Busy, busy

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all have a happy, healthy, peaceful and art filled 2008.

This year has started out in the same busy fashion as usual. I've been replenishing my jewellery stocks for the two galleries where I sell my work. Above are a few things I have ready to send, I still have quite a few more to complete. The above pieces seem to have a vintage feel, when I start out I never plan a piece, I pick up an element and then go from there. I have four huge roll out drawers full of beads and found objects and lots of containers with gemstone beads. I let the objects direct me, it's amazing how I will have something sitting on my bench and it suddenly jumps out at me, even though I've over looked it on other occasions.

I was very happy to sell the necklace in my previous post on my Etsy store. Thank you for all the wonderful comments.

I still have another week off from work so I will be busy with more jewellery and working on my latest ABRR, this one will be sent on to the US. We start the overseas exchange of books this month, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you gals in the US have created, something wonderful by the looks of the sneak peaks on our blog.

We have been sweltering in Victoria with temperatures in the high 30's to low 40's, that's centigrade. In New South Wales and Queensland (the sunshine state), to our north, they are having floods, our daughter rang tonight, she can't get home due to the river near her flooding and blocking the roads. She's a ranger at a wildlife park on the Gold coast so she might have to spend the night with the animals.

Back to work for me now, it's nearly ten o'clock at night and it's still 35deg, very balmy.

Who holds the key to your heart

The family has gone home and quiet reigns once more. It's so lovely to have our big family get togethers each year, my brother and sister don't have any children, so my two daughters and their children get spoilt rotten, which is lovely to see.
I've been cleaning up my studio over the past two days, now I have two weeks holiday to just sit back and create.
The photos are of a necklace I've completed and is now for sale on my Etsy site.
I treated myself to a Keith Lo Bue dvd and it arrived a few days ago. I'm so impressed with Keith's work. I'm enrolled to do a whole weeks class with him in September 2008, thanks to Jen Crossley who told me about the course, I'm looking forward to meeting Jen again, we should have a great time.
Back to my nice clean studio and more jewellery.

Thank You

I'd like to thank everyone who's visited my blog and Etsy store over the past twelve months, and to thank all the lovely people who have been so kind and left comments on my entries. It makes blogging all worth while knowing there are like minded people out there, all over the world with similar interests and with the main intention of creating a peaceful, art filled
world, where everyone is free to express their beliefs and opinions, whatever they may be.
Have a wonderful holiday season and thanks once again.
The photos above show the decorations in our living room. We're now awaiting the arrival of the grandchildren for the ohhhing and ahhhing.

Purple haze

This is a necklace I've just completed for Patsy, one of my students in the altered book workshops. I made the copper book with the pages being pieces of fabric from old Japanese kimonos. Patsy is a textile artist so this was very appropriate for her. Patsy provided all of the interesting jewellery components. The close up is of a beautiful piece that was originally a brooch from France.

We had to cancel our altered book workshop last night due to torrential rain. The storm was incredible it flooded the Hann Made Studio workshop with water pouring down the walls from the inside. We have had similar storms tonight. The weather is warm so it is very balmy inside and out, you can almost see the garden grow, so lush, it's sad to think that in two or three weeks, when we get the real heat, every thing will be tinder dry and a major fire hazard. Mother nature is very fickle or is this the result of global warming?

Mixed bag

This is a mixed bag of things happening at the moment. Firstly I made the earrings above and added them to my etsy store tonight.



The necklace is one I've made for my daughter for Christmas, I don't need to worry about showing you as she doesn't visit my blog, up until now that is so here's hoping. It's not hard to tell what her favourite colour is.




These are pictures I took today of some rusty old farm machinery, as you can see the area is so dry and we've only just started summer. I love the old chain and the wheels, would love to have them join other pieces in my garden.



This guy came to see what all the fuss was about.

More decorated papers for Etsy

These are more decorated paper packs that I'll be putting on my Etsy store tonight. They feature ten hand decorated papers and five laser prints of my artwork and papers. Each pack comes with a bonus pack of small off cuts of my papers.
This is pack one above.



This is pack two, it has different laser prints. It also shows the bonus papers at the top.





These are typical of the hand decorated papers in the packs, no two are alike. The papers are suitable for card and journal making, for ATC backgrounds or for altered books, or wherever else you might like to use them.
Hope you can visit my store.

Decorated papers and Altered book workshop

Above are some paper packs that I'm now selling on my Etsy store . The top image is the pack, the second photo shows the hand decorated papers, each pack is slightly different as the papers are hand decorated. The third image shows laser prints of my art and papers.

These are photos from my latest altered book workshop, last weekend.



This was Patsy's third workshop, she's so prolific with her art. This is the cover of her Asian themed book. The little figures are painted plaster. Patsy has an exhibition of her magnificent textile pictures, fabulous bags and altered books on December the 8th and 9th at the Waratah Room in St Michaels Church Hall, in Collins street Melbourne. It will be well worth a visit.



Sue's another one who's returned, this was her second workshop, her work's so vibrant. It's a real colour explosion.



This was the first time Sue had tried her hand at altered books and she did very well indeed. I hope to see her again at our Thursday night get togethers.



Lucy's a scrap booker so she was familiar with some of the materials, but I think the tea bags, serviettes and party umbrellas took her by surprise, I'm sure she thinks I'm quite mad using some of the things I collect.



Joy was also a new comer to the workshop, but she had met up with altered books before, not quite like the way I teach though. Recycling's the name of the game in my workshops, it's amazing what you can use to create such wonderful, original art, as their books reflect. Well done ladies.