And the winner isssssss.....

My WOWH magic carpet giveaway ride winner is ......

Gina from the blog http://threadsofatattinggoddess.blogspot.com/

Congratulations Gina :)

 And this is what you won :)

 

 

It was a great experience to visit all the blogs which took part in this magical ride ( yes I have visited each and every one of them). Thank you Lisa for this great initiative and thank you all of you who have visited my blog and left such nice comments, hope to meet you again.

 

Love and peace wishes

Shirley

New items added

I have added some new items to my etsy shop.
The new items are handmade polymer clay beads made by me. Note that I haven't use any paint in creating them only layers of clay in a technique called millefiori.
Please come visit my shop.

 

  

 

Jana Roberts Benzon's workshop

Last Wednesday I have been fortunate to attend Jana Roberts Benzon's workshop.

In the workshop Jana taught us her beautiful organic sculptural shapes technique.

This is what I have made

 

 

The workshop was great the instructions were clear and Jana was so patient and generous sharing with us her little secrets which what makes her works so beautiful.

I was also lucky to see her beautiful creations in real and I must say that the photos do not do justice with them.

 Ribbon pendants 

By Jana Roberts Benzon

 

Seahorse 

by Jana Roberts Benzon

 Rustic crumpled brooch

By Jana Roberts Benzon
 

So if you get a chance to attend Jana's workshop do not hesitate.

Jana thank you so much for a great day, you are a great inspiration and I hope I will be lucky enough to meet you some day again in the future.

One world one heart

One world one heart is a beautiful initiative where bloggers from around the world are coming together and offering an arty giveaway . You are invited to visit blogs from around the world each one will offer a giveaway and you have a chance to win by leaving a comment the bloggers will have a random draw and announce the winners on February 15th.

So I decided to participate in this beautiful inspiring event this is my giveaway:

 

This is pin will decorate your bag it is handmade including 2 polymer clay beads made by me.

All you need to do in order to win is to leave a comment on my blog, it doesn't matter where you are on the globe this is an international event, and on February 15th you will know if you are the lucky winner .

Make sure that you click on the logo above in order to view all the other blogs and the giveaway the offer.

Good Luck!!

Knew concept Precision Hand Saw

I have already posted in the past about the big frustration of any beginner and it is learning to saw...

The Knew concept handsaw developed by Lee Marshall is here to make our lives easier.

The Knew concept handsaw's frame is made out of high strength aluminum and is both light and incredibly rigid.

  

Since the frame cannot flex in order to set the necessary blade tension, a unique tensioning system makes mounting the saw blade easy and without the usual dents in your sternum. 

Even the red color of the frame was specifically chosen because according to clinical trials the color red promotes accuracy. 

Most importantly -  this new frame reduces breakage of blade since the frame do not flex.    

People who already tried this new handsaw are telling:

"I have found I can put a higher tension on the blade than I would with the steel frame saw. This combination of rigid frame and easy tension adjustment makes it possible to put a controlled high tension on the blade and hold it so it does not flex excessively which makes for more accurate cutting and reduces blade breakage." James Binnion - metal art blog 

"I LOVE it! The blade tightening system reminds me a lot of some guitar tuning mechanisms I've seen, and eliminates the chest bruising mentioned in a related thread. And I could swear I'm sawing straighter!" Allan Mason - Silvermason 

The Knew concept jewelers handsaw goes right to my wish list.

Jumping jumprings

During the last two lessons we were busy practicing soldering jump rings and I have to say it's quiet a struggle. Funny enough I ran across this video as if somebody knew.




Looks easy ah? well I guess that after a lot of practice I will be able to preform soldering like he does

Look what I have got

for my birthday -

It was very funny to open the wraps and find a gas tank but then I got the torch and it all made sense:).

I am so happy - it is the first step for my own real metal smiting workshop.
Unfortunately I couldn't start working right away because I still miss a few things like Flux, heating screen and an appropriate soldering surface. I guess I need to pay a visit to the big city...



Thank you Koen I love you