Monday, October 31, 2011

Wicked Wishes!

Photo Courtesy Warner Bros


Double Double Toil and Trouble
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble
Something Wicked This Way Comes!


Wishing you a Witchy and Ghostly All Hallows' Eve!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Lucy, you got some paintin' to do....

Some goodies I've acquired recently, 
and I will be waving my magic paint brush
 over all of them with a little chalk paint. 

How stinkin' cute is this? 
It's a jewelry chest, 
and looks very much like those
large retro consoles all the
hep cats have right now.

Not sure how I wanna paint this.
It might be cute if I only paint the outside,
leaving the wood bare on the inside.
I do like that you can hang it,
stand it on a tabletop,
or lay it flat for tiny supplies.
Charming bones on this beautiful
Old World primitive magazine holder.
I think it would double nicely
for storing kindling.
Oh the color possibilities are endless.
What to do, what to do.......

Join me on Saturday, November 19th, 
at the Plucky Maidens show,
to see how these lovelies turned out!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Buried Under Stars

I've been M.I.A. as of late, but I have a good excuse. My one-woman atelier has been very busy with a custom order of 30 Christmas tree ornaments.



While 30 ornaments may not seem like much,
I am a stickler for details.


I first began selling this burlap star design 
a couple years ago on Etsy. 
I had a box of antique ink pen nibs 
that I hadn't yet found a use for.
Once I combined them with old bingo cards and burlap,
there was no stopping me.
Finishing touches of German glass glittered stars,
Lametta silver tinsel, and just the right gunmetal chain,
make for a perfect mix of rustic elegance 
and Steampunk industrial
The glass glitter and Lametta tinsel 
will both tarnish over time,
bringing harmony to all the components.


This is a newer version, 
using a Dresden star with an Amber rhinestone,
making this less rustic, and more Steampunk.


Never satisfied with just one design, as I get bored easily,
I created a version of this map design last year.
This time, I stamped the direction letters,
making it look more like a compass rose.
The backing star is decoupaged in
wrinkled tissue paper, giving it the look
of Old World leather or parchment.


My newest design for this custom order 
is the use of old dictionary paper.

At a glance, this collection of stars may look like simple crafting, with some cutting and gluing. While that's technically true, these are surprisingly labor-intensive, with lots of cutting, adhering pen nibs one at a time, 3 different types of glue, 3 different layers of alcohol ink, attaching connector tags and chains, lots of varnish, etcetera, etcetera.......

While I am happy with these creations, 
I can safely say that.......
I was not built for mass-production.
I am an Idea girl, 
and my hands cannot keep up with 
the daily inspiration swirling in my head!

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Thursday, October 6, 2011

In Memoriam

We've become so accustomed to technology, 
that few take the time to 
appreciate and acknowledge 
the genius that conceived a new idea. 
To witness a Leonardo da Vinci in our lifetime
 is a rare gift.

To the Creative ones, 
the Inventors, 
the Nonconformists, 
the Visionaries, 
the Pioneers..
You Inspire Me.

RIP Steve Jobs.....Gone too soon.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Halloween Homage

This may sound blasphemous to all the Christmas lovers out there, but Autumn and Halloween are my favorite season and holiday. Perhaps part of the reason is that I live in Oregon, where our Fall scenery is so conducive to the blustery day, mystical mood of the season. I'm not saying I don't enjoy the Christmas season, but October holds a special magic for me. Time for scary movies, changing leaves, foggy mornings, Halloween candy, and costume parties. What's not to love? 

Every year, in honor of my love for Halloween, I hand-paint a bowl for display or to hold Trick-or-Treat candy. This year I decided to go with an understated look for 
my favorite day of the year.

This was one of those vintage salad bowls made in Japan. 
Blonde wood, with an uniremarkable grain.
It had some stains inside, and no amount of sanding
would remove it. So I had no choice but to paint the inside,
then glaze in several layers to color-match
the outside, and to add faux wood grain throughout, 
for more visual interest.
I painted a large 31 inside, with smaller numerals around the outside rim. I alternated 3's and 1's, so that you can read them as 31's or 13's, just to play with superstition.
 Definitely a sophisticated bit of whimsy for 
my Halloween fix.

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