Folksy Friday!! But first....

Well, well. I've done it again! Having not updated my Blog for aaaaaaages, I have decided to start all over again. Erm...again. So, first things first: How was everyone's Christmas and new year? Mine were fab; not least beacause I recieved some funky new bead storage. Oh, yes! Is the excitement too much to bear or what??

So, my beadies went from their old home, which looks like this:



Into the fabby, shiny, new and exciting storage; which looks like this...




Ooooooooooooh!!!!

For those of you who don't already know me, I am...well. Anally retentive. To say the least. Meaning that I store my beads in categories of colour. Yes, I know. It doesn't get much sadder. But can you imagine my excitement, upon recieving my all-new, COLOUR-CODED bead drawers?

No? Well. Never mind. Here's a look at my 'blue drawer'; just in case you might be interested:

Just FASCINATING, huh? OK. Hang in there with me. I'm getting to the point; promise.

So-oooo, while in the process of transferring my beads from their older, slightly boring-looking abode into their shiny, new and rainbow-esque homestead, I began to notice that each drawer yielded a small yet substantial amount of spilled beads at the bottom.

Rather than sort all the odd, spilled beads back into their respective plastic baggies, along with their identical beady counterparts, I figured I'd just pop them all into new bags. (I'm not only anally retentive. I'm quite lazy, as well). Before long, I had a small collection of little bags of beads in various colours. Some of them actually looked quite nice together...so I decided to set myself a challenge.I will be taking each bag in turn, and 'challenging' myself to make something using those beads.The first week was...you guessed it. The blue bag!!

Now, my first thought with these was that the (rather beautiful) irridescent blue beads reminded me of bubbles. The teal ones made me think of the colour of the ocean. 'What a lovely theme for a bag charm', so I thought. And so...this little treasure was born:



:) I love bag charms! But there were still plenty of beadies left after I'd finished this. I decided to team up some of the remaining beads with a few extras...cue this fab bead-and-wire bangle...


I just LOVE these howlite skull beads!! And, frankly, by this point, I was on a roll. More skull beads, some semiprecious 'teeth' (grrr) and some inspiration later, and I came up with this rather fabulous asymmetrical necklace! I'm rather proud of this one, even if I do say so myself....

I was out of beads from the 'blue bag' by this point, but I thought 'What the Hell?' No necklace is complete without matching earrings. And I DO love these howlite skulls!! :D

Well, that's it from me! But since I'd spent some much time thinking 'blue', I figured a Folksy Friday blog post filled with other people's blue offerings couldn't hurt much.....so here we go!

First up: this fabby retro (and kinda cuddly) keyring. I loves it!! :) http://www.folksy.com/items/2168201-Inky-pacman-ghost-felt-keyring

Next: felted soap!! A cleanser and exfoliator in one. You GOTTA love that...

http://www.folksy.com/items/2031593-Hand-Felted-Soap

Third: who said granny squares had to be...well...grannyish? I just love how stylish this funky crocheted cusion looks! http://www.folksy.com/items/2246797-Crochet-Granny-cushion-available-with-or-without-inner-pad

Time for some more jewellery: check out this unique dice bangle, complete with semiprecious blue agate! http://www.folksy.com/items/2737066-Roll-the-dice-blue-bangle

I just love the colours in the fab knotted ceramic necklace....

http://www.folksy.com/items/2807790-blue-knotted-cord-necklace

Birds are among my favourite things in the world! This gorgeous pillow is just full of character!! :)

http://www.folksy.com/items/2098585-Blue-Budgie-cushion

More jewellery! This fabulous charm bracelet gives roses a modern edge...never seen blue roses before!! http://www.folksy.com/items/2632801-Blue-Rose-Charm-Bracelet

This simply stunning ceramic vase has to be seen to be believed - I just LOVE it!!! http://www.folksy.com/items/2849198-Stoneware-Bud-Vase-ceramics-pottery-

Woohoo!! Someone else loves bag charms! This one is supercute! :) http://www.folksy.com/items/2790494-Snowdrop-Bag-Charm-Key-Ring

Few things impress me more than skilled wirework...and the artist who produced this has oodles of skill! Check out her shop - NOW!! :D http://www.folksy.com/items/2332969-Undulating-Sodalite-Woven-Wire-Pendant

Last but by no means least...more crochet! I adore this idea of using crocheted shapes for bunting - it's just so original and cute! http://www.folksy.com/items/2092741-Blue-Crochet-Star-Garland