Unwrapping Felt Sweet Kit- Mini fruit tart

I have completed the bear beadcraft daiso kit and took longer than I thought. There were some parts I found tricky but not impossible you have look closely at where the cord exit, if possible move the diagram so it faces right direction on the bead which crosses over the two cords. The instructions are in Japanese and English. However on Japanese text has metric measurements while the English version has imperial. I suspect it was translated to babelfish or google translate. 'Gut' is nylon monofilament or fishing line included in the pack, I missed out on important note that was able to deciper from other Japanese beading book. The kinks in plastic cord can be removed by dipping on boiling water or steam from boiling kettle. Please be careful and don't scald yourself.

There are plenty of beads leftover to include in your stash or bead soup.

Next kit I picked up is Felt Sweet kit- Mini fruit tart, this isn't ever popular needle felting kit but kind you sew. I have placed an order for Daiso cute animal needle felting kit after watching a youtube video. I never have done needle felting before and decide to give it as not completed as I thought. The finished items takes a long time but so does patchwork, embroidery and crochet. If I use mindfulness approach not as bad and be relaxing.

It comes with coloured stranded cotton, felt pieces and large ball of wadding. Suppose to take 2 to 2.5 hours. Additional materials you need scissor, dressmaking shears, needle, glue and fabric making pencil. I will make a start on this kit tonight. I am still working on patchwork quilt, sewing small pieces whenever I have free moment or while I have the time. About mindfulness you do think of the end result or other things but bring focus on what you can see and do right now by slowing crafting process down. It really helps to improve my concentration. If you want to buy daiso craft kit and like me can't alway reach store which sell daiso products best place so is etsy as has more variety

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Unwrapping the bear bead kit by Daiso

I picked up this bead kit by Daiso while shopping in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. In the past I used to do a lot of beading either from Japanese project books or Miyuki beading kits I love. But the problem is sourcing the beads themselves quite often have to buy them in small amounts or substituting for something else. I guess ebay and amazon are best places to look.

Brought this for $12 HKD which is bargain and comes with earjack plug as recent development with smart phones there is no place to attach mobile phone charm. I use them to dangle on bags or USB sticks.

On closer inspection it wasn't Daiso store I brought probally due to set jet lag. This is third day since my return to reality. Further research I believe it is Living Plaza by AEON, Mong Kok. 3/F Chong Hing Square, 601 Nathan Road, Kowloon. AEON is company who import Daiso products they are much nicer than Poundland, 99p, Pound World and other discount stores here in UK. Some Poundland papercraft products are okay but rather buy in Works.

This come with selection of plastic beads, Nylon monofilament and cotton wadding which is new. I never come across beading project which uses cotton as stuffing as normally large or small clear beads. It suppose to take 2-3 hours. I'll start this kit tonight, the instructions are very clear comes with diagrams and multiple languages and photograph the finished project.

Also I noticed an image of one my tatted motifs has been on Squidoo tatting website and not incited. I believe it is one created by 12# Flora white/purple with red beads. It would be polite to link where you take pictures from when searching on google. Even in pinterest they link back the source, I heard in flickr a person's zentangle drawing as uploaded to facebook without their permission. Yea it happens so makes sense to add watermark in everything I upload to flickr and my blogs. I may of been away for 3 years but doesn't mean I won't find out.

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Bead tatt and double/triple picot.

I'm still continuing learning new tatting techniques. My level is in between intermediate to advance I'm learning a new technique every week or fortnight. Feel like my tatting is slow because haven't mastered pull the top thread when ds is flipped.

I tried to follow the instructions for beaded snowflake motif it was pain taking out ds when no. of beads tatted was wrong in the end I designed simple motifs to make. There are numerous ways to bead tatt such as adding to joins or picots there's even split rings. I discovered a way to pull thread through 11/0 seed by using bent piece of beading wire (can't remember the gauge). As all of the hook are only suitable for 8/0 or E- beads however it is possible use 3mm Swarovski bicones. Beads themselves are not a problem as I have a plentiful supply and is good way to use the odd ones. Not possible to add beads on mock picot as I discovered.

Frilled Snowflake medallion by Lisa C.Trumble and another snowflake motif by Sally Magill. Sometimes I'm finding on complex techniques such as split rings I watch video on you tube to get an idea on how it's done. I find following written instructions difficult what happens if it was in different language. This time around I figured out how Josephine knots, node tatting/Victorian set and Double/triple picots are made. Possible to do 4/5 and even 6 something to experiment because the long picot is folded over the join.
Also learn split chain tatting I'll add this to next post, other techniques I hope to learn are block tatting and making cluny leaves.

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Projects completed so far.

During the time I was offline I filled my free time with crafting because don't like sitting around doing nothing. When I did managed to get a new laptop, had to wait another week until I acquire an image editing software because dislike using picnik as it meant editing one photo at a time and the features were basic. Not like everyone can afford Photoshop.

I finished this a few months ago and was entered in a competition entitled Personal Challenge with Bead magazine. 11/0 beads can work well with each other I had difficulties with decreased peyote and fabric puckled while I sew. On the next beading project the stitching will be looser. First time I entered a piece of work in a competition because dislike the pressure.

I was looking for this piece for ages. This was taken from an image in the sprite database- Rainhawk from Dragonquest Caravan heart on gameboy advance never released in the western market. I imported the sprite into cross stitch program and printed off the chart. You might be interested in Sprite stitch blog for projects inspired by video games. Currently, reworking the Infergon cross stitch as the colours shown on the chart doesn't match the ones on the key. There more coming and maybe release the charts one day.

This is 5th project from Dimensions Xmas old world holiday ornaments kit. I usually don't buy cross stitch kits because they costs a lot of money. One more ornament to make and I'm finished as I suspected there will a surplus of threads. Hope to make my sampler and do a map.

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Learning cellini spiral

I had to master and learn 2 things in this project: cellini spiral and decreasing peyote stitch. I know peyote already because was one of the first stitches I learnt and all from the internet. I created 3 amulet bags using this stitch.

I found the instructions in bead magazine unclear and due to lack of diagram a real struggle to understand. This why I prefer Japanese beading recipes because they have clearer and detailed diagrams. Took me 3 tries to get the rope to spiral. First attempt there was too much red and should be more yellow/gold so had to start from scratch. My inttention was to create 2 ropes and fix them onto the beaded piece, there was huge doubt if there would be enough seed beads, so I created 8cm patches of pattern- cellini, amber and yellow. It doesn't say the art of bead embroidery you should use decreasing peyote to make the rows fit snuggly.
The whole thing is finished and submitted to Bead magazine- reader's challenge Personal challenge themed competition. I hope it will published in Oct/Nov issue, I think it was wrong not publish submission details in June/July but glad the drama is over and can go back to making atcs again. I have been suffering bouts of insomnia and depression because wasn't invited to restaurant (twice it happened)

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Short break from MMORPG- Grand Fantasia.

In the rare moments I don't play Grand Fantasia I do crafting to keep my mind active. I managed to completed a beaded pendant which has been lying around unfinished for many months. Didn't know how to finish it off.

It doesn't have title but there are more details of this pendant on my flickr photostream. In the meantime I'm working on my next project.

The plastic packaging makes a good bead and paper pricking board and a good way of reusing. I dislike throwing stuff away are they might have uses elsewhere. I still run into the problem of colour choosing but see it was this was if you use what you have than wouldn't need to waste money on impulse items. I hear stories on create and craft or crafty magazines reader lost a whole room to their crafting materials. Thinks of the Wombles of Wimbledon Common and you can't go wrong. Make use of good rubbish.
I think I will return to Grand Fantasia.

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