Shabby dream catcher....

I love Rachel Ashwell. She is truly an inspiration. Unfortunately, I can't afford most of her stuff, or maybe I could, but then I would feel guilty. I recently read a blog that inspired me even more... and she wrote "So we are inspired by others in what is created and by looking in the past to conquer what makes us happy. What makes something original? The wonderful thing about art is that if we place a rose in front of five artists, each artist will capture the rose differently, and so each painting will differ. " by Kathy from Kathy's Cozy Cove on Blogspot... (http://kattyscosycove.blogspot.com/)


It gives me great joy to be able to create something out of nothing, at at the end, maybe that's why even if I could spare the extra cash, then I would not. I  would miss that feeling of  satisfaction and joy and pride, that feeling of accomplishment  that you feel when you make something with your own hands out of scraps... or junk or even trash, lol. So this is my version of that painting of a rose that Kathy talked about, in the form of a dream catcher...  my version of it. Maybe not as shabby or beautiful as Rachels or even Kathys, but its the one I made and the one I love the most... Now I just have to find a place for it...

 Also wanted to share my favorite charlotte dolls...

Dryed Hydrangea

So I cut this Hydrangea from my garden because I loved the color... I didn't want to stop its growth further so I didn't cut it from the stem, instead I added a stick/branch and wrapped it with green floral tape. I hung it upside down and sprayed it with hairspray and allowed it to dry for a day. Finally, placed it on an Olive Oil container... love it! Goes with my shabby kitchen...

My shabby kitchen

I love the shabby look. For years now, I have looked and looked through pictures and blogs trying to get an idea of how to get this look right. I did a lot of research and I finally felt the courage to attempt it. I got rid of my old contemporary set which needed to be replaced anyway and I found this on Craiglist, it was pretty cheap so I decided to go for it:

Although it was already beautiful, and I give credit to the artist for her redo... It didn't quite fit. I wasn't feeling the fabric. So, I ran to the Home Depot on a Sunday evening right before they closed and I bought a staple gun for $20. I had some old fabric that I really loved and I reupholstered all 4 chairs that evening at 10pm!!! And I was so proud that I did this with no help from "the man" (my man; he usually does the things that require power tools.....) 


This is what sits in my kitchen nook now... I also added some pics of some of the china and other little things that I have been collecting and making for a while now. BTW, if anyone is thinking of doing this but is hesitant... go for it... it's super easy!!! All you need is a $20 staple gun... I know the fabric might not last forever. I did cover it with Scotch Guard... but I thought I didn't want to wast an expensive fabric with it being my first time doing this...and as easy as this is, if I have to replace it soon, by that time I might already have something different in mind and its a breeze to do...

whats on my table..... burned metal...

So I decided to give metalsmithing a try. I took a class from Stephanie Lee. She is an artist I truly admire. Her class was very straight forward and I learned a lot. I have to admit that I was very intimidated by the micro torch at first... so this was a big challenge for me; still now I am concerned of how to keep it safe at home now that it is filled with butane gas. The torch I bought doesn't have a lock, only an open and close gas knob... this disturbs me greatly because I fear the knob might turn accidentally... on its own... and the fumes will kill us... I know I am exaggerating but being a novice, I really don't know what to expect and I originally didn't exactly know what to look for when shopping for a torch.Moving on, here are my very first soldered bezels. They are still unfinished, I haven't bought a patina yet and I still haven't a clue on what to fill them with but here they are. Some of the bezel ideas I took from a class I haven't taken yet, but I plan to as soon as my budget frees up: the Towers and Turrets class by Sharon Tomlinson. I don't want to violate her copyrights and I wanted to give her credit. She is also another artist I admire much.

On a side note, I do want to make more art dolls. I have started on some and they now sit on my table as you can see. This Christmas I gave some of my dolls new homes and it was hard to part with them but I have to share my passion with others who appreciate and admire it. I can't hoard everything I make right!!???

I wish you all the best Christmas (late) and New Years! May your new year be full of new creations, ideas and filled with happiness shared with the ones you love.

Xoxo

Ziggy

altered jewelrybox and birdhouse

Well.... its been a while since I had time to sit and blog. Life is busy.... So I picked up some plain wooden birdcages and some paper mache boxes  from Hobby Lobby a while back and I finally had a chance to do something with them. I used a very beautiful napkin that I won on the OWOH event for the birdcage and I recently was gifted some items in a very beautiful cupcake gift bag. The moment I received the gift I was very much impressed with the bag, honestly I loved the bag  more than the gift, although the gift was lovely too. But, being the creative being that I am my mind immediately started devising ideas on what I could do with this bag. My teen loves cupcakes so as soon as I got home I decided to make her a box. I cut out the bag and modge podged it to the box, then I made the cupcake on the top out of Femo clay and; as I was on a roll, I also made her some little cupcake pendants and earrings that I forgot to take pics of. Once I started it was hard to stop and I stayed late that evening decorating the birdhouse too. I was very surprised to see how well Wacky Tacky glue works with wood and clay and even the ribbon. I used Modge Podge on the lace. It was fun to see these come to life after sitting on my work table for months. Sometimes it just takes one little found object, as meaningless as it may be to others, but to the artsy folks like myself, that's what it takes to create greatness.... and I really loved these and so did my girl.... cheers all!!

xoxo
Ziggy

Day of The Dead skull earings, Steampunk necklaces and lots of new stuff !....

Well not lots, but a lot more than usual. As always to busy too post, too busy too create and work and the kids and life always keeps me occupied with little time to work on my craft. I always sneak in a little time, though, as hard as it is, and this is what I have today!!!! Please visit my Etsy shop for more detailed pictures!!!! Thanks for visiting!!!

xoxo
Ziggy

new etsy items, beaded keychains....

My mom an artist like me... she made some of these and tought me how to make them... how cool is she??

Thanks for visiting!

xoxo
ziggy

steampunk heart necklace and new teacups

So I gave the steampunk a try.... I used sculpey III and fimo I think... femo? Anyway, this is what I came up with, it has a small window filled with resin, inside are small watch parts.

I also wanted to share my new teacups... from ebay... I love them! I am building a china hutch in my breakfast area, I cant wait to put these up....!

Rock stars and hollywood legends table collage

This was an Ikea table once... we all know how "fragile" Ikea furniture is right???? My husband tripped over it and broke it one day so know its hanging on the wall. These are all my favorite musicians and actors/actresses of the oldschool, of course I missed a few... Rolling Stones, Zeppelin... Its a lot of images of famous or "infamous" rock and Hollywood legends glued and modge podged to the wooden top.

my one and only painted shabby desk...

Who knew how much work and effort goes forth into refinishing furniture!.... I've seen so many lovely peices of furniture with a very high $$$ price tag... I never want to pay the price... I think I can wing anything and then in the middle of it all, I'm bawling and I  just want to quit! But I don't. My daughter painted her room and we got some new vintage furniture so we needed a smaller desk. We were over our budget already so I had to take on the challenge and get a cheap one and revamp it.This one was a regular brown  roll-top desk. I forgot to take a before pic, but you know them... it looks something like the the one I am posting here. The "after" was a lot of work, after sanding, priming, sawing screws in half (the crystal knobs I bought came very long...) I finally ended up with this.... Its a little distressed, it looks a lot better in real life though. It still needs some final details and I'm debating on the drawer at the bottom... I might go all cream. If you read this post... PLEASE ADVISE....

Now I understand the high price tags on repainted furniture. I don't know if I will be doing it again... at the end... my daughter loved it.... so I was delighted.

before

after

2nd attempt, tree of life pendant and dream catcher

Much better! Yes practice makes perfect! Not perfect, as anything handmade, but I am very content with my end result. Now back to doll making....

xoxo,
Ziggy
The Legend of the Dreamcatcher

Long ago when the world was young an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision. In this vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and teacher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi the spider picked up the elder's willow hoop which had feathers, horsehair, beads and offerings on it, and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life; how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood and onto adulthood. Finally, we go to the old age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle. "But," Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web, "in each time of life there are many forces; some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But, if you listen to the bad forces, they'll steer you in the wrong direction, and may hurt you. So these forces can help or can interfere with the harmony of Nature."

While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web. When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, "the web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals, make good use of their ideas, dreams and visions. If you believe in the Great Spirit, the web will catch your good ideas and the bad ones will go through the hole."

The elder passed on his vision to the people, and now many Indian people hang a dream catcher above their bed to sift their dreams and visions. The good is captured in the web of life and carried with the people, but the evil in their dreams drops through the hole in the center of the web and are no longer a part of their lives.


how to make a dreamcatcher:  http://www.craftsforkids.com/projects/dream_catchers.htm 

First attempt at Tree of Life Pendant

I am very disapointed, its not what I envisioned... My first attemt at a wire tree pendant and it completely sucks! I was very disapointed. But I shall not desist. I will give it another try, they say practice makes perferct, right!? I wiill post my 2nd attempt tonight. I never thought jewelry making could be so dificult, especially since my hands hurt often, I feel like I have carputonal. My hands even hurt when I straighten my hair! But I love jewelry making even though I'm a novice. I know I will get a lot better! At least know where my flaws are on this one, where to begin... lets see... the stones are too big, my coiling needs to be tighter, I forgot to show some roots....  Lets see how it goes tonight!