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[Note from the Deputy Headmistress...]

Note from the Deputy Headmistress...

~*Calling for Donations in the HPC's very own Diagon Alley!*~ 

What exactly is Diagon Alley you may ask?  It is a way for you to support the HPC, and advertise your crafty business at the same time.  Your Headmistresses are asking for donations of prizes that will be used throughout the semester as rewards for the hard work of all our members.  During the End of Term Feast in August, we will again do prize drawings for completion of OWLS & NEWTS, Detention Projects, and Class Participation, as well as for this semester's special BINGO Challenge.  Anyone who donates an item will have a picture of it displayed in the Diagon Alley post on page 2 of the thread, as well as a link to their Etsy or Artfire shop for the rest of the semester.  You may donate a finished crafted item, a craft supply bundle, or a gift certificate to your shop. (If donating a gift certificate, it MUST be of sufficient value to allow the winner to purchase something from your shop without cost to themselves.) 

Once the winner of that prize drawing is announced, you will be responsible for shipping it off to the winner.

If you are interested in donating a prize to the HPC, please send an Owl/Private Message to jennieingram & pinkleo, listing what you are offering, and where you are willing to ship that item to.  You must include a picture or a link to a picture that we can use here in the thread, and the name of your shop & a link to it so that we may mention it in the post.  PLEASE DO NOT JUST POST THIS IN THE THREAD!

Let me repeat that....   PLEASE DO NOT JUST POST THIS IN THE THREAD!

Also please know that we do not expect everyone to participate in this call for prizes.  All of us have different things going on in our lives and all of us have different financial circumstances.   No one will be judged for not being involved, and you may always participate later if you wish.

erinaquaheart- i love the flames necklace, what a great use for those shrinky dink scraps.

class/challenge-bernie bots-onion and spew
house-gryffendor
project-faux stained glass

this started out as an experiment for a vbs project, and it was fun with my own kids, but i don't think it would work with a large group. ours ended up as a decoration for vbs. please excuse the horrible picture. on the last day of vbs i forgot to put the card back in my camera, so i had to settle for a picture with the window in the background.


For the colored sections, we layed out a sheet of waxed paper and shaved old crayons onto it. i saw this on the martha stewart website on a smaller scale for creating cards.
http://www.marthastewart.com/264114/crayon-stained-glass-heart-cards

they suggested a handheld pencil sharpener, but we found the crayons to be to fat and gunked it up. i got out an old cheese grater and it worked much better but you do have to be carful not to scrape your fingers. you do want the crayon in small pieces. then we layered a second sheet of wax paper, and ironed it to melt the crayons inbetween. they melt quickly and spread out to mix colors.
i made a large frame from black posterboard  and then taped the paper behind it. you can use it as a full sheet, or cut it apart and fill in section by section. they looked realy pretty sitting in the window sills.

I received from kbrison yesterday and I got super spoiled!  Sorry a few of the pictures are yucky.  Not sure what is up with my camera right now....

First up she made me this fabulous tote!  I had pinned one she made in a different swap and am so happy to have one of my own!  In fact it is going to be my new going to work tote.


Then this gorgeous purple butterfly artwork!  I already hung it in my craft room


A tissue holder made from a turtle batik fabric along with a new turtle friend for me


These awesome coasters which are being used in the kitchen as we speak!  I always have four coasters on the counter for everyone to put their cups.  That way the kids use the same cup all day rather than 10!


These awesome rooster notecards!  I love these and think I must frame one to go up in my kitchen which is rooster themed.


Last but not least is my very own crocheted dish cloth!  (Sorry for the blurry pic) and a wooden L for me to alter!

Thank you so much kbrison!

The Owl Ranger by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr
I went all out for a recent Pullip doll convention in Chicago. The theme this year was owls, and even though the theme doesn't have to be included in the custom outfit, I had this crazy idea of making and owl ranger. I started sketching out the idea in March, and didn't finish it until the first week of June. I took breaks from it off and on, but I was working on it pretty much every free moment I had. There were a ton of set backs. After I finished my embroidery, I tried to iron it. The iron was too hot and I ended up shrinking one of the corners. By that point, I knew there was no time to redo any of it. So I pushed on. I also realized that I didn't include enough length to attach the hood. Since the cloak was a half circle, I added an inch wide panel to the straight edge. I'm really glad I did, because even after that, the cloak was about two inches shorter than I had been planning on.

I have to admit, this was a real learning experience, but it went really well. I took first place at Puddle for the Custom Outfit Contest! Yay! So, on to pictures!


The Owl Ranger by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr

The front was decorated with wheat ear stitch. Nothing fancy, but I thought it needed it.


The Owl Ranger by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr

The back is where I spent most of my time. I used an Urban Threads pattern called Full Moon Owl. My fiance actually helped me pick out the colors. I wanted to keep a woodland color pallet, but also wanted a bright accent color. It's mostly done in satin stitch. I had a blast doing it all. The lazy daisy leaves were so much fun! I think they came out looking amazing.


The Owl Ranger by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr

Here's the outfit that goes underneath the cloak. All of it was hand sewn and all the patterns were self drafted. In total, I made a peasant blouse, corset vest, pants, belted skirt, pants, and boots. I hadn't planned on making my own boots, but when I found out the cloak was going to be too short, I knew I couldn't use the lack luster plastic shoes  I had been planning to use. So, I tried my hands at making doll shoes.


The Owl Ranger by PaleAngelLex, on Flickr

The peasant blouse was very easy to make, as was the vest. I was really pleased with how it turned out, and the pants are very basic. My favorite part of the whole outfit is the belted skirt. It's exactly what I wanted, and was just so happy it came out right. It's decorated with feather stitch in the front, and a wrapped running stitch in the back. The best part, to me, is that it's a functional belt. I found these little brass rings in a craft store, and knew I had to use them. I think the worked out perfectly.

Thanks for looking!

Such great additions to the gallery!  I love the comet shrine and those owls with the real wood pieces are fabulous! 

I received from MaxParadise and have a hard time believing these were her first shrines...She chose my Dia De Los Muertos theme and Nature theme and also added in one that we both had pinned!

I could not get a good picture of this one for some reason.  If you have a better one please share! 


I love this one with the sugar skull and all the other poly clay items! 


Here is the nature shrine.  It appears to be made out of a matchbox.  Here is the front:


And when you open it up:


And as if that wasn't enough she also made this awesomely cute kitty cupcake shrine!


Thank you so much MaxParadise!  I love them all and they are currently being displayed on my shrine shelf.  Sorry for the crap pictures.  Not sure what is up with my camera

I wanted to show everyone how beautiful your bird yarns make up!

Here is the one called "Yellow-fronted canary":



There was not a whole lot of yardage, but I managed to make a small neck scarf...it is stunning in real life!
The colors and textures make it so yummy...

I received from pilarfarmer!  And I got spoiled!   

We both love stained glass, and I am in awe of anyone who can do it!  Here's what she sent me:

and with the sun shining thru it (ignore the water barrels in the background  ):


We both enjoy sewing and she made me an adorable zippered pouch! One can never have too many of those!


She also made me some jewelry:
a domino pendant:


She made these favors for her daughter's bridal shower and shared with me - isn't it cute!  Eat me / Drink me:


She also sent some extras that I actually squeed over!


These will definitely be put to good use!   

THANK YOU, PILAR!  What a great package!  I love everything!

I've made more pumpkins.  I kind of love them.
but I was really sad that Hobby Lobby discontinues my favorite orange boucle yarn for this hat.  so I tried a new color, regular worsted weight.

I'm thinking that I might need to make a few more this year since Autumn is approaching and I want to be ready for Autumn sales.

I made these last year while my husband was ill in hospital for a couple of days. 





I haven't written a pattern yet.  I'm not sure when I will ever get to.  but it's pretty simple if you can use a double ended hook.  it's just Tunisian in the round.  knit stitch.  and then I got brave and tried cables like a knitter would do and it worked out so very well!

[All made on either the long looms or round looms. I have TONS more that I have made but need to dig them out of the studio.]

All made on either the long looms or round looms. I have TONS more that I have made but need to dig them out of the studio.

                 

Challenge/Battle/Alert: June Multimedia - Shiny!
 
Team:  The Team that goes Bump in the Night

Project Geekdom:  Spooky, mourning

Bonus Points: Nerdy, super nerdy

Project Name: The Lover Passed

Project thread:  http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424685.0#axzz2WZykpwy1

Brief Description:  Embroidery inspired by “Lover’s Eye” jewelry from the Georgian period.  If the eye was surrounded by blue or clouds it meant the subject was deceased.