Psalm 23 bookmarks

I didn't know that these bookmarks are called shepherd's hook. Sure reminds me of Psalm 23 after I knew though.

The beaded ones were made with gifted beads from SL. They won't be for sale 'cos she has something planned for them.

But there are more than enough hooks so I'll be making some for sale too :-)

Have a blessed day!

Playing with food

Do these look like olives?

DS said the previous black one looked like tiny grapes.

Toho 8/0 seed beads with pink lining and olive green on the outside. Silver tone rings for some brightness and shine.

I think this is the last of the shaggy bracelets for a while. Toho has lots more beads that I would like to try - drop beads, 6/0 beads and all the different colours! Well, if these are popular at the flea market on Sunday, I might just delve into these a bit more.

Meanwhile, my sewing machine beckons.

Have a blessed day!

Make a sound

This bracelet is noisier than any I've made before. With slight movement, the jump rings and glass beads softly clink against each other that it's almost fun to start shaking them about. I don't know what material this metal is, it's harder than the Artistic wire I've been using. It's a nice shade of black/brown though. It seems like there are various shades of gunmetal.

Have a blessed day!

My fingers hurt

I'd forgotten how hard I have to pull when using twine for macrame. Good thing this belt only has square knots at the start and at the end. The body is braided. Phew!

Make your own with 2 D-rings, twine and beads.

Cut 6 strings about twice the actual length you want.

Tie to the D-rings using a lark's head knot.

Tie square knots with 2 strands in the middle so you have 3 at the start. Leave 2 strings at each side and tie 2 square knots. Alternate this for about 5cm then braid.

Braiding ends when desired length is reached and then you have the alternating square knots again.

At this point, I left a stretch of about 5cm of unknotted string. This is so that there won't be bulk at the D-rings when the belt is worn.

Alternate square knots again then add beads. Secure with overhand knots.

Have a blessed day!

Out of touch

It's been a long while since I've done any beading. I was so into beads few years back that I went for a short course but the instructors, patient as they may be, got a bit ... when I was practicing and practicing trying to get that perfect round. That course was a complete the item course rather than fixed time session so it took rather long. Alas, I'm not able to replicate that nice looping. At least, not till I have more practice.

I don't know what this will be, perhaps a bracelet? The colours are very pretty but the workmanship needs vast improvement. I ran out of jump rings and made my own with inconsistent results. I'll use the rest of this pack of beads to practise till I get the loops just right. 

Peyote beading with inconsistent beads. While this method of beading is very simple from the third row on, it's a bit tricky when the beads are of odd sizes. I'm not buying any beads to practise this. I think I'll just use the perler ones :-)

Have a blessed day!

Lazy holiday shopping

DD and I went shopping yesterday. DS didn't go 'cos he's in a flagship camp.

We went to shops at Arab Street, Jln Sultan, South Bridge Road and in Chinatown. Strangely, while there were lots and lots of crystallized elements, the findings selection wasn't as great. I was looking for pendant trays and glass cabochons. Didn't find any cabs but found pendant trays / bezels at only 2 of the shops. Guess I'll have to get from online shops and have them shipped here.

DD saw the green/black/vermillion beads and had to have them. I asked her what she wanted to make with them and she didn't know. She's not that into bracelets as yet and the types of necklaces she wears aren't those with beads. I suggested a bag charm and that's why we included rhodium split rings and lobster hooks. Rhodium chain too, to hang the beads. I'll have to make some eye rings. It's been a while since and I hope the loops will be nice and round :-)

DD spotted this owl at the last shop we went to. There's a blue version of it but we liked the brown. The round thing below the owl is a bird cage. Three-dimensional but I only took the top view. There were half cage pendants, flat ones but this was the only one that was three-dimensional plus there was a bird inside. The antique bronze chain would be for the owl and cage. I just have to find a jump ring and lobster hook for it.

Have a blessed day!

Monkey see, monkey do

LOL! DD's not a monkey.

I think her decision to make one of her own was influenced by the colour of the only Chinese knotting string I have nor the fact that I happen to have beads in two shades of green that happen to go with the string colour pretty well.

Have a blessed afternoon!

ps: I'll be at NUH tomorrow for the staff bazaar. First time there, hope I won't get lost. I'm there for Little Statement but am bringing just a teensy bit 'cos the table space is limited.

Micro-macrame

I had this chinese knotting string for years. I crocheted something out of it but didn't like it 'cos this string is tough. It's not pliable but the stitch definition is very good. Perhaps this is why it's meant for knotting.

Made this after watching a video online. I didn't have the right tools but I found a very convenient beading tray ... Ferrero Rocher T24 box. It has the right length and depth for this mini project. This could have been longer with more beads but I under-estimated and cut the string too early. I made a longer adjustable strap at the end though.

Christmas mood

I like Christmas. It’s a time for family and friends, fun and laughter, lots of food. It’s a time to reflect on the year, to be thankful for everything that has happened. It’s also a time to prepare for the new year.

DD’s looking forward to honey baked ham. I think we’ll have glazed honey pork ribs too. DS would prefer the ribs. I used to like roast beef but it wasn’t easy getting the meat just right.

Maybe we’ll catch the lights at Orchard road this year on the front seat of a double deck, like we planned for years. We’ll go kettling, for sure. DS’ looking forward to the free flow sugared and carbonated drinks with his hot dog.

Made this on a whim. It’s pretty simple and you can make it too. Have fun!

Sew 2 triangles with interfacing on the inside. I used the thickest interfacing I had so this is sturdy and can stand on its own. Place 1 triangle on top of the other, flat sides together and sew down the middle. That way, it’ll become a 4-part tree. Sew on some buttons and thread some beads for the garland. I added a string at the top so I can hang this. DD has claimed this though.

Have a blessed Christmas :-)!

Finally some pics

Sorry for the delay. I only just realised that I didn’t post any pics of what we’ve been selling to raise funds for the Red Cross – SEA Floods fund.

I also didn’t take any pics of the earlier batch. Normally I take pics, just for sentimental reasons, but we’ve been rushing and rushing to get as many items ready as possible. I must have broken my all-time record of number of items made in 1 day, last week.

Thanks also to all supporters who bought and who helped me sell. God bless you!

Oh, I forgot to tell you what we sold and are still selling.

S$2 – single signature notebooks with acid free cardstock covers that you can decorate yourself. Pages inside are mostly pastel-coloured. Few are white.

S$4 – tissue cases made from quilting-weight cotton from Japan, Korea, US and Australia, lined with coordinating fabric. Yes, it comes with an unopened pack of tissue :-)

S$12 – quilted cover notebooks with six signatures hand-bound to the spine using criss-cross longstitch. Each have metal snap closures and a ribbon page marker.

Shipping’s extra and I’ll use Singpost rates for small packets. Click here for details.

These pics were taken before this weekend’s sales and I’ll take pics of what’re still available and post the up on facebook.

Thanks for your support and have a blessed day!

ps: I apologise for late responses to emails and orders. These were parked one side to prepare fundraising items. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Booked

I made these on a whim, inspired by fabrics that arrived recently from US and Korea. Brightly coloured and coordinating quilting fabric made from super combed cotton. Some of the Timeless Treasures prints are cute to boot. Alas, I’m running out the 7oz interfacing so I have limited quantities of these on hand. Until then, feast your eyes on these

Each of these have a machine-quilted cover and lined with coordinating or contrasting fabric. Some have page markers with beads attached. All have 6 signatures of 8 folios giving a total of 128 pages that are stitched to the spine using criss-cross longstitch. Some have coordinating coloured paper inside. Two metal snaps keep the flap closed and prevents dog ears. Can you spot the camouflaged snaps?
I didn’t take many pics of these ‘cos I intended to bring them to the KKH bazaar on 18 Oct. If you’d like to know more, just send me an email.
Have a blessed day!
ps: If you wish to learn how to replace the paper when you’ve filled all the pages with your writing or doodling, you can either purchase a PDF copy of the tutorial of how I made these and do it yourself, else we can arrange a class at the current going rate of S$10/hr for a maximum of 3 persons, materials excluded.

And the bunny hopped away

Well, not really. DD claimed it.

Remember this Wilmington print of Bunny's Day Out? I centred one of the uber-cute pics of the bunnies on the cover of this journal. This is the first one that has the front flap overlapping so that the pic will not be obscured. I quilted it a bit, partially to frame the bunnies, partially to add some texturing detail. (Hmm, at this moment I just realised that I forgot to take a pic of the spine, but you can imagine it, ya?) Bright lime green gingham on the inside with alternating signatures of green and blue paper stitched to the spine using criss-cross longstitch. This time, I added beads to the page marker. The metal snaps were chosen by DD to 'blend' in with the picture.
Have a blessed rainy morning!