Pearl Bracelet

With the wedding season nearly upon us I thought that this bracelet would be perfect for such occasions:

It took a bit of experimentation to get the correct sized beads. These pearls are quite large but using smaller ones this pattern would make a gorgeous pair of earrings, or even a bracelet for a flower girl.

You need two needles (one on either end of the thread.)

Thread the beads onto the threads and bring down to the middle.

Bring the right needle up through the middle bead of the row of 7.

Add on three more seed beads.

Bring the left needle through the last bead added.

Add on 5 more beads.

Go through the last bead before the pearl. Add on three more seed beads.

Back through the middle bead.

Add three more.

Add another pearl to the left thread.

Go through the last bead added.

Add 5 more and go through the last bead before the pearl.

Continue this pattern until you have enough to go around your wrist. I am now waiting to get the correct findings to finish it off nicely.

Macrame Fun

This weekend my son and I have had fun with knotting. I was browsing on the internet when I foolishly showed him a Scout Bracelet. The result? I was hassled until we had a go. We dug out the paracord and got going:

Cut 2 lengths of cord. Tape the middle of one to a board. Match the middle of the other one and place underneath.

Make a loop by passing one over the other – right over left.

Wrap the other cords over and under the ‘loop’.

Pull it tight and repeat.

The bracelet from the side.

From the top.

From the back.

See pretty all around. We tied a simple knot at the end and burnt the ends to prevent fraying. This then fitted through the loop we left at the other end of the bracelet to secure it.

It seems that not having the correct colours for Scouts was a problem and so we made another using satin cord:

This is the same technique made in satin cord. I love how the same technique can bring such different results. No doubt we will be making more of these for various friends!

Crystal Ribbon Bracelet

Following on from my lessons in brick stitch and ladder stitch I have been having a go at right angle weave. I have done this before (just never known what it is called) and so managed this with little incident. I made an amazing bracelet (there I go again – praising myself. I must stop this habit):

Sparkly, heavy enough and pretty.

The right angle weave is basically a series of square joined together:

A basic square starts this bracelet off.

Another square is added, using silver beads.

Another square, with different coloured crystals  finishes the basic row off.

The first square on the next row.

The second row completed.

When the bracelet is long enough you taper the ends by making two triangles on the outer edges. The middle square stays the same.

A triangle is made instead of a square to begin the making of the clasp.

The middle remains as a square.

An extra square is made in the middle.

Seed beads form a loop for one end of the clasp.

The other end of the clasp. Built up in the same way but making a t-bar to fit through the loop.

The finished bracelet.

I can see myself making these in different colours to go with different outfits.

I have also had a go at making some earrings to go with the bracelet. They are very similar to one of the sections of the bracelet:

Thread on the beads to make the first square.

Take the needle through the beads again to make the square.

Thread on the beads to make the next square.

Complete the square by going through the side of the previous one.

Now, using the other colour beads thread on the beads to make another square.

Make into a square.

Create the bottom by threading on these beads.

Thread the needle all the way back up the side.

Form a loop using the seed beads.

The finished item!

See you soon. xx

Getting myself tied up in knots!

I am really enjoying my knotted jewellery at the moment. This one is a variation on the pearl one from last week, more knots and less beads. (I also have a little confession, due to not really having enough beading thread it, ummm, fell apart when I had finished it!) Oh well….the principle remains the same ;).

I again used my makeshift macrame board (i.e. my unused, clean cat litter tray and clips).

4 lengths of satin cord and 3 lengths of beading thread. 6 square knots on the left hand thread.

6 square knots on the right hand beading thread.

Moving one bead up and then 6 square knots on the centre thread.

Bead up on the left followed by 6 more square knots.

Repeat on the right.

 

To finish off tie some more square knots then tie some square knots over all of the remaining strands in the middle.

This is the finished bracelet. The beads should be in a diamond shape like the ones to the left but I have managed to pull them all out of shape!

I hope you get the general idea? There should not be all those gaps. Oooops.

 

A knotted Pearl Bracelet

I tied the cords on using square knots.

I then put a bead up on the middle string.

Using the threads closest to the bead do a square knot over the middle thread to encase the bead.

To bring the other cords down I did 2 square knots on each of the outer threads. The knots are now all level (ish).

I now brought up a bead on the left hand thread, securing in place with another square knot. I then pull the bead up on the right hand thread.

This is then repeated again with the middle thread. Continue in this way until the bracelet is long enough to fit.

Finish with a middle bead. On each of the outside threads do 2 square knots as at the other end.

Bring all the threads with the beads on together, along with the two inner satin cords. With the outside threads tie 2 square knots.

Apply glue to each end to secure.

Finish off with the findings

Finished with the findings.

I am very pleased with this 🙂

Tying myself up in knots!

I recently had a look at some of the jewellery in the shops. I came across several pieces that I liked, this being one of them:

(From fatface)

In my everlasting optimism I decided to have a go at making my own version. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be but I am pleased with the final result.

I spent the first evening faffing about, thinking that I was getting it, only to take it all out to start again. The next day was much better although still pretty slow going. To start with I don’t have a wonderful macrame board so instead resorted to an animal litter box (which has never been used for the intended purpose I hasten to add) and a couple of clips:

The ‘string’ is two lots of two lengths of round coloured leather. The thinner stuff is thread, again doubled which I will use to add the beads on.

At the top end there is a nice knot holding everything in place.

The first thing I did was to thread a closed jump ring through all the threads.

I then took each of the thinner threads over their matching leather thread, up through the middle and back over the sides before adding in 2 flower ‘spacer’ beads.

The two spacer beads are threaded onto each of the needles in turn (each needle being threaded onto the thinner thread)

The thread was then taken over the leather, up through the middle and out again before the beads were actually added:

Over, up, under and out!

Both of the needles go through the beads in the opposite way.

Showing the threads being pulled once the needles have been put through.

This is repeated until you have enough to cover 3/4 of your wrist:

Once you have added enough beads you add two more spacer beads as you did at the start.

I then tied a knot before adding 4 square knots to help secure all the threads. I then added some glue and cut the thinner threads off. I then did this the other side.

Tying the square knots.

I then cut another length of leather and finished the bracelet off with more square knots , thus giving an adjustable strap:

So there you have it. My version of a shop bought bracelet. If you want any more info then, as always head over to Spoilt Rotten Beads where you will be able to find links to all the materials as well as a bit more detail.

Oh and I have just noticed that this is very seasonal with it being ST Patricks Day this week. Happy St Patricks Day – I  shall name my bracelet St Patrick’s day bracelet! 🙂

Twin Bead Earrings

My latest make with twin beads came from here

These are them!

I hope you like them. They were relatively easy to make although I pulled the second (the one on the left in this photo) one a bit tight so it doesn’t sit as nicely.

Thread these beads onto thread.

Make into a circle.

Bring the thread up to the top hole of one of the twin beads.

This brings the twins into the middle. Bring the thread to the outside, to the middle of the three seed beads.

Thread these beads onto the thread.

Go back through the middle seed bead to make another circle.

Repeat to bring the twins into the middle and another motive.

Go through all the seed beads down each side , adding a crystal into the gap between each motif. At the end come out of the first seed bead, add 3 more on and go back into the third seed bead. Go back down the other side. Come out the first bead at the top, add-on 6 seed beads and go back into the last of the three seed beads. This is where you place your hook.

The finished earring.

As it is made up of individual motifs it is repetitive and so not a lot of different techniques are used. Fancy giving them a go?

Adding links into your posts.

DaniellaJoe has asked me how I put in the direct links within my posts. I figure that others may not know so thought I would do a quick post as it is something that is really useful to know how to do. It is also easier to explain with pictures rather than just words.

1. Highlight the word you want the link to appear in.

2. Click on the chain-like icon.

3. This screen then pops up. Simply paste your web page address and click on the add link. It should then work. 🙂

Note:

If you cannot see the link icon make sure that you have highlighted part of the text. If you still cannot see it then you may need to click on the kitchen  sink icon:

Finally, if you want to break the link then highlight the ‘link word’ and click on the ‘broken chain’ which appears to the right of the link one.

Really hopes that this makes sense – please ask if you need any clarification. Hope this helps DaniellaJoe?

Knotted Cord Bracelet Pictorial Totorial

This is the necklace I made in the beginners class last week.

 

This is what I used.

Getting the beads off the string by cutting.

 

Attach on end of the finding with a knot.

Adding the first bead onto one of the cords.

 

Tying a knot with both threads as well as including the ends of the first knot.

Adding another bead.

The finished bracelet.

Some earrings.

The finished set.

 

For slightly more information about how to make this click on this link.

 

 

 

 

 

Beginning Blogging – Writing a Post

I do believe that we are now all ready to actually write some content onto our blog (otherwise known as a post). There are several ways to do this:

1) When you log into WordPress you may see something like this.

The blue ‘menu’ bar along the top gives you a variety of options:

READER: shows you the latest posts from the blogs you follow or allows you to search the blogs according to your choice of categories or key words.

STATS: Will take you to a page that will give you all sorts of information about your blog, how many people have visited, from what country, how they found you etc.

MY BLOGS: Gives you an overview of your blog along with some quick links.

FRESHLY PRESSED: Gives you a selection of blogs that have been chosen by the ‘powers that be at WordPress’ giving you a selection of the best current blog posts.

Over to the right you will see a pen and the words NEW POST. I hope that I do not need an explanation to this?

If you click on this you will get taken to a page looking like this:

I refer to this as the quick posting page. It gives you the choice of format you wish to use. This is useful as it shows you that a post does not have to be long and complicated, a simple photo or quote is enough. I will not go through each option as I think that they are fairly self-explanatory.

2) The way I usually go to get to the correct page in order to write a post is by going back to this page:

Click on the posts link and you will be taken to a page like this (from your Dashboard)

Down the left hand side , under POSTS you will see ADD NEW. Click on this and you will go to a page like this:

This is also the page you go to using the quick post method from above.

You will see that this page is a bit like word.  At the top, just under the words ADD NEW POST you can see a blank box. This where you type your title. The large blank bit is where you write your text. See, simple :). If you are familiar with word you will recognise the images for bold, italic and crossed out writing. You can either type, highlight and click on the symbol or click on the symbol before typing. Next there are the options for bullet points and quotes. Following this comes the text orientation

Left                                                              central                                                                               right

This can also be used for pictures. Highlight the picture and then click on the orientation button required. I usually use the central one.

The symbols that are not easy to see are the link and break link buttons. These are very useful. They can be used to link back to posts that you have made and other sites on the web. All that you need to do this is the web address of the page you wish to use. If, you wish to create a link to a previous post such as the one I wrote last week on widgets. Simply highlight the word (or picture) you wish to use for the link, go up and click on the link symbol. This will bring you a window like this:

All you need to do is paste the web address into the URL box. (I often have several tabs open so I can easily move between several pages). This is all you need to do although you can add a title. Simply click the add link box and the word you highlighted will become underlined like this. If you then click on it you will be taken to the new page. Should you make a mistake then all you need to do is re-highlight and then click on the broken link symbol.

The abc tick is spell checker.

The next few symbols I have managed to not use up until now as I had never really explored them. Oh I do wish I had!!! The box with the arrows in is DISTRACTION FREE WRITING MODE. Quite simply this gets rid of all the bits around the side (including the top menu) and allows you to type your post as it will appear on your blog. A really useful tool especially if you are juggling photos around etc. If you do need the basic tools all you need to do is move the cursor up the page.

This ….

……..instead of this:

The final symbol (again something I had not used) is the KITCHEN SINK  show/hide symbol. This gives you more options such as text colour, layout, underlining. The rest of the tools you would expect from word really (and I had been wondering why they weren’t included. DUH. I am so glad I am writing this series! Thank you 🙂

The bottom row is the kitchen sink row.

Again I have twittered on long enough. Next time we will look at adding photographs, a very important part of blogging and also tags and the other bits around the page. (For now you can copy and paste pictures for ease if you wish.)

Finally please, please do not make the same mistake that I do – SAVE, SAVE, SAVE. You can save it as a draft and come back to it later, even another day so there is no pressure to publish it at all. Wait until you are ready.

Have a good week and do please leave any links to posts that you write below so I can have a look (I will leave a comment, I promise 🙂 )