Kumihimo bead necklace

This weekend, at bead group, my friend Robin showed me how to do kumihimo braiding. It is easy and quick! On Tuesday, I had to stop by the bead store and buy some beads to do a full necklace!!!! I started it last night and finished it this afternoon. THANK YOU ROBIN!

Journal cover

I am taking another class from Tam. This one is working on Art Journals. It is a perfect time as I have really made a commitment to working in a sketchbook/journal regularly this year. So far, I have kept up with it and really happy with them. Tam is an amazing teacher and extremely giving in the amount of information that she shares. The other students are also great! If you would like to look at the site, here is the address: http://willowing.ning.com/group/awesomeartjournal This is the cover to my journal that I just started. It has embossed metal and a "self-portrait".

embossed metal pendants

These are some embossed pieces that I made. Now the challenge is finding ways to use them. I went to my favorite store on Friday, Rubber Stamp Fantasy, and talked to the owners, Deb and Gary about what I wanted and they suggested a resin enamel that works at 250 degrees. I used Ranger's frames and glass on the back and then used the enamel on the front. I really liked how they turned out. I did cloisenne for years and love the look but hate the time and money they it takes. This was so much easier and cheaper!

The "A" is for my big sis, Adrianne!!!

Metal Embossing Class

My metal embossing class began this week. This is my first piece. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be! I was working on getting a more finished result than the ones that I have done to this point. I am taking the class from Darlene www.articulations.blogspot.com. So far I have been very impressed with the level of instruction. The first video was almost an hour!