Inspiration

Thursday, March 26, 2009

New Supplies


It's time to show you some great recent buys for my upcoming mosaic projects. I found three brightly glazed plates at the second-hand shop yesterday. I only wish they had had a set of each one, the colors are so vibrant. But alas, only one of each. And all for 0.75€. I'll add them to my growing stacks of plates and saucers, but I have the feeling I'm going to break these apart quickly.



I received lots of packages from fellow etsy sellers last week, three of which contained beads and charms. Aren't these beautiful? As I said a few posts ago, I wanted to make butterflies, but there were too many talented artists already making amazing ones...well I'm going to incorporate these charms into my mosaics. Butterflies, but also grasshoppers and beetles! Maybe I will be able to overcome my fear of bugs! These (above) are from lunasilver; stop by her shop and see her gorgeous charms!

Next, from Dragynsfyre, some lovely beads: moons and stars with faces, magic lamps, and little word beads, since I like to add messages to my work. You should visit her shop and see the themed beads, fairy tales, pirates and more!



And I got a bag of milagros from El Sol. I've been wanting to buy some to put in little retablos (retable in English, I think) that I want to make, and these are so nice. There were a lot in the bag, and my kids like them too! I might have to get another bag!


Monday, March 16, 2009

Spring Bird


I've been buying lots of supplies on etsy lately! Beads, charms and some fabric, of course. Friday I received a package from The Designer's Touch, some lovely cotton floral woven decorator fabric! I found it so beautiful that I had to make something right away. I made this little bird brooch!

And spring will be here at the end of the week!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Amazing Butterflies!

I had a vague idea of making butterfly brooches for spring, getting some pretty silks and whipping some up, and then selling them on my etsy shop. Well, I am amazed and somewhat intimidated by the gorgeous butterfly images already available! I've discovered some on the Front Page, and others in a showcase or the gift guides. Hats off to these excellent artists, and I think I'll stick to mosaics and bird pillows for now!

The one above is by Dolan Geiman, one of my favorite artists. This is a panel painting; it's on my favorites list and I may even buy two! They are not only beautiful but also very affordable! This Swallowtail butterfly linocut is by Gwen Ottinger Artworks. I love the black and white, but she also makes colored prints. And since I love everything blue, I also fancy her blue elephant. Go take a look!



This Monarch butterfly brooch is by Edera Jewelry. The artist uses lace-making and needlework techniques along with traditional jewelry making techniques. Look at the intricacy and beauty of this piece! I don't think it gets any better than this!


Thursday, March 5, 2009

Another Mini



My latest mini mosaic in my ongoing effort to make affordable pieces of original art. They're really fun to make, and satisfying since I can finish one rather quickly. I tried some brightly colored porcelain plate tesserae this time, and darker grout to set them off. But it's hard to sell art at the moment!