Work in Progress

So, yesterday I remembered I should blog, I just didn't do it.

It just sort of didn't happen. After running errands in the disgusting heat during most of the day, I spent my night working on one of the wedding toppers I started and watching the entire 1995 BBC version of "Pride and Prejudice" (again) on Youtube. I saw it on tv a couple of years ago but since this topper is P&P inspired, I was in the mood and got a lot of initiative to finish the mate:I kept having to remake/ abandon the "mates" I was making because they weren't fitting together well.

Like in real life, sometimes you have to go through a few to find the one thats right for you.

I actually made him (not totally finished), then made the mossy hill base and attempted different brides throughout the time.

But last night, I finally made the one I was happy to pair with him:

Neither are finished yet, (legs you know) but I think they make a fine pair.

(I felt like an engagement/ wedding photographer here)

Whoops, Missed A Day

But it was for a good cause- productivity!, I'll post on what I was doing later (double post to make up) but for now, yesterday's intended post:

Succulents

Here are some leaf cuttings I took that have begun to sprout. Do I sound too nerdy if I say I was thrilled?

They've also been affecting my other hobbies.

This is a pair of succulents I made.

This one I modeled after a jade plant.

This one after an echeveria. You can buy this one from Etsy if you feel so inclined.

Word Birds

Here are the "Word Birds" I referenced the other day. I wanted to try my hand at embroidery (a part of sewing I had never really tried before), stitch words on birds (like messengers) and use dolls like a blank canvas. That's how I came up with Word Birds.

This was actually the first, the prototype. It had two embroidered tail feathers that read:

"I love you" and "You are lovely".

I sold this one on etsy : http://www.etsy.com/transaction/15857960 (if you were curious)

This was the second, it ended up very Seussian, which is probably very appropriate given the word theme.

It's winking at you ;)

More Terrariums

To say I've been obsessed with plants (particularly moss terrariums and succulents) would be a complete understatement so here are some more that I've made in the past couple months:

To be fair, the salt shaker one was actually made before the others.

This is the latest, a desert terrarium with giraffe

I added beads to this one to mimic a river, this was a suggestion from Will.

Maybe the "river" was good for it because it sprouted

And this is not a terrarium but my air plant.

Air plants are amazing! They don't need soil to survive, just a weekly- biweekly soaking in water for a few hours. I'm actually a little worried about this one in the shot glass, it used to be twice the size until my cat, Byron fished it out of it's soak and tore it to bits.

I guess he thought it was a fish?

This picture is right after the attack when I soaked what was left.

The Contortionist

The Contortionist was made in Feb of 2009.

I was particularly happy with how her eyelashes came out.


At the time I was considering several (more contorted/ some siamese) circus inspired dolls. Unfortunately, I didn't account for the color-fastness of the black material of this one. Used to sewing in silks and other natural fabrics, it was a huge disappointment when she ended up getting wet and was stained.


It was pretty frustrating and I became more active in my other simultaneous project, a "Word Bird". Pictures of that later :)

Three Bird Necklace

This is a necklace I made for my final project in Jewelry I in Spring 2006 (yeah, playing mad crazy catch-up). When I enrolled I thought it would be chain-linking and beading work but actually it was a lot of metal cutting- A LOT.
If you ever want a bicep work out, I suggest you get into it.


The piece itself is made of hand-cut silver and a hand made catch and all seams were soldered shut. I went through a lot of hours and a lot of broken saw blades for it to exist.
The concept is about home and capture so there are a lot of characteristic "thorns" on the branches. I wanted the plants to sort of cage the birds while still appearing to be open. Also it is a bit of a mock on laurels. Prized, coveted, beloved but trapped.

Little Belljar Terrarium

Since I'm playing catch-up with blogging, I'm including some finished work here as well as newly finished and work in progress. Here is one of the terrariums I made about a month ago. It was actually a Princess House votive holder that I turned into a pig playground.


This deer came to visit but was too tall for the lid to stay

But the pig was the perfect size
Pig manure must be very good for the soil because those sprouts just shot right up overnight.

*Hint= Actually, I was on the hunt for fungal gnats and placed a potato slice on top of the moss. Literally the next day, there were shoots (but no gnat larvae).
I'm not going to say this is guaranteed but if you have a moss terrarium in blooming season, it's worth a try.

The Jewel Theif

For those that don't know, I make a lot of hand stitched pieces.
This is my latest piece listed on Etsy, The Jewel Theif.
The idea is that this little masked bird is stealing all sorts of trinkets.
It's made up of new and re-purposed beads and gems and is a removable bottle topper where you can store your own trinkets (thereby adding to hers).
I've got several other things in the works to restock my shop too including a skeleton and some wedding toppers, my biggest projects to date :)