More painting with thread

Got my Happy Day sampler back from framing at Jo-Ann Fabrics. I chose a wooden frame in hot pink. Love it! While waiting for that, I started and finished this Halloween dress for Blythe. I started with a purchased base dress, that had already been dyed from white to orange. I added the ghostly trio, as well as a spider and web, waist and hem trim.
Wow! I just noticed that my previous post was my 500th post! Can't believe I missed that. Maybe I'll remember to celebrate my four year blog anniversary this August 2. Time flies when chatting with friends.

Check out my Project of the Month and Interview on Mind Wide Open

As a member of the design team for Shabby Cottage Studio http://www.shabbycottage%20studio.com/ and owner Gail Schmidt http://shabbycottagestudio.blogspot.com/, I created the "Haunted Mirror" tutorial for the September Project of the Month, over on Gail's interactive and challenge blog, Mind Wide Open http://mind-wideopen.blogspot.com/. You can find the entire project here http://mind-wideopen.blogspot.com/2008/09/tutorial-by-lilys-of-londonish-gina.html.

I am also the featured interview subject on the blog this month. Fellow design team member Sherry Smyth http://www.espritdart.blogspot.com/ interviewed me to go along with the tutorial. As a writer and former reporter and a behind-the-scenes artist, it is kind of fun to have the tables turned every once in awhile. You can read my interview here: http://mind-wideopen.blogspot.com/2008/09/interview-with-gina-m-smith-lillys-of.html.

It IS Better to Give than Receive, But Receiving is Pretty Great in this Case!

I have several spots in my home and studio where I display art from friends: art that I've bought, swapped for, received as a gift, won, you name it. It is so inspiring to look at these treasures every day. And although the hutch over my art desk is only one spot, I wanted to show it off for now, because there's some pretty fantastic stuff right there. The "Artist" canvas I received Saturday in a swap with Cindy DeLuz http://apurpledaisy.com/. I blogged about meeting her at ZNE 2008 here http://lillysoflondonish.blogspot.com/2008/08/zne-does-not-rhyme-with-halloween.html. We worked out a swap, but she worked overtime! Not only did I receive her painting, but she sent me a darling necklace and notecards to match. She is as sweet in person as this gesture, and she wrote me a very special card and message on the back of the painting. I think I'll only have to remember what she said to find my muse.

The darling poppet box with the pointy hat is by Mica Garbarino of Garboodles Soup http://garboodles.blogspot.com/. She used a tiny porcelain doll head, which she is practically famous for, and the box she sent me says "through the open door." I think I'll go. You can find her work on etsy, and she has a totally separate store for incredible Sock Monkeys, too. She'll also be teaching how to make these darling boxes, including sewn crepe paper skirt, at the ZNE Convenzione 2009 in April-May http://www.znecon.com/, so I'll get to meet her then. The box I sent her is here https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRysjo3PKDPtVMeUZzzPD4FTcS0O4vMnvQw-oLxdGSehwjzLhdDLzDSBSW-XzjR7haiQTGPejsTfIcPjw7EWwjs7Xp7DWU5QkhpT10xyhPpkaVrx3cDJJzCRJw3CamUZLD0w0LzntU3wh/s1600-h/moremariesmica+001.jpg.

The black and white box by Iva Wilcox http://www.ivascreations.com/ I have posted before, but in the dolly-headed-box theme spirit, I just wanted to show it again by itself because it is so darling. Iva and Gina Gabriell http://www.elevenmorning.com/ will be selling their wares Sept. 13 at a fantastic show at Tinsel and Treasures in Danville, CA. If you're on that side of the world, GO!

The bottom picture is the view over my art desk in my basement studio. I have more work from friends upstairs in my "real" office, where I have not one, but two more desks! If you look closely in the picture, you'll find artwork from Debrina Pratt http://whimsicalworldoffairies.blogspot.com/, Carla Naron http://www.collagecat.typepad.com/, Elaine Thomas http://artful-spirit.blogspot.com/, Sally Jean Alexander http://www.sallyjean.typepad.com/and more, along with my newest goodies in their new home spot. For now. I like to rearrange, too, for more inspiration!

The top photos are some paper clay figures/sculptures I made this weekend, trying to use the skills I thought I'd learned in Gina Gabriell's class at ZNECon last month. It's a lot easier to make something when someone is telling you what to do each step of the way. And while these might not look too bad in pictures, I can't decide how I feel about them in real life! I know how much glue and goop I used to hold everything together. I know I tried to rush the drying and put them in the oven, forgetting that styrofoam melts, expands and will eventually explode...but apparently that takes longer than 30 minutes, thank goodness! I've already blown out my oven element once this year! Dishwasher has been out 16 days now, but that's another story.

But I digress. These paperclay peeps were fun to imagine and create, but I think I do better at decorating their papier mache or balsa wood box bases. The Halloween witch might be my favorite. I used a very old porcelain head from my new dear IRL friends Shoshannah Jennings and her husband Mike who run Hannah Grey http://www.hannahgrey.com/. They have tons of cool old doll parts, dug up from factories in Germany. Email them if you don't see the parts on their Web site. I "work" for Shosh and Mike as a member of the Hannah Grey Design Team and was lucky enough to meet them in person recently, along with a darling team member, Julee Herman. She's so pretty you want to claw her eyes out, after you find a way to steal her gorgeous hair. That's supposed to be humorous, dear reader (and Julee), because she's a doll.

These might be gifties going to fellow art friends in some upcoming swaps. You know who you are, so don't look too closely, and skip over the part where I said these might not be 100% perfect. Handmade is supposed to be heart-made, right?

ZNE Does NOT Rhyme with Halloween

I don't know which is crazier: that I am still blogging about the ZNE Convention (that's 'Z,' 'N,' 'E," not 'zeen') or that I am already blogging about Halloween.

The darling house canvas says 'Home is where the heart is' (so true) and 'There's no place like home' (true too). I bought it from Cindy DeLuz of http://www.apurpledaisy.com in California. Her work just makes me swoon. I love the colors and the richness and the messages. We really hit it off. Anyone who knows me knows I like the whimsy style anyway, but Cindy is so sweet you can't help but adore her. Check out her Web site for more of her work. I can hardly wait to receive the canvas she is sending me in exchange for one of my bracelets from etsy http://www.hpsgsmith.etsy.com. I definitely got the best end of the deal, but of course I hope she feels otherwise! Don't worry, I'll be blogging more about her art.

The Halloween pages are 25 five-inch by five-inch double-sided pages I made last night for The Faerie Zine Halloween Opera fat book page swap. How great it will be to get this finished book back with pages from 24 other artists and an amazing cover from Lisa Kettell http://faerieenchantment.blogspot.com. As it is, I cannot wait to get my circus, bird and dollhouse books back from her. She's crazy; she hosted all of those swaps.

I got the Halloween crepe paper at American Harvest in Pleasanton, CA. The entire store was jam-packed with Halloween stuff during the ZNE convention. I'm already making plans to attend next year, which will be April 29-May 3. http://www.znecon.com. The instructor lineup is incredible and includes both new and old art friends. I'll get to meet Lisa Kettell in person there if not before.

The orange Halloween ribbon with pumpkin faces is vintage, and I got it at the ZNE vendor fair "Pleasantries and Paperie" from a booth that sold nothing but vintage ephemera. Some of the other collage images I used are from Lisa's Altered Art (different Lisa) http://www.lisasalteredart.com, Teesha Moore http://www.teeshamoore.com, Retro Cafe Art http://www.retrocafeart.com, Paper Relics via Hannah Grey http://www.hannahgrey.com and Artchix Studio http://www.artchixstudio.com. Nothing like plugging people and virtual places I love!

Speaking of plugging, with all the ZNE love going around, I was excited to find that I was mentioned on three fantabulous blogs: Dawn DeVries Sokol, editor of 1000 Artist Journal Pages, gave me a mention at http://dblogala.typepad.com/dblogala/2008/08/ajf-the-big-sho-oe-an-ed-sullivan-ref.html, and Kris Hubick pictured 'us' here http://krishubick.blogspot.com/2008/08/longest-post-ever-zne-convenzione-2008.html. Also, the very talented Mica of Garboodles, who will be teaching at ZNE in 2009 blogged about the china head/paper doll box I swapped with her here http://garboodles.blogspot.com/2008/08/private-poppet-swap.html, and it looks like she has pictured what she is sending me. I may just have to tackle the mail person; it is adorable. Artists really are good people.

Too Early for Halloween? Never!

It might be too early for YOU to think about Halloween, but it's never too early for a Halloween-lover or a crafter, or the subscriber's to Kari Ramstrom's private Sweet and Sinister blog. Kari http://artsymama.blogspot.com was swamped with requests to join her second-annual Sweet and Sinister swap and/or to subscribe to her project/idea blog- so much so, that she had to create two blogs!

I was thrilled when she contacted me to ask me to be a guest designer for this blog and swap. So, natch, I made some haunted houses, one of my favorites from last year, too. I love getting the plain cardboard house forms and dressing them up for any holiday. Priscilla http://sweetremembrance1.blogspot.com and I swapped winter houses last year.

Anyway, I can't give you my step-by-step instructions or more pics for my houses. You'll just have to watch for Kari's swap next year and hope to get in! I'm giving away one of my houses this year on her private blog, but check below for a give-away in honor of my blog-aversay here (until Aug. 15).

Good Candy Rumored Here; Love the Leaves Reflecting Off the Window & Witchypoo's Ring

On A Cleaning High!

That great feeling when the whole house is clean always seems to give me some crazy endorphin/ aerobic rush. So after finishing all the dirty work I decided to take some pics of my favorite little tableaus to remind myself how much I enjoy being able to look at a clean, pleasant, cozy house and to surround myself with things I love. Next adventure is to bake some cupcakes and pumpkin cobbler for a party tomorrow!

Feelin' Productive Now!

Besides the post below with ATCs for the ARTchix pink post contest, fat book pages, skinny book pages and more, I got these four ATCs with embellished sugar skulls done for ebay. Not only did I get them listed, I managed to squeeze in some tags to satisfy some ebay group contests, such as "numbers" for CaaT and "Halloween" for AWLA. I was feeling very productive until I noticed it was 2 a.m. Oh, well! This is my 85th post, so getting ever closer to the 100th post party. But I digress. Back to Sugar Skulls.....just love them, think they are fun and whimsical, and they have a nice history. Just got a decoupaged cigarillo tin with a sugar skull on the front. I have my business cards in it. Also, I have a "blank" metal lunch box, and I am thinking of decoupaging sugar skulls on it. Why? I do not know.

The Cupcake As Art? Maybe Not.

The cupcake bug has really bitten me. I love looking at the beautiful works of art on Flickr as I have mentioned before. In fact I've requested permission to post another incredible work of art; meanwhile, here is my somewhat lame attempt to decorate Halloween cupcakes.

It was fun; they are colorful. But, they look nothing like the creations from my cupcake group! I guess practice could help in any arena!

I was amazed to see this is my 78th post! Getting close to that all-important 100th post milestone which means prizes! drawings! free goodies! just for commenting. A time-honored blog tradition. Stay tuned.

Sweet and Sinister Swap In Progress SIP

Here is the Haunted House I made last night (possibly) for my Sweet and Sinister Swap with Artsymama's group on Flickr. I say possibly because it is supposed to be black and white with thouches of Halloween colors, and this is possibly a little too colorful.

The potions bottle should be a shoe-in though, as it is black and sparkly, with a skull, black and silver fibers and my black cat charm attached. Makes a nice gift I think, as the charm can be detached for wearing, making into a pin or displaying on a tiny easel. The other swap pictures posted on Flickr are all luscious, so I am a little bit intimindated to send my offerings. I hope they pass muster- wouldn't want to be the target of an evil spell or something.

Speaking of Flickr and my new-found love for it (see below), there is a Cupcake group on Flickr which I have joined. Surely someone who not only paints but crochets cupcakes should be in this group! I just love like-minded (weird) people!

My other Flickr group is a Zetti group. Zettiology is the company of Teesha Moore (see links) and her husband Tracy, whom I have written about before. There are over 1,000 pieces of art (and now 5 of mine) in the Flickr Zetti group for admirers of this style. It is a color celebration! Check it out.http://www.flickr.com/groups/zettiology/.

A couple more Halloween ATCs

Here are a couple new Halloween artist trading cards I made last night for gifts in my ebay and blog swaps. I am in a Sweet and Sinister swap (see logo at right) which requires something sweet and something sinister (duh!), something handmade and a home decor item, all in shades of black, white and Halloween colors.

The skull card was made by using bleach and a rubber stamp, to stamp an image on black art paper (construction paper does not work). I used various amounts of bleach to get varying degrees of spooky images. I first saw this done in either Somerset Studio or Cloth, Paper, Scissors, two excellent magazines. The examples used an egg stamp and went further by using a brush and paint to add some color to the bleached images- have to try that!

I am also in an Art and Scent swap for my ATC and ACEO Enthusiasts group on ebay and a Secret Swap for Respect: Artists who Love Art, AWLA, on ebay.

I have tons more fall clip art to use, plus I just got 48 new Lyra Aquacolors, so I really need to get back to my journal and start drawing more new stuff. Making these ATCs is addicting. I have to laugh, because only a month ago when I was buying some stuff from Kris H at Retro Cafe Art Gallery on ebay, I asked her how she could stand to do such tiny work- ha!

That Peaches & Cream Complexion

Here is a copy of a recent collage using some of my vintage magazine finds from Better Homes and Gardens and McCalls from the 1930s to 1950s. I see I didn't do the best job copying or scanning, since I cut off a couple of key comments, such as "All they ever wanted to talk about was her crow's feet" and "Are you really lovely to love?" Well, clearly not with all these crow's feet- kind of all over, huh? Collage doesn't have to make any sense- that's why I like it.

I am now going to try my hand at making a glass charm similar to those in my book club book "Pretty Little Things." I had the silver foil tape and now I have my glass squares. This can be done without Flux and a soldering iron, although it won't look as nice. I also now have both a stuffed crow (on a crow kick, non?) and a stuff rat, and either will look divine on my witch hat, which gets mailed off to someone else. Come to think of it, all the good stuff gets mailed off to someone else, hmmmmm.

However, one lovely thing did come to me yesterday, and that was a silver soldered charm by Kris Hubick of Retro Cafe Gallery (see links at right). She did a great job-so smooth and the bail is placed so nicely. I just got a chain for it today as I decided it was too big for my charm bracelet, as I am afraid the others I have ordered from Sally Jean will be. Hard to do dangly when you're on the computer all the time.

I also hope to squeeze in another post tonight about Home and Color for both my ZNE assignment and my Caat assignment. I do take these seriously; I must have been a good little school girl. Were you?

Art to Go; Art to Share

Here's a neat image from Gail Schmidt at Shabby Cottage Studio http://shabbycottagestudio.blogspot.com/. She shares a vintage image every Friday on her blog. Check out her Etsy store,too! http://www.etsy.com/. That's where I found her great and colorful Halloween backgrounds in fiery reds and oranges for my Halloween ATCs.

New Halloween Trading Cards

I can't believe how many hours I just spent to make 10 Artist Trading Cards! It was over an hour per card. Then it took me another hour to photograph, upload, list on ebay, list in my groups, and now here I am! While listing them on ebay I realized my listing fees were more than my asking price! Talk about a smart business move! But in truth, I make them for fun, and I am amazed every time someone buys one. All the cutting, pasting, gluing and decorating are all just like playing to me. (The subject of our CaaT blog this week). They are listed under hpsgsmith on ebay, or click my link at right. Sorry, I can't bear to part with the "Little Witch." I raided my own vintage photos for that one, and by that I really mean MY own. So, I know it's a vintage photo of over 40 years old-ouch!

I Saw A Spirit - collage

Here is a little collage I did for my ZNE Book Club assignment this week. We are to create a mixed media collage one step at a time, by drawing random tasks from a bowl and performing them in order. Mine were: write, use Twinkling H2Os, sandpaper, sand again, stamp with bleach, distress in some way, use water color crayons, paint, distress, apply a photo, scratch, apply a transparency, apply magazine bits, apply background paper bits, apply text, overstamp, seal.

I made this copy, and also a sepia one, before sealing as I think I will coat it with beeswax or maybe spooky beeswax drips, I haven't decided.

Next up is a numbers theme ATC for my ATC/ACEO Enthusiasts group on ebay, and the collage will also serve for the August month-end collage challenge for CaaT. I am continually amazed by all the talented people on ebay! It would be so great to do nothing but create, post, sell, buy, read beautiful blogs, rinse and repeat all day long!

Tonight I picked up some more art supplies. I am going to try my hand at acrylics, so I got some paint, brushes and thick little fat canvases (5x5). I also got a bunch of paint swatches (Lowe's) and will be collecting wallpaper swatches for my next endeavor.

Finally, I am awaiting some domino-size tiles in the mail from my BkNq (book-nique) group, out of which I am supposed to make a tiny book. Not sure what my subject will be! I have gotten lots of suggestions at home for verrrry short books, such as "Guide to Safe Hunting," by Dick Cheney and so on...you get the idea...and I don't want a political blog!

More Friday ATCs

Here are some new ATCs I created to list on ebay. Also got my dare for ATC/ACEO Enthusiasts on ebay: Interpret "Star Chamber." This happens to have a 10th century England definition (which I certainly did not know!). But I can interpret it anyway I want to.....think I might be able to add this to the "Rock" theme for AWLA......brain working......