Fairies and Toys

I've been wanting to post some pics for some time! The first project is an altered jar that was inspired by so many adorable things I found online. I want to give credit where credit is due! I didn't come up with the ideas all on my own, I reached into the internet and found a huge community of fellow crafters! Here are a few of my favorite inspiration pics! Click to go to the creators' pages :) Thank you to Cedar Junction and Fireflygirl Inspirations at Etsy.com!

When a little jelly jar became available in the kitchen, I went to work on my own wee fairy. I wish you could see the tiny wand I made for her. Only the end of it is visible in her right hand. Also, most artists tend to use butterfly wings for their fairies. I went a different direction and made my own. They are a little rough but I'm proud of the finished product!

Here is another project that was directly influenced by the creative mind of another crafter. Don't they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? I wanted to see what this form, a child's block and vintage photos would elicit from my creative subconscious. Unfortunately I can't find where I originally got this image! If anyone knows who the artist is (or if you are the artist) please email me. I would love to credit you for the idea :)

I embellished the block with ink, paper, flowers, bling and some eyelash ribbon on top. The block is vintage too! Fresh from the antique stores in Niles! The little girl is a vintage photo that is visible from both sides. She has the sweetest expression on her little face, very playful. It goes perfectly with a child's toy like a block :) Well, I enjoyed checking in and hope to do so again very soon!

A New Year!

Hopefully this will be a year of more frequent posting! But I don't make resolutions so, we'll just have to hope for the best ;) Today the weather is gorgeous and that really gets my creative mind whirling. I want to do a few things in the near future: highlight a design from Crafty Curios and show you some idea for future artwork. Also, I may post another collage from Polyvore. I've been hugely inspired by their theme wedding collage groups! Okay, buckle up, here we go!

This design was inspired by the idea that, throughout our lives, we go through many changes. This life journey has often been symbolized by the butterfly whose own metamorphosis is dramatic and, in the end, has beautiful results. We all hope that our own changes will leave us in such a graceful state, blessed with wings to fly above our troubles, lovely on the inside and the outside. The problem may be that changes are often beyond our control. We feel buffeted by winds that our new wings may not be strong enough to handle. Throughout history, cultures have had the idea that certain people can change shape at will (or when the moon is full ;) Is this an attempt to meet the challenges of life head on? Transforming into a shape that might be stronger or wiser or more flexible? We all need to adapt. If the form we are currently in does not meet the needs of our life, it is said that it is much easier to change ourselves than the circumstances. I also like the idea of shifting shape, as in, temporarily taking on whatever shape is needed. We can use masks or personas to get us through, without being false because ultimately, they are all different sides of ourselves. I find this design very appropriate for young people. They are in a constant state of flux on so many levels. Also, the idea of a pregnant woman being a shape shifter is exciting to me! She is working magick by transforming herself and the child inside her. I hope to experience this magick for myself one day.

That's it for now :) I hope you are happily cutting Valentine's hearts for those you love!
Allison

Quirky Collage!

I've been having a lot of fun creating digitally since my craft desk is a mess! Still recovering from my Christmas crafts, lots of glitter everywhere! So here's a few collages I made with Polyvore. It's so much fun! I find that my favorite part is gathering images to use. It reminds me of the days when I used to play Sims and spent hours looking for new home decor and fashions for my sims ;) Well, hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve!
Allison

Vamp Moderne by ajr51594

Gothic Bride by ajr51594

Trimming the Tree

Oh dear! I haven't posted in almost a month! Well, the holidays can be like that, right? Wonderfully hectic :) I have committed myself to making a few gifts, not all, I don't think I'm a crafty pro yet! I decided to make ornaments for a circle of girl friends who are all very crafty. Originally I knew I wanted to make things with paper rosettes but I had no idea what they were called or how to make them. That is, until I found two extremely helpful tutorials...
This one required multiple squares of paper that you fold and glue together.
The second one used long strips of paper that you pleat with a fan fold. My poor little hands almost gave out on me with this technique! I would recommend the squared method in the first tutorial to anyone that has tendinitis or arthritis. It's a little bit easier on the hands. So! Here are the results...
This is the Pink Slipper ornament. This poor baby sat unfinished on my desk for weeks before I finally was able to put the rosette on top. From there it only took about 15 minutes to finish! My hubby was stunned and suggested I make another one and "take some time with it" if I wanted to give it as a gift. I guess that's part of my creative process. While it sat on my desk, I was busy "finishing" it in my mind. I knew exactly what I wanted to do... just needed that rosette! I wish you could see the sparkle all over. I did buy myself some silver Krylon glitter spray and this little shoe got a generous dose.

Tis the Season Dear! Or should I say, Deer? I really love this ornament. It has a large rosette, silky green ribbon, tons of glass glitter and a cute baby deer. A lot of this paper came from a scrap swap I did at Swap-bot.com. The deer is a sweet bit of clip art from the internet. I bought the glitter at American Harvest in Pleasanton. Their shop is a true winter wonderland right now! I am not ashamed to say that I was influenced and inspired by the gorgeous art they have in their store.










So, I whipped up ornments #1 and #2 at lightning speed. But what to do about #3? I have 3 crafty friends and I wanted them each to have something unique and special. After perusing Etsy.com to see what the folks there were making, I decided to go with an ice skate design. I found this adorable template on Paper Craft Inspirations website. I liked the curliness of the blade and the high, slim ankle of the boot. I used lavender paper and a whole lot more glass glitter. The "laces" are threaded through white eyelets and the hanger is just silver wire adorned with beads. I intended to make two but, sheesh, one was hard enough! Maybe next year I'll make two for myself :) I especially love the snowflake button. My Mother-in-law bought me a Dress It Up set called Dashing Through the Snow. Boy, does she know how to make me smile!



Right now, all three are on my tree. I want to let each of my friends pick which one they want. I'm very interested to see who will pick what!
My other crafty plans include gifts for my mom... I'll probably post those after xmas so as not to spoil the surprise.
I also have another bottle snowperson to show you! I'll take some pics and hopefully return before the New Year ;)
blessings,
Allison

Happy Crafting

I had the wonderful pleasure on Sunday to participate in a craft class with Cathy Lyn Harrison from Teach Me Art School and Studio. We met at her home in Historic Niles and tried out a project from Cloth Paper Scissors November/December issue. These Sparkling Snowmen have bottles for bodies and each bottle is filled with treasures: beads, crystals, pearls, etc.

Here are my Snow Ladies! They are obviously female because of my unrestrained use of froo-froo and their cute little pillbox hats :)


I have one more bottle that Cathy was kind enough to give me, as well as a handmade snowman head, so I'm not finished yet! The trick is finding enough do-dads to fill the bottle. During this project I was able to try some new products. I used a lot of gel medium to decorate with, especially when we covered the heads with chunky glitter. The whole thing is sprayed with aerosol glitter from Krylon. I really want some of my own!

I am ashamed to say that my pictures have been languishing on my computer, unused and unseen. Last night I made a small step in the right direction by finishing a digiscrap layout. I used freebie kits from Theresa Hernandez, Peppermint Creative, Daniela Peuss, and Connie Prince.

Hopefully, I'll be posting some more layouts in the future :) Have a nice weekend everyone!
Allison

The last of the spooky stuff, I promise!

Here is a quick pic of my "altar" for both Halloween and Day of the Dead. My centerpiece is Eve. She was created in an art for kids class I took at San Jose State. Her body is made by using masking tape to adhere newspaper to a straw. The straw provides the hollow for the aluminum wire to go through and connect all the bones. The newspaper adds the bulk and give you the shape to paper mache over. The hardest part if I remember correctly was attaching her head! Eve was constructed to show our common ancestor. They say we are all descended from an African Woman. I used the biblical myth of Eve to represent her. The green felt around her neck is the serpent whispering knowledge to her. This is one of my favorite things in the whole world. It expresses so much of me and took many days and a lot of new skills to make.



After my pumpkins were done I had a little fun with them :) You can also see the finished Halloween Tree... well, as finished as it's gonna get this year! I wouldn't ever consider it "done", just like a Christmas tree, every year it will change. I think next October I will add some spider webs and garlands of some sort...
It was a great start and now I get to continue practicing! My dear Kevin got me this cute little mini xmas tree! I guess I'll be creating more ornaments and hopefully taking better pics ;)

Well, Eve says, good bye everyone and remember that we are all connected in one big family tree!

Post-Halloween blues...

Yep, I'm gonna miss Halloween a lot! I enjoy Christmas but it's never been a real crafty time for me... I take that back. I tend to make more digital art around xmas where as Halloween has me up to my elbows in paper, glue and pumpkin guts ;) Here is something I made last year for Crafty Curios: a set of winter shirts for ladies and girls. Of course, you can also get the designs on sweatshirts and hoodies. I imagined these being perfect for gals who spend their winter up in the snow skiiing or just sipping hot chocolate. Of course, if the only snow you see is the sparkly stuff at the mall, that's okay too! Here are the Ladies of Winter: Snow Bunny, Frost Queen and Ice Goddess!



I'm not completely done with Autumn though, oh no. We still have Turkey Day to celebrate! Here is a link to a FREEBIE! This is a scrapbooking page kit that I designed called Apples to Apples. It's free for you to download and use for personal scrapbooks and such. Please no commercial use. Hope you enjoy it! Click on the link above to download the zip file! I think it would go nicely with any sort of Fall layout :)Here is a preview of the kit to give you an idea...