Project 2012/Develop...a Few favourites

Hello friends,

A quick post today where I want to share with you a few of my iPhone photo 'snaps' from the Flickr group -  Project 2012/Develop . The group is hosted by Tiffany Dahle.

In case you have never heard of this....Project 2012/Develop, is where you take a photo every day for the whole year...366 days for this leap year and show the photo to it's namesake group on Flickr. ( By the way Flickr is free to join up and super easy to do!) Most contributors are just like me...wanting to record a little of their everyday moments. Some are very good photographers and others, like myself, just people who love to take photos but are not necessarily fabulous photographers technically.....for me, it's all about the fun of the moment and just capturing a little part of my day.

Today is Day 60...I am pleased to say I have come this far and not missed a day yet.....yes I know it is early days yet!! I really want to make it to the end of the year and not miss a day..that is my challenge to myself...got to have those.....right?!

It's very hard to pick favourites...I have so many already! Here are a few from the last 2 months.

L to R

Row 1. My Hairdressers, Morning tea with a friend, Materials for an on-line course
Row 2. My backyard deck - early morning, Working on a Heart Bezel, Butterfly
Row 3. Some finished bezels, Melbourne Tram, Sunlight on a wooden floor

I am seriously not very good at this collaging caper..there were meant to be 3 other photos here...where did they go!!

If you wish to see more photos you can click on the Flickr logo on my blog side bar...or why not join up yourself. Sure, the year is well under way.....but there are still 301 days left to participate! I try to be a half FULL girl!

Until next time,

Have a great day,

Be Still My Heart

Hello dear friends,

I am so excited to finally show you the (almost) completed products I have been working on these last weeks.

Finally the heart is filled. I was unsure weather the resin would colour well with the addition of the oil paint, so to make sure it was lovely and red, I added a paper layer at the base which was also painted with the high pigment oil paint I used to tint the resin. This was then sealed before pouring the resin. I am glad I added the painted paper layer as the resin, when stirred, was pinkish-red and not really a deep red - the combination of the two gave a delicious deep red which I am very pleased with. ( sorry about the dust on the heart ...it is lint and not in the resin itself...the resin is shiny and clean..oh how I love this Ice Resin...magic stuff! Now to drill a hole through the resin for a tube rivet (gulp!)...

I am pretty happy with the clock bezel, too...no bubbles and no overflow ( the heart flowed over a little at the junction of the two lobes..but was fixable) I did seal both paper and metal additions inside the bezel, however a few little rust -type marks have been added to the paper, presumably from the metal...which  gives it a bit more character and I love that.

Time for my Heart!

I did do make one other heart bezel, but it overflowed and I left it too long to remove the resin..aargh...a lesson learnt!

Today, I am linking up to  Studio Waterstone  for 'I Heart Macro'......a place for those who love close up and Macro photography...click on the photo link to take you there and see contributions from other photo lovers.

Have a great day whatever you are doing,

Cheers, 

A Heart to Heart Giveaway

Hello friends,

Thought I would let you know there is a wonderful giveaway over at Diana's.
In celebration of her first on-line tutorial, Diana is kindly giving away a tutorial for free....soldering, patina, cold connections and etching...sounds like heaven to me!!

So head on over to her blog and take a look...I just love those hearts...and etching...now that I want to try!

Bye for now...and good luck,

Playing with Pixlr

Hello Friends,

Trying out a few effects at Pixlr.....it is a lot of fun...I am pretty sure I will use this free editing/effects program when Picknik disappears. I like some of the effects...but still need to give it a more in depth look before making too many comments.

Here are a few effects applied using the same photo.

Original

Adding a rainbow effect and  cornered frame.

Adding retro vintage effects, Ground Frame .

Trying  to remember what you did to the photo is a problem ( for me anyway) I really need to explore more

and see what other effects are available...today is just an initial explore.

So for those who have used this program....how are you finding it......is there an easy way to remember and document what you have done?.......what are the editing issues you have come across and what do you love the most?

Bye for now....

Going to do some real research!!

Jenni

Bead Table Wednesday - 22 February

Hello dear friends,

Following on from last Wednesday, I am still continuing to work on bezels... and planning to fill them with resin.
One heart has text in it...but I feel it needs something else...and haven't quite decided what yet...some extra colour is needed, I think. Any ideas?
The other heart I plan to fill with red resin and drill through the resin to put in some kind of hanging/hole arrangement.

The largest of the three, was going to have a Jasper cabochon in it (my first) but I am not happy with the way it sits in the bezel..a little piece of solder is in the way and tilts the stone so it does not sit flat...I have tried to grind it away.....but just cannot get it right......so think I will add some image/text and these clock parts with resin instead....I rather like that idea....got to be flexible!

I am linking up to the Bead Table Wednesday Flickr group... please do come and have a look.

Until next time,
Have a lovely day,

I Heart Macro - Glass Shell

Hello friends,

Today was a day for a Sunday drive...so we went to Drysdale to see the Glass Festival held there.
Some of my bead -making friends were there selling their lovely glass beads and glass items.

I couldn't go past this gorgeous  stylised glass shell made by Jacquie.....I just love it! I love the soft colours and patterns from the glass twistie and the wavy hole with the contrasting colour inside.

Soft glass blown shell

 The day had been quite sultry, but on the way home I noticed these wonderful clouds and took a quick photo......my day 50 of 366 photos for the year. If you wish to see the other daily photos  please click on the flickr logo on my blog sidebar. ( I am part of the Project2012/Develop flickr group) I hope I can continue this project to the end of the year! Actually it's a lot of fun..and very easy to take a photo of something in your day..especially using a camera phone!

Today I am linking up to I Heart Macro hosted by Lori at Studio Waterstone.....a place for those who love close up and macro photos..head on over for a look!

Have a good day,

I Love Rain!

Hello friends,

The rain has finally come...drenching the garden, cooling the air, bringing the rumble, overflowing the gutters and sending the dog to hide in her bed.
I feel like I can breathe again....with my own internal heater, sultry weather is not my friend...it sits very heavily with me, zapping my energy and giving me headaches.

This feels like the tropics...but isn't!

I went out to the garden to take it all in....the house is still steamy and probably will be for another day or so. It was good to feel cool air on my face and hear the wonderful noise of the storm.

I certainly don't mind a few drops on my head or shirt...  the camellia will be loving this.....preparing herself  for Autumn.

The path is overflowing with miniature rivers of water.

And the ornamental grape is almost visibly growing after this satisfying drink!

Are you a rain lover like me?

See you soon,
Jenni

Bead Table Wednesday - A New Love

Hello dear friends,

It has been quite a while since I have posted...either on btw or on my blog.
So, I am trying to make up for a little lost time today!

Over the last 6 weeks or so, I have been participating in an on-line course called Of Towers and Turrets, hosted by the pairing of two creative, wonderful teachers...Deryn Mentock and Sharon Tomlinson.
Before I go any further, I do wish to say that, if you ever get a chance to work with these ladies, grab it....they are both very giving, gifted women. They work well together, they are funny at times and very easy to both listen to and to understand on the videos.

In the Towers and Turrets course, Sharon helped us create art with painting and collaging...that was new to me....and a wonderful introduction in to the world of mixed media. Some of us had never painted before, others were very proficient...it was not necessary to have had any prior experience to be able to join in.
I posted a few collage and painting photos on this previous blog post if you wish to take a look.

Deryn taught the metal working and resin component. She was always helpful in giving tips and potential ideas along the way. Both teachers were always available online and always offering encouragement and answering our many and varied questions! It was so great to have that participation.

I just loved the metal element of the course.. probably because I had previously dabbled with metals. Overall, the course has really taught me so much. I can't wait to introduce some of the new techniques into my future work.

One of the other extra benefits I must mention is the wonderful camaraderie between the participants. I just loved seeing their comments and ideas flowing, the many and varied approaches to the work taught and the  inspirational photos posted online. Goodness, it was fun! I now have 'friends' in places I had only ever heard of before. What a gift. Here are a few photos of other students work.

So...getting on to my bead table this Wednesday!

I need to put in a tube rivet for hanging this copper and brass, heart-shaped bezel that I made and then adhere the printed paper to the inside...little jobs for today.

Here are my finished bezels from the Of Towers and Turrets course. (Sorry this is not the clearest photo...must look at my camera ISO.....it looks a little 'grainy'.)  'DEVELOP" is my word for the year, so I chose to add that to the bezels in a few places. 

The progress of the towers at the rear of the photo can also be seen here.

The 3 smaller backless bezels were purchased, but the images are mine.....they also have images on the reverse.

I am so pleased with this bezel which I made. The resin looks awesome as it has domed so high.

The image could be more exciting...I'll improve on that next time! The little 'sparklie's are cubic zirconias....great to insert into resin as they have no holes that could potentially generate bubbles in the resin.

Well, that's your lot for today...

I am linking up to Bead Table Wednesday flickr group.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Wednesday,

The Home Stretch.

Hello dear friends,

Sorry my blog is becoming the weekly I Heart Macro post.....I have had illness in my family and it has both consumed my time and energy....hence my infrequent posts! Sorry...will try and step up a little!

I have been slowly getting these metal bezels together...popped them in the patina today ( I used Liver of Sulphur Extended Life Gel. I find this very easy to use...only a teaspoon is required...and although still a little smelly it is not as bad as the hard form. It works quickly and in my opinion gives a good result.
I still have to put the images in to the bezels ( at least I have them ready!) and then pour the resin over them...so, if all works out and they look ok..I can show you in a few days or so.

Lovely brass filigree ( from Vintage Jewelry Supplies ) soldered to copper and attached with flat wire rivets, tube rivet for stringing.

Quirky pendants with mixed metal. A process learned from on-line course with Deryn Mentock

and Sharon Tomlinson  which has been a fun and fabulous course with so many talented participants.

Today I am linking up to I heart Macro...head on over for a look at some inspiring up close and macro photos.

Click on the above photo to take you straight there!

Hope you are all having a great weekend...thanks for stopping by...and see you soon,

Jenni