Tag: craft

Simple things

Posted on by Niki

For me 2021 is all about the simple things that we can do to keep our minds happy and active in what is a stressful and challenging time. While we all have difficulties to face in these challenging times I believe it is important to try and find some time to do something that makes us happy, even if it is just for a few minutes a day.

Enjoy the view

For me this has been done in a few ways, one very simple way was that I bought myself some 8 to a page labels (I know this does not sound fun at all but bare with me). I like to keep a journal of the things that I make so that I can look back over it and see how I made something and keep track of what did or didn’t work. This is great for me however I decided that I wanted to add pictures in with my work as well. I started by printing pictures on plain paper and sticking them in, but this didn’t really give me the feel I wanted for my journal. I have made a template on the computer to match my label sizes and now I can print out the pictures and just peel, cut if needed and stick them in. This has made keeping a log of what I do a lot easier and lot more interesting with the addition of the photos.

An extract from my journal with settings that I used for a project.

Yes I am old school and like to write things down rather than make an electronic journal. I know that some people will think this is silly but it is amazing how one little thing can brighten up your day, so maybe try doing something for yourself.

I also decided to make some new cards for my work, although I don’t sell anything at the moment I am hoping to one day.

I went for a simple design as I prefer the way it enhances the items that are made and shows the handmade nature of my items. Here is a simple resin puzzle piece charm with silver foil to show what the cards will look like with one of my items. The cards can be used for many different items including jewellery, keychains and charms.

In my next post I will be sharing some of the items that I have made and some pre-views to items that I am working on for the future.

Thank you for reading,

Niki x

Craft time

Posted on by Niki

Oh I wish there was more craft time in my life! So apparently full time uni degree, evening college GCSE, 3 days a week volunteering for my degree placement, 2 primary aged children and lots of pets (including the girls pony) isn’t enough for me and today I started a role as a lunchtime supervisor at a school. Part of me is screaming ‘what was I thinking’ but I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I absolutely love working with children (my degree is a learning and teaching degree as I am wanting be a primary school teacher) and even though I am a mature student I am actually really enjoying my degree and GCSE course as well.

The only things that I worry about with everything is if I am giving my girls enough time and also I have very little time for my own crafting. What this does mean is that any time I do have I really treasure, with both the girls and crafting. I did manage to get a few minutes to craft earlier in the week and had a play with some polymer clay.

These are the colours that I used: Citrine, Rose quartz and Peppermint

I started out wanting to make some swirly beads and then decided to have a go at making some swirl lentil beads, I ended up using 2 tutorials and as both of them have some really good tips. The tutorials that I used are as follows: TurtleSoup Beads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HM-u_8lGb8&t=43s and Polymer clay tutor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3xzjScyjSw and both are worth a watch.

I love the way the beads came out and because I wanted to make one a little more interesting for a focal bead I decided to add a little flower. I still need to put some holes in and then hopefully I will make them into a necklace.

I hope you like them and thank you for reading, I would love to hear what you think of them.

Niki x

Some pieces so far!

Posted on by Niki

Having outlined what I am hoping to achieve with this blog I thought I should actually get on with the fun part of sharing a few of the pieces that I have made so far.

Paperweights for my girls

The above paperweights were made for my girls after I had created a tutorial on how to seal paper stickers for use in resin. The girls chose the stickers that they wanted and the colour themes along with embellishments. The fox is filled with glitter and sparkle, including sparkly butterflies, while the birds have some additional polymer clay leaves in.

Family clay fun.

I absolutely loves these pieces! My Eldest daughter and I made these cute little Dinos (mine is the green one) following a tutorial from the very talented Creative Rachy.

Link to tutorial: https://youtu.be/WFfzjh2bVpQ

My youngest daughter made the awesome dragon using a picture she found on google, I am sorry I don’t know who the artist is so can’t give credit. But both girls did an amazing job and added their own flare into the designs.

I will be adding more of our makes and more detailed information on new makes as we do them. I hope you like our projects and I will be back soon with more.

Niki x

What is to follow….

Posted on by Niki
Family owl frame made for a very special family using polymer clay.

Credit: Owls were made following a tutorial by Just Handmade and can be found here: https://youtu.be/0A5IlLrXdVc

When I first picked the name for this site I had planned to make charms using resin and polymer clay. That idea has already started evolving and I have lots of ideas of items I wish to make and share. The idea for this blog is to share my passion for crafting and to keep a record of my journey along with any hints or tips of what I have learnt along the way.

I will update my blog as often as I am able however I am sure you can appreciate that with 2 children and studying for a degree and GCSE I don’t get time to make every day. I will however endeavour to update every time I get the opportunity to have a play.

I am hoping to cover all sorts of crafts and mediums and also include some of my children’s crafting adventures as well. What better way to motivate them and have a record of how far they have come than getting the see it on the intern. I do alway ask permission from my girls before posting anything about them on social media.

I am not a professional and I do not believe that there is only one way to do anything. I will be sharing what I have done and if it has worked or not for me. We all find our own ways of doing things and as long it is safe and we enjoy it everything is good.

I hope you enjoy our adventures and I look forward to sharing our journey with you. Please comment with any positive ideas or suggests or anything you would like us to try.

Thank you for reading.

Niki x