Fringe Necklace (The Altered Element}

I've spent the last week in label sticking, envelope stuffing miserableness, so you'll have to forgive me for my lack of blogging. However, I'm sneaking in one last recycled project for The Altered Element DT - a super cute, fringe necklace made with the beads from some 'recycled' jewellery and some rather lovely, leather thong.

I have a massive collection of beads that I've saved from broken necklaces or from old and outdated pieces that I've found at my local car boot sale. I've been wanting to make a necklace using some of the larger beads for quite some time now, but couldn't find a leather thong thin enough to fit through most of my beads.

However, at just 1mm thick and only 30 pence per metre, the leather thong from The Altered Element is perfect (and it comes in dark brown or natural/nude too!)

To make your own version of this necklace you'll need at least two metres of leather thong, some recycled beads (or maybe a selection like the Dress It Up Beads which come in a wide range of colour mixes.) You'll also need some end caps, some jump rings and a lobster clasp to finish your necklace.

To start, simply cut one piece of thong to the desired length of your necklace, then cut additional pieces of thong to a variety of lengths for the fringe. Add beads to each smaller piece of thong and then, keeping the longer pieces towards the middle, add them to your main length of thong using lark's head knots.

To complete your necklace, fasten an end cap to each end of the necklace, then add a clasp using a couple of your jump rings. Done!

A Proud Moment {Finally Finished Friday}

I know, I know. I'm cutting it a little fine with my Finally Finished Friday project this week but, since I actually managed to complete something earlier in the week and didn't save it until today, I'm not too worried. And, after all, it is still Friday.

For one reason or another, this project has been worked on in several stages. I first misted the background onto my cardstock about two months ago and absolutely loved the effect - I thought it looked like a starry night - and wanted to save it for the perfect project.

Back in October, the perfect project finally came along in the guise of a monthly challenge over on All About Me - a proud moment or achievement - but due to the timing, I was unable to take part in the challenge at the time. Over the next week or two, I got as far as finding the chipboard elements, trinkets and wording that I wanted to use but, until tonight, I never got as far as actually sticking them down on paper. Oh, how I love sticking things down on paper!

I even managed to squeeze some journalling on there - not always one of my strong points - all about how I managed to buy my own home at the tender age of 24.

It feels wonderful to have this layout finally finished and, thankfully, it looks just how I envisaged it all those months ago. Now maybe I'll have chance to play along with this month's challenge?

Paper Flowers {Altered Element}

This week I have another sweet, little tutorial for the Altered Element Design Team. As you might remember, this month's theme is recycling, so I hauled out my absolutely massive box of paper scraps and dug around until I found some old sheets of music. They had been festering in my 'must use' pile for some time and were practically begging to be turned into something pretty.

What You'll Need:

Ink Mists - I used Cosmic Shimmer Mists in Bronze Blush and Rich Gold, but they're all beautiful.
Brads - I used these 6mm Round, Gold Brads but it doesn't really matter which colour you choose because you won't be able to see them. Buy colours you like and use them for something else too!
Sheet Music - If you can't find any sheet music, I'd recommend some old book pages or some Bazill Smoothies Cardstock
Scallop Circle Punch - You could also use a die cut or a round circle punch.
Craft Knife or Scalpel - Be careful with these. I'll accept no responsibility for slightly shorter than normal fingers or thumbs after you've finished.

1. Punch - Depending on the punchability (that is so a word!) of your scallop punch or your die cut, stack up your sheet music and punch through as many sheets of paper as you can in one go.

2. Pile & Poke - Split your paper circles into little piles - I've used around seven to ten circles per flower, it doesn't have to be an exact science. Then, using your craft knife or scalpel, stick a little hole - big enough for your brad to go through - in the centre of each pile of circles and pop your brad through.

3. Start Scrunching - Starting at the top, scrunch a paper circle up and around the brad.

4. Scrunch Some More - Scrunch each layer in turn. Leave the last couple of layers fairly flat, but use your fingernails to 'lift' the edges a little.

5. Spray & Splatter - When you've assembled all of your paper flowers, it's time to get messy with the mists. I normal lay out my flowers on some old sheets of newspaper or pop them into a cardboard box. (This time I popped them onto some white card, which I'll be using for another project once it's all speckled.) Spritz your flowers with the mists - making sure that you aim some of the mists around the edges of the flowers as well as over the tops. Leave to dry.

6. Beautify - Now use your recycled flowers to beautify your scrapbook layouts, mini albums, altered art or to decorate your craft room.

Colours Of The Rainbow

Each week on Operation Tackle That Beadstash, Liz puts together a Monday Moodboard with the aim of inspiring contributors and followers alike to dig around in their bead stash and make a little 'something, something'. There's a new one up today, so check it out!

A little while ago, Liz posted a rainbow themed moodboard and I managed to find a small tub of plastic seed beads that had come free with a papercrafts magazine. At the time they had been separated by colour, but at some point I must have mixed them altogether - perfect for making something multi-coloured. Mainly because I could never be bothered to try separating them again. Ahem!

I had intended to turn them into one of my safety pin cuff bracelets but, in the end, I had far too many safety pins for one bracelet and not enough for two. Having spent so long threading the seed beads onto the safety pins, I was loathe to start all over again. So I've had a pot of safety pins, sat in all their multicoloured glory, on my desk for several months.

The other day, I came across a length of pure white ribbon and decided to try threading it through the backs of the safety pins to create a choker style necklace. Lo and behold, it works - and it looks pretty cool with my white shirt for work.

Now, I must confess that I started writing this post with the intention of scheduling it as this week's Finally Finished Friday, but figured that if I posted it tonight, I'd have extra incentive to complete another project by the end of the week. I'm pushing myself people!

A Small Start {Finally Finished Friday}

Although starting a new job seems to have caught up with me this week and the energy with which I enthusiastically tackled spreadsheets last week begins to wane, I didn't want to have to admit defeat in the very first week of my attempt to finish some of my (many) works in progress.

So, I'm starting small and have finally finished a small pair of earrings, using the leftover pink crystal beads from an earlier bracelet project - a project which had also been on my 'to do' list for a long time.

Finishing these wee beauties might have been a fairly simple task, but I still feel a sense of achievement and I've finally crossed one 'work in progress' off my list.

Progressing Nicely

I spent some time this weekend trying to categorise my works in progress - barely started; got going; halfway through; a couple of tweaks; and almost finished but too lazy to add the last, necessary component. Is it just me that has this problem with completing projects?

I'm going to try and finish at least one project a week between now and the new year - when I shall be recovering from the excesses of the holidays; when my probable detox diet will be creating issues with my manual dexterity; and when I shall, most likely, abandon all ideas of completing works in progress and start afresh.

I'll be sharing all of my 'in progress' and 'finally finished' photographs as incentive, but it won't work unless you, my lovely blog readers, hold me accountable. So watch out for Finally Finished Fridays and, please, tell me how you find the motivation to start working on old projects!

Recycled Bottlecap Embellishments {Altered Element}

This is my first post as part of the new Altered Element Design Team, so I've been keen to work on something that's versatile and can be used in many different types of projects. Whether you're a seasoned crafter or a beginner, you'll be able to use these cute embellishments in your jewellery, interiors or scrapbooking projects - and as a bonus they're made from stuff that most people throw away.

What You'll Need:

Glossy Accents - A versatile 3D clear, gloss medium that you can use for lots of things. There's also a Matte, Sepia and Crackle version - so good!
Cord - I actually used a lovely Leather Cording, but I think these pretty Metallic Cords would be perfect with winter colours.
Bottlecaps - If you're not a big drinker, fear not. Ask friends or relatives to collect them for you or head down to your local bar, ask nicely and flutter eyelashes. Works for me!
Spray Paint - I used Plastikote Project Paint in matt white and bronze, but if you'll be sticking your embellishments down instead of hanging them, you can skip this.
A Selection Of Bits & Pieces - I used punched paper circles, buttons, small seashells and beads in my embellishments. These Alpha Beads and Spangles & Trinkets would also be excellent and are on my wishlist for next time I make these!
Hammer & Screw - Optional for adding a hole to hang your embellishment.

1. Before The Beautifying - You might like to clean up your bottlecaps by boiling them for a few minutes to get rid of any residual beer stains and tarnish. If you want to remove the small plastic inner, boiling will also help to loosen it up, but be careful trying to take it out while it's hot. We'll be covering this up anyway, so there's no real need to try this unless you're one of those people who like things to be as perfect as possible.

2. Painting - I used Plastikote Project Paint to re-colour my bottlecaps. Just lay your bottlecaps face up on a sheet of newspaper and, with the spray about a foot away, lightly mist over your bottlecaps. A couple of light coats if better than one heavy, clumpy one.

3. Adding A Hole For Hanging - If you'd like to add a small hole to your bottlecaps so that you can use them as ornaments or jewellery charms, it's pretty easy to do. Grab yourself a screw and a hammer. Hold the screw at the edge of your bottlecap, hit it really hard a few times with the hammer and voila. (Using a screw instead of a nail might seem counter-intuitive but I find that they don't bend and are, therefore easier to use!)

4. Creating A Collage - I like to line the base of my bottlecaps with a punched paper circle. (If you haven't got a punch for this, just draw around the base of your bottlecap and cut out - or use beads and spangles to cover the base instead.) Layer up your collage using additional punches, stickers, sparkles and beads - sticking them down with a little dot of Glossy Accents to keep them in place.

4. Using The Glossy Accents - Don't shake the bottle - this will add bubbles. Just turn your bottle upside down really quickly, then squeeze onto a piece of scrap paper. Start adding to your bottlecap around the outside and then around the edges of your accents, then fill in the remaining space. Try to make sure that the hole for hanging is clear, but don't worry too much - it's easy to bang in another through the Glossy Accents.

5. Leave To Set - Your Glossy Accents will look less than glossy at first, but leave them to dry overnight (somewhere level) and by morning they'll dry to a hard, clear and glossy finish.

6. Hanging Your Charms - Use your screw to ensure that your hanging hole is free of Glossy Accents (just wiggle it about a bit - technical term) and then thread through some leather cording, knot and hang.

I'm planning on adding these embellishments to my scrapbooking pages, gifts, mini-albums and jewellery - and how cute would these be on your Christmas tree? There's so many ways to make them work in your projects!

As always, if you have any questions or have a go at making some I would love you to let me know in the comments.

And Now For The Good News.....

I'm On The Altered Element Design Team!!! I am absolutely delighted to be joining The Altered Element Design Team. If you haven't visited The Altered Element before then I think that you're in for a treat. The shop is full to the brim of the most amazing supplies - and is especially proud to stock some of those hard to find items.

I'm joining a seriously talented team of crafters and you can, of course, keep up with all of our design team projects over at The Altered Element Blog However, could I also encourage you to check out everyone's personal blogs? It will be worth it! Visit them here - Anikraft, Adorn, Crafty Makes, Welcome To My World, Mixed Media Musings, Jasmoon Butterfly, Gingersnap Creations, Crafty Dawn, Zuzu's Petals and Inspired Scilly.

And, as if that's not enough good news - I have a new job! I was due to end my current contract at the end of October and, with mum suddenly becoming ill, I had hardly managed to start looking for a new role. I managed to complete an application form for the one job that I really, really wanted. I was invited for an interview, which for obvious reasons, was difficult to attend while mum was ill. But, I knew that she would want me to attend the interview - she always did want what was best for us - and perhaps in some ways, having something else on my mind took away all my usual pre-interview nerves because I was offered the role.

I started last Monday and I can honestly say that I already feel settled. I'm doing a role that I love - working in a university careers department - and my new team are amazing.

For all this - and for the lovely comments and e-mails I've received since my last post - I am extremely grateful x