Favourite Colour Exchange 08

I received the most wonderful gift from Nik yesterday and it's for the NNC Favourite Colour Exchange. This exchange us all about sending your partner a handmade gift, a card and 3 stash items. Here's my brand new stash tote bag, the most beautiful handmade card I've ever received and a stash of embellishments from Nik. Thanks Nik!



Nik's own label AZNIQUE. What a glamourous brand name! Looks like you're set for an Etsy venture!!

After attending the stitching bee two weeks ago, it's crochet fever at our Group. Look what the bug made me do...Crocheted blooms for fun. They're very addictive and this is only the beginning...LOL!

Don't they look like candy pieces?

70's Craft Making A Comeback?

It's called vitriflore or liquid plastic. Victoria and I spotted a majestic bloom at the local ribbon shop and asked about the bottles and bottles of coloured resin right below it. This coloured resin is in liquid form and in a variety of colours, and when you dip a wired form into it, you make a bubble film that dries completely in less than 10 minutes. There were lots of colourful wires packed individually for you to match the liquids as well. It smells exactly like nail polish and I suppose acts as one too, chemically that is. Liquid thinners and strengtheners were sold together too. The thing with this craft is quite mystical, I googled 'crystal flowers' and none came up. But I gave it a long shot and googled 'wired plastic flower craft' and voila! I found Vitriflore. And http://1stforcrafts.com/media/book/index.htm Here you'll find simple instructions to this classic craft. I found the flowers a little tacky and old school, fragile pieces and too many of them make the whole bouquet too plasticky. So, what I did was, I printed out an outlined of a victorian motif and worked on a dramatic piece. LOL! I must have been mad to begin something so ambitious as a victorian motif. Read on....

I only bought 1 can of colour (RED RUBY) and the store owner advised me to get the thinner as well. I used it to liquify the thick solution. No instructions came with the bottle and all I have is some notion of how it should be done.
Shaping the floral wire to the desired shape. Mental note 1 - Don't make the motif too big to be dipped into the can of resin.
I didn't have any polystyrene at hand to poke the wires for it to air dry. So the tissue paper box looks like the next best thing. I started with some smaller motifs. See the thick liquid gathering at the tip? Well, I thinned the solution after with the thinner. Sorry, no picture of the dipping, but do go to the site I've recommended, there are tutorials there too. This is just my process. With the quick drying solution at hand, I couldn't possibly take any photos while dipping.
The bigger pieces of the victorian motif. I had to improvise since too big a piece the bubble film seems to just not attach to the wire and bursts. Mental note 2 - think bubble wand. The bigger it is, the easier it will burst before the film dries. I figured if you need to do mass production of the same motif, you'll need to pin the printed motif to a styrofoam block, lots of pins in strategic curves and bends and do the wire-curving more consistently.
The last piece set to dry. I bundled up the pieces as I wait for the other pieces to dry.
The completed motif. A dramatic piece, isn't it? I'm now thinking about a masquerade - phantom of the opera mask to make. There is a strengthener you need to buy to coat the films if you want to spray some glitter onto the pieces when drying. I can imagine a lot of cool projects with this classic craft.
And here's Nigel with his first cartoon doodle. We got this really cute sketch pad with easy ideas to doodling. It comes complete with markers and googly eyes too.

Wedding Head Dresses by Yoonie

These have been keeping me busy last month. A range of simple wedding and dinner-wear head dresses for my nieces new venture into her make-up career. I like the beading work, maybe I should try to do some tiaras for flower girls. I have composed some of them with smaller versions of the same theme so Kathleen can use it for any hair styles.
Velvet orchids with beaded petals.

I love how the crystals look right in the middle of this chrysanthemum. Very nice piece if you're wearing an oriental styled cheongsam.

A bridal piece. I have them beaded in three separate pieces and in variating sizes. To be pinned on a chignon or an elegant updo.

Similar to the ones I made for Gracie's wedding. These are softer in blush pink and embellished with chinese buttons.
Perhaps for a masquerade party. We even have matching masks with feathers and gems.
A white wedding hair piece. Antique lace and beading work. Lace works wonders on hair dresses. You can actually form the lace to the shape of your hair style. I thought they looked good as earrings as well.
A playful lavender piece. I love how the tendrils flow down to the ears.
Blue is always a favourite colour to wear. Flirtatious little hairpiece with a dangling bead at the end.
Spanish themed. This bloom will looks wonderful tucked under flowing curly hair on one side. A good profile if you're thinking about photoshoots.
Sparkly fireworks and in three separate varying sizes. Perfect for the black cocktail dress!

Another azure creation. Simple beading with the centre of attention- a thread wrapped bead for a rustic look.
This is my favourite. Shiny sea shells with a single crystal. The colours of the ocean, perfect for a sea-themed dinner.

Me and my lace pieces. I have been storing these pieces of lace and I love how the lace tucks in like soft petals in between. For a romantic dinner for two?
Moulin rouge styled headpiece. This is suitable for short hair bobs. A dramatic piece for theatre premiers, perhaps?!