and thread it through the loops at the bottom of the last daisy several times until secured.
16. Using wire cutters or kitchen scissors, trim the excess wire close to daisy.
17. To fasten the bracelet, take the end glass bead and carefully pull through the seed bead loop.

The finished bracelet measures 7" and fits snugly around the wrist. If you need a bracelet that's a bit longer just add an extra few seed beads between each of the daisies.

So, that's it. All that's left to say is a big thank you to Pam from blacksheepbeads and Dotty from Totally Tutorials for giving me the chance to have a play around with these lovely supplies. If you have a go, please leave me a link in the comments section below so that I can come and have a peek.

Technology Hates Me

Having Flickr issues. Tutorial will be back up soon. *Sigh*

Nothing Lasts Forever (My Creative Space)

Proud as I am of my little creative space I am also extremely grateful for the fact that I can close the door on it at the moment. No matter how hard I try I can't seem to keep it looking beautiful. I've even tried tidying up between projects! *Gasp!*

Oh well, nothing lasts forever!

This week, I've been working on some tutorials - one of which is coming later on today and, just to give you a little bit of a hint, it uses those lovely looking beads you can see in the photograph...

See you later? Please visit kootoyoo and have a quick look at the My Creative Space guidelines if you fancy joining in.)

When I'm 100

The very first All About Me challenge has been revealed and I can honestly say that I am still thrilled to have made it onto the Design Team - being picked to work alongside the other fabulous ladies on the Design Team has been a massive boost to my confidence levels.

Which is more than I can say for the conversation that I had with The Steve whilst thinking of ideas for my layout -

Me: When I'm 100...
The Steve: I'll be 97.
Me: 98.
The Steve: 97.
Me: There's only two years between us!
The Steve: Three, even if it's for just a few months.
Me: So, 98.
The Steve: Whatever age you are, you'll still always be older than me.
Me: *Sigh*

Believe it or not, but these moments filled with friendly bickering are just one of the few things I'm looking forward to over the next seventy years!

Journalling reads - Will you still love me when I'm 100? I've always assumed that growing old is a lonely process. Until I met you. The idea that I might get to grow old with you, that we can grow old together, seems a little less scary. Even if you do steal the covers and eat all of the biscuits.

Head on over to All About Me to see the rest of the Design Team's interpretations and, maybe, pop into the All About Me Forum to have a chat about your ideas for the challenge.

Hello World!

It feels like such a long time since I was last able to publish a blog post and, yet, it was actually less than a week ago. When I first started blogging in April, I thought that I would never get used to the idea of sitting down to write something every day, or every few days, at the very least. It seems that I was wrong (now there's something that doesn't happen often, ahem!) and I've missed being able to talk about all the little things. More than that though, I've missed you. Yes. You. So, hello world! I'm ever so pleased we're able to talk :)

~Internet Interlude~

After a rather frustrating morning of customer service hotlines run first, by automated machines and, later, by less than helpful human beings I am using someone else's broadband connection to bring you a brief interlude.

Hopefully, our own connection will be fixed soon! Have a good weekend lovelies x

All About Me Design Team Reveal

I'm not exactly sure how to express my excitement, but the first Design Team for the new scrapbooking challenge blog All About Me has been revealed. And it includes me! Get in! (You'll just have to excuse the colloquialism, okay?)


I'm really thrilled to be part of the Design Team but, honestly, I'd have been playing along religiously with this challenge blog anyway. The prompts are designed to get us scrapbookers designing and creating layouts about the one thing that's often neglected - ourselves. We all need a creative outlet and, having seen some of the upcoming prompts, the next few months are going to be fantastic.

There's a Flickr Group to accompany the blog, where everyone can upload their own interpretations of the challenges and, a bit unusually for a challenge blog, we also have a friendly forum. With some of the challenges going a little deeper than most, everyone can talk about the current challenges and get extra support when it's needed - and of course, it's just nice to chat!

So, would you all like to know who's joining me on the Design Team? These ladies really rock so please, if you have chance, show them a little blog love. Melissa Elsner, Miranda Wedekind, Mette Kallander, Kim Tupponce, Arlene Camacho, Helen Croft, Janis Medina and Britt Lejune.

I'm off to work on my layout for the first challenge which will be posted on the All About Me Challenge Blog on the 9th September. I hope you'll all come and play along.