Blossom Vine Knotted Necklace How-To

I was so inspired by spring and the vintage bright colors of Kaari Meng's work that I had to make a sweet Blossom Vine necklace to wear while awaiting spring's real blossoms...to see the full directions for this project with a few more photos, visit Ornamentea.com's Tutorials page.

Dan Cormier and Tracy Holmes are teaching in Raleigh!

The talented bead artists Dan Cormier and Tracy Holmes are coming to teach in Raleigh-they'll be teaching a two day workshop at Artspace on March 28th and 29th. You'll learn to create amazing surfaces in polymer clay using lowly kitchen utensils, color layering and stacking. This workshop has been called 'mind-blowing' and 'amazing' and this picture does not do justice to the detail and color variations.

The cost is $245 (general public) or $225 for Artspace members + $20 materials.

To register, you have to call Artspace at:
201 East Davie Street | Raleigh, NC 27601
919.821.2787 | fax: 919.821.0383

for more information you can contact Lia Newman or visit the Artspace website.

Staff Felt Challenge - you choose the winner

note: this post was edited on 2/16 to reflect the winning totals!

We have a Staff Challenge most months at our stores and it's always fun. Sometimes there is a theme, sometimes we have specific ingredients we have to use and sometimes there is a technique we have to explore. Almost everyone participates and we all enjoy trying something new and working outside of our comfort zones.

This past month the Challenge at Panopolie was to create a sculptural felt object. Jewelry could be entered, but it wasn't required that the item be wearable. This was one of our best challenges ever, with the contestants really going all out in most cases. Many late nights and broken felting needles went into these entries. Although I don't usually participate, I couldn't help myself. I stayed up late several nights working on my entry but this caused a bit of problem. I am usually the judge of the Challenges...

This month our customers, families and friends can vote for the winner. This way I am off the hook and might even win! Wahoo! Spend some time with the entry pictures below and then vote right there to the left of this post...and leave a comment if you'd like to guess who the winner will be OR want to guess who made what!




Oops, Sunny Side Up, created by Galen, 1% of votes

Felty Quilt, created by Jane R., 1% of votes

Ice Cream Cone, created by Kathy, 2 % of votes

Camilia Flower, created by Janet, 4% of votes

Sweet Dolly, created by Melissa, Second Place with 20% of votes

Tyrannosaurus Feltus, created by Heidi, First Place with 24% of votes

Balanced Meal, created by Molly with 13% of the votes and a LOT of comments!

Momma and Bunnies, created by Cynthia (me!) with 7% of votes

Marie the Beader, created by Andrea, Third Place with 19% of votes and yes, it's a sculpture of ME!

Cupcake Pincushion, created by Tracey, 5% of votes

Thanks for all your votes, comments and very funny emails about this contest!