Fifth Anniversary Contest Winner

Hello All,

At the outset, thank you all, for your kind messages........it is because of you all that we have come this far, and that we have the enthusiasm and energy to surge ahead full steam......

We had announced the fifth anniversary contest, celebrating our five years and kindling the creativity of our readers......

The original post is here:

Art'zire Contest Alert.............

This is a BIG big year for us! We are turning 5 years old this April 1st (no no, no April Fool's Joke, we truly are!!!).......

So, we announce the 5th Anniversary contest for Art'zire....

Create something using FIVE different elements...........

What are these 5 elements, you ask? They can be anything, five different materials, 5 different techniques......anything you feel like combining together.........and now, for some rules:

1. Art'zire Team members (past and present) and their families are not allowed to participate, but they can post inspiration posts.

2. The jewellery making material, e.g. head & eye pins, clasps, jump rings, tiger tail etc are not counted as 'material'. By material, we mean 5 different things, e.g. rhinestone chains, paint, pen, tassle, crystals, rhinestones etc. Similarly, if you're making a non-jewellery project, the 'base' used (e.g. wood/paper) is to be counted only as ONE material. So, if you're pasting paper on paper, it'll count only once. Edible or inedible, anything with 5 elements is perfectly eligible.......in case of any confusion, pls message us on 8884643192.

3. The images are to be sent to artzire@gmail.com. We need TWO hi-resolution images. And please write a small 'story' of the project. We love to hear your thoughts behind your creations...

4. The last date for sending in the images is March 24, 2018 (11:59 pm IST). The winner will be announced on April 1st, 2018...

5. The decision of the Art'zire Team will be final and binding, please respect that.

6. The prize for the winner will be announced on April 1st itself and we will ONLY ship the prize domestically. Any international winners will have to coordinate for getting their prize to them from their Indian contact......

7. In case of any questions, please ask us for clarification. We will not want to get into any altercations at a later date.

So! Get creating!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a tough time selecting the winner because every single one of the participants went on a limb to think of 5 different things to incorporate in a single creation! And that too, when basic elements of jewellery making were not to be counted as components. After much deliberation, we have chosen our winner -

Nisha Gupta!

And the winning creation is:

What aced it for Nisha is the incorporation of an unexpected element - Carved Ivory - along with an extremely unlikely companion - Crocheted Elephants............it was like home-coming for the elephants, who're reunited with their own body part.........

As Nisha's children pointed out to her - She can convert anything to jewellery and she did indeed convert a bookmark into one! So, congratulations Nisha, stay innovative, keep creating!

We would like to specially mention that we loved these creations too........

• Christy's, for such a serene look......
• Mohana's, for the lovely use of foil
• Diya's Tanjore Tree of Life, for neatness
• Kalai Vani's Koi fishes, for the lovely sentiments behind it
• Aum Creations' creation, for its clean and simple look
• Dhanashri, for choosing such a lovely stone to work around with

The participating creations:

Congratulations Nisha and all the other participants too! You guys make us feel so very special :)

Team Art'zire

Fifth Anniversary - Tutorial and review for waterproofing quilled jhumkas

Hello All,

Thank you so much for all the love you people have showered on us for past 5 years! It has been a roller coaster of a ride but what is life without some adventure thrown in!! Just like every year, we celebrate this anniversary with some love of sharing.........

All the crafters who make quilling jewellery groan (inwardly or otherwise) when their jewellery is compared with readymade, mass manufactured and impersonal alloy jewellery (most of it Made in China). We know the pain! Waterproofing of quilled jewellery has been its Achilles' Heel for a long time and most crafters struggle with answering the question: Will this jewellery get ruined when water falls on it?

We saw the problem for what it was. The customers want to make sure their money is worth it and the cost (of handmade jewellery) is justified too! So, we experimented with a host of resins and coating materials. The wall we kept hitting was: Importing the resin! Most resins available in India either had a short shelf like, or yellowed after some time! Since resin is susceptible to fire, it's transported via ships and that meant long waiting periods!

When Itsy Bitsy announced its line of resin (Lil Birdie: https://goo.gl/2EacL3 ), we seized the opportunity to try it on our quilled jhumkas..........we were a bit apprehensive as the reviews we had received so far said that the resin had a lot of bubbles upon mixing. We have worked around that problem and this video demonstrates how to use the resin on quilled jhumkas....

Hope the Tutorial/Review helps........

Pritesh (on behalf of Art'zire Team)