Diy Bangle Challenge

I've been a bangle enthusiast ever since I began working with resin but it hasn't stopped with resin. Diy Bangles introduced their range of unfinished wooden bangles at CHA a couple of years back and they have been immensely popular. You see these wonderfully smooth bangles being used in Make and Takes at many booths at CHA. They always prove to be a real draw card. Having taught resin bangle workshops for some time I often come across crafters who have difficulty manipulating their knuckles to slide them through a standard size bangle. And I'm pleased to say that Diy Bangles listened to my request for an oval shaped bangle and it will soon be in production. So this week is bangle week at Mill Lane Studio blog. I have been given an assignment to create several designs using the oval shaped bangle. What fun! The challenge is to create a bangle a day, one of which will be the design used on the packaging. So let's get started. The first bangle is coloured with Lumi...

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I'm back! ......and it's Bangle Week

I know it's been a while since I last blogged, but all I can say is that I'm back , fresh from the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) Winter Trade Show and the retail Craft Supershow, and rearing to go in the New Year. It was a busy time in the lead up to the show as I had a lot of pieces to prepare for displays some of which you were able to take a little peek at. Some of those pieces might even make it onto my blog later in the year but this week it's bangle week at Mill Lane Studio and I'll be sharing lots of different bangles with you including some wooden bangles. Today it's resin bangles and here's a pic of some of the many bangles I created whilst demoing for Environmental Technology Inc at CHA last week. Sorry about the overexposed photo - I had just a moment to take a snapshot and no time to adjust the settings on my camera and as a result I've spent way to long in Photoshop fixing it. So here's a tip for those of you who add photos to your blog ...

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Twisteez - fun for all ages

Here's a fun little craft product that's suitable for adults and kids alike. It's called Twisteez Sculpture wire... And I love their catchcry - "a million doodles with Twisteez wire!" Twisteez is a pliable, plastic-coated copper wire and when they say pliable, they mean it. You can use it over and over again and the kinks can be easily smoothed out with your fingers.  So if you make a mistake in your design, no worries - just rework the bit you're not happy with. Because it's so pliable you can bend it, make coils, twist it, braid it and even weave it. So here's what I created with it: a swirl pendant which I've matched to a fuchsia coloured aluminium chain. It's really lightweight... just like the Twisteez spirals so you'll hardly know you're wearing it! The second piece is actually a stack of three bracelets. Each of the coloured Twisteez is a bracelet in itself. But when you combine all three, you have triple the colour and tri...

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CHA Global Display - inspired by Paua Shell

With all the mad, last minute preparations for CHA I have been spending all of my time in the studio these past few weeks. It hasn't left much time for anything else including my blog and I feel I've neglected you so today I want to share a little sneak peek of one of the projects I've been working on. The Global Display at CHA is a display being put together by 30 designers, each one creating their own individual piece inspired by the arts and crafts of the country they have been assigned. I've created a project inspired by the colours of the paua shell - a gorgeous green and blue shell found in the cooler waters of New Zealand. It is prized for both its flesh which makes good eating and its shell which was traditionally used as adornments in the Maori culture. Whilst I can't share the actual project with you, I thought you'd enjoy a small glimpse of the piece which is a bit of a step outside of the box for me. I've used materials that you probably have amo...

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Friendly Plastic and Resin Jewellery

I've spent a good deal of my studio time in the last few weeks creating pieces for CHA so I'm pleased to also get a few class samples completed. Here's a couple of pieces which will be the subject of my first Friendly Plastic class for the year. How delicate the dandelions look on the silver piece above - they add just enough interest without overpowering the Friendly Plastic underneath. These pieces are protected with a resin coating making them very durable so as a bonus you'll also get a mini resin tutorial in this class. I love combining unusual colours together and this second sample is a good example of how contrasting colours work together. The copper packs a real punch when it's combined with shades of blue and green. This piece also has a second unexpected colour combination in the silver patterned overlay and the copper bezel. Combining different coloured metals is always interesting. If you're interested in learning how to create these pieces take...

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A Happy Crafting New Year

Happy New Year to you all. Already the first week of 2010 has whizzed by and it promises to be a busy year with workshops, classes, conventions and retreats already pencilled into my diary. The first event will be CHA in a couple of weeks time where I'll be checking out all the latest products in the crafting world. In the meantime I am busy, busy, busy in the studio whilst I create, create, create. I will have quite a few pieces on display at CHA so I'm working away diligently at completing them. They are all still under wraps so I'm unable to share them with you yet but instead, I have just a couple of simple bracelets made with beads left over from other projects. I hope your New Year is full of lots of wonderful crafting experiences and that you'll stop by my blog often throughout the year as I show you some of the latest new products from the CHA Winter show. Happy crafting!...

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