The not-so-revealing Octoberfest and Solar Flare Blog hops

A big HI to everyone hopping through my little blog from the Octoberfest and Solar Flare Blog Hops ... I'm so sorry I haven't posted my reveals yet - I seem to be having one of those weeks. I've been working on both pieces - I went polymer clay for both and just had to bake the pieces to finish - then suddenly one of my dogs fell ill and I had an unexpected visit to the vets at the beginning of the week (she's fine - it turned out to be the lesser of the two things that could have been wrong ... phew on that front) and I thought 'no worries, I can get the pieces baked up the next day' ... yup fat chance on that one! My poor old mother's been hugging the bog and I've had to play nurse and run errands (just don't tell her I said 'old' lol) but I still foolishly thought I could get them baked up today and only be a day late to the party .... well the oven that's been trying to kill me consistently for the past couple of years has finally decided to give up the ghost this morning, so I am now sans oven until the end of this week. On the upside I get a new oven that doesn't nearly blow up half the block every time I try to light it - still won't improve my cooking but at least I get to keep my eyebrows intact  ;)

So please be sure to stop by again on Sunday when I'll have both reveals posted up ... once again I'm so sorry for being late.

But here's the hop participant list for the Octoberfest Blog Hop:
Our lovely host:  Toltec Jewels            http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com
Heather Otto                     http://www.thecrafthopper.com
Mischelle Fanucchi               http://www.micheladasmusings.blogspot.com
Marlene Cupo                   http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com
Shaiha Williams                http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com
Shelly Graham Turner          http://shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com/
Shelly Joyce                         http://www.aujourlejour-shelly.blogspot.com/
Charlie Jacka                    http://clay-space.com/blog/
Pam Sears                        http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Margareta Saari                  http://magsinhelmet.blogspot.com/
Marita Suominen                 http://momentofjewelry.blogspot.fi/
Lisa Posthumus                   https://www.facebook.com/lisa.posthumusharper
Jeannie Dukic                      http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog
Cheri Reed                          http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Arlene Dean                        http://aglassbash.blogspot.com/
Duffy Blevins                       http://bubbasjewels1.blogspot.com/
Susan Kennedy                   http://suebeads.blogspot.com/
Dita Basu                           http://www.alankarshilpa.blogspot.com/
Sonya Ann Stille                 http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com/
Audrey Allen                      https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wrapped-Up-In-Magic/145456948869148
Kashmira Patel                   http://sadafulee.blogspot.com/
Kathy Lindemer                 http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/
Kris Mattingly                    https://www.facebook.com/kris.h.mattingly
Lennis Carrier                    http://www.windbent.net/
Shannon Hicks                   http://uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com/
Paula Hisel                         http://simplybeadiful.weebly.com/simply-stated.html
Karin Slaton                       http://backstorybeads.blogspot.com/
Shirley Moore                    http://www.beadsandbread.blogspot.com/
Alicia Marinache                http://www.allprettythings.ca/
Valeria G. Rome                http://fancysphynxdesigns.blogspot.com/
Lo                                     http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.com/
Zoe Marcin                       http://beadsteaandsweets.blogspot.com/
Carolyn Lawson                http://carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com
Kimberly Booth                 http://thepinkmartiniboutique.blogspot.com/
Sherri Stokey                    http://www.knotjustmacrame.com
Tanya McGuire                  http://www.tanyamcguire.blogspot.com/ 
Debbie Rasmussen             http://kepirasmussen.blogspot.com/
Christine Stonefield             http://sweetgirldesign.blogspot.com/
Tanty Sri Hartani                http://tjewellicious.blogspot.com/
Sandra McGriff                  http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com/
Renetha Stanziano              http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/
Evelyn Shelby                     http://raindropcreationsbyevelyn.blogspot.com/
Colene Waltermire              https://www.facebook.com/groups/426147797447039/?fref=ts
Lee Nova                           https://www.facebook.com/groups/426147797447039/?fref=ts

And the hop participant list for the Solar Flare Blog Hop:
Our lovely host on this one:  http://usupplies.blogspot.co.uk/
Gloria Allen:http://innovativedreamsjewelry.blogspot.com
Shawn Marie Mills: http://shawnmariedesignsatbentwire.blogspot.com/
Karin King: http://maverickbeads.blogspot.com/
Alicia Marinache: http://www.allprettythings.ca
Pam "The Crazier Sister Blog: http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/?m=1 
Kelly Hosford Patterson: http://travelingsideshow.blogspot.com/
Delia Marsellos-Traister: www.phoenixmagyk.com
Dana Lang: http://tumblestonehandmakery.blogspot.ca
Mischelle Fanucchi: http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com
Jessica Murray: http://whimsicalweavings.blogspot.com/
Cynthia Abner: http://createdtreasures.blogspot.com/
Charlie Jacka: http://clay-space.com/blog
Shannon Hicks: http://uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com/
Zoe Marcin: http://beadsteaandsweets.blogspot.com/
Rebecca Sirevaag: http://godsartistinresidence.blogspot.com/ 
Miranda C. Ackerley: http://mirandack.com
Paula Winchester Hisel: http://simplybeadiful.weebly.com/simply-stated.html
Alenka Obid: http://pepita-handmade.blogspot.com/   

Holiday Bling Blog Hop Swap Reveal

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A Little Random Update

Hi, I haven't blogged much lately as I haven't had much to blog about ... just finishing up my FMG Swarovski entries (I like to skim the deadlines lol) - promise sneak peeks here in a few days  ;)

I'm also jumping in on the Jewel School Friends October Fest blog hop since I love Halloween  =)

(sorry I don't know how to make these things link *blushes*)

Looking forward to the Holiday Bling Blog Hop Swap reveal in about a week - my partner is the very talented Dee Elgie at Cherry Obsidia - be sure to check out her blog  =)

And don't forget I'm doing the Pay It Forward Handmade as well  

Lo  xx

Pay It Forward Handmade

Hi everyone, sorry I've been AWOL - medical crap decided it would be fun to hit me all at once and my computer ate half my file for work one week before my deadline lol. But I managed to get it all redone just in time so no harm done, and now I get to spend a couple of months having fun with beads  ;)

I found this really nice idea on Micheladas Musings blog and decided to play along.

Here are the rules:

I will send a surprise gift to the first three people to comment on this post. The gift will be a handmade surprise by me and I will send it to you sometime in the next 365 days. All you need to do is the following: 

Leave me a comment and include your email address (if your profile doesn’t link back) so I can get in touch with you about your mailing address and some other information about yourself. 

To complete signing up, you MUST play along too by blogging a similar post and pledging to make a surprise for the first 3 people who comment on it. 

So, do you want to play along? Comment below, and I’ll send a thoughtful gift to the first three people who do.  

Thrift Shop Blog Hop Reveal

Well I just did my first ever blog hop ... so be kind lol.

It's Pookledo's thrift shop blog hop - the idea was to go to a thrift/charity store and buy something for £1 (or $1.50 for the US participants), then make something/s.

I actually found this challenge harder than I anticipated - turns out even charity shops are expensive in London ... I went to one and they wanted at least £2.99 for a piece of jewellery, and up to £9.99!! I have to say I was shocked as it wasn't sterling silver, gold or anything precious - just costume/fashion jewellery. After a few more trips I managed to find something more in the budget:

A pair of brand new large hoop earrings and a cute enamelled bird necklace - the bird was named Tweet.

I didn't get a great in-progress picture as I did a bunch of wirework and wire wrapping which I got carried away with and forgot to photograph until I'd finished lol.
But here's a pic of the wirework leaves as I was working on them  =)

(Please excuse the bad picture - it was the early hours lol)






Unfortunately when I was finished with the leaves and put it all together I realised the metals mismatched and with all my monthly jewellery making budget spent (well actually I went over as I wanted in on a magazine competition) - the hoops were more of a bronze/antique gold mix while the bird details and chain were bright gold. So I decided to wrap the hoop in some gold wire to bring the colours closer. 

So anyway, here's what I wound up with after stabbing myself frequently with the wire ... those little loops on the bottom of the hoops were a nightmare to wrap around, and I left the teal coloured drop beads on the hoop as they reminded me of leaves and I thought the colour went nicely with the pink of Tweet:

Oh dear, the pictures didn't turn out very good (it was raining outside so I had to take them indoors), but there you have Tweet's New Perch ... I hope I did okay in my first ever blog hop - I learnt that working on a £1 budget is very hard lol  =)



And here's all the other folks in the hop so check out what they made too:

Sarah - www.pookledo.blogspot.co.uk
Deb - http://greenshoot.blogspot.co.uk/
Kimberley - http://goddessesandbeads.blogspot.co.uk/
Skye - http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.co.uk/
Ambra - http://chicandfrog.wordpress.com/
Beti - http://stringingfool.blogspot.com/
Emma - www.apolymerpenchant.com
Shelley - www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com
Tammie -  http://ttedesigns.blogspot.co.uk/
Leah - http://beadyeyedbunny.blogspot.co.uk/
Denielle - www.somebeadsandotherthings.com
Keri Lee - http://www.pinklemonade.typepad.com 
Rochelle - acreativechelle.blogspot.com
Pam - http://pamelas-studio.blogspot.com/
Ingetraud - http://ingetraud.wordpress.com/
Audrey - http://esperianterra.blogspot.com/
Julie Anne - www.thepeacefulbead.com
Sharyl - http://www.sharylsjewelry.blogspot.com
Micheladas - http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com 
Lo (Me)  -   http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.co.uk/
Kala - http://maybejustperhaps.blogspot.co.uk/

A Greater Introduction

I forgot to put in my original introduction how I actually got into jewellery making - it's kind of a funny story ... for my 16th birthday almost as many years ago, my parents said they would buy me something special and there was a beautiful white gold and diamond bracelet I had my eye on but unfortunately I have the skinniest little wrists (6"/15cm total) and my mother joked that it would be a waste of money on me since I'd have to have about £100 worth of links taken out of the £300 bracelet! So I didn't end up getting the bracelet, and over the years I've seen many bracelets and bangles I really liked but every single one dropped off my little twiglet wrists until one day I saw a book with a lovely Swarovski crystal bracelet on the cover so I flicked through it and liked many of the designs. I've always been creatively inclined - I've been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember (my grandad painted also), I've done cross stitch since I was quite young and won contests for my card making over the years, so I bought the book and some supplies and the rest as they say is history  =)

Last year I taught myself how to make things from silver clay and this year I'm learning to improve my wirework/wire wrapping (picture below is my practice piece). I'm hoping that next year I will be able to invest in the tools to start making lampwork beads and focals, at the moment I'm researching how-to books on the subject ... yup I'm a book nerd and proud of it lol  ; )

Unfortunately I'm also one of the most accident-prone people around and power tools are not my friend ... I've had to figure ways to make holes in things like polymer clay and PMC prior to them setting after a few too many trips to the emergency room courtesy of a drill or dremmel lol. Friends and family have already expressed concern over my having anything that has the potential to cause explosions so my foray into lampworking  should be .... interesting  ; )

And now I'm entering the world of blogging - I'm even in my first blog hop (the thrift shop blog hop) which will be revealed on the 4th August ... just have to find an idiots guide to blogs and the internet now lol.

And I'll leave you all today with a funny klutz story ... yesterday I went to the shopping centre and had to park on the top floor of the multi storey car park, returning from the shops I went to get the lift but I hate them at the best of times and they were packed out so there was no way I was getting in one. Instead I figured I'd get the exercise and run up the seven flights of stairs only to trip half way and fall flat on my face ... laughed all the way back to the car and hoped there was no security cameras to catch my epic face plant - and if there was at least I gave some security guy a good giggle lol   xx

Introduction

Hi, I'm Lo .... new to this blogging thing but I heard there are some interesting things for beaders/jewellery makers on these blogs so here goes.
I make jewellery, in fact one of my designs (pictured below) just took a silver medal in the Fire Mountain Gems Swarovski Crystal contest - Sparkling Elegance necklace category - which has been a very nice surprise, and I'm currently working on this year's entry.

I'm a creatively-inclined madhatter - I like anything artistic ... drawing, painting, beading, jewellery making, photography, writing, film-making, vinyl art toys, paper crafts (I've won competitions for my greetings cards as well) ... there's probably other things but my mind has a tendancy to wander off .... oh and I'm a completely accident-prone disaster magnet - hence the blog title  ; )

And here's some pics of a couple of other recent designs since they were done before I started blogging - not sure if that's the right terminology ... I'm rather internetically-challenged lol  =)