Vacation was wonderful!
…returning home and facing computer problems, not so wonderful.
As of right now, my desktop computer is out of commission, so my posts and store listings may be a bit scarce while we figure it out.
Still--hurray that it's a desktop! That means that my husband can take it apart and tinker inside it and replace parts (hoping it's not a fried motherboard, but even that is manageable). It's not a lost cause! Just need to take time to figure out what's wrong.
So, hold tight everyone… I'll be sure to update when everything is up and running again.
In the meantime, thanks for your patience, and I hope everyone is having a lovely day!
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
The Jenny Monthly Challenge - August Edition (Sort Of)
For anyone following this blog, you're probably wondering why I haven't posted about August's Monthly Challenge yet.
Truth be told, I've been having a hard time deciding what it should be.
And why's that, you might ask?
...Because, in a few days, I'm going on vacation.
...And every time I think about that, I immediately think about sitting still and listening to the wind singing through the trees, and not having to do anything.
So after much debate, I have decided that for August, this is my "challenge"...
To go on vacation, and have a wonderful time! :)
I hope everyone else has a wonderful couple weeks... I'll be back later this month!
Truth be told, I've been having a hard time deciding what it should be.
And why's that, you might ask?
...Because, in a few days, I'm going on vacation.
...And every time I think about that, I immediately think about sitting still and listening to the wind singing through the trees, and not having to do anything.
So after much debate, I have decided that for August, this is my "challenge"...
To go on vacation, and have a wonderful time! :)
I hope everyone else has a wonderful couple weeks... I'll be back later this month!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Haberdashery Blog Hop - Reveal!
Woo-hoo!
It's the reveal for the Haberdashery Blog Hop!
Hosted by the lovely Melissa Trudinger of BeadRecipes, the challenge behind this blog hop was to take items usually found in a haberdasher's shop (buttons, lace, etc.) and incorporate them in jewelry designs.
And that's just what I did!
Now, my original plan was actually to create one or two pieces incorporating everything, but I was just having so much fun playing around with the different materials that I kept hopping from one medium to the next.
All in all, I made eight different pieces and tackled four different mediums: ribbon, button, trim, and lace. Granted, none of these designs are really that complicated, but hopefully they still count--because I had a blast!
And now, to show what I made!
Ribbon
After I signed up for this blog hop, I foraged through my craft area to see what I could use. Immediately, this ribbon/yarn jumped out at me. I made the earrings first--lengths of ribbon that I wire-wrapped and then accented with faceted black/silver beads. Once those were done, the necklace quickly followed.
Buttons
After I plundered my ribbon and yarn stash, I turned my attention to my jar of buttons. I had purchased these black and white buttons over two years ago, in hopes of making something awesome with them… And, well, this seemed just as good a time as any!
I made two button sets, and this is the first… It pairs wire-wrapped buttons with beads, and has an adjustable ribbon tie. I even used some leftover buttons to make a pair of matching post earrings!
…And this is the second of the button necklaces. I used more of the same black and white buttons, except this time I knotted them on cotton crochet thread. Simple, fun, light-weight... Once I get my hands on more buttons, I can definitely see myself making more of these!
Oh, and again, I made matching earrings.
Trim
At this point, I had exhausted my stash, but still really wanted to make more haberdashery items… So, I went hunting online. (Oh no, an excuse to shop! Heehee.)
While online, I found this trim.
…And this trim is absolutely gorgeous.
Now, before people get too impressed, I should say that I did none of the beading on this trim... Originally a special occasion adornment, it literally came to me as is--I just cut it to length and added the closure.
I originally had planned to elaborate on it, but frankly everything I did made it look worse. So, I decided to leave it as is--a beautiful and elegant choker.
While online, I also purchased this trim--and I love love love the exotic look of it. Recently, I have been looking at a lot of ethnic designs from all over the world (South America, the Middle East, India), and I wanted to incorporate a little of that feeling in this design.
First, I cut the trim to length and added the closure. Then I created the filigree drape, which I subsequently sewed onto the choker.
...And, yes, there are matching earrings. :)
The only thing I would change about this design is adding a lining to the trim--the threads on the inside are surprisingly scratchy. Still, I am very pleased with this piece, and think the trim turned out quite nicely.
Lace
And, lastly, while online I bought some lace appliqués to play around with. (I have been wanting to for quite some time--this just gave me a reason!)
Ultimately, I made three lace necklaces... This is the first, simplest design: a lace appliqué attached to chain. I had actually debated about not including this one in this post, but I think it serves as a nice spring-board for the next design.
The second lace necklace!
As you can tell, it's the same general concept as the first, but a little jazzed up.
...And, last by certainly not least, this is the third lace necklace.
This piece was made using five lace appliqués, linked together using jumprings and accented with glass pearls. Of all the pieces I made, this one certainly took the longest--and I truly love how it looks.
So, there you go... Those are all of the items that I made for this Haberdashery Blog Hop!
I really did enjoy myself. I have a lot of ideas to keep going, so we'll see what else I end up making. Thanks so much to our lovely hostess, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this blog hop.
…And thank you for stopping by!
---
Want to see what everyone else made? Here is the list of participants:
It's the reveal for the Haberdashery Blog Hop!
Hosted by the lovely Melissa Trudinger of BeadRecipes, the challenge behind this blog hop was to take items usually found in a haberdasher's shop (buttons, lace, etc.) and incorporate them in jewelry designs.
And that's just what I did!
Now, my original plan was actually to create one or two pieces incorporating everything, but I was just having so much fun playing around with the different materials that I kept hopping from one medium to the next.
All in all, I made eight different pieces and tackled four different mediums: ribbon, button, trim, and lace. Granted, none of these designs are really that complicated, but hopefully they still count--because I had a blast!
And now, to show what I made!
Ribbon
 |
| Technically, this is ribbon yarn--but hopefully it still counts. |
After I signed up for this blog hop, I foraged through my craft area to see what I could use. Immediately, this ribbon/yarn jumped out at me. I made the earrings first--lengths of ribbon that I wire-wrapped and then accented with faceted black/silver beads. Once those were done, the necklace quickly followed.
Buttons
After I plundered my ribbon and yarn stash, I turned my attention to my jar of buttons. I had purchased these black and white buttons over two years ago, in hopes of making something awesome with them… And, well, this seemed just as good a time as any!
I made two button sets, and this is the first… It pairs wire-wrapped buttons with beads, and has an adjustable ribbon tie. I even used some leftover buttons to make a pair of matching post earrings!
…And this is the second of the button necklaces. I used more of the same black and white buttons, except this time I knotted them on cotton crochet thread. Simple, fun, light-weight... Once I get my hands on more buttons, I can definitely see myself making more of these!
Oh, and again, I made matching earrings.
Trim
At this point, I had exhausted my stash, but still really wanted to make more haberdashery items… So, I went hunting online. (Oh no, an excuse to shop! Heehee.)
While online, I found this trim.
…And this trim is absolutely gorgeous.
Now, before people get too impressed, I should say that I did none of the beading on this trim... Originally a special occasion adornment, it literally came to me as is--I just cut it to length and added the closure.
I originally had planned to elaborate on it, but frankly everything I did made it look worse. So, I decided to leave it as is--a beautiful and elegant choker.
While online, I also purchased this trim--and I love love love the exotic look of it. Recently, I have been looking at a lot of ethnic designs from all over the world (South America, the Middle East, India), and I wanted to incorporate a little of that feeling in this design.
First, I cut the trim to length and added the closure. Then I created the filigree drape, which I subsequently sewed onto the choker.
...And, yes, there are matching earrings. :)
The only thing I would change about this design is adding a lining to the trim--the threads on the inside are surprisingly scratchy. Still, I am very pleased with this piece, and think the trim turned out quite nicely.
Lace
And, lastly, while online I bought some lace appliqués to play around with. (I have been wanting to for quite some time--this just gave me a reason!)
Ultimately, I made three lace necklaces... This is the first, simplest design: a lace appliqué attached to chain. I had actually debated about not including this one in this post, but I think it serves as a nice spring-board for the next design.
The second lace necklace!
As you can tell, it's the same general concept as the first, but a little jazzed up.
...And, last by certainly not least, this is the third lace necklace.
This piece was made using five lace appliqués, linked together using jumprings and accented with glass pearls. Of all the pieces I made, this one certainly took the longest--and I truly love how it looks.
So, there you go... Those are all of the items that I made for this Haberdashery Blog Hop!
I really did enjoy myself. I have a lot of ideas to keep going, so we'll see what else I end up making. Thanks so much to our lovely hostess, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this blog hop.
…And thank you for stopping by!
---
Want to see what everyone else made? Here is the list of participants:
Melissa Trudinger (host) http://beadrecipes.wordpress.
Ann Schroeder
Tammy Adams
Amanda Wacasey http://mandyinmystic.blogspot.
Dolores Raml
Divya N
Michelle McCarthy http://www.
DiYana Brooks
Robin Kae Reed
Andrea Glick
Karin Grosset Grange http://ginkgoetcoquelicot.
Mitzie Crider
Janine Lucas
Rosantia Petkova http://bairozan.blogspot.com/
Susan Kennedy
Leithleach Alainn Seodra http://alainnjewelry.
Kathleen Breeding http://99bobotw.blogspot.com/
Shiraz Biggie
Chris Eisenberg
Heather Richter
Lennis Carrier
Rebecca Anderson http://www.songbeads.blogspot.
Jenny Kyrlach (you are here!)
Rita Toltec Jewels http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.
Mischelle Fanucci http://www.micheladasmusings.
Karen Mitchell
Carol Briody
Karla Morgan
Carolyn Lawson
Lori Anderson
Lili Krist
Evelyn Shelby
Raissa de Guzman http://www.abloro.com
Niky Sayers
Keren Panthaki
Friday, August 1, 2014
Hello, August!
Woo-hoo! We've made it to August!
Ahh, August. This particular one is looking quite exciting--mostly because there is a family vacation planned in a few weeks, and I've been looking forward to it all year.
Of course, there are other things, too…
…not the least of which is the Haberdashery Blog Hop! The reveal is tomorrow, and I'm excited to show off what I made. Maybe stop by to see? :)
So, here's to August… May it be full of friends and memories, family and laughter. May everyone have a wonderful weekend--and of course a wonderful August!
Ahh, August. This particular one is looking quite exciting--mostly because there is a family vacation planned in a few weeks, and I've been looking forward to it all year.
Of course, there are other things, too…
…not the least of which is the Haberdashery Blog Hop! The reveal is tomorrow, and I'm excited to show off what I made. Maybe stop by to see? :)
So, here's to August… May it be full of friends and memories, family and laughter. May everyone have a wonderful weekend--and of course a wonderful August!
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