Belle Armoire Jewelry Volume 2

Published by Stampinton & Company.
After having read the first issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry, I couldn't wait for the second issue. It does not disappoint. The 144 pages features no less than 38 unique and beautifully photographed jewelry projects. Techniques and materials used include textiles, glass slides, polymer clay, crochet, wood tiles, mica and PMC, just to mention a few!

The projects do require some familiarity with jewelry arts and not all of the projects have detailed instructions.

My favorite projects include:

• A complex bracelet by Pat Bolgar using polymer, PMC, and fringe that looks like brilliantly colored sea urchins clustered on twiggy beeded branches.
• A lavish free-form peyote stitch flower necklace by Myra Wood.
  An artsy vine jewelry set (necklace, bracelet, brooch) by Lilla Le Vine using textile piece, gold ribbon, silkk covered cord, glass beads.
• A flip-opennable storybook pendant by Louise Duhamel using PMC for the bookcovers and mica for the pages.
• Hip sixties-looking mosaic pendants by Sarah e. Smith using glass slides and solder
• Two projects by Deryn Mentock - a wire and mica necklace using collage, and colorful collage doll pins using found objects.

Somerset Studio March/April ‘07 Issue: Women in Literature

Published by Stampington & Company.
This is one of my favorite magazine for paper arts. Published six times a year, the magazine is jampacked with inspirational ideas provided by contributors and readers on paper crafts using stamping, lettering, and a variety of other techniques. All the projects have a folkart-ish and romantic feel to them. I also use it as a source for identifying suppliers. I picked up the March/April ’07 issue because of 3 articles.

The essay by Michele Heather Pollock (pg 26) describes her paper quilt art which “features abstract human images and hand-embroidered poetry.” Inspired by the sculptures of Gustav Vigeland in Norway, her art is a merger of paper, textile and poetry using the tracings of the photos that she took of the sculptures.

In the Melange section of the magazine – “a lively romp through journals, zines, and art adventures” – the article by Pam Garrison (pg 52) tells of the creation of her blog and served as an inspiration for me to plunge in and start my own blog.

Jar Scenes (pg 78) which features clear jars of all shapes and sizes serving as vessels of paper art works. It’s sculpture meets 2-D paper arts.

Decorate Life: Home Decor

With artists Mellette Berezoski, Maggie Holmes, Jennifer Jensen, Lynne Montgomery, Kris Stanger, Loni Stevens, Erin Terrell, Julie Turner , and creative director Gail Pierce-Watne. 126 pages. Retail $19.99. Making Memories.

Full of inspirations, this book contains more than 80 projects by 8 designers. Although the designs may vary, the book is consistent in the freshness of the styles and picture presentations of the projects. With the exception of chapter headings, the book’s first 111 pages are purely pictoral with each page showcasing a project. Although the pictoral portion is divided into 8 chapters, the projects can be grouped into wall décor, table décor, and organization. The last chapter provides instructions for each of the illustrated projects. The directions may not be detailed, but many of the projects use the same techniques and the pictures are so great that this should not be an issue.

The projects are amazing and show new uses for all of these materials. They are also easy and most can be made using scrapbooking supplies such as ribbons, brads, tags and wood parts. True to Making Memories’s strengths as a company that produces creative scrapbooking and paper arts products, most of the projects incorporate photographs. It’s like scrapbooking for walls and home accents!

Examples of my favorite projects include:

• A decorated clipboard frame that can be used to hold a calendar, picture, recipe or notepad
• Wooden letters embellished to match your home décor for hanging or placing on a fireplace mantle
• A clock using metal tin frames
• Coasters using metal tin frames
• File folders that are stitched into storage pockets
• A canvas growth chart using stamped images and photos
• A mirror decorated with an inspirational rub-on quote
• Metal tin containers wrapped with ribbon