Relic01- Dawn

I've been feeling so stuck lately. I'm sure everyone who makes anything creative knows the feeling and how frustrating it is. Well, I've been slogging away at these collages and just not feeling very into it. Somehow I almost forgot that I make jewelry too! I think it was because my jewelry materials were in a horrible mess. But as often the case, straightening things up led to discovering some cool things I had stashed away and thinking of some new ideas. It was nice to get away from the collages and actually finish a project in one evening for a change!

This is the first in what I hope will be a series of necklaces using found odds and ends and as much recycled stuff as I can incorporate, and loosely based on the idea of "relics from lost worlds". Maybe past worlds, maybe future worlds, maybe imaginary worlds? Maybe I've been watching too much old British sci-fi involving visits to strange planets?

This one uses an old rusty washer I found on the street, and some acrylic/plastic beads from an old necklace belonging to my grandmother. Normally I avoid plastic like the plague because I think it can look cheap and tacky, but these beads are interesting enough to be an exception!

Bless this mess

I guess I'll be lucky if anything gets made in this mess. Time for clean-up. My work space is not usually quite this bad!

Custom Small Fairy Wings

This pair of small fairy wings in my Hilary design were customized for a little girl to wear to her mother's wedding. The white edges are a little unusual for me, since my standard is to paint the edges a darker color for contrast. This time, I painted the inside and left the edges the white of the fabric.

A Cool Necklace

When my bead store let me know they were having a one-day trunk show with pearls and jade, I was there like a shot. I like the soft, almost neutral colors of the pearls and they are dramatized by translucent amber glass pendant.

Handmade Promotional Tags: Marketing

This week I finally started cleaning out my craft closet...a task I've been putting off for a while. The great thing about cleaning is finding things that were lost or um...filed away in their proper places. I found an entire box of flying fox stickers...and since I've been thinking a lot about changing my brand name I figure I'd best get to using these up...I think it may take some time though, there are, like, a few hundred. So here are a few promotional tags I made by affixing the stickers to (recycled) cardboard, then distressing the edges with scrapbooking scissors.

New Member

Hello! I am new here and very excited to be a part of Philly Makes. My name is Joan Phillips and I run Chubby Cat Creations. I am a photographer, mixed media artist and arts administrator. I write a blog about the theory of creativity, being an artist and art for everyone. I am hoping to eventually host art exchanges, collaborations and offer downloads of free art. It is a work in progress. Please check it out at Chubby Cat Chat. I also have my own Etsy shop called Chubby Cat Creations. I sell Encaustic Paintings, Photo Charms, Shank Buttons, handmade books and coming soon photographic sets.

The image above is a window from my apartment. I love to photograph my surroundings and I love the variations of light that comes through my windows.

I look forward to contributing to Philly Makes!

Sexy Librarian Tuxedo Clutch

Hello everyone. I'm new to the blog. It may seem like I have multiple personalities because I run an etsy shop where I make mostly purses ( I do have some weird plush art in there as well), make stuffed plush sculptures (headless creatures and such), and work as a freelance photographer. In any case, this is my first posting - a cute little clutch I made this week. Enjoy!
-goodmarvin-
www.goodmarvin.etsy.com
www.melissanannenphotography.blogspot.com
www.flickr.com/photos/talula1227