9.20.2010

[cats] feline millinery, attempt 1

my brother has a cat named goombie who has one eye and a very hateful disposition. but she's cute as hell with her little pinhead and her round little sausage body. i've been swearing to make her costumes for months and my brother finally challenged me to make her an army-style helmet out of felt. what follows is my first attempt at feline millinery.

i took a sheet of commercial felt, put it on her head and, using chalk, marked her ears. i cut a large rounded rectangle around the ear holes. i cut the ear holes and used a punch to make the holes for the elastic.

a top view of her cap

a side view of the cap with the rubber band i used because i couldn't find my nice elastic.


oh that hateful amber glare. i just know i'm going to wake up to something dreadful in my bed.



i think i'm going put a feather on it and call her robin hood's meowman. she is very, very angry right now.

9.16.2010

[etsy] new item!

pretty pirate skull and crossbones

[home] antiquing moroccan lanterns

i bought some lively orange lanterns at z gallerie a few weeks ago when my room was still in it's summer phase. now that fall is in the air, i've switched to a cooler palette and those blazing orange lanterns were hurting my eyes.

these are the lanterns:

my fixtures are antiqued copper, so i took some copper spray paint, applied a couple coats to hide the orange and got this:

then i rubbed them vigorously with black acrylic paint. here you can see the difference between the fresh copper and the antique copper finishes.
now here are both with the antique finish:

[floral art] teresa's wedding bouquet

a long time ago, i worked as a designer at a local floral company. my division, of which i later became manager, was pressing flowers from fresh funeral arrangements and then creating unique works of art for the families of the deceased.

earlier this year, my mom signed me up to press the flowers of her college roommate's daughter's wedding.a flower is a flower, whether it comes from a wedding or a funeral. i was given a bunch of white roses and white carnations sprayed blue. i took pix of most of the steps post-pressing but, for brevity's sake, i'm only posting the final product.


voila!

2010. white roses, blue carnations & greens

9.15.2010

[art] sigmar

sigmar. 2009. pastel on tempera
i figured i'd get the ball rolling here and post something. i love this piece because i actually captured the sultry poutiness of his lips. i've got to study for tomorrow's test or i'd get to work on my cute little color theory project. it's super easy to make, it just requires patience to line up all the pieces and paint it neatly. tutorial, maybe? i will have to decide what to call my little creation. hmm.

*applause*

hello, folks. welcome to my art & craft & sometimes life blog. i run a home-based art/craft/design business called gold & apel. i sew, glue, glitter, cast, crochet, paint, draw, felt, bead, bake and photograph. i'm a graphic design student at the university of houston in my sophomore year. i also work for a local non-profit art foundation. i'm the greeter/tour guide/weirdo in the gift shop at a few of the foundation's folk art monuments. i also have turquoise hair (which needs to be refreshed :/).

expect great things.... :)