Learn With Me-Making of Necklace-2

Blue and Gold Metallic Beads

Friends, I have been extensively scouring the jewellery market-not the precious metals or gems kind -latest in fashion like beads, crystals etc. which are less expensive but more in vogue. With the prices of gold and silver increasing day by day, these beads have gained popularity. Moreover, since these are stringed they can be redone in a different design if one gets bored by the present one.

My visits to these market is enabling me in absorbing the new trends and fashions. I have realised so much can be learnt just by watching other customers, shopkeepers..and so on. Especially when I meet the designers, whether young and up coming, amateurs or even professionals who visit these bazaars I realise that I can learn so much. I love to watch what they are buying, strike up a conversation with them about the latest fashions. I have learnt about the types and varieties of raw material being used in making of this kind of jewellery, right colour combinations and much more.

Any way here is my second project:

Required:

Metallic beads 50 numbers

Gold coloured metallic beads  51 numbers

Wire or String

Clasp

Method:


These metallic Beads are available in three or four colours all pastel-as a pack of 25. I bought two packs of Blue colour. Gold beads which I have used in between the beads are available in various sizes and varieties; mostly round or somewhat oval. They are available in plain, matte finish, cutting designs etc. 

• Decide the length of the necklace you want and cut the string accordingly after allowing an extra five inches or so for attaching the clasp. I prefer to string the beads first without cutting the wire or string. This way we can cut off the required length after attaching the clasp without any wastage.
• The length of my necklace is just enough to circle my neck. that is I have not made a long chain.
• First string in a gold bead then metallic coloured bead followed by a gold bead and so on...till all the beads are finished off.
• Join the clasp on both the ends by securing the string/wire tightly .
• I have not used any pendant as I could not find any matching or complementing the blue beads. You can add a pendant.

Here are the pictures...

Blue Metallic beads

Gold Beads. You can see the cut design on them. The cutting on these beads reflects light and makes them appear more shiny than the plain ones.

This is how I string cutting the string only in the end.

This is the finished product.


How do you like it? Isn't this easy? 


This is not only easy to make but less costly as compared to those which we buy ready made. This also allows us to create the way we want it and also gives us immense satisfaction of wearing our own creations.

Learn With Me -Making of Necklace

Friends I have been bitten by this bug-Jewellery making. :) :) 

This is the  first time I am trying my hand at making some....

Here is the first  attempt....

Its very simple one, as I dont have any experience or fancy tools with me...I used what I could find in my brother's tool kit. Here is how to make it:

Required:

White metallic bead studded with white stones :

Big size     -1 (one)

Medium sized  -  40 numbers

Gold coloured buttons studded with stones- small size -43 numbers

Silver coloured square bits studded with white stones smallest size-2 numbers

0.45mm wire of sufficient length

Clasp-one

Pliers

Method:

These are the ball shaped beads made of white metal and studded with white stones. I chose one big one for the center and forty small ones twenty on each side.

These beads have holes like this.

Then I selected some gold plated buttons (I don't know what to call them) which are studded with small white stones on the sides. 

These are white metallic squares with stones studded on its side.

This is the gold plated clasp-or rather hook and rings.

• First string a gold button then a small silver bead
• String twenty silver beads with a gold button after every silver bead 
• Now string  one silver square
• Now string the big silver bead followed by the silver square and the gold button
• String the remaining twenty small silver beads followed bye a  gold button
• Now pass the string into last one of the rings on one side of the clasp. Wind it to the ring four five times pulling tightly. Now bring the wire down (just after the last gold button) and wind tightly around the re two three times .
• now hold up the string on the other side so that all the beads come to the side where you have wounded it to the clasp. See that there is no gap left any where in between
• Now pass this side of the string through the ring on the other side of the clasp and wind it once pulling it tightly so that there is no space left between the beads and the ring. Wind it three four times. Bring it down and wind it to the string (holding the beads) two or three times pulling very tightly
• Cut off the extra string on both sides of the clasp as nearest as you can and slightly press the ends with pliers so that they don't pierce when you are handling them or wearing them
• You can also use an ordinary cotton thread that can hold the weight of the beads or nylon thread or fishing wire. I am surprised that fishing wire is available in various sizes and colours.

The end product looks like this. Oh I just placed them in heart shape that's all. Sorry friends I could not photograph them well. Try as I might, the reflection from the stones made it difficult to capture them clearly. This I feel is simple but elegant without being loud. The length is just enough to loosely circle the throat. You can adjust it according to your choice.

The White beads are available in three sizes. The big one I used in the center and the medium ones I used for the rest of the necklace. A smaller size is also available. Also these ones are available in multi coloured stones studded in silver or gold coloured metal. 

Similarly the gold buttons and the silver buttons are available in round and square shapes and different sizes but studded with white stones. I have not found any with multi coloured stones.

All these beads are a bit costly but worth it for party wear specially with a black dress..

Friends hope you like this. I will post more . The latest in fashion in jewelery .......Keep a watch on my blog.

My Stash-Sea shell Embellishments

This post is in response to the comment from Iniyaal-

These are the embellishments made from sea shells. You can see the heart shaped, petal shaped and also coloured ones. Apart from these they are available in many shapes like flowers, circles, oblong, square etc. and also in different sizes. I have not tested the colour fastness of the coloured ones.


Unfortunately some more of these I had, I gave away and I don't have any pictures of them or any pieces left with me now..

These are breakable so one has to be careful in handling them especially while washing if embroidered onto fabrics.

The ones below are fish shaped. 

You can see the holes in the above shapes. They can be tacked to the fabrics with a thread through them and beads, kundans, etc. can be used to enhance the beauty of the design.

These are available in the shops selling embroidery materials. Hope you do find them Iniyaal... and hope this post was helpful to you....

Butterfly Sampler

Day-10

Hi Friends. Sorry I could not post for two days now. Here it is.

I have used a ceramic bead-blue with gold lines for the body, twin coloured (blue-green) bead for the head and the flower sequins for the wings. I have used twin coloured (blue-peach) seed beads to tie them down

Hope you like it.

I am excited!

Hi friends. I am excited. This week end I shopped till I was exhausted. You know I did a thorough window shopping and then bought some of what I looked at. Now I am talking about the establishments, laces,  beads, threads.....and other craft materials...:) :)

I am going to do some latest work on my saris. I just need a good two or three days at a stretch without any disturbance. You know or else I loose the track of my creativity, thoughts, ideas, the excitement.... Hmmm! I am not so lucky. But let us see what happens.

I am soooooo excited...I picked up some fabulous things. Oh by the way I am going to try my hand in making some jewellery.

Surprised? Thats me! Trying my hand at oddest things. Well I will first give it a try. I do design some pieces for my friends and my sister but  making it-I used to leave that to professionals. But this time I want to do it on my own. Some simple things. Let us see how I fare. If I like it. I will really give it a go.

Oh do keep an eye on my blog, as I am going to introduce you to some of the latest fashions in jewellery .....

Ear Rings

Friends I could not post Day 10 of the Butterfly Sampler. There is some problem with my pictures. I will set right and post shortly. But meanwhile have a look at the cute ear rings.

 These are danglers, enamel paint on silver. Would look good with silver jewellery.

These are fancy type for my niece. Available in some other colours too. This looks good for children and teenagers. Quite informal.

This is how it looks at close.

Aren't these cute? 

Butterfly Sampler

Day-9

Now here is Day-9. This time can you guess what these are made of?

These are made from sea shells, except for the head which I have stitched a crystal bead. I have used gold coloured thread for tacking them.

These shells are available in many shapes and sizes, some of them coloured too. Nice for stitching on saris, or dresses. But require careful washing and maintenance as they are easy to break.  

I hope you like it.

Let me know if you have any thing to say...Keep watching my blog for I am working on few saris. The moment they are finished, I will post. The works are something new and currently in fashion here....

Butterfly Sampler

Day-8

Here I am so tired after a days hard work. Returned home late and feel tired to the bones. But Still I wanted to load Day-8 of the sampler.

These are crystals. These days these are even being used as jewellery-neck pieces, ear studs, danglers, bangles etc. So these butterflies have been stitched with crystals.

So how do you like them?  More to come, keep a watch on my blog.....

Butterfly Sampler

Day-7

Its raining here since last two or three days. Sometimes heavily but mostly drizzling. I am not keeping good health-feel feverish and very lazy.  I also feel list less and don't feel like doing anything at all. So could not work on any thing much. However, this sampler is a challenge for me and I need to put my thoughts and ideas on the cloth. So here it is Day-7.

This is Antique work-Gold. The little one-I have already posted yesterday. So it needs no explanation. The flower and the bigger butterfly have been worked out in Antique Gold work (metallic). Hope you liked them.

Do leave your comments and suggestions, if any.......Keep a watch on my blog I have some surprises for you in this sampler.....

Butterfly Sampler

Day-6

After a long week end, I am back. Its quite sultry here though raining on and off. I could not do much on my sampler, as I was busy spring cleaning some of my belongings.

Day-6 of the Sampler. Here it is.

This is antique work in gold. But this is not metallic. This is made of plastic. I have glued it. I have also tacked it with stitches but could not photograph it due to some problem with my camera. Will post it shortly.

I have still work on some more for my sampler. I think I will do some more antique work. How do you like this?

Keep a watch on blog.

Rangoli-32

FISHES


Like I said earlier, Rangolis of animals, birds and other such forms are also created. Here I share with you a simple Rangoli of Fishes.

This is drawn with the help of 13 to 1 dots. This is very simple there are many other designs of fishes, but bigger than this. I will post them as and when I can.

Hope you like this.

Butterfly Sampler

Day-5

I have posted so far with out a break for four days. It is an achievement since, I don't have much time to spare for my hobbies. So here it is Day-5.

 

Here is a little one. I have used yellow leaf like Kundan for its wings.

Here I have used green leaf shaped Kundans, for its wings.

Here I have used Paisley shaped Kundans for its wings.

Here are the Three Musketeers together. 

Actually while working with Kundans and creating a butter fly shape has been a challenge for me as I have to fit the available shapes to make it look like a butter fly. Hope you like them. 

I need to jot down all my ideas for this sampler in some note book because suddenly, ideas flash through my mind in midst of something. Let us see I will keep a journal.

Butterfly Sampler

Day-4

Today  I feel so tired after a days hard work. I also got completely drenched in the down pour and had to wait in the traffic jam for 3 hours before I could reach home. But I had to upload this. Here is one more Butterfly-Day-4. Hope you like the Kundan Work.

I think it looks more like a Dragon Fly?   Please leave your comments or suggestions.

Butterfly Sampler

Day-3

Its Day-3. Here is one more butterfly.

 

It is Kundans again. This time I have used leaf like yellow Kundans for wings. But this time I wanted my butterfly to be in some action. Its bent. I should have added a flower there. But then I thought against it. I also did not want to add its legs.

I have not stitched them yet. I have glued using fabric glue. I will secure them with thread later on.

Here is a closer look.

How do you like it?  Let me know please.

Butterfly Sampler

Day-2

My head is teaming with so many possibilities and ideas of what material to be used or what stitches to be explored and so on. I need to jot them down- but I am so lazy. This is only Day-2. Here is another butterfly. Again Acrylic kundans. Hope you like it.

I have used different shapes of Kundans. I have also used whipped stem stitch for its feelers.

I have used knot stitch for its eyes.

Hope you have liked this. More to come. Keep an eye on my blog.......

Butterfly Sampler

Day 1

Butterflies...as a child I was fascinated by them. I am still fascinated. They are colourful and when ever I see one,  I feel so happy. They bring out the child in me. So I have been doodling a lot of butterflies. Sketching, painting...but did not save any. Suddenly the other day I felt why not do a sampler on Butterflies?  I just want to see how many varieties of media, or stitches or material I can use in creating them in different shapes, sizes colours......I am not sure how many I can create. So lets us see. Shall we?

Starting from today I will post one on each day (hopefully-I cannot promise) and see how many I can create. So here it is 

These are made of acrylic and available in many colours and also sizes.

Here is a closer look. We can just glue it or attach them through the two holes provided. I have stitched them. It was difficult to photograph them as they were reflecting light.

This was Day 1......now watch my blog for Day 2....

Monsoon in my Garden

The onset of rains has revived my garden. My plants are slowly recovering from the harsh summer heat. here are the signs.

This is the yellow Hibiscus. It flowers very rarely and the plant also does not grow fast like others of its family. After the first rains, it flowered. My joy knew no bounds. Just the other day I scolded her saying she is not flowering properly :).

 Here are the Cherry flowers. 

I have two Cherry plants both in pots. Hope they fruit this year. Last year too they flowered but no fruits. But these flowers look different from those I checked up on net. I hope they turn out to be cherries. Any way I am training them for BONSAI.

Cane Products

Cane belongs to grass family like Bamboo. It is tall grass, perennial with woody but flexible stalks and grows in wet soils. The word Cane is supposed to have derived from Hebrew"qanah" meaning reed. 

Cane has been in use since ancient times. It is used for making furniture, walking sticks, boats, roofing and baskets.Cane is natural product, light weight, comfortable, aesthetic. It is strong yet easily bends. That is why cane furniture and baskets are so popular. 


I have come across some lovely trays and picnic baskets. But they were quite costly. I have bought some trays and some containers for flower arrangements from time to time. However in this post I am showing you a very unique container made of cane. I bought it just yesterday. This is so lovely, in the shape of a Swan. I could not resist it.

 This is how it looks.

See its beak and its tail.

See the weave.

There is a lid. See the space inside.

You can fasten the lid.

This is the base to give it balance.


I think this can be used to store small jewellery, cosmetics or as a bread basket or for any such thing. What do you say? Any ideas how this can be used?

Embroidered Sari from Bengal

I wanted to share with you this sari, which was bought for me by my friend. She is from a village in West Bengal. So when ever she visits her native place, she visits Kolkata (earlier known as Calcutta) where some of her relatives stay. She usually brings many saris, dress materials and accessories etc from there for all of us and I bought this from her.

I love cotton saris. This one is baby pink coloured  fine cotton sari embroidered with blue and green cotton threads. The fabric looks like organza. The threads are coarse and looks like dyed ones. All through Satin stitch has been used. You can see how beautifully the artisans from Bengal have embroidered the sari. Mind you, the embroidery is not perfectly done, yet it is beautiful.

 This the border of the sari. Simple vine with blue and green threads.

  

Another view of the border. The sari has borders both at the top (only the portion where it is visible) and at the bottom.

The small flowers  known as booties cover the entire sari.

This is the pallu heavily embroidered.

The vines have been embroidered accross the pallu.

A closer look.

In the corners of the pallu this design has been embroidered.

I love this sari because of its baby pink colour and good combination of the colours used.  It is simple yet attractive. But it is a bit difficult to maintain, because one has to starch it and then ironing requires more heat. This may result in fading of the colours with repeated washing and ironing.

TAST-2010

OMG!

I have so much to catch up. week after week it is piling up.

Though I have completed some stitches, I need to photograph them and post them.....I am always the late Kate?

I also need to experiment with many stitches of TAST. I have become lazy now....I will do it some how...I need to ......

Indian Monsoons

Monsoon Time

It is Monsoon time here. At last ! we are having rains, when all of across the country had to face severe heat this time. The temperatures were more than the previous years. Of course this was mostly due to our careless attitude towards our environment-felling of trees, encroaching lands and illegal constructions and many more such things. Every one thinks what he has done is very little. But that very little adds up to a lot. People like us who follow the mandatory rules while constructing houses, maintaining greenery, and water soaking pits are rare as Dodos. 

I have a very small patch of land where me and my mom do our best to cram in as much vegetation as possible. We work hard, all our spare time, money and energy go into it. Oh! the fruits of labour are always sweet-when we sit back and enjoy the little visitors like the birds, insects, monkeys when they visit our garden. We feel so proud that at least we are able to provide them with little shelter and some food.

But boy! it is very difficult in summer months to maintain them with the problems we are facing due to paucity of water. We store the water used for washing clothes and filter it and use in our garden. The funny part is even when we want to spare some money and buy water it is difficult. So Money cannot buy everything. 

Any way our woes are gone now with the onset of rains.

If Indian Summers are Heat and dust, our Monsoons are humid, cool and down pours. If it rains heavily even for an hour, most of our roads and some of the residential areas are water logged. There are traffic jams and public transport is not so easily available. Our roads go from bad to worse and become very uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous to travel. Now walking in the rain is fun. As a child I had many excuses to get wet in the rains. But walking on the roads and getting splashed by the mud is some other thing. LOL! Mothers have a tough time dealing with mud stains on childrens uniforms. In villages and towns one has no other go but to walk on the muddy roads and slippery slush. So choosing proper footwear and umbrellas or rain coats is necessary. 

But still Indian Monsoons are time to celebrate. India being a Country of Villages, our rural folk wait for it eagerly. Farmers till their lands, manure it and keep ready for the rains. Our cattle get green fodder only after proper rainfall. The Monsoon starts from June 1st and continue till September. The Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, the mighty Himalayas, the Western Ghats-all these help in bringing us the Monsoons. Around 80% of our rainfall is dependant on these Monsoons. Monsoons strike Andaman and Nicobar Islands first and then The State of Kerala. Kerala receives highest rainfall in South India. South Indian States also receive rains till December-January due to retreating monsoons.

Nearly 70% of our population being rural depend on agriculture and its subsidiary industries. Most of our rivers especially the ones in South India like The Godavari, Krishna Cauvery etc are all rain fed. North Indian rivers, like the Ganga, Yamuna etc originate from the Himalayas are snow fed during summer and rain fed during Monsoons. Our agriculture cultivating, rice, cotton, tobacco, oil seed, sugar cane and pulses etc are dependent on rains. 

Late on set of Monsoons, or untimely rains, or storms and typhoons do damage our agriculture to such an extent that our farmers are not sure till they can harvest and reap their crop. Many a time they lose it either at the time of harvesting or even after a harvest if the rains strike suddenly. So Monsoons can either make or mar our economy.

Crisp fried Vadiyaalu

Roasted or fried  Poppadoms 

What I love about the Monsoons and rains is that, it is cloudy sky, cool temperatures. We love to eat hot spicy Samosas, crisp vadiyaalu, Bajjis(vegetable fritters) and Pakodis (Onion Fritters) and other spicy food with hot tea or coffee. 

It also brings joy to my plants-more flowers and fruits. You know the green colour in the leaves after first few rains is something no amount of watering can achieve. It is the time we re pot, plant new ones and improve our garden. 

Hot N spicy Tea.-I don't much like the tea bag variety though. I love the usual Indian Chai brewed traditionally. How it is done I am going to do a post in mu other blog on Food.

The months of Ashadha, Sravana, Bhadrapada, bring us many festivals to celebrate. Which I will post as we celebrate. 

More to come on Monsoons....Keep a watch on my blog

This post to dedicated to Sigrid and family who like to learn more about India and Indian life style and have motivated me to write this post.... Thank you Sigrid.