Hello, reader!
Browsing through Pinterest (of course 😃), I gained inspiration for this new set of figurines, animals in teapots. There are many versions of these online and here is mine:
But the rest of them are sweet as well, aren't they?
Hello, reader!
Recently, I came into possession of a small plastic toy horse (rubber, maybe? you know that elastic-plastic material). Instantly, I wished to create a fantasy-themed diorama or shadowbox. I had a perfectly sized wooden box, it was sold as a tray but I thought I could use it as my diorama box. So, I created this:
The theme is dream, so says the sign stamped on the smallest and cutest wooden cubes. On the back, there is another sign, stamped on a wooden tile, that says "dream big":
As you can see from the detailed photos below, I have used all sorts of embellishments and mixmedia techniques to create this piece:
I really cannot describe in words how much I enjoyed creating this item! I now realise that, when it comes to dioramas, the possibilities are endless. This type of creation is limitless when it comes to inspiration, crafting techniques, materials, subjects... And the final result, however much you personally like it, speaks about how small things always represent bigger ideas.
I think I have found a new field of expression for myself and I will definitely keep exploring it!
This piece is currently available in my Etsy shop!
Until next time...
Hello, reader!
So, there's this problem. But what you can do is try :) and, through repetition, master your skill. I know I will keep coming back to some of my creative solutions. The "dripping effect" on glass is what I've found to be fun to do and people seem to like it.
I began experimenting with different materials to create this effect years ago. Here are some of my oldest works with the dripping effect.
And here are a few of the newer works.
Finally, that last blue bottle I wrote about in my previous post now has gotten its pair.
These final two are available on Etsy. you can take a look here and here.
Are you obsessed with some theme or technique that you keep coming back to?
Until next time...
Hello, reader!
Can you or should you create the same thing twice? While finding your style and then "rehearsing" it till it's perfected is great, repeating your own handmade creation is, first off, tricky technically, but it also gets in the way of the original's... originality, the opportunity to call it "unique and one of a kind"
(I know, there is art that exploits or somehow incorporates the idea of mass production, copying, citations, etc. However, this post is not about that.)
So, remember how there is this altered bottle I wrote about some time ago? From time to time, people ask if it's available for sale. I have never actually offered it for sale because it is very dear to me. But, I decided to make a similar one and have that one for sale.
Hello, reader!
The funny thing about nostalgia is that one is able to feel it in connection to times they were never part of. At least that's how it is with me. I'd see a really old photo, an old toy, or whatever artifact from way before I was born, and it will instantly evoke nostalgic feelings in me.
So, I create to set such feelings in motion, because they are innocent and really nice.
Patina and muddy colours, patches, worn-out materials... it's all beautiful.
The newest hanging ornament is in the style of old toys. It is a teddy bear with a parachute, 11 cm in height plus 8 cm hanging string. How do you like it? Let me know.
The ornament is available on Etsy.
Until next time...
Hello, reader!
While I do have more figurines to show you, maybe we should take a break from them and I could say a thing or two about another interest of mine - and that is decoupage on glass, in fact, any kind of altering and upcycling glass bottles and jars.
From what I've noticed, few of my decoupage friends like to create with bottles. I've heard some of them saying they don't like to work on rounded surfaces, others have specialised in decoupage on boxes, while some of them simply find inspiration elsewhere.
I, however, love working with glass! I like to believe that I have succeeded in finding my style and even making a few bottles that I see re-pinned quite a lot on Pinterest.
There is one particular bottle that people seem to love and the stats say this photo of the work is clicked on A LOT:
Hello, reader!
As promised in the previous post, here is another hedgehog hanging ornament. This one is also tiny, but with the suitcases it is around 11 cm high (without the hanging string).
It is made of clay and paper mache, painted with acrylics, and sealed with water-based varnish.
We are in the second year of the pandemic and I am sure everyone is eager to go on a trip. With the hope of a more relaxed summer and some vacation at the seaside, I will be making more travel-inspired ornaments.
Until next time...
