As promised...

I was thinking of earrings actually, but, yes, I know, I don't really know what I was thinking...

So, I got a hold of the camera and here are some pics of the other stuff i mentioned in the previous blog post (I know, I know, you are mesmerized by those floaties above, but bear with me):

- packaging and my new DIY stamp! It's a crude one, since I was very impatient to make it (as I mostly am when I want to make something), so it's made from materials I had on hand: a stolen eraser (from my boyfriend. He was nice enough not to kill me afterwards), a piece of wood i cut from something, and a squishy, foamy, double-sidedly sticky something in between that I also nicked from my boyfriend's supplies. My way of making it was very simplified, and I didn't have a carving tool small enough for the lettering, but it was very quick, and I actually followed the rules of sorts. But since this explanation of mine makes no sense whatsoever, I give you a very helpful link (you can skip all the rubber supply stuff in the beginning and just nick an eraser) - there you go.

- Next, I made a lot of burdies! And there are more on the way. I am completely hooked. This is just a sneak peak and I'll show you individual photos when I'm all done.

- And here, my pride and joy (indulge me, this is like a mother loving a complete brat of a child). It is nothing special, but if you read my previous post, you'll know why I am so thrilled with it.

Anyhoo, before I go to ponder on half a dozen sewing, gluing, claying and cooking projects (not all together) that I am itching to do, I leave you with the Threadbanger episode that helped me with this. In case you are of the same crocheting intelligence as I am, I'll add my translation to the "idiot language" below.

So, all you have to know is what a chain stitch and single crochet are (btw. single crochet is the US term, the UK term is double crochet, aaaand, my favourite needlework reference book is a Croatian translation and hence has a term niski stapic bez navoja for it; besides why is it called "single" when you do two loops....and so on and so forth - how could I not cry in despair here!). Ok , so now that you know that, you proceed like this:

- make 8 chain stitches

- connect them in a circle

- 1st (numbers are the numbers of rows) - do single crochet in each stitch twice, so you end up with 16 stitches (double) (count them so you would be sure where you are; I found the "tail" trick mentioned in the episode not very precise)

- 2nd - do single crochet in every fourth stitch twice (now you have 20 stitches)

- 3rd - do plain single crochet all the way

- 4th - do single crochet in each stitch twice

- 5th - do single crochet in every fifth stitch twice

- 6th - do plain single crochet all the way

- 7th - do single crochet in every sixth stitch twice

- 8th - do plain single crochet all the way

- 9th - do single crochet in every seventh stitch twice

- 10th - do single crochet in every eighth stitch twice

- 11th - do single crochet in every ninth stitch twice

- 12th - do single crochet in every tenth stitch twice

- 13th - do single crochet in every eleventh stitch twice

- 14th - do single crochet in every twelfth stitch twice

- 15th - do single crochet in every thirteenth stitch twice

- 16th - now, if the size is good you do plain single crochet all the way here, if it's too small (like mine was) because your hook is smaller than in the episode, or yarn thinner - proceed to do single crochet twice in every fourteenth stitch here, every fifteenth in the next row and so on, until you have the desired size

- do as many rows of single crochets all around as needed for the desired depth

- when you reach the desired depth - skip every 4th stitch

- final row - skip 2 stitches every 4th stitch and when you reach the end of the row, you are done (for me, at this point the opening was a little too big, so i proceeded to skip 3 stitches every 4th stitch, and so on until I had it right).

I hope this helps a little, and hopefully no one who CAN actually crochet is reading this and dying a little with every line, but rather laughing their heart out (I mean, come on! Just look at those sperms up there!) :-D

See you soon and be well in the meantime!

Let there be colour! (and animal kingdom)...and stuff

I have so many ideas running amock in my head, but I find that a very good start of the new year! I have also been on a let-me-make-whatever-there-is-out-there spree. So, let's see:

- I made gift boxes and bags for my jewelry

- I made my very first stamp (wahey!) - and stamped around like a mad woman

- I made a new jewelry batch that I'll show you next time

- I crocheted my first thing ever!

I find crocheting sooo confusing (especially with all those abbreviations in patterns), and I have attempted to crochet stuff numerous times before - to no success whatsoever. But yesterday I crocheted a hat! Woohoo! Yaay! And yipee! Seriosly, even though it's not much (just a plain red beret) I am so happy because I figured it out and don't feel like an idiot when faced with a crochet hook. However, being in that "I am so smart, I am so smart" rush I followed on to crochet loads of little yarn sperms (?!). Yes, I know...I have no idea either...I'm sure I'll find some use for them sometime...Ahem....Aaaaaanyway...

- I made some really cute home decor birdies as well. They were actually supposed to be for sale, but I kind of fell in love and now have to decide which ones to give for adoption :((

All of this would be followed by photos, except my boyfriend took the camera with him, so I can't make any /:{. Next blog, I promise, and I'll add some crafty links as well that really helped me (like for the hat, and the stamp).

Until then, new arrivals in my shoppe are bellow. I am getting off on colour, but that is hardly new. And the fishies and peacocks are back again! ;)

Have a great week!

Aaaand the winner of the New Yaer's giveaway is.....

(drumroll)

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JOVANA!

Have a great 2010 everyone!

Happy Holidays! and.....tadah!....a GIVEAWAY!

Let's start with the giveaway!

Leave a comment on this blog post, or on the latest FB fan page status, and you will be participating in a draw for this lovely little ring. I will collect all the names and draw one from a hat (the old-fashion way) on 1 January 2010, and then announce the winner both here and on the FB Fan Page! The deadline is 31December 2009, at midnight!

In the meantime, I leave you with some of my holiday spirit and Mr. Heiny (the snowman of course).

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Flourishing away!

Something old, something new... Nope, no one is getting married, I just re-did some of the old pieces and posted them for sale on DaWanda. And then I did some new pieces, some of which already sold, or will be in the shop very soon.

So, here goes:

The following three pics are the re-done oldies, now available on DaWanda:

Perfume Boudoir brooch and ring

Simple Life ring

Spring in the forest necklace

The next three pics are the new pieces that already sold before they were even listed (yaay! - me very happy):

Secret Spring Garden earrings

Secret Spring Garden Necklace

Winter Paisley set

And, finally, these are the new pieces that will soon appear in the shop:

Secret Garden locket

I am very happy about this locket - it's made on a recycled Vaseline tin, and it opens just enough for you to put a little special something inside.

Court Garden earrings

Art Nouveau earrings

My head is full of ideas and projects, I need to pace myself and get organized. Anyways, hope you enjoy these and are looking forward to the holidays as I am :)

I will post some of my Christmas spirit in the next post, AND there is a New Year giveaway on its way as well!

Winter's mix'n'match

Hello there! Still busy here and slightly disoriented. Too many things to do, or too big of a to-do list forming in my head. Either way, I have been jumping from one thing to another and employing most of my crafty abilities. Tadah - I present you with some of the results:

1. This is something I am very pleased with. I loved both materials so much, and already had this jacket in my head, so I decided to make it a reversible one. Also, neither of the materials alone would carry off the shape I had in mind, so reversible jacket was the perfect solution. This for me was a triumph of sorts - first of all, I sew by hand, second, I tend to make mistakes in sewing since I am impatient, but this one went smoothly all the way!. All in all, I am very pleased. The brown side is woolen, and the red is the most gorgeous deep red heavy cotton. Yaay, I have a new jacket!

2. J. and I made Christmas cards for friends and family (and are now procrastinating sending them. Note to self - send the darn cards!)

3. I made papier mache birdies for house decoration. I have another one in mind, and it's supposed to be huge.

4. Other than these, I have almost finished a new batch of jewelry that will soon find its way into my shoppe. And having mentioned the shop - DaWanda is having a Christmas discount on the 17th and 18th December (tomorrow and Friday), so feel free to visit my shop and get yourself or a loved one some Christmas goodies ;)

Oh, and I have a new fan page on Facebook. Drop in and have a look!

See you soon!

Busy bee

That would be me :-) I did some commission work (for the first time) for two people. One set is a combination of earrings and a ring, and the other - ring, earrings and a pendant. I hope the girls will like their pieces. And I hope you like them, too. I personally had trouble giving up those earrings from the second set. Alas ;)

I also added some new stuff to my DaWanda shop. They are not new pieces, just added for sale now.

That's it for now. I am having a splitting headache for two days now and I am keeping busy so it would go away, but it seems to be the wrong method. And now I'll go and add some cheese to that whine. ;)

Be good!