Im dying over this miniature book!

 One of my favorite artists, Elsa Mora aka Elsita just finished this amazing miniature book. Its available in her etsy shop along with other incredible works of art. Check out her blog where she has separate sections for all her wondrous creations... paper cuts, miniature books, handmade dolls and more!

Animals!!!!!

I haven't posted for ages because I have been making these guys!!! Meet the animals for the Milk + Bookies story time event this weekend at the Skirball Center. Milk + Bookies is a wonderful children's literacy non profit operating out of LA. Check out their website for a the details! These woodland creatures were made from over 1700 dictionary pages reclaimed from the Recycling Center.

Here are the squirrels in their box which will make it's way to LA Saturday...

The alligator can hold a book or sign in it's jaw (or even a 7 year old's head).

3 owls tower above....
The animals who have been living here the past week left today (despite tears from little ones), on a journey to the Skirball Center. Wish them luck!

Alice in Etsy Wonderland

My Wonderland Shadow Box was featured on an etsy Wonderland treasury! Check it out here!

Thanks Christyyyn for selecting my shadowbox as one of your treasures!

Heart on a String Miniature

Heart on a String miniature gouache painting. Available for your loved one here.

A Miniature a Day

I'm trying stick to painting a miniature a day. Here is this evening's image. Available in my etsy shop!

Thumbelina

Just posted on my etsy page...an original miniature painting of Thumbelina

Curiouser and curiouser...
Alice knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw...
Just in time for the new Alice in Wonderland; this little Shadow Box is your entry into Wonderland!

Available in my etsy shop.

Birthday Badges for Little Ones

I made these adorable (if I do say so myself) one of a kind badges for birthdays and celebrations. I found these vintage prize ribbons (for horses) and recovered them with fabric. I used mermaid fabric on some of them from Heather Ross's line Mendocino. I added new ribbons and a bit of glitter paper.  They are available in my etsy store!!!!

They make wonderful package toppers too!

A Day in the City

Aaron and I had an entire day off together, and we spent it in San Francisco. We visited some of our usual favorites as well as going to the galleries at 49 Geary. Aaron surprised me by taking me to the Stephen Wirtz Gallery to see the work of Kathryn Spence who is an incredible scupltor/fiber artist.  I was so close to buying one of her tiny owls for a cool 4k before Aaron brought me back down to the realization that I paid that for my used Honda and couldn't afford it even if I did max out every credit card I own! Her work is truly beautiful, and someday I hope  to actually be able to afford one of her pieces!



She used bits and pieces of fabric, paper, feather, fur etc all tied and wrapped with string, held in place with pins etc to create these amazingly lifelike creatures.  The gallery also has a pair of coyotes she created and some miniature scenes/drawings as well. The show is up until August 22nd, and is truly worth the trip!


We also stopped by Bell'Occhio on Brady and the Kinokuniya bookstore in Japantown. 

I bought scissors with 8 blades at Bell'Ochio for cutting paper fringe, and found three wonderful books at Kinokuniya...

Nathalie Lete is one of my favorite illustrators and her books can be hard to find in the states, This one is both Japanese and French so I can read it, but I mostly will just enjoy the pictures!

This is a book on making fabric flowers. The illustration are beautiful!

Paris Brocante. I will use this as a travel guide on my next trip.

And no trip to the city would be complete without a stop by Miette for les macarons!

It was a perfect day!

New Pieces...

Two new pieces custom made for a friend's wedding Thank You's. Her instructions were 1. something "creepy beautiful," and 2. something with a unicorn. I had fun making them both. Of course they will both be housed under the protection of a dome, encased in their own little space, but they photograph better without the cloche.

Available for purchase at my etsy shop here.

Something stirring...

My favorite holiday is Halloween, probably because its always been a huge holiday for my family.
My Mom is obsessed with all things spooky, black and orange. My Dad said that when he and my Mom were dating she made him gather up a bunch of dead leaves to scatter on their front lawn for Halloween night; that was just the beginning...
Since I was a kid my Mom always threw these massive Halloween parties, fancy dress required, and after some years of months of planning and preparation she finally decided people should bring a dish too. The night of, she would force my Dad (who's idea of participation was to watch TV in the dark) to turn off all the lights for atmosphere,while my brother and I hurried outside to put fresh glow sticks in all the monsters' eyes my Mom had been building since August.
Every year the theme was different. The back yard was once the gondola hollows from Phantom of the Opera, complete with boat and characters and fog rolling in from a series of machines strategically placed in the yard. Another year Aliens landed, a 15 foot spaceship with racing lights parked next to the deck. A skeletal version of Titanic is to be remembered along with a 15 foot dinner party which sat among other guests, Monica and Bill right after their scandal.
The whole neighborhood was involved. People would help starting mid August in the construction of mummies, vampires and the like. One neighbor even constructed a massive Ferris wheel made of PVC pipe that actually spun and was lighted with Halloween Xmas lights for a carnival themed scene. Much to my Father's horror, the PVC monstrosity sat naked in our back yard for several seasons after.
These parties have since ceased after me going to college, and my Mom's energy burning out from years of constructing almost everything on her own. While neighbors helped, the rest of my family (me included) sat spectator side, offering glasses of ice tea intermittently throughout the hot afternoon. Her enthusiasm and love for the holiday is catching and I still shriek with delight at the first sign of Fall decorations appearing in retail and craft stores many months too soon.
Now as a semi-adult, I enjoy carrying on certain traditions. A trip to the pumpkin patch, the opening night for Halloween items at Gaslight Emporium, and of course Halloween paper crafts that I usually make for my Mom. My Mom was my teacher and is my partner in crime when it comes to all things Halloween. Afterall, she's the only person I know who has a lifesized butler who looks like he came from the Addams Family at attention in her dining room all year round.

I have been gathering Halloween things for the past week, and made this paper doll today. I hope to teach some workshops on Halloween crafts, and pass on the bug to all who want to be bitten.