Handmade Jewellery Ideas using vintage crochet

Handmade Jewellery Ideas For Crafty Fingers

I have lots of different ideas for homemade jewellery and am constantly coming up with new designs so this page will always be added to with new ideas to inspire you.

Handmade jewellery allows you to add that personal touch wheather you are making it for yourself or for a friend. There are so many mass produced peaces of jewellery for sale its nice to wear something individual. Jewellery to me adds that bit of personality to an outfit and there is nothing more complimentery than when someone asks where you got it from and you reply '' I made it ".

Vintage Lace/crochet Jewellery

This range was inspired by reusing a vintage crochet table cloth i brought from a charity shop. You could also use vintage lace or if you can crochet yourself then great.

Vintage table cloth. It can be cut into various shapes i go with the design when cutting, this has some beautiful circles in. 

Always do a quick measurement of your wrist before sowing.

I used a clasp i sourced from ebay. All you need to do is hand sow the clasp to the vintage lace one end and where the clasp hooks in and out sow again leaving a gap big enough for the clasp to hook in and out easily.

This is the above braclet with added charms. I used bits of broken jewllery and buttons to decorate it. The gaps in the lace are perfect for hooking charms onto.

This is another one i made with different charms.

This design uses those beautiful circles that were in the vintage table cloth. I used two circles and joined them together with elastic so one size fits all bracelet and just added a small bit of the crocet to hide the elastic. All hand sown.

With the elastic it fits any size and is super comfy to wear. You can either wear it as it is or add a bit of bling.

Bling added, which adds to the vintage look.

Another design with lots of charms. I also used a ribbon tie. I made the ribbon extra long so it rapped round adding to the design.

Again using those circles from the crochet i made a flower by scrunching the fabric together and sowing it in place. I added a perl bead to the centre.
 

Ideas For Handmade & crafted adults & kids Birthday,valentines, Easter & mothers day paper craft greeting Cards

Hand Made greeting craft Cards For All Occasions

There is nothing more interesting, personal and thoughtful than giving or receiving a handmade card. I love the different craft papers you can make or buy, ribbons, glitter and glue. Anything goes. They can be as simple or elaborate as you like and there are so many occasions and reasons to send a card. Sometimes its nice to just send a " thinking of you card" just to remind someone you havnt forgot about them. It is amazing how something so simple can brighten up your day. 

As a child i would love to receive mail by post it would make me feel special. I always loved pop up cards when growing up, they were fascinating and so detailed.

There are many different mediums you can use to create cards and i hope to cover as many as i can so i will be adding to this post as much as i can with new handmade card ideas for every occasion. 

bird card made from craft paper, butterfly cut shapes and a hand drawn bird.

children's card, little lizards with 3D curling paper tounges

butterfly flower, layered paper

butterfly tree

I like to use a good quality water colour paper or sketch book paper because you can hand draw and paint  anything you like which can be cut out and used on your card design. Using a good thicker paper enables your design to stand out on the card giving a 3D look adding depth and interest. It also will not curl or distort especially if you are using paints.

Men's cricket fan's birthday card using layers paper with masked tracing paper backdrop with vintage image  

wrapping paper cutouts

This card was made from a bird gift tag my sister made and sent me for my birthday, i loved it so much i designed this card, simple but effective

paper and mini fimo butterflies with paper star

another bird on tree deign using paper

This one has more of a christmas feel, using paper and sequins to create a ginger bread man

Hand drawn bird with cut out flowers using water colours

Funky angle card made from paper and plastic 3D butterflies 

Perfect for Easter or Mothers day, I used thicker card to raise the heart giving it a 3D effect

Perfect Mothers day card, layered paper flowers and folded paper holder brings it to life, if your mum has a fav colour just change the design to suit her.

simple cake design, who doesn't like cake!

Try to collect different colours of paper. I rip strips of colour from old magazines, newspapers and junk mail. They are great for cutting little flowers out and save you loads of money so get recycling.

For the modern mum, paper on card

pretty twig and flower reef using brown paper and a steady hand

Pink bouquet of flowers with butterfly detail

Paper layered flower

Bird in nest, made using cut outs from magazines

Layerd hearts with red pen detailing. I used a felt fabric heart in the centre to give it some texture. I also print the little message off my computer but if you have great hand writing you could write it on  

Cute and fun hand sown mushrooms in felt with paper  grass

I made this card from a gift tag my sister made me (the mushroom) added clouds and a little wooden lady bug which you can buy from craft shops

Girly pink card with pastel on water colour paper background. I used brown paper to create the rabbit and hand drawn the detail with pen & pencils

Pirate theme card again using brown paper and pens

Happy birthday hand made greetings card made from paper & polymer clay butterflies 

Love You Vintage airplane hand crafted card

Hand painted sugar skull tattoo art greeting card

Heart with butterflies

Hand drawn sugar skull lollipop head with cherry earrings

Vintage style birds delivering a letter

This is one my sister made and sent me for my birthday, she has sown onto the card and used stamps which gives it a real cool vintage look and i love it xx

Boat themed boys birthday card using paper cut outs with 3D fish














I now have a shop on zazzle http://www.zazzle.com.au/busyspider*

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Arts & crafts places to visit & things to do on the central coast NSW Australia

Me, my partner and our son emigrated permanently to Australia nearly a year ago. Im originally from the U.K, i grew up in Leicester in the Midlands. A very different environment from where i live today. Change in my opinion makes you a stronger more diverse person and opens your mind to many different styles of art and expression. There are lots of things and styles i love that you just don't get here living in Australia on the coast and lots of things you don't get in Leicester that you get here. I consider myself very lucky to have experienced both sides of the world. Although i miss my family i have become addicted to the beach life and find it very inspiring as a person and a art lover. There is no better feeling than walking bare foot on the beach, the sun is shining and the smell of sea air. There is always a light warm breeze from the sea and ever green from the trees. You've got to just love trees! If I'm ever in a bad mood then a walk along the sea front sorts me out.

Its a fantastic place to bring up children. There is a sense of innocence and freedom where we live. My son loves the beach. He loves playing with the sand, collecting sticks and stones. It is the simple things in life that entertains them for hours, something you often over look when living in a city.

PLACES WORTH A LOOK:

Avoca Beachside Markets

Avoca beach Nsw
Every 4th Sunday of the month
www.fixxevents.com.au
http://www.situp-bike-art.com/

A friend told us about this little gem so we went along for a look and we were very grateful they told us about it. You can't miss it, lots of bustling stalls, the smell of food in the air and lots of live music. What i fantastic location with all the trees and near by beach. It is a real family day out, just don't make the same mistake we did which was to eat before we went. We were gutted becuase of all the delicious food stalls but i did still managed to force some treats in but i would recommend going there hungrey because you don't want to miss out. For the smaller children there is a mini park in the middle, lots of seating areas you will love. My favourite bit is the cushioned bohemia area where you can just chill. The stalls are super cool, it has a hippy vibe with all the live music which i love. Lots of arts and crafts to be seen here! A fanstastic varity of handmade, new and old.

Ken Duncan art gallery 414 the entrance road erin a heights NSW 2260

What a beautiful setting & building not to mention his photographs. It is worth a visit & you won't want to go home without buying one of his books on his photography. They also have wonderful food & coffee. Open daily from 10am to 5pm. 

Terrigal Lions Club car boot

Terrigal oppersite the scout hut. Corner of Terrigal drive & Willoughby road.
Every 1st Sunday of the month

Again set in a fanstastic location backing onto the lake. You will find many treasures here. There is new, old, vintage and craft. Theres always a sausage on the barbie. You never know what your going to bring home with you. I love car boots and you know what they say one persons junk is another persons treasure.

Head down to Terrigal beach & shops for the day

Terrigal has grown so much in the 3 years we have lived in Australia & defiantly worth a day visit. You not only have the fantastic beach, there are loads of home ware gift shops with plenty of art work for sale, you will not leave without buying something or you could have a coffee at one of there many cafes get out your sketch book & create your own art. Its also is a fantastic place to take photographs, lots of people have their wedding pics taken at the haven in Terrigal because its just so beautiful.

The Gosford Regional Gallery 

36 webb street, east Gosford NSW 2250

Fantastic gallery with a diverse collection of art which changes all the time. Every time i have been, there is a new collection of artists on display. There is a good selection of fine art, sculpture, textiles & ceramics for all to see and its a free gallery where you can leave a donation if you want. They also have a very impressive garden which is a tranquil spot and very pristine, in-fact a piece of art in itself but also child friendly. My son enjoyed watching the massive carp swim around the hugh pond they have and we got some amazing photos. There is a cafa on site too if you fancy a cuppa. They do various art work shops and run competitions too. There is a gift shop which sells local artists work.

carp fish feeding at gosford art gallery gardens

Trim hedges at gosfors art gallery gardens

gallery garden gosford

Gosford art gallery garden

SALVOS the salvation army store

30B Central Coast Highway, West Gosford NSW 2250

They have many all across Australia but one of my favourites is the one in west Gosford. It is massive and i have been known to spend more than an hour in this store much to my fiancés dislike because he was waiting for me at the time. There are so many treasures to be found from vintage cloths to painting, buttons, wool and home-wear. If you are into your craft like me you will find lots of stuff to recycle into a project. There is also always lots of material and curtains which can be cut up and reused at a fraction of the price new would cost. Also every penny you spend goes to a good cause and if that wasn't enough they also do a loyalty card where you get stamped for future discounts.

Vintage Buttons from Salvos

Rojo Rocket mexican restaurant Avoca NSW

I just love this place! not only is the food fantastic but also the decor. Your eyes will be alive with the vibrant colour & many trinkets from mexico. The place has a fantastic atmosphere & if you like mexican art style you will be inspired.

My mexican inspired art work

mexican sacred hearts on the wall at Rojo Rocket

Mexican sugar skull fabric lights at rojo Rocket

Drinks at Rojo Rocket

mexican fire place Rojo Rocket

mexican painted cow in water rojo rocket

mexican trinkets

Blackbirds Tattoo studio 17b/8 Karalta road life drawing session 

I found out about this from walking by the studio & then looking then up on Facebook. I went to the one last week on monday night 6:30-8:30 & it was great. I havnt done life drawing since college so a long time ago & felt a little nervous but they are so friendly & i was really pleased with my progress just after one session. They run it once a month so find them on Facebook to get more information.

Im still finding new places to visit, eat, and be merry all the time, so i will keep adding to this post as i find new interesting things to see and do. Please post any surggestions or great experiences you have had at interesting arty places.