An Exhibition... and more resin!

At the end of September, I was involved in an exhibition at the very lovely Heene Gallery in Worthing.  There were some wonderful things there, gorgeous jewellery by Jane Pinder (Naturally Silver), beautiful stained glass by Naomi Frances and some stunning photography by Lorraine Lewis Heaysman. There was also art work  from Stella Stevens, she exhibited some amazing oil paintings.

Since then, I have been dabbling and experimenting with resin.  I've been making lots of mess (and quite a few mistakes) but I do love giving this stuff a go!

Fab skull & cross bones mould from Poundland!

Making a piece from a yoghurt lid

A silicone mould I have cast from a starfish

A new mould from Metal Clay.

I have also discovered that you don't need to spend a fortune to get a coloured cast, either.  I have been using oil paint but the best thing so far has been Dylon Fabric Paint!  Lots of choices and really good value for money, too.

Look at that lovely red and sparkly silver resin!

The results are looking good so far.  I've had so much inspiration from fellow-crafter's blogs, especially Resin Crafts and The Skinner Studio. 

Marie x

Resin-Obsessed Part 2

Finished resin pendants

Well, I'm quite annoyed at myself today.  I made a large batch of resin, and managed to spill most of it. Bad day for butter-fingers...grrr...

Look at all the mess!!!!!

It doesn't take long for a mess to form, despite best efforts to try and organise myself properly before I begin!

Freezer paper, rubber gloves, wooden sticks, plastic cups, scales, wipes...

some nice bottle tops taking shape

However, that said, I do love how they turn out in the end!

Marie x

Resin-Obsessed

Various resined items

Summer holidays are finally over and life slowly getting back to normal.  Not had much opportunity to get on with any art work, as such.

However, I have become a tad obsessed with resin.  I first saw a lady demonstrating its uses at Brighton Stitch and Hobbycraft show earlier in the year.  Since then I have been hooked.

Everywhere I look, I'm thinking "I could embed that!"

It does get a bit messy though

It takes 24 hours (ish) to cure and I am not a very patient person! So if you are doing multiple layers, it can take days to finish off a project.

embedded with an old poster

sequins and silver leaf

a bottle top with an image I really liked

But that aside, Ive also discovered how great it is when you use it to cover a canvas of work!  It looks amazing. 

Look at that gorgeous glass-like finish!

The only drawbacks really, are the time it takes, that the fumes could eventually kill you and it costs a fortune.  But hey, I'm too addicted to care!

Marie x

The Exhibition!

Exhibition poster

Well, things have been rather busy, what with the Worthing Open Houses and our very own exhibition!  

It's the first time that I have been involved in an exhibition that wasn't totally organised by someone else (e.g. College etc).

When we arrived at the gallery on Friday afternoon to set up, it really did seem like an awesome task to get everything ready by the private view at 6pm.

Some of Naomi Frances' and Fiona Blair's prints

The artists involved were:

Marie Vickers
Naomi Frances
Fiona Blair
Paul Woolford
Vicky Ilot
Charlotte Fielding

One of Fiona Blair's lovely handmade brooches 

And another one...

Gorgeous Fiona Blair butterfly painting

Charlotte Fielding's Oranges

Paul Woolford

One of mine - but terrible pic!

Naomi Frances 

one of my candles

one of my hand decorated mirrors (Doris Day style)

One of Naomi's lovely stained glass pieces 

One of mine

one of my mirrors

my candle/plate/mirror table

But we did it, and it was great to do!  Unfortunately, the general 'foot fall' in to the gallery was massively hindered at the weekend due to (a) the God-awful weather and (b) Andy Murray getting in to the Wimbledon final.  I LOVE Wimbledon and have waited for this event for YEARS but I had to MISS it!!

Marie x

Versatile Blogger Award!

Feeling very happy today, the lovely Fiona from Inky Prints (www.inkyprintsintheattic.blogspot.co.uk) has nominated me for a Versatile Blogger Award!

Ta-dahh!

There are some rules though...

The Rules

1. Add the award to your blog.

2. Thank the blogger(s) who gave it to you.

3. Mention 7 random things about yourself.
4. List the rules.
5. Award to 15 bloggers.
6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blog.

Blimey - so 7 random things about me -

1)  I used to be able to drink a bottle of beer whilst holding it with my foot (!)

2)  I can play the theme tune to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly by blowing in to my hands

3)  People who park in Family parking spaces at supermarkets (and don't have any children with them)                make me soooo mad!

4)  I love Doris Day.  Fact.

5)  Chocolate fudge cake with whipped cream is my favourite comfort food.

6)  I have a scar on my right knee from falling off my roller boots aged 12.

7)  My dream is to go to New York one day.

Now off to award to MY favourite top 15 bloggers!

Thanks again, Fiona!

Marie x

Teresa Down Under's Tote Bag Tutorial

Teresa Down Under's beautiful bag

This patchwork tote was made following a really lovely tutorial that I found online. (Click here)

It's not often I have found tutorials as easy as this one to follow, but I honestly think if I could manage it, anyone could!

To make the bag yourself, you can either use up some of your own fabric squares for the patchwork top (5" x 5") or use a charm pack.

I just used bits of what I had left over from older projects, and an old bit of green curtain I had got from a charity shop!

I loved my finished bag, but maybe you wouldn't want yours to look quite so garish!

My finished bag :)

Marie x

Crackle Effect Using Glue!

Beautiful and easy crackle effects using glue! Fab!  Click here to follow the link!

This is another great tutorial I found on Blogger, courtesy of Make The Best of Things blog.  It features lots of other great ideas, too!

Marie x