My personal blog about enjoying life, people, art, photography and more
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Sometimes I make stuff… Today it was feather earrings, a rockin fake stash and a clock + gear piece to go on my top hat for a steampunk photo shoot 
I will add updated photos of these items in use over the next few days/weeks!
Here is the Steampunk piece (above) officially a permanent part of this Steampunk hat that I put together:
More pictures coming soon!! …
I LOVE ART. I saw this at the Peterson Art Center today where I take pottery classes (ending April 2011 due to moving) and loved it, had to take a picture of it and post it…
Speaking of Pottery, I recently made some super rad mugs… they are the best thing I have made so far. I think it would be SO COOL to put little frogs in the bottom of the cups. Since I didn’t make them and attach them before they got too dry, I would need to glaze them in during a firing.. not sure I want to take the risk… Maybe I will try it on one of them! Here is a picture of them in the “Green” phase:
(April 15 2011) Update: I made little frogs to go inside the mugs that I made! I am thinking I will glaze the mugs blue and the frogs green…
I am taking another makeup class, this time at Skinworks (Christel’s crash course). It’s awesome, she is a great teacher, and I am getting more needed experience (YAY!). Here is a shot of her giving a demonstration: (Can you tell, I love posting pictures, hehe)
Other than that, we are just packing and getting ready to move! April 16th April 30th is the moving date… Can’t wait for my master bathroom with a jet tub! First priority this spring is to get a killer swingset for the girls!!
I have been making pottery buttons! Some of them are stamped with cabinet knob handles, and others I carved my own stamp or just carved the button itself. It’s actually a lot of work to make one batch and since I have to wait for my pottery class to bisque and fire them, it can take 2-3 months to have the finished buttons! Maybe one day I will buy a little kiln. Here is a picture…
I have been contemplating the idea of going to the Fashion institute at SLCC this summer or fall… I want to learn how to do costuming and wardrobe for our photo shoots! Not sure I will ever get that far with it, but it would be nice to be able to make custom pieces that no one else can get anywhere else. Several ideas already come to mind for photo shoots we have planned. In the mean time, I decided to do a little learning on my own. Simplicity “Learn to Sew” patterns are super easy to follow and my first project was pajama pants (pics below)… my daughter picked out the material and I finished them the other night within 1-2 hours. She is so cute… she is also learning to sew, and is taking classes at The Finishing School.
My next project is to sew a skirt for my 6 year old… I don’t really know how to pick out materials, so I hope what I got works, lol.
I bought a felted wool scarf tutorial on Esty a few weeks ago, and finally got all my supplies today. I spent most of the day researching You Tube videos about felting wool, buying the right type of sander, and putting this scarf together. I made two tonight, and not sure I want to make any more, lol… my hands are tired from the actual felting part, but it was all worth it. Here is a pic of me wearing it…
Every once in a blue moon, I have a random inspiration to sew. The last time I went wild was about 12 years ago… I hand stitched several baby blankets for my daughter (no sewing machine). So last year I bought a sewing machine from Costco (knowing I would want to use it one day) and finally got around to sewing some projects this month (Nov 2010). The funniest little things inspire me, lol… I saw an herbal pillow at Golden Braid Books for about $30(?) and decided that I should just go home and make my own. So I did… and I loved it! It only took me about 2-3 tries of trial and error to figure out how to sew them nicely. They are filled with flax-seed and lavender. Usually recipes call for essential oils, but I decided to only include the herbs in mine, w/out the oils. These pillows inspired me to have a Christmas Bazaar at my house (Dec 18th) so that I can sell them at a good price to last minute Christmas shoppers. I have also made some lovely herbal pillows filled with buckwheat hulls and rose buds. Of course I will be selling several of my other crafts as well (pottery, photography etc).
I don’t know why I decided to make a Victorian collar like this! I don’t really even know how to sew, lol. But it actually turned out quite nice. I LOVE big necklaces and goddy neck pieces for photo shoots, so I thought it might be cool for some sort of vintage fashion shoot. I am going to have my 11 year old wear it, along with a dress and white gloves. I will post pics of the final images here once we do the shoot.
I think that’s it for now… I think I have had my fill for sewing, and plan to put the sewing machine away for a while as soon as I am finished sewing a few more herbal pillows for Christmas gifts. I do plan to make some scarves, but that will be created from felting wool and is a whole different, crazy process.
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I have been taking pottery classes since April this year at Peterson Art Center, and I think I am starting to get the hang of it. There have been a lot of frustrating moments, whether it is throwing something and having it collapse, glazes not turning out, or dishes breaking on the shelf before they are bisqued… so it has taken a lot of patience. Today, I picked up several pieces that were just fired and I actually really like a couple of them… I LOVE feeling good about things that I make, and it is really motivating to go back and make more! Here are pictures…
Update: We got another fire in this month, so here is some more of my finished pieces. The first two are with a clay called “Rod’s Bod” and the jar with the lid is with “Long Beach”. I bought Porcelain today, and really like it, so next month I will have some new stuff that looks totally different.
As of Sept 2010, I now make home made candles that rock!! Hopefully, I will have a craft fair opportunity some time this fall/winter. I am still playing with and perfecting smell recipes, so once have about 4 or 5 favorites, I will post my candle line, hehe.
