Party Time

I am a tad late for the Mad Tea Party. So sorry but tends to happen when a person listening to a cell phone while driving tries to drive through a full size truck.

I will be attempting to get caught up on the party throughout the day. I had some tarty tarts prepared along with a lovely Chocolate Tea. But alas, a certain person known only as Pinky seems to have made off with them and left three mushrooms in their place.

Here is hoping everyone has a lovely tea party. I am off to set traps for that dastardly Pinky person and possible for one of her cohorts named Egg Head.

Wonderland party day

Today is the day that we have the blog party on our Mixed Media blog. Lots to see and a chance to win a prize. Prizes were donated by members and others. All you need to do is post a comment on the group blog for a chance for a prize. Just click the little doohickey on the right, you know the square thingamajig that says party to take you to the blog site where you can see everything. Just watch out for Alice she is making very merry over there.

I have donated a bottle spirit to one lucky winner. Here is the picture.

Surprise Surprise

With challenge finished I had time to check out updates on the blogs I follow. Boy did I get surprised. I received a Kreative Bloggers award from Melissa of Ardea's Nest. How wonderful of her. I read her post there and I have to post 7 of my favorite things and then give the award to 7 other blogs.

So let's begin
Favorite things
1. Fantasy
2. Beading
3. Wire Work
4. Creating New Things
5. The Members of my Mixed Media Group...Billie, Barb, Heather, Shanna, Di, Melissa, Tracey, Kwit, Terri, the other Heather, and Valarie
6. Dragons
7. Terrorizing my 20 yo daughter


Now the people to nominate
1. http://heathersdaydreams.blogspot.com/
2. http://wickedoakdesigns.blogspot.com/
3. http://wadsworthnollstudio.blogspot.com/
4. http://shannasclayart.blogspot.com/
5. http://ariemoondesignsandenchantedarts.blogspot.com/
6. http://brenda-magicgarden.blogspot.com/
7. http://lorelllehman.blogspot.com/

Thanks again Melissa

Wonderland

I finally got my Wonderland challenge done and in time for the group blog party on May 5th. I did a shadow box with a crystal continuum inside from The Looking Glass Wars books. It was an interesting piece to make that is for sure. I had to color some of the acrylic nuggets as my color selection was limited. Prismacolor markers did well for that. What I didn't know was that when I sprayed everything with Krylon Crystal Clear coat it would turn every thing frosty looking. Good thing it still looked good.

Next challenge due in July is a Snow White challenge. I think I'm doing a throne in black green red and possibly gold. I need to make a back board that I can glue imitation apples on for it. Also have to decide if I'm using a chair I have already started or possibly make a smaller one. Difficult decision.

The mixed media group I run on yahoo along with a dear friend really keeps us hopping. And even though we are small in numbers we are huge in participation and creativity. All of our members are very friendly and very talented at what they do. Every one is ready to help when needed and all help offered is always appreciated.

We are hoping for the group to grow and become even better and for everyone to have a chance to learn something new or to challenge themselves by trying something they wouldn't normally try.

Please check out the little banner on the side to our group blog site to get information on the Wonderland Blog Open House we are having starting on May 5th.

And now for my latest creation. My piece that was done for the Wonderland Challenge. The Crystal Continuum.

New Day new Surprises

Well I woke up today at 5 am and hubby wasn't up yet. So I did my routine of calling him on the cell phone from the living room and he finally answered and said he was up. Once I was sure he wasn't going back to sleep, I did go back to sleep lol. Got back up at 8 am, took stock, and said yep still have migraine oh joy. But couldn't let that stop me, too much to do too little time. So I tackled the first job of the day and got online. Did emails and found a great surprise. I had entered a challenge/contest on the Making Dolls group on Yahoo to turn a small premade bird house into a fairy house. And the votes are in. I won first place for most inspiring, and tied for first place for cutest fairy house. Boy, was I surprised.

I will say this was one challenge that I truly enjoyed and really threw myself into as it wasn't something I had tried before.

Making Dolls is a very nice and warm group on Yahoo that I have been a member of for a few years. The ladies are very friendly and always willing to help when you need it. I met the owner, Rosa, when she came through Memphis on a delivery run with her husband. Rosa is a very warm and caring person and I had a great time meeting her in person.

They have challenges and swaps and share a lot of friendship on the group and I am glad to be a member on there.

What's next. Well I promised a dear friend that I would try to do a Wendy Froud Inspired doll so I'm currently working on that. I watched most of Wendy's first dvd yesterday and will be rewatching it today for anything I missed. Sculpting doesn't ""click"" for me as easily as beading and other art medias have done in the past so this will most likely be a longer foray than other challenges I have done. But I plan to give it my all. I did like a good bit of the way Wendy does her dolls and some of the things did become clearer as I watched. I will be trying to get the armature for the doll done today after watching the dvd again. Then it's on to the sculpting.

I'm also planning out an Alice in Wonderland challenge piece for the Mixed Media group I run. I believe I have all the supples, and now it is poke and hope time. Poke a piece here and there and hope it looks food. Once that's done it will go into a shadow box to preserve it from evil elements.

I also need to start designing a beaded bug for another online challenge at a bead site on line. That one is due in July and I'm not quite sure what I'm doing yet. Maybe a butterfly, or ladybug, or caterpillar.

I will also be working on mixed media bookmarks and bracelets using sea glass and mosaic tiles and beading. Another project that will be very different for me.

That's all for now. Hope everyone had a nice St. Patrick's Day and didnt get pinched too much lol.

I will be back when there is more to report.

Toodles

Elphaba

Well she is finally done and fairly good pictures have been taken. I need to practive with camera but I have found I get much better pics outside than inside.

Elphaba was formed on an old liquor bottle using fiberfill coated with hot UTEE. Her face is from an art doll mold and hand painted and beaded. I then added beads all over the bottle for accent. For the stopper I didnt have the right size cork for the bottle so I glued two small corks together and painted the bottom half black and coated the top half with UTEE. Then glued a glass bead to the top. The shoes are a pair of doll shoes with 5 layers of glitter paint on each shoe. I also made the broom and the hat myself.

Elphaba is the first bottle spirit to have ""accessories"" and I think she came out quite well.

Happy St Patricks Day

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Karma

Well February was a long month even in it's shortness. March brought lots of surprises. Apparently my Karma hit the jackpot at the start of tax season. The company my husband works for changed ownership, and when the new company took over they messed up my husband's W-4 form. So they had him listed as single all year long. Because of that we hit the lottery on our tax refund. Replaced my computer and replaced the 400 disc dvd changer that had died a year ago. Was able to get a good bit of art supplies stocked up for upcoming projects and/or classes. And hubby got a new TV.

Also a dear friend advised me to check on line about Circuit City's extended warranties on one of the dvd players I have that had started freezing up. Thanks to her I'm getting back the purchase price of the dvd even though Circuit City had closed all its stores.

Another dear friend is sending me a bunch of vintage jewelry that she didnt want to keep around and all I had to do was pay postage. Lots of beady goodies to play with when it gets here.

Finished my Elphaba Bottle Spirit that I did for the Wicked challenge on my mixed media group and will be posting photo as soon as the rain stops so I can take outside shots. I'm also hoping to get a good enough picture to submit Elphaba to Art Doll Quarterly. We will see what happens.

About to start a Wonderland Challenge that will be due in 2 months. No bottle spirits this time thought. Im trying to do a plaque or shadow box representing the Crystal Continuum in The Looking Glass Wars. I bought a Sherry Goshon face mold and that will be in the center of the plaque and surrounded by beach glass and glass pebbles. Definitely different from things I have done in the past.

So Karma has been high so far this month and hopefully will continue to be.

Elphaba update

Well Elphaba the bottle spirit is getting closer to being done. Her bottle is covered and just needs embellishing. Her broom is done and just needs to be attached to the bottle. I am currently adding beaded fringe to her face which Im hoping to have done by tomorrow. Then all that is left is her shoes and hat. She will be the first bottle spirit I have done that has ""accessories"".

Once she is done it is time for planning the project for the Wonderland challenge on the mixed media grop I run. No idea yet what I'm doing but hopefully will have an idea soon.

I am considering possibly submitting Elphaba to Art Doll Quarterly but haven't fully decided yet. I'm not to keen on the idea of them keeping her for up to 6 months. I'm also scared she may be damaged which I dont want after all the work that has been put into her. I guess we shall see and decide later.

V-Day

Hello to all visiting for the Valentine's blog party. Take a look around and post a comment if you like. I am currently working on an Elphaba bottle spirit for a challenge on the Mixed media group that I co-own with a friend. She is coming along niceley and I should have a picture of her soon. Also developing ideas for our Wonderland challenge that begins March 1st. I dibble and dabble in several art forms but my main art form is beading and wire work. Also learning dolls and clay and I sculpt bottles using UTEE ultra thick embossing powder. I currently have a class for a simple bottle spirit going that is running nicely and have plans for more mixed media classes in the near future.
Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy the site. Any questions can be referred to my email at carrie38118@aol.com

Dis and Dat

Well it's getting closer to the time for my bottle spirit class to start on classheaven.com I am waiting eagerly. All that is left is to take pictures and fine tune my tutorial and it will be ready. I am also planning on other classes I may do on that site. Even though the fairy house I did was my first one I really enjoyed making it. Even the 6 hours it took placing pebbles on there one by one so there weren't any gaps lol. I'm now thinking of more houses and have bought several wood pieces at Michael's to use for them. I think I will have each one a different theme. The next one may be a Fairy Beach House theme with a two story house. I have shells and beads and even some beach glass I can use. I may take pictures as I go along on this one and if it comes out well maybe do it for a class also. But I will iron out all the ""wrinkles"" so that every thing will be easy to read and follow.

I also have plans for a possible wrap doll class and an altered stuffed animal or doll class. I would like to be able to show people what they can make from things they have around the house and how different just a little bit of work can make them look.

I will also be doing an altered bottle class that will be be more advanced than the original bottle spirit class. More techniques such as simple beading and using more materials.

Down the line I may do beading classes but I'm not sure on that one. I used to do beading classes on one of the MSN groups and it was not easy. It is hard to tell people what they are doing wrong when you don't have pics. But we shall see.

Well that's it for now. Stay tuned for late breaking news as you never know what I will come up with next.

Updates

My husband went to Michael's last night to get me a few more bird houses to play with. I was expecting the small ones, but he brought home two two story houses and said he almost got me a castle.

I'm thinking of doing a Fairy apartment house or Beach house. Will need a bigger base for it since the house is significantly bigger.

Also hoping to play with utee today in preparation for the class I will be doing in February on bottle spirits. I think I will also think seriously on a fairy house class as a mixed media class.

On my yahoo group we are starting a Wicked challenge. Everyone is to make something in mixed media with a Wicked/Oz/Tin Man theme. It should be a lot of fun. I'm bouncing between an Elphaba bottle spirit or a cloth doll. We shall see.

Now that Christmas is finally over and the tree is down I can move all my supply boxes back into the living room where I can get to them easily and start seeing what I have and what I may need for the forseeable future. Need to look for an appropriate bug stuffed animal for a challenge that the web site The Beadin Path is sponsoring. Each person does a beaded bug then sends it in. The pieces are then put on display in the store in Maine for one month. That piece is due in July so plenty of time to do it.

Other than that same old same old, different day different ideas brewing and I'm still insane.

Sanity is way overrated.

Fairie House

I am in several different yahoo groups. On one of the doll groups I'm on ther was a challenge/contest to turn a small bird house into a fairy house. I finished the house the day before yesterday and posted pics yesterday. The house came out very nice and I just may have to do another one soon. I used pot pourri and gemstone beads for the leafy roof, twigs on the side of the house along with cinammon sticks. I got some small gravel type rocks and created a walkway and rock garden. This proved to be the biggest challenge. I quickly found out that in order to have the walkway and garden look right I had to place each stone one by one. Very time consuming but at times beneficial when I had a migraine as concentrating only on the rocks helped to reduce the migraine. I used three large pine cones at the back of the house and small pine cones at the front for trees. Added some small dried flowers and larger rocks and a beaded tiger eye pendant for the window and it was done.

I think it came out very well and so far everyone seems to love it. I do think there will be more of these in the future.

A Tip to the Wise

Had to share this funny. I recently became interested in the art of Steampunk. It looked like a great way to advance my jewelry and maybe start a new line of products. Well, I went on ETSY looking for the little gears and cogs to use. One person had little canisters of gears for 3.99 each. I looked at the pictures and said great these are exactly what I want. I then ordered three canisters. I love to make people say OMG so it was a big surprise when I got the canisters and was saying OMG myself lol. The canisters are a little bigger in diameter than a dime. And each one packed with teeney tiny gadgets. And when I say teeney tiney I mean I could fit three of the gears on my big toenail. My first thought was what in the heck am I going to do with these. But my own gears are working and I will be coming up with Steampunk items and jewelry soon with these gears in them. No matter what the size they were still well worth what I paid and the person was super to work with. She has good prices on her items and if you want to take a look here is her addy http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=36140. The name of the etsy shop is cOveTableCuriOsitIEs.
Stay tuned for my own Steampunk Revolution