Craftrends Award at CHA

We just got back from attending CHA (the craft and hobby association) tradeshow. It was fun to meet friends and see what's new. I'm pleased to announce that The Art of Resin Jewelry won the catagory of "Best General Craft Book 2007" from Craftrends and was given an award at the Award of Excellence at the show. With so much of the show devoted to scrapbooking, it's nice to be recognized in this catagory. It was great to see those of you who stopped by the Watson Guptill booth, socializing with co-crafters is what the show is all about in my book.

CHA Make and Take

I'm on my way to the big craft and hobby show in Aneheim this weekend (CHA). This is a macrame bracelet that I designed for a make and take project at the Watson Guptill booth #3784. This example features a simple button, but I will be bringing awesome buttons for people to choose from -funky colorful flowers to vintage silver designs along with choice of cord colors. The bracelet feels like silk to wear it and only takes about 10-15 minutes to make. I probably should have had this up so much earlier than now, but I'm treading water to keep up with the to-do list this week. For those who can't attend, email me at my website and I will send you the directions for the bracelet. For more projects, check out my new book, Beaded Macrame Jewelry on my site, or from Amazon.com

Charm Exchange

I am excited to show off the collection of charms from our winter charm exchange. Adrienne made the beaded white charms (dove, snowflakes, rhinestone studded balls). Julie made the tiny felted tree and ball embellished with seed beads (meticulously hand sewn). Wendy's charms include the glass box featuring an ice skater with glitter snow, a silver metal clay "deer", and quartz, pearl and lucite bead charms. Mine is the polymer clay charm with the winter scene embedded in resin. I love this bracelet, it's one you can wear all winter long and enjoy the creativity of friends.

Winter Solstice

This is a piece I made for a charm exchange. A few friends-Julie, Wendy, Adrienne and I decided it would be fun to make charms based on a winter theme. This charm was made using polymer clay set in a bezel. An image was applied and then embellished with glitter and beads. Resin adds a protective, glass like surface to the elements on the clay. On the back of the charm, I used Image Transfer Solution to apply the words on the metal. Can't wait to put all of the charms together on a bracelet. I will post the collection of all of our charms soon.

Gingerbread House

This year Dan and the kids decided to make a gingerbread mansion. Every time you walk by you get to smell the spicy scent of ginger and cloves, a happy holiday smell. The project took several days worth of work, lots of candy and 2 bags of powdered sugar worth of icing. The stained glass windows are made from crushed up jolly rancher and butterscotch candies. The inside is wired (of course-Dan's engineering) with light bulbs that shine through the windows. This house got far more attention than our house did this year.

Bubble Rings

We have a new craft kit at www.sherrihaab.com. This kit contains everything you need to make 5 funky bubble rings with the images provided. Or you can use your own copies of photos, magazine clippings, newspaper or any other printed matter to make personalized rings. The rings are adjustable. The kit makes a perfect stocking stuffer or holiday gift for someone who enjoys crafty jewelry.

Image Transfers on Bottlecaps

My daughter, Michelle, made these Image Transfer bottle caps using our new ITS paper and toner based images. I especially like the black and white images created using our home B&W Laser Printer. Notice that the text she printed is backwards on one of the bottlecaps. This is why you need to reverse images with text before transferring. She thinks it's cool anyways, you can always hold it up to a mirror to read the (secret) message. We are going to try layering another image on the blue patterned cap at the lower right. (I will post layered techniques in a future post). ITS also works well as a varnish to finish the surface and to protect the images.

Metal Clay Class

Looking for a Metal Clay Class in Utah? I will be teaching a mixed media metal clay bracelet class on Dec. 1 and then again on Jan. 12 at the Art Shop in Springville, UT.

Click here for class info. by scrolling down to "classes".

There is still time to sign up. This bracelet is featured on the cover of my new book, "Metal Clay and Mixed Media" which should be shipping soon. You can pre-order the book now on Amazon.

Easy Macrame Bracelets

With the holidays approaching, it's time to think about handmade gifts. Here are a few macrame bracelets that are fun and easy to make. You can find the full instructions along with other great projects in my book, Beaded Macrame Jewelry. The bracelets are made using C-Lon cord which is available in a variety of colors (this cord works especially well for macrame jewelry).

Rachel, Michelle and Andrew have been working hard to update our website with exciting new products to offer. We have brand new resin molds, sparkling pigment powders and a new transfer paper complete with images designed specifically for use with our Image Transfer Solution. This paper allows you to transfer images without the need to sand the paper away- Yeah!!. You simply rinse it away to reveal beautiful transfers on metal or polymer clay. We also have a "Bubble Ring" kit perfect for kids or the young at heart. All of the new items should be available within a week or so of this post. Happy Crafting!