Spontaneous Halloween Brooms

I wanted to decorate my house for Halloween/Samhain this year, but after my extended trip to visit family in California, I didn't have the time and money to get too fancy. Luckily, a dig through our Halloween box yielded copious amounts of black plastic chain from one of my Partner's past costumes, which made a sweet garland across the porch.

But then I decided to finally doll up those old Trader Joe's Cinnamon Brooms.

What started as just a quick slapping on of appropriately themed ribbon suddenly burst into a manic crafting fit which lasted about an hour and yielded this:  

I may also have gone a little trigger happy on my old Ribbon Wreath. It's been added to since this photo.

Happy Halloween

Carpe That @#%$ing Diem (because motivation, that's why!)

Got a bit NSFW with this one. Started playing with "fat stars" too, cutting each roll into 5ths. I think it's a look I will incorporate into more of my garlands. This was a gift to my friend Anny.

The flowers were made from some recycled fabric I harvested from some slacks and an old work shirt using this tutorial: http://blairpeter.typepad.com/weblog/2006/03/fabric_flowers.html, which I found on pinterest back when I was pregnant and rabidly hunting for new craft projects. There's a gallery of some of the neat things people have done with that basic pattern here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/99879056@N00/pool/ including one project helping women in third world countries; check it out. Go make one, they're fun!

I went for a thin fabric which I knew would fray a bit and lay flat enough to display the reclaimed grocery-bag/print-stock message of "Carpe That Fucking Diem"

The fat 1/5 stars let me show off the alternating daisy/cartoon stripe design. I developed a new style for this one in which I paint the role first and then cut. I had been hesitant to try it, but this was sooooooooo much easier and let me play with a lot more pattern ideas.

A fun fact about the phrase Carpe Diem, translation; Seize The Day, while many use it to mean do what you feel like doing at the moment, it's original meaning had more to do with boldly making the best use of your time, particularly in preparing for the future. 

Painted glass beads

These are super fun to make. a combination of Pebeo Vitrea paints and etching compound.

 The fire bead sold right away to a friend who intended to use it as a prop for a LARP we play in

One of my etched and painted Mason Jar lanterns. Hopefully more of these to come soon.

Somewhere, Something Incredible Is Waiting to be Known

Another Carl Sagan quote. Unlike the five-point stars, the four-point "compass rose" shape doesn't stay upright on it's own so I got to really play around with the forged copper pieces here, which I used to give this piece some weight. Sometimes necessity is the mother of neat little design tweaks. 

I went with a gold-tone font here to compliment the metallic elements of this piece, and carefully charred the edges over the stove. The simple satin red fabric cutout framing it brings out the Paua opal beads in the spacers and on the copper dangles. The overall effect puts me in mind of classic pirate tales and nautical adventure stories.

I Learn what I Know By Watching And Loving Everything

 It is said that George Washington Carver, famed botanist credited with the discovery of hundreds of uses for peanuts and other major crops, never kept books in his greenhouse, preferring to learn from his plants directly. When asked about his methods, he would explain "I learn what I know by watching and loving everything."

Inspired by the plant kingdom and the spirit of watching things grow, this 6 link design is painted a rich leafy green with hints of woody brown/beige, gloss finished for an organic look. The canter leaf-and-flower motif is made from fabric remnants and paper grocery bag stock. The dangles feature natural pistachio shells accented with sparkling green and beige glass seed beads.

   

I keep the original for this design displayed over my daughter's crib.

For Small Creatures such as We, The Vastness is Bearable Only Through Love

 This is one of my longer garlands with 9 links painted a deep blue with gold/silver sheen reminiscent of a starry night sky.
 Like all of my garlands, the petals of each link are made from toilet paper roll cores, and the entire work is glazed and sealed for longevity and easy dusting. 
Accents on this piece feature reclaimed tissue paper and paper grocery bags. 
The words "For Small Creatures such as We, the Vastness is Bearable Only Through Love", a quote from famous astronomer and atheist philosopher Carl Sagan, are printed on reclaimed printer paper and dyed with tea.

Pistachio Shell Earrings

These earrings are made with acrylic painted pistachio shells, wire, and glass seed beads. Most of these have already sold, but I'm making more, hopefully in time for the ECC arts and crafts fair tomorrow. Easily the least time consuming of my projects, but there is so much left to do. I had a lot of fun setting up the photos. Thanks to the lovely Anny for being my model. What a smile :)