4th Friday Downtown

On the 4th Friday every month the Fayetteville Downtown Arts Council puts on this little event where the business downtown open their door for later hours and various artist and artisans sell their goods or just get their face out there. This is one of my favorite things here in Fayetteville. In the past it has just been a great free event to pack up the humungo double stroller and let the kids do something different. This month the Feral Arts Collective I am a part of put on a display. We had a blast and I even finished a piece I am extremely happy with :) Here are the pics from the event. I was soo busy working that I was unable to take pictures so these were all hijacked from Christina Cole, a photographer extraordinaire and a fellow Feral Artist.

Our Booth. Thanks Alyssa for our super cool sign!

Progression through the evening. I usually like to work with encaustic (fancy word for colored wax) but I was afraid it would melt in the heat. It was refreshing to have to change the way I usually work

Then there was this guy......

Finally, here is the finished piece:

Well I am going to be late to work. Until next time!

So Busy!

I have been crazy obsessed with the battle of the fleas around here. We have two indoor cats (Turbo and Swiffer) and the got out and brought back a few fleas with them. Silly me wanted to avoid chemicals and tried a more natural flea treatment. HOLY COW THAT WAS STUPID!!! That gave the fleas just enough time to start a family so for the last week or so we have been breaking out the big guns. It really had not gotten that bad but it was coming and I wanted to nip it in the bud. So there were lots of chemicals and steam cleaning the carpets.... yadda, yadda, yadda... Oh well. I have a demonstration (no clue what to do!) and showing tonight at the local 4th Friday festival here in Fayetteville. It would be awesome to sell a few pieces. So I need to plan what to do, in the meantime, here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

Watching the World cup and drinking an assortment of beer. What a crazy dirty game!

They look like they are playing so nicely....

Silly kitty in the fireworks box. An albino (maybe?) moth thingy I found outside of work.

Lillian's first real bike and the beach!

Well that's is what I have been up to for the most part. I have still been reading everyone's blogs and I am so envious you have been finding time to do some fun and crazy stuff. Until next time!

Oy Vey!

It has been crazy up in the hizhouze... ok seriously we have been busy. I realized that if I could not find the time to post this weekend then I would probably never post again. Well I am really enjoying the whole blog world. While I have not been posting like I should I have been reading blogs which lately has been my wind-down time at night. Well let's start on how I was creative this weekend:

This is a super girlie skirt for Lillian. The fabric is vintage that I picked up on my trip in Max Meadows, VA. I didn't use a pattern (which yet again I should have) mainly because there really was not much fabric to work with. The skirt is basically two hemmed separate layers with the elastic only going through the inside layer. Here is what worked:

• The waist is exactly the right size and it'll be able to grow with her
• The two layers of skirt make this look way less homemade (or like I was drinking)
• The length is fine now but will be super cute when she sprouts up in a few months

And what didn't work:

• With all of the layers and the elastic going through just the inside channel (so I could get that extra ruffle) I had a rough time figuring out the order in which everything should have been sewn. Like the side seam, the elastic channel, and the hem. I made a few big oops!
• I did not realize that when this was all ruffled the outside layer would go down like that. I would have sewn the side seam together pressing it down, instead of up, if I had known. 

 Well we live and we learn! My next project is a little gray suiting dress for me :) I have no idea when that will happen! The biggest project I am working on is Feral Art Live from the Rockshop. That link will send yo to our live feed. It is pretty cool, basically for the next few nights you can watch artists working live on one BIG mural. There are about 20 of us so it is an adventure! I have laid down some plaster, but I think I might put some ink down tonight when I swing by. Tomorrow is probably going to be the evening I get to do the most work. Well enough for now. I will post a few more times this week just to make up for being away for awhile!

productive day!

I got so very much done today and it rocked! I was able to clean up my studio some and I uncovered my sewing machine. I have been stashing away some of my old shirts from before I had babies (mostly tube tops) I finally made the effort and turned them into dresses for Lillian today. The before of the fist (and my absolute fav):

This one had a zipper up the back. I took the zipper out and closed the seam. Then I folded the top down and added elastic in the back. The original shirt was from Charlotte Russe. Here are the after shots:

Yes, we had to bribe her with chocolate morsels to get her to actually try the dress on. She seriously is not supportive of me making waaaaaay cute stuff for her!

Here is the back of the dress.

I measured her bust and then subtracted the size of the front 1/2 of the shirt. I then cut a piece of elastic to go the rest of the way around her bust measurement. This was a pretty easy solution because it wasn't major sewing. The good part is that it was tight enough I didn't need to make straps. I can also make it bigger by just replacing the elastic. After I finished this one I worked on another tube top. This one I changed up quite a bit, but I think it still needs some ribbon or something. It is not finished:

It was just a straight across tube top (sorry no real before pics) so I cut down into it for a neckline and cut the sides for sleeves. It was easier than I thought. I turned the raw edges under and viola'. I used one of her current dresses to figure out how big to cut everything. Ask any questions in the comment section!

Well, what could top a day of getting to play? A night of fun art stuff! I met up with the other artists in the Feral Arts Collective. We have some really cool shows in the works! I will post more on that later.

The real work week starts tomorrow. Oy Vey! I hope everyone found an excuse to be creative this weekend!

The show was AWESOME!!!

It was a surreal experience. There was mad hatter punch and lots of goodies. The Fayetteville Museum of Art put on a great show thanks to the Feral Arts Collective. I tried to get my costume on but that was a whole different blog post on my adventures of buying a dress. (soon to come) Well enough Said here are some pictures (Thanks to Christina Cole for the pics!):

The super cute place settings



That is my table in the top left :) Me, hubby, tall buddy Ericka, and my two awesome bosses! I have some really supportive people in my life that ROCK!


It was a really wired thing to listen in on people looking at my art...

My Pieces:

Long time no see...

Yes I know, I have been a very bad blogger. I went back to work full time so I had to drop some of my digital scrapbooking commitments. This does make me sad but I have to admit I am excited to be back in the workforce. Through a series of exciting events (one of which involved shots of Limoncello) I stumbled upon my job as an assistant to an optician. Basically, I now make and sell glasses. It is a great job and I am happy to be there.

On the art front, I am super duper excited because I am doing my very first big-girl art show in a real Museum. On Saturday April, 17th the Fayetteville Museum of Art is doing a fundraiser in the theme of Alice in Wonderland.

The daytime events are all kid friendly and look like a ton of fun. That night there is an adult costume party and that is where local artist with the Feral Arts Collective are being featured. I am excited to be included in this group of funky people. This show is a big step for me. My goal is to prove to myself and other people that the line between crafter and artist can be blurred. This being said I still believe it takes a certain person, talent, and motivation to create art. Why can't someone create art even if they are unable to commit to the lifestyle of being an artist? Well enough on my soapbox, we will just see how the show goes! Here are some preview pics of the pieces I am putting in the show:


I will post a ton of pictures from the event. I am really excited, I just have no idea what to wear....