Superduo & Rivoli Flower Pendant {Tried & Tested}

I’m still working on a more consistent blogging schedule (it seemed ridiculously difficult in 2015, when there was so much *new stuff* to deal with in my personal life!) So, over the next few weeks, I’m re-introducing a few old favourites including Tried & Tested. 

The idea behind Tried & Tested is really very simple – I’ll find an idea or a cute tutorial that I want to try; I’ll test it out; then I’ll let you know the results of my efforts. I’ll try to be honest, sometimes it will work, sometimes it won’t. 

Susan Sassoon’s ‘Rivoli and Superduo Flower Pendant’ looked like a lovely, little project that I could complete in the evening or over the course of weekend. However, I must admit to a little surprise at its complexity. It caught me out and I’m thrilled. It was really, really interesting to see the mind of another tutorial writer at work. Each new round had me wondering how the next bead placement would affect the overall structure and shape, which meant that I was more ‘involved’ than usual. It was wonderful to switch off, concentrate on the instructions and enjoy the journey!

Susan includes well written instructions, diagrams and clear photographs in the tutorial (so there’s something for every kind of beader to follow) and, while the tutorial is a little more involved than I had first imagined, I think a confident beginner could take this on to stretch themselves a little. 

The end result is super sparkly from the front and the back has some beautiful netting that *could* make it reversible. This will depend on whether the foiled side of a standard rivoli is appealing to you, or if you can find a suitable double-sided alternative. I’m intending to try with an alternative soon! The ‘bail’ included in the tutorial (something that I don’t see with many necklace tutorials) is also an interesting make and, I believe, it would look fantastic as components in bracelet or necklace. I love a tutorial with options – so much more worthy of that initial investment!

I’ve bookmarked Susan’s store – SoSassySusanSassoon – and will definitely be heading there for inspiration when I need a nice weekend project.

I Can Herringbone {Bead, Book & Bounce Reveal}

Bead, Book & Bounce is a regular feature, organised by Operation Tackle That Bead Stash, in an effort to make busy beaders dust off the beautiful beading and jewellery making books that are sitting, unloved and under-utilised on their bookshelves. Members are encouraged to bead, review the book and then 'bounce' around other participants blogs. Hence the name - Bead, Book & Bounce.

Over the past couple of months, members have been beading away, busily making projects from Melissa Grakowsky's 'I Can Herringbone'. Melissa's book is part of a wonderful (and growing) set of books in the 'I Can' Series by Lark Crafts.

Now, although I own a lot of the beading books that we choose for the Bead, Book & Bounce feature, I don't own all of them! So, I had popped this one onto my wishlist, thinking that I would buy it in time to create one of the projects for the big reveal. Only, well, someone bought it! I can only assume that I will find the book nestled amongst the gifts at the bottom of the Christmas Tree come the 25th December! 

Luckily, there were some free projects - Braided Braid and The Athena Necklace - from the book, available to download via the Lark Crafts Website. And luckier still, I am looking forward to finding that gift under the tree!

So, wanting to work on something from the book, but knowing that it might be on it's way, I chose to work on one of the free projects - The Braided Braid. Classified as an 'Experienced Beginner' pattern, the bracelet utilises Two-Ladder Tubular Herringbone to create three, long strips of tubular herringbone which are then braided into a cuff style bracelet. 

Whilst the project is simple enough for an experienced beginner, the free download doesn't include the instructions for Two-Ladder Tubular Herringbone, as these appear earlier on the book. So, if you are completely new to herringbone or tubular herringbone, you might need to purchase the full book (or look up the basic instructions elsewhere.) 

Once the project is underway, I suggest some seriously uplifting music (or your favourite film) for company, as the stitch becomes more than a little tedious - especially by the time you reach the third strip! But, if you're the type of beader who enjoys a repetitive, methodical braid or beaded rope, then maybe this will be your kind of project! 

The instructions though are clear and simple to follow, so even exhausted from all that tubular herringbone, you should find it easy to join the strips together and create the loops which attach them to the clasp. And, I must admit that the result was worth the effort! (Not that you can tell, because the light was terrible while I was taking photographs - and this is the best of the bunch!)

I'm looking forward to trying additional projects from the book over the holiday period (how exciting!) but in the meantime, I'm going to visit Operation Tackle That Bead Stash where I hope the other participants will be sharing their makes. Why not join me? 

Radiance Earrings {Tried & Tested}

There is something very liberating about following someone else's tutorials - whatever craft you may choose as your favourite, every so often (usually when I'm lacking a little bit of focus) I like to visit my Pinterest Boards or my Etsy Favourites to find an achieveable little project that I have been 'meaning to do'.

A couple of weeks ago, with no mojo but a need to make something I went in search and found Sarouchka Lobbens' Radiance Earrings Tutorial - a small, but suitably sparkly project that I could make in an afternoon. Little did I know just how much I would love, and I do mean truly love, this beautiful and adaptable pattern!

The pattern calls for a small selection of easy to find materials, making this a wonderful stash stretcher (or perhaps an opportunity to use up all of those little leftovers?) The tutorial included well photographed, step-by-step pictures, combined with easy to follow written instructions. I was intrigued by the 'unusual thread path' - it's like a small insight into how someone else thinks - and I was surprised to find that I was really enjoying myself. It was so nice to just 'bead'.

But the best thing about this tutorial? It's easily adapted for different sizes of chatons, rivolis and dentelles! Needing a bit of beautiful bling for my niece's 21st birthday, I had acquired some 10mm Swarovski Dentelles in this luscious 'lemon meringue' - my niece's favourite colour - through an Operation Tackle That Bead Stash friend. To adapt the pattern, I simply used five Bicone/Superduo Sets in the first round, instead of seven, which worked a treat! To adapt for other sizes, simply divide the diameter of the stone by two for the number of Bicone/Superduo sets - it's that simple!

If you would like to try out Sarouchka's beautiful tutorials, you can visit her etsy store - JuJuJewelleryUK. I've certainly been back and bought a few more!

Beaded Allure: The Reveal {Bead, Book & Bounce}

Over the past few months, members of Operation Tackle That Bead Stash have been working on projects from Beaded Allure by Kelly Wiese. The book contains twenty-five projects, with detailed step-by-step instructions for ten beadweaving techniques - including bezelling and bead embroidery. 

I cannot say enough good things about Beaded Allure. Though each of the patterns has been given a difficulty rating, the clear and detailed written instructions, accompanied by excellent photographs of each and every step needed to create each project, make each of the patterns incredibly easy to follow and this is a book that is more than suitable for beginners. It should be an essential! 

I haven't had a lot of time to dedicate to beading over the last couple of months so all I have to show is a teeny, tiny pair of earrings - but they are ridiculously romantic! The motifs are an adaptation of the Charming Choker Necklace. Instead of working with 4mm Firepolished Beads and Czech Drops, I had a little rummage around in my bead stash and found some 4mm Round Pearls with matching Pearl Drops. Thankfully, the seed bead count works just as well with a 4mm Round!

I have 'bookmarked' several projects and cannot wait to start on The Cosmic Crystal Necklace as soon as I have gathered all of the components and I am eagerly anticipating Kelly's next book - A Beaded Romance.

It's Back! {Tried & Tested}

I'm battling an addiction and, I admit, I'm in serious need of a Pin-tervention! Just recently, I've been 'busy' sifting and sorting through my 'lazy old likes' and have either re-pinned them or deleted them - whittling down over seven thousand (ahem!) likes and leaving myself with twenty-six boards and well over nine hundred lovely looking projects to attempt - eventually.

In my defence, it wasn't a complete waste of time - and that some-day has already arrived. That's right, I've actually started to work on some projects inspired by all of that pinning. So, I'm bringing back Tried & Tested, and will be regularly reviewing and revealing the results of my crafting efforts that have been inspired by all of the beautiful projects and tempting tutorials that can be found on the internet!

To prove that I mean business this time around, I started with a project that has been languishing in my 'likes' for a very, very long time. The tutorial, 'Random Snow', is in Russian, but beaders familiar with basic square stitch should find the diagram fairly easy to follow. The basic pattern is repeated - over and over and over - but the end result is more than worth a little tedium! 

Materials: Blue Moon Beads - 4mm Champagne Glass Pearls & 6mm Champagne Glass Pearls; Miyuki - Size 11 Galvanised Gold Seed Beads.

I went for a 'classic' look, using some of my favourite Champagne Glass Pearls from Blue Moon Beads and some Galvanised Gold Seed Beads. I'm absolutely loving this combination at the moment - there's just something timeless about it! Given the time it took to stitch (oh so long!) I'm unlikely to be making another one anytime soon, but I am ever so pleased that I finally made something from my Pinterest boards.

I'd love to hear from other 'addicts'. If there's enough of us, we could encourage each other to move away from the computer and into the craft room!

Beaded Fantasies: The Reveal {Bead, Book & Bounce}

Over the last two months, members of Operation Tackle That Bead Stash have been working on projects from Sabine Lippert's Beaded Fantasies. The book was published in May 2012 and I vividly remember looking through the copy that arrived at The Bead Shop Liverpool and thinking that every project in the book looked amazing - but a little too complex for someone like me to tackle. I tried to follow just the first few steps of the Granada Brooch and, confidence lacking, gave in with a crushing sense of defeat!

Just a few months later, with new beadweaving techniques conquered and a growing sense of confidence, I bought my own copy of Beaded Fantasies. Inspired by the words in Sabine's Introduction "Failure is always something to learn from. Be brave and confident." I decided that I would be - and I conquered the Granada Brooch that same afternoon. Since then, my 'brooch turned pendant' has become my favourite piece of jewellery. A little symbol of triumph!

One of the best things about the book is that the majority of the projects utilise a fairly standard selection of beads - crystal bicones, firepolished rounds, chatons and rivolis - so if you've been beading for a little while, you may already have the stash you need to tackle one or two of the projects. 

Though I'm still building my own 'reserves', I did have everthing I needed to work on The 'I Can't Dance Earrings'. The pattern uses different sized beads in the base, to create a curve using Right Angle Weave. Embellished with Size 11 and Size 15 seed beads, the pattern works up fairly quickly, but was a little on the heavy side for me to wear as earrings. I turned mine into a chunky, little pendant instead. 

The one, and only issue, that I have with Beaded Fantasies is that the written instructions, at first glance, seem a little daunting. The long length of many paragraphs made each step a little bit harder for me to follow and, glancing away to look at a diagram, I'd often lose my place. In the end, I broke some of the larger paragraphs down by drawing in pencil lines and that simple fix made it much easier for me to read through, and follow, the written instructions.

Inspiring as each design is, it's the last chapter of the book - where Sabine describes her method of designing - that is the real gem, but I'll let you discover that one for yourselves!

Kasaviragas Karkoto {Tried & Tested}

Just popping in today with a Tried & Tested review of another tutorial that's perfect for using up some of your beading leftovers - Kisaviragas Karkoto by Panita. That's right, it's in another language - but please don't let that put you off! The diagram truly is exceptionally easy to follow if you have a little bit of beading experience and, of course, anyone who needs a little bit of help can just ask me!

The pattern calls for seed beads in Size 11 and Size 6, though I have successfully used Size 11 and Size 8 in my own version of the bracelet. To stitch up the full bracelet, with three rows, you'll need approximately three grams of each bead size. So, have a little rummage for all of those 'nearly empty' tubes of seed beads! 

If you're not sure whether you have quite enough beads for the full bracelet, I've found that a one row version looks just as cute and, of course, if you want to play around with the basic pattern to make some earrings, you'll need a much smaller amount!

You can vary the pattern a little by working with other sizes of beads, as long as you pair together two different sizes. Size 15 and Size 11, still work perfectly well, but you'll need a smaller needle and possibly a thinner thread. 

Can't wait to see the variations that you all come up with x

Striped Peyote Bracelet {Tried & Tested}

One of the things that I hope will be highlighted by my new feature - Tried & Tested - is the people within the crafting community with experience and expertise who happily share their knowledge and enthusiasm with others. There is some amazing talent out there - and the lovely Tracey of Crystal Star Gems & Jewellery is no different. Every month, Tracey is posting a free tutorial on the Crystal Star Gems & Jewellery Facebook Page, each of them covering a new beading stitch at a level suitable for absolute beginners. 

And let me tell you, Tracey's Striped Peyote Bracelet Tutorial was amazing to work on! The photographs are fantastic, showing each of the steps in clear detail - and the instructions are well written without being too wordy. So, even though I only knew the basics of weaving in peyote stitch, I was soon beading away and, more importantly, enjoying myself!

Although it's an extremely easy piece to bead, I felt that I learnt so much from this one tutorial - including how to keep track of stitch counts, zip up flat bead work and decrease or increase in peyote using different sized beads. So to finish up with such a beautiful bracelet at the end, seems like a bonus! 

Tracey has now 'retired' the free version of this tutorial, but you can still purchase the Striped Peyote Bracelet Tutorial from Crystal Star Gems & Jewellery. At £2.99 it's a steal - and I promise you won't be disappointed. 

Crazily Overdue.

Not only have I managed to completely miss my blogging birthday (in April) but it seems that I also managed to completely forget about my list of Thirty Things To Do While I'm Thirty and having now turned 31 (in April!) a review is long overdue. Don't you think?

Here's the list -

1. Start running again and enter the Liverpool 10k. (I've started running, but no 10k race - yet!)
2. Complete my photography portfolio for my Beginners Photography course. (Check.)

3. De-clutter, de-stash and stick with the Use What You Have philosophy as far as possible. (See Waste Not Wednesday.)
4. Drink more water. (Check.)
5. Start a blog. (I'd already done it. Check.)
6. Throw a big garden party.
7. Spruce up the garden in preparation for the garden party!
8. Go camping and sleep under the stars.
9. Go to the fairground. Yeah baby. (Check.)
10. Make these lovely necklaces, this fantastic skirt and this beautiful bracelet instead of just drooling over the pictures. (Major fail!!!)
11. Build sandcastles on the beach.
12. Spend more time with my parents. (Check and Check.)

13. Have cocktails with some good friends. (Check.)
14. Plan a weekend away; take a road trip or just go somewhere new. (Check and Check.)
15. Refashion my wardrobe, mend old favourites and donate old clothes to charity. (Made A Start!)
16. Send a message in a bottle.
17. Dust off my bicycle and get my groove on.
18. Go to the cinema at least once a month. (Check.)
19. Take some craft classes. (Check, Check. and Check.)

20. Learn a new beading stitch. (Check.)
21. Climb a mountain.
22. Start the family tree.
23. Organise my life and home. (Life? Getting there. Home? One thing at a time, eh?)

24. Display more photographs - get them off the hard drive.
25. Take some photographs of Me and 'The Steve' - using these fabulous people as inspiration. (Check.)

26. Learn to make pretty cupcakes.
27. Do something that scares me. (Oh! Many, many times!)
28. Clear out and organise our little shed. (Check.)
29. Put up an inspiration wire or board.
30. Laugh more. (Check!)

I didn't manage everything and that's okay. I can't decide, though, whether I want to write another list. Has anyone else written one before now? I'd love to hear your thoughts or see your list if you have, so please link or comment x