THe Brilliance of You tube and a necklace

I have a beadalon knotting tool which helps you to make perfect knots when making jewellery. I tried using it yesterday, with mixed success (and I did RTFM). I watched a you tube video about it last night. I think the video is different to the paper instructions and it looks so easy. I haven't had a go again today to test the theory. You Tube is a wonderful place to find step by step instructions on how to do things. People are so generous in sharing their knowledge.

I also watched a few videos about the coiling gizmo and learned how to open and close split rings - you don't pull them from right and left to split the ring, you do it forwards and backwards which means they go back into the proper place when you have finished. I also saw a video which included a section on making wire which has a hoop at both ends (I don't know the name for them) and discovered that I had been doing it completely wrong. If you are interested, look at 7 minutes 35 seconds on this video.

Using my new found knowledge, today I created a necklace from the Sculpey beads made yesterday.  I don't have making the wire with hoops at both ends sussed yet (I have a measuring problem), but this necklace is a lot better than the last one I made using the same technique. I have ordered a pair of jump ring closing pliers which I want to use to make the jump rings on this necklace oval rather than round. This means that the rings will be less likely to open. Click on the image to see more detail.

Book Thongs

Mandi belongs to the Costa Brava branch of the  U3A (University of the Third Age). The branch are celebrating their 30th birthday this year. The craft group have a project to create book thongs. Mandi made 2 or 3 before leaving Spain for the U.K. but needed 10 all together. So, we had great fun creating them from my stash of threads and beads. We even made our own cords for a few of them using the Babyliss Crazy Braid. I bought my crazy braid from E bay and it is a lot cheaper than buying a conventional cord maker.

Our favourite is the first one from the left, followed by the second from the right. I pick up cheap jewellery when I can, and this was used for the favourite. Click on the image to see the thongs in more detail.

Jewellery Play Day

A couple of friends and I had a play day recently and we decided to make necklaces. Caroline and Ann hadn't made necklaces with crimps before so they had fun. Unfortunately I learned via a you tube video a few days later that we didn't do it properly because we didn't have a crimp tool or beads to cover the crimps. Next time I see them we will have to reconsider restringing the necklaces.

I spent my time fixing necklaces that I had either made or bought which had fallen apart.

These are Caroline's:



The necklaces here were made by Ann and the ear rings were made by Caroline:



And these are the ones I fixed:

Necklace

I spent yesterday at Mayhill Textiles. Aggie, a member of our group, showed us how to make a beaded necklace. First of all I stitched a pipe cleaner to some vilene. The beads are sewn on over the top of the pipe cleaner. When it is finished, I shall trim the vilene and fold it over underneath.



A close up.

Bras to Bags Workshop

Yesterday, I attended a workshop hosted by FiberPaperArts in Neath. It was run by Anne Griffiths and the idea was to make a bag from a bra. You can see other examples at http://www.pocketmouse.co.uk/bras.php. This is mine. It needs the dangly beads at the bottom put onto the other side as well, and it also needs lining, then it will be complete.