More bracelets

I'm really proud of the latest two bracelets I've made. Mainly because I've been able to photograph them really well thanks to a rare day of British sunshine!

They are both on sale in my Folksy shop, but if it wasn't so determined to sell something I would be wearing them right now! I can definitely see my bracelets improving as I practise, and I really love the look of these two.

I have also been making some more charms out of shrink plastic, and I now have a full set of weather charms (clouds, rainbow, raindrop and lightning bolt) waiting to be added onto a bracelet!

In other news, everything went well at the bank, and as soon as I get my new debit card in the post I'll be off to the 3 store to get a shiny new phone!

The craftiness continues

I have set up a Folksy shop to sell some of my creations! (Shameless plug)

Folksy is basically the UK version of Etsy. I've taken lots of photos which aren't entirely up to scratch, but they'll have to do and hopefully with practise they'll get a bit better. John really likes my bracelets and he thought it was a great idea for me to sell them. He set me a challenge - if I can sell just one or two within the next month, he'll buy me loads of tools and materials so I can keep making them without worrying about the cost. Challenge accepted!

Here are some of the bracelets I have made in the past couple of days (except for one, which John liked so much he took it home with him - I guess that's a compliment!)

These are the odds-and-ends ones I made from plastic beads. I'm selling these in colour-co-ordinated sets of three:

And these are the ones I made with glass beads and woven hemp - I'm really proud of these ones! The one John took was also made from hemp, it was black and had tiny turquoise beads running along it, and closed with a big green glass bead. My favourite is the blue one at the bottom:

I also had a fun time playing with shrink plastic (or as I like to call them, shrinky dinks). I have loads of ideas for designs, and here are the ones I made this afternoon. They each have a hole punched at the top so I can attach them to a jump ring and then add them to bracelets/necklaces. I wish I had photographed them next to a coin or something for size reference, but they are really tiny and I'm amazed they kept their detail:

My favourite is the rainbow, the colours are so vivid and it looks surprisingly professional! I had the idea of making a bigger version of the cloud, with extra holes at the bottom, and attaching some little clear droplet-shaped beads I have, to look like rain falling down. But there is only so much I can do in one day, and I'm still waiting for the equipment I ordered online to arrive.

I get crafty.

I've started a new hobby today! I was sorting out my cupboard and I found a box of odds and ends, beads, sequins etc. I decided to put them to good use and make some bracelets. So, off I went to Hobbycraft to buy some elastic and hemp cord, and I ended up buying a load of glass beads as well because it turns out they have a pick-and-mix for beads. Finally, a pick-and-mix that doesn't rot your teeth or make you fat!

So first of all I decided I would use up all the random plastic beads I'd found at home. These were mostly from those children's bead kits you get every Christmas if you're a girl...so they were all quite cheap and cheerful and brightly coloured. I sorted them into similar colours and then made 'hotchpotch' bracelets, and even though they are so basic and took me such a short time, I think they are rather good!

Next I tried my hand at macramé, which is the 'art' of tying knots in a bit of string. I made two hemp bracelets following this tutorial, only instead of just having plain hemp all along, I strung a bead onto one of the central strands of hemp every few knots, and wove around it. I finished it with a large glass bead to fasten. My second attempt looked a lot better than the first, and hopefully I'll get them looking perfect with a bit of practise!

I also ordered some more fancy beads online, which will be getting delivered on Monday, I hope! As well as a random selection of plastic beads (ooh, exciting!) there are some rainbow stripy beads, silver sea creature charms and silver unicorn charms. I am planning on making some truly ridiculous ~~*RAINBOW UNICORN*~~ bracelets, as well as some nautical-style ones.

I have endless ideas for cute necklaces and rings as well. I might open up an Etsy shop if I think people would be interested in them. I won't exactly make a fortune but it will be nice to fund my new jewellery habit and maybe get a little pocket money out of it.

I also sent in four job applications today, so my time has been well spent, in my opinion!