Quality Street Wreath & Button Trees

I have a couple on non-papercraft Christmas makes to share today. The first is a Quality Street chocolate wreath. I make one of these every year...and am still using the same polystyrene wreath shape from 2012! It's on its last legs, so it I may have to retire it after we've eaten the chocolates! I simply attached the chocolates to the wreath using hot glue, and used some organza ribbon to make the bow and hang it.

My other items are some little Christmas tree ornaments...in the shape of Christmas trees...made out of buttons and beads. They're super easy...I just arranged the buttons from largest to smallest, threaded them on to some wire, starting with a couple of smaller brown buttons at the bottom for the trunk, and once I'd added all of the buttons, I added a little gold star bead, then twisted the wire together to secure the beads and make a hook to hang them with.

More Beaded Bracelets

I have a few beaded bracelets to share today, made using the same technique as this wrap one I blogged last month. This time I made these so that they would go around the wrist just once, using a selection of glass crackle beads.

Challenges for these bracelets:

• A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T. - Anything Goes
• Crafty Calendar - Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes
• Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Beaded Wrap Bracelet

I have something a little different to share today. I went through a phase of jewellery making several years ago, and decided to get my beads out again at the weekend to see if I could still remember how to make something! I started by sorting through all of my supplies, and picked a mixture of 4mm semi-precious gemstone beads to play with. I decided to have a go at making a simple beaded wrap bracelet...I had made quite a few of these in the past, but not for ten years so I wasn't sure I'd remember how! Well, it did come back to me, and I eventually managed to make a bracelet that would wrap around my wrist three times...here it is:

I'm entering this bracelet into the following challenges:

• Dream Valley - Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp (Wednesdays) - Anything Goes

I had a play with some slightly larger glass beads too, and have made a few more single wrap bracelets, which I will no doubt show you sometime soon.

Goldstone & Silver Necklace

I have something a little different to share today...a simple beaded necklace...inspired by the 'Favourite Non-Card Project' challenge over at As You Like It. I'm mostly a paper crafter, although I do like to bake...and went through a period of making quite a bit of jewellery a few years ago (if you want to see some of my other makes click here). This necklace was really quick to make...it's a mixture of goldstone and silver 4mm round beads threaded on to Tiger Tail wire, and finished with an easy to open & close magnetic clasp. The goldstone beads are a beautiful dark blue colour with lots of glittery sparkles...I totally failed at getting a decent photo, but you might be able to see if you click to enlarge the photo.

Challenges for this necklace:

• As You Like It - Favourite Non-Card Project (Although I love baking (for the cakes you get to eat afterwards!) I've gone with beading, as I find it really relaxing, and they make great presents)

ABC Christmas Challenge - M is for...

I have another project for our current ABC Christmas Challenge today, where the theme is:

'M is for Make a Gift'

(Make a papercraft, or other handmade item, or even giftwrap)

Our fabulous sponsor is: 

Our very own Lacey, with her awesome Stamp & Create store!

 The prize is a whopping $25 gift certificate - wowee!

This time, I've made a bracelet, and a little gift tag:

I cut the tag using a Sizzix die...the cute little mouse is from the 'Holly-Jolly' set by Penny Black, and the sentiment is by Lili of the Valley. The bracelet is another wrap style one...I love making these...the beads are mainly navy blue faceted glass with a few ribbed silver ones thrown in at random. Here's a close-up:

I'm also entering these items into the following challenges:

• CCEE Stampers - Tag
• Crazy4Challenges - Tag 
• Hiding in my Craft Room - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.

B for Beads...and Bear!

A bit of a mixed bag for you today...I've been doing a little more beading...and made a couple more single wrap bracelets:

The first one is made from Denim Lapis beads on brown waxed linen:

And the second one is Snowflake Obsidian with a few silver beads on black waxed linen:

If you'd like to try making one of these yourself (and they're really very simple to make) here's a link to a tutorial.


And now for a card...I can't remember the last time I used this adorable bear ('Rainin' Daisies' by Penny Black), so thought I ink him up...in honour of the April showers we're having at the moment! The papers are from the 'Isabelle' pad by First Edition...I've had these since Christmas, but this is the first time I've been brave enough to cut them up! The flowers were cut using my 'Tattered Florals' die...and they do match the colours in the papers...but for some reason look totally different in the photo! I added some faux stitching to the papers using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen...and embossed the flowers using my Craft Concepts 'Budding Vine' folder.

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Creations - Flower Power
• Oldie but a Goodie - April Showers (Not sure exactly how long I've had this adorable stamp, but it must be several years!)
• Papercraft Star - Umbrellas
• Paper Playtime - Umbrella & a Die Cut
• Papertake Weekly - April Showers
• Simon Says Stamp - April Showers Bring Spring Flowers
• Stampin' for the Weekend - Ready, Teddy, Go!
• Sweet Sketch Wednesday - Sketch 

It's a wrap!

I got my beads out last weekend, and made another 'wrap' bracelet...although this one only goes around the wrist once.

I used Indian Agate beads with a few fancy silver beads placed at random (all 8mm). The cord is brown waxed linen, and the pretty button came from a seller on ebay. Here's what it looks like on:

After a really foggy start here in London, it's turned into a beautiful day...but I've woken up with a stinking cold and a sore throat, so I won't be venturing far....even though it is my day off! Oh well, hope you're all enjoying the same lovely weather wherever you are!

ABC Christmas Challenge - P is for...

I'm back with another ABC Christmas Challenge today...this time Samantha is our host, and she has chosen a fabulous theme of:

'P is for Presents, Packaging & Photo Inspiration'

Phew...what a mouthful! Basically, we'd like you to create either a present and/or some kind of packaging (gift bag, box, tag etc) inspired by this photo collage:

We have two fabulous sponsors for this challenge:

Simon Says Stamp are offering one lucky entrant a $15 voucher to spend in their store:

AND:

Stamp Fairy are offering one lucky entrant 3 digis (of their choice) from their store.

Ok, so on to my projects...I went a bit over the top this week...so there are a lot of photos!

First of all, here's a photo of everything together:

 

Here's a close-up of the little box:

And the present inside:

Yes, it's another of those wrap bracelets...this time in a multicolour assortment of gemstones:

The gift tag:

And finally, I couldn't resist making a matching card:

Products used:

Hero Arts stamps set - 'Graphic Lines Trees'
Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder

 EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' border punch
Scalloped Square Nesties

Sentiment - 'Bubble Tree' set by Woodware
Luggage label - WHSmith

Bazzill 'Kraft' card
Papermania 'Recycled' card blank

I'm also entering these items into the following challenges:

• Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - The Whole Sha-bang! (Matching package, card & tag)
• Crafty Catz - Christmas in July
• Fussy & Fancy - Christmas in July
• Sweet Stampin' - Christmas in July

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, as well as some of the Stamp Fairy girls, please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Told you I'd be making more...

I had so much fun making the beaded wrap bracelets that I uploaded last week, that I made another last Saturday afternoon whilst watching the tennis on TV. This time I used a mixture of 4mm turquoise and silver round beads, making it long enough to wrap around my wrist 4 times.

I'm getting neater...and quicker...and I've bought some more gemstone beads, in various different colours...as I'm planning to make some more of these over the summer holiday...only a couple more weeks to go...can't wait! Anyway, if fancy trying this technique, here's a link to the tutorial I used.

Beaded Wrap Bracelets

I hadn't done any beading in a while, and I'd seen a tutorial here for a beaded wrap bracelet that I wanted to try, so I had a little play yesterday afternoon. I used a smaller size of bead than in the tutorial, and made a longer length so that it would wrap around my wrist twice.

4mm Chrysocolla beads

4mm Black/Brown Agate beads

The first one took me a couple of hours, but the second one was quicker...it was a bit fiddly at first, but easy once you know how. I can see myself making lots of these with different coloured gemstones!

ABC Christmas Challenge - U is for...

It's time for another ABC Christmas Challenge...it's my turn to host it, and the theme I have chosen is:

'U is for Under the Tree'

In other words make a gift/gift bag/gift box

Our sponsor for this challenge is the fabulous Simon Says Stamp

The prize is a $15 Gift Certificate...and they'll pay the shipping too!

We are also holding a DT Call on this challenge, as we are looking for some new members for our happy little team...so if you love Christmas crafting as much as we do...you can find all of the details on the ABC Christmas Challenge blog.

I decided to do some beading, and made a couple of simple bracelets...actually I made nine...but I've only photographed and made packaging for these two. The one on the left is made from freshwater pearls in a gorgeous silvery/petrol colour, and the one on the right is Indian Agate. For both bracelets I threaded the beads on to stretchy elastic, and then added a heart shaped charm on a jump ring to cover where the knots are tied.

I made a box for each bracelet out of plain navy blue card using my Easy Score Board, then added some silver tissue paper for packaging. I used my star shaped Nesties to make the tags out of silver and navy card, adding a cute little Penny Black mouse (from the 'Holly Jolly' set) coloured with watercolour pencils.

I used some fluffy and sparkly fibres to tie the tags around the boxes...I have loads of these they come free with orders from Craft Obsessions, and I never know what to do with them...but as I couldn't find any ribbon in the right colour/thickness...I decided to use them on the gift wrap! lol

I'm also entering these into the following challenges:

• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Not Square (The star shaped tags)
• Crafty Ann's  - Anything but a Card

For more details of the DT Call, and more inspiration check out the fabulous creations by my lovely DT buddies on the ABC Christmas Challenge.

ABC Christmas Challenge - A is for...

Woo - hoo! Welcome to the first challenge for the ABC Christmas Challenge!
Thank you so much to all of you who joined in with our blog hop fun...I'll be back later to announce the winner of my blog hop candy.

Now, on to the challenge...well obviously the letter is 'A'...lol...and the theme is:

'A is for Angels'

...and Samantha has chosen the 'extra' element of 'Charms or Beads' on your projects.

I decided to go beading mad, and have made an angel entirely out of beads...well there is a little bit of wire in there too! lol
Here's a photo of my angel being modelled by my Christmas tree:

I followed a pattern that I found here, but I adapted it to use smaller beads.

The design team have really gone to town, and have created some stunning projects for our first challenge to inspire you to join in and get a head start on next year's Christmas preparations...so make sure you stop by the ABC Christmas Challenge blog. As it's our first challenge...and the season of giving...there are 3...yes 3 prizes on offer including a £10 voucher from this week's sponsor Charm Supplies.