Green suede bracelets

Braided these two green suede bracelets and crimped the ends with ribbon ends (or what do you call these?). The fixed length one I used a stainless steel lobster hook and rhodium-plated jump rings but the other I used ribbon ends that came with the extension chain. I prefer the extension chain 'cos of the tiny heart but I can't remember where I bought these from :-(

These are so fun to make that I think I'll go back and buy other colours.

Have a blessed day!

Not exactly the first one

It's kind of strange, actually, when I just realised that this is probably only the second wallet I've made. Odd. You'd have thought after more than two years of this blog and making all sorts of stuff that I'd have made some wallets? I can only recall one other at the moment, the red leaf linen one.

Oh well.

I think I'll make more of these. Rather challenging and lots of room for improvement though I like this one lots. It has 6 card slots on one side and a zippered compartment in the middle. One large slot on each side of the zipper and everything kept neat and tidy with this metal clasp. I don't know what sort of clasp this is. Pretty and functional.

Have a blessed evening!

ps: don't mind the shine. I can't seem to take nice pics at night but after struggling with this for so long and finally completing it, in between Spiral Knights sessions, LOL!

Happy friends

I like Lecien's prints, especially this one from the Happy Chihuahuas range. These come in the 'right' size for 27mm cover buttons or even 18mm where you get the animal up close. These are dual loop elastic hair ties. Packaged as a set of 4 so I don't have to bother about inventorising how many cats, dogs, piyos or hams there are, LOL!

Have a blessed day!

Same, but different

Made these two antique bronze shepherd's hook bookmarks with box weave chainmaille and the largest owl charms I have. The left hook is a plain hook and the right one has patterns etched on both sides.

DS and I prefer the left one, DD, the right.

Have a blessed evening!

Go green this Christmas

Go green this Christmas and make your own gift bag rather than use wrapping paper that will be ripped and thrown away.

Anyway, if you haven't noticed how I make stuff by now, I'm winging this. That's why there are no specific measurements. This also means that you can make it any size you like as long as you know the ratios and what to look out for.

Material

• 4 pieces of fabric - outer (1pc), lining (pc), top (2pcs) - the outer and lining are large rectangles, twice the size of your final bag when you fold breadthwise, meaning breadth meets breadth and length is halved. The top parts are as long as when the outer is folded half, as wide as 4 times the cords / ribbons you're going to use. Please remember to include sufficient allowance for sewing.
• cord or ribbon for drawstring top
• bells, charms (optional)
• label (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the materials above
2. Fold in the breadths of the top pieces and sew near the edge. This is so that the ends won't fray. See yellow arrow.
3. Take the lining and fold half breadthwise (breadth meets breadth) and crease it along the length. See red arrow. Fold both top pieces into half lengthwise (length meets length) and place them along the edge of the lining, one on each side of the half where you just creased. All frayed edges need to be aligned.
4. Place the outer piece on top so that you have a sandwich. Bottom - lining, middle - top piece folded half lengthwise, top - outer piece. Sew along the frayed edge of this 'sandwich'.
5. Open the 'sandwich' and top-stitch near the edge. See red arrow. You may wish to add a label at this time.
6. If you want squared off corners, open them up and fold them 45-degrees across. Think tetra packs or milk cartons. Same concept. Trim off the excess. See red arrow.
7. Fold the whole thing such that the outer is folded half on itself, and ditto the lining. Sew round the 3 edges. Remember to leave an opening for turning. Trim the part where the outer and lining meets. See red arrow.
8. Turn it proper way out and sew the hole closed. Cut 2 pieces of cord or ribbon. These will be longer than the length of the outer or lining. Thread one through one of the top pieces and out  the other and knot it. Thread the other through the other end and knot it. Add charms or bells, if you like.

Have fun!

Do you like puzzles?

This suede bracelet was made from a single piece of suede. Not 3, not more. Just one. It looked simple enough yet I struggled with it for a while. It's fun so I think I'll make more :-)

I finally started using the antique bronze rose snaps. The one that the supplier shipped only 1 part out of 4 parts of each snap and had to re-ship, LOL!

Have a blessed and very breezy evening.

Afternote: made another one (actually 2 but only 1 pic)

Pretty, dainty thing

I made this corduroy-topped covered button first and was deciding between silver or bronze ring base. While I can't do anything about the button base which is aluminium, I can stick anything I like below. Chose the antique bronze one in the end. It seems to go with the dainty flower print. Silver would have been a clash, fighting for attention. Happy :-)

Have a blessed day!

ps: I've been thinking about the (private) pre-Christmas sale on 23 November. I'll be selling some items at clearance prices but I'll be introducing some new items as well. Hopefully, the material'll arrive in time for me to make by then, LOL!