tagged!

Okay Beautifully Chaotic, you tagged me so I'll respond;
1. I now live in the coolest apartment I've every had because it has wooden molding, wooden floors, and LOTS of storage which is because it used to be a fancy apt back in the day. It has a lovely big living room where me and my boyfriend work side by side. I make things and he programs on his computer.
2. I have LOTS of plastic dolls, wooden mannequins, leaf skeletons and other stuff that I find on the road that inspires me.
3. I get obsessive about crochetting, drinking tea, movie watching, making origami cranes, and hopefully sculpture.
4. I love to watch movies but since once I start watching movies I have a hard time stopping.
5. I like to talk to interesting strangers...that has gotten me into trouble.
6. Dolls whose faces are ugly such as cabbage patch kids and some antique dolls, really disturb me.
7. I love cats and most animals
8. I am half English

enjoying making old-looking buttons

I've just finished making about six sculpey buttons. They were pretty fun to make and it was a bonus to feature my gi joe figurine by pressing him into the faces of the buttons. I didn't expect that they would look like artifacts of some ancient civilization. I do have pendants in my etsy site that are similar except that I also used another, smaller guy figure in these buttons. These photos will give you an idea of what I just finished, because I don't have a photo of the buttons yet. The other fun part of making the pendants, buttons and the small plaques are the acrylic paint finish I experimented with.
First, I painted the piece white then waited for it to dry. Then I painted the main color, waited for it to dry then brushed over with another color and while it was pretty wet, wiped off parts of the piece. Sometimes I used a little bit of black paint in the most detailed areas to make them stand out more. Its fun to try and I'm thinking of making bigger pieces with more figurines imprinted.
Maybe someone who follows this blog will try it out and let me know how it went.
I'm also still crocheting handbags and knotting handles and lining some of them with vintage fabric and hoping to finish them in time for Valentines' day. I'll probably have some deal involving buying a bag and a pendant, we'll see.
I'm having fun following etsians blogs and seeing the breadth of their talent and skills with art and promotion. I still don't understand how to add links to other artists' pages and adding advertisement. All in good time I suppose...

some more new pics of my cool new box and sculpey jewelry

The first blog I shot out didn't have enough detail so here is a better look at the new work....

most recents boxes and jewelry for Valentines' Day

Here are my newest collage boxes and sculpey jewelry...

Samples from my etsy shop

absorbing information

One of my new years' resolutions is to blog more often...but there is so much other information that I am trying to implement to improve my etsy shop. Here is the address if anyone reads this:http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5894609
I've been following Timothy Adams blogs which have been very useful and interesting so far but I've got a long way to go. I'm still learning how to take stylish pics of my collage boxes and painted boxes not to mention how to link this blog to my etsy shop and other stuff.
I am also experimenting with crochet circle bags and some jewelry that combines collaging and super sculpey. I want to have my pieces to be beautifully made and seem related, not a weird jumble of objects. My ultimate goal is to make a living off of my handmade art.

Painting and determined

I've spent today researching how I could make a living selling art boxes on etsy...some people do it and I want to too. I am more motivated than I have ever been which could be a combination of being short on money and being frustrated with the jobs that are available. It will take time and I won't be discouraged. I'd rather just make art and then creatively market and promote it but realistically it will not happen all at once. All of these realizations are my common sense catching up with my dreams. When I don't have the required common sense, I borrow someone else's.