Handmade Ornaments Through the Years
Francie Broadie
by francie
3y ago
I love making Christmas ornaments!  I always have.   My mom painted ornaments as a kid, and being an art teacher, she always had fun crafty things for us to do at Christmas time.    She still has the salt dough ornaments we made when I was 4 or 5, and the wacky Fimo ornaments we made when we lived in Washington DC when I was 6.   Every year there was something new to try.    As an adult, I have kept up with this tradition by hosting an ornament making party every year.   I love being able to make this a holiday tradition for my f ..read more
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Ornament Swap Blog Hop Again!
Francie Broadie
by francie
3y ago
The internet can be a scary place full of nut balls and things that can’t be unseen.  But it can also be a wonderful place full of inspiration, magic, opportunities, and friends you haven’t met yet. Today’s internet magic is brought to you by the lovely Karen Williams at Baubilicious.  For several years now, Karen has organized a handmade ornament swap.   I participated in the past and had great fun.   So I jumped on the chance to do it it again.   After a quick little quiz about what sorts of ornaments you like to make and receive, Karen matched up swap ..read more
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Bloggers’ Night Out: Holiday Style Party !
Francie Broadie
by francie
3y ago
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending a fun evening hosted by Susan Baroncini-Moe and Kelly and Wendy of KW Style.    It’s not my usual scene, but I thought I would push myself out of my comfort zone a bit and see what there was to see.   I had a great time chatting with other women in business and learned about some new (to me) products. Kelly and Wendy of KW Style are currently carrying the Agnes & Dora line of clothing as well as Stella & Dot jewelry.  I’ve seen a few people selling the Stella and Dot line, but I hadn’t seen the Agnes & Dora ..read more
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Beady Fun Delivered!
Francie Broadie
by francie
3y ago
Disclaimer: This post is a review of a product that I was sent for reviewing purposes.   Opinions are my own.   A few months back I was contacted by the lovely folks at Facet (Bead and Button,) to see if I would be willing to test out their new subscription bead box that they planned to launch in the new year. I have been itching to try a crafty subscription box for a while, and couldn’t decide where to start.   How could I say no? Time passed, and I had almost forgotten about it, when low and behold a beautiful teal box appeared in my mailbox last week.    With a ..read more
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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 6
Francie Broadie
by francie
3y ago
Fancy photos were taken before sending the piece off to the TOHO folks.  We even took a few of me wearing the piece.    Then the piece was boxed up and sent off 2 day air.   All set to arrive in plenty of time for the deadline.  Or so I thought… I checked in a few days after sending the piece to make sure it arrived safely.   I never received a response.  Life got busy and I just assumed that all was well.   A few weeks later I checked again.  This time I received a response saying that my piece hadn’t been received!   ..read more
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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 5
Francie Broadie
by francie
3y ago
This piece is finally coming together.  It’s looking like it’s actually going to work, but the deadline keeps looming.  In the mean time, other obligations keep sucking up my beading time. Now it’s time to start on the forehead panel.   You might remember that my initial sketch didn’t include this piece…   Time to start designing again. This piece also came with a structural challenge.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to get my needle in the space between the wires to whip stitch this portion as I had the other sections.   The easiest solution was to add ..read more
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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 4
Francie Broadie
by francie
3y ago
With the fabric problem solved, I sat down to some serious bead time.   The first step was to transfer my design to tracing paper.   The paper then gets stitched to the vinyl and from then on, it’s like coloring with beads.   Fill in the areas with the right beads, and remove the paper as you go. My super pointy tweezers are one of my favorite tools.  This is a great technique for all sorts of bead embroidery.   I filled in all of the parts, then added the lizards last, since I knew they would be sneaky thread catchers. The side panels went quickly ..read more
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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 3
Francie Broadie
by francie
3y ago
So now I had a skull and two lizards, but no real plan other than a head piece of some sort.   Another trip down the Pinterest wormhole provided tons of inspiration, and lead me to wire frames for Brazilian Carnival Headdresses.  Well there was no time to order one, but through the magic of the internet, I found tutorials for how to make your own! The first order of business was to find an assistant. I busted out the heaviest gauge aluminum wire that I had on hand and got to experimenting.  I made a basic headband out of wire, and then started experimenting with paper shap ..read more
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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 2
Francie Broadie
by francie
3y ago
The lizards sat for a while, and I moved onto other projects for a bit.   Then I went on vacation, and the time crunch set in.   I decided to definitely head in the desert direction, but I figured that everyone else would probably be making a necklace, so I should make something else to help my piece stand out.    I had been thinking about crowns.   My grandmother and her sister, Pauline made beautiful fabric crowns from vintage trims and embroidery.    They were soft, and elegant.   But a full on crown is a lot of real esta ..read more
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The Making of a Challenge Piece Part 1
Francie Broadie
by francie
3y ago
Back in November I was contacted by a representative from TOHO Beads asking if I would be interested in participating in their bead challenge.  Having seen all of the magnificent pieces through the years at the Bead and Button Show, of course I said yes. TOHO makes beautiful beads, and I am always up for a challenge.   Right before Christmas I received my box of beads.  I opened it up and marveled at the sheer quantity of beads.  I knew the quality would be great.  I expected seed beads, but I didn’t expect the extras – crescent beads, and melon beads in two sizes. &nb ..read more
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