Gone but never forgotten

Well hasn't that 4 yrs gone quickly!

Life has been so busy the past 4 years. Since my dad passed away in April 2013, life was hectic, i had to sort out all of my mum and dads household bills and the like, and after a year of watching my mum struggle with the berevement of her beloved husband and best friend and suffering terrible health issues herself, mum lost her fight with liver disease in January 2014 and passed away. I had lots more things to sort out, sort though, and i had to empty a lifetime of memories from mam and dads house, it was heartbreaking.

To say this had a huge impact on me is a very big understatement. My mum and I were very close. We saw each other a few times a week, and texted / phone each other nearly every day. Mum was a huge part of mine and my family's life and she is missed every day.

I have only beaded a handful of times since mum passed away, as she was always the one that loved to see my creations, and get me making gifts for her friends. I felt like my muse had left me, my creativity dwindled like a oxygen deprived flame. I have all these gorgeous beads and supplies here and no inspiration to use them.

I haven't been interested in my beady world since mum has gone,  so i took up a new hobby of crochet, i have to say a huge thank you to my wonderful online friend Janine for that. Janine has been a huge support to me over the years, and she kept encouraging me to try out crochet and have a new hobby to relieve my stress and anxiety. I have been crocheting for just over 2 years now, and learned so much in such a short space of time. I mainly make things to give as gifts, but I have made a few items for friends when they ask as well.

As each day has passed I find myself being drawn back to the beading world. Little by little, i feel the little spark coming back, finding inspiration in the simplest forms, and making notes in my little beady book of design ideas, and so i feel like i am ready to get back in the beading saddle and see if i can remember how to make beautiful beaded items again.

I know i don't have many followers, and i an not even sure if anyone reads my blog posts, but i just wanted to make a post in honour of my mum Christine and to say a big thank you to my husband and family, & my friend Janine for helping me to see the sunshine through the clouds even on the darkest days. I will forever be grateful to you all <3

My Beautiful Mum

14th May 1949 - 26th Jan 2015

Much love

Carol x

Crystal Cluster Ring Tutorial

Today I listed my new tutorial in my etsy shop, Crystal Cluster Ring. It was a long time in the pipeline, and has been a work in progress for a while. I am a bit of a ring'a'holic and make them any chance i can, and of course, if it involves a bit'o'bling then I am there like a shot ;)

I have made quite a few rings using bicone crystals, but after a few hours of wearing and fingers swelling on hot days, I would find that the edges of the bicone crystals would leave an indent in my finger and I would end up taking the crystal ring off as it was hurting. So I came up with a design with a solution to his problem, and made a beaded 'setting' on the back so the bit of the ring that sits next to your finger is comfortable to wear.

If you would like to make your very own Crystal Cluster Ring, you can find the tutorial in my Etsy Shop. The tutorial has step by step pictures, and instructions to guide you each step of the way. You will need to know right angled weave, and the list of components are on the listing. You can substitute the 4mm bicone crystals for any 4mm bead.

Happy Beading

Carol x

The Awesome Spiral Rope

So many of the beaders in the beading community whether a beginner or a pro love the spiral rope! You can totally change the way the design looks by only changing the beads used and the bead count you use.

I am fascinated by this stitch and just totally love it's versatility. You can make a basic spiral rope and wear it with jeans and a t-shirt or bling it up with some tiny crystals or pearls and make it look like you bought it at a designer store. It is such a wonderful stitch and works up pretty quickly too.

If you are reading this blog post and have no idea what on earth i am talking about... Take a look..

This is a Basic Spiral Rope tutorial over on the Operation Tackle That Bead Stash blog which was very kindly made by the very talented Liz Reed at The Crimson Moon and below is a picture of one of the many basic spiral ropes i have made. As you can see you have a lovely contrasting colour scheme of glav silver and gunmetal and it looks fabulous when worn.

Here is a spiral rope made with 11'0 seed beads and miyuki drop beads that i made for a very dear friend.

Since buying Jill Wiseman's book Beautiful Beaded Ropes I have learned to play around with spiral rope and make lots of different types. One of the projects in her book is the fabulous 'Falling for You Necklace' which i just had to make. But being on a limited budget i had to improvise and as i didn't have lampwork focals that even slightly matched for this project and colour scheme i made some of the Rings from Nikia Angel's Book Easy Crystal Stitching (another fabulous book that i have made LOADS of projects from, but that is another blog post).

So here is my version of Jill's Wiseman's Falling for You Necklace...

A spiral rope using 3mm crystal rounds...

Another using 3mm Rounds in a different colour scheme but longer in length..


This is my most recent spiral rope for which i used 3mm firepolish beads, 4mm czech glass pearls & 11'0 seed beads with an 8'0 seed bead core and it is a whopping 40 inches in length.

There are so many ways to totally change the look of a spiral rope it really is a under rated stitch.

I would love to find out who 'invented' the original design of the spiral rope, but my searches have not come up with anything of much help. Whoever it was you are a genius!

Happy Beading...

Carol xxx

Bead Tour Newport South Wales

Yesterday i got to meet up at a little bead fair in Newport, South Wales with my 3 bestest beady buddies from the group Operation Tackle That Bead Stash!

What a fab day it was too. We managed to catch up and have some beady fun. There were only 5 stalls at the fair but we managed to spend lots of money : )

Here is what i bought...

Here are some freshwater pearls and 2x3mm crystals from Monty's Beads

Here are some lovely seed beads and copper lustre firepolish beads from Oaktree Crafts

 Here are some lovely drops and briolettes from Totallybeads

Some lovely chinese crystal rounds, rondelles and flat bicone beads also from Totallybeads

I also got some lovely 3mm & 4mm Pearls again from Totallybeads

Now i have to come up with some lovely beadwork designs to use them in : )

I hope you all had a lovely weekend too.

Happy beading...

Carol xxx

Travel Beading Inspiration Tins

Ok, so i have been busy making up some of the Travel Inspiration Tins to put up for sale in my My Etsy Shop click the link and you shall see them :)

Bead kit tins are now available in 2 sizes, but will soon be available in 3 sizes. There is the Mini, a Medium and  A5 size. Each tin kit comes with approx 25g of seed bead soup, a tube of accent beads, a glass rivoli, a reel of nymo thread, 2 beading needles, and a piece of bead mat to work on. Then on the mini and A5 sizes a nice piece of pretty elastic to hold your lid shut when transporting in your bag or luggage.

The Travel Tin Kits come in 3 colour blends at the moment, but more colour choices and mixes will be available soon.

These tins are fantastic for weekend's away, or holidays, or just for beading at home. You can remove the bead mat so that you can use it in the lid or the base, and the reason it is removable is so that you can wash it.

Here is a couple of pictures to whet your appetites.

This is the Mini Tin with free fitting lid.

This is the A5 Tin with hinged lid.

So if you want to purchase any of the tin kits, just go to My Etsy Shop :) There are limited numbers and contents may vary. So if you see something you like, get it while you can,

I would love to hear back from anyone who has purchased one. Just email me carol@classycrystals.co.uk and i will make up a review post for others to see.

Happy Beading

Carol xxx

New Monthly Blog Theme

Ok as most of you who know me know i am terrible at blogging... Very erratic with it in fact, but i have had an idea...

How about an Artist / Designer / Person of the month? 'Featured Artist' 'What on earth are you babbling about'? i hear you say...

In an attempt to get me 'blogging' more and getting rid of my technophobe attitude and get me use to posting in blogger, how about a designer / artist blog of the month to be featured on my blog?? Personally I think its genius, and as this is my blog, i will do what i want lol. Each month the person will be picked at random (permission asked previously of course) and someone i 'know' or admire their work will be in with a chance to appear here.  (ok, you get the idea right?) ;o)

So here we go...

This months 'Blogger featured Artist / Designer' Of the Month is.... (drum roll please)...

NANCY DALE of  NEDbeads

I have been fortunate enough to get to know Nancy through the Operation Tackle That Bead Stash group on facebook.
Nancy is such a kind and generous person, with talent that is out of this world! No really! Nancy's work is just so beautiful and inspirational to so many beaders. I have nearly all of Nancy's tutorials, and i am embarrassed to say that i still haven't made them all, BUT i WILL get around to making them all eventually.

It was Nancy who introduced me to the wonders of CRAW (cubic right angled weave) and how versatile this stitch is. A fabulous tutorial for craw can be found HERE This is how i learned, and Heather Collin explains the stitch very well indeed.

Since learning craw I have never looked back. At first i was hesitant to make a rope with bead soup, but on further experimentation i decided i LOVED it! Anyhow, i digress....

If you want to buy some of Nancy's tutorials, you can find them in Nancy's Etsy shop HERE and boy oh boy are there some blummin stunners in there! Pwoar!
You will find it hard to choose which one to buy, and i know for certain that once you try it, you will love it! Nancy has a fabulous way of writing the tutes out, and there is always step by step pics along the way. A lot of time and effort goes into each and every one of her tutes too so you won't be disappointed in anyway!

Nancy's latest pattern tutorial is called Hexagon Bangle/Rope and OMG it is divine! Here are a few pics to whet your appetite...(bibs at the ready)??

You can get your hands on this tutorial Hexagon Bangle / Rope in Nancy's Etsy Shop and if you want to read more about Nancy here is the link to Nancy's Blog.

I hope you have enjoyed my Featured Artist of the Month blog post. Keep a look out next month to see who the next lucky beader will be!

Happy Beading

Carol xxx

Well that is another month gone, and another giveaway has come to an end. I popped all the entrants names into random.org and picked a winner for the May Giveaway over on OTTBS blog and i would like to say a huge thank you to all the entrants.
You can find all the info here http://tacklethatbeadstash.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/may-giveaway-winner-is.html
Congratulations to Tammy Norton on winning the Inspiration Travel Tin.

I shall be busy this week listing more beady inspiration travel tins in my Etsy Shop. There will be a few of each to start, until i have a chance to make up different selections.

So far this week i have designed a new pattern which will also be available in my Etsy Shop once i have finished writing up the instructions and taking pictures.

Here is a sneaky peek in the form of a bracelet.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Happy Beading

Carol xxx