Back home safe and sound

Argyra's Crown my award winning Bridal Tiara arrived home safe and sound yesterday from the Sydney Bead and Gem Show co-ordiators (Conference and Exhibition Organisers).

I also received my certificates and prizes along with a lovely letter encouring me to enter again next year. The standard of finalists entries was very high this year, so will certainly have to come up with something even more amazing next year. Already have a few ideas about what I'd like to submit.

This piece "Cooper for Cleopatra" was also a finalist at the 2007 Sydney Bead and Gem show.

But as I'd entered it the 2007 Creative Beading Awards of Excellance and it was selected amongst the Top 25, I couldn't send it for judging at the Bead and Gem show.

But its all good, "CC" is currently doing the rounds of the Craft and Quilt Fairs in Australia and New Zealand as part of the Swarovski Creative Beading exhibition which is great exposure.

Check out the Craft and Quilt fair website www.craftfair.com.au for dates and locations.

Waiting, Waiting....Excruciating

Winners and final place getters for the 2007 Swarovski Creative Beading Comp will be announced 0n the 16th Nov when the December 2007 issue 3-2 of Creative Beading hits the newsagents. The winning piece will be displayed on the cover.. Wow how exciting for the winner...!! Fairly certain winners will be notified personally before that though.

The winning entrant will be profiled for an issue in 2008 as well as being invited to judge the 2008 competition. Great prizes up for grabs 1st place is a trip for two to Austria, including airfares, transfers, 5 nights accommodation, breakfast. Airland value $5000.00. Dinner with representatives of the Swarovski design team and 2 tickets to crystal world.

Well I dunno about that, but the next 7 prizes are fantastic as well. 2nd to 8th prizes receive a Swarovski Crystal gift pack valued from $2500 - $300.
Anyway the top 40 pieces can now be viewed at http://www.crystalpark.com.au/, although it would be really nice to see the top 25 out of those 40.

The winners and place getters for the 2007 Sydney Bead and Gem Show Beading Extravaganza should be known around 12th Oct.

Sydney Bead and Gem Show & My Logo

Thought I'd pop a pic in here of my entry from the 2006 Sydney Bead and Gem Show. I named it "Forest Frenzy" mainly because it was a frenzied effort to get it finished and photographed before the competition closing date. It made the finals, but wasn't placed.

Still a thrill for some-one who had only been beading for about 6 months and was totally self taught.

I also devised my logo from part of this necklace and did a bit of editing with Microsoft Digital Image Suite to make the edges look torn. You can see the logo to the right of the page.

Most people who know me are aware I love frogs too. So this piece came as no surprise. The frog is Pewter and is recycled from a keyring.

This pic also appeared the Gallery of one of my favourite wire working magazines in the USA. Step by Step Wire Jewellery - Summer 07 Vol 3 No. 3. I've kept the piece as a memento of my very first beading competition.

Whoo Hooooooo - Competition Update

As you may or may not be aware one of my free form wire Tiara's "Copper for Cleopatra" was nominated as a finalist in the 2007 Swarovski Creative Beading Awards here in Australia. This year there were 300 entries and I made the top 40.

I then got notified by the organisers of the 2007 Sydney Bead and Gem Show Beading Extravaganza Competition that the same Tiara made the finals of the finished jewellery category. Exciting... heck yes! but a real dilemma, well sort of. I'd already sent the Tiara for judging and it was unlikely that I'd have it back in time to send it off to be judged for the Bead and Gem show... I was mad at myself for being so silly. Fancy entering the same piece in two comps with judging so close. What on earth was I thinking??

A couple of days later, God must have been smiling down on me for a change. I was sharing my pain with friends on the Aus Beading Forum, when the lovely Anne, told me that the closing dates for the Bead and Gem show competition had been extended.. I think my heart may have just temporarily stopped beating, before I was outta my chair and on the phone to the organisers in Sydney.

"Yes its true," they said. "We were a little late in getting things organised, so the closing date has been extended". I mentioned my little problem and was told, "Yes by all means enter another piece, your work is beautiful."
To cut to the chase, I've been advised that my second piece "Argrya's Crown" has been accepted as a finalist.

Today I received an email from the Swarovski Comp organisers asking me to complete a questionnaire as they're running a feature on the finalists in the Creative Beading Magazine (usually this will appear around December or January next year). Could this mean that I made the next round of the competition? Deep breath, Bernadine....

Stay tuned for the next installment.