Resin Cuff Links - Jewellery for Men

I hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas Season filled with fun and laughter and getting to enjoy a bit of down time between Christmas and New Year. I'm taking a bit of a break from the studio for a couple of days to spend with my family who are all home this Christmas. But I promised you pics of the resin cuff links I made for the men in my household, so here they are. These are for our cycling enthusiast. He's always been interested in what makes things work so a steampunk theme with cogs and gears was perfect for him. For the well dressed and more formal man in our household, this variation on a monogram theme was the perfect choice - the lower case letters are a fun twist! And for the sophisticated man who likes the look of mixed metals: silver, pewter and gold Friendly Plastic cuff links. I can't tell you how impressed each of the men were with their new cuff links - so much so that at first they didn't realise they were hand made! Each pai...

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Gingerbread House - Chez Hillam Style

December has been frantically busy in our household. Between Christmas Parties, 90th Birthday celebrations, University Graduation Ceremonies, a trip to Adelaide and two trips to Lismore we also managed to slot in some time in the kitchen preparing our favourite Christmas treats. You saw some of them here in this post . Because of our busy schedule we decided to use a kit for our Gingerbread House this year. It came with everything you need including the pre cooked gingerbread, presentation board, icing and sweets to decorate it - what a time saver! This kit is from Create a Treat and it even gives you a web address to view a video on how to construct the house - so easy that even a child can do it!  The board comes with channels that you slot the walls into. Just fill with the icing mixture and insert the wall. I loved this idea - it made construction really easy. So does the pre-mixed icing which is the perfect consistency. My younger son loves working on this project e...

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O Christmas Tree - Twelve Days and Counting - Day 12

Welcome to day 12 - the final day of the Twelve Days and Counting Earrings Spectacular. When I started out on this journey, 12 pairs of earrings didn't seem such a daunting task, but when it came to the crunch, creating 12 unique pairs of earrings, all Christmas themed, was more of a challenge than I'd anticipated. But a challenge like this always pushes your boundaries and I think you get more creative the more you are pushed. So without further ado, let me show you the final pair of earrings in the Earrings Spectacular. O Christmas Tree To make the O Christmas Tree earrings, you'll need: 2 x 14mm red miracle beads 2 x centre drilled opaque red teardrop crystals 2 x two-into-one silver end connectors (if you can't find 2-1 then try these 3-1 and cut off the middle loop ) 4 x silver bead caps 21cm 4mm anodised green aluminium curb chain 6 x 4mm green jump rings 2 x silver ball head pins 2 x silver regular head pins 2 x ball end silver earring wires. ...

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Elegant Ornament Earrings - Twelve Days and Counting - Day 11

If you've been following along with the Twelve Days and Counting Earrings Spectacular you'll know that there are just two more pairs of earrings to go. Can you believe how fast this Earrings Challenge has gone? Today's earrings are long, detailed and ornate - very appropriate for ornaments, don't you think? They have a certain style and elegance about them. I love the luminescence of the red miracle beds - it's almost as if they are glowing! If you want to create a pair of Elegant Ornament earrings, this is what you'll need: 2 x 14mm red miracle beads 2 x 4mm Siam Crystazzi crystals 2 x double ended crystal rondelle beadcaps 2 x 6mm crystal rondelles 2 x silver four-sided lantern shaped beads 2 x 16mm Silver Filigree Leaf Bead Caps 2 x 14mm Silver Filigree Open Leaf Bead Caps 2 x miniature petal shaped bead caps 2 x silver 3mm beads 2 ball end silver earring wires 2 head pins On one end of the double ended crystal rondelle, gently pus...

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Bejewelled Christmas Wreath Earrings - Twelve Days and Counting - Day 10

I had a little technical hitch with today's earrings - I gave myself a nasty burn with a Bejeweller Wand but learned a very valuable lesson along the way: don't touch the shaft of the wand when it's turned on! OK, so that would seem to be obvious but when you're looking at your work through a magnifying lens you can only see what's right in front of you. You actually lose your peripheral vision so you are really working with blinkers on. So without being able to see what I was doing, I placed my thumb and forefinger on the shaft instead of on the safety handle. Yowee!!!!! It would seem that a visit to the optometrist is long overdue! To add insult to injury, my plan to use the Bejeweller Wand to adhere crystals to a metal ring did not work and the crystals either fell off or could be easily pulled off. But in the end, I got the result I was after: a pair of Bejewelled Christmas Wreath earrings. Read on to find out how to make them. You'll need the follow...

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