As seen in...

Thanks, BrooklynExposed.com!

Trying again...

OK, I'm going to try this blog thing again...

It's been along time since I last posted, and, well, I've been busy with my craft endeavours.

Here's a look into some of my beads and supplies...

BrooklyBelinda's beading box...

Lots of stuff right?

Here's my box o' spacers. Yeah, they have their own box.

I'm making beaded necklaces, pendant necklaces, rings and earrings. Take a look at my etsy page. I'm BrooklynBelinda.

My co-workers

I'm not home alone when I'm crafting. I have a couple co-workers who like to help me out.

This is Baxter.

In his raincoat.

Here's a side-view:

He's a 3 1/2 year old Westie.

And do you see another animal's tail in the background there? Kind of coming up from Baxter's neck area?

That's Molly making a run for it down our stairs. (She can't get outdoors, this is inside an apartment building.)

And here she is hanging out in my newly constructed homemade light box. That I use for taking photos. And yes, it is supposed to be kept clear of dust (and cat hair!) because those things will show up in close-up photography.

Molly all enjoys knocking my works-in-process off the table. It's her hobby.

But they really are a couple of great co-workers.

Bendy Wire Bead Maker Thingy

So here's what I bought: It's a Thing-A-Ma JIG Beginner Kit by Darice.

You see that purple-ish board? It has tons of small holes. And do you see that package of blue thingies? Those are pegs that get placed into the holes on the purple board. You are supposed to put the pegs into the holes. You then wrap wire around the pegs to make swirly designs with the wire. The kit even comes with some colored wire.

I tried making a swirly design, but, meh, I'm not to sure. I think the wire that came with this kit was too thin. Maybe if I come across a thinker gauge wire it would work. It didn't seem to hold the swirly design too well with the thinner wire. Might also work better with bigger and less intricate designs.

We'll see. Does anyone have any experience with this Thing-A-Ma JIG?

Tutorial - Making a decorative pillow cover

I wanted to make a new throw pillow for the couch. Besides, it would be good to practice zippers and whatnot.

Finding the fabric -

Just down the street from me is an awesome home goods discount store. I am in there every other week or so to check out the new items, and see what has been discounted even more and is on the clearance rack. I found these great textured dinner napkins. They are polyester, so I know they would hold up well. And they are even a bit shiny, so I thought they would work and look nice. They were $2 each.

They are multi-toned brown napkins, 18 inches square. A perfect fit for the 18 inch pillow form I had.

The first step was attaching the zipper. I have a cat and dog, so I wanted to make sure I'd be able to wash the cover after they dirty it up, and I know they have plans already to dirty it up.

First, place the two wrong sides together, and sew one side with a 5/8 inch allowance, give or take. You will want to make "regular" stitches (& backstitch) on each end, but in between, open up the stitch length. This is just temporary. This is where your zipper will go.

Press your seem after sewing, and pin in your zipper, making sure you place the zipper teeth exactly on top of your temporary seam.

Stitch your zipper in place.

Once the zipper is in, feel free to remove your temporary stitches. Your zipper is done.

Next, unzip about halfway, and place the sides of your pillow cover wrong sides together.

Sew around the remaining three sides, making sure your stitches meet the zipper seam stitches.

You are done. It's easy. Turn right side out and insert your pillow form.

What to do with...

Cat in the Hat Sheets!

I found these at a local thrift store, and couldn't resist. But I don't know what to do with them. I have both the top and fitted sheet, but no pillowcases. They are a bit on the thin side, that's why you can see some phantom images on the photo above. But they are otherwise in good shape.

Getting up to date...necklaces

Here are a few of the necklaces I've been working on.

More Mother of Pearl

A wire heart shaped pendant

Even more Mother of Pearl

Gold colored wire wheel

Bronze pendant with turquoise