Darcie's Rubber Stamps - New To Me!

One of the nicest examples of "something new" I found at the Craft and Hobby show was this beautifully decorated acrylic frame.

There were several fabulous examples of it and I was very attracted to the Christmas version. I was so impressed by these rubber stamp sets. The artwork they showcased was beautiful.

I had visions of Christmas gifts dancing in my head.
The company is www.darcie.com and trust me when I say their web site is very confusing. It really does not do justice to their products at all. I loved their samples, but can't for the life of me find these acrylic frames on their site. Perhaps another day when I have time I will seek out the information again.
Saturday has arrived and I am back home again. I am looking forward to unpacking all my samples and getting through my many photos this weekend!

Here are some great links for you to enjoy from my crafty blogging friends.

About Family Crafts
Learn how you can preserve your summer blooms by pressing, drying, or pounding your flowers.

Aileen's Musings
It's Christmas in July and Alieen reminds us that the holidays will be here faster then a blinking twinkle light! Now's the time to start creating gifts to give and to sell!

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner
Make a statement with your own customized photo box purse - Swelldesigner shows you how!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy shows you her latest charity crafting project, some crochet washcloths for the Global Knit Haitian Relief Project.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Learn how to make an angelic mini quilted wall hanging.

Mixed Media Artist
Try using your favorite poem as a starting point for your mixed media art!

The 7 Gypsies Conservatory Collection

It would be impossible to walk by a 7 Gypsies sample board without making time for a good long look.

This huge framed assemblage might have fit in my big luggage.......

It was inspired by the papers in their Conservatory Collection.

It is delicate and lovely. It inspired me to do something when I get home. Perhaps it will inspire you too.

I just wish I knew who did this piece for them so I could give them a little shout out.

My favorite part. This makes me regret tossing out all those cherry tomato boxes.....

Claudine Hellmuth Studio Creative Layers Foam and Clear Stamps

This pillow and tag are sample projects using the brand new clear and foam stamps Claudine launched at CHA this week!

This little board shows you the full line. By having both the clear and foam stamps you can create images like the red houses you see on the last panel.

Just look at the fabulous samples! I could not wait to get my hands on these stamps!

Claudine was demoing in the Ranger booth so I thought I would show her in action.
She begins by placing a little dollop of her paint on her non stick craft sheet.

There are circle foam stamps that she used to make this happy pink background. The paint is applied by stamping the foam into the paint and then directly onto the paper tag.

She then started with two new paint colours. Mixed they make this pretty teal colour.

Two more of the foam stamps were used to create the scalloped edge and circular oval background.

Then Claudine switched to the clear stamps. She applied ink to these images and stamped them over the painted background. She is using a Crafters Companion Rock-a-Block to stamp her image. Clear stamps cling to the Rock a Block for a perfect stamped impression!

The bird and the "C" for Carmi monogram were the final touches.

Well, it might possibly be "C" for Claudine.

Everyone loved the class and demo for these new stamps! They will be in stores this fall. Ask about them now because they are destined to be a sell out.

The Prima Marketing Booth

In a very large booth, packed with people, samples and amazing art.....

I fell in love with this one framed piece of art featuring Prima Marketing products. To whoever designed this...I think it is beautiful!

There are so many layouts to see in this booth that I would need a whole lot more room on blogger to do justice to this fabulous booth. I love how items that could be used for either jewelery or paper are everywhere! Prima is even selling finished necklaces now.

Prima Marketing has always been known for their flowers. Their new collection is fantastic. Really, you just want it all.

Their designers are creating inspirational artwork. The use of flowers and matching papers makes you want to start a project right away.

Love the layers! So lush! There are brooches everywhere!
I know that many many bloggers will be posting images about Prima marketing. This was just a sampling of what I enjoyed. Check them out online.
They are also teaching live classes from CHA via their website.

Graphic 45 Steals The Show

Okay, I know. It is only day one of the Craft and Hobby (CHA) show in Chicago. It's a little early for me to be declaring a winner. But I just have to. I have never seen a booth at any show, let alone CHA, that is as spectacular as the booth created by Graphic 45. They have to win "Best Booth." No matter what, I have to just show you a few of the luscious things you would have seen had you been here.

This is one of two amazing credenzas in their booth jam packed with eye candy.

I could have posed a dozen more photos of each and every cubby.

The Alice in Wonderland themed papers and art are to die for.

Everyone is walking around the booth looking stunned. Your eyes can't settle. There is too much to see.

Every inch is artistically draped and merchandised. It is steam punk at it's best.

I didn't even get a catalogue...I completely forgot!

Everyone in the booth was dressed to match the theme. The hat designer out did herself. You would go crazy if you saw the hat and outfit the owner had on. We all wanted it!

Vintage mannequin and original accessories were everywhere. I will try and go back to get a photo of the whole booth. In the mean time here is the link to the company. Congratulations Graphic 45!

Creativ Festival!

Oh my. The Creativ Festival went live today with all their October classes. I was looking at them online over the weekend and I was so worried that I wouldn't get my picks in on time so I sent them all in by fax. Yes, fax, the old school form of communication.

You have to register early or so many classes sell out. There are some amazing beading and jewelery making classes. I had a really time picking!

Luckily I had an amazing followup call and I am all set! Thank you Festival Team!

By the way, I am in Chicago getting ready to attend the Craft and Hobby show, so my next posts should have some great new products to look forward to!

Wood Chain

I finally finished attaching all the elements to complete these two necklaces. I enjoyed every minute of this project. I tried out some new techniques and incorporated this interesting wood chain idea.

I thought the wood and gold was particularly pretty. The contrast between the two weighs of this chain was surprisingly minimal. I was worried the gold side would be so much heavier that it would twist when I wore it. I am happy to report it does not.

Birdie girl is a favorite. I used some very old chain from my stash to finish her.

Have a wonderful Sunday Friends!
Here are my beading links for the week!

A Bead A Day
If you enjoy recycling, Lisa shared a bracelet idea using an "old" canvas belt.

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy catches you up on some of her latest free jewelry tutorials.

Art Bead Scene
It's the Art Bead Scene Monthly Carnival Blog. This month's theme is "Commitment."

Beading Arts
You won't believe the goodies that Mama's Minerals in giving away on Beading Arts this week!

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Mad for Monday features Cindy's new Step by Step Wire Jewelry Double Dip Adjustable Ring Project.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
A shopping spree at an antique mall grants Melanie with some new old treasures! What will she make with these little bits of history?

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei's blog ended up on the Wikio.com Craft category, check out the others!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean made some summer fun earrings for Artbeads and they are soooo pretty! Go see!

Strands of Beads
Melissa has finally hung out her shingle and opened a modest store-front on her website.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Up for grabs in this week's Thursday Giveaway is an organic, lampwork glass bead by Susan Jones Designs.

Scrapfest in Oshawa - Hold The Date!

I am going to have a booth at Scrapfest this fall.

I'll have all the Dove Of The East products from my webstore on site!
Friday October 15th and Saturday October 16th, 2010

Durham College - Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre


There is so much to look forward to this fall!
Meanwhile, it was a busy week for all my crafty blogger favorites!

About Family Crafts
Now is the perfect time to get a jump start on your holiday crafting. Discover how you can make a fun and unique holiday gift for everyone on your list this year.

Aileen's Musings
If your anything like Aileen you have a lot of extra embellishments you haven't used. Stop by and see her Altered Embellishment video where Aileen gives you some ideas on altering them to fit your project!

Beading Arts
You won't believe the goodies that Mama's Minerals in giving away on Beading Arts this week!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside's giving away 2 copies of the new book Sew Retro along with a whole bunch of beautiful fabric from the on-line store Sew L.A., a no-pattern tutorial on how to make a triangle tank top, a free Hennya (devil mask) print download, a how-to on drawing an eyeball and wings and our schedule for Make and Takes at CHA Supershow in booth 324.

Crafty Princess Diaries
It's baccckkkk! Tammy is working again on her new jewelry book doing some last minute tweaking before it goes to press.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
The Artful Crafter's motto is "Helping Crafters to Be". To turn a phrase, today we have "The Artful Crafter – and Cyndi – Helping Crafters to Be-ad".

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Kathy Peterson has a new line of Adirondack chairs and five fabulous designers have been challenged to decorate them!

When Did I Buy This?

There is a massive studio clean up going on here right now. There comes a point every year where if I don't make some major changes that I can't seem to create anything new. So tables, shelves and stands are all on the move. Yikes...I hope it all finds a home again! I am finding things that I can't recall buying. Like this stationary set.

I have no idea why I bought it now. Was I thinking I could use it in a collage? Maybe in bezels? Usually when I pick something up I filed away I remember what my intentions were for it. This time: I got nothing.

Which gives me a good art challenge. What to do with a 3/4 Florentine lady?

Finishing The Lost and Found Bezel Necklace

Since I just launched my "Art Girl's Guide To Paris" book and blog this week, Paris has been top of mind for me. I thought it would be great to make something Paris themed to keep me close to my favorite subject. So I went to my jewelery table to see what was waiting for me.
A few weeks ago I had a post about the bezel I was looking for. It was an original by Susan Lenart Kazmer and was pretty happy to find it again.

It has been waiting for a final home. With two loops I had several ways to use this bezel.
I had decided in advance that I wanted to put a dangle below the image of the ladies having lunch.
The necklace below the bezel is a sample I made several years ago featuring pictures I took in Paris. I have been wanting to recycle the charms for a while so this was the perfect excuse to start breaking the necklace up.

The attached charm has a picture I took from the kitchen window of an apartment I had rented in Paris. I loved this view.

The final necklace is one that I will really enjoy wearing!

Wall Decor Remake

This is a little wall dangle I made. Well, it can go on the wall or on a jacket. It was inspired by something I picked up at an antique market last year.

This is the original brocade ribbon dangle that I purchased at the antique market. It is about 2 feet long and the brooch, although it looks very heavy is actually plastic and thin brass. I imagine this was the type of wall decor that was hung on an archway/doorway or maybe next to some other art. It's pretty dusty. But I could see how fabulous it would have looked when it was brand new.

For the project I pulled out some of my own brocade ribbons and then decided on this beautiful paisley piece. I made the button of the lady with the mask and found this gold cabochon setter in my stash. I didn't want to use a tassel at the bottom of my piece so I looked through my drawers for something else. There are always left over single jewels or resin baubles I have made that are looking for a home.

Brocade is hard to work with because as soon as you cut it the edges start to fray. So I made my bottom point by gluing it in place with fabric glue. Then the back didn't look very pretty so I glued on some felt to completely back it.

This little project was very relaxing for me. It is on my wall next to other experiments. I may make a dozen more now as card embellishments. I think I have figured out a few more shortcuts. In the mean time I'll have my version to enjoy!