Monday, August 5, 2013

Monster Girl Challenge Week 2

It's been around a week since my first round of monster girl post. Here's what I've been up to this week.
#8 Allie the Alien loves laser tag.
 
#9 Petunia the Centaur likes to pick apples.

#10 Slimy the slime girl. She likes to be pampered at the spa. 
Mud baths are her favorite!

#11 DJ Roba the Robot . She loves techno music.

#12 Naga the half snake girl. Snake charmers beware, 
she'll charm you with her belly dancing.

#13 Chacha the canine girl. She loves long runs in the park.

#14 Cynda the Cyclops. She loves 3D movies.

#15 Octavia the octomaid. She enjoys bring in the 
Grand Supreme Queen title at every pageant she enters.

#16 Grayce the gargoyle. She can hold a pose 
better than any other model on the runway.

#17 Yeti, she loves to snowboard.

 
#18 Nessie. She likes go tubing on the 
river when she goes on vacation.


#19 Dullahan the headless horsewoman. 
Her ponies always get pampered.

 #20 Selkie the seal who sheds its skin to become human. 
Selkie loves to surf, and why wouldn't she with her natural wetsuit.

#21 Eshne the dragon girl. She loved to LARP
 and always plays a knight.

 
#22 Minnie the Minotaur . She loves mazes.


#23 Frannie aka the bride of Frankenstein. 
She's celebrating her upcoming wedding.



Enjoy!
 





















Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Monster Girl Challege


Summer started a few weeks ago, but not for me. I've been teaching all summer it seems like. Summer art camps finished over a week ago, but the kids and I headed down to South Texas to help my parents out for the week. My grandma had a pretty bad fall that left her in the hospital. She is doing a lot better and has been moved from the hospital to a rehab center. 
While we were down I knew I was going to be spending a lot of time in the waiting room so I bought a small sketchbook to keep me busy. For the past few months I've been following The Boogervampire: the Art of Mary J. Hoffman , and her take on the 30 day Monster Girl Challenge. I've been wanting to give the challenge a try, but I hadn't had a chance to sit down and think through the list. I figured I'd give it a try since I would finally have some down time. I must say I think I'm addicted. I actually woke up at 2am to draw out one of my ideas. I decided that they should have a theme, and came up with Monster Girls Just Want to Have Fun. I'm not sure what I want to do with them once I'm done, but I can see going beyond the 30 days. 
If you'd like to join in on the challenge you can click on the link below, or google Monster Girl Challenge to see all the awesome work that is being done based off this list.


Here are my first few Monster Girls:
Harpy- Mythological half bird half woman. 
Harpy loves to read, and is especially fond of Greek Mythology.

Zombie- She was once a pampered princess, then came the plague. 
She may have a hunger for brains now, but she still loves her manicures. 

Daisy- This plant girl loves to soak up the sun while lounging in her pool.

Spida- The spider girl. More legs means more shoes. 
Honestly what girl can pass up a good shoe sale.

    
Sirena- The mermaid. She spends her days in search of doohickeys and thingamajigs 
from the human world. She turns her human finds into wonderful jewelry treasures.

Llorona- She's a little ghost girl that just wants to play with her dolls. 
Too bad she keeps forgetting them down by the river behind her house.

Wolfie- When the full moon rises this little werewolf is ready to rock.



Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Vinyl Toy Crazy




Last year I was introduced to the art of customizing vinyl toys. I've fallen in love not only with making these toys but with collecting designer toys. Recently I worked on a few toy samples for a kids camp I'll be teaching next week. During this time I learned that one of the coolest toy shops in Dallas, Atama , now has a 3D printer.  My husband is a 3D modeling expert, he makes 3d models of furniture at work. With his help and the help of the guys at Atama I will be making my own custom Cucuy toy! I'm so excited. I worked up the plans for it yesterday, and now I'm just waiting for my hubby to create the 3D file so I can run over to Atama and have them print it for me.
What am I going to do with 1 resin Cucuy toy? I'm going to cast it and pour my own resin toys! I can't wait. Fingers crossed all goes well.

Here's a few pictures of some of the toys I've just finished.

#vinyltoys #designertoys #artisttoys



Tuesday, June 4, 2013

School's Out... Time to get to Work

For the past few months I've been working at a local elementary school as a tutor. It's been interesting to say the least. Unfortunately it was also exhausting and pulled me out of the studio for way too long. School's finally out and I'm back in the studio. Today I spent the entire day working on mystery bags for my next show. The bags are ready to be filled, so tomorrow I'll be back to sewing. I have a list of projects I can't wait to get started on. Here's a sneak peak of a possible new set of characters/ plus
hies.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

The Grand Reveal

Drum Roll please.........



All my displays are finished and were ready to go last night at the first ever First Friday Pop Up Market in Downtown Arlington.  Despite some wind issues which cause a lot of moving my setup around, I'm happy with the way my "shop" turned out. When I stepped back to look at it all I could think was that it looked like a really fun carnival booth. People seemed to enjoy it, at least I hope they did. I still have some work to do, and another table to buy, I'm pleased with the direction everything is going. Here are a few close ups of the set up both in daylight and at night.

(click to enlarge pictures)









 My friend Cassie of Clover Hollow

  
Fellow Etsy Fort Worth member Buffy of Laughing Crafter Studio

The guy that made my awesome displays, my hubby, Aaron of Angelita Home Decor


We have a great time last night, I can't wait to be back next month.









Tuesday, April 30, 2013

First Friday Pop Up Market


I'm so excited for this Friday! Arlington is putting on it's very first Pop-Up market. Art, music, and food, it's going to be awesome. I've been watching the weather and it looks like it will be a nice evening. I've been really looking forward to this event. My displays are almost complete. I have a few pieces left to sew. I hope all goes well and this turns into a monthly event.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Show Season is Starting

I haven't been around to post much lately. I've been working as a full time tutor since February. It hasn't left much time to hang out in the studio. The past few weeks I've really been in the creative swing. I have a few outdoor shows coming up, which require lighting and tents, so I decided to get on it and decorate my tent. Whenever I'm at a craft show/ art fair I'm always drawn to the tents and booths that feel more like a small boutique rather than just a tent with tables. I've always wanted that feel for my own set up. I've just never known how to get there. I've been spending what time I can searching for ideas. Collecting pieces display pieces and having my husband build what he can. My display is not quite ready but as of this weekend I have a few of my big pieces put together and ready for my next outdoor show.

Here's what I have so far:

An awesome marquee sign made by my awesomely handy hubby...
I can't wait to hang this from my tent, pointing into my tent telling all passer bys "Come on in here, Awesomeness this Way!!!"

Then there is my new banner. Since I've reworked my branding I felt it was time to invest in a full color banner to represent my brand. And last but not least, every outdoor show needs lighting. I needed something that would stand out from everyone else. I have some light strands that look great with my new marquee but I really wanted something that stood out. Something that would draw people in. Once again I searched for ideas and finally found these paper lanterns. I decided one was not enough of a statement. I needed a chandelier made of lanterns. I love the way it came out. I'm hoping they are high up enough that no one bumps their heads. (Not a problem for this short chick.)

Day time view of chandelier and banner hanging in the tent.

 A view from under the lanterns.

  
Dusk view. I wanted to wait til it got dark but I was too tired.

I still have a few pieces waiting for me in the garage. My hubby has been hard at work building for me. Only two weeks until my next outdoor show. I can't wait to show off my new set up. 

If you have any questions about display ideas please leave them in the comments. I will also be working on a post with links to other displays that work for other artist.