Strawberry gnome

Hi everyone!

Today I want to introduce you to my new little friend: the strawberry gnome! 

I found this cute enchanted creature on a charmed booth, during the most magical fair that takes place in my town: the Hobby Show (…my brain is still recovering from the hypnosis caused by all those sparkling beads)! 

Once I got home, I realized that, as any fairy tale creature, also my new friend needed enchanted surroundings in which he could happily live.

So I started working: I took a glass dish and decorated it with rice paper (using a technique called decoupage). Then, I made little strawberries with polymer-clay and I attached them next to the gnome, together with some flowers and ribbon. Last, but not least, I gave him a small companion: the cheerful hedgehog! They became very good friends...

...and lived happily ever after.

Have a magic day!

My favorite parties: Under the Table and Dreaming -  Between Naps on the Porch - Dwellings - Creatively living - The dedicated house - Rain on a tin Roof - Its So Very Cheri - DIY Showoff - The Stories of A2Z - Coastal Charm - A Stroll thru Life - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Stone Gable - Cozy little house  - Knick of time -Savvy Southern Style - Ivy and Elaphants - Green Willow Pond - No Minimalist Here - From my front porch to yours - Craftberry Bush  - The Brambleberry Cottage - French Country Cottage - Common Ground - The Charm of Home - The shabby nest - Romantic home - Sunny simple life - The cottage market

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Purple flower fairy necklace

Hi everyone!

A couple of days ago, I was browsing through some old graphics on my computer when I found this beautiful image of a flower fairy. I was dazzled and I just couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I got out my Lucite flowers and I started working. 

I used some lovely bell-shaped beads I bought some time ago on Etsy as main elements and then I added sparkling crystals, shiny glass beads, lovely filigree bead caps and a couple romantic bronze leaves. To keep everything together, I created a frame with 18 gauge craft wire (using my round-nose pliers) and then I attached all the elements using jump rings and some 26 gauge bronze wire. 

And here is my creation…with big thanks to the flower fairy for being so inspirational :-) 

Have an enchanted day!

My favorite parties: Under the Table and Dreaming -  Between Naps on the Porch - Dwellings - Creatively living - The dedicated house - Rain on a tin Roof - Its So Very Cheri - DIY Showoff - The Stories of A2Z - Coastal Charm - A Stroll thru Life - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Stone Gable - Cozy little house  - Knick of time -Savvy Southern Style - Ivy and Elaphants - Green Willow Pond - No Minimalist Here - From my front porch to yours - Craftberry Bush  - The Brambleberry Cottage - French Country Cottage - Common Ground - The Charm of Home - The shabby nest - Romantic home - Sunny simple life - The cottage market

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Cream elegance earrings

Hi everyone!

I just finished this lovely pair of earrings inspired by a beautiful model called Sabina, which I saw on Beads Gone Wild (you can purchase the kit from their website here).

As you probably noticed by now, I am not a large and bold earrings kind of person. But this pattern was way too nice to leave it unused, so I took my beading needle and started working right away! Below, you can see my version of the design. Compared to the original model, I added two rows to connect the seed beads, therefore giving more stability to the work and I changed colors to make the final creation more versatile.

To complete the earrings, I used 4mm round glass beads in a cream color, 4mm transparent AB Swarovski bicones, size 15/0 gold luster miyuki rocailles, size 11/0 pearl Checz seed beads, and faceted crystal drops, all sewn together with a size B nymo thread.

And here they are! I hope they will inspire you as much as they inspired me! :-)

Have a beautiful day!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

A little angel

Hi everyone! 

Today’s post contains two beautiful things: a new creation and some joyful news! 

These small flying heralds were indeed inspired by the birth of a real little angel in my neighbors’ house. 

I created one of the small characters as presents for the new mother with wide ribbons sewn in circles to make the skirt and the cape. I then took a wooden sphere, painted eyes, nose and attached fake hair to create the head. 

When color and glue dried, I added a body made with chenille stems and some small wooden beads as hands and feet. Last but not least, the final touches: a ribbon bow as wings and a small present in the angel’s hands. 

Below, you can also see a more colorful version, in which the herald is a cute bee. 

Enjoy the gallery and come back soon!

 

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Book review: Beaded lace snowflake ornaments by Sandra D.Halpenny

Title: Beaded lace snowflake ornaments 

Author: Sandra D. Halpenny 
Rating: 9/10 
Number of pages: 88 
Subject: Beaded snowflakes 
Level: intermediate 
Main techniques: Circular netting 

Beaded lace snowflake ornaments is a  very detailed and specific book. It mainly is a pattern paperback, with a small introduction on materials and techniques (7 pages), followed by 14 beautiful snowflakes (see more snowflake ideas here).

Each project is clearly illustrated with extremely precise drawings. They are so intuitive that I almost didn’t read the written instructions while stitching. Sandra D. Halpenny did an amazing job in making every step crystal clear and in creating an incredible variety on such a narrow topic.

The only downside of the book is represented by pictures of the finished items, which are not very good quality. Furthermore, there are not many  tips on how to use the creations or change effects by using different bead sizes and finishes (but you can find some in the next paragraphs :-) ). However, as I said earlier, this is mainly a pattern book and it does an excellent job at fulfilling this purpose.

I must point out that the text can be quite pricey, if you don’t find it on sale. If you are interested in few patterns, though,  you can purchase them individually on the author’s website here and then create a large amount of different looks by changing color, size and finishes of beads.

In the pictures below, you can see some examples: on the top left, snowflake #2 was made with size 11/0 Ornela Czech transparent and silver-lined beads. On the top right I used slightly larger silver lined and white beads with a pearl finish, together with Swarovski crystals and Czech firepolished 4mm beads to bring to life snowflake #4. On the bottom left, with the same beads (except for the crystals), I made snowflakes #7, while the last one (snowflake #12) was created with the same seed beads of the first, adding some 4mm firepolished beads.

Once you finish, you can use the snowflakes to make cute holiday and winter decorations: from Christmas tree ornaments, to gift cards and boxes embellishments; from festive earrings to icy wreaths…let your creativity fly!

…and have a wonderful day! 

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Spring flower earrings

Hi everyone!

March is finally here and flowers will start to bloom soon. Even if we will have to wait a couple of weeks before the arrival of colors in gardens and parks, happiness was already delivered to my mailbox. It was contained in a small package, together with some amazing colorful lucite flowers which I ordered on Etsy some weeks ago.

My first experiments with them were very simple: I made some small earrings combining the joyful blooms with sparkling Swarovski crystals and antiqued brass findings. Despite their simplicity, these little jewelry pieces are bringing a lot of colors in my first days of March, and I hope they will bring a taste of spring to you too!

Enjoy the gallery and have a colorful day!

My favorite parties: Under the Table and Dreaming -  Between Naps on the Porch - Dwellings - Creatively living - The dedicated house - Rain on a tin Roof - Its So Very Cheri - DIY Showoff - The Stories of A2Z - Coastal Charm - A Stroll thru Life - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Stone Gable - Cozy little house  - Knick of time -Savvy Southern Style - Ivy and Elaphants - Green Willow Pond - No Minimalist Here - From my front porch to yours - Craftberry Bush  - The Brambleberry Cottage - French Country Cottage - Common Ground - The Charm of Home - The shabby nest - Romantic home - Sunny simple life - The cottage market

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

March like Spring-Flowers&Butterflies

March means spring, not only because this is the month in which the season officially begins, but also because its days are full of the little things that this period brings to warm our hearts.

The first days of tepid sun and light; the smell of freshly cut grass; the buzz of bees flying around colorful newly bloomed flowers, the sound of birds singing to welcome the re-birth of nature; the blue sky; the perfume of hyacinths and pansies re-emerging from the ground in our gardens…

our world goes back to be full of colors, perfumes, joyful songs, and light...this is March, this is a month I love!

Click here to see creations on this theme

 

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)