Playing around with Hama-style beads

Months ago I bought a giant jar of Hama-style beads originally from Ikea from a charity shop for £2.50. There are hundreds, if not thousands of them. "What to do" I mused. I made a couple of bracelets, used some for teeth in some felt zombies. Mainly though the jar has just been sitting and gathering dust.

Then the other day I decided to actually see if I could use them like Hama beads. I bought a Hama board from Amazon. I arranged the beads on the board, covered them in baking paper and then ironed them. This was my first attempt:

I think I'll glue a brooch pin to the back of it.

Then I had another go and made this one:

Tee hee hee! It worked very well! This one is a little too big for a brooch so I'm currently trying to think of something to do with it.

I also bought some actual Hama branded beads which are sparkly (I have no will power). So am trying to think of a good pattern for them.

Sew Mama Sew results!!

And the winner of Fishy McFish is...........

qltmom9


Am e-mailing you now. Congratulations!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day

Fishy McFish wants to go home with you*

I know I only just finished a giveaway but I really want to participate in Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway day. I am always late aboard these trains.

I am offering one of my felt goldfish decorations to be won. Note: I handmade this fish BUT it is not from my own pattern. The pattern is by Lisa Jordan and I got the pattern from Fa La La La Felt edited by Amanda Carestio.


The Details:

The fish measures approximately 7 cm x 3cm. The string is 11cm long. He is decorated on both sides and is stuffed. He is made of felt.

This giveaway is open internationally. I will send Fishy McFish anywhere in the world to you.

This giveaway is open until the 25th of May. Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you to let you know that you've won. If you win you have 24 hours to respond with an address before I pick a new winner.

How to Win:

This one is slightly different. To enter this giveaway I want you to EITHER leave a comment telling me IF YOU WERE A FISH WHICH WOULD YOU BE? AND WHY?


OR flick through my previous posts and leave a comment here telling me which of my projects you like the most.

I will pick the best answer. My decision is final.

To enter more May giveaways go here.

Good Luck!


* Port is not included in the giveaway

The year of the Dragon

This is what I spent today making. A new portrait of two special people. The baby isn't on fire. It's supposed to be in a dragon suit. Tee hee!

This is my friend 'Ling Yun' whose amazing and beautiful jewellery can be seen and bought here. Actually it just occurred to me that I really should have included one of her necklaces on this portrait as she always wears great ones.

Lego robots at Drink, Shop & Do

All the robots pose

Last night I made good on my promise to check out Drink, Shop & Do. Drink, Shop & Do is a design shop/cafe/bar/crafty haven. During the day you can go there to shop, have a coffee, and chill out. In the evening it's a funky bar. My favourite thing about this place is all the activities you can do there. Last night they were having a Lego robot night. With cocktails.

It was very busy so our first cocktail was had standing with no Lego (boooo) but then some people left and we nabbed their table. By this point there was little Lego left so we had a real jumble of pieces. As you can see we mainly had Duplo. 

BF's Robot

My robot rests in a cocktail glass

Oh, it was so much fun! And the cocktails were delicious! They had really interesting flavours. My favourite that I had was one called 'Oh so Pretty' that involved lychees and came with a scattering of rose petals on top. Prices for cocktails ranged from £7 to £9.50, which may seem steep but is pretty standardy for London and they were nice, so worth it.

Drink, Shop and Do is a short walk from Kings Cross. It's light and airy and full of wondrous things to look at. There were people knitting socks at one table! Amazing.

A friend's robot sits with the vast collection of tea

We all had lots of fun. I will definitely be going to more events at this place. Yay for a great find! Also - it looks like they do interesting sandwich and cake plates. This will need to be investigated later.

I recommend Drink. Shop and Do to all.

And the winners of the first giveaway are...

VIRGINIA

and

SARA


Sorry this was posted later than originally advertised. Congratulations guys!  E-mail me your addresses here:

animalpsychiatry (at) gmail.com

And I will post you your felt badge straight away!

Thank you everyone for entering! If you had your heart set on a flower don't despair! You can get one on my Etsy shop and the code for 20% off is still valid for readers of this blog this month! (OPENINGCELEBRATION)

xxx

The String Empire's first Giveaway!

Two spring flowers looking for a home

In celebration of the weekend and there finally being some sun in London (also me being in a good mood due to having secured Amanda Palmer tickets) I am having my very first giveaway! I have two of my felt flower badges to give to two lucky people.

How to enter:

Mandatory - Leave a comment to this post (easy). 

Additional entries:

1. Tweet about this giveaway "I've just entered @TheStringEmpire giveaway - have you? - http://tinyurl.com/c62s4b7 " Or words to this effect.

2. Follow @TheStringEmpire on Twitter

3. Follow The String Empire on a reader of your choice (and leave a comment telling me you've done so)
4. Write about and link to this giveaway on your blog (and leave a comment here with a link to it)

Winners will be chosen through a random number generator.

This giveaway is open world-wide.






Winners will be announced on Friday the 18th of May!!!