Moving blogs to April Is Forever

Hi all,

Just to let you know that I am in the process of setting up a business to sell my jewellery and hopefully soon my own patterns called April Is Forever and have set up a blog for it here
http://aprilisforever.blogspot.com/ . I will now be updating April Is Forever with my new designs and creations and of course Operation Tackle That Bead Stash with my continued efforts to whittle down the stash, although past content will remain here for the time being. Thank you for all your support and comments and I hope you join me on either April Is Forever or Operation Tackle That Bead Stash http://tacklethatbeadstash.blogspot.com/

Sarahx

Slightly Obsessed with Beaded Rings!

This weekend I have become increasingly obsessed with making beaded rings. I think that this is mainly because they tie in neatly with my 2 main current areas of focus, making quick items for April Is Forever to sell at Saturdays Vintage Pretty and using up all those leftover beads n pieces for Operation Tackle That Bead Stash. I like the fact that you can make a finished
piece of jewellery quickly and they are also a great way to experiment and try new designs without investing too much time.

Rainy Days, Podcasts & New Techniques.

It's raining cats and dogs here today, it has come as a bit of a shock after the beautiful sunshine we have been having lately and scuppered my plans to take lots of photo's for the blogs. I have had a nice day, coffee with a mum from school this morning and this afternoon has been spent in the dining room with my beading supplies spread out all over the table, listening to the Craftcast Podcast and trying a new to me technique of making beaded wire flowers. Not a bad way to spend a day, kiddo was over at a friends house after school so I have had a very relaxing day.

Here is a link to the Craftcast website
http://www.craftcast.com/

and to one of the tutorials that I have been practising today
http://jewelrymaking.allinfoabout.com/features/flower.html

A Round Up of the 1st Week of Operation Tackle That Bead Stash

Just a week ago I set up Operation Tackle That Bead Stash, we already have 1 other contributor, 16 posts and 8 followers! Every week I'm going to post a round up here of the highlights from OTTBS. Ha ha, I love that acronym, it could stand for so many other things!

So this weeks highlights are;

Welcoming Bobbi from the Bead Goes On to the team! Bobbi has made some great posts and beautiful projects, she has already completed her 3rd goal!

Finally using 2 tubes of bugle beads that have been languishing in my stash for about 3 years, to make this red lariat.

Bobbi's fab beaded eggs

http://tacklethatbeadstash.blogspot.com/2010/03/bead-stash-beaded-eggs.html

Tulip Beaded Ring

I am about to add some new beaded rings to the April Is Forever blog but thought that I would also feature this one here as I am particularly proud of it!

The tulip ring is a result of an ongoing experiment in increasing/decreasing netting to create a 3d ring top and I love this version. I am also really happy with the colour combination, the zingy lime seed beads really complement the fuschia swarovski crystals.

If you want to see more of my recent rings, please check out April Is Forever, the link is on the right.

Sarah

Leaf Bracelet - Kit review

Last October I visited the Welsh Bead Fair in Cardiff and bought some kits from Spellbound Beads. I chose this leaf bracelet as it reminded me of the Saraguro beadwork that I had seen exhibited on the Beadworkers Guild stand that I really loved, except it looked a bit easier!

I can't find the name of the kit right now as the bag I kept the instructions in is packed away while decorating & I couldn't see it on the Spellbound Beads website either but I still wanted to write about it before I forgot!

The instructions for the kit were really comprehensive, nicely laid out and easy to follow. There were plenty of beads and the colour choice is beautiful, I know there were other lovely combinations too. The patter itself was much easier to work than expected and went very quickly so a win-win! I bought other kits there too and after doing this bracelet I'm glad I did because I felt that this was good value for money and an easy way to try something different. Here is the link to the Spellbound Beads website, but don't click if you don't want to be tempted to spend lots of money!

Operation Tackle That Bead Stash!

Today I decided to sort out my bead stash, expecting it to take about half an hour, it took over 2 hours! I was mortified at the amount of beads I have had in my stash for a long time and not used so I have decided to do something about it!

I have set up a blog to post my goals for using up the stash and the projects I make with it. I would love some company on this stashbusting journey, so please let me know if you would like to join in and post to the blog and I will make you a member of Team Operation Tackle That Bead Stash!
http://tacklethatbeadstash.blogspot.com/

Let's make 2010 the year we tackle that bead stash!

Kaliedescope

Here is a new multi-stitch necklace that I finished this weekend. I wear a lot of purple and teals so I wanted a necklace that would work with both colours. I used a variety of stitches, including dutch spiral, circular peyote and spiral rope. It was a lot of fun to make the components and then decide how to piece them together to create the necklace.

Valentine wash out.

Husbeast & I were supposed to go out for Sunday lunch together yesterday as my son was at my mum's for the day. Typically I have come down with a bad cold/flu whatever & couldn't go out. I am still languishing on the sofa with a sore throat, puffy & teary eyes, blocked nose & ears and aches all up & down my body, I have not yet noticed a snout growing, I'll let you know!

Luckily my mum said she'd take kiddo overnight soon so we can go out for an evening meal together, that will be fun, the last time we did that was my birthday in October, so at least we have something to look forward to.

OWOH Winner!

The winner of my OWOH Giveaway is Lennie from eat.write.create! Congratulations Lennie!

The OWOH has been amazing fun, I have really enjoyed visiting blogs that I would not normally come across & I have greatly increased my must read blog list.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who commented on my giveaway post! I have only had time to briefly view each blog but over the next week or so I will be visiting you all properly.

Special thanks to Lisa Swifka from A Whimsical Bohemian for organising such an amazing event!

One World One Heart Giveaway - Now Closed.

Hop on board the magic carpet, take a virtual journey through almost 1000 blogs and get the chance to win treasures from across the Globe!

Welcome to my stop on the Magical Carpet Ride! My name is Sarah and I live in the small but beautiful country of Wales, Land of Song & Rugby, unfortunately I cannot sing a note and we lost the match to England yesterday, boo hiss! If there is one thing we Welsh hate it's losing to England! Apart from being Welsh, I am also married with 1 son and I work part-time for a government department, I am lucky to have an interesting job that I enjoy and my work colleagues are all lovely so I don't begrudge the time it takes away from doing the thing that I love, beading. I have been beading for eight years and have tried many techniques including stringing wirework and chainmaille but beadweaving is my favourite. I love the colours and finishes of the tiny seed beads and the fact that you can make almost anything out of them if you have the patience!I hope you enjoy your visit here and I am looking forward to getting to know you all through visiting your blogs!

The One World One Heart Giveaway event was started by Lisa Swifka in 2007 as a way for bloggers across the world to connect with each other and make new friends. Click on the link to the right to find out more and to see the list of blogs taking part in the event, there are almost 1000, so there are lots of lovely goodies to win!

I am offering this flower brooch as my giveaway, it is made with delica beads and Swarovski crystal pearls using brick stitch and peyote.


To enter the giveaway all you have to do is comment on this post by midnight 14th February, making sure that you leave an e-mail address in your comment if I can't link back to you through your comment. I will be randomly drawing the winner on the 15th February.


Good luck and don't forget to check out the list of blogs hosting giveaways, you may find a new favourite and some new friends!

A favourite necklace.

Referred to my one of my work colleagues as "your amazing necklace"! I had originally overlooked the pattern for this necklace in Bead & Button but wanted something fairly easy to accomplish during the busy build-up to Christmas so chose it while flicking through some back issues in search of inspiration. I have been going through a real monochrome phase as you can see from the main colours and added the lovely tortoiseshell effect glass beads to jazz it up a bit. I really like the finished piece and it was fun to make, I may well add more rings to it at a later date.

Grrr, flipping technology stuff!

There has been an alarming lack of photo's on this blog lately. So I thought I'd take some today as it is nice & sunny & there are no boys around to aggravate me with their "helpful" suggestions and in the case of the kiddo their demands to take the photos, wear the jewellery and be fed all at the same time. However, I somehow could not find picasa and saved them to the itunes folder & now can't work out how to save them elsewhere. Sigh, no wonder the husbeast is astounded that I can actually post a blog.

Let the good times roll.

Watching Glee, surfing Folksy and eating salt and vinegar Chipsticks, not rock n roll but I like it!

Money for nothing & your books for free.

I can't help out with the money part but The Book Depository is currently offering over 11,000 titles as free e-books, here's the link http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/free. I'm thinking about downloading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, I loved the Frank L. Baum books when I was a kid.

You know you are soppy,

When you cry at the end of Space Buddies because the dog with the dodgy Russian accent gets home to his boy. I was very embarrassed.

Thank you!

Ladies, thank you for your kind comments on yesterday's post, I really appreciate them! We are all feeling a bit better today although I'll be laying off the crafting for a few days as my right hand is pretty sore. At least my son is happy, lots of sweets & DVD's for him today, all is now right with his world!

Scary Experience

On the way home tonight, our car lost control downhill and we crashed into 2 cars. Thankfully we are all OK. The damage to the cars doesn't seem too bad & the insurance were pretty good on the phone. People saw us careening from their windows and came out to help with mobiles in hand ready to call the ambulance, I think they were shocked that we didn't need them. I'm not normally big into religion or spirituality but I truly do believe that someone was watching over us tonight, it's amazing that we weren't hurt!

The 3 B's - Beads, Boots and Ballet.

I have had an amazing day today, girly day out with friends! First was a trip to Crystals & Ice bead shop in Cardiff as I wanted to get some bigger beads as I am teaching 2 visually impaired ladies to bead next week. I decided to teach them a basic RAW bracelet using 6mm druks and 8mm fire-polished as the difference in size and texture should make it much easier for them, I managed to pick a few things for myself too, including gorgeous galvinised gold miyuki cubes.

Next was a spot of shopping, whilst in one department store I spotted a pair of Carvela boots that I had wanted in October but at full price they were out of my budget, but they had my size(which can be difficult to find as my feet are canal barges in disguise) for half price so I snapped them up quick!

Then there was the ballet, the first I have ever been to, the ticket's were a birthday gift from my friends. The ballet was Sleeping Beauty performed by the Russian State Ballet and it was wonderful! I especially loved the bluebirds! I shall certainly be going again. We finished up with a lovely meal and a few drinks, including a glass of champagne in a lovely hotel bar. I feel very lucky, thank you to those that shared the day with me, and the one who was too ill to come, you were missed. We'll just have to make sure we do the same again next year!