This week...

Since having my new and improved craft room I seem to be in constant work mode which can only be a good thing right? :)

I am currently working on two new pre made sets which will be making there way to my shop soon. One of which will be in these yummy pastel colours.

I have also been getting in the mood for Halloween and came up with some new jewellery using clay and jelly wax. You may have already seen the new 'Eyeballs in a jar' necklace but other designs will also be appearing for the spooky season :)

As well has as it being Halloween next month, October also marks 10 years of Black Sunshine! Wow time flies. I will be holding a big giveaway to celebrate so stay tuned!

From Tangles to Dread!

When making dreads there is often quite a bit of loose hair left over from the kanekalon synthetic hair used. While I keep the bigger pieces of left overs to add as splashes on future sets of dreads there is still the odd loose bit, off cuts from tidying up the ends or knotty bits cut off from the tangled synth hair.
When I'm making the dreads I keep a bag next to me to put all these odds and ends in, which usually ends up in the bin.

Recently I have been looking at this pretty tangled mess of colours and thinking what a shame it is to throw it away. So last night I did a little experiment.

I grabbed little hand fulls of the hair and palm rolled ( alot!), I did that to three or pieces and then using a felting needle I attached them all together. Next was more palm rolling, more felting and then some crocheting.

This was the result

This dread has only been sealed once so far and I need to tidy up the end but I am pretty pleased with the result :) I love how all the colours mishmash together.

Has anyone else tried this? What do you think?

This week

Another busy work here at Black Sunshine HQ!
I have been working on a new dread kit which will be available on my shop tomorrow. In blends of black and grays with green splashes. Here they are drying out in the sunshine

I have also been dabbling in a bit of photography and got to do some experimenting with the band, The Shanklin Freak Show, at the weekend.

This was take at Fort Victoria in Freshwater (on the Isle of Wight). I know I have a lot of things to work on but I am quite proud of this shot.

All of the colours!

The last two dread sets I have made for my shop have been bright ones! And they have been my favorites to make.
The first set was the Random Rainbow which included blends of 14 different colours!

The set I finished today used less colours but are still as bright. I used neon lime, UV tropical, UV purple and hot purple ( all from Diversity Hair ).

At the weekend I made a big order of hair supplies so I will posting photos of my haul when they arrive :D I can't wait!

This Week

This week at Black Sunshine dread making has been full steam ahead! I have added new accent dread kits to my shop and I am working on more.

I have a lot of odds and ends of synthetic hair left over from sets (I hardly throw anything away) so I started work on a random rainbow set, which has over 10 colours incorporated in it so far. Photos should be up soon :)

This weekend I will be doing a big order of synthetic hair, so if there are any colour dreads you would like to see available on my shop just let me know in the comments below.

This week

It has been a busy week here at Black Sunshine! Unfortunately I am still battling with my internet provider to improve my service, I don't think I have ever called one number so much!

I've been working on a dread set in black, tropics and UV tropical blue. Such pretty colours all together and the finished accent set should be ready and for sale on my shop on Sunday.

The winner of my latest giveaway have been announced which you can see HERE, thank you to everyone who entered :)

It looks like it is going to be a lovely sunny Easter weekend. But today I am having to stay indoors to finish some course work. For those of you who don't know I am currently studying a course is business and administration. But I am off for a picnic tomorrow :)
Do you have any plans for this weekend?

New Knotty Crochet Dreads

I have been experimenting with my crochet dreads recently and have started making some in a knotty crochet style. 

In the photo below you can see my new knotty next to my regular crochet style.

The new knotty dreads have a more lumpy bumpy natural style to them. I have used a different method of dread making compared to my usual crochet dreads. 

These new knotty dreads will be making an appearance on my shop soon!

What do you think?

Current Projects

This week I have mostly been helping my parents sort out their spare room so my Mum can have her sewing room back :) But in the evenings I have been back combing dreads galore!

Here is a sneak peek at just one of the new accent dread kits that will be added to my shop this week

This weeks projects

Another week of dread making here at Black Sunshine and waiting on the postman to bring me new supplies

Here is a preview of a dread set I am currently working on. Blends of black, blues, purples with a hint of pink!

The postman did bring one present of new button supplies, so the new button headbands should be available to buy on my shop next week.

What crafty projects are you working on this week? 

Buttons Headband ( & new dress)

Last night I worked on a prototype button headband. I used lots of rainbow colours, which are my favourite.
I love it myself :) What do you think?

While I am here I shall show off my new dress. I rarely buy anything from high street shops as I can never find anything I like but I fell in love with this dress!

Dress: New Look. Tiara: Poundland. Necklace and Brooch: Black Sunshine. Shoes & cat tights: Ebay

This Week..

I know its only Wednesday, so really this post should be 'the last few days', but that doesn't sound right to me :p

Behind the scenes of Black Sunshine I have been a busy bee. Working on a new latex mask for Mr. Strange, which is looking suitably creepy so far!

Speaking of Mr. Strange, we took a walk up to Headen Warren (near Alum Bay) to take a look at the land slips that happened after the storms. A few of the paths where closed off to to massive cracks in the ground and some of the paths have narrowed considerably but its all still pretty. I can't wait to go blackberry picking there in the summer.

I have been  working on new accent dread kits for my shop. Most have been snapped up, but there are still some sets up for grabs and more are on there way! If there are any dread colour combo sets you would like to see just let me know in the comments. 

New supplies

The postman delivered  my new hair supplies today. Along with the usual synthetic hair I ordered, I also got some more of the special effects hair from Diversity Hair.

One of the new colours of Thermal Hair, Moonbeam

You can see my previous review of the thermal hair here.

Purple tinsel hair (crinkled)

I can't wait to start some new dread projects with these pretties :)

Current Projects

I came down with evil  flu last week so I have been a bit behind with my dread making and updating. But I am nearly all better now and have almost finished the current dread kit.
For this newest set I was going for an apocalyptic / rustic look so have used lots of browns and black in a variety of different textures.
I should be finished in a day or two so keep an eye out on my Facebook page / Etsy shop. Here is a preview photo

I have also been working on my dread wig from time to time, about 30 dreads done on it so far. It looks a bit crazy so far, but once I add more dreads I'm sure it will come together.

While I was out and about yesterday I checked out a new office / art supplies store on Newport Industrial Estate, WBS Everything. They had a great selection of art supplies, including some beautiful pens, which I will be adding to my collection when I go back there.

When I was leaving I spotted one of their delivery vans and had to take a photo for the slogan on the back. 'Only one biro kept in this van overnight' :) To keep us stationery addicts away haha

Also, Happy Valentines day! I would just like to thank you all for reading this blog, liking my Facebook page and shopping on my Etsy store. I couldn't do it without you guys! :)

This Weeks Projects

As well as making pretty colour change dreads I have also been working on some other dread projects this week.

I started on my first dread wig, here is how it look a day or two ago .

I have since added more hair and dreads but it is no where near done. As it's my first one, I'm doing a lot of guess work but I think, hope, its going OK so far. 

I didn't invest in the best wig for a base, but I didn't want to spend out a lot in case I ended up messing it up, so this is just a trial run really. If this does go to plan ( I really really hope it does) I have some ideas for some epic dread wigs in the future!

And my last completed custom order in light pale blonde, white and black in varying lengths. Cant's wait to see these installed. 

I've also sorted out the colour combo for my next pre made dread set for my shop. Blondes, purples and pink.

Light pale blonde, baby pink, UV raspberry ice and light mauve

Colour Change Dreads

As promised in my last post / review of the thermal hair from Diversity Hair, here are the finished dreads. 15 double ended dreads in triple transitional.

I LOVE the colours of these, they remind me of My Little Ponies :)
So if you want colour changing hair check out www.diversityair.co.uk I hear that there are new colours being added to the range too.

Thermal Colour Change Hair

I'm currently working on 2 of my last custom dread orders. And one of them is using the new thermal colour change hair from Diversity Hair.
This hair is more expensive and the packets smaller than normal packs of synthetic kanekalon hair, but for this effect it is totally worth it!

I have used each of the colours of the available hair, purple, blueberry, pale blue and baby pink.

The colours react and change to heat from your hands and  temperature of your surroundings.

The baby pink changes to a beige/ white, the pale blue to a icy blue/ white, blueberry to a mauve/ pink and the purple to pink. 

Blueberry and purple are 'Thermal Pilot colour' and react to heat much faster than the other two colours.

The hair is very easy to work with when it comes to back combing and crocheting.

I filmed while sealing some of the dreads with boiling water so the colour change is much more dramatic.

I've nearly finished making this set and will post pics when they are completed :)

Note: You can see the completed dreads HERE

One of this years goals

One of my goals for this year is to make a dread wig. I have wanted to make one for years but have never gotten around to it. So I am making this post so you guys can make sure I keep to it and finally make one!

I have been inspired by dread wigs from LsSeven and Dread Addiction.
Here is the video tutorial I will be closely working to but with my own twist.

Now all I have to decide on is colours.What do you guys think?

Current Dread Projects

After announcing I am no longer taking custom dread orders, I have been busy making new dread sets for my shop, which will be pre-made and all ready for you to buy.
So here is a little preview on the colour sets I am making at the moment.

Black and 4 different shades of grey ( slate, smoke, gun metal and charcoal)

Purple and Petrol (Petrol, UV petrol, deep purple and wisteria)

Hopefully I should have these dreads ready and photographed by the weekend. So keep your eyes on my etsy shop or facebook page for details.

All Kaneklaon synthetic hair is from Diversity Hair, apart from 'petrol' which is from BuyHair. Photos property of Black Sunshine.