Bursting with blooms

I have been having such a great time talking with other artists and crafters. The conversations make me feel inspired to keep creating new pieces. Been making some wild rings, and hair pieces and am currently working on a veiled head piece that I think will be so beautiful when it's done. It has a crystal beaded flower with silver center and it's accented with a large black ostrich feather and then the veil just sweepes over the top of the head and down to cover the nose.

Last week I had the good fortune to spend an afternoon crafting with a friend and it was so nice just to spend time chatting and talking about our crafts and sharing ideas with each other. Said friend is always so giving of her time and I always leave our crafting sessions feelings like I can conquer the craft world.

If you happen to be in the North Little Rock area stop by the Starving Artist Cafe in downtown Argenta and see my pieces that have been added to their walls. If you haven't been there it is a great venue for artists to display all sorts of works and the food is delicious.

Off to enjoy the day, ciao.

FASCINATOR GIVEAWAY

1 Year Etsy Anniversary Fascinator Giveaway

To celebrate my 1st year on Etsy I am hosting a very special giveaway drawing.

The winner of the drawing will recieve a one-of-a-kind custom made small/medium beaded flower and feather fascinator of their very own.

All you have to do to enter is visit my site at http://www.thebeadtanicalgarden.etsy.com/ then convo me and tell me what you think. Don't forget to leave me your name and contact info so I can put it in the drawing.

Winner will be chosen on August 1, 2009.

works in progress

i have felt some small bits of inspiration nagging at me lately and they always leave me wondering why there aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything i think i should be able to accomplish. i have also caught myself wondering at the odd times inspiration cooses to rear it's head and send visions into my own consciousness.

anyway, i have a few projects in the works and i thought i'd share them. i have definitely been getting more caught up in the idea of the fascinator...trying to think of ways that i can make my flowers more than just what they are. here is a recent assemblage that is currently without a backing, i can't decide if it should go on some sort of wrapped headband or if i should stick with a comb. i love the deep red beads that make up this flower and the center pearl is from an old vintage necklace. the feathers came out a little bit larger than i first envisioned, i'd say they are about 5 inches wide all together but they sway so gently, i just adore this combination. i think this deep red will look really lovely on someone with sandy brown or dirty blond hair.

then i have been working on a 3-dimensional piece. a twisted up sort of bonzai like tree on greens and blues and purples. i used very watery acrylic paints on a hard canvas to create the background. i found the frame, which was in need of some love, at a yard sale and gave it a fresh coat of paint to bring it back to life. i love how the tree sticks out from the canvas in different amounts and the sheen from the embroidery floss really looks like bark. i am currently letting the poem that will grace the background have the time to form in my brain and waiting, albeit not that patiently, for it to spring to life so that i can lay it out for the world to read.

ciao

new thrills

i just wanted to take a moment and showcase a few of my newer creations. i have been trying to break out of my simple snap clip flower mold and create some other kinds of pieces. what i am showing here are two haircombs that i just think came out so lovely. one is based on a lotus flower and the other an imaginary vine of sorts.

i have also been using some new materials to get different results for my flowers. for instance i was recently introduced to diamond glaze. this product is generally used in the making of the now popular scrabble tile pendants and other similar items where an image is glazed into place and seemingly coated by a resin. well, i have found that on some of my larger pieces, if i use the glaze after i have finished assembling the parts that i can create a a very solid and strong flower. for some of these new combs, like the lotus for instance, the addition of the glaze is great for keeping the piece in the correct form and it stops hair from getting caught in the seperate beads. so cool.


happy crafting everyone.

RockPaperScissors GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

RockPaperScissors GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

monday, monday

well it's another monday evening on lake hamilton. the weather is grey today although there hasn't actually been any rain. i spent the past few weeks gearing up my stock for the farmer's market and had a pretty good time there this past saturday. it seemed that my flower rings were the biggest hit with the snap clips coming in second. i have been enjoying playing around a bit mroe and creating some larger pieces for hair adornment as well as working on some more framed 3-d pieces.

simple diy beaded flower projects to featured soon