Trick or Treat!

It's Snapshot Friday again and this week's installment is:

Fun with Costumes!!

(aka Yay for Halloween!!)

(Remember to click to see them larger)

These gems also came from the infamous communal collage box in my Art Class.  I love that the same lady is in both, although I can't tell which came first.  These folks look like they are having a great time!  Afterall, she does have a drink both pictures.  The back is stamped 1975.

And just for giggles, I'll take you back to the days of my youth.  I was in 1st grade and had told my Mom I wanted to be a sugar plum fairy.  So she made me a costume, I'm the blondie.

 Ahh, 1990.  Looking at all of the costumes in this one really takes me back.

 My Mom rocks!  I still remember her handing me a pair of Keds, a bunch of paint and a bag of "jewels" and telling me to make my fairy shoes.  Hmmmm, perhaps I get my craftiness from her, no?

I hope everyone out there has fun rockin' their costume this year.  Be sure to have great (safe) holiday weekend.  I'm off to pick out my pumpkin and carve that baby up- the pumpkin, not a real baby!  Oh, and drink lots of apple cider and consume massive amounts of cookies.  Man, I love holidays.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

ATCs

These are a few ATCs that I made yesterday.  Sorry, the photo quality is not so hot, I still haven't fixed my camera problem so I scanned them.  I know, excuses, excuses.  Maybe I'll have to re-post em later.

Pink Princess 

Watercolors, vintage lace, gemstone and paper clippings on Bristol.

Sailor's Demise

Security envelope, paper clippings, metallic heart and vintage lace on Bristol.
Not so happy with this one here.  Originally, it only had the one girl with the hands behind her head.  After some bad decisions I had to add the second girl to cover up the hot mess I had made.
Happily, I stuck to my "Waste not, want not" plan and adapted.  As tempting as it was I didn't throw it out.

And last but not least, my Halloween inspired card-
Zombie Wound.

  Watercolors and embroidery floss on Bristol.
I don't think it comes across as pus filled as I would have liked, but it is Zombie like.

Currently, all three of available for trade.  Contact me if interested or find me on Flickr, which is where I normally do my trading.

Craigslist Come Up!!

So, after years of watching Dillon find amazing things on Craigslist I finally lucked out.  Last weekend I picked up four boxes of old encyclopedias and yearbooks.  Yeah, that may not sound very exciting but I'm pumped.  I originally got them to use as ephemera for ATCs and other paper crafts.  However, upon seeing how great they are there is no way I can cut them up.  I'll just have to spend the rest of eternity scanning pages that I want to use.

They range in time from the 1950s through the 1970s.  The articles are amazing, especially the tone they are written in.  I love reading about the new concept of recycling and the newfangled label called a UPC bar code- which will probably be a huge flop...little did they know.  And how construction is set to get underway for a new complex in NYC called the World Trade Center.  And how at a whopping $400 Million dollars, it will be the world's most expensive building ever built.  Crazy how the world has changed.

The following pictures are from the 1971 World Book Yearbook.

This particular article explained the concept of Spaceship Earth based on the idea of international cooperation and education.  Turning the Earth from a battlefield that is guaranteed to eventually destroy itself, into one giant classroom.  Where all countries could work together to solve problems too big for just one country to tackle alone.  And all countries could prosper with the sharing of technology and scientific breakthroughs.   I think it's amazing food for thought.  I find it disappointing that nearly 40 years later that this hasn't been achieved, even on the smallest scale.

(Click on 'em to see 'em larger)

In war, mankind faces the ultimate unity of planetary death.  Earth's biosphere is our home... or our burial chamber

by watching and learning together, the earth can be a school-room rather than a battlefield.

 

(Referring to war) That could disrupt the life-giving energies of biosphere, the precious envelope pf air, soil, and water that sustains our very existence. 

Snapshot Friday!

More vintage photo fun- The Girls

I came across these three photos years ago in an art class.  They were in a huge box of scraps that were to be used as collage materials.  I couldn't pass them up.  Needless to say, I didn't end up using them on my collage :)  Unfortunately, they are not in the best condition after their residency in the communal art box.  And someone cut them... very unevenly.

We call them, Margaret, Millicent, Mary-Anne and Mary-Jane. And then there's Fran, off in her own little world as usual.  I love their hair!

 This last lady looked like she was one tough cookie.  A sweet lady, until you messed with her.

p.s. I love the fake snotty expressions that the girl is making the the first and second one.  Too bad it's not the same gal.   (Click on the pictures if you want to see them bigger.)

Inspiration

I always have more than one project going at a time.  That way I don't get too burnt out or obsess too much over one particular thing.  I'll admit sometimes I'm bad about it.  I've cast aside a project or two for longer than I should have, but I always go back to them.  I love having a fresh perspective on an old project.

I thought I'd share the inspiration for a new embroidery project I'm starting.  It'll get added to the 3 others I'm working on right now (and to hundreds of items on my to-do list.)

Like almost everything else, I thrifted this book years ago.  I love the ultra 70s coloration and typography, mainly because it doesn't fit the mental image I have of the Capone days- at all.  Maybe I've watched The Untouchables a few too many times (wait, not possible)  but I just don't think "bright" when I think of Prohibition Era gangsters.  I'd like to reproduce it with these colors, just because it looks silly to me.

And talk about riding on the coat-tails of others, "The New Bestseller from the Publisher of THE GODFATHER".  They could come up with anything better than, hey we've published other good books!?

Embroidered Card

I have a whole bunch of rub-on decals just wasting away in a drawer, lonely.  So this weekend I decided to show them some love.  I whipped up this card to send to my grandparents back East.

(Gratuitous kitten shot, just because she happened to be sleeping on the desk where I was working)

This was my first time making an embroidered greeting card.

I love the results, but I would certainly change a few things next time.  As always, I just launched right into it without thinking.  I wasn't really careful about where I was punching the holes, so it's a bit wonky in places.  My love of pretty fonts backfired here too.  I need to pick one that's easier to read.  Even if I think it's "ugly" for typing, I'm sure it'll translate nicer in stitches.  Oh and I did it straight onto the card, so I had to add paper inside to cover the stitching.  I did this by folding a piece in half and sewing it onto the center of the card.  I like this part but probably won't to again because it was really hard not to wrinkle the card when I was turning it all over the place for the lettering.

A great learning experience and I'm ready to make more!  I think I'll take advantage of the upcoming holiday season for that.  (And I do mean upcoming even though most stores think it's already Christmas time...assholes!)  Ok, Halloween is right around the corner but I'm already crafting for that, silly!

For those of you who already embroider on paper, any advice for the newbie?

Bloody Zombie Fairy

Bloody Zombie Fairy
Originally uploaded by Mafiosagrrl

So, you may have noticed our Bloody Zombie Fairy in the picture of the stuffie I made. Let me tell you a little more about her. Dillon thrifted this gal a few years ago from a Goodwill store. It appears to be one of those pre-made figurines that you would paint and glaze in a ceramics shop. She's a bit terrifying, featuring two blackened eyes, a head wound and slashed wrists. Our happy artist has also painted her upper arms bloody and slit her throat. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Art Therapy but I'm not sure if that would have done the trick in this case. Either this person has issues or an extreme hatred for fairies. Hopefully, its the latter. I'm using this crazy little statue as inspiration for an upcoming painting. Pictures to come soon!

Mail call!

I was excited to receive another trade in the mail today!  This little lovely came from Shayna in Alabama.  My scan here does not do it justice, the colors are amazing.  And the henna is so beautifully executed.

And check out this envelope she made to put it in.  Cute, cute, cute!!  It was like receiving two cards.  Plus, it was like opening a present.   Thank you so much Shayna.

Fairy Stuffie

I made this stuffie for a friend's little girl.  I'm proud to say that I already had everything in my stash to make her.  I'm trying not to buy any crafty stuff until I make a significant dent in what I have.  It's tough for me, lol.  However, I stay easily motivated with this goal by living in a shitty economy.  The pattern is from the Sublime Stitching Craft Pad.  I'm very happy with how this turned out, except I put the opening to stuff it at the top.  Oh well, I doubt the little one will complain.  Yep, learned from that mistake-hopefully!

 

 

I'm especially glad that I used this butterfly fabric.  It's so pretty, but not really my style, so up until now I was stumped as to what to use it for.  Hard to tell here but it matches the green fabric on the front perfectly!  I love it when a plan comes together.

A wise man once said....

This is my entry for the Good Cause Challenge on Craftster, highlighting Domestic Violence Awareness.  There are some amazing pieces , so be sure to go give props to all of my fellow crafters.  The other good cause was Breast Cancer Awareness.  I had a piece planned for that but I didn't get it done, I'm a naughty stitcher.  I'm still going to stitch it up, it's a lovely quote from Abraham Lincoln.

I wanted to stay away from something too personal for this challenge.  It's not that I can't put myself out there, I'm just trying to take a positive approach to all aspects of my life.  I didn't want to look at this challenge as an opportunity to dwell on something from my past.  Anyone that knows me will tell you that I bitch about all sorts of things enough, no one needs to give me a reason, ha ha.  I wanted to take it as an opportunity to bring attention to a problem in every community.  It's not just about domestic violence but violence in general.  It's a problem that affects more than just the victim and the oppressor, and it doesn't just stay in the home.  It's not a personal problem, but a community problem.  I think Martin Luther King, Jr's quote speaks to the heart of the issue.  Once people understand this basic concept we can start to address the issue of domestic violence.

(swear it's not crooked, I just can't take pictures!)

 

 

 

 

I might end up tinting it because I hate the lapels on his jacket.  And that might make them less noticeable?  However, I've never done that after the stitching was completed so I don't know how it would work out.  Any opinions for either way?     Is it just me being neurotic?  Dillon would say yes :)

Hope I didn't come off as too preachy, it's just a subject I feel strongly about.