52 little things week 42 - #Blogtoberfest13 day 17

It's week 42! and there are only 68 day left until Christmas!! If you lampwork and are in the mood to make some cool Crimbo beads for the kiddies then check out this nifty free Santa tutorial by Laney Mead or Emma Green's sweet Plop the Penguin tute on the BCCA website :-D

www.bechildcanceraware.org/beads-of-courage/lampwork-tutorials/

If you have a tutorial that would be great for Beads of Courage booster beads on your website of blog and would like it to be featured on the Be Child Cancer Aware website then please do let me know xx


Here are a couple of links to some of our other fabulous Craft Pimp Year Long Challenge bloggers


Lynn of Nemeton
Heather of Heather Kelly Glass 
Sue of BlueBoxStudio
Linda of Earthshine Lampwork Bead and Jewellery Design

And here are some links for BCCA - Beads of Courage
http://www.bechildcanceraware.org/beads-of-courage
https://www.facebook.com/bechildcanceraware

Have a super day, Jolene xx

Bead embroidery heart pin - #Blogtoberfest day 16

I decided to be brave and take up the "Operation tackle that bead stash" facebook group October Stashbuster Challenge and make a bead embroidered heart for my daughter. The theme this month is sow's ear to silk purse - taking something useless and ugly and making that into something to treasure. At first I thought about making a hair barrette but the heart became quite weighty with so much embellishment and I went for a sturdy kilt pin to finish it instead. The whole thing took something like 16 hours from start to finish and it was an utterly absorbing project. Here is a little photo montage of how the stitching went...



This big brooch started out as a sample swatch of PVC tablecloth with a sweet pattern. As we could only use things to make our challenge piece that we already had I used fun foam to give the beadwork some support and backed it with scraps of self adhesive dolls house carpet....

This whole project was great fun from start to finish and my little girl loves her pin.
Why not set yourself a challenge to try something new today?

Jolene xx

Work in Print - Autumn oak leaf turorial in Beads & Beyond Magazine #Blogtoberfest13 day 15

Morning, yesterday I spotted that the November edition of Beads and Beyond magazine is out in the shops now. Each month B&B feature a lampwork tutorial and this month it's one from me, Oak Leaf beads :-D

Have a super day
Jolene xx

Spiced Apple Cake #Blogtoberfest day 14

I was given a huge bag of windfall apples by my lovely neighbour the other week and  I thought I would search out a recipe for Apple Cake. It took me two attempts go get it right but second time around the cake was delicious! The original recipe on allrecipes.co.uk called for 30 to 40 mins cooking time and I had mine on for 55mns... I had to go out though and couldn't leave the oven on so turned it off and hoped for the best....when I got home the cake was still runny in the middle....utter disaster!

 I used -

•  500g of apples peeled and diced
• 200 ml of veggie oil
• 100g castor sugar
• 100g soft brown sugar
• 275g of plain flour
• 1tsp of bicarbonate of soda
• 1tso cinnamon
• 1tsp ginger
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2tsp salt
• 2 eggs

For the second try I slashed the amount of sugar down from 400g to 200g as the bit of cake that was "done" on top of the first one was far too sweet. I also knocked 50ml off of the amount of oil to make the batter thicker in the hope that I could cook it through fully this time.

First I whisked the oil and eggs together then beat in the sugar, vanilla essence and salt. I combined the rest of the dry ingredients and sieved hem through and then beat the dry mix into the wet a little at time. Last I stirred in the raw diced apples and tipped the thick lumpy batter into a greased and floured tin. It took 1hr 10 mins to cook thorough the second time around but it was worth persevering. The apples were ever so soft and moist and the cake light and crumbly, worth the cooking time it seemed to take I think. Next time we are given windfall apples I like to try a butter based mixture to see how that goes..maybe this one...

Happy baking, Jolene xx

Lucky and Chrissie Jewellery by Michelle Ross #Blogtoberfest13 day 13

My lovely pal Michelle Ross over at Flying Pineapple Designs recently sent me some pictures of her super clever interchangeable jewellery design which features one of my most recent beads. She has added toggles on either side of a Lucky Lobster coin bead so that it can be worn as either a bracelet or necklace. She has teamed up her Lucky and Chrissie beads with some of Diane Turton's hand dyed silk ribbons and the results speak for themselves, so wearable and pretty.

Jolene xx

Fab sea themed jewellery designs by Michelle

Beads of Fire..... #Blogtoberfest day 12

Today is the day :-D Be Child Cancer Aware has organised a walk of fire to raise funds and honour children on the Beads of Courage program here in the UK. The intrepid fire walkers are undertaking training for tonight's daring challenge as I type and each will carry a pair of unique handmade glass beads as they bravely face the coals at the Selex Sports & Leisure Club, Gardiners Way Gardiners Lane, South Basildon at 7 O'Clock tonight. One of the beads will become a memento of the day and its twin will be given as a booster bead, along with a special message, to lift the spirits of very special children on the Beads of Courage program.

I have been helping out by organising a colour scheme and coordinating the making of the Fire Beads with some very talented UK lampworkers with glass kindly donated by Kathy Seamands of Creation is Messy.

To everyone involved with this evening's daring do, I wish you the very best of luck.

Here is a little gallery and roll of honour for the glass artists who have given their time to lovingly make all of the Fire Beads.

Beautiful Fire Beads by Stepanie Gough, Fiona Smith, Heather Kelly, Debbie Dew, Cecilia Lawrence, Tan Grey, Laney Mead, Carole Hughes, Elaine Galloway, Sue Reynolds, Vic Tierney, Jo Walker, Jo Wolfe, and Kat Newman.

Ladies you are Superstars xxxx

Have a super Saturday, Jolene x