Like every year before him, 2011 has come with a list of good intentions and two entries on this list are (1) participate in more swaps/tags/etc. and (2) do more creative stuff. And look at this : 2 birds with one stone with this Tangle Hearts swap on swapbot :o)

Seasonal obligation, the first ATC zentangle swap of the year has a heart's theme and should ideally reach my partners by Valentine's Day. Considering the less than punctual postal services however, I have my doubts on their timely arrival, but well ... we can always hope, can't we? I certainly had fun making those and I hope my partners will appreciate them too.

I went shopping for some jewellery supplies on Saturday and as always when I get new "stuff", I can't wait to start working with it. So I started fiddling with the beads and cords as soon as I passed the front door :o)

I ended up making this necklace twice however. When I finished it the first time, I realised I had used the oval swarovski backwards and even though I doubt that anyone would have noticed, I felt like it was staring me in the face. So I cut off the glued parts, undid everything and started over. Until I was happy with the way it looked.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but with the bleak winter light we're having at the moment, it's the best I could do.


I also made a second necklace which appears way heavier and ended up somewhat rosary looking. I liked the texture of the wooden beads and had bought these on impulse a while back ... but didn't really know what to do with them, just because they are dark and heavy and so unlike my style. In the end I like how this necklace turned out ... on a jumper in winter, I'm sure it will look great.