Kreativ Blogger Award

One of my lovely beady friends Bree at Beads by Bree http://beadsbybree.blogspot.com/ gave me this award a little while ago, and I have finally written down all the relevant information required to accept this award. Thanks for the award, buddy!

Along with all blog awards there are rules to accepting them:

1. Post the award on my blog.
2. Thank the person who gave it to me.
3. Link to the person who gave this to me.
4. Share a list of 7 things that you probably don't know about me.
5. Choose 7 great bloggers to give the award to.
6. Share a link to their blogs.
7. Leave a comment on their blog.

7 things you probably didn't know about me:

1. Blue is my favourite colour.
2. I work as an anatomical pathologist in a hospital.
3. I don't like cooked tomatoes, but fresh ones are fine.
4. I learnt Chinese painting for quite a few years when I was young.
5. My favourite food is sushi.
6. My favourite foreign movie is a Chinese one titled "Farewell My Concubine".
7. I'm a hopeless sentimental and would cry even when I watch old black and white movies.

My 7 Kreativ Bloggers which I have chosen to give this award to are:

Michele at Michele Lynch Art http://michelelynchart.blogspot.com/

I was instantly attracted to Michele's whimsical steampunk jewelry the first time I visited her blog. You HAVE to see her creations, they're amazing.

Helena at Helena Asmus Lim http://helena-asmus-lim.blogspot.com/

Love Hel's contemporary, funky jewelry. She's also a good writer with a sense of humor.

Maryanne at Maryniky Designs http://marynikydesigns.blogspot.com/

Gorgeous beadwork including bead embroidery, bridal designs and pieces with lace.

Bianca at Bianca Velder Creations http://biancavelder.blogspot.com/

B is a clever chic, fantastic writer, beader and mixed media artist. Love her latest art dolls.

Marcie Abney at La Bella Joya http://labellajoya.blogspot.com/

Marcie's beadwork is absolutely beautiful, intricate and very wearable.

Kerrie at Contemporary Beadwork by Kerrie Slade http://kerrieslade.blogspot.com/

Kerrie has such a way with seedies. Many of her pieces are simply exquisite.

Wanda Roszak at Wandar-Wanda http://wandar-wanda.blogspot.com/

Her textile and fibre art is exquisite.

Bohemian Rhapsody

This is a piece I made for last week's Year of Jewellery Challenge at the Australian Beading Forum, the theme of which is, yes you guess it, "Bohemian Rhapsody". I've been playing around with mixed media ATC (Artist Trading Cards) a little lately, and made this ATC a few weeks ago. My hubby thinks she looks like a gypsy. Anyhow, the theme came up, and I thought of the design right away. I wanted to create a piece with an arty Boho mixed media feel. Made a copy of the ATC and turned it into a resin coated cabochon, and beaded around it. I then rummaged through my beady stash looking for things that would go together. I painted some of the bits and pieces with acrylic paints, and also coloured some brass stampings with Gilder's paste. For some reason, it's really difficult to capture the true colours of the piece in the photos - in real life, it is less pink and more bluish purple and a little more subdue. Please click on the photos if you'd like a larger view.

Anastasia

I made this necklace a while ago, but like some of my more elaborate pieces, I had never worn it. Last week, however, we had a fund raising function on one evening after work, and I wanted to promote an event (Art Under the Microscope: Art and Artisan Jewellery Exhibition and Sale) which we're planning to hold in early April next year, so I decided to wear it. I teamed it with a plain black dress, and it looked quite stunning on. Must admit I wasn't used to wearing such a big piece and was feeling a little self conscious, LOL. Anyhow, the function went well, and the necklace had served its function well and attracted lots of attention and comments. I was a bit chuffed really. Technically this is not a difficult piece to do, but I'm quite pleased with the design and colour scheme, and it wears well. It reminds me of the old Russian royals, a princess maybe? The piece is quite sparkly in real life because of all the Swarovski crystals.

Puppy Love - Spring inspired mixed media collage necklace

This is a piece I've been working on on and off for a few weeks. I went overseas end of August, and came back in mid September. Before I left, it still felt very much like Winter, but when I came back, all out of a sudden, Spring had sprung. The shrubs and trees were all in blooms, and when I went back to work, there were masses of pink azaleas lining the footpaths leading from the carpark to the office. I also happened to have this resin coated cab which I made a little while ago, which I had been wanting to turn into a necklace. Anyhow, I was really inspired by the colours and fragrance all around me, and I ended up doing this extra girly super sweet necklace. Don't think I've ever made anything quite so pink before (I even painted some brass stampings pink to match), LOL. Please click on the photos if you'd like a larger view.

Little Ethan - beaded resin cab

Just finished making this necklace with a resin coated cabochon which I made from a copy of my enamel plate Ethan shown in the last post. I feel like I've cloned him, LOL. The original enamel piece was wire wrapped and submitted in a showcase, together with works from a few other members in our lapidary club, to the competition at the annual exhibition of the NSW Lapidary Council (GEMKHANA). I'm happy to say that our club has won first place again this year, and we actually received a perfect score of 100/100 from the judges. We're all so excited! I've made a few more cabs in different sizes so I can play with different ways of beading him up. Please click on the photos if you like a larger view.

PS. Just want to add that Little Ethan has found a lovely new home in America. I made him as a surprise gift to my dear friend Bev, to thank her for the friendship, kindness and support she's shown me. I can now say it as she has received it. I'm so pleased you love him, Bev! :)

Ethan the baby owl

Thought I would introduce Ethan to you all - he is Molly's baby nephew (you can find pictures of saucy Molly a few posts back). I did this enamel pendant for our lapidary club showcase, which will be entered into an upcoming lapidary competition. The pendant was made with a piece of copper which I cut out, then applied enamels using various techniques including cloisonne and overglaze painting enamel. It's hard to photograph because of the glassy surface. I have actually turned it into a wire-wrapped pendant and submitted it for the showcase, but I'm not totally happy with how I wrapped it (I ran out of time and was rushing to get it done). Will fiddle with it a bit more and take a photo to show you when I get in back. The pendant is about 5-6cm in length, and just in case you're wondering, the name Ethan came from my little nephew who was born just over a month ago. I love owls and will no doubt make more owl jewellery, hopefully using different techniques and media.

A few scrolled enamel pendants

Haven't posted anything for a little while as I and hubby have just returned from a trip to Krakow, Poland. Had a fantastic time there and bought some gorgeous amber beads and cabochons. Will show you some photos later.

Anyhow, thought I'd post a few scrolled enamel pendants which I made sometime ago. At one stage, I was a bit obsessed with making scrolled enamel pieces. They're not really that tricky to make - you just have to add piles of enamel powders onto a copper plate, melt them in the kiln, open the kiln door and scroll them quickly with a long pointy metal stick to create the patterns. As there is very little time to scroll before the molten enamels harden, and some colours burn out easier than others, however, the results are quite unpredictable, and it's impossible to create two pieces that are exactly the same. I guess it's this unpredictability and my quest for the perfect patterns that got me hooked on to this technique. As a result, I've accumulated a nice little collection of scrolled enamel plates, some of which I turned into pendants using beading and wire wrapping techniques. I have now got over this obsession and moved on to something else. Again, please click on the photos if you'd like a larger view.