Weekly Inspiration 5/18/15

I have decided to collect the links that inspire me each week and share them in a blog post.

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L40601.html?noImages=;ss=

I am loving the Sparkle Slip-on from Lion Brand.  

-I think I should make myself one of these granny square shirts out of stash yarn.

http://www.firemountaingems.com/resources/projects/ea7n?WT.mc_id=TWZ150516-04

This beaded barefoot sandal from Fire Mountain Gems

-Imagine how pretty my feet could be this summer!

http://notyouraveragecrochet.com/tutorials/how-tos/patterns/crocheted-cord-covers/

Crocheted cord covers

-I have wanted to do this with my earbuds for a long time, so long that I'm not even sure if the earbuds are worth the work anymore :)  Maybe I should buy new earbuds and then crochet them a cover.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/microwave-pinchers

Microwave pinchers

-OMG!  What an amazing idea!  I want to make a million of these.  I am always burning my fingers on plates from the microwave.

How Blog Design Impacts Readership

-I have been wanting to do a redesign of my blog for some time now, so I will definitely be reading this closely.

What has been inspiring you this week?  

Ocean Rose

I finally completed this necklace yesterday. It has two crocheted strands, two beaded strands, and a string of novelty yarn. I found the pendant at Goodwill and attached it with a coiled, beaded wire. Here is a closer picture:

And one without the flash, just for fun.

Crocheted Necklace

I like working with the embroidery floss and the teeny tiny crochet hook so much that I decided to crochet some jewelry. The plan is a multi-strand necklace with a pendant that I found at my local Goodwill. First, I crocheted a blue strand: just a long chain with glass beads inserted.

I then chained some brown floss with multi-colored glass seed beads.

I decided to add some novelty yarn for fun. This blue matches the color scheme perfectly.

To these three strands, I will add some beaded strands. Then I will attach the pendant, a flower carved from shell. I can't wait til it is finished :)

Z is for Zen

I am not sure why it took me so long to post the final picture of the alphabet challenge, but here it is. My cute little Buddha beads.

S is for Swarovski Crystals

I love these beads. I have had the snowflake bead for years. I love it so much that I can never find the perfect project for it :) I am a little over-protective of my pretty beads.

N is for Necklaces

A collection of some of the necklaces I have made over the years. The one with the wooden beads and the cross was one of the first necklaces I ever made. I wore it for my senior portraits in high school.

L is for Loom Beadwork

I have been working on this bracelet for a long time. It uses traditional Native American designs in size 14 black and blue beads. I started a gradual color change to add in a different blue and can't decide if I like it or not, and that's where I got stuck. I guess I am going to have to bead a little bit more in the new color before I really know if I like it or not :) I love loom beadwork, all the teeny tiny beads coming together to make something beautiful. And it's so easy.

B is for Bead Table

Here is a photo of the inside of my bead table. Every little baggy and container is filled with beads. I also have all of my other beading supplies in my table.

I should bead more :)

Vine Bracelet and Wire Ring

Saturday night, I was inspired in my sleep. I dreamed of a bracelet that looked like a flowering vine. When I woke up, I realized that I had some green floral wire, colorful leaf beads and flower beads. I immediately cut some wire and started twisting. Here's what I ended up with:

Here's an action shot of the bracelet. Just ignore my dazzling tan :)
With the leftover wire, I made a ring, kind of a bird's nest ring.

Bridal Emergency Kit

Well, I just got back from a little vacation. I drove from Oregon to Illinois for my sister's wedding. It was a busy vacation, and that is why I have not been posting recently. But now, I am back. My fiance and I were both in the wedding. I was the maid of honor, and he was an usher. Our cat traveled with us in the car. Here is a picture of her sitting under the car seat. Her head is sticking out. Isn't she cute?

She was a pretty good passenger, all things considered.

Anyway, my mom found this list of things to include in a bridal emergency kit online and suggested that I put one together for my sister. So I decided to go one step further and I knit a small purse for the kit. I chose white, since she was wearing white, and green, since that was the color of the bridesmaid dresses. I also made the bridesmaids' jewelry, which you can see in an earlier post (http://loca-for-crafts.blogspot.com/2008/07/beaded-flower.html). Here is the bridal emergency kit......

I attached the beaded flower that I had made earlier. Read about that here: http://loca-for-crafts.blogspot.com/2008/07/bridesmaid-jewelry.html
And here is a picture of all the goodies inside. Some of the items are harispray, tissues, hairpins, sewing kit, breathmints, hand wipes, chapstick, hand lotion........ It was pretty stuffed. If I had to do it again, I would make sure to include band-aids. The possibilities are endless.Anyway, the wedding was great. I am originally from Ireland, and a lot of family made the trip to Illinois from Ireland. It was fun to see them all, but I am glad to be home :)

Magazine Storage Boxes (and bookends) :)

I have been trying to organize my craft room all summer long. I found this great project on Craftster, and I used it as a guide. Here is the link: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=177297.0 Here is my version. The first two pictures are of the storage box for my knitting and crochet magazines. It is painted and has a decoupaged picture on each side; one for crochet and one for knitting. Here is the crochet side:
Here is the knit side:
I also made a storage box for my beading magazines. For this one, I tore out pages from my favorite bead catalog, Fire Mountain Gems, and decoupaged them on the box. Voila....
I really like how they turned out. My craft room should be organized by the end of summer :)

Beaded Flower

I made a beaded flower!! I tried to make one of these a long, long time ago and only managed to get halfway through one petal before completely giving up. Well, now, years later, I sat down with the intention of finishing a complete beaded flower.....and voila, here it is, beaded in my sister's wedding colors. The center of the flower has three of the yellow-green pearls used in the bridesmaid's jewelry and the silver seed beads are also from that jewelry.
Here is a side view with the wires ends still exposed. I will attach the flower to a pin back and use it as part of a final wedding day gift for my sister. I'll post pics as I progress with the flower and gift.
I am just so excited with how well it worked out. And you'll never believe it, but when I went to JoAnn's to buy some pin backs, all jewelry making supplies were 50% off. I was able to contain myself and only buy what I needed (the pin backs), although it was tempting.

And the earrings.

Here is a pic of the earrings to match the bridesmaid bracelets. I used the same yellow-green freshwater pearls and the silver seed beads, but I also added these cool, sparkly discoball beads (they don't photograph well apparently). I used silver plated findings. I think they are really fun!

Bridesmaid Jewelry

My sister is getting married this August, and she asked me to make some jewelry for the bridesmaids. She chose beautiful green bridesmaid dresses, and we were lucky enough to find these awesome yellow green freshwater pearls at Fire Mountain Gems. They match the dresses perfectly :). She wanted bracelets and earrings. Here is the first bracelet. It is a simple stringing of the greeen pearls separated by some silver seed beads. We chose silver seed beads because the bridemaids will be wearing silver shoes. I am really happy with the first bracelet. I have also finished all of the earrings, but do not have a picture yet. I will post it as soon as I have a pic. I found some cool silver disco ball beads in my stash that I used with the pearls in the earrings. They look great ;)






The second picture shows the bracelet without the model.

My first blog

This is my first blog. I wanted a place where I can share my various creations with friends and strangers around the world. I knit, I bead, and occassionally I sew. Accessories are my passion.

I guess I have been knitting since the second grade. I grew up in Ireland and learned to knit at school. But I stopped knitting for many years and only recently picked up my knitting needles again. Now I am addicted. I remember in fifth grade I knit a sweater with pretty cables going down the sleeves. Now I am nervous to even try knitting a cable, but I did receive the Vogue Stitchionary Cable volume for Christmas, and I am eager to test it out. I'm sure I'll let you know how that turns out when I try. Right now I am attempting to knit a stuffed frog...because I had a lot of green yarn :) Pictures will follow.

I have also been beading for many years....since high school. I love bead weaving of every kind. The smaller the beads, the happier I am :) If I ever lose my eyesight, I might go insane. Recently, however, my knitting has taken over. Knitting is a lot more portable than teeny tiny seed bead projects....and I am a lot less likely to lose a ball of yarn.

I do some macrame and some sewing, although I don't have a sewing machine right now, which frustrates me often. I have started to really like working with sculpey clay. I'd like to learn more. I am always looking for a new way to use my creativity. And that is me and my crafts in a nutshell.