Pink Rose Necklace

Hardly a day goes past when I can keep my hands away from the clay. Granted I haven't made anything particularly exciting yet but I still enjoy making basic shapes and using them for something.

Today I cut a scalloped frame and made a hole. I have hung a rose charm from the hole. I think the rose would have better suited a deep red frame instead but I have only pink clay at the moment so I might as well use it.

The frame is on a pink suede cord. It is admittedly quite pink but I have a feeling it might brighten up a white top-and I wear a lot of white in the summer.

Not that summer feels anywhere close at the moment. Cold and changeable weather and lots of rain have made it feel more like February. I'm not fond of the damp and the cold so I'm checking the weather forecast every day and waiting for an end to this low pressure.

My Favourite shop is now on Facebook!!

Now I can always keep an eye on Trash or Treasure!

http://www.facebook.com/trashortreasuremaidstone?sk=wall&filter=12#!/trashortreasuremaidstone

Pretty French coat bought for £15

There is a link to their eBay page but the prices on this do not match the prices I've seen in the shop. The shop prices are very reasonable, and it's not often you can say that about other shops which sell 'vintage' items. I'd say most items, with the exception of some furniture perhaps, are under £20 and the cutlery and glassware can be as little as a couple of pounds.

As you can see they sell everything from clothes, to bags, jewellery, cutlery, furniture etc...

They always have beautiful leather bags (usually for about £5) and there seems to be a reliable supply of beautiful elbow length lace gloves too (also about £5-7).  It's not all shabby chic style items for sale. One of the nicest things I ever saw was a Gothic-looking metal hat stand which I fell in love with but have nowehere to put. There are also some beautiful Victorian (style) jewellery pieces and cameos. So there's quite a good chance that most people would find a few things to their taste...

http://kentishwanderer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/trash-or-treasure-bargains.html
http://kentishwanderer.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/hidden-treasure-chest-in-maidstone.html

Plaited Clay Frame

I decided that my notice board looked rather empty and dull (I'm too disorganised to use it for its real purpose) so have started to decorate it. I made a little plaited frame from the polymer clay I've been using and painted it blue.

To continue the nautical theme I cross stitched a silvery grey anchor to go inside the frame.

The postcard was bought from a secondhand shop for 10p and is of a Finnish boat called The Fred. It was one of the last big wooden square-rigged sailing ships to be built.

I think they're far more interesting than letters reminding you of doctor's appointments and when your next bill is due.

Hanging Key Necklace

It seemed a shame to let my opened block of Fimo clay sit idle...so I got my tray and biscuit cutter out and came up with this necklace.

The frame is made from the granite Fimo I used for my bird necklace, also polished.

This open pendant has a key which hangs free in the centre (I feel like I've 'sold out' a little using the key motif. However I like them. And as long as I steer clear of butterflies I'll be ok). The chain is a broken necklace reused. Oh the joy of using opened/used/broken things to make something new  :)

The old postcard depicts Titania and Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is my absolute favourite of Shakepeare's plays. I found it in a small antique shop in Maidstone yesterday and didn't hesitate to exchange a few coins for it. The shop has a whole box of old postcards so I think it'll be hard to keep away from there. I can't remember the name of it but will find out in case anybody is interested in old postacrds-they were probably a few hundred there!

The cutaway centre is currently awaiting its own transformation-hopefully by the end of the week.

Having grappled with jump rings for the last couple of hours I think it's now time sit still and watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I don't usually enjoy romantic films but this one I love.

Bird Necklace: a Late Night Date with Fimo

I used to love Fimo/Prima when I was younger but forgot about it for years until I found an aisle of it in Hobbycraft a few weeks ago. It's very cheap so I picked up a couple of blocks in case inspiration struck.

Last night I had an idea to make a pendant and ink the images of birds onto it.

The clay is called granite and is grey with little black iridiscent grains (which don't show up in the photos!). I cut the shape, added a stringing hole and baked it.

I used a bird ink stamp for the bird shapes. I had to go over them with a Sharpie as the ink wasn't drying. I finished the pendant with a coat of clear polish.

I was going to string it on a metal chain but decided it'd look better on a cord so reused some black waxed cord instead.

I love images of birds but most bird jewellery I've looked at on Etsy favours cute/cartoon images of birds which I'm not so fond of, so I'm glad I've now got a bird necklace with the images of birds I actually love :)

C'est tout and I have fallen in love with Fimo all over again, at 30 years old!

Bonjour!

I've become quite addicted to Little Paris Kitchen on BBC iPlayer, in fact I'm quite addict to all things Parisian as a result. Amelie, Musette and have a real earning to return to Paris. I sometimes forget I'm just a trainride from Paris and wish I could afford to go more often.

Anyway, I tried a recipe from the TV series-Oeufs en Cocotte.

The Parisians make this in ramekins but Rachel Khoo does them in a teacups and it is the most yummy breakfast.

To make you add a spoonful of creme fraiche to a teacup, add some grated nutmeg and season. Next, crack an egg in add another spoonful of creme fraiche. You can then choose a flavouring. Rachel uses dill or cods roe. If you're feeling extravagant you can add shaved truffled or truffle oil. I'm not posh enough to keep truffle oil so I added a few drops of Tabasco sauce and it worked nicely. You then cook the eggs, to your preference, in an oven dish of lukewarm water, in the oven. I served with rustic bread soldiers.

Here is the link for the latest episode of Little Paris Kitchen:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01fmbjz/The_Little_Paris_Kitchen_Cooking_with_Rachel_Khoo_Episode_3/

Red Mobile Cover and Buttons

I have finally caught up with my mobile phone cover request backlog!

A red cover and a Polka dot button for someone who wears red this time.

The crocheted mobile covers initiated a button collection, which I sorted tonight. I'm not entirely sure what to do with the buttons now as I don't sew . A use will probably emerge at some point :)

Handmade Rose Stitched Necklace

I've been browsing on Etsy a lot in the last few days and have been disappointed by much of the jewellery on there. There are some amazing pieces but there is also a lot of single cheap charms, just hanging from a plain chain-and charging £15 for something that cost less than £1 and had very little thought put into it. Well, enough whining. My sister got me some pliers for Christmas and I have lots of random jewellery hanging around- a few bought findings and also some old necklaces I didn't mind ripping apart for a greater good :) It was time for action...

I'm very into cross stitch at the moment and envisaged a cross stitched rose in the centre of this pendant. I couldn't find any cross stitch motifs small enough to fit in the pendant so I had an attempt at doing my own rose bud. I hope it's a passable attempt-it's difficult to get enough detail into a few stitches to attempt to create what you see!

I think next time I will try to stitch/embroider onto another fabric, such as linen, as the aida holes are a little distracting. Next time...yes there will definitely be a next time. I loved making this necklace, which is very much my style.

I added some red glass beads to bring out the red of the rose. I think some bead caps (I only realised what they were today, even though I've seen them a million times before!) would have worked better than the spacer beads but my supplies are very limited-I'm sure eBay can rectify that. Jewellery making seems very popular s a hobby and it's not hard to see why. There are nearly endless beads, findings and charms and so forth available very cheaply on eBay. I hadn't realised jewellery making could be such an affordable hobby.

Charity shops will probably be a good bet for cheap inspiration and resources. Not that I need inspiration at the moment, it seems I've had a million and one ideas for jewellery today. If only my hands could work faster!