- In The Works - Cake Toppers

For the last couple of weeks I've been hard at work making a prototype cake topper for the Minifolk shop. The groom I finished in a couple of days. He's sort of like >Captain Jonas, so I had a pattern to work with. The bride is more original and more intense...of course. She has a lot of detailing, for her bouquet to her hair and dress. I did a lot of tinkering, groaning and near hair-pulling and discovered that this desire to create has a strong hold on me. They're beautiful together, though. Soon, I'll have up some better pics on Flickr and a listing will be in the shop.

:)

PRESS - All Things Paper

Minifolk has received a glowing review from Ann of All Things Paper. She's a Twitter friend and approached me about a feature after seeing my tweets about my little people. She gave the story of how Minifolk came to be better than I do!

You can read the feature, leave a comment, add her to your reader. She's a gem and the finds she features are incredible.

- Brogan -

Seeing Brogan by chance is slim
He dashes 'round on a whim
his pot of gold
would yield riches untold
if only you could catch him.

The latest Minifolk art piece is Brogan the Leprechaun, complete with his pot of gold and rainbow. He is available now on Etsy.

That Thing I Do

So I'd mentioned in the 'Why' of the 5 W's series that I have always loved paper-crafting. But there are so many forms of paper-crafting...how did I come to quill?

I was in Etsy chat back in the day (circa 2007), talking about the angel ornaments I was selling at the moment. One of the fellow chatters mentioned they were very unique...were they quilled? I didn't know what quilling was. She linked me to the Wikipedia entry. Quilling wasn't exactly what I was doing, but it was similar and I was intrigued.

I stopped making the angel ornaments a short time after that. They just didn't get the response I was hoping for. I had incorporated quilling into the design of a few of them. But put it all aside until last summer, when I needed to make some people for the Etsy video and though...I'll try making them out of paper.

That's my story. I think it shows how the art/craft/design community can influence each other, expand the ways we do our work. Who knows? Maybe the ornaments will make a comeback one day.

- In the Works - Leprechaun

Art pieces like Captain Jonas take quite a while to design and complete. So many little bits of paper and hidden details. I love working on them as piecework is so cathartic to me, but I find I have to work on some single folk as well so I can feel like I'm getting things done.

The little guy in the post picture is the figurine for a new art piece. I really love his hat. I like making hats. They really, er, top off an outfit. He's a leprechaun and the plan is to add a pot of gold and hopefully a rainbow. The rainbow will be a little tricky, but I have a few ideas. I hope to get him done before St. Patrick's day.

So I have a question for you:
What should I name him? Leave a comment if you have a suggestion.

PRESS!!!

Minifolk and I got our first feature here in Yoboseiyo's Craft Ninja Series! The little people are gaining a following. It's so exciting. Yay!

Photo courtesy of Yoboseiyo.

- Captain Jonas and Sammy the Parrot -

Avast, here be a scallywag
a pirating buccaneer.
Captain Jonas's name is well-known
and never fails to inspire fear.
ARGH!

I was calling him 'project argh-some'. I don't like to give everything away at once. He's a larger piece, mounted to a chunky 4" wooden base. His vest is made from one of the papers I got from a local paper shop. It's a little touch that I'm proud of. (go, indies!) There is a process a piece goes through for me. When he made the final turn into a real finished piece, I did a little happy dance in my chair.

Captain Jonas on Etsy