I’m  back with a simple project today. If I want to be able to post articles I’ll have to fight my tendency for very long posts, cause those end up never being done. So here is a Christmas gift I made for a dear friend.

I didn’t make the book/notebook myself, I bought it from the ladies of a bookbinding workshop at a Christmas market. All I did was create a necklace around it. I like simple pieces of jewellry so this necklace reflect that.

I wanted to add something besides the book, and when I found this quill I really liked it. It reminds me of the quills people used to write in past centuries. I spent quite some time moving it from one place to another on the chain to find the arrangement I liked best.

I added a small metal tag near the opening system. I find it’s a nice touch, it adds some interested at the back.

On this picture you can see that it’s a real miniature notebook with pages you can write on. I recycled some tissu paper and a little box to have a nice package. I even printed and glued my logo to the package, on top of the original writing. It was fun. ^_^

I got another book for myself, so a second necklace will be made as soon as I have some more chain and another quill.

From time to time I’m able to find the way back to my craft space, which allowed me to make a few handmade presents the past months. I’m sharing one of those today. Ages ago my sister had asked me to make her a bracelet with a leaf pendant I found at La Droguerie. There is a saying in French that goes like this : “All will come in good time to those who can wait”. I say that’s lucky for my relatives… I finally made the bracelet for her birthday this year!

At the time she said she wanted something simple, just the leaf pendant on a chain. But I wanted to invest a little more of my time and creativity in her bracelet, so I decided to add a few green colored wooden beads. It makes the final product a tiny bit more elaborate but still simple. She seemed to be happy with the gift (the good thing being that it was totally a surprise to her, since she had forgotten about her wish) and I’m glad I finally made it.

Technical note: the beads I got when I was living in Japan, and all the metal parts come from La Droguerie.

I made a few changes to the design (pearls color, little details), but overall this version is quite similar to the first one.

Here is the necklace worn by my friend (sorry for the blurryness, we took this pictures on the morning before she left and the weather wasn’t very cooperative):

Problem is: I’m still not 100% happy with it… ^^; That’s why I didn’t cut the leftover cord at the top of the necklace. I had a really precise image in mind, and this doesn’t fit perfectly. It’s nice, but some part have an annoying behavior. The tiny pearls are made of wood, and the yo-yo is of course made of fabric, so the bottom of the necklace is very lightweight. Since the blue cord I used isn’t very strong either, and there’s no real weight at the bottom to stretch it, it has a tendency to get a life of its own, and take strange angles. It’s getting a little better with time since it’s losing its factory folds though. The other problem I have is with the ring connecting the cord to the pendants. It’s not metal as I thought but some lightweight grey material. I don’t know why but it’s constently turning to the side when it shouldn’t, so that the yo-yo also turns. So much so that it spends more time showing it’s side or back than its front! Here is a picture of the necklace worn, where the yo-yo is okay but you can see that the ring is turning.

I guess I’ll have to improve this and design a third version… What do you think of it at this stage? Do you like the longer version? I’m not sure if I’ll try to keep the cord and try to arrange things with the connecting ring or just forget it and try with a metal chain…

Material:blue cord, light colored pearl, ring @La Droguerie Paris ; yo-yo made of Liberty Menasse bought at Shaukat ; dark colored wooden pearl bought at Loisirs & Création ; other things bought in Japan.

I liked her creations the moment I saw them. What caught my attention was the mix of traditionnal jewellry material and unconventional bits. She uses thread (some pieces where crochetted), shells, buttons, and even stamps! I also like the twisted wire parts a lot.

We liked her work so much that my husband bought me the white necklace and we also got something as a present for his sister. If you happen to be in the neighborhood of Dunkirk (Dunkerque), she has a shop in Saint Pol sur mer. Here’s the address:

Babeth Bijoux55 rue de la République59430 Saint Pol sur mer03-28-64-30-10

Edit from spring 2011: Babeth Bijoux has an online shop on Dawanda! You can buy her cute pieces of jewellery here: http://fr.dawanda.com/shop/Babeth-Bijoux

At first I was thinking of making a few golden butterflies to decorate my outfit. But with time passing and the dress not being finished as soon as I had planned, i decided to do without the handmade brooches. But the butterfly theme and gold color stuck with me. I found in an accessory shop a thin golden headband with a tiny butterfly on it to put in my hair. But I had an idea for a bracelet, and I really wanted to make it myself to be sure to have what I wanted. I wanted it thin and delicate, so the big silk butterfly was out of the question! Then I thought of the metal butterfly from La Droguerie that I used for the “spring set“. They didn’t have any in gold but they had it in brass, which is close enough to be okay. I added a thin chain and a few white perls, and here it was, just as I imagined it!

I really like this bracelet and I wore it several times since I made it. ^_^

Materials: butterfly and all metal parts = la Droguerie ; pearls = Rayher

Of course I needed a nice dress for the occasion (sadly I didn’t have time to make one), and a nice pair of shoes to go with it. Which gave me the excuse to get those pretties, that had been tempting me for months:

I love their colour!! At first I was thinking of getting black shoes. But I just couldn’t get them in “boring” black when they existed in such a nice shade of blue. So in the end I got the outfit below (I took this picture the day after the wedding so my dress has wrinkles).

But when I tried on my outfit before the wedding, I realized it was missing some blue color at the top. Since I couldn’t improvise a last minute trip to the store, and couldn’t sew a bolero or stole, especially without the proper blue fabric, I decided to make a necklace. I’m really lacking some more blue accessories!

Here is what I improvised:

The yo-yo is made in blue Menasse Liberty cord. It was the only thing I had that could match my shoes and bag! It was a little hard to cut into this fabric, which was a gift from a friend who lived in London (bought at Shaukat), and which I’ve been saving since for the perfect project (I’m sure you do this too!). But at least now I can tell her that I made something with it!

For those who don’t know Liberty fabrics by heart, this is what it looks like:

The funny thing is that in the end I wore another necklace, that my mother lend me. She and my sister thought it looked better with the outfit and my husband thought it was more elegant… But I’m sure I’ll find other occasions to wear a blue necklace! Here is a picture of it worn:

I’m not sure if I’m going to leave it as is, or if I’m going to change it into a long necklace that I might use more often. We’ll see!

I made this necklace and earings set for a charity sale that will take place this Saturday morning (yes it’s tomorrow at 9am, I’m just on time!). The base for this set was this lovely piece of fabric that I found in my leftovers box. The result is a joyful little piece, that I hope someone will like so as to bring money to the BikNok association.

In other news, I found a job in France! I’m really happy. I hope I find my routine quickly so that I can find more time to craft and tell you about it. ^^

Today I want to share a lovely blog with you: Pic & Plume. I discovered it through Violette, and I instantly fell in love with the aesthetics and the beautiful jewelry she creates. Her creations are very delicate and kind of dreamy. I especially love her pocket watches.

She’s opening her online shop today (9p.m. Paris time) and is offering one lucky person the chance to win one of her items in exchange of a little advertisement. You can find the details on her blog. I’m gladly joining in, because I think her creations deserve to be talked about. So go check her blog now! ^_^