Paper and Lace

It was another day of meandering and getting not a whole lot done. I managed to keep myself busy in the morning with schooling and whatnot, but by the afternoon it was clear that I would need to choose a path for the day. First I finished the butterfly. Don't mistake the color on the photograph for reality though, just playing with filters. Also don't mistake the design for my own creativity, I downloaded it off of deviantart. The only thing I did was cut along the lines, but since I was relatively proud of myself for finishing the project, you get to see it.

Then I was onto more stalling. I worked on another ornament, thought I would keep that up and then decided that no, I need to do something new. It had been suggested to me that I make a back drop necklace of some sort. Now, most of the ones I've see are quite simple with beaded chains coming from a simple necklace down the back. I needed something far more dramatic, so I started envisioning. So far, I only have a few bits made for a prototype and a few ideas that need to be realized, but here's a photo, so you can see what I've got so far and puzzle yourself with what I plan to do. I'm sticking with the scroll technique as I think it's going to be my signature for awhile. We all talk about how there is only so much you can do with rings and chains so when you stumble into creating a design that looks and feels original, well, you milk that cow until she's dry.

Moving on from that disturbing imagery, I hit a bit of creators block toward the evening and decided to cut some more paper. This time, I thought why not combine the lace and the paper cutting. Yes, yes, I am aware that is all paper doilies are, but I'm fairly certain those are not hand cut. So I mucked with an image of my newest mask until I thought it might work. I printed it up way too big on accident, realized that was probably best for my skill level anyhow and I started cutting. I used just regular paper this time as it was an experiment and here I'm about half way done. If I have time, I'll finish it up today, just so I can say I did, but the source photograph made it less awesome than I hoped. Perhaps I should take some pictures with this intent so everything lays well for the conversion. Maybe, if I stay on the paper kick long enough anyway.

So, what's up for today. Well, I think I might pull my body mannequin down so I can keep designing the back drop necklace. It's hard to envision it without a back to judge the size and drape on. Funny, I can't just use my own this time and I'm pretty sure the kids are too small for this one too. Hopefully I'll have something new to show you on Monday and some sales as well. Trying a little positive thought thrown into the Universe there. What? It can't hurt right?

Thread For Paper

Well one half of the to-do list can be crossed off. I've finally caught up with all the pieces that needed remaking. So that just leaves the other half of the list that contains the ornaments and all the pieces currently listed as custom orders. I think I am stalling a bit on all of that though. I guess I've still hoping that all the lent pieces return quickly and safely and if I make extras of them now, then I'll have doubles. Yes, I'm aware that probably isn't a bad thing, it's just I'm so tired of all the production work right now. I think I need a more interesting purpose to my work. Of course I have no idea what that would be, but I think I need it anyway. The ornaments are almost as bad since there are so many of them that need making and they will all be repeats as well.

So I did stall a bit yesterday after I finished the last bracelet that need making and I decided to try my hand at paper cutting. If you read my other blog, the Wunderkammer or follow my new Tumblr, then you might have noticed that I've found quite a few paper cuttings lately and I was intrigued. After all, the intricate nature of the work is quite similar to tatting. So I downloaded a template and started cutting. My gracious it is time consuming and my hand is not nearly as steady and smooth as it needs to be for expert cuts, but the whole enterprise did what I needed it to do. It distracted me and my fingers for a while. This is just halfway through the piece and as you can see, not very smooth on those lines, but hey, it was my first try. I'm almost done with it now. I guess I'll finish it up this morning just so I can say I did so and then start to contemplate that tatting list again.

So again, I'm pretty boring online, but at least I had something to share. Since the last two days have been relatively uneventful I'm crossing my fingers for something interesting to happen today. Well, that or at least come up with something creative for me to do. Well Universe, go ahead and hit with something good.