More Flowers in Your Hair - Green and Gold and Purple Triplet

I've made quite a few flowers over the weekend, but some have to remain secret as they are surprise presents.... however, they'll be on here as soon as their owners have received and seen them. For now,

Green and Gold Hair Barrettes (matching pair)

Unlike the previous hair barrettes these have been made with layers of tulle sandwiched between the organza. I am very pleased with the extra texture this adds.



This matching pair of flowers for your hair has layers of organza in gold, cream and dark green stacked up and interspersed with layers of golden/sand coloured tulle.


The layers are held together by teeny watery green Magatama beads. The barrettes are covered with organza ribbon to soften sharp edges.


The pair will shortly be available in my Etsy shop.


Purple Triplet Hair Barrette

This larger triple flower hair barrette has been made for Alison. She thought the Midnight Hair Barrette was a tad too dramatic for her so I made this instead:


I made three flowers from layers of lavender, purple and black organza, interspersed with black tulle for texture.

The large flower has a lovely purple bead with purple Magatama beads in the centre to hold it all together.

The two smaller flowers only have Magatama beads in the centre.

The colours are quite intense in bright sunlight or flash light. In normal daylight they are slightly more muted.



Background Info:

Each flower is made from several (up to 39 - so far) layers of organza and tulle, which are individually cut from larger sheets of fabric. In the next stage the edges of the organza (and sometimes the tulle) are singed and then layered on top of one another and stitched together with beads and/or buttons in the centre. The final stage is to sew the flower onto a brooch back/hair clip or barrette. No two flowers are the same, although I do use the same templates for all of the flowers I've done so far. In the flower brooch for the Frost Flower Scarf I've combined the layers of organza with a knitted flower and beads.

Lover's Kiss Necklace and Twilight Series Review

A book review and a necklace may seem an odd connection, but read on and you'll see why...

Below is my latest necklace - and it's MINE - so don't get your hopes up. It's a prototype where I try out a new technique (or in this case several) and I need to wear it to make sure it works or if I need to modify the design to make it work. I am pleased to say it DOES work and it's great fun, although I am intending to make one little change. It needs a clasp after all, despite it's length as I prefer to be able to wrap it round twice if I feel like it. :-)

Below is a picture of the necklace in natural light. I wanted to show off the beautiful colours of the cherry and raspberry quartz, coral and the organza and tulle I used.


The picture below is the necklace wrapped round twice and with flash.


Most of the findings and makings are copper, although the filigree is antiqued brass. I oxidised the copper including the chain to 'harmonise' the colours.

Below you can see two of the different strawberry quartz beads I used plus one of the coral beads.


Each of the little organza flowers has been made separately from a layer of gold and wine red organza with a layer of burgundy tulle at the bottom. Holding everything in place are dark red Magatama drop beads and raspberry red seed beads. The flower sits on a vintage copper daisy bead cap. The flower is then sewn onto the brass filigree with a Magatama bead at the back to provide a weight to keep it straight when worn, and because this makes it look pretty even if it flips over.


Below you can see the third type of quartz beads, these are smooth in contrast to the micro facets of the other two quartz beads. I've used two types of chain - one a vintage Greek key design, the other a plain design.


So, here's where the Twilight series comes into this... I've just finished reading the series and it must have still been on my mind when I named the necklace - an extremely soppy name for me....

The series is about a girl who falls in love for the first time and her intended turns out to be a vampire. That's the gist of it. There's of course far more to it, but I don't want to spoil the fun.

Although the book is intended for young adults, it was a really good read. Each of the books is a page turner and I enjoyed reading them, although there were times when I wanted to shake some sense into the main character, however, in the end it turned out all right. :-)

The thing I thought was depicted particularly well was this feeling of first love, the confusion, the joy and the sheer bloodymindedness, which brings me back to my necklace. The lovely colours of the strawberry quartz - the soft pink of the large one, the golden hued and soft pink blush of the medium quartz, the romantic pink of the small, smooth beads and the deep intense red of the coral together - for me at least - show the facets of first love really well. The same colours are picked out in the organza and framed by the copper and brass.

I could have named the necklace Twilight after the first book in the series, but I'd just named a bracelet 'Forever Twilight' so it didn't feel right and 'Lover's Kiss' reminded me of a description of a kiss in the books.

So there you are. :-)

Frost Flower Lace Scarf

My lovely, lovely Frost Flower Lace scarf:


I've used both Habu Silk Mohair in a pale shimmery grey and a silk/linen mix in a soft light denim blue running alongside to create this scarf - both yarns are as thin as sewing thread and together they create a stunning pale blue with the softness of the mohair/silk and the crispness of the silk/linen.

I had real trouble for some reason to memorise the lace pattern, but I love the way it creates little flowers or maybe snowflake patterns.

The edges of the scarf have been crocheted and beaded with clear Matatama drops and there's a flower brooch that comes with it - partly knitted and trimmed in more Magatama drop beads, partly organza in various shades of blue, grey and silver and with a vintage faceted crystal bead in the centre.

The scarf isn't as long or wide as some of my other scarves, but perfect for Spring and Summer or even inside in the Autumn and Winter. It's extremely light and floaty and complements a whole range of colours.

The scarf will be available in my Etsy shop shortly together with the flower hair barrettes and clips.