Open for Business!

Now that I am officially reopening my Etsy store for business, let me tell you what is new and improved about my wings.

As much as I loved the frame design that I had spent eight years developing, I wanted to make my wings sturdier and for the back piece (which holds everything together) to have a smaller footprint, which in turn, makes the wings look more natural.  So I went back to the drawing board, and came up with a new idea.

As you can see, my wings are now built on a sturdy fabricated metal ring, and the straps are now attached to metal D-rings to allow for more movement and comfortable wear.  But no worries - they are still hinged to fold open and closed for ease of movement.  The new design leaves the center of the back open, which not only looks more natural, it makes it super easy to display your wings - just hang them from a decorative hook and you have a beautiful piece of wall art to enjoy!

But because of the design change, I am left with no where to place an unobtrusive tag.  Instead I will sign each pair and attach a custom made, removable hanging tag which will included the style name, manufacture date, series number and care instructions as a certificate of proof that your wings are an original work of art.

I have also decided to retire some of my older designs to make way for new ones.  So if you are looking for something in particular, please check in as I may not be making it any more - but I would be happy to offer alternative ideas.

Etsy Finds Feature!!

OMG! My mauve and black Christina Wings were featured on Etsy Finds this week under the "knot a typical affair" and the fairy tale wedding!

WOOT! Treasury Feature!!

Muchas Gracias to Studio Seventy Five for including my Morgan wings in her fantabulous pixie dust treasury!!!!

Treasury Love!

Thank you MiniMade for this wonderful fairy inspired treasury!

For My Princess: Pretty In Pink Treasury Feature

HUGE Thank you to lachiffonniere for including my pink and black Ceres fairy wings in her pretty pink treasury!!!

Black Fox Mask

Here are a few pictures of my Black Fox mask.
As you will see, I was not paying attention to the other side of the leather when I cut this one, and managed to get the pricked id right across the face (something the manufacturer does). Oh well, that just means I get to keep it!
I wore this one for two days at the Maryland Fairy Festival, and it was very comfortable, and stood up well to the uncontrollable sweat from the heat on Saturday.

Treasury Feature!

Huge THANK YOU to fundamentalfindings for including me in her bewinged treasury!

Mini Wings!

These Mini Wings are a prototype for a custom order, based on my Annora small fairy wing design. The purple one is a clip and the other is a foam back sticker. Each tiny pair of wings measures 3" across and is 1 1/2" tall. They are so cute! I think I may start making hair pins

Featured on Handmade Philly

I am so excited to be one of the local artisans feature on Handmade Philly's blog this week!
Sarah of lilithsapothocary wrote this lovely spring theme article and featured my gold Anna Maria wings:

Happy Spring!

Today is the first day of spring for 2009 which puts me in a frame of mind for some serious house cleaning. Not actual cleaning mind you, but more reorganizing and rephotographing!
I pulled all my wings down and took inventory a few days ago and was aghast to see that some of my decorating was unfortunately not very attractive. So I pulled them apart and made them beautiful!
I also took some time and re-photographed these reborn wings on my white background. As you can see, the colors show up so much better:

Aren't they adorable!!!
I still feel like I don't have enough light to work with, so I am saving up for another lamp with a boom extension so I can give it true overhead lighting and try to reduce some of the shadows.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

While I decided to forgo the grand holiday tradition of imbibing in way too much green beer and participating in Irish drinking song marathons this year, I am going to share with you a gorgous pair of luminous green fairy wings.

This is a variation on my Christina design, and is about 10" larger all around.
Wingspan: 44"
Overall Height: 40"
The fabric is a combination of aloe green crystal organza and sheer white organza, stitched together in a butterfly inspired pattern. The wire casing is matching green satin ribbon and the decoration on the back is sheer organza and velvet rose petals with crystal centers.

Treasury Love!

Huge THANK YOU! to cocodrillobeads for featuring my Fire Fairy Tiara in this gorgeous treasury!

Springtime in the Glen-FAE Artist Spring Exhibition

The Fantasy Artists of Etsy are at it again, and this time we are unveiling our fresh spring creations for a new Exhibition, Springtime in the Glen. This lovely collection was once again curated by the talented Aquariann.
Take a few moments and traverse the winding path through our woodland glen and let the springtime magic fill your senses!

Come See My New Etsy Store!

I've been making plans for my 2009 business direction and I decided that this is the year to work on more wedding related items. So to that end, I decided to open a new, separate Etsy shop just for weddings.
So for your shopping pleasure, please visit FairyTaleWedding!!!
I posted a few things to start, and many more will follow!




In other news, I visited a new specialist last week and he has declared that I need to have surgery in the next month or so. I am not so thrilled about this, and we both think it may not help, but at least it's a start. So don't be surprised in a few weeks when you see my stores are inactive for about a week because I can't make it to the post office.

Fright Night Exhibition

The Fantasy Artists of Etsy's October Exhibition is now live! Please visit Fright Night to see all the haunting and creepy creations by the collective of Etsy fantasy artists.
While you are there, be sure to take a look around and see the brand-new FAEteam website.

New Product Announcement!

A few weeks ago, while toiling away on my leather masks, I had a flash of inspiration. I had a sudden vision of a glowing, jewel encrusted wire mask, that would mold to the contours of you face, enhancing not hiding your natural beauty.
It took almost a week to construct the first one, but here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what this new product line is going to look like:






I have a really unique feature that I have never seen done before: instead of wearing this mask with ribbon ties or elastic, it is worn like a pair of glasses, with adjustable arms that hook around your ears. Being tie free, it will not interfere with your hair style or other headdress items.
This mask is woven non-tarnish artistic wire in three different gages and accented with tiny clear irridecent seed beads, fire-polished and swarovski crystals. It is also light as a feather, not feeling much heavier than say, a large pair of sunglasses.
:)

Silicone Rubber Mold Making Tutorial

I am working on a nifty new project that requires me to create something I never have before-icicles.
After doing some research, I decided cast them out of a clear resin epoxy, such as Easy Cast, which was available at my local craft store (Michael's).
I dusted off my mold making knowledge from sculpture class in college and snapped a few pictures along the way so I could share it with you.
This method is for making casts of small items. Bigger objects would require a plaster "jacket" for support when casting!

Materials:
-The item(s) you are planing to cast.
-Silicone Caulk and caulk gun-available at your local hardware store, usually in or near the paint section. Make sure you purchase 100% silicone-not the white latex adhesives, they will not work.
-A plastic bucket half filled with warm water
-Liquid dish soap
-Cooking Spray (Pam)
-Saran wrap and masking tape (to protect work surface)
-Vasaline
-Vapor breath mask

Preperation
Work in a well-ventilated area and wear a protective mask: the fumes of the silicone are very noxious. Cover a section of your work area with the saran wrap and edge with the masking tape. This is to keep the silicone from sticking to your table.
I made my icicles out of microcrystaline modeling wax, built on 14 gage wire. Make sure your item(s) are clean and dry, then spray a coat of cooking spray. This is a inexpensive but very effective mold release.

Using the Silicone
Pour some liquid dish soap into your bucket or bowl of warm water and swish the soap around to dilute it. You do not want tons of bubbles, you want to make the water feel super slippery.
Cut the tip off your caulk cartridge, puncture the inner seal and load it into the caulk gun according to the manufacturer's instructions. Squeeze a clump of the caulk into the bucket of soapy water. Using your vasaline-coated hands, reach into the bucket, scoop out the silicone and gently squeeze out the excess water.
Place the wad of silicone on your prepped item, smoothing into the cracks and crevices. Repeat until you have well covered your item(s). Check for any holes or gaps that need to be plugged. This will be a reusable mold, so I made made it about a quarter inch thick all over with a little extra on the bottom and sides for strength. I used about 2 1/2 cartridges of silicone for this little project.

Finishing
The silicone will dry rapidly in the air. I usually let it cure for 24 hours, which also gives a chance for some of the fumes to dissipate. After it is well dried, remove your casted item and wash both with warm soapy water.

Such Goings On

First of all, the FAEteam has a new exhibition going on called Visions of Atlantis. Please stop by and check out all the fabulous watery themed handmade art by the Fantasy Artists of Etsy!

Second, it is time I introduced you to my new baby: my beautiful Sony digital SLR. It was a surprise present from my dad-he thought I needed to take better pictures of my work.
It is a marvelous new toy-I love being able to make minute and huge adjustments on the fly instead of spending a ton of time in Photoshop afterwards. I didn't realized how much I missed the chink-chink of the shutter snapping open and closed. It brings back nostalgic memories of photography classes in college, a slightly happier but no less stressful time.

And lastly, I finally finished the new leather masks I have been working on for the past month. Note to self, keep the mask runs to 10 at a time! Here are a few images snapped with my nifty new camera:

Pain for the sake of Art-yet Again...

I spent eight or nine hours on Saturday cutting an molding new leather masks. I had planned on making it a weekend project, but I over-worked my poor hands and could not get more than three done on Sunday. So here is a preview of eleven new unpainted masks:
They have been cut, tooled, molded and hardened and await a coat or two of luminous paint.
The white faces you see are plaster casts I made of a plastic face form I got when I first started mask making. They are sturdier than plastic and don't move around when I am working the leather. I did have to seal them to prevent plaster dust adhering to the masks and the bottom has a layer of felt or foam to keep them from marking my table.
I am looking forward to my time off next week: my next mask project is to design masks for people who wear glasses.

The Baby Dragon Wings are flying FREE!

I finally finished my two new baby dragon wing designs!
I am most proud to unveil Isaac and Jacob!














I made nine pairs to start in all different colors.
I made these with all the little boys dragged to fairy festivals in mind. The Isaas wings are curvy and elegant, measuring only 25" in wingspan. The Jacob wings are sharp and bold, measuring 35" in wingspan. The tail hangs down about 21" from the top. I just love the tail; dragon wings are fantastic, but without the tail how do they know you are a dragon??



The big brother version is next on my list to finish-they are sized for teens and adults, but made without the tail. I'm still trying to decide if I am going to make separate tails that go around your waist...