So, I had a little cardboard jewelry box and decided to cover it with this beautiful blue tissue paper and embellish it.   So I did.



Then, I decided to add these fellas.  They're so cute!  I made them stick off the collaged background a bit.  And I started thinking they seemed self-involved and maybe a little preen-y, so I made them a foil mirror on the inside of the top so they could look into it and at themselves all the time.  The tag reads "smitten" at the bottom.  I also added some little corner pieces to give it more dimension.  I'm not sure it was successful, but hey, I tried!



The mirror



My attempt to add items and create a "scene" is just sad.  But I love the little box!

Where I live (Ann Arbor, MI - woo!) there is a newish festival that happens as part of Festifools (http://festifools.org/), which is a huge puppet parade in April.  On the Friday night before Festifools, folks gather in three locations around town and then process to a central meeting point, carrying handmade luminary sculptures based on a general theme (or not, if they prefer).  This is known as FoolMoon. It's magical!  People are caught unawares as they leave stores and restaurants, watching a floating parade of beautifully designed and lit sculptural art leading to an area with music, dancing, and revelry.  I love Ann Arbor.  

So this year the theme was food, and my partner and I made a carrot and a piece of sushi for our luminaries.  The carrot was made using a tomato cage and clear plastic bowl, plus lots of wire, tape, and tissue paper.  The top is a bit of florist foam with ribbon curlies and some tissue paper foliage on wire "stems."  It's lit within by two led push lights.  She used a threaded pvc fitting and pole to carry it.  The sushi is constructed from wire, tape, and tissue paper.  One led push light in the bottom.  It's strung on a colorful zip tie chain and bamboo pole.

Pics! At the starting point in Kerrytown:


Sworn enemies!


We noticed that the bike racks at our starting point were also carrots.  


At the beer tent (in Ann Arbor, there is *always* a beer tent)

Hello!  I'm not sure if this is the place for this or not but I think it's the best match. 

I made this open shadow box for Spring.  It's a cardboard/papier mache box that I painted and sealed, then I filled the inside with moss, twigs, craft eggs, paper cutouts, a clay moon face, and glitter to create a scene!  Fairies only hatch at twilight during a full moon, obvs. 





The box is only 3.5 inches across, so it's a pretty small little thing.  I had a lot of fun making it!  Now I'm going to make one with dinosaurs hatching.

I finished these a week(ish) ago, and finally took some photos this afternoon.  They're very personal for me but I think many people might find something in them that resonates on a personal level.  We all have so many stories, don't we?  When I look at them I see someone trapped in circumstances she's unable to control and so she looks for her freedom somewhere else.  Her spirit lives.  She's undefeated.

Closeup of second canvas


All three together


First canvas: acrylics, cardstock, ink, found words, salvaged jewelry.



Second Canvas: same as the first



Third Canvas: same, with metal bird charm



Each canvas is 2.5x3.5 inches.

Thanks for making it through all those images!   

I started painting this months ago and it felt unfinished but I could never figure out how to make it feel done, so I left it alone for months.  I came across it the other day while unpacking some supplies and inspiration struck.  I used to blow on these all the time growing up, and make a wish as the little seeds flew away.

Canvas board, acrylics, tissue paper, little "wish" sticker


Head on but lopsided.  Oh dear.

Just a teeny silly robot painted on a wee 2.5 by 3.5 canvas.  He's so apprehensive!

Scanned image.


Side-ish

I'm on a box kick lately.  This one is just paper, paint, beads, and fake flowers.

So, this thing recently happened in Michigan where saying the word "vagina" caused a big uproar in the Senate and got one of our reps banned from speaking on another issue.  Well.  That's ridiculous.  So Eve Ensler is coming up on Monday night to perform The Vagina Monologues on the capital steps with some of our state reps!

I can't go.  Boo!  

But my partner is going, and she is going to take these vagina-related brooches and fascinators with her to give to people.  Hopefully they'll kick in a small donation for Planned Parenthood in exchange.

The pic quality isn't great but you get the gist.  These are felt, fabric trim, ribbon, giant chenille pipe cleaners, and lots of hand stitching/hot glue.  I'm making more tomorrow so she'll have a bunch to take with her!

 
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UPDATED: Final count.  I only finished five more today, though I have foundations for another ten.  But this will have to do for the event tomorrow.  Thanks for your support and kind words!

 
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So it's not Friday, but I wanted to share the yarn I finished this weekend.  It's 130 yards of a merino/silk blend.  Spun with a drop spindle, plied on my wheel.  I used a long draw-short draw hybrid to keep the cushy softness of the fiber intact.  The colors are bright bright bright!

I call this "In the Kingdom of the Hedgehogs."  Catherynne Valente is an amazing writer.  My two favorite books by her are The Orphan's Tales Vols I and II.  This quilt is inspired by a story from Volume II called "The Tale of the Golden Ball."

The Tale of the Golden Ball

In the Kingdom of the Hedgehogs, there are mountains with mouths. They open and
close; they twist and sneer. Out from our hedgerows each pearl-handled morning,
boar and sow trundle up the black paths, slick as tongues down the side of the
crags. We do not speak to one another -- it is not done. In the old days, it
seemed as though the earth rose up with the sun to swallow the mountains again,
so many little brown bodies made the ascent each day, silent shoulder to silent
shoulder. We did not sing work songs, or tell tales of the brave hedgehogs who
went before us, caged hummingbirds clasped in fear-tightened paws, into the
dark.

The dark took them; the dark will take us. No more needs to be said.

(Excerpt from In the Cities of Coin and Spice by Catherynne M Valente. Please buy her awesome books.)

This is the whole thing, held lovingly by my bemused boyfriend.  I chose red for the backing and border because all fairy tales have a bit of blood in them.


Mr. Hedgehog.  I used a gold cloth napkin, a polymer clay face mold I'd made ages ago, and lots of glass beads.


The bottom portion, more or less.  I wanted to give the impression of looking on as well as inside the earth; the land was rich in minerals and gems so I used a lot of metallics and actual semi-precious stones to embellish. The shisha mirrors were an adventure, but I like the finished effect.





And of course, the mountains in the distance, looming over everything. I added stars with metallic french knots and little star-shaped sequins. There's a shooting star if you look closely.


I won't spam you with any more pics.    It was a learning experience; this was my first embellished quilt.  Tricky!  I had a lot of fun making it though.