Christmas presents

Lucy got another skull bookmark for her collection

And my Mum got the companion needlecase to last year's gift

Family ornaments

Every Christmas I make an ornament for my parents, both girls, both grandson and the last few years my fella as well and I try to make them the same one but different this year I went for a tree from Threadabead

Apart from no 4 it was a lucky dip as to who got which tree

Tree 1 went to Lucy

Tree 2 went to Mel

Tree 3 went to my fella and it's my favourite one

Tree 4 went to my parents and was the only one planned

It's exactly the same pattern each time but everyone turned out different esp on the bottom branch 

Couple of beading finishes

For the last few years I've been wanting to make a couple of little festive pendants for myself to wear in December and yesterday I finally got around to making one it just needs stiffening which is on the list for tomorrow

When I finished the Celtic knot a few weeks back I wanted to do some earring to match it but size 15 delica's don't come in the colours I used so I had to do something else instead and this is it.

Celtic knot

I finished this several weeks ago and at the time I did take a pic but it was awful and I deleted it and being me forgot to take another one.

I wore it on Saturday and realised I hadn't posted it so here it is :)

It's from a recent issue of Bead and Button but I don't have which one to hand although I'm thinking it was September /October time.

I really enjoyed it and hope to do more of them in the future

Ornament finish

I forgot to post this yesterday :(

We have a raffle at the meet up and the money raised pays to keep the BB ad free for however long the £ will pay for and we all take something along to donate as a prize.

This was my donation, Santa tube ornament from Threadabead 

I forgot to take a pic of the exchange bag I received today so hopefully I remember to do that tomorrow

Bracelet finish

A few months ago I bought a Jill Oxton special magazine that was nothing but bracelet's.

Being someone that would rather make a thing than a piece of jewellery I quite surprised myself finding so many in it that I would want to make which is why it came home with me.

I wanted one that I could leave in my beading box that goes to classes & groups so that I had something to fall back on if for whatever reason I didn't work on the project I had with me but a month or so I go I get fed up of having so many things half done and finished a few of them this being one of them

Mr Tom's Toadstool

Another kit from Oak Tree Crafts and this one is a needlecase not that I'll be using it!

Ladybird (bug) box finish

A few weeks back Julia Pretl had a bogof sale on her birthday and I had a bad clicky finger that day and several of them ended up in my inbox.   I was itching to do one of them and this was the only one I had all the colours for so I've been working on it on and off for the last few weeks and I finished it a few days ago.

It's the smallest one I've done so far at approx 2 1/2 inches tall and it certainly won't be the last box I do 

Mr Claus

Last week at one of the monthly beading groups I go to we had a class with Oak Tree Crafts to make Mr Claus.

By the end of the day mine came home looking like this

On Monday at the other monthly beading group I go to I put the finishing touches to him after working on him on and off over the weekend

Lorraine will be back at the end of the month and we will either be doing a project that requires 2 days or 2 different projects!  We did have a project planned but a few things have come out that are new and people want to do those as well so watch this space for what happens :)

Leo's Birdhouse

I started this back in May as a Sunday/ day off Cheshire Show entries project and once they were done it took me a few weeks to get round to finishing it but I did.

Leo's Birdhouse from Oak Tree Crafts

Closer view of the bottom half

The fat balls should have some green net over them but I couldn't get it to work so left it off

The front door

And the roof

I really enjoy this type of project and will always go for a 'thing' over a piece of jewellery and in that vein I have Mr Tom's Toadstool to do at some point in the near future also from Oak Tree :)

Poppy Needlecase

Something else I finished a few weeks back but never posted :(

This is a long needlecase although I rarely use a long needle I do have some and have been thinking for a while that I should make a case for them so when the kit came up for sale at a bargain price I couldn't say no.

Being circular it's impossible to get an overall pic of it so I rolled it round to show it :)

More finished beading

Back on July 27 at Haydock bead fair I took a class with Katie Dean for a beaded Dahlia, it was great fun to do and I will make more at some point

I wasn't planning on taking the afternoon class with her but did in the end, this time it was for her clouds bracelet, the main bead is done in cubic right angle weave.  Let's just say that it's unlikely that I'll be doing any more!! 

And I had a pack of tila beads hanging about so I made a bracelet 

closer up so you can see the pattern better

Matryoshka finish

You probably don't know this about me but love Matryoska aka Russian Dolls and have done since I was little so when I saw this pattern in the Beadworkers guild Journal I knew I had to do it at some point.

It took me a while to get the delica's together for it but I did in the end and I loved every bit of her :)

The two sides before I joined them

All stitched up and stuffed

And a side view because I can :)

The pattern is also available here and at some I will buy the needle case pattern to do as well

Spiral ropes

Both of these were finished months ago after sitting half done for months in my travelling work box, I finally got fed up with seeing them there and did something about it.

The pink/purple version will probably end up as a gift at some point as it's really not my colour but the white/multi one I love.

They were both started at craft fairs and would of been out for sale but we have stopped fairs now so I get to keep one and gift one

More bookmarks

Last year when Mum and I went to Halfpenney's for a class we bought the kit for these bookmark's between us, we both loved the design but nether of us wanted 2 of them so it made sense.

This last week I've made them both up, Mum had the pink version

And I had the red version

I've also made a Cluckie to put on a bookmark for the Needlecraft Haven Spring gtg today as a raffle prize.

Class project finished

Yesterday Lorraine from Oak Tree Crafts came up to the Thursday beading group I go to for a class.

I got most of mine finished yesterday and an hour or so today saw it finished off.

This is A Stitch in Time scissor keep

Inside the box 

We've got her booked to come back later in the year for 2 more projects, woohoo

Church finish

When I saw the pattern for this in Jill Oxton's Cross Stitch and Beading #84 it spoke to me and I had to do it.

I started it on Jan first last year thinking I could enter it in the Cheshire Show but it wasn't to be and I lost interest in it for several months until last week when I picked it up once more and did the last of the beading on it.

I already knew I wasn't going to bead the tree's as I had a go at them at some point last year and was very unhappy with them and we have a model shop here in town so I went the lazy route and bought one.

I also invested in a bag of rough pasture and some hedging and here's the result of my labours over the last 10 days, you know what it's like waiting for paint, varnish and glue to dry.

Please excuse the washed out colour on this first pic of the front, the flash went off and the other one's were fairly dark and it is level it was me taking the pics that wasn't!   The colours are more accurate in the other pics.

Going Anti clockwise, side 1

The back

Side 2

And from above.

It's far from perfect (I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to beading) but I'm really happy with how it turned out in the end.

I just wish I could of found some tiny gravestones at the model shop as the finishing touch