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Friendly Contradictions by Mylene Hillam

Sunday, July 11th, 2010
Last weekend, I got to spend a whole day at the Bead and Gem Show in Brisbane and I can't tell you how much of a treat it was. I love talking to people who share my passion for beads, findings and stringing materials. It was such a pleasant way to spend my day off.

But of course, I didn't go to the show just to chat to people.... I was on a shopping mission! I found a whole range of great tools for my jewellery studio - tools which I didn't even know that I needed until I saw them! But as they say, you can never have too many tools and I promise that I will play and experiment with them. No doubt they will add another dimension to my work.

Amongst the wonderful array of beads and findings on display, I was hoping to find some glass pearls and crystal dangles to suit one of my marbled Friendly Plastic cutouts but I left it behind in my studio - not very helpful!

It's really hard to "remember" exactly how a colour looks and our minds play funny tricks on us. We remember it as being darker or lighter or sometimes we pick the wrong tone altogether. Colour matching from memory is something I don't recommend - too often I have come home with the wrong colour beads, despite having a good sense of colour. But this time my memory got it right - light olive pearls and dark olive crystals in just the right shade!

I've teamed them with a vintage-inspired brass chain and an unusual cameo, both from Vintage Groove by Making Memories.
Lady Olivine
I love how this piece is so contradictory - it is neither modern nor vintage..... and yet, it is both! The colours are modern and yet they're not; the cameo is vintage and yet it's not. Contradictions!

This is one of the wonderful things about Friendly Plastic; add a bit of sparkle and it will complement the bright metallic foil. Or tone it down with some aged brass and it works equally as well. Or do as I've done with Lady Olivine and use them together to create a modern vintage effect.

Happy creating!


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Posted in Friendly Plastic Jewelry, Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News, art doll necklace, hand made jewelry, vintage | No Comments »

Speghetti and Friendly Plastic???

Sunday, June 20th, 2010
I couldnt resist sharing this photo of ....yes....speghetti and  friendly plastic.  How fun?  This is a photo snatched from Liz Welch's blog as she shares details of a recent class she taught. So check out her blog to find out just what they made  from this.


Classes are a great way to get your hands wet with Friendly Plastic.  Liz offers a wide variety of technique classes in the UK.
If you are in Australia - check out Mylene Hillams classes
If you are anywhere else in the world - CrafTECH University offers online classes in Friendly Plastic along with an array of other craft based classes.  Coming up June 29th is a basic jewelry making class and a wire wrapping class featuring bling rings.  While these classes are not Friendly Plastic in content, the skills learned are a great value when turning your Friendly Plastic work into jewelry.  Check out the upcoming calendar including Friendly Plastic on the home page of the website.  Click here


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Posted in Friendly Plastic Classes, Liz Welch, Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News, craftech university | No Comments »

Can’t get enough Friendly Plastic?

Thursday, June 17th, 2010
If that's the case and "if" you live in Australia...this may just be your lucky day!  Read on:
Mylene Hillam writes:

A big hello to all the lovely crafters who stopped by the Stamp Antics stand at the Scrapbook and Papercrafts Expo to say hello and check out what Friendly Plastic is all about. I hope you picked up lots of valuable pointers and are inspired to create your own wonderful Friendly Plastic projects.


But what's that, I hear? You didn't get enough Friendly Plastic info on the weekend! Well, don't despair.... you can get more. Why not get some hands on experience in a class situation where you'll learn how to work with Friendly Plastic first hand. The Lumpy, Bumpy, Spotty and Dotty class has sold out, but I'm doing a repeat class on the 22nd June so you don't have to miss out on learning how to make this fun and sparkly bracelet. Give Stamp Antics a call (3393 3022) and the girls will be happy to book you in.


Can't make it to the classes? Well, for members of the Bribie Island Community Arts Centre, you'll be able to come along for a session on Friendly Plastic on Thursday 8th July. I'll be your host for the morning and will take you through all the basics of working with Friendly Plastic. Time permitting, I'll also show some more advanced techniques. And to get you really excited about the possibilities of working with Friendly Plastic I'll have a large display of pieces so that you can begin to see the possibilities of working with this wonderfully versatile medium.


I have more demos and classes scheduled for later in the year both locally and interstate so keep checking my class schedule and also the sidebar of my blog (Where you'll find me) for details.


In my next post I'll be working with all those lovely demo pieces and I'll show a little bit of a "how to".


'Til then.... keep crafting!




Make sure you check out all of Mylene's work on her website at:  www.milllanestudio.com






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Posted in Friendly Plastic Beads, Friendly Plastic Jewelry, Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News | No Comments »

Entangled in zentangle

Friday, June 4th, 2010
A few months back I posted an article about Zentangle.  It truely is for everyone and anyone can do it and make great art!

It is an artform that is becoming increasingly popular and is spreading into international waters too!

Australian artist Mylene Hillam shares her rendition of zentangle in this beautifully designed necklace.



I think this is simply stunning - don't you?  To see more of this story and get more inspiration visit Mylene's blog at http://www.milllanestudio.blogspot.com/

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Posted in Beginner Friendly Plastic, Friendly Plastic Jewelry, Friendly Plastic necklace, Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News, Zentangle, milllanestudio | No Comments »

Dotty Spotty Knotty Beads by Mylene Hillam

Saturday, May 8th, 2010
FAQ- Can you create beads in Friendly Plastic? Well....here's proof!  Read Mylene's artricle about her bead making journey!


Or maybe you just call them polka dot! Got any idea what I'm talking about? No? Then read on........


I had a brilliant idea last night. Actually it came to me many months ago but it wasn't until last night that I could see how my idea might work. I've wanted to do this for such a long time but wasn't sure the idea would translate very well into Friendly Plastic and last night was the night I decided to test it out.


By now you must be thinking that I've come up with the most clever Friendly Plastic idea ever, but that couldn't be further from the truth. You see, I'm talking about Bumpy Beads, just like those colourful glass beads that glass artists make. But, as with many of the Friendly Plastic beads I make, they are not meant to mimic the real thing, I've just borrowed a style and translated it into Friendly Plastic.What a bunch of fun beads! And I've really enjoyed making them up into a these cool bracelets.
Vibrant pink and Black
Delicate Pinks
Dramatic Black
Soft Green and Blue


I'm thinking that this could go in a lot of different directions and I'll try to combine some other ideas with the spots in future bead making sessions so look out for those in the coming weeks. I'm also thinking this might mean making bigger beads so that I can incorporate different design elements on the one bead.


Hope you've enjoyed today's eye candy.


'Til next time,
Myléne

Mylene - These are simply gorgous and remind me of expensive blown glass beads!  You can find Mylene's work for sale on her website at:  www.milllanestudio.com


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Posted in Beads, Friendly Plastic, Friendly Plastic Jewelry, Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News, bead making tools, milllanestudio | No Comments »

Elegant Napkin Rings in Friendly Plastic by Mylene Hillam

Friday, March 26th, 2010
Mylene Hillam shares a very innovative and unique technique to create these beautiful napkin rings:

I'm on a mission at the moment to come up with a number of different Friendly Plastic tutorials which are all aimed at the complete novice. It's a challenge to come up with very simple projects that have real impact, but this project is even more of a challenge because it also has to be translated into French. The projects can also only be made using items you most likely have at home in your kitchen already (so no craft tools permitted) and I can only use the oven method for softening the plastic. OK, this is definitely a challenge but it has certainly made me more resourceful.


The projects are coming together quite nicely but along the way I also created a project that was just a little bit too difficult for the complete beginner so I want to share it with you. This idea seemed so simple at first but by the time I actually started doing it, it became quite apparent that it was too difficult for a first timer. But for those of you more advanced Friendly Plastic addicts, this is for you. Just follow the instructions below to create your own nifty little napkin ring using items you most likely have at home already.
Firstly, gather together everything you need:
  • a spice jar - mine is from Master Foods. If you don't have a spice jar try something the same size as the cylinder inside kitchen wrap;
  • aluminium foil;
  • oven preheated to 120°C (250°F);
  • oven tray;
  • alphabet pasta - in Australia you can get this in the Italian food aisle, in the US try the Mexican food aisle. For those of you in Europe, I'm sorry but I don't know which aisle to suggest;
  • cooking oil and a pastry brush;
  • small rolling pin;
  • container of cold water;
  • Stanley knife and ruler;
  • and the most important item of all, a 7" stick of Gold/Black Friendly Plastic
  1. Measure the circumference of the spice jar and cut the Friendly Plastic approximately 1.5cm (9/16") less than this measurement.
  2. Brush the aluminium foil with a light coating of cooking oil. This will prevent the Friendly Plastic from sticking. Place the Friendly Plastic on the foil and place the tray into the oven for approximately 5 minutes.
  3. Whilst the Friendly Plastic is softening in the oven, lightly oil another piece of aluminium foil and place it on a firm surface. Spread the alphabet pasta out over an area that is wider and longer than the stick of Friendly Plastic.
  4. Once the Friendly Plastic has softened remove the tray from the oven and place it on a heatproof surface. Pick up the foil from the tray, turn it over and place it face down on top of the alphabet pasta. Gently roll over the foil with the rolling pin to press the alphabet letters into the Friendly Plastic.
  5. Wrap the two pieces of foil around the spice jar, trying to align the edges so they will be straight. You might crinkle the foil a bit in the step but it will add to the texture of the piece. Plunge the foil and bottle into cold water to cool for about a minute or so.
  6. Unwrap the foil and gently peel away the outer layer.
  7. Gently pull the foil away from the inside trying not to leave any bits inside.
  8. And here's the finished napkin ring ready for you to coordinate with your table setting.
I've pressed my letters in so that they're flush with the Friendly Plastic but if your letters are not quite as deep as mine, you might be able to carefully prise them out....... that's a really cool look too! You can seal the napkin ring with resin to make it more durable if you like but that was not permitted in my challenge.


I hope you've enjoyed this fun little project and that you'll take the challenge to get resourceful and create something using only what you have on hand.


Have a happy crafty weekend everyone.
Myléne
For more of Mylene's projects visit her website at:  www.milllanestudio.blogspot.com
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Posted in Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News, friendly plastic home decor, friendly plastic projects | No Comments »

Cookie Cutters and Friendly Plastic – Candy for your eyes! by Mylene Hillam

Thursday, March 18th, 2010
This is a from a recent post from Mylene Hillam, an Australian artist who works with mixed media:


It's time for some Friendly Plastic eye candy today.


You've seen some of the jewellery pieces I made using the demo samples from the Brisbane Paper Crafts Festival but many of you have asked how you can use Friendly Plastic in your papercrafting projects. Well, let me share some of the things that I like to do.


For the first one, I've used cookie cutters to cut some letters from a marbled strip of Friendly Plastic and layered them on a textured strip of gold. Adding texture is one of my favourite things to do with Friendly Plastic Designer Sticks. You can either stamp into it with a rubber stamp or press a texture into it as I did. This one is a silicone texture mat from Krafty Lady.I've layered the Friendly Plastic embellishments onto a piece of stamped acetate which I've coloured with Pinata alcohol inks... the vibrant colours certainly are eye popping!
Fun in the Sun
To add to the fun of the card I tied a polka dot ribbon around the embellishments before assembling.


You might recognise this next piece from my tutorial "How to Mould with Friendly Plastic Scraps" - different colours, same technique.I've combined some French images and text with these beautiful butterfly rub ons from Rouge de Garance.... très Parisienne!I'll have a couple more demo pieces to share with you in a later post so don't forget to check back again to see what else you can do with your Friendly Plastic embellishments.


Happy crafting,
Myléne

For more information on Krafty Lady moulds visit the website at:  www.kraftylady.com

Check out more of Mylene's work on her blog at:  www.milllanestudio.blogspot.com



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Posted in Altered Art, Friendly Plastic Moulds, Krafty Lady, Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News, cardmaking, friendly plastic cardmaking, mill lane studio, rubber stamping friendly plastic, rubber stamps | No Comments »

Three Artists – Three styles. Collaborative works in Friendly Plastic

Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Way back last summer Jana Ewy (Fracture and Fusion etc) contacted me and asked if I would like to join in on a collaborative project she was hatching. Her idea was to create a decorative piece of work that was created on 3 different continents. To that end she asked Mylene Hillman in Australia, and I to make up some 2″ squares using Friendly Plastic and she would assemble them in USA. So the three of us set about creating four individual squares using our own techniques, which we then had to repeat 4 times. This would mean that the three of us would each end up with a finished collaborative piece and there would be one to submit to a magazine.
The theme we worked to was “royalty” and we agreed that reds and purples, gold and black would feature heavily, but it was up to us individually what we did. We duly made our pieces and sent them off to Jana who was a super star and spent ages arranging them into a pleasing composition. She tried out all sorts of backgrounds, and eventually, after much experimentation settled on an artists canvas that she painted and layered with paper. you can see the result below.
As you can see, not all the pieces ended up as squares. Jana decided that it required something other than squares, so she created 3 pieces that are anything but square. The shield below is marbled / feathered, and Jana has used some pieces of FP that she has coloured with alcohol inks. It is mounted on brass filigree.
Jana used alcohol inks again with applied strips of left overs and fabric plus more charms and filigree to this piece.
For this most regal crown on top of wings she has used moulds.
A piece which included Jana’s work would not be complete without her Fracture and Fusion technique. This is the only truly flat piece out of the whole lot.
Mylene is immensely neat and tidy and precise in her work and this really shows in her chequer board pieces below. This first one is made up of three layers, the base being the aforesaid impossibly neat chequer board, with two more layers that appear to have been stamped. Mylene has added one of her beautifully crafted beads to dangle below.
I am totally envious of Mylene’s ability to be soooo neat and tidy, and this little square illustrates my justification in being envious! She has created a perfect chequer board in black and white on top of which is a neatly moulded crown with added sparkly gems. I was relieved to see that it was not Mylene’s hand writing on the metal shim, but a printed word instead; if it had been her own handwriting I think I would never talk to her again – I would be too jealous for words!
A really 3D Fleur De Lis adorns this very regal square which is made up of stamped sections with added filigree and charms.
Mylene’s final square is delightful, the background is made up of three sections – chequer board, feathering/ marbling, and a stamped image all in black white and gold. The dragon is moulded in purple and the gems and crown have been added to “crown it all off”.
Both Jana and Mylene are neat and tidy workers, I most certainly am not. I even found it tricky making my squares exactly 2”! The first of my squares is made of strips of Ooozed Friendly Plastic interspersed with narrow plain FP. I used sequin waste with large and small holes and stars, plus some old lace I found at a car boot sale. My handwriting is clear to see in this square and it leaves a lot to be desired, but hey, take your specs off, squint or stand back a few paces and view it as a whole, and then I won’t feel quite so inferior. When it comes to neatness Mylene and Jana sit on pristine pillars of perfection and I feel like I am in the dust and the rubble at the bottom making sandcastles (or dustcastles) out of the debris.
This little square is a layer of my Lacework embedded into some gold FP with added sequins. The little beads you can see are on cords which come out of the holes in the sequins.
I am sure you will all recognise the heart that I have Ooozed through Angelina fibres, this is one of my favourite things to do with FP. The heart is embedded into a background of pieced red, purple and gold FP.
None of my squares are flat, but my final square is the least flat of them all. I was thinking the crown jewels here, in particular the orb and sceptre. This square has a pieced background (not neat and tidy – random piecing), with an applied circle of purple velvet. On top of the velvet sits a moulded dome of recycled FP that I coloured gold. Tubular knitting wire encases some stiffer wire that holds the orb in place, and is adorned with a small “flower” made of gold and red FP on the top. It stands 3cm tall.
To Jana and Mylene, I say a huge thank you for sharing your talents with me. Although I envy your neatness, I do appreciate the difference in our styles, and it only goes to highlight just how very versatile Friendly Plastic is. If I have got any of the details wrong about your squares, please do correct me.




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Posted in Fracture and Fusion, Friendly Plastic, Jana Ewy, Liz Welch, Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News, angelina fibers, checkerboard, ooze | No Comments »

Friendly Plastic Classes in Australia by Mylene Hillam

Friday, March 5th, 2010
Classes offered in Australia by Artist/Designer Mylene Hillam of Milllanestudio.  See her website for more information:  www.milllanestudio.blogspot.com



Here's another slight variation of the resin and Friendly Plastic pendant we'll be making in tomorrow's class at Stamp Antics. This promises to be a really fun class - making these little pendants is so addictive!
If you were unable to get into the class I'm happy to say that there will be another one scheduled soon. So why not give Jenny a ring at Stamp Antics (07 3393 3022) and ask her to add your name to the waiting list. She'll get back to you shortly to let you know when the class will be.


That's all for today, folks!
I'll be back soon!
Myléne


If you are offering classes - please email me and I will post the information.



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Posted in Friendly Plastic Classes, Friendly Plastic Jewelry, Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News, friendly plastic and resin, resin, stamp antics | No Comments »

Friendly Plastic Swirl Beads simulate Polymer Clay by Mylene Hillam

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

 Friendly Plastic can replicate so many wonderful looks.  As Mylene describes, these beads look similar to those made from polymer clay...only these have metallic BLING!  Enjoy Mylene's post:


I had a brilliant idea one night this week. It was one of those light bulb moments! You know the kind..... the ones that come just as you're drifting off to sleep.

Normally when an idea like that hits I would reach over to jot it down in my Little Book of Big Ideas but four months after moving into our new house, we still don't have bedside tables and so my Little Book was not there. So I went over and over the idea in my head, working out every little detail hoping I might at least remember something about the idea come morning. Do I start with a basic cylinder bead? Should I roll it into a ball? When should I add the stripes? Do I use the hot water method or stick with the heat gun...... so many questions. It's a wonder I got any sleep at all.

So what was my brilliant idea, I hear you ask? Well, take a peek below!

These are my first experiments.... you can just make out the beginnings of a swirl forming. Not bad, but I'm sure I can improve the technique. So I tried a completely different method for the second batch and got much better results.... a swirl is definitely happening here! That's much more like what I had in mind. It's a similar effect to polymer clay swirl beads but it takes a totally different technique to achieve the effect in Friendly Plastic. I'm calling them Swirl Beads because they look just like their polymer clay counterparts.

As with most of the beads I make from Friendly Plastic these will get a coat of resin so that they can be turned into jewellery and then they'll be ready for my next jewellery project.

I'm off to play some more with this technique so I have some finished pieces to share with you soon.

'Til then,
Myléne


Visit Mylene on her blog at:  www.milllanestudio.blogspot.com



Linda Peterson is compensated and endorsed by AMACO. The guests features may or may not have any affiliation with AMACO.
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Posted in Amaco, Animal Print friendly Plastic, Art Jewelry, Friendly Plastic Beads, Mylene Hillam, Plastic Industry News, friendly plastic swirl beads, mill lane studio | No Comments »

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