new shop

I've just registered a new name at etsy to open a second shop. I've been wanting to do this for a while, but haven't had time. Wait, I still don't have time. This one will get filled up slowly, I guess. But I have a gazillion ideas for unique cards, which I will reveal as I get started. For now, here are a few pictures of collage cards already in my collection.

Keep watching for the opening of thepaperwhisperer.etsy.com.

New Stuff

I've been making fan art like crazy. Some of it turns out OK. Here are a few I like.

Anne

Nightmares

Wouldn't You Like to be a Slayer, Too?

*****

And a few new items on etsy:

Danielle Egg Shaker

Filled with tiny beads - has a lovely soft sound.

Charlotte Earrings

Lightweight and delicate, with a southwestern feel.

ACEO? Huh?

Well, who knew? ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions & Originals, and they're pretty popular. From what I understand, they're just like ATCs (Art Trading Cards), except sold instead of traded. The only thing about them that is standard is the size - they're 2.5 x 3.5 inches, the size of a playing card. They can be (and are) made out of anything and everything, from paper to fabric to wood to clay. They can be photos, originals, prints, sculptures, collages, and the list goes on. I've collected just a few so far, but I dream of collecting lots and filling a wall with them. It's a great way to get just a taste of the work of a variety of artists.

I make two kinds of ACEOS. One is a glossy photo of a pile of my beads with some scrapbooking-type embellishments added. The other (above) is actually made from polymer clay cane work. I make the art right onto a playing card, bake it, and then peel off the card and sign the back of the clay. This one, Desert Tiles, is my favorite so far. See my whole page of ACEOs here.

There are lots and lots (at this moment 6578) of ACEOs for sale at etsy, and I searched the site for ACEOs made by my friends at the polymer clay artists guild of etsy (PCAGOE). Turns out that so far, just a few of us are making them, and even with just these few, I'm amazed at the diversity of talent in this group! (Click the highlighted names to visit their etsy shops!)

The Pear by blockpartypress

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Mysterious Funky Bubbles by polyclarific

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Emotional by IttyBittiesForYou

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Lost Souls by ElizabethBonura - This one amazes me. It's an entire 3-D sculpture, and shiny to boot!

So there you have it, folks, the world of ACEOs!

new stuff

My sister made these two canes with sort of a random stripey pattern in orange and pink and yellow and purple, and I turned it into triangular fabulosity:

This is cool because it can be a picture frame or... it comes with a mirror. Nothing like a dual-purpose star in complementary colors. What more could you want, really?

I also made a bunch of new shakers and tried filling them with different things to get different sounds. The sound I like best so far is the little glass seed beads, which is great since I hardly ever use them in jewelry any more. Perfect. This one has about five different canes, and I love the colors.

http://divadea.etsy.com/

Bracelet Kit Give-Away!

I'm putting together a bunch of make-your-own-bracelet kits for the sampler, and I'm sharing the love here in the form of a no-strings-attached, blog give-away. Just comment here with your favorite color and a way to contact you, and I will send the first three commenters a bracelet kit, just for the fun of it! (If you don't want to leave contact info in the comments, simply email me at admin@divadea.com after commenting.)

Bracelet kits include a combination of handmade polymer clay cane work divadea beads and various other wood, glass, plastic, vintage, acrylic, clay and/or other coordinating beads with a bit of stretchy cord to string them.

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Divadea will be at Lancaster Eastern Market this Saturday, August 11, from 9 AM to 2 PM. Central Pa-ers, come visit! There will be art, music and locally grown food and flowers.

I got nothin' - so how about some links?

Well, I've been a blogslacker this week. To my Buffy readers - I promise the next episode of Mostly Filler will be up soon. In the meantime, a great Buffy blog to read is Undead America by AlyRenee.





I just created a treasury on etsy. I love it. You can see it for about 2 days here. My favorite item in it is Gabriel's Little Bird Shrine. Actually, I love all of her work. Check out her etsy shop.

Another great site to visit is The Life of Ben, a Polymer Man. Oh my goodness, this cracks me up every time. It's a must-read blog about the adventure, trials and tribulations of an adorable polymer clay dude, so check it out.

Soon soon soon, I will be posting a give-away here for a fun jewelry DIY kit. Stay tuned.

I am so very ready for autumn

Seriously. It was 104 degrees here today. Ugh. So I've listed some autumn jewelry in anticipation. These chunky beads in such rich colors make me happy!

I especially love the pumpkin beads!

Both the necklace and earrings are for sale at my etsy shop. Of course if you're not ready for fall yet, there's lots of summery stuff hanging about in my shop, too!

Fabric on Wood

I wonder if shellieartist on etsy knows she has an admirer? Well, she will now. And for that matter, I'm sure she has many. I stop in Shellie's shop at least a few times a month, just to look at her art and drink in the colors. This art is just happy-making! I was keeping the happy all for myself, until this week, when I found the "mod kitchen," section of her shop, and now I just have to share!

This one's my favorite from the kitchen section. (I'm a citrus fanatic), but there's also red wine, peppers, tomatoes, tea, milk and others. Click here to buy it for me, well, or for yourself if you must.

This piece, River Trip, is sold, which is great for Shellie, but bummer for me! (I guess I couldn't expect her to just hang on to it until I'm not poor anymore - that might be a while...)

Shellie calls her art "Fabric on Wood," and her pieces are this wonderful collage-y mix of colors and patterns. She describes the process like this: Fabric on Wood Process- Each cut out piece of fabric is placed on the wood with a rice based starch and then polyurathaned several times. Some pieces are touched up with acrylic or oil paint, gel pens, oil pencils or anything I can get my hands on that I think will do the job.

There are few people with such an eye for color and design. I love the way the colors flow into each other, the way the fabric patterns fit their subjects so perfectly, and the way the pieces bring collage and painting into the same realm seamlessly.

I've been admiring this one for a while. It's called Her Little Dream World, but it's not little. This one is 15.25 x 36 inches of vibrant colors. Most of the Fabric on Wood pieces are smaller than this, though, and perfect for hanging in a small or large space, preferably at eye level to be admired over and over.

If you haven't stopped by etsy.com yet, now's the time. Check out Shellie's shop. Check out my shop. And be prepared to surf for a while, because etsy is the hub of all things fabulous!