At Last, a Dress Form

Hello friends,

I have been looking for a while... and finally she found me.

She is by no means perfect...
Her shape is not quite what it once was...
She is fraying in places and there are many marks from age and use...
No-one wanted her and her value was reduced...

So I took her to my place and here she stands in all her faded and worn beauty... welcome home.
I can't wait to display jewellery on her... that is, after all, part of the reason why I did look for a dressmakers model for some years.

Unfortunately she is a little flattened on one side!

But from this angle it is not too noticeable!

I love the top and the number 21.

What a beautiful contour from this side!

A scarf helps!

I found a scrap of paper at the base labelled "165 Colli." I believe that is meant to be "Collins" Street, a well-known locale for high-fashion clothing in Melbourne's CBD. The design studios and dress-makers were historically in the buildings above the shop-fronts.

So, I looked up the address. That number in Collins Street is now a large modern shopping complex, spanning more than that street number alone.

Further research showed it was once the address of 'Chartres House', a building erected in the 1920's and now demolished. I believe she once belonged there... maybe to a dressmaker?

There are also faded-red-stamped words on the body of the dress form... difficult to decipher... but I am pretty sure the top line says "London & Paris". On the second line, the word "office" is legible and the third line appears to say "Melbourne".

So, she remains a bit of a mystery girl... exactly how old she is and where she came from is unclear.

I would like to give her a name. None are obvious to me yet...

Any ideas welcomed... I would love your suggestions!

Until next time, 

A Novel Jewelry Box

Hello dear friends,

Thought I would share with you a wonderful and easy, yet very effective tutorial for a jewelery box/gift box that was shared to me by Sharon Tomlinson. Thanks Sharon.

The base of the box is the little box from Laughing Cow Cheese. I intend to make quite a few of these  boxes over the coming year, so it looks like I will be enjoying lots of this soft, creamy cheese. Actually, it only has 50 calories per wedge...so that's a bonus given the amount my family is going to have to consume!

Here are a few photos of the two boxes I have made, so far.

Two boxes almost complete.

I love the egg design and colours on this one.

Gold paint is painted inside. I didn't use quite the same colour as Sharon, but it still looks good, I think.

 I can't put the labels on yet...the jewelery still has to be completed before the box is sealed!

How easy is that! Head on over for a look at the tutorial......it's a lot of fun!

Hope you are having a good day,

Cheers,

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,