Genie Bottle Class Winner

It's time to announce the winner of the Genie Bottle jewellery class. With only a small number of entries for this giveaway, I decided to draw the winner the old fashioned way - with tickets in a hat! Everyone who entered got multiple tickets in this draw so that I really could pick a winner. For the lucky winner, here is what you will win: A free class on Saturday morning in my studio; A kit which includes all the materials you need to make a Genie Bottle/Faux Perfume Bottle necklace; and An extra venetian glass bead and a selection of findings and Swarovski crystals to make a second necklace And here's what you'll learn how to do in the workshop: Make wrapped loops so that your jewellery is ultra secure; Make your own chain so that you can make it the length you like (you'll learn how to add the jump rings and the clasp to the chain); How to tension jump rings correctly so that your jewellery will never fall apart; and Make a gorgeous gift pouch for th......

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Is that Birdy, or Birdie?

One thing I have always prided myself on is my spelling. I know I make mistakes sometimes..... and I know I make typos that I don't pick up when I proof read. But really, how do you spell birdie? I mean birdy. They both look so strange when they are typed! So, why the sudden fascination with how to spell? Well, at CHA I did a MITI at the ImpressArt booth using one of their metal alphabet stamps and a bezel. I decided to keep it nice and simple and just hammer out the word birdie. I thought I was pretty clever beginning in the middle of the word so that I'd be able to centre it around the outside curve of the bezel. But it seems my eye was a bit crooked that day and I ran out of room and couldn't fit all the letters in...... so "birdie" became "birdy"! Spelling aside, I have plans for this little tag - it is getting the resin treatment. Watch as it transforms from plain little birdy into a mini collage piece. Here's how the piece started out.......

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Letting the Genie out of the Bottle

It's time for a giveaway on my blog and this one is short and sweet so don't delay getting in your entry! If you'd like to take part in a jewellery workshop in my studio then this might be just the giveaway for you. I'm running my Genie Bottle/Faux Perfume Bottle necklace workshop again and would love to have your company. But there's a catch - the workshop is on Saturday morning 25th February 2012, so you must be in Brisbane (or be able to get to Brisbane) to win this one.  No previous jewellery making experience is required.... I'll teach you everything you need to know to complete this gorgeous project. The prize will include all the materials you need for the class too. You even get to pick the bead of your choice (I have some yummy beads in my stash!). And for all you paper crafters out there, we'll also be creating a gorgeous little presentation pouch to make this a perfect gift for someone special. To be in the running, please leave your comm......

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Glasshouse Port Macquarie

In conjunction with Frock Stars, an exhibition showcasing the background of Australian Fashion Week,  The Glasshouse Arts, Conference and Entertainment Centre in Port Macquarie NSW has invited me to teach 2 one-day Resin workshops in March. So for all you fashionistas local to the Port Macquarie area this is your chance to come and learn how to create fashion resin jewellery. What better way to show your fashion savvy than to wear your own handmade resin jewellery? This hands on workshop is a great introduction to the world of resin jewellery - you'll learn to create bangles, rings and a variety of jewellery pieces. Bookings are strictly limited and only confirmed upon payment of the course fee so please don't delay. Book direct with Glasshouse either by phone (6581 8888) or in person by visiting the Glasshouse Box Office, corner of Clarence & Hay Sts, Port Macquarie. For more information about the workshop, visit the Glasshouse website. So, if you've ev......

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Sweets for Sweethearts

Valentine's Day is a pretty simple affair at my place but we do indulge our sweet tooths and find it the perfect excuse to share some sweet morsels. From my husband, a deliciously moist, chocolate covered mudcake....... and some soft and squishy marshmallows from me. Two of my favourite treats: chocolate and marshmallows. Mmmmm...... Oh what delightfully, sweet indulgences! I hope that you too have treated yourself to some of your favourite sweet things today. Happy Valentines Day to you all! 'Til next time..... If you can't get enough of My Tutorials and you want even more inspiration,  click here to find my books and printable pdfs ...

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More Hands on Fun and CHA

You might have noticed that a good deal of the projects I share with you on this blog are jewellery related. But I work with a far wider range of products than just beads. And that is why I love doing MITIs at CHA - not only do you get to play with great products but you get a taste for a new craft as well. Working with mosaics is something I've always wanted to try and I finally got the opportunity. The folks at Mosaic Mercantile provided a selection of flat mosics and glass pebbles to create a fridge magnet. Designing you own pattern was part of the fun of this project and my eye was immediately drawn to the purple glass pebbles which I tried to fashion into a bunch of grapes. OK, so you have to use your imagination to see that they are grapes, but I really do like the colour combination. To keep this project super simple, we only used the adhesive (and no grout). Too easy and a lot of fun! At DecoArt they were creating iron on transfers using their special transfer ink......

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Hands on Fun at Winter CHA

Make and Takes are a fun part of CHA - after all, who doesn't want to play with new products! Sometimes it's the great project which attracts you to a booth and sometimes it's a new product that gets you in but it's always enticing to come and play. First up it's the DCWV booth which was offering a woven stretch bracelet made from Blue Moon Beads . This was one of the quickest make and takes at the show: the bracelet was already made so all you had to do was attach the two charms by simply opening the jump rings, hooking them onto the elastic and closing them again. Nice and simple! Whilst we're on bracelets, I want to show you the really fun slap bracelets they were making over at Leisure Arts.   This would be a fun activity for teenagers and I think the hardest part about this MITI was choosing which duct tape you wanted to work with! All you do is cut the duct tape to the length of your bracelet and then lay the bracelet down the centre of the ta......

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Spectacular Sights from Winter CHA

My report from Winter CHA is going to be a little bit different this year. Instead of giving you a blow by blow description of the all the new products that were released, I'm going to share photos a couple of spectacular things I saw. At the DCWV booth, the theme was "Grow Your Creativity" and to support the theme they had "planted" a garden of very exotic trees: real trees that were cut down and decorated in Utah before being transported to CHA in California. They are truly amazing and the photos barely do them justice. Firstly, the Scrap Tree with everything handmade from paper. It features butterflies, flowers, leaves and beautiful bird cages. Look at the spectacular peacock which proudly sits at the foot of the tree. And yes, it too is handcrafted from paper! The Home Decor Tree features mirrors, wired flowers and other embellishments from the home decor range. And the third tree is the bead tree. Glass balls filled with jewellery dec......

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