NC Artists of Precision and Detail

I'd like for you to meet some artisans and crafters I met at NC Farmer's Market Fall Craft Fair. It was so fun to meet new friends and visit with old ones and share in the joy of what we recent made. Seeing what others do inspires me to do the same. All this week I've been having new ideas run through my mind.  Here is a small selection of who I met.

This little boy's portrait was watercolor painted by Andrea Wilson in Holly Springs, NC. She has also recreated it in pencil.

In addition Andrea is a fabulous acrylic painter. When my daughter saw I bought a small one of a flounder, she immediately took ownership. We are currently in negotiations. Andrea also makes polymer clay jewelry in wonderfully fun shapes and colors.

For more information on custom portraits or where you find her next, you can find Andrea Wilson by email.

Richard Coates of Holly Ridge Woodcrafting combines photography with woodworking and his end results are stunning in detail. This year he introduced revolving pen containers. So cool! Holly Ridge Woodcrafting is located in Rougemont, NC.  For more information about where to find Richard next or to place an order, you can email him.

 Pens and Banks is a family affair with Frank and Clint Johnson of Raleigh and Clayton, NC. I love the antique feel of the coin banks made with vintage post office box doors that Frank makes.

Clint lathes beautiful pens from exotic woods and other materials like corian and deer antlers. He says his wife insists the manufacture of the antler pens to be done far from the house. I can understand why. The end result from all of his hard work is a great gift for your father, boss or mentor.

You can find more information by emailing them.

Meet Little Champ's Art

Halloween BOO Canvas Wall Blocks - Hand Painted

Little Champ's Art Bio:
I'm the "Little Champ" behind Little Champ's Art. With the help of "mama champ" from time to time, this crafty business dream is starting to take shape and become a reality - How exciting & scary all at once!!
With an obsessive personality, diving into this crafting world of Etsy (and beyond) has been an incredible journey! Even better, it has never once felt like work.
I love any and all things crafty - painting, drawing, scrapbooking, decorating, anything! My next venture will be into painting on canvases, so stay tuned to see how it turns out!
I've been painting names on items as part of my "day job" and for friends/family for about 13 years now. Figured it was about time I started doing it for myself and turn it from a casual hobby into a serious (but fun!) business!

How'd you get started on Etsy?
I posted on my Facebook page that I wanted to sell my stuff and right away had a few people tell me about Etsy.com. I had never even heard of it!

What was your inspiration for your shop?
For years people have been telling me I should sell my stuff outside the toystore. YEARS. One day I just kind of woke up and decided to do it.

What's your favorite shop item and why?

The FAMILY blocks. Just everything about them came out as perfection. The fact that the boyfriend doesn't want me to sell them really means a lot, too.

Family Tree Canvas Wall Blocks - Hand Painted

How do you unwind when you're not creating?

I kill things. No, not literally... calm down ;) I play lots of video games - World of Warcraft, Starcraft2... If you've had a really bad day, it really is therapeutic to just kick someone's ass at a game.



What's your favorite kind of cupcake?

FUNFETTI! :) but I’m pretty sure if I were to ever try one of those bacon cupcakes, I’d be in love... and about 30lbs heavier, because I’d probably get addicted. c'mon... bacon AND chocolate?

Cupcakes Bulletin Board Sweet Notes

What pushes you to want to create something?

Everything? I’m not really sure. Right now it’s the fact that my parents are actually proud of me and I haven't even succeeded yet. My mom has so much faith in what I’m doing that she's decided to become an "investor" and that means a lot. Also, my dad told a friend recently "my little girl is so talented" that touched me in a way I wasn't even expecting.

What's your favorite cartoon as a kid? As an adult, if you stumble upon it while channel surfing now would you stop & watch?

Ohhh jeez. I’m such a cartoon freak. As a kid it was definitely the old Looney Tunes - bugs, porky, road runner and The Jetsons.

I don't stumble upon cartoons; I seek them out as an adult. Yes, I’m nearly 27 and I’m usually watching the Disney Channel. I don't believe in growing up ;)

What's your fantasy job?

Owning my own store. Be it a toy store, a book store, a coffee shop, or a little champ shop... I just want to have an actual place that's mine to run however I’d like.

Do you have a secret guilty pleasure?
Well it’s not a secret anymore... but Disney Channel. I’m pretty obsessed with the mouse, and anything he's connected to. You don't even want to get me started on Disney World... ohhhh boy.

Pencil Case - Blue - Hand Painted and Personalized

List 3 things you are so obsessed with it is torture to ever say no to.

Anything Disney, Oreos, shopping at Target.

List 3 of your favorite Etsy shops.

funkychunkies (I got a Mickey bracelet from her - love it), booboozoo (my custom knee wrap is a life saver and super adorable), and JoshuaByOak (amazing Christmas items... wow)

Do you have a favorite author? When you read, do you use a proper bookmark, bend the page, or grab anything handy to mark your place?



Charles Dickens. Yes, it’s extremely nerdy, but his books completely transport me to another time and place. Ahh, I love it. I totally beat my books to hell, which is weird because I TREASURE them. I bend the pages, I crease the binding, and I pick at the corners. Basically, you can tell how much I liked a book by how disgusting it is when I’m done with it. A really good book is close to tatters...

If money was no object and you can live wherever you want….where would that be?

Denver, Colorado. It’s BEAUTIFUL there. They get like a million days of sunshine a year, and with the mountains you can see snow 365 days a year. Plus my very best friend in the world lives there and I miss him dearly!

MLB Baseball Team Ornament Personalized and Hand Painted

What is your best childhood memory?

Okay it’s really mean... so don't judge. But we had this HUGE apple tree in my yard and Travis (the aforementioned best friend) and I didn't like the new neighbor kids, so we climbed in the tree to hide from them and when we were found, we just started throwing apples at these kids so they'd leave us alone! I wonder if any of them recall this as their "worst childhood memory" yikes!

You can find Little Champ's Art on Etsy, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.  Please visit her.

Acorn Earrings -the story of their birth

So I was at my favorite store, Goodwill, last week and I saw this most excellent necklace. Unfortunately, a couple of stones were missing. I was undaunted and bought my newly prized item. The first thing I did was break apart the components. There was a total of five. Three looked great so I remade them into a bracelet that is now on sale at Etsy.

The other two were the ones with missing stones. After shuffing through a few different stones and talking with my DTeam on Etsy, I decided to go with a couple of faceted glass beads.  They were a bit translucent and needed a punch up.  I glued them into place and waited for them to dry. Then flipping over to the back, which was open, I painted a dark grey blue over the crystal. Once that was dry, I used Diamond Glaze over the paint to seal it all in.

By now, most if it looked good. The only part of the pieces that didn't fit well was the area where once there was a connector. So, I used 20 guage wire and wrapped that area to build it up to the same thickness as the rest.

This is the final piece.

These will be on sale on Etsy real soon!

Tulip Fashion Graffiti

I just got in my prize from http://ilovetocreateblog.blogspot.com/. And I'm soooo excited! 

My daughter and I are just thinking of all kinds of things we can do with this. Maybe we'll throw a dress up your t-shirt party, or Christmas gifts. Who knows really, but it'll be fun!!

Michael's Creative Mom Contest

Received an email from Michael's this week on the contest they are running for Creative Mom. I am biting at the bit on this one. Considering all I've done, it'd be silly for me not to try. Over the next couple of days I'm going to collect photos of what I've accomplished. Please, please check out the photos and if you like, vote for me! Thank you!


Sewing Costumes

One of the many great things about having a child is Halloween. Over the years, I have sewn costumes for her to wear.

I wish that this wasn't so blurry. She's going "Grrrr!"

The costume has a stuffed tail with magenta accents on the spikes.

Oh no!  It's the Poison Dart Frog Girl!

The eyes are painted plastic easter egg pieces (round end) and glued in place with Aileen's OK to Wash-It glue.

I cheated on this one a bit. The wings are store bought but they matched the skirt so well I couldn't pass it up.

Crochet

 

 

This was a Christmas gift I did for my In-Laws. It was lots of fun. I've also made a slew of hats and scarves over the years that my family wears.

Handkercheif Curtains

Of course, no sewing compilation would be complete without curtains. I've made several curtains over the years. Here are the ones in the living room.

I had a collection of odd buttons that I used to create the details on the points of the curtain topper.

Hypertufa Creations

II've worked with hypertufa for a while and really enjoyed it. But found it too time consuming as actions had to be taken at certain times of hardness of the cement mixture. I had to plan a period of three days around the projects which is hard when you have a small child needing attention as well.

Several pieces were sold at Raleigh's Flea Market. I wish I had pictures of them as well. I'll have to see if I can dig up an old photo CD.

My Pond

I created this pond with the help of my husband and his stronger back. But you'd be impressed what can be done with a pick ax as a lever. Also in this picture you can see additional hypertufa pieces. One had a lantern perched on it and the other is a column.  My husband found he really likes these columns.  They are great for target practice. Kinda like stationary skeet. I hope he doesn't take this one for practice.  It's also the base of the bird bath that's pictured above.

I wanted a hidden way for the waterfall to start so I used hypertufa to create the two stones sandwiched between two real stones to raise the smaller one and create a hole.

This is a hypertufa pot which is set slightly into the water so I don't have to remember to water this plant. The plant tag said it liked staying wet and so far, so good.

Wall Effects and Murals

How can you take a picture of a hole in the wall bath? Dunno. I saw this effect on the Better Homes and Gardens website and recreated it here. The squares were creating using application tape that you use on vinyl lettered signs.  I found the blue painting tape was unforgiving on the previous layer but the ap tape worked well to give straight lines.

Paintings

This is a view outside my front door.

I've always liked elephants. Originally tried to do this in watercolors but I royally screwed up the background.

Additional Things

This list is still incomplete. I have more murals to show that are in my home. And I'll need to see if I can find pictures of the ones I did elsewhere in homes and for businesses.

Also, more sewing items, more jewelry, and more thoughts about what it means to be creative. Are you creative based on store bought crafts or does it include creating things with what you have. Does interior design count? Does landscaping? Canning vegetables and making jams? Vegetable gardening? Raising chickens? If so, I am by no means done because I do all of these things and so much more. But most of all, my proudest creation is my daughter. She is my reason for being above all else. Teaching her and creating a citizen that will be able to stand on her own with her own free will and free thoughts gives me strength every day.

Doctor Who Birthday Party Theme

I've been super busy working on the party theme my daughter picked out. She couldn't be easy with a ready made theme. No, she had to pick out something that you can't readily get on this side of the pond. Doctor Who!  Not that I'm daunted but what an exercise it has been. I'm really please with the items my husband and I created. He cut the wood pieces out and I got to paint. I spent about 8 hours on the Dalek bean bag game and about 5 hours on the Toclafane pinata.

Day 1. Here is the Dalek form primed.

By day 4, we had a Dalek storming the front yard. I told my husband to cut the circle shape in that area because the painted circles were really lame. He came up with the other two spots.  The eye and left "arm" are made from plungers and somehow Brad made the right "arm" out of PVC and metal he bent in a custom jig. Basic brown felt was stapled to the back to complete the look.

Here's a side view. You can see the stand in the back and the right "arm" better in this pic.

There's a Toclafane in my kitchen! Yikes! How'd it get there? Oh, yeah, it's the pinata for the party. Saw one on a blog from Wales using a balloon. It wasn't really a circle so I used a 20" beach ball I picked up from the Dollar Tree. Three layers of ~4" square paper was used. I'm hoping that this will enable easy breaking by 6 year olds. The background is simple gray craft paint with lines done in silver paint. The lines were easily done by using a bit of yarn wrapped around the middle. I used the yarn as a guideline for the painted stripes. Wrapped once and painted. Quartered with another yarn piece and painted. Wrapped and painted again and again cutting each piece in half and ensuring consistancy. The horizontal piece was done basically the same way using yarn as a guideline. I painted one line with the guide and then used the width of the paintbrush to measure the other stripes. The yellow lights were freehanded. The spikes were standard paper rolled into cones and then covered with heavy duty foil.  I used scrap chip board to make inserts that gave me contact points for the hot glue. I had to use utility cord to hold it up once the candy was placed inside. The yarn was too fragile and snapped.

In addidtion to these, we have made a limbo pole set, a wiffle ball toss and ring toss.

Now, all I have to do is wait for Saturday morning to set everything up in the backyard. I've got a cake at the local grocery store to pick up that morning too. The cake decorator seems confident she can do it. But I'm such a hard ass on myself having this in someone else's control is hard for me. It's going to be in the shape of the Tardis. And then there's the hot dogs and the balloons and table settings and on and on and on.