I'm still here!

I apologise for my lack of Blogging & for the really bad photo above!
I have been so crazy busy lately, I'm finding it really hard to fit everything in.

Last month I had 2 markets on, one was a Twilight market on Friday night which I really enjoyed.

Also, this Saturday will be the first Blackbird Market and I am really excited.
There is going to be a few other amazing crafters from the Made-it community and I can't wait to meet them.

I am a little anxious though, as I am trying to get through a HUGE To Do list of things to take to the market, as well as getting all my orders out, plus working on wholesale orders as well.

Oh yeah, I am now doing wholesale orders for 2 fabulous websites!

I'll tell you more about them a bit later on when I have a little more time.
Gotta get back to my bench, so much to do!

x Narelle

Going Green!

Over the past months I have been changing little things in my studio to make my practices Greener, not only for the Earth, but for my health as well.

* I finally found a non-toxic "pickle" (cute name given to a bath of acid to clean metal in!) so it's not harmful to breathe & can be diluted & safely disposed down the drain or on the garden.

* I found a "flux" (used to keep areas of the metal clean when soldering) that is non-toxic, not harmful to breathe whilst heated & is 100% bio-degradable.

* I no longer use rolls of paper towel to wipe pieces or my hands with, I use cotton towels & then wash these towels with my shower water.

* I bring home bubble-wrap & packing sheets etc, from work & re-use it in my packaging.

* And just recently I received an email from my metal manufacturer's stating that they now 100% recycle all of their metal! - Yay!

This is fantastic news, one less company mining our Earth!

If you are looking for a metal supplier I highly recommend A&E Metal Merchants.

You can also send your scrap to them to receive either store credit or a cheque.

Every little bit counts!

x Narelle

Process of a resin ring

One thing I really do enjoy when reading a Blog is being taken behind the scenes with photo's.

I love seeing pictures of people's benches, studios, work areas etc, and just as much as I love seeing the finished pieces they've created in these areas, I love seeing the process of them being created.

So I thought, since my Blog is named 'At the Bench with Narelle' that's exactly what I'll do, I'll take you to my bench!

The above image is some of the steps in making one of my heartbeat resin rings.
1. Measuring up the ring shank so when it's soldered & hammered it will be the correct size.
2. Soldering the ring shank closed.
3. Hand forming the little hearts from bezel wire.
4. Soldering the heart bezel to flat sheet.
5. Polishing the ring.
6. Letting the resin cure.

There are a few more steps in between these, but I thought I'd just share some of them.
Plus is kinda takes twice as long to make something when you're stopping to take photo's!

Hope you enjoyed the process, I will definitely be posting some more.

x Narelle

Kreativ Blogger Award

Yay, I was awarded the Kreativ Blogger Award by Michelle who is a brilliant artist & photographer.

Thank you so much Michelle.

You can enjoy reading her Blog here.

There are 6 rules to keep this award growing:

1) Copy the award picture and post on your blog - ✓

2) Thank the person who gave it to you and link to their blog - ✓

3) Write 7 things about yourself we don't know:

1. I was a professional dancer for 10 years.

2. I travel overseas every 18 months.

3. In high school I was infatuated with Corey Feldman. (Stand By Me, Lost Boys)

4. I work a part-time Night-shift job three nights a week.

5. I am a vegetarian.

6. I have a phobia of feet.

7. I am a control freak!

4) Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to - ✓

5) Link to those 7 other bloggers - ✓

I Love Stitches

Merley's

Mel Paton

Tully Kat Alley

Mandi & Maddi

Bird & the Babies

Smooch Designs
6) Notify your 7 bloggers - ✓

There, all done. The hard part was choosing only 7 great Blogs I read to give the award to!

x Narelle