Trying my hand at making some jewelry

It's nothing fancy... yet.

So far, certain thoughts or memories have inspired me to make a couple of pieces of jewelry. Two beads that I bought recently managed to fit inside one another to make a really cool African-inspired pair of earrings.

I saw these two beads and couldn't resist buying them to make them into something. I am thinking about how I can make a matching necklace or bracelet for these.

I made the earrings sometime last week, though because work has been so hectic, I haven't been able to share them until now.

This morning, I decided to try my hand at making a bracelet, and this is what I came up with:

 

Some matching earrings...:

As for inspiration, I'm really not sure. I was playing around with the beads... I knew I wanted to use those flowers (or stars, depending on how you see them). After I grabbed some pink beads, the bracelet started to remind me of Kirby and playing Kirby's Dream Land on my very, very old gameboy.

You know... the one with just 2 colours? Okay, maybe you don't know... haha. Either way, this bracelet makes me happy in that it reminds me of my carefree childhood.

That's about it for an update for now!

(...actually, that's a lie. I baked my first ever cherry pie, but I'm going to ask for a redo on that one. Hopefully take two will yield better photo opportunities. This pie ended up looking like something you'd find at a crime scene... the cherry filling wasn't all that forgiving or helpful).

I'll keep playing and finding inspiration. Until then!

Crocheting away

I re-learned how to crochet less than a week ago. The first few attempts at it was frustrating and slow. The slowness added to the frustration, too, so it ended up being a vicious cycle. After a bit though, I began to get the hang of it.

I decided my first project would be coffee cozies, or reusable coffee sleeves. Once I got the basic chains down it was just a matter of deciding how long and how tall I wanted each cozy. My first one took a painfully long time to make. I also realized I stitched it wrong... it still looks okay, though. Practice makes perfect, as they say, and with every mistake, I'm learning how to fix it and make it better for next time.

My first cozy you've already seen, but I am going to flaunt it again... haha.

I can't even describe how proud and happy I was to have made it. It was a huge sense of accomplishment. It made those feelings of frustration feel worth it.

Since then, I made a couple other cozies-in-the-making.

The top (pink) one I used a different stitch and made it while on the bus to work. I believe it's called a double stitch. The second (camo) one I made at work yesterday, as it was a pretty slow day. The stitch for that one is a single stitch... what the poppy cozy was supposed to be, but what (I think) is the actual correct way to stitch it, haha.

With my first coffee cozy, I realized I stitched the cozy too long... I was trying to think of a way to fix it without wasting all that yarn when I realized I could make a little button out of it. I saw a pattern for how to stitch a tiny flower and decided to give it a go. Again, a slow and painful process where the petals looked wonky, or the petals fused together, or whatever, but I got it done: my first flower!

I thought they were so adorable, so I made a bunch more to practice. I think I finally got the correct way to do it down with my last one, the camo flower.

 

The mistakes make the flowers look pretty unique, I think. Just like in nature, nothing's ever perfect or perfectly symmetrical... right?

Anyway, that's what I've accomplished in my less-than-a-week at crocheting! Some other things I really want to do is a baby blanket for my baby niece and maybe also a nice headband for her. Eventually, I'd love to get to the point of making clothes, but time to get the basics down first...


Take care!

How this all began...

After my trip to Ghana, I came home to realize that I don't feel quite right in Canada anymore, in particular, Calgary. Something about the world was scary to me... Calgary is a city that is very self-centered, cold, and reserved. Most people only care for themselves, and those actions are evident in areas such as driving, line-ups, people telling stories (about themselves), opinions on various things, people walking down the street with earbuds in... Granted, I'm also guilty of blocking out the world via earbuds when I'm traveling around the city on my own, however in my defense, what I need to say will fall on deaf (or already occupied) ears.

As a result, I find myself terribly alone in this country.

Not only that, but I work in a restaurant while I'm not in school. This adds to the loneliness, as I work nights and during weekends, so where it was terribly difficult to connect with people for a person in a similar situation, it is damn near impossible for me to do it now. Something about going to Africa changed me, too... I don't see things the same way anymore. Some people's comments or opinions really bother me and I can't seem to connect with people on this front either. Rather, their comments and opinions hurt my heart and push me away.

Life isn't black and white for me anymore. It's not ethnocentric. We aren't the center of the universe, contrary to popular belief. There are people around us, people who carry equal influence and importance. Maybe the sheer recognition of this fact is why I feel alone...
or set apart...
or something.

In an attempt to calm my heart, keep my sanity, and cope with this loneliness, I decided to (re)learn how to be alone. The other day, I re-learned how to crochet, and made this: my first coffee cozy. 

Feeling inspired, I bought a ton of beads and yarn. I want to outlet my feelings into something constructive instead of sitting around and moping or whining or crying. I want to get back into artwork. I miss having people ask me to do things like design them a tattoo.. there's no greater feeling than knowing what you have to offer is appreciated.

And hey, maybe that's what I crave, ultimately. So ... "Systematic Chaos" is my creativity blog.

It is also one of my favourite albums by one of my favourite bands, Dream Theater. 

<3