Win a copy of Heather Power's new book!

Win a copy of Heather Power's new book Jewelry Designs From Nature and a kit of Elaine Ray beads, findings, ribbon, chain and other goodies that will help you make some of the fabulous projects in the book.
Enter to win by leaving a comment here on this post OR by writing 'I want to win Heather Powers new book!' on our Facebook wall. Click the Facebook link in the tab bar on the top of the blog.

Good luck!

See the book here!

added on Tuesday, August, August 23rd
NOTE: Yes, you can win if you live outside the U.S. To enter just leave a comment HERE or on our Facebook page and we'll enter you. We are taking entries through Wednesday (tomorrow!) and will draw the name on Thursday and announce the winner on the facebook page. You will be contacted via your facebook page, your email or the name you use to post comments here. 

Let Other People Drive - from Four Word Self Help by Patti Digh

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This slim little book has been sitting on my nightstand for a week. I pick it up in the evening and read a page or two or three, nodding and agreeing to the simple phrases on the paper. The four-word self help phrases are, on the surface, just funny or pithy or true. Great bumper stickers, perfect for a line of fridge magnets or greeting cards. That one might be good on a tee shirt.

When I click out the light and let my eyes adjust to the dark the phrases become True.

Let other people drive.

On the surface, of course! Great bumper sticker. Let other people drive. So you can talk to the children, or eat a snack. So you can make a phone call, or navigate, or sleep. Just let someone else drive for a while. Relax.

Then the light goes out and I think. Oh. Let other people DRIVE. Give up control of that one thing so you can concentrate on something else or on nothing else. Be a passenger for a while. Sit and observe and allow yourself to be taken somewhere. Perhaps a new place, perhaps an old place, but a place you did not take yourself.

For a self-employed designer this is a hard task. Not the actual Letting Other People Drive as I actually don't love to drive an actual car. I am talking about the metaphorical Letting Other People Drive. Not being in charge of things. Watching and enjoying and not freaking out if my preferred parking space is not chosen, if my preferred route to the destination is not taken. Accepting that your choice is not the best, not the right, not the good choice but one of many. Now, motherhood has already helped me with this tremendously. Nothing like a nursing newborn to show you that you are not in the driver's seat today, thank you m'am. Running a business in a rough economy taught me a bit about this, too. Still, when the words flashed inside my eyelids in the dark bedroom last night I kept thinking Let Other People Drive. Brilliant.

What does this mean for my life? More road trips? More meals I didn't choose but end up loving. Perhaps a bit of stepping back when something is not going exactly my way* and just watching to see the outcome. Who knows, I might enjoy the trip?

this book also features lovely art by friends and artists from around the country, it is a sweet, gifty size and the perfect gift for yourself....get the book right here.


*not a happening that is illegal, or that would endanger someone

Four Word Self Help

Patti Digh has a new book coming out that I am pretty excited about. You can read her blog post here and very, very soon you can pre-order the book at Ornamentea.com. She'll be sitting on a tiny stool at our store this winter for a reading...early December. Details to follow.

(I am pretty sure that at least one of these Four Word Self Help phrases was written here in Raleigh the last time she came to do a reading!)

the Steampunk book is here!

The lovely Steampunk Style Jewelry book is here. This book is filled with inspirational projects in mixed-media jewelry, all with that cool steampunk look. If you don't know what Steampunk is, the chapters and sidebars are filled with up-to-the minute info on Steampunk bands, architecture, fashion and more. The Steampunk films list reminded me of some of my favorite movies and directors and added a few titles to my 'need to see' list.

Fashion trends are odd in that you can sometimes be part of a trend without knowing it. Here at Ornamentea we've loved Victoriana and machinery, lace and gears, sparkle and patina for a long time. We didn't know it was a look, we just knew we liked it. It turns out that North Carolina is the home of several Steampunk artists in jewelry and other crafts.

Look for several local artists in this book; Tracy Thomason, Jane Mormino, Madelyn Smoak, Jen Hilton and me, Cynthia Deis, all have projects in the book or in the gallery section.

Edited on January 7th:
We're having a reception for the local artists featured in this book at Ornamentea on February 5th from 6:30-8:00. Come meet the artists and browse their current work, plus you can see many of the book projects in person. Refreshments will be served...dress up if you can!

Steampunk Style Jewelry by Jean Campbell

This new book comes out SOON and it features projects by moi, Tracy T., Jane. and the fabulous M. Smoak plus so many others. Pre-order from us now and you can get the Steampunk Starter Kit!

Details here.

Patti Digh Reading at Panopolie

I know you remember me talking about this fabulous book, Life Is A Verb, and the equally wonderful author Patti Digh when she first came to Panopolie to read from her book. I am so excited to announce that she's coming back in December to do another reading. I have given this book to so many friends and family who treasure it as I do, both for Patti's stories and the amazing artwork contained within the pages. At the last reading Patti went beyond the selections, giving us some background to each essay, plus a few new stories. We all laughed and cried.

This would be a great event to attend with a girlfriend, mom or sister. We'll have refreshments, maybe even fudge.

Saturday, December 12th
author reception 5:45
author reading 6:15

Read My Pins

If you love jewelry or just love the idea of jewelry sending a secret message you should check out this new book about Madeline Albright's diplomacy via pins. Here's an article with pictures of some of her most memorable choices. Personally, I love the three monkeys.

Order your copy here or at your local bookstore.

Book Review - Pretty Little Felts

One of the great things about my job is that I do get to meet a lot of amazing designers both in person and as telephone-pals. The author of this sweet book, Julie Collings, called me a few months ago to talk about our wool roving. We ended up having a l-o-n-g and chatty phone conversation that made me feel like I had made a friend. I was already familiar with Julie's book; I had seen it at a trade show before it was released and fell in love. The projects are so lovely and the mix of reuse and embellishment made me want to adorn so many things!

My favorite part of the entire book is the image of the dye chart the author made using overdyed wool from thrift store sweaters. I think I would put that dye chart in a frame and hang it on my wall! I also love the way useful items are made beautiful and may make a few of her needle cases for my crafty friends for the holidays this year...

Julie used a lot of Ornamentea.com wool roving and findings in her book, so you'll be able to find the supplies you need very easily! Find Pretty Little Felts here and at the stores.

a fun day with Betz White

Ahh, that was great. This past Saturday we hosted Betz White at Panopolie for a class. It was one of those crazy, anything-goes classes that I love so much. When you are looking to make bags out of felted sweaters, old belts and cut up jeans half the work is finding the right 'ingredients' and the other half is getting up the courage to cut into them. Ok, the third half is deciding on just the right project!Betz started by showing us several projects from her newest book, Sewing Green for inspiration and then she worked the room, gently coaxing us into cutting up those felted sweaters and silk ties. I spent a lot of time threading needles but even I managed to finish one bag and start a second. Several people made multiple bags (the largest number I saw was 6!) and a couple of folks just concentrated on making one really good one. We also got to try our hands at making one of Betz's newest designs, this felted wool nest pin. It's so sweet! She had a bunch of felted wool in just the right shades of brown and green and we used some tiny felt balls to finish the nests.
Betz autographed copies of both her books for us and it was a real treat to see the projects from Sewing Green in person. They're even more beautiful. I am really inspired to quit holding on to my thrifted goodies for just the right moment. That moment is now!

(read what Betz has to say about us here and you can even follow her blog tour and win a copy of her book!)

Patti Digh at Panopolie

Tonight was so much fun! The store was full to the brim with so many artists and creative people. Everyone had a great time listening to Patti Digh read and I loved hearing the stories behind some of her stories. She is a wonderful spinner of tales and everyone was loathe to have her stop. She signed books until they were all sold out (!) and then cheerfully signed some flashcards I had lying around.

Thank you to all who came out to hear Patti read, and a big thank you to Mollie and Heidi who spent the afternoon putting extra touches on the store (like the stack of books above!) while I was home with my children.

Now I am off to bed, Betz White's class is tomorrow and I have to pick her up at 8:00 at her hotel. I wonder if she drinks coffee?

Today we were talking about our favorite books in the store and I realized that while I do love this book, I have never reviewed it here on the blog. Sorry for the delay! I was too busy reading the book and too inspired to make the projects to actually write it up! Custom Cool Jewelry is filled with all the projects you want to make this spring, from pendant necklaces to fancy earrings. Melinda Barta shows you how to create all kinds of 'boutique' jewelry including resin pendants and on-of-a-kind toggles and many of the ideas would be great to adapt for using at charm swaps. She's used many of my favorite materials (wonder where she found them?) and I love what she created with our bezel settings, resins, charms and other bits and bobs. If you have been wanting to add some mixed media techniques to your repretoire, this is the book for you. See it here or in person at either of our stores.

Come see Patti Digh speak...

UPDATE Patti and I have settled on Friday, April 3rd at 6:00 at Panopolie...subscribe to the blog (left) or sign up for my newsletter to keep up to date on this event!

oh, I am so excited. I just got off the phone with Patti Digh, author of Life Is A Verb. She's coming to speak to us and sign books here in Raleigh on April 4th. Details are still being worked out but put this on your calendar for the evening...I will give you all the info when I have it, in the meantime visit Patti's blog to read more about her work. She was so nice on the phone; we made a connection right away with mutual acquaintances and our love of fudge.


(Jennifer, if you are reading this I should let you know that she has requested fudge at the event. Sorry, you know how those celebrity authors are!)

the Creative Entrepreneur by Lisa Sonora Beam (book review)

Ahh, this is a yummy book. From the cover to the pages inside filled with expressive journaling prompts, ideas for developing business concepts and a focus on the process of creating your own creativity it just glows. This book makes me want to start a new business (just kidding, honey!) Seriously, I created a journal when we started Panopolie that wasn't even half as intricate as any of the pages in this book and it was tremendously helpful. I put together quotes, images of products and decor ideas, potential store layouts, and journal entries (direct quote "don't work too much!")

One of the best things about this book is the way Sonora Beam encourages potential entrepreneurs by getting them to set limits. In one of the first chapters she reminds folks not to go all crazy buying supplies to make their journal. That is great advice. Fancy do-dads won't get your business off the ground any sooner! It is also great advice because you will be MORE creative with limits in any endeavor, from a journal to your actual, real, business.

Sonora Beam's experience as a therapist and artist come together in this encouraging and useful book. This would make a great gift for anyone who needs a little push to get those dreams out of their head and into the world. That person just might be you! The book isn't on our website yet, so call the store at 919-834-6260 and order it today.

Masters Of Beadweaving (book review)

This inspirational book is from Carol Wilcox Wells, the author of The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving. Wells has put together a collection of works by contemporary master beadweavers that is both comprehensive and genre-pushing. There are wearable, architectural and decorative pieces that range in size from small (rings) to large (full Kimono created in beads.) You'll love the amazing photos of intense artworks created with just a few tiny beads and thread, or, in some cases, a few hundred thousand tiny beads and lots and lot of thread. The ideas and concepts in many of these pieces of bead art are mind boggling. I really enjoyed just letting my eyes travel around the path the threads took to link the beads together. I imagined the artists working on their ideas-going from concept to realized thought. Beadweaving when practiced at this level is, I imagine, filled with intention and meditation. This book is a coffee table book for any beader, a great gift for yourself or another and filled with inspiration.

Look for photos of Marcia DeCoster's work and don't forget to take her class at Panopolie in November!

The Art of Plastics and Resin (book review)

Oh, I love this new book by Debra Adelson. The swank, silver-and-plastic cover piece is cool and smooth. The projects range from shaped and polished acrylic to cast resins. There is a stacked paper ring on page 44 that makes me want to go through all my scraps of lovely hand-made papers and start stacking and clamping...but the best part of the book is the many, many gallery images she has included throughout the book. The projects are inspirational and range from the Art to Wear to just plain art. There is even a project that uses plastic embroidery canvas (last seen on toilet paper covers in your Great Aunt Ida's bathroom!) You'll appreciate her tips on safety and tools to use. Everything is clear and informative, especially the way she breaks down the differences between acrylic and resins. I already have so many of the things I need to make many of these projects; files and goggles and drill bits and sand-paper. I can make that ring I love with the ICE resin and will use some of our Nepalese paper scraps layered up for color.

The book's author, Debra Adelson, is a metalsmith who sells her work around the world. Her clean designs and clear directions make this book one that will join my permanent studio book collection. See the book in both stores this week.

*The ICE resin is expected in stores and on-line later this week...LOTS of it, Lois tells me.

Fabulous Fabric Beads book review

We received the new Fabulous Fabric Beads by Kristal Wick a while back and I have been carrying it everywhere. That is what I do with craft books, I carry them in my tote bag and bring them out when I am waiting or have a free moment. Some folks like to read a novel or catch up on the daily paper, I like to browse my craft books. I call it mental studio time. While others are waiting at the car pool, or sitting in the dentist's office I am off far away, mentally beading in my studio.

This book was a great one for my mental studio-it is filled with novel ideas for making beads out of fabric. There are a large variety of styles and the pictures are colorful and enticing. I kept thinking of ways I could also use most of these techniques with paper or other fibers and indeed, several of the beads do use papers. The last part of the book is filled with project ideas and some great color palette ideas. I will have to attack that big pile of fabric bits and scraps that I just can't part with and start turning them into beads and jewelry...

Check it out at both stores. Don't you need to visit your mental studio?

Book Reviews for this rainy Monday

Susan Lenart-Kazmer's book is in at both stores and, really, it's better than you thought it would be. It's a fancy coffee-table art book that also happens to be a great how-to book. Check out the thousands of images of Susan's work plus shots of work by Bob Ebendorf (from ECU) and other tremendous artists. If you are interested in incorporating anything out of the ordinary into your jewelry, the Blade Runner meets Stone Age Princess look of her projects will get you very excited. The chapter on hinges in particular got me really excited. Susan also talks about her favorite tools and tips, like using a pan of pumice to protect flammable objects from the torch. If this inspires you as well, remember that Ornamentea and Panopolie can special order almost any studio tool your heart desires, just ask to see our Eurotool catalog.

Semiprecious Salvage by Stephanie Lee is like an illustrated mystery novel that happens to be a great how-to book. She weaves together a narrative of expedition and discovery with techniques and projects that make you stay up late and dream of jewelry. More romantic and flowery than the Lenart-Kazmer book, the projects in Semiprecious Salvage are sweet and heirloom. I love her use of materials like plaster and silk ribbons and had to create my own 'messy soldered' chain after just a few minutes with the book...There are also great how-to photos for etching, different wire wraps and patinas.

Both of these books share a love of incorporating the odd bit into your work and each inspires with great images and in-depth how to directions. They both have a place next to may favorite reading chair right now, and will move to a prime spot on my studio reference shelf.

Susan's book is out!

Ok, you gotta get this book. It is beautiful, inspirational, lovely. Nathalie brought her copy in last week and I saw another copy this past weekend. I can't sell it to you yet, Susan's only offering it through her website for a year. What can I say, I am not waiting. I ordered mine today. Mmmm, rivets. Hinges. Staples. Power tools. This book is filled with a million ideas for attaching just about anything to anything in the adornment world.

In an ideal adornment world, I would be able to take this book into my studio and stay there for about a week. I will have to settle for a few late nights.

So what are you waiting for? Go order yours today.

EDITED on March 26th by CMD
Yehaw! Susan is sending a box of her books to us in Raleigh! They'll be here next week. Come check them out in person. We'll also be adding selected bezels and channel settings from her studio...

Living Crafts

Oh, I love this new magazine. My crafty friend Nancy put it under my arm the other night as we were about to sit down for a rare Mom-friend dinner out (it was at the Whole Foods salad bar, but no one was going to eat my food but me, so it was still pretty nice.) I had heard of the magazine a while ago but frankly, had been underwhelmed by their website and had sort of ignored the very nice letter from their promo folks asking us to carry the magazine or advertise in it. Well, now that I have seen it I am definitely going to carry it. The projects were all great, with a real focus on crafting projects using safe, natural materials.

There is a felted play mat in there that made me drool. I am going to see if Santa can get his *&#@ together to bring one to my girls. It had a stream and a bridge and mountains and paths. Imagine some little goats made of felt so that my girls could act out the Three Goats story they love (our version has sister goats, so they aren't Billies, girl goats have horns, too.)There was no picture of the felted play mat on the website, so I couldn't steal it for you to see.

You can look for this magazine in the stores SOON. I have to get my own copy as Nancy is a good friend but not the type to give you her brand new magazine for more than a browse.

(Why were we having dinner out? I am taking a knitting class. Cripes, am I crazy? The answer to that is yes! Look for a blog post when I finally finish the socks we are making in the class. Yes, I hyperventilated while I was knitting. I literally had an out-of-body experience when the yarn started to obey. More later...)

A tree made of books made of trees...

This fabulous tree was created by Tracey from Panopolie for the lobby of the Cameron Village library in Raleigh. She constructed it one evening using books (lots and lots of books!) bamboo poles and clamps. Oh, and a rubber band and some double sided tape.

The first layer is made of folded out old encyclopedias all held together with clamps. Tracey is stacking books on top of the encyclopedias to make the first layer.

Here you can see Tracey folding out an encyclopedia and notice that she has stacked a wooden display cube in the center of the tree. The librarians were fearful that someone would be so stimulated by the beauty of the tree that they might knock it over, so Tracey used the cubes to help anchor the bamboo support poles. I think it would have been fine without the cubes but then I guess the library is a very exciting place.

Here you can see that Tracey has added the bamboo poles (carefully selected from my garden!) and is sliding the books down over the poles. For this layer, books with already broken spines were selected. No books were harmed in the making of this tree-they will be folded out flat after the holidays and you can purchase them at the next Wake County Library Book Sale!

For the finish, Tracey (with my help!) rolled cones of paper and used double-sided tape to stick them into pockets in the tree. This fluffed it out and made the form a bit more natural-looking, if you could say a tree made of old books can be natural looking. Go see this tree, it is really stunning. I will try to post another full length picture of it and some how-to pics of the folds later this week.