New Wooden Birdies

I was in Michaels yesterday and was delighted with their new spring line.  Lots of beautiful, unfinished pieces.  And you know I love unfinished wooden pieces.  The most exciting thing?  I found more of the wooden birds that they sold last year.  I can't wait to create some more bird figures like I did last year.

New Rings In Progress

I'm working on some new rings for Valentine's day and I wanted to show off some in progress photos.  I'm using wooden hearts and covering them with fabric like normal, but this time I added some details.

I started by outlining one in black and it grew from there.  I love the bold, graphic look of it and I think it helps to define the heart.

One thing I'm trying to decide though is should I keep the natural wood on the edge/bottom or paint the whole thing (black or other matching color)?  What do you think?

Wooden Transfers

Lately I've been experimenting with some image transfer paper.  You can print or color on this paper and then iron it on to different surfaces.  So far, I've tried printing out some of my painted bird images and then ironing them onto wood.

I'm still experimenting, but I'd like to turn them into necklaces.  What do you guys think?  Has anyone else tried a product like this?

Fall Items in the Shop

I have finished a few fall-themed magnet sets!  I have them listed in pairs.  These have been a lot of fun to make and I think a few more will have to be created soon.

Pumpkin and Leaves

Pumpkin and Acorn

Pumpkin and Leaf

Featured Artist: Memories for Life Scrapbooks

Today, I'm super excited to share the work of Edi, one of my internet friends from the Etsy Bloggers team.  Her shop is called Memories for Life Scrapbooks and she makes awesome pieces.  Here's a glimpse of one.

Family Album

Cool, huh?  The best part, she gets to use a laser. Edi seems to be able to cut or engrave anything.  Albums, necklaces, frames, whatever!  I love seeing all the different applications of her creative process.

Custom Engraved Pet Photo Pendant

I'm just fascinated by this.  It's awesome!  Edi loves the creative process and enjoys the opportunity to create these pieces.  She's been paper crafting for over 15 years and has been having so much fun experimenting with technique.

Custom Engraved Coasters

To find out more about her work, I recommend stopping by her blog.  You can get a glimpse into the story behind some of her custom pieces, like this recent anniversary album she created.  Be sure to stop by and find out more!

ps: When you get a chance, stop by The Hot Glue Hangover; I'm giving away $20 of store credit to my etsy shop.

Featured Artist: Pthalo Azul

Today I am featuring some really gorgeous pieces by Rachel Jones.  She specializes in laser cuts, paintings, and prints.   Here is one of my favorite pieces from her shop, Pthalo Azul:

Birch Wood Deer

What a sweet little deer.  Rachel is mainly an illustrator but loves playing around with other mediums as a way to improve her skills.  I think this is really awesome; by forcing herself to "draw" in other mediums, she is able to improve her drawing and painting.  Seriously too, check out this great print.

Red Riding Hood

Wondering what her shop is named for?  Me too!  Luckily, I have an answer.  She says that her "shop is named after my favorite inspiration, the blue-est blue you'll ever see, pthalocyanine blue, phtalo for short (TH-A-LOW)."

Brooch Owl Sillhouette

Stop by her blog for some great inspiration.  She shows off some cool artwork and also gives really great tutorials on web design; very helpful for any artists out there trying to start a blog.  Here's a recent explanation on writing basic code.

Aside from her work, Rachel enjoys food and music.  A girl after my own heart, she says "it's a pretty good day when you can play/sing along with others and then eat good stuff. Preferably stuff with cheese on it."

ps-stop by Moxie Tonic today because I got featured!  There's also a special coupon code.  Exciting.

ICC#27-Star Spangled Box

Iron Craft Challenge this week was to create something on the theme Stars and Stripes.  I chose stars and created a simple little box.

I created a cardboard stencil of a star that I then traced over the box.  I wood burned the outline of the stars and filled them in with various colors of acrylic paint.  I sealed the box with clear acrylic sealer and I was done!

Want to see more Iron Craft pieces?  Check out the flickr group here.  Want to join in the fun?  Check out the blog here.