I am so ready to get back into the studio and make some art! The  Amazing Alice is coming this week to help me get  my studio organized. Again.

I did it on my own last year, but I didn't keep up with it. I guess I enjoy having a certain amount of disarray around me when I work. It feels like I'm actually doing something. Of course, when I spend twenty minutes searching for sa tool that should be right at hand, I get really frustrated. Hopefully the Amazing Alice will be able to help me balance my two sides.

In the meantime, I have been playing around with some Photoshop filters and doing a little junkin'.The results of both are in the photo above. (That's the poster edges filter. I love the texture that it adds.)

I fell in love with this piece when I saw it. It's a Victorian-era sweetheart pin. A coin was smoothed out on one side, and engraved with the name "Annie". There are two little holes at the bottom of the coin. I'm thinking of draping a chain between the two holes. The pin back isn't functional, so I'll probably add a top hole and incorporate it into a necklace at some point.

In the meantime, I'll daydream about Annie, and how thrilled she must have been to recieve such a beautiful gift.

I'm very excited to use these. They are number stamps in a really old wooden box. Each number is about 1/2" tall. I've never seen them this large before. I'm tempted to use the stamps themselves in a piece. I think they're just gorgeous.

Here is a closeup of some of the other bits that I found. These little things make me so happy!

Warning: creepy baby alert! Scroll no further if you don't want to see a closeup of my new baby.

Oh, I'm glad you decided to look at her. She's very sweet, really. She doesn't have the scary little teeth that some of the babies have. I use most of my composition dolls in my art pieces, but this little doll was a birthday gift, and so she isn't in danger of being put in precarious positions, like most of my other compo babies. Take a look at the Bates numbering machine next to her, too. My heart skipped a beat when I found this thing.
I'm already wondering where the homes should be for these objects, so I'll be able to find them when I'm ready for them. Hopefully the Amazing Alice has some of the answers!

It's a Spring Thing

 I am still in "glitter mode" but I've shifted seasons. When I put away my Christmas art supplies, I decided to take a peek into the "spring" bin. I found a project that I started last year, but never had time to finish. I made paper clay forms using chocolate candy molds. This is fairly easy to do. Just be sure to dust the mold with some cornstarch to make removal of the form easier.

I used tiny little tacks and brads for the eyes and noses on my figures. Then, I painted them with Claudine Hellmuth's paints diluted with water. After that dried, I added a coating of clear irisdescent glitter. Aren't they sweet? I am going to work on some Valentine-themed ones as soon a I get a chance. Also, it keeps my mind off of the snow falling outside. Spring is coming!

Glitter is Forever!

There are two materials that I love the use at Christmas time -- felt and glitter. Felt is one of the first materials that I remember using as a child. My mom and I would make felt christmas ornaments and tiny little dolls. You could glue or sew right onto the felt and it wouldn't fray. It has to be the most child-friendly art supply out there. I was allowed to cut and glue to my heart's content.

Glitter was another story. Glitter made everything sparkly and really, really, Christmas-y. Glitter made crusty, crunchy little piles of shiny goodness on top of an ordinary drop of Elmer's white glue. Glitter looked the way your tummy felt on Christmas Eve.

But glitter made a mess. Mom would say: "Be very careful!" "Don't use too much!" "You're getting it everywhere!" And she was right. Glitter would sift down into the cracks of our parquet floors, waiting to be discovered months later bathed in a summer sunbeam. Glitter was magical, but glitter was forever.

I still love to get out glitter at christmastime, and I was thrilled to find this wreath project at http://www.mosaictipsandtricks.blogspot.com/. Enchanted Rose Studio has a great tutorial that shows exactly how to make the wreath. My daughter and I made it together, and we had a great time doing it.

I only changed two thing from the Enchanted Rose directions. I used a slightly smaller paper circle, and I put a drop of hot glue right in the place where I pinched the circle together. I also went back in with tiny straight pins, and pinned the circles to the wreath after they were glued. I knew this was going to be mailed to Ohio, and I wasn't sure how the hot glue would hold up to the cold temperatures. (You can double-click the second photo to get a better view.)

We mailed the wreath last week. And guess what? We are still finding tiny bits of sparkly glitter all over the place. Glitter is still magical for me, but glitter is forever!

Fire and Ice Resin

I decided that for the months of November and December, I would only put my work in galleries, and not do any craft shows or home shows. For the first time in ten years, I've had my weekends free during the holiday season. And you know what? I'm as busy as ever. I feel like these two little fire truck guys - not sure if I'm coming or going.  It's amazing how many other activities have filled in our calendar. I'm having lots of fun, but I'm really craving a long winter's nap!

I made some more jewelry using Susan Lenart Kazmer's Ice Resin and I was very pleased with the results. Jen Cushman was kind enough to drop by the blog, and told me that the ice resin is self-healing. I was able to fix the little bubble in the ring I showed in the last post and smooth over the little scuffies on the necklace. (I'm still keeping the necklace, though!) The piece shown above is at the Emporium at LibertyTown.

 For this piece, I put a vintage costume jewelry flower inside an antique tart tin. Then I added a sterling chain and put lots of beads and crystals on it. This piece is at FCCA in the Members Gallery.

After I made the necklace, I found this quote and decided it fit the necklace perfectly.
"The day will come when, after harnessing space,
the winds, the tides and gravitation,
we shall harness the energies of love.
And on that day, for the second time
in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire."

- Pierre Teillhard de Chardin

I used the quote as an inspiration to make as assemblage piece that the necklace hangs on when it's not being worn. I really like this concept, and I'm planning to do a whole series of these. The resin allows me the freedom to create a mini-artwork inside the framework of the necklace. And the assemblage piece allows me a larger canvas to expand on the idea.

  I took this picture outside of FCCA before I delivered my piece. It's not the greatest picture, but I  liked the way the sun cast a shadow of the gears.

Ice, Ice, Baby

 I finally got a chance to play with Susan Lenart Kazmer's new product, Ice Resin. I hadn't used resin in about fifteen years. This new formulation has come a long way. It mixes easily and dries clear and rock hard.

 This is the necklace that I made. I accidentally scuffed the edge of the pendant with one of my tools, so it isn't perfect enough to sell. But it is perfectly wearable. I guess I'll have to keep this one!

This is a ring that I made.  I didn't babysit it long enough and got a single bubble right in the center of the gear. I have to say that I kind of like the way it turned out. 'Guess I'll have to keep this one, too! I have all kinds of ideas in my head. I'm going to try to do another pouring on Friday if the weather is nice and dry. I'll let you know how it turns out.

'Tis the Season

The gorgeous weather we had this weekend is over and today is a dreary, chilly, rainy day. Merlot and Bordeaux are cuddled up together on the couch, and I'd love to go join them.

 Or maybe go have some gingerbread and tea. This little gingerbread lady is on the tree I decorated for this year's Hope House Festival of Trees.

Here is a picture of the whole tree. My theme is Gingerbread Memories, and the tree is decorated with Gingerbread-themed ornaments and red lights. The Festival of Trees is early this year. It is running from Nov 10-20 in a new location at the Fredericksburg Area Museum.

Instead of a silent auction, there will be a gala held this weekend. Each ticket for two entitles the bearer to take home a decorated tree. You can find out more about the event at http://www.hopehouseva.org/.

Sweet Treats!





Aren't they gorgeous? My daughter and I joined Claudine Hellmuth and Amy Powers for a class taught by Patricia Wehmeier in Tyson's Corner last weekend. We'd all made miniatures before, for Club Littlehouse, but with Patricia's instruction, we took it to a whole new level. She is a fantastic teacher, and two of our classmates were seasoned miniaturists as well. We had so much fun, and even at the end of the day, the novelty hadn't worn off. They were sooo tiny!

How tiny? A cupcake, petit four and swiss cake roll all fit onto a dime! We learned about the importance of scale, and how to get the colors, textures and finishes just right.

We even learned how to do placemats, napkins and napkin rings. Pat made domestic goddesses out of all of us. Here is a look at our "kitchen".

Our classmates convinced us that we should make the trip back to Tyson's Corner the next day for the miniatures show, and I'm so glad that we did. The  variety of items was amazing, and every booth was packed to the gills with tiny little delights.

 These fascinated me more than any others. I guess because they have the steampunk vibe that I love, but in miniature! All these creations are the work of Fred Cobbs of Georgia. You can see even more of his work here. If I could live inside a dollhouse, I'd want it to be furnished with all of these wonderful creations. You can click on any of the photos to see them in more detail.

Making all of these tiny little goodies reminded me of my own crystal cupcakes line of jewelry. I am going to do a blog giveaway of one of my crystal cupcakes items. Just leave me a comment before November 15,  and I will choose one person to win a necklace or a pair of earrings - the winner gets to decide.

In the meantime, I am also going to put all of my crystal cupcakes jewelry on sale for $20 each (plus shipping) from now until November 15.  To see all of the cupcakes jewelry go to http://www.crystalcupcakes.com/.