Candyglasses

For years I tried to come up with a crafty item that I could make and sell.  Sounds easy right?  I contemplated hair bows, hat rests, art prints, jewelry...but everything was either too time consuming, too boring, not good enough, or not cost effective.  I work an extremely demanding full time job as a special effects artist for the haunted attraction industry, my free time is limited.  It's my off season now so my brain is free to dream and be inspired (at least for 2 months before we get crazy again).  And so I came up with Candyglasses!  I've always loved oversized ridiculous sunglasses so I thought I would try my hand at making my own.  I was very impressed with the results and I figure it would be something I could sell and expand on.

Yes they are a little out there, but that is the point!  They will soon be available in my Etsy store Creepysnake!

-V
 
 

Shell

As much as I love mixed media, the actual process is always a struggle for me.  I try to achieve a balance somewhere between careless and overdone.  Eventually I just get fed up and end up putting stickers on everything!  I need to practice more, and not expect everything to come out perfect the first time.

This is a piece I am making for my mom.  She loves beachy things so I am doing a series of beach-related works.  This one is called Shell.  First I primed the background with white gesso.  I painted a conch shell, added some interest with bits of decorated tissue (using gloss gel), and stamped around a tree stencil in gold.  I highlighted the stencil using a red-violet marker in some places, and added a few shell stickers and pre-made cut outs of a fish and seahorse.  Lastly I stamped the word "HOME" on an embossing pad and added black embossing powder and melted it with a heat gun.  The sticker shown on the bottom actually won't stick to the painting so I think I'll forget it.  I also dripped some black nail polish.  Think it's time to move on to the next one! 

-V
 

Wehs!!

A few months ago I decided I wanted to make my own version of a little creature.
  I've been obsessed with this  Mini Alien Pattern for years

http://blog.fuzzymitten.com/2009/07/mini-alien-pattern.html?m=

I have probably made hundreds of these little guys by now and I give them to my
 friends and family when they are sad, about to travel, or just because!

I enjoy this pattern so much and cannot thank the creator enough.

Even though I had committed the pattern to memory, during a sleep deprived
knitting marathon I started to mess up the measurements, and thus the WEH was born!

The WEH is a cousin of the Mini Aliens, and can often be found at the site
 of a mistake or mishap, like a dropped stitch or a flat tire.

-V

 

Back From The Dead

Ok so I'm trying to revive my blog.  I feel like I should be sharing my crafts and activities as well as keeping a record of what I do in my free time.

So here we go! 

-V