Artist Spotlight: Part Thirty-Four

Wow.  Just wow.

No, really.  I've never seen anything like this.

This week's artist is Joy, creator of Eye Candey.  And eye candy she's got!  I don't even know where to start with this bookaholic football fan from Buffalo, NY who now lives in Tampa, FL.  Look, for instance, at her fun and funky jewelry.

Or her funny t-shirts.

Very modern vinyl wall decor, a hot thing right now.

Want something a little more statement-making?  How 'bout this one?

I think that says it all, don't you?  But if you're not into the vinyl, she has repositionable and reusable fabric wall decor too.

I'm such a fan of the whole Steampunk thing, I really am.  But I love this great abstract set!

How much fun could you have with that?  Seriously.  Is it at all surprising that she says she's a lover of all things wild, wacky and over the top?  Not to me, it's not!

Speaking of wild and wacky, how about this awesome fabric wall decal?

I think I'm in love.

But that lollipop has reminded me to tell you about her edible wares.  Yes, edible.  She makes printed cake and cupcake toppers, which you can have customized!  Look at these adorable things!

Is that funny, or what?  What a terrific idea!

And her edible stuff isn't the only thing she'll customize.  She will actually print fabric that you yourself design!  That's just fabulous for you artists who make purses, clothes, stuffed animals and dolls... pretty much anything!  With my new forays into sewing, you just know I'm going to be taking her up on this.  That said, if you can't think of a design, she's got some ready-made stuff for you as well, like this moustache fabric.

And these great Victorian panels that are perfect for quilting.

There's tons of information, of course, on her blog, as well as tips and tutorials, posts about outrageous food, and a plethora of other subjects.  Check it out!

This is How They're Saying "Thank You"

This holiday season, we've gotten a ton of gift basket orders, and it turns out that most of them are actually "thank you" gifts.  A guy who wanted to thank people who cared for him when he was laid up ordered - count 'em - five gift baskets as Christmas gifts.  He wanted one Men's Basket, and four for women.  He left it up to us, just asking that each was a bit different.  So we did a Mocha Basket:

It's got a Cafe Mocha sugar scrub, a Chocolate Decadence pillar candle, Honey Chocolate, Fudge Chunk, and Coffee soaps, and a Chocolate Chip Mint lip balm.

A Fruit Basket:

With a When Life Hands you Lemons sugar scrub, a Citrus Blast bath salt, a Garden Party soap, a Lemongrass & Sage soap, and an Autumn Harvest votive.

We did a Stop & Smell the Flowers Basket.

This one's got a Lavender bath salt, a Heaven Scent salt scrub, a Lilac Votive, a Smooth Operator shaving & bath soap, and a Lavender soap.

And a Skin Loving Basket:

We did this one with a Home for the Holidays pillar candle, a Totally Tasteless lip balm, an Almond Pastry facial scrub, and Oatmeal Honey & Purity Soaps, plus a Deadwood Spa Bar.

And then there was a woman who wants to thank her partner for their business' success left the basket up to our discretion, so we did a mixed bag of a basket, based on stuff she'd like:

This one's got a Heaven Scent salt scrub, a Chocolate Chip Mint lip balm, a Healing Tea soap, a Smooth Operator shaving & bath soap, an Almond Pastry facial scrub, and a Home for the Holidays votive.

Just some ideas of various baskets we can do... really, anything we make can be combined into a gift basket.  It's really fun, actually, to figure out good combinations of things!

and... the bear.

The mooshy belly bear I made?  Turns out my nephew wasn't the only one in the house who loved it.  The dogs did too.

And you might notice the past tense there.

My sister and brother-in-law have two large dogs, a lab mix and a pitbull, both of which like to chew things, especially my nephew's toys if they get their teeth on 'em.  Well, apparently my nephew loved the bear so much that he was carrying him around everywhere... and left him where the dogs could get him.  I can't blame the kid; he's not even one yet.  And I'm flattered he was so in love with it.

So I made him another one that I'm giving him tomorrow with his Beatnik Bob and the book & finger puppets.

One more mooshy belly bear, headed for my nephew!

Wild Things!

My nephew's 1st birthday is on December 22, and his party is this Sunday, December 19.  The theme my sister and brother-in-law chose is Where the Wild Things Are.  Great book, great theme.  Only there's not a whole lot out there for Wild Thing parties.  You'd think there would be, but there really isn't.

So my sister finally found some Wild Things balloons and vinyl wall decals, plus a room border.  I think the vinyl is meant more for actual kids' room decorations than party decorations but they'll definitely work.  There was a matching popup cake topper too, and she got it, but no plates, cups, or napkins, so she had to do those and streamers in coordinating colors.

It's all very exciting!

But there still remained the issue of a birthday hat... and I saw, fortuitously, this tutorial.  I changed it up to make it suitable,

and here's my version, with an 18" circumference, plus about an inch of elastic.  We tried it on him, and it fits perfectly.  My nephew is big, though, so if you do one, you might need it to be smaller.

And last night, my sister and I made the cake!

Of course, a birthday isn't a birthday without gifts!  I got him this book & finger puppet set.

I love it 'cause it teaches color theory!  There are so many baby books out there that teach letters, numbers, vehicles, animals... this is the first and only I've seen that teaches art.

Speaking of books, remember this one?

I used it to make my nephew an additional gift.  From two of my mother's pairs of pants (brown flat fabric and a pair of corduroys), one of my skirts (tan linen), an old green sweater, plus the thread and two of the buttons that Avery got me for my birthday, I made these parts.

And from these parts, I made this guy!

And a close up of his adorable, surprised-looking face.

This was much more complicated than the mooshy belly creatures I made him for Chanukah.  It took longer too.  But it was so much fun!  Now I just hope he loves it as much, even without the ultra cuddle fabric.  We'll see on Sunday!

Oh, and last night after we made the cake and my sister was looking at the decorations, she suddenly asked me, "Did you make the crown to look like the one from the book?"  Um.... yeah!  Would you believe she hadn't put it together that that's what I was doing until she saw it together?  She thought I was just doing it because I found the tutorial and wanted to make my nephew the star of the party.  Ha!  But according to her, it looks exactly right.

Awesome.

Shared with: