Halloween Art

Time to make Halloween art and decorate!

I received my completed Halloween banner from I swap in which I participated. It is so colorful, and looks great hanging on my wall!

Over the weekend I participated in an "inchie-a-thon" with my friends at ATCsForAll.com.

I made over 60 Halloween inchies! It was a fun whirlwind of creating and trading ... and next week I will start receiving all those great miniature works of art in the mail.

What fun!

Valentine Button Fairy

I recently made this Valentine button fairy for a swap. 

I found some lovely clip art for her face/head, printed on cardstock and colored with Indian ink pens and a clear glitter gel pen.  I then coated her head with clear polyurethane. 

I used a red chenille stem with a loop at the top and a set of square sparkly buttons to form her body.  I added red fibers along the length to add a bit of interest.  I then glued the head between the chenille stem loop and the top button.

I made 2 hearts, crocheted with red thread, to use as her wings.  I then glued them behind her upper body.

I think she turned out quite well.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Inchie Palooza!

Here are some inchies I made and swapped last month:

Crows: top row is colored pencil drawings, bottom row has colorful paper backgrounds with crows cut out of a flocked material.

Fruit labels: digital graphic backgrounds with tiny shrinky dink fruit charms added.

Steampunk:  What do cats in aviator hats & goggles have to do with steampunk? I would tell you, but it is top secret!  I collaged images and printed papers.  I didn't have any real gears, so I made "faux gears"  from card stock, using various sized round hole punches and metallic paint.

Snowflakes: Printed snowflake images with big sequins and shrinky dink snowflake charms.  Also, stitched snowflakes on aida cloth.

More inchies on the way ... I seem to be making them like crazy lately.

Halloween Inchies

I made some Halloween inchies for a personal trade this weekend.  The metallic sequins didn't scan very well ... the stars are metallic yellow and orange, and the moon behind the bat is bright gold.

I used a mix of techniques including stamping and emboss resist, serendipity, and  textured colored pencil rubbings. 

I used pen work, catalog images, aida trimmings, embroidery thread, shaped sequins and glitter gel to finish them.

Happy Halloween!

a touch of Halloween

Here is a Halloween "ribbon fairy" that I made for a swap in one of my art groups.

I made four of these (one to keep and three to trade). I used public domain images and edited them in a graphics program. I printed the images in black & white on heavy cardstock and hand colored them with Indian ink pens and black shimmer paint. I coated the images with several layers of clear polyurethane, and added embellishments.

I then attached several lengths of ribbons and glued everything together, adding a small ribbon loop on the back for hanging.

The project was pretty easy & I think the Halloween ribbon fairies are quite bewitching.

a button fairy

I made a button fairy for a swap in one of my art groups. This was
the first button fairy I ever made & think she turned out rather well!

Here are the details:
Her face and wings were created from public domain vintage art, which I resized and edited before printing. I hand colored both with Indian Ink art pens and added glitter glue to the wings, which I then coated with Diamond Glaze to give them a hard clear coat for stability.

I strung an assortment of buttons (the birdhouse is a button, too!) on a green chenille stem for the body, and bent it into a gentle curve leaving a loop at the top for hanging. I then stiched blue glass beads to the fronts of the buttons to cover the chenille and add some sparkle.

I added fibers to the back of the body and attached the head & wings. I added a tiny ribbon rose to complete the little garden fairy.

I enjoyed the project - I always love trying new things!

Crazy Busy!

Usually this time of year is slow for me ... but not this year!

On the stitching front ... I stitched my 5,000th puppet!   Wow!   I can hardly believe it.   I've had a string of large orders (hooray!)   I just sent off a batch of mummy puppets to be photographed for a Halloween spread in a nationally sold magazine (double hooray!)   and I have a small giveaway being hosted over at Bees Go Buzz.


On the art front ... I just finished making "Dotee type" art dolls for a swap at ATCsForAll.com.

I have several other swaps coming up as well (fun, fun, fun!)

And this weekend is the big Art-a-thon weekend at ATCsForAll.com, where I am hosting a crazy art making Scavenger Hunt!

Puffy Hearts

I made these puffy hearts for a swap.   I had originally envisioned myself creating a wild, bright, funky, colorful assortment of hearts ... in reality I ended up making a more traditional, somewhat Victorian style assortment of hearts.

You have to follow the path that your muse lays out for you & that is where my muse went this weekend.

The hearts were made from cotton and velvet fabrics with lace, ribbon, ric-rack, machine stitching, hand embroidery, glass and plastic beads, and buttons. They measure about 4" across and just under 5" tall.

I hope they are enjoyed by the swappers who receive them.   I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

More Inchies

As I continue to catch up on my projects ... I spent the weekend making inchies (1 inch X 1 inch mini works of art).   These include my usual mix of mediums: pen & ink, markers, paint, glitter glue, punches, cutouts, string art and a generous assortment of shrinky dinks!   I am at the half-way point for the "Fun 51" inchie swap.

More of my inchie art & info about inchies can be found here:
http://hobbyloco.com/inchies.html

My Strength Returning

September has been cruel to me this year.   At the beginning of the month, I came down with the nasty H1N1 virus and have only recently gotten back into the swing of things.

Last week, some tree cutters knocked out power to my building and caused a huge power surge that fried most of my electronics.   Ouch!   I spent the weekend trying to replace items & have been getting whacked over the head with technology.

At least I am getting my strength back, and along with it my urge to create.


I have been getting caught up with my art projects and swaps.   Above is my little Halloween sticker project.   I dusted off my Xyron sticker maker and I made sets of Halloween faux postage (sticker stamps) for the participants in my Halloween postcard swap.   They turned out really cute!

I have more projects nearing completion & will post photos soon!

bloggy goodness

Busy, busy, busy! I have been all over the place lately.

I'm hosting a Halloween postcard swap over at ATCsforALL.com. There's still room for a few more sign-ups!

I'm working on puzzle creation for my 6th puzzle book.   I am hoping to have it done this Fall, but it is a struggle.

I'm also trying to build up stock for my Etsy shop.   Last year I sold most of my puppets by December 1st & spent the following 3 weeks stitching at a frenzied pace to keep up.   wheee!   Just trying to be better prepared this year.

Be sure to stop by BlueSkySunburn's Great Blog Giveaway!   This is a weekly giveaway running all month, with lots of fabulous goodies to be won!

Fabric Beads & Charms

I have been having a "charming" weekend.

I made a batch of fabric beads: felt and fabric rolled around toothpicks and sealed with Diamond Glaze, then the ends were coated with gold embossing powder, and fibers were added for a bit of sass.

Then I decided to make charms out of several of the fabric beads. The charms were made from fabric beads, random plastic beads and shrink plastic charms strung along on black coated copper wire.

I think these little charms would be great for an altered book or charm bracelet.

I am participating in a big Art-a-thon weekend at ATCsForAll.com, and trading the charms along with inchies and other artsy goodness. Lots of fun!

handmade charms

I took the weekend off from stitching and made some charms for a handmade charm swap.

I happened to have quite a bit of polymer clay sitting around that I hadn't touched in ages ... so I thought I would put it to use making charms.

They weren't very difficult to make.   The hardest part was conditioning the clay for use.   After the clay was ready to use, I rolled it into small ball shapes.   I flattened the balls into disc shapes, and used some buttons and rubber stamps to press images into the clay.   After baking, I used acrylic paints to accent the embossed images and sanded them for an aged appearance.

I finished them with a glossy coat of varnish and added jump rings for attaching to a charm bracelet.

I can't wait to see all of the charm returns from the swap!

a crazy busy Halloween art weekend!

I have spent this entire weekend making art. (Which is just the way I like to spend my weekends.)

I just finished making a postcard for a Halloween Postcard swap at ATCsforAll.com. The swap is open until October 10th (postcards may be any media: digital, collage, drawn, fabric, etc..).

This postcard features a mechanical element. The door opens and a witch with candy pops out. This 4" x 6" postcard was drawn with Indian ink and colored with markers and colored pencils. I added a little bit of glitz with gel pens and glitter glue.

Hmmm... maybe I will make more mechanical postcards.

The other Halloween project I worked on this weekend was chunky pages for another swap at ATCsforALL.com.


The main characters have a mechanical element: move the lever and the message changes from "Trick or Treat" to "Smell My Feet", and a foot pops out from under the costume.

Other elements include printed and handpainted papers, ribbons, fibers and shrink plastic charms. Larger photos can be seen at my hobby site: hobbyloco.com.

More Halloween Fun

I just finished making pages for a Vintage Halloween swap at ATCsForAll.com. For the backgrounds I collaged printed and hand painted papers, which I then stamped, painted and spattered. I trimmed them to 4" x 4" and edged them with black acrylic paint.

I adapted a vintage image to use for my main focal point. Printed on cardstock and hand colored, I created jointed ghosties. The masks swing down to reveal the little girls behind them.

The page backs feature Vintage "Kitties in Pumpkins", which I printed on cardstock and then stained to create an aged appearance. The pages also feature ribbons, fibers and handmade beads.

I really enjoyed making these and have several other chunky page projects in the works.

Halloween Inchies

These Halloween inchies are for a swap at ATCsforAll.com. I made the backgrounds in "Serendipity Square" style ... collaging handpainted papers and Halloween print scrapbook papers, adding some painting, doodling, stickers, etc.. and then chopping it into 1" x 1" squares. I then edged each square in black paint and added a little hand drawn skeleton as a focal point. I just love the way the Serendipity Square backgrounds set off the skeletons - and each one has its own personality.

time to frame my inchies

I recently received my returns from the "Grand 100" swap in my 1x1inchies group. The inchies I received are just terrific - so many different techniques, styles, and mediums were used.

I think they look fabulous in this simple 12x12 black frame. The photo doesn't do the art justice - the inchies look so colorful and amazing together!

PS. There are lots of ongoing themed inchie swaps and another big inchie swap planned for the Fall ... so if you enjoy inchies, stop by and join the group.

Time to Doodle

Taking my mandatory stitching break, I spent some time this weekend drawing these ATCs for a "Day of the Dead" themed swap at ATCsforALL.

These cards were drawn with Faber Castell PITT Artist pens (black Indian ink), over water based marker on smooth bristol. The pattern doodling is somewhat meditative for me.

I started drawing patterns back around 2002, and have drawn over 100 pattern based ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) and a number of larger pieces.

an apology

I deeply apologize to the handful of folks who drop by. I'm so sorry that I am a bad blogger. I promise I will try to do better this year (I know I'm not off to a great start).

This morning, a fabulous new site opened its doors: ATCsforAll for swapping ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), Mail Art, Chunky Books, Art Dolls, Charms, etc.. Pop by and check it out ~ there's lots of fun and artistic things happening over there and lots of friendly folks!

I really do have to run off and stitch right now, but I will be back with something creative this weekend.