This Tops the Cake!

More Marie!  Really, she is such a wonderful muse. This piece is for another MAMA swap - this one for a cake topper.  I have never created a cake toper before, not out of paper, not out of icing, not out of anything!  So I head off to Chula Vista to a very small store that is not far from the Mexican Border right of the I-5 to look for cake topper parts.  I like to shop down there instead of at Michaels or JoAnns because I can find parts that are unique.  After fishing around in cardboard boxes I pulled out this little gate and arch set.  How perfect!  After assembling all of the parts I decorated it with festooning, crepe paper and flowers and birds.  And of course all of the decorations frame lovely Marie.  I think she would love standing in the garden. And Marie was now ready to be shipped to my swap partner, Kris Dickinson.

However, when I was finished and I stood back and studied her a thought came to my mind - "Holy Smokes, when did my art evolve to all of this foofiness? I think everything I have made in the past six months has been pink and light blue pastels, with lots of lace and tulle and crepe paper.  It made me laugh, and made me realize that maybe it's time to pull back a little!

And I received this beautiful creation from Kris - she found an entire gazebo to decorate! Thanks Kris, I love it.

 

Linking with Pink Saturday.

Sew Sew Fun!

 

It all started with a swap that I joined to sew a simple drawstring bag.  So out came the sewing machine (which is 25 years old) and I made a trip to JoAnn's  got started.  After getting that nasty tension adjusted just right and getting the thread fed through the correct places I began to get the feel of this sewing thing again and started having a blast! The drawstring bag never happened because I got this idea that making a purse would be nicer and more useful, so I made a lining and handles and sewed the whole thing together.   I realized that I was having so much fun and I really enjoyed this sewing thing - it was nothing like Mrs. Fisher's 8th grade Home Economics class!

My girlfriend Lorraine was having a birthday tea and this was what I wanted to create for her.  She loves kitties and I found this cute graphic of a girl holding a kitty.  I added a french graphic background and printed it out on fabric. I stitched it on my bag with some vintage doilies and parts of a vintage tablecloth and voila! Happy Birthday Lorraine, I hope you enjoy your little purse as much as I enjoyed creating it for you.

And thank you Mrs. Fisher - you really must have actually taught me how to sew!

Linking with Pink Saturday.

Happy Birthday Marie Antoinette!

It's Marie Antoinette birthday!  She would have been 257 today.  The Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group marked the event with a "Gala d'anniversaire de Marie", and they held numerous swaps with special brithday themes to celebrate.  It was so much fun.  Some days I wonder if I will ever tire of creating in the Marie Antoinette theme and the answer is "absolutely not!" Who doesn't like those fabulous colors of pale pinks and aquas.  And then you get to mix in lace and ribbon and jewels - what's not to love about that!

Here is a cake slice box that I created for my partner, Terri Gordon.  I have been making lots of these little slices lately and was well practiced for this one.  Thank goodness, because Terri is the moderator of our group and is amazingly talented so I always hope that what I create can even come close to matching hers. I decorated my box with pretty papers, lace, flowers, seam binding, and I created an arch over Marie and added a little birdie.  I made Terri a little cake stand to display her little cake slice.  We filled our boxes with goodies "fit for a queen", and I also added this other little cake that I created out of a battery operated votive.

Marie, I wish you a happy birthday.  You lived a short and turbulent life, but I bet you had no idea on the artisic inspiration that you would provide for many centuries!

 

And welcome Pink Saturday visitors!