Happy Birthday, Mom!

Last Tuesday the Virginia Artists Group met at Handcraft House to try our hand at zipper flowers. We'd seen them on the blogs of Trina and Patty and decided to give it a try.

None of us could make one that looked like Trina's or Patty's, but we all ended up with something that looked very much like a flower. We discovered that adding leaves was a big help.

I'd gotten my mom this coconut candy earlier in the day at Yoder's Country Market, and decided that the two belonged together for a birthday treat. I am going to add pin backs so that they can be worn. I'm thinking these might be great package toppers for a Victorian Christmas theme. Hmmm... maybe if I start now I can make it happen!

Rocket Baby at Liberty Town

Meet Rocket Baby. He's my newest assemblage piece. He was made for the Discarded Potential Show at LibertyTown here in Fredericksburg, Virginia. (http://www.libertytownarts.com/).

The show requirements were that the pieces submitted had to be primarily made from discarded materials. Rocket Baby's car is almost entirely made from cast-off items. The only new elements used were epoxy clay to bind some of the heavier elements together, and acrylic paint to blend the transitions. Even the wire that binds many of the parts together is made from a discarded craft kit. Of course, Rocket Baby himself had been discarded as well.

Some of the items used in Rocket Baby's car are: a typewriter hood, clock gears, broken model car parts, four vintage pencil sharpeners, metal game pieces and a hair curler.

I was thrilled when I got to LibertyTown's opening the other night to discover that Rocket Baby had won first place at the show!