Ok so it's like I've been in a coma for several months, I know. I started my [not so new now] job in June and since I'm full time I have no time for anything. I'm exhausted when I get home and just want to sit on my butt.. well or I get home at like 10 pm and only have time to eat before I go to bed for my 9:30 am shift. I haven't really crafted anything, but I made something for Halloween!
I bought my boyfriend this cute Beanie Baby bat and decided to make it a little kraft paper trick-or-treat bag, but I had to think about what to put in it. Then one night the week before Halloween, I was over at his house and he was playing with his cat Fidget and he randomly said "I wonder what Fidget would look like dressed as a pumpkin" and so, my Cat O'Lantern was born.
His cat is orange so it worked out quite well! Also can I just say how much I freaking LOVE Decoart's Triple Thick glaze? That is with ONE coat, it's flawless! All this time I've been using spray glazes thinking it was easier and the finish would be better than any brush on, I was totally wrong! This is now my go-to glaze, I will never ever touch a spray again.
I also used an extra fine Sharpie Paint Pen to draw on the eyes and whiskers. Those pens are fantastic, very easy to use and dry instantly so no need to worry about smudging! Always a good thing when you're clumsy like me ;) I DID mess up one side of the whiskers, it was driving me mad [I have a bit o' the OCD] but my boyfriend didn't seem to notice.
And now I'll end my post with how excited I am about my Paperclay. I've heard such great things about it, so I went out and bought a pack after work today. I love using Sculpey but I feel like it's such a waste of electricity to use a standard sized oven to bake a few small things. If the Paperclay works out, I will just switch over to it. There's two downsides though, Paperclay is white so I will have to paint what I make and then of course that takes extra time. Strangely though, I like doing intricate things most people find annoying, I can see myself enjoying the painting of tiny charms aspect. I can also put my old jewelry rack to good use, I'm going to hang my charms off of it to dry.
And now I'm off to play with my clay! I'll let you know how it all turns out ;)
Happy Crafting~
I'm trying to finish the shell border on the baby blanket and I've run into a GIGANTIC knot in my yarn ball. I usually re-wrap the yarn by hand to prevent this from happening before I begin, but I was taking advice from another knitter who said if you just use the string from the middle of the ball you have no problems. Apparently this isn't true.. or I did something wrong.
I had to take out the entire 3 sides of completed border and cut pieces of knot out.. now I'm trying to untangle the rest slowly. It's very frustrating.. also I want to get this done because I bought a pattern off of Etsy tonight. I'll be putting up a blog post on that seller within the next few days so look for that!
Alright, I was just taking a quick breather from my frustration to type this haha, I need to get back to the epic knot :( HOPEFULLY, I can finish this sucker by tomorrow!
Happy Crafting~
So things have been just insane.. things at work went down hill real fast. I can't talk about it publicly, even though there are a lot of very negative opinions I could express, but what it's come down to is that I have quit my sales associate position with Michaels BUT I will be staying on as a Bead Academy Instructor. I did get a full time job, with benefits, elsewhere [actually at a company I've worked for previously, which really is a fabulous place to be] so that is a good thing, but I will truly miss the Michaels staff. Most of the ones at my store have also resigned though, so it would not have been the same if I had decided to stay on.
Anyways! Enough of that!
I have an early shift tomorrow but I've got a bit of a Tudor's obsession and I'm rewatching the series, on Season 2 right now ;) I'm going to watch an episode and finish up the extremely late baby blanket I owe my friend [sorry it's taking so long, Jan :(]. Ok maybe not finish it completely, I'll need to do the edging on it tomorrow after work but I can finish up with the blue!
Also in the works is a necklace I'm making as a gift for a co-op student who has been working at Michaels for the past few months. Really she gets no love from management and she does such a great job, also she's a sweet heart and hugs me every time she's in! She deserves something nice as a thank you for all her hard work I think. That will have to be done before Monday since that is her last day. I asked her what her favourite colour was and she told me purple, so I picked out some nice, sparkly beads in three coordinating colours [a smokey lilac, a darker purple, and a dusty rose] and a nice delicate silver chain. I wanted something feminine and pretty, not too over the top so that it would be wearable on any occasion. I really hope she likes it!
That's what's going on in my crafting universe right now. Still looking into that new camera and also contemplating a makeup blog, haven't thought of a name yet though. I need the new camera to properly show off my pretties though, the one I have now just doesn't do them justice.
Well, better not keep Jonathan Rhys Meyers waiting any longer ;)
Happy Crafting~
Whew, it's been a crazy couple weeks I tell you. The store I work at offers different crafting classes.. cake decorating, crocheting/knitting, and scrapbooking but we have not been able to find a bead instructor. Because of that, I've been the one running the bead demos and helping customers in the bead section with general inquiries. My manager approached me last week asking me if I'd like to be the instructor, the woman in my store who runs the classroom activities recommended me to the position. I said yes and I'm on my way to certification!
Tonight I received the email that told me where to sign up and how to get started, I completed a basics exam and passed, then submitted pictures of two projects with explanations and those passed as well! I finished all the preliminaries and now I'm onto the beginning of the certification course.. problem is you have to print out a guide before started annnnnd my printer ink cartridge is literally empty. I was SO excited, I wanted to start tonight! I have to wait until tomorrow though when I can replace the cartridge.
This is probably a good thing though, I'm dead tired from an early morning shift so I probably wouldn't absorb much. I can't wait to get home tomorrow to get cracking though!
I've also been keeping myself busy by crocheting a baby blanket for my best friend's new baby cousin. Normally you're asked to make these things BEFORE the birth but she didn't think to until after. The baby is about 3 weeks old, so definitely not too old for a snuggly blanket. Now, I haven't crocheted in YEARS but I've wanted to get back into it. I do knit on occasion but a co-worker of mine told me that crocheting is just much faster, and time is not on my side so I decided to pick up the hook again.
I originally learned to crochet from my great aunt. She was a MASTER, she would sit with this metal bowl in her lap that contained her crochet thread and crochet the most intricate doilies and table runners you've ever seen. She did it at lightning speed without even glancing at her work as she went, and she NEVER made a mistake. I was always fascinated watching her do it as a child and my nana had already taught me to knit so she decided to teach my to crochet. Unfortunately, my great aunt suffered a dibilitating stroke 5 years back and has never fully recovered. She lost a lot of movement in the right side of her body and can no longer crochet but I'm absolutely determined to teach myself how to make those beautiful doilies. Although I'm certain I'll never be able to produce them as quickly as her.. and without looking.
Anyways, I went around online searching up a simple pattern, and then decided I would just knit a giant granny square and then add a shell border to it. I found the following video extremely helpful in showing me how to start the square:
I totally suggest checking out this lady's other tutorials as well, especially if you're a beginner.. her videos are super helpful! Once I saw her do a couple rounds I just went out on my own and kept going round and round the square. I am on my third ball of wool, this will be the last before I start my shell border. I'm using Bernat Softee Baby in Baby Denim Marl for the majority of the blanket. It's actually a much softer baby blue than what's shown in the thumb nail on the site. I'm thinking of using antique white to create the shell border rather than continuing on with the blue colour. I'll have to get some opinions on that at work I think though.
Anyways, I hope to be done this blanket by the end of the weekend.. I also have to throw together a birthday card for my nana either tomorrow or Thursday night. My mom is going to London to visit her on her birthday and is going to take the card with her for me :)
My week is looking busy craft-wise but I'm totally not complaining! Once I complete the baby blanket I will post the results!
Happy Crafting~
So, before we get down to some delicious business, I know I promised photos of those charm bracelets. When I was hand drilling the holes, I broke the tip off of my bead reemer [sadface] SO I went onto my trusty beading supplies site and ordered a glorious electric bead reemer. They state up to 6 weeks for delivery but in the past I've received things from them within 3 weeks. I can't even believe it didn't occur to me to search one of these babies out. I'll let you know when I get it and do a mini review of the reemer.
NOW onto the business of the day! It's Easter, of course, and I have a confession to make: I have an addiction.
Yup, I am addicted to Creme Eggs. Really though, who isn't [besides my boyfriend who is also insane]?! I'm always saddened when these babies disappear and I try to stock up on them while they're around. BUT I've stumbled upon something fabulous. Well, it was more me surfing around Facebook and noticing one of my awesome friends posting about these little treats. You can make your own eggs at home!
Now I haven't tried this yet, but here's the recipe for them. These look ridiculously easy to make, and once I run out of my current stock, you better believe I will be giving this recipe a shot!
Also for the more adventurous Creme Egg lover, take a look here for more recipes using Creme Eggs.
That's all for now! I hope you all have a fabulous Easter <3!
Happy Crafting~
I just spent a good 20 minutes removing the sticky from the back of some dimensional stickers. All I have to say is that Goo Gone is a lifesaver [and it smells awesome]! I'm planning on drilling holes into the stickers and making charm bracelets for a couple friends of mine that I'm seeing tomorrow.
I have to get these done tonight, even though I have an early 6am shift tomorrow.. I probably should've come straight home after work this morning to get these started. It's the glaze that's taking forever, since I have to glaze one side at a time and wait for it to dry fully. I rushed the job last time and got weird little bubbles in one side of my charms.. it was not attractive.
If I'm not too exhausted I will post pictures of the completed bracelets tonight! If not, expect them tomorrow ;)
Happy Crafting~
Alright, so not crafting related really but I am just so excited! It seems there is another job posting but THIS one would mean no travel and no moving, it's still within the company but at a different store. I was caught completely off-guard today and asked to go to head office for a meeting, and then I was sent off to the other location for an interview with the manager.
I feel I did splendidly during the interview, and the manager is extremely nice, I can see us getting along well. I've been awake since 4am [early 6am shift today] and only slept 2 hours last night but I'm still jumping up and down.
Best thing about this job? I get to see all the product fresh off the truck ;) Putting away stock is where I get my ideas, I see something and I go "hey, that's new.. wonder what I could do with it" and my creative juices start to flow! I'm so happy that I may get the opportunity to continue to work in a creative environment, it's so important to enjoy what you do!
Anyways, I just wanted to share my excitement! If I get the job I will probably post more details, I just don't want to jinx it right now ;)
Happy Crafting~
