Beaded Thistles

These cute thistles are beaded over a wooden bead using a netted stitch. The tops are stitched using a very easy fun "rolled" flower. This design is by Diane Fitzgerald, i bought this kit about 6 years ago, and finally made it up during the past week. I bought a new vase to display them in....it gorgeous Royal Doulton!!!

Latest Polymer Clay stuff

I made the cupcake earrings for a donation to the Mother's Day stall at my childrens' school :)




Here is what i have been making in clay.....not as much as i would like too....i find its a difficult craft to do on the "go". I can pick up my beading and embroidery whenever...but clay i really like to start and finish on the day....the Dragons and lollipops are for sale at my Etsy shop :)

Latest Cross Stitch

Here is the piece i made for my nephew as a housewarming gift :) It is a barramundi by Graeme Ross Originals. This took quite a lot of stitching time. More than i had thought....well aren't all cross stitch pieces like that?

Alice In Wonderland Inspired crafts

Here is what i created for an Alice in Wonderland swap at ravelry. As i am not a knitter, i am a member of a group where you can participate in other types of crafting :) I enjoy these as they are a challenge and you get tp put together an awesome box for your recipient :)

Jellyfish Jam

I have created this piece for a challenge, thropugh one of the beading groups i belong to, Beaddreamz@yahoogroups.com The theme for this challenge is Ocean Adventures. I love the beach, the ocean, the sand the coast, mermaids, fish and coral and everything about it!! It was too tempting not to do a piece! The focal bead is from Earthworks Glass on ebay. They make beautiful glass beads, vessels and paperweights.

The base for this piece is done in 4 bead tubular herringbone stitch. I then added the focal using a small spiral rope piece, as the bead had a "loop" rather than a "hole". From there i added loads of branched fringing and added pearls, swarovski bicones and my own little 3D jellyfish. I made these by making 3 heart shapes in brick stitch with the base row being 5 beads wide. I then sewed these together with the points meeting at the top. I then added fringing where you go back through the strand and skip every secong or third bead to make it crunch up like tentacles. There are also 3 swarovski star fish which i loved and was so glad to find a use for them here.

The clasp is based on instuctions from Laura McCabe's Crystal book.

Stumpwork Geranium

Stumpwork Geranium Pattern