Pearls and Roses

While I am not a mother (no, there is no "yet" in that statement either) I seemed to be inspired by Mothers Day this weekend. I found these pretty fresh water pearls in a soft pink and could't resist playing with them.

I love the irregular shapes 

Pearls to me always says "Mom" to me. Both my grandmothers and my Mom had a classic string of white pearls they would pull out for special occasions like weddings. 

I have my own "special occasion" pearls now, 

thanks to my little bro who picked out this gorgeous strand for me in Japan. 

My "special occasion" pearls

 But,

 I wanted some pearls that were less dressed up and formal, but still feminine and pretty. Something I could wear with a summer dress or to dress up my jeans, cardi and cami uniform. 

This is what I came up with.

Shabby Chic Pearls

I think the irregular shape of these pearls give them a more relaxed feeling. The pink makes it fun and girlie, and they are pearls, you can't help but feel like a lady in them!

Oh yes!
I finally found that spool of red thread I knew I had bought hiding in a corner of my closet, so I made another rose comb.

Red Rose Comb

I can't seem to keep these listed on Etsy, as soon as one goes up it sells. Guess I shouldn't complain

I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day weekend!

How To Monday

Once again I have about zero interest in studying, I really should as the final is tomorrow at 9am, but I just can't get there. So instead I figured I would give you a quick how to on adding beads into a simple chain stitch.

Beaded Chain Stitch How To:

1. Thread beads onto the your thread

2. Make your slip knot and insert 

crochet hook.

3. Make a couple of chain stitches first.

The slide the first bead to the base of

the last stitch made.

4. Pull up enough of a loop to go 

over the bead, as you would for a 

normal chain stitch

6. Yarn over the hook, just like 

in a regular chain stitch.

7. Pull yarn through, making a new 

stitch with the bead contained within.

Pull it to tighten and make the bead 

sit securely.

That's it! Really, seriously easy isn't it? Now you know the trick to making simple necklaces like this one,

Click on the image above to enter my giveaway for that very necklace!

Now go give it a try!

Oooh! Pretty!

  Last day of clinical's! I survived the obstetrical portion of my clinical experiences and am exhausted. Last OB test tomorrow, skills practicum is on Wednesday and Final next week, eeks! The stress level has been climbing so something mindless yet pretty was needed to distract me from insanity.

  While rummaging in desperation through my stash I found several vials of colored glass beads a friend gave me and suddenly I remembered a great tutorial I found at Notes From the Something. I grabbed some pearl cotton and a 1.60mm hook and in a short time had this.

  It's simply chain stitches with a bead chain stitched in every 5 stitches. The tutorial does a great job outlining how to customize your necklace. 

I managed to whip up 3 of these over the weekend.

I just love the colors! They are so fresh and just scream "SPRING". 

The Design Consultant proclaimed they are very "Boho Chic". I was stunned that he used the term correctly....and knew what it meant. 

Wow.

The Little Things

  Grandma always used to say it was the small touches, the "little things" that made something special.  As a child I would watch her fuss over the buttons on a blouse or the lace on a dress and wonder to myself why she spent so much time pouring them.  Now I find myself doing exactly the same thing, I refuse to buy a blouse because the buttons "look cheap" or will completely ignore a skirt that has a "nice, but nothing special" lace trim and will happily point out the "gorgeous detail" in a tiny bit of embroidery embellishing my blazer pocket.

  It's fine to call me a detail snob or obsessive if you like, but I guess that what makes me a good nurse, details matter to me. Like this weekend when I sat down to finish the mini tote I have been working on.  It's being worked in a beautiful buttercup yellow cotton that I found at a garage sale, the bands on the skein tell me it is from France (Oh la la!)

  After much debate with the Chief Design Consultant, it was agreed that the cherry blossoms just would not work on something so vibrant, we needed something with more POP. We settled on a large Irish rose in black thread and a black lace trim (yes I'm crazy to make both by hand) and some Austrian crystal beads in the center of the rose for some sparkle. I made it all the way to the final row on the lace trim and decided it wasn't right, we needed something small to make it special.

  And here's what I came up with:

  I broke the thread and threaded some of the Austrian crystal beads on and then wound up as much as I thought I would need onto a bit of cardboard. I followed the rest of the pattern but instead placed a bead at the apex of each point on the lace.

  So now the lace points each have a bead that matches the beads that will be placed in the center of the rose, kind of tying the whole thing together and adding a special little touch to the handmade lace trim.

  I think Grandma will approve if she ever sees these pictures! I like to do this with handmade lace items that are going to be keepsakes. Try making a lace trim with pearl beads for a handkerchief as a bridal gift, or if you dare a lace garter belt with tiny blue seed beads. I promise you the recipient will never forget who gave it.