In the past I have shown you different chain maille jewellery designs and I have continued to explore the vast range of designs that are possible. I find that purchasing kits from Weave Got Maille is a great way to get exposed to different patterns. This time I explore a Double Orbital bracelet, a Tear Drops Necklace that builds on the Double Orbital design, and a Swirls bracelet that uses a repeating mobius unit. The Double Orbital (and Tear Drops) design are supposed to be a beginner's … [Read more...]
Chocolate Body Butter
This Chocolate Body Butter Recipe is very easy to make and gives a soft, fluffy cream that melts easily onto your skin and is perfect for nourishing dry skin. I wanted to make some body butter for gifts and had an unsuccessful attempt at trying a more complicated recipe for Rich Rose Geranium Body Butter, so I decided to make a quick and easy variation of the Mango Body Butter Recipe I had made previously. As I’m trying out different recipes for various natural skin and hair care products, … [Read more...]
Rich Rose Geranium Body Butter Recipe
I've previously tried other cosmetic products with simpler recipes such as Mango Body Butter but Rich Rose Geranium Body Butter was my first attempt at making a more complicated cosmetics recipe that involved combining various phases at different temperatures. It was not particularly successful but I thought I'd share my learnings with you: The hardest part was trying to coordinate the temperatures of the different phases so that they reached the desired temperature at the same time. The … [Read more...]
Weaving a flax star (harakeke whetū) for Matariki
Last week our lovely Māori Relationship Advisor, Jenny, taught a group of us how to weave a harakeke whetū (flax star) for Matariki. I took photos to remind myself how to do it and thought I'd share them with you. Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. Every year in June, they rise to the north-east and when they are visible just above the horizon at dawn it is considered Matariki, or Māori New Year. Matariki literally means the … [Read more...]
Powertex Tui Sculpture
I had been planning to make a Powertex Tui Sculpture ever since I saw one at the Powertex stand at the SENZ craft expo but somehow I just hadn't got around to making one even though I had the materials for it. Then I heard that Joanne was running another workshop in my area and decided to go along. I usually do Powertex workshops with my friend Dominique but she was back visiting her parents in France, so I went by myself this time. There were 6 of us in the workshop and of course Joanne and her … [Read more...]
Powertex Wall Art for the Garden
When I have attended previous Powertex workshops, I have seen other people make abstract canvases but haven't been inspired to try them myself. Then I asked our instructor Joanne's husband Nick whether he ever made any Powertex sculptures himself or whether he was content to make the supporting hardware for us all. He said that he really enjoyed using Powerprint - a laserprint transfer medium that allows you to transfer a photograph to your canvas - and told me about one that he had made of tuis … [Read more...]
Viking Knitting Project
In an earlier post I described some of the Viking Knitting projects I had been doing, making simple knitted wire rope jewellery based on an ancient technique but made easier with modern tools. The Lazee Daizee™ Viking Knit Tools were developed by Stephanie Eddy and I was browsing her website to see what a more advanced jewellery maker could make - her inspiration gallery is certainly inspiring - and discovered that she had a sale on some jewellery kits. Unfortunately she is moving away from … [Read more...]
Making Brushos Backgrounds for Cards
This post is based on making Brushos backrounds for cards. Brushos are watercolour ink crystals that react amazingly with water. They come in a wide range of colours and many of the colours further separate out into various different hues so there is a huge potential for colour combinations and effects. It has been a while since I've blogged about the regular get-togethers my friend Steph and I have to try out different card making techniques and to use some of the new 'toys' we have bought … [Read more...]
Chain Maille Cuff Bracelets
My latest foray into jewellery making has been to make chain maille cuff bracelets using a couple of different more advanced designs: European 4-in-1 and Helm Cuff. These bracelets are both more of a statement piece of jewellery and I'm very pleased with the results. European 4-in-1 Design I followed the design for this in a book called Basic & Advanced Chain Maille that I purchased from Weave Got Maille along with the 3.5mm internal diameter 18 gauge wire jump rings that were … [Read more...]
Coloured Chain Maille Jewellery
Today's post is about making coloured chain maille jewellery using contrasting or complementary colours of jump rings, and I also try some new chain maille designs. I have posted before about my passion for making chain maille jewellery and how I have been trying many different basic chain designs to see which I like the most and then trying some designs that incorporate beads to give different looks. This post expands on that by using contrasting or complementary colours of jump rings in … [Read more...]
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