Summer CHA

I've just returned from Summer CHA in Orlando, Florida - the craft industry's twice yearly trade show in the US. I'm not going to give you a full rundown of the show but instead I'm going to share some of the highlights from my trip. I was really excited to be taking a workshop with Bead Queen of the Universe and craft personality extraordinaire, Margot Potter . Some of the many hats Margot wears include being a DT member for Beadalon, and an ambassador for Create Your Style with CRYSTALLIZED-Swarovski Elements. She is also author of 5 books including The Impatient Beader , Beyond the Bead and Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed (co written with Fernando DaSilva and Katie Hacker). There is another book in the pipeline at the moment and it's sure to be just as delectable as the others. Amongst her other credits she is also a public speaker and TV host - in short, Margot is a very accomplished designer, so you can understand why I was so pleased to be taking her class ......

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Soy Silk Fusion

Right now, I'm in the middle of designing pieces for two collaborative projects with artists from around the world which is an exciting prospect. One project is hush, hush and secret but the other is..... well, it's a bit hush, hush too but I can at least share a step-by-step on how to make the background I'm using for the project. I'm creating a sort of "fabric" from soy silk fibre - a bi-product left over from the manufacture of tofu. It's really soft and very colourful. When you fluff it apart, it looks like fairy floss! It comes from a completely renewable resource making it environmentally friendly. So let's get started! Gather the materials together: soy silk fibre (mine is from Conjoined Creations), Textile Medium, freezer paper, tulle, paper towel and water. Pour the textile medium into a cup. How much will depend on what size piece of fabric you want to end up with. I've just used enough to cover the bottom of the cup. Dilute with......

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Butterflies Take Flight

Brrrr..... it's been a cold winter here in South East Queensland. Yes, I know, I know, we have no idea what cold is here in our little corner of the world, but then, we are not geared up for cold weather. Night time temperatures have regularly hovered just a few degrees above zero and that's pretty chilly when you don't have any heating. But spring is not too far away in the southern hemisphere and to banish away the winter chills, I've decided to bring spring forward a month and let the butterflies take flight in search of spring blossom. My butterflies are all breaking free of their chrysalis - their winter nest, so to speak - in search of all the wonders or spring..... blossoms, love, sunshine. Yes indeed, warm sunny days. I'm looking forward to those! The base of my butterfly chrysalis is a Pavlova Magic container. Now you have to be an Aussie or a Kiwi to know what that is. Pavlova is kind of like our national dessert and we both lay claim to having invented i......

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