Lucky, Lucky, Lucky....

......enough to win this fabulous book. Lisa from A Bead a Day had a giveaway on her blog a few weeks ago and I was one of the winners. My book arrived yesterday and it's fabulous. Just the colours on the front cover are divine, all beachy and summery.

Lisa has used photos from her vacations, unusual objects, everyday items and a number of things you wouldn't normally give a second glance to as her inspiration for the pieces in the book. Using the colours, textures, skylines (City Style is one of my favourites) to create beautiful pieces of jewelry. Fantastic idea to get those juices flowing when you've hit a block.Not only are the pieces beautiful but her instructions are so easy to follow. The photos are wonderful and each step is very clear cut.
Each new design has an inspiration tip on the page, like getting your camera out and taking a walk around your neighborhood, or looking around your home for different patterns and colour combinations in cushions or furniture or art work on your walls. What a great idea!
It's available in Australia at Angus & Robertson, Dymocks and Fishpond so give yourself and treat and buy a copy.
Thanks Lisa for the wonderful book, I love it. Now I'm off to scope out my house for colour combos and patterns.

Craft show buys

Last Friday I went to the Stitches and Craft show at the convention centre along with 5 million other women (and a few men). I always go with high hopes of new and innovative stuff that will get my creative juices bubbling. But alas, the same as last year and all the previous years. Heaps of stuff for textile artists patchwork, quilting, sewing machines etc. Very little for paper and paint people like me. But I still managed to buy some bits and bobs.
Some stamps. The flower stamp is for practising the brushless water colour technique that Kelsey taught us. She uses a stamp from a Tim Holtz set I think but I can't justify buying a set of several stamps when there maybe only one of the set that I'll use. So this one will have to suffice and besides I quite like it. The very small stamps are for my bamboo tiles that I'm still experimenting with and I think I've solved the threading problem. Will post some pics later on in the week. Some Pandora style beads. $2.00 each beats $38.00 - $150.00 plus any time.

Some chains in silver and a bronzy, goldy colour. They're a metre long so I'll get quite a few button bracelets out of them.

And some beading books. I always seem to charge headlong into things with little or no knowledge about whatever it is I'm doing, which is beading at the moment, so though I'd better arm myself with a couple of 'how to' books.

So that was my craft show outing. Exhausted when I got home and with a much lighter purse but I console myself with the fact that I helped to stimulate the economy.Well done me!