Tuesday, September 6, 2011

How to make a Pearl Cluster Necklace - FREE TUTORIAL!

Good Morning!
I have 15 minutes to write this post before I actually have to start work! :) So I must be quick! x

At the weekend, I came across all the supplies I needed to remake an older creation of mine...  (How cool is that? No bead purchases! The gals at "Operation: Tackle That Bead Stash" will be proud of me).

A cluster pearl necklace that I had made over a year ago, and since I found more than enough supplies to remake it, I thought whilst I am at it, I'd write a tutorial to go with it.

So - if you want to learn how I made this necklace, and if you'd like to learn how to make it too, click on the link below to fly away to it. Would love feedback, or photographs if you make it too! (I'll be well chuffed if you send me pictures!) anyhoo ... enough babble ... must start work!


Hope you like it! ♥


Saturday, September 3, 2011

Quilled Earrings ... The start of an obsession maybe?

Recently, I've had quilling in my head. I have seen some really cool quilling art that has been truly inspirational. I know that if I pick up a quilling set and just get going, it's going to be a long way until I get as good as any of the things that I have pinned on my pinterest board. But, you know, you gotta start somewhere.

Even though I had bought a set with the idea of making a card for a colleague who is retiring, not suprisingly I got distracted with jewellery. (this is typical... once I concentrate on one craft, I get a craving to create with something different) But this time, they overlapped and I had inspiration to merge the two.

I have some stud earrings, that have a 12mm base diameter, I see them used for setting cabochons, buttons etc, but never before for quilling :) So, away I went with some simple circles and created these.


I got some nice postive comments, I even have an order for a pair from a colleague - and these were only experiments.


I wanted to try and do a more detailed pattern, I think practising on such a small palette will help me get better. My Quilling stick itself is far too big to make tiny quills, so I made my own using a needle. It's more fiddly to use, but it gives me a tighter scroll and i get more details with the smaller coils.

So, all set with me new needle quilling tool ... I have made some english daisies.


Again really, just an experiment... i still want to get better at quilling smaller patterns, but practice makes perfect. I think I'll be trying more of these in the near future.


 Hope you like them! Would love to hear what you think :)
So, - enjoy your weekend, if you're stateside, enjoy your long weekend.

take care
Nicola
x