Pip Flowers Necklace

Life was super busy for most of last year but I did manage to finish a few projects. I finished a beaded kumihimo necklace for Steph's birthday present around Easter time. The design was Pip Flowers by Janet Nijman. I had seen pictures of the completed necklace on Facebook and was looking for an excuse to make it. When Steph blogged about her planned travel wardrobe for 2018, I realised the colours of the necklace kit would complement Steph's travel wardrobe. 

Stringing the beads was the hardest part. Although it would have been easier if I had the read the instruction to load the beads in sections. It was great fun to make, particularly seeing the flowers appear and the effects on the pip beads are so pretty. 

Steph visited the UK around her birthday, so I was able to give her the necklace face-to-face. I'll count the necklace as a success because it was pictured in her post about the completed travel wardrobe for her UK visit.

Last year I finally tried the Print and Cut feature on my Silhouette Cameo.  I used it make a sewing themed birthday card for Steph using a card design by Lori Whitlock. It took a bit of fiddling to get the Print and Cut feature working because the registration marks  in the silhouette design software default to US size paper but once that was sorted, it worked really well. It's so quick to make cards lake this, it feels like cheating to call it handmade.

Getting ready for Christmas

 

 

Over the last couple of years our daughters have put up the Christmas tree and decorated it. Usually that meant the tree was as colourful as the girls could make it. Every decoration they could find went on the tree. This year Jen decided the tree should have a colour theme and the chosen colours were purple, green and silver. I had a hunt through my beaded decorations and found a few that fitted the theme. This filigree crystal angel was kit from Bead Merchant and I think it is my favourite.

 

This angel, also a kit from Bead Merchant, was the first beaded decoration I made and was the one that got me hooked on beading.

 

There was even a place for the scary fairy, also a Bead Merchant creation.



 

I posted a picture of the Starry Night bauble, a Spellbound Beads kit, a couple of years ago but it looks so much better in its natural habitat on the Christmas tree.

The second Spellbound Beads kit is the Emperor bauble which I made about two years ago.

 

Last but not least there's the angel who sits demurely at the top of the tree. I must have made her about 15 years ago. I think she looks a little sad perhaps I'll have a go at cheering her up for next Christmas.

 

This year I haven't got a lot of festive stitching done because I have been concentrating on bigger projects. I've also been distracted by a new toy, a Silhouette Cameo, which was a birthday present. I made this vinyl window sticker using the Cameo. It was a design I bought from SAS Creative Designs on Etsy. It was quick to make but "weeding" out the unwanted vinyl took a bit of patience and an ultra fine pointed pair of tweezers, especially in the pine cones.

Finally here is the Christmas stitching I did manage to do - a felt redwork star. The design is from "Stitch with Love" by Mandy Shaw. I used the Cameo to transfer the design to the felt and once I'd done that, stitching it was a breeze. Unfortunately it doesn't fit this year's colour theme. Perhaps I should make a bid for a red and gold scheme next year!