Butterfly, Dragonfly and Steampunk Flowers tag set and book page

Just a quick note.  I have been trying to develop some ATC's and other marketing materials to hand out.  I came up with these simple designs with postage stamps, keys, insects and my steampunk flowers.

These are made from some of my old business cards (used as the backing), vintage book pages and ribbon.  I hand painted each image over the printing, added some hardware and hand painted ribbon and "lace".

I am also furiously trying to finish this skull dress in black so I can put in my Etsy shop.

Tomorrow is Daniel's dad's 90th birthday party!  So lot's happening.  Next week is my mother's 77th.  We will be having tea at Borsari's Tea Room and Gallery.  Check out their website www.borsarigallerycapecod.com.  It is a beautiful venue for lunch, showers, weddings and other events.  I love their garden.

For my mother's gift I plan to make an altered canvas featuring a 50's style mini dress, stripes, flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, etc.  Will post progress.

Thanks for stopping by!

Steampunk Horseshoe Crab and Other WIP's

I worked on a few different little projects today--a sunny but cold day.  My beau Daniel and his sons were cutting down trees and chipping them so I tried to stay out of the way.

At least the yard is looking quite lovely and clean.  Every one in the neighborhood commented on it and hovered around the activity, trying to see what was going on.

But here is the wood pile.

Here is a sampling of the projects I worked on while all this was going on.  There is a steampunk horseshoe crab, another skull dress canvas backdrop and the firescreen I mentioned in the last post.

Daniel made the firescreen for me and I am still working on the painting.  The two wings are in the picture above and will have a poem painted on it, along with the hemp rope and the pulley that is pictured in the corner.  There is the ship's wheel on one wing and there will be a compass with the seahorse on the other.

I am planning another seahorse, but steampunked out like the horseshoe crab.  The gears and watches are a lot of fun to paint.  I also sketched out a steampunk heart watch with wings on another canvas.  That will be pretty cool.

This little painting, 5 x 7, will be framed like the skull dress canvas and will be offered for sale on my Etsy shop.  I will also make prints available for this painting, as well as some of the others.

I also painted the little stands for my freestanding mini dresses.  I painted with stripes and flowers.

I will be posting these on my Etsy shop.  Look forward to your visiting me there.

My inspiration for today is luthien27 on deviantart who does these amazing steampunk altered books.  Absolutely stunning.  Check her out on http://luthien27.deviantart.com

Skull Dress and Steampunk Flowers Altered Canvas Framed

Here is the finished altered canvas with the little dress in a frame that I made.  The frame is 1/4" luan that I painted in turquoise and lightly distressed.

The back is covered with a page from a vintage copy of The Vicar of Wakefield, one of my favorites.

This piece is featured on my Etsy shop CrowFairyCreations.  Be sure to check it out.

I will offer a small handmade easel for displaying this piece.  My next project will be a similar canvas with a black dress.  Can't wait.

I also have to finish my mermaid fire screen--about 75% complete.  So stay tuned!

Skull Dress with Steampunk Flowers Step by Step

This was a fun project that I have just about completed.  It is an altered canvas of sorts that has 3D elements.  I am having a frame made for it, which will give it a more finished look.

I had wanted to make a mini skull dress inspired by a favorite dress in my closet.  I've worn it out to dinner and on Halloween.  It is a Hot Topic find and is a real conversation starter.

The project started out with a piece of satin from my old wedding dress.  The possible multitudes of projects that can be made from the flower girl and wedding dresses are overwhelming.  This could be a volume by itself.

The background of the fabric was painted ballet pink with scrollwork. I then added a few skulls and roses throughout.  This came out so cute (my daughter loved), I decided to paint more fabric with variations on this same pattern, maybe with butterflies.

This piece of fabric was pleated then assembled into a skirt, to which a tulle underskirt was added.  A piece of ribbon from an XOXO blouse (the shipping straps) was ruffled and attached to the bottom of the skirt.  I made a tiny bodice from paper and the wedding dress satin fabric.

The canvas, a 5" x 7", was painted with pink and overlaid with black stripes.  Some steampunk flowers and scrollwork in black, gold and metallic ink (salvaged from some almost dried out glitter pens) were painted over the stripes.

The bodice was painted with a skull and rose image.  I stitched on lace and beaded straps (made from a discarded necklace).  A sequin trim in pink was glued to the "waistline" to hide the seam.

I made a little wire hanger and tied with sheer pink ribbon.  Then the dress and hanger were glued to the canvas.  Here is the finished canvas on top of one of my art journal pages.  It is a good feeling that the materials used to make the dress were all recycled materials.

Next photo post will be of the canvas framed.  This piece, as well as some of the pieces featured on this blog, will be available for purchase at my new Etsy shop CrowFairyCreations.

Here is the link for my shop:  www.etsy.com/shop/CrowFairyCreations

Also check out one of my favorites on Etsy--kitsnbitsscraps.  This shop offers gorgeous altered tags, premade pages and premade albums, as well as scrapbook supplies.  www.etsy.com/shop/kitsnbitscraps

Ribbon Rose and butterfly altered tag tutorial

Here are two new altered clothing tags featuring ribbon roses and a hand painted butterfly.

Both the butterfly and hummingbird were painted acrylic on  recycled watercolor paper.  The flowers on the hummingbird tag are made from wedding dress material.  The tassel was made using a mismated earring.

The beaded trim was made from old bracelets.  The leaves on the sheer ribbon roses were hand painted directly onto the tag.

To make the ribbon roses you need a 6" to 12" length of either the sheer ribbon or lightweight fabric cut into a 3/4" strip.  You can use a narrower ribbon to make a smaller rose.

Make a running stitch along one edge of the ribbon.

Gather the ribbon tight along the thread until your ribbon forms a rose.  Tie the end securely, leaving at least one end of the threading long enough to string the beads for the center of the flower.

Take your thread up through the center of the flower and string four or five beads.  Draw the thread back through the center of the flower again and secure at the back with a few stitches.  And there you have your flower.  Simple!

More altered clothing tag art

Here are more samples of some altered tags using recycled clothing labels, jeans tags, etc.

The little camera was fun to make.  It is made from a broken leather shoe strap, old belt material and bits of hardware.  The "camera strap" is an old bracelet.

These three tags have ribbon from jeans tags.  The camera and cameo tags have fringe made from clothing labels.  I made the beaded fringes.  The roses were made from recycled ribbon and discarded wedding dress material.

Here is another altered tag using wedding dress material.

This is a Crow Fairy image.  The title is "We have 2nite, Who needs 2moro?"  The skirt is made from strips of wedding dress tulle, satin, lace and sheer material dipped in black acrylic paint.  There is also silver ribbon from a jeans tag, black beads that were strung together, and a crow feather or two.  The bodice is leather from an old wallet, with beaded straps and rhinestone button "corsage."

The wings were made from old belt material.  The silver scrollwork was printed on the original tag.  I just added the motto in silver ink.

There will be other mini dresses made from recycled wedding dress material on my next post.  They were inspired by this fabulous blog www.kellbellestudio.blogspot.com  Take a look at her miniature dresses.  Just gorgeous.

More art journal pages and altered tags