Stamps and stuff

I've been busy carving stamps and organizing classes, the brooch class is now full.
I'm really pleased with the stamp below, it's a repeat design that uses a motif often seen in Indian style fabrics. It can be used as it is singly or continuous. I used it with acrylic paint on sheer fabric. This is something I haven't done very often but will be great in my fabric/paper journals.

Theses stamps are all available on my etsy store.





This one is pansies and can be used in either direction to extend the design.



I can't seem to keep away from the poppy seed head, this is one of my favourite designs, they are always different as I draw directly onto the carving block.



I like the houses too as they can be repeated right across the page.



I've also been busy making jewellery over the past few weeks. This necklace is now living with Jacky, the lovely lady who makes the fabulous Klimt dolls.
Jacky loves working with fabrics so I made a little book from fabric and added the word 'textile' behind mica in the metal centre piece.






The necklace below was a commission from lovely Linda I showed some of it in an earlier post, it's now winging it's way to the US. I've called it a 'stitch in time' as it relates to all things sewing.

Things for Etsy

I've been trying to get some more things ready for my Etsy store. Today's a public holiday here in Melbourne and I've spent most of it photographing my work and loading onto Etsy. I still have a few more things but will add them later.


We went for a walk in the forest which is about ten minutes from home. We have some of the tallest trees in the world, Eucalyptus, or mountain ash, it's not until you're well into the forest and realize how tall they are, they block out the sun making you thing it's much later in the day.




This is Sherbrooke forest and is renowned for it's famous lyre birds. The male has brown tail feathers, similar in shape to a peacock, only smaller and brown. They are the most amazing birds, they imitate other bird sounds and anything else they hear, chain saws, machinery. They are incredible. We heard two competing with each other, it was like a forest full of bird song. We caught a glimpse of a female scratching away at the forest floor, they are very shy and not easy to find.




This is the other extreme, the tiny fungus on the forest floor.

Check out Jo's blog, she has a great article on rusting fabric and paper. She's also a lady from the hills.

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.

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?

New Book Necklace

This is a new necklace that I've just completeed for a friend's birthday. She's worked in the fashion industry all her life, so the pages have vintage lace with images of fashion through the ages, I've also added pearl buttons, silk ribbon and trim.



The cover was made from this silver plated biscuit tray. I cut it out with my trusty Dremel

Decorated papers and copper necklace

I made a special copper 'red velvet' necklace (top photo) for Judy who sent me this HUGE role of annealed wire that she managed to find in a Bunnings store. It's terrific wire, thicker than what I've been able to find so far. It will be great for Keith Lo Bue and Richard Salley type of jewellery, my next challenge. The necklace is made from a copper fancy buckle that was curved in both directions. I hammered it flat, then threaded red velvet ribbon through the slots. I made a copper back and joined them all together with micro eyelets, fabulous little eyelets only 1/16 in dia. The 'bridge' is a copper, pipe or hose bracket that I aged and then added Nina knots and beads.

I've been busy over the weekend decorating paper for various projects I have under way. The first photo shows stage one of the process, this is where very watery paint is applied to paper towel and then lace, fabric, stencils, whatever will leave a mark, is brayered over the tissue and through to the paper. When this is dry, then I really go to town adding lots of colour. I have a production line going on my bench top. When this is again dry, I decorate even further with my hand carved stamps. The last two photos show the finished papers. These will then go into my journals and be worked on even further. I always scan them first so that I can change the colours in photo shop and have more colour combinations. I'll be teaching this technique, as well as others and journal making at Hann Made Studio later in the year. You can email me or visit my web site for details.

Copper book necklace

I've completed this necklace over Easter, it features a small copper book with mica pages as taught by Nina. The cover is galvanized metal that builders use to join plaster and I've given it an 'aged' finish a la deMeng. I'm giving everything an 'aged' look at the moment with liquid nails and paint and loving it, watch out hubby.