My VERY FIRST attempt at making a ring!

I have been making jewellery for a few years now and, in that time, I have NEVER made a ring! This is very bad, especially since my blog is called "Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosie"! It's also very difficult for me to find rings that actually fit. My fingers are quite skinny and most rings just fall off. I'm also way too scared to try on rings in shops. WHAT IF IT GETS STUCK?! So, the other day I had a look online for a fairly simple beaded ring tutorial and found this: 

This seemed like a pretty good place to start so I raked out some seed beads and got to work. The first ring I made was too small:

Also, as you have probably noticed from the picture, I managed to break it! So ANNOYING! I really liked the turquoise bead in the middle but I think the two grey beads either side of it were a bit big, so maybe it was a good thing that it broke cause now i can change it!

After this I tried a pink design. This ring was too big:

So, I guessed I had one more shot at getting it right before I got way too crabbit and gave up. And it worked! A blue and silver design that actually fit! 

 So, after all these years (and a few dodgy sized rings) I have finally made a beaded ring that actually fits! And one that I can keep all for myself!  That is, until my mum saw them and asked if she could have the blue one. Oh well, guess I'll have to make some more!

Mmmm...tablet...

Last week I finally finished my exams for university. Yay! Now i can spend the whole day making jewellery and not feel guilty! I have lots of ideas that I'm planning to try out and I was going to start today, until I looked outside and saw that we had a (very rare!) sunny weekend here in Scotland! There was no way I was going to waste that sitting inside all day! Way too much gardening to be done! Although i did spend a bit of time this morning making tablet!!

For anyone who doesn't know, tablet is a very famous scottish recipe. It's a bit like fudge, but LOADS better and probably with a lot more sugar and condensed milk! I think i've eaten too much though, as i do feel a bit hyper with all the sugar! However, the best it about tablet, just like anything you bake, is scraping out the pot! And, as you can see, not a bit was wasted!

Anyhoo, since i've been busy with exams, i've only made a couple of jewellery items, including this commissioned necklace, bracelet and earrings set.

I also have some jewellery ideas up my sleeve and, after looking at all the bead soup entries (thanks to anyone who commented or started following my blog!) i really want to try out more seed bead projects. I've only ever tried the basics and there were so many gorgeous seed bead pieces that i really want to have another go! And, now that I've written it here, I'll have to make sure i do it!

Bead Soup!!!!

I can't believe it. I actually managed to make everything I had planned for my bead soup! Elizabeth over at Elizabeth's Art sent me a massive soup full of pinks and turquoise and antique bronze metal (which I've never used before) which gave me loads of ideas! However, there was a bit of a mishap when i tried making the little pink and blue aluminium flowers into earrings and well...let's just say one got a bit squashed...so that idea didn't work but i did finally manage to make something with them in the end! So, here is the bead soup i received:

I absolutely love long necklaces so I decided to use the focal as a pendant:

It took me literally A MILLION YEARS to photograph this necklace (well, ok, a few hours but it's still a long time!). I tried laying it flat, curving it round, hanging it up, draping it over...and I'm still not happy with the photo. I REALLY like the way the necklace looks, but i just CAN'T TAKE A PHOTO!! So annoying!!

I then made a charm bracelet and added a couple of lucite flower drops from my stash. However, it still looked a little bare so I threaded some waxed cotton cord  through the chain to add a bit of texture:

To finish off, I then made some earrings. I absolutely LOVED the little glass flower beads and wanted them as simple, one bead earrings:

Then I used some crystals and tiny pearls to make a pair of cluster earrings:

And, finally, some hair clips using the gorgeous, UN-SQUASHED aluminium flowers:

I had no idea my hair was so dark! It looks blonde in the mirror! Scary!

Anyhoo, if you fancy having a nosey at some of the other bead soup participants, here's the link: Bead Soup Blog Party!! All of this was organised by Lori Anderson, so THANK YOU!!

Happy blog hopping!

A bead soup parcel!

Here (finally!) is my post showing my bead soup. Apologies for the rubbish photos!

Lately, all I've been thinking about jewellery-wise is the bead soup blog party. What to send, where to buy it from, how to package it and yet I keep completely forgetting that I GET A BEAD SOUP IN RETURN!! AND I HAVE TO TRY AND MAKE SOMETHING AMAZING FROM IT!! I'm determined to try and think outside the box (one of the main reasons the bead soup party was started in the first place) yet don't want to go so radical that it ends up badly made or unlikeable.

So, my bead soup arrived from Elizabeth Stolarcyzk at Elizabeth's Art. I really wanted to rip it all open and see what was in it but I resisted! I had to take photos first!

A box full of goodies.

A letter to explain what was in the parcel!

Elizabeth even put in a handmade friendship bracelet as a surprise!

All these boxes were handmade by Elizabeth with labels telling me what was in each one.

Here is a close up of the biggest one!

And just wait and see what was inside!

I absolutely love bright colours, so this soup was great! I've never worked with antique bronze metal, so it'll be a bit of a challenge but I can't wait! In fact, i've already been online ordering more...

I though i'd do a close up to show the polymer beads handmade by Elizabeth!

And here is the focal, a lovely antique bronze heart! I already have so many ideas! Short necklace, long necklace, earrings, bracelet...

And, in case you were wondering, here is the bead soup i sent to Elizabeth...

My RUBBISH camera.

This post was supposed to be "Look at all these amazing beads that my bead soup partner sent me!" but unfortunately my camera has decided to be RUBBISH and make all the photos really dark and out of focus. What use is that? (It may be my fault rather than the camera...) Anyhoo, I was going to just put them up anyway but I CAN'T! It would ruin all the lovely-ness of the beads ( you could barely see them in some of the photos). So, I must WAIT and write my post later in the week. LUCKILY, however, both my Dad and Brother just happen to be photographers! So i may see if i can "borrow" one of their cameras for a couple of hours. And i should probably ask for a couple of lessons in how to use them (they have A LOT of buttons on them. I don't think they ALL do something. They're probably just there to look nice.) I may even try to be a bit artistic with the photos (bead soup in a soup bowl?) Hmmmmm...

My venture into knitting!

I have to be honest, i've not done much jewellery making recently. I made a few earrings last week, but that was about it, although i am thinking up ideas for a red set to be raffled in a sale for comic relief. However, my creativity hasn't gone completely out the window! Instead, i've been having a go at knitting. I've known how to knit since i was about five (my mum is a knitting expert) but apart from making the odd scarf (and some really were odd), i've not really done much else. So, a few weeks ago when it was snowing and i got stuck inside all day, i had another go at knitting. But this time, instead of sticking to scarves, i decided to have a go at a baby blanket pattern my mum found for me in a folder, which is a pretty basic pattern and good for a beginner. And, surprisingly, it's actually worked! I have made a few mistakes, but all were easily corrected and i'm now almost half way through! It also fits in with my New Years Resolutions to have a go at crafts other than jewellery. I was going to put up a photo, but i think i'll wait until i've finished. It might actually give me the incentive to finish it! That's looking less and less likely though, as i've already started on another two knitting projects! Hopefully at least one will end up finished!

Also, i finally managed to send off my bead soup! I was a bit late sending it out as uni work got in the way, but now it's done and all i have to do now is wait for my beads to arrive. Eek!

Busy,busy ,busy...

Well, it's been a busy few weeks since my last post! A new term at uni has started, and i've already had to hand in a couple of assignments and study for a test next week. So, my jewellery making seems to have come to a bit of a stand still. ANNOYING! However, before i started back at uni, i did manage to get a few things made and make a wee bit of space in all my bead boxes.

I actually saw a silver necklace in a shop i really liked and thought 'I could make that!'. So i did! I just used black metal instead of silver to make it a bit more unique.

I also made a few charm bracelets, as i think this is a good way of using any beads left over from another project, when there's not enough to make anything bigger.

This is my favourite. I love multi-coloured-ness (yes, it is a word...)

I've also signed up for my first ever bead soup blog party! Yesterday i found out my partner was Elizabeth Stolarczyk from http://www.elizabethsart.blogspot.co.uk and i have my bead soup ready and waiting to send out! Annoyingly, I sorted the beads out into individual bags ready to send, and realised I've forgotten to take a photo! So I might have to mix them all up again. Oh well. I hope she likes them! I don't make my own beads since i don't really have the space or equipment, but hopefully i will have a go at some point, once uni has finished. So, I bought most of my bead soup online or in local shops, adding a couple from my own stash and can't wait to see what Elizabeth makes from them! I've also spent so long deciding what to send that i completely forgot that i'll get a bead soup in return! EEK! I hope i manage to make something that my bead soup partner approves of!

Signing up for BSBP!

Yay! I have just signed up for my first ever Bead Soup Blog Party!

http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.sg

I really wanted to sign up last year but i was just too busy. This year, however, I'm determined to have a go! I just hope my bead soup partner likes what i send. Fingers crossed!

Lots of apologies and another list!

Once again, i have to send out a MASSIVE apology! I just checked my blog, and my last post was in OCTOBER! That's right, October! That was 3 months ago! I am a terribly disorganised blogger. I'm also not entirely sure what i've been doing during that time. Anyway, here is a catch up. I know, I know, it's another post in the form of a list. I just like writing lists.

1. I've realised that most of my posts start with 'sorry i haven't posted in a while' (including this one.)

2. I've just been sitting some exams for Uni. This should be a relief, as in 'YAY! No more exams until May' but actually it's a bit like 'Eek, now i have to wait to get my results. I've probably FAILED and i still have to do more exams in May. RUBBISH!'. I think i might be panicking a bit...

3. Since it has been Christmas, then New Year, then exams, i have had no time to actually make any jewellery. The last stuff i made was a christmas present someone ordered for a friend. I have still been buying beads though. Which brings me on to point 5:

4. I have no space left. All of my boxes are packed full of beads. I even bought a big basket thing to put them all in, but they still seem to be everywhere. Not that i'm complaining. They are all very nice beads, i just need to make something with them!


And here are some New Years Resolutions. I realise that they are very late, but i'll still try and do a few of them! (hopefully)

1. Pass my third year at Uni with (hopefully) a 2.1 average (for anyone reading this who isn't familiar with British University grading, it's about the equivalent of a B+. Not sure if universities use the same grading in America.)

2. Learn to play guitar. (I used to play when i was about 10, but gave it up after about a year, and now really regret it cause i've always wanted to play a musical instrument. So, i got a guitar for Christmas and will hopefully have learned at least a couple of songs by the end of the year.)

3. Make an effort to make more jewellery. (An obvious one, but i thought i'd still write it.)

4. Try and make other crafts (I've learned a few, such as sewing, knitting, crocheting but haven't really done much with them.)

5. Look through my wardrobe. Find clothes that i have never worn, or only worn once and either wear them, alter them (like adding new buttons, beads and stuff to give them a new lease of life) or give to charity.

6. This was going to be ' Try to be more organised and tidy' but i say this every year and it never works. Oh well, you never know. It could happen.

7. Read more books. I absolutely LOVE reading (due to my sister's influence) but i've been so busy lately with Uni stuff that i've barely read any books at all. Except Uni books, but they don't count.

8. Learn more star constellations. This is a bit of a weird one, but i've been watching a programme on the tv recently, and now i really want to learn more. I already know a couple of obvious ones like Orion, Ursa Major and Polaris but i think there's about 80 different constellations, so there is a lot of work to be done there.

So, i should have a pretty productive 2013 ahead! If i actually get round to doing any of this...