ALTERED KEYS

The challenge this month over on GAS MAMMA is to make an altered key. I've seen some beautiful examples out there in cyber land, and my group of gals have not let me down.

Here are my two offerings.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

This one is not just an altered key, but an altered vintage brooch too, so will be wearable.

May have to make more of these. lol.

GREAT GIVEAWAY HERE ON NEEDLEWINGS BLOG

Altered Drinks Can Doll- Squashed Can art Doll

For this month's theme on MAD MAMMA (monthly art doll swaps), i chose the theme, squashed drinks can doll.

Oh boy, there was a mixed reaction, as most people assume art dolls are supposed to be pretty, but i wanted the group to be challenged, but was worried about their reaction. I should have known better, there was a mixed reaction at first, but now the ball is rolling. they have not let me down. pop over to MAD MAMMA to have a look at the great pieces so far. http://www.flickr.com/groups/964970@N23/

Here is mine. Now i really WAS worried about putting this in the swap, especially as my hubby said i had gone a bit tooooo wild with this one. So i put it in the photo-stream, but was more than prepared to remove it, if it wasn't well received.

Believe it or not, I've come to looove this doll, ugly as it is.

So i suppose you want to have a peep at her........

here she is in all her glory.....lol.

Zetti Fairy.

To make the doll, i flattened an empty lager can...lol. well in fact I practically annihilated it with a big hammer. Oh boy that was fun, and a great way to get rid of frustrations. roflol.

Then i painted it all over with white acrylic glue, after finding it much to difficult to erase the wording on the can.

Then i painted the face with flesh coloured acrylic paint, and coloured the body with alcohol inks.

The Wings, arms legs and hat are all collaged onto card, and the hands and feet are brads, that i managed to find just last week.

SEASIDE ALTOID TIN

For this months altered swap over on Flickr's GAS MAMMA the chosen theme is seaside and to alter a tin.

So far i have altered an altoid tin, and the bottom half of a cigar tin.

FRONT OF TIN

This is of Blackpool, UK, and the sand and shells that i used were collected from Blackpool beach


BACK OF TIN

The vintage advert to the left, shows how the circus ring fills up with water for the Grand Finale. I was absolutely mesmerised as a child.


Showing all the ephemera that goes along with the tin

on the far right is a copy of a seaside cut out that was used by families whereas each family member put their heads through the cutout, and had their photo taken.
Also included are some small versions of saucy british postcards, as well as a current Brand New one of today showing thefamous Blackpool lights.

I also altered the bottom half of a cigar tin

Last night, in honour of MAMMA Flickr groups 100th member, i gave an online party, to celebrate.
Everyone brought their own drinks, a firework display was given, and i set numerous tasks for them to winprizes of a paintings etc of mine.
The main prize was a Zetti doll. For this i set a challenge of making an ATC celebrating MAMMA's 100th member and they had 60 minutes to do it in. Ernie, (hubby) drew a name out of a hat, and it was Sherry.

here's the main prize won by her.

MARIE ANTOINETTE - FABRIC BOOK PAGE 2

Here is Page 2 of the Marie Antoinette Fabric Book that i am making.

Will add more to it when i sew it to page one. Was a little disappointed in the crystal beads from ebay, they are a lot smaller than i was hoping for. But that's what you get when you buy online, and unfortunately there aren't any craft shops of any kind near to me.

C'est La Vie.

I also used crystal seed beads too dotted about. I'm unsure whether to add another colour to it, or just keep it crystal and blue.

I've also made a needlecase inspired by the one that Jan gave to me. This is for my daughter who admire the one made by Jan.

I have made it in green, her favourite colour, and used a vintage image using a lady with a cat.

She is really into Art Nouvea and absolutely adores cats, she has 3 of her own.
It's just a little stocking filler, but i hope she likes it.

I was going to post the picture of it, but seeing it on screen, i realised that something was missing from it. So will post the photo tomorrow instead.

It hasn't scanned very well, and i may also add more embellishments to it. I can see some

ALTERED JIGSAW

I'm taking part in a 6 way Christmas Jigsaw Jam swap. (I know the dreaded C word, but it really isn't long now lol)

When each person receives all their swaps back, they then adhere them to canvas, to make one piece of art.

Me, i have to be different lol. I'm sending them slightly larger jigsaw pieces, and wish to have them made into individual christmas tree decorations. Havn't quite made my mind up on the colours, but have chosen the theme 'Wings".

The first one i made was for Sherry, who asked for the theme Musical Christmas with the colours red and gold.

For Sherry
size 3" x 2" (7cm x 5cm approx)

The second one is for Viv, who asked for vintage christmas in the colours cream and gold

For Viv
size 3" x 3" (8sq cm)

The third one is for Wendy who asked for Angels, in the colours purple, blue and silver. To make this one, i digitally altered a photograph, then did an inkjet copy, which i then painted with brusho inks, and used stickles glitter, glamour dust, stickers, and acetate wings

For Wendy
size2.5" x 3.5" (6cm x 9cm)

I'm still awaiting the arrival of the other 2 involved in the swap, and will post them up as and when i finish them.

Also this week, i managed to make 2 ATC's for the MAMMA group i run over on Flickr. The theme i chose this week is Remembrance and here's my entries for the swap.

'Twixt Love andDuty'
Watercolour background


"Flanders Fields"
Cross with the words of the Poem
Flanders Field by John McCrae
Poppies decoupaged with paper napkins

Zetti & Shabby Chic

Well what a mixture, LOL.

Here are the final two pieces of work that hopefully will be exhibited this coming weekend.

I have already said how worried I am about the gallery owner not liking my work, so have emailed the photos of them all, and stated that i won't be offended if he doesn't like them.

So here is the altered photo frame, which took me over 2 weeks to make. Longer than a bloomin painting i might add LOL

The second piece of work, is my acrylic painting on canvas, of a Derby Ram.

The Derby Ram (known as the Derby Tup in Derbyshire), is the emblem of Derbyshire. The buildings are of the Market Hall, Crooked Spire, and one of a pub LOL. Had to get that one in.

DERBY RAM GONE ZETTI

Acrylic on Canvas
24" x 20"

I'll let you know the gallery/shop owner's reaction.

So the exhibition hopefully will consist of the 3 altered angels, altered jigsaw and bottle, Mona goes Zetti painting and Chesterfield goes Zetti paintings and the 3 Zetti Fairys

ANOTHER ALTERED ANGEL

Well here is the final altered Angel.
The Queen

Not the best of pictures, as it is a scan. Don't forget to click on the picture to enlarge.

This was made using a buckle sent to me by my friend Sheila. As soon as i received the buckle i could see the Altered Angel in my mind.

The 'wings' are cut out from cereal packets, the halo is from a pastry cutter, there is a hair slide placed at the bottom, and buttons, a washer and some beads.

The canvas has be coloured using distressed ink pads.

The text inside the buckle is from a vintage book about Royal palaces in England, hence her name.

These are the final altered angels for the exhibition.

Struggling with the painting, but nearly finished one. Not sure whether to go with another painting or more altered art. I havn't much time, as i will have to deliver the goods on Wednesday, so think i will be cutting it fine by doing anything else.

I have to make sure that the canvases have clean edges, and varnished, make sure the altered art is TRULY glued down, and then wrap and pack, and off to my beloved Chesterfield.

BTW, the altered photo frame and the final painting will be posted as soon as it's bright enough and the wind has stopped so that i can take photos.

Altered Bottle

Here is an altered Sarsons Vinegar Bottle, heavily embossed with verdigre embossing powder, which gives it a look of enamelling.

I used a resin butterfly (christmas ornament), silk flowers, and a silver photo frame.

FRONT OF BOTTLE


BACK OF BOTTLE



The bird bead ,sitting on top of the bottle in amongst its nest,
was kindly given to me by my friend Dot
from Australia

ALTERED JIGSAW

Another finished piece for the exhibition. Still panicking as it's only 11 days away.
STILL HAVN'T DONE ANY MORE PAINTING. Will have to pull my socks up next week.

This piece is an altered jigsaw, which has turned out very pretty, which is something i can't seem to get away from at the moment. Zetti has definitely been put on the back burner for the moment.

Click on the picture to enlarge

This jigsaw piece was one of 3 kindly donated to me by my friend Maureen
It is a large piece and is displayed on a canvas 7" x 9.5", so this shows how large the actual jigsaw piece is.

Coming tomorrow, hopefully, another altered angel. Not sure if it needs anything else added to it first, so will leave it alone for another 24 hours, to make up my mind whether to add on, or just leave as it is.

I am also altering a vinegar bottle. With this, i have embossed the entire bottle with verdigre embossing powder, ( my absolutely favourite piece of equipment)and then inked over with turquoise ink (my second favouriteLOL). Looking good even though i say so myself. It has a look of enamelling, but i know this will not show up in any photo that i will take of it.
This i hope to finish quite soon.

Still waiting on my supplies from HongKong. That is the trouble ordering from so far overseas. It takes AAAAAGES to arrive. REALLY shouldbe here this week. If not, i will have to change my plans on some of my pieces of work.

ALTERED ART

Phew, well i really didn't mean to be this long away from my blog, but the pressure of the upcoming exhibition finally got to me.

I have at least 7 projects on the go, and not one of them entirely finished. Waiting for embellishments to arrive etc, has put me all behind, but when they all eventually turn up, it won't take me long to finish them (fingers crossed).

Here is a sneak preview of one of the projects.

It's an altered photo frame, with 8 compartments in all. I have removed the glass, and am making a stand for it using 4 childrens building blocks.

So far this is my favourite compartment. The china dolly i bought on ebay over a year ago, and have been dying to use her, i just hope she likes her new home.

my bottles of alcohol inks arrived this morning, so am off to have a play with them. I'm making Angels out of kitchen utensils, and wanted the inks desperately to alter them with.

So hopefully it won't be toooooo long before i'm posting again.

PS i STILL havn't done any more paintings, naughty naughty girl. LOL

ZETTIOLOGY

At the moment, I am extremely busy, as i am moving home. The new home needs decorating from top to bottom, and as my husband is disabled, i have to do absolutely everything. My dear darling daughter is helping me decorate when she can, but as they run their own business (don't laugh, Gravediggers, and grass cutting for various local councils), so she is very busy. my friend Jinny, calls them
'GRAVEBUSTERS'. LOL ROFLOL

Anyways, because i will hardly be making any work, i thought i'd show you some old work. I know some of you already know about them, but please bear with me.

One of my loves at the moment is Zettiology, so i thought i'd start with those first. They are mainly ATC's.

These first two, were more of a doodle type of zetti, both of them ATC's


These next three are House Shapes, another of my favourites. lol The first is anATC that folds up

These next two, are not ATC's. The first is approx 6" x 4". The second is a Mini Zetti House.

This is Lucky Zetti. An altered doll made from a child's building block, playing cards, dice and dominos. She looks like she's out of Toy Story lol.

NEWSFLASH

JUST as i posted thisblog, the postie arrived with a beautiful handmade Zetti House Card.

It's a card to welcome us into our new home, done in theZetti style, and it's from my dear friend Jinny. Isn't she a sweetie. A really great friend, just wished she lived nearer so we could chat and craft.

Isn't it great, i just love it, lol. Oh boy, you brighten my day you do girl.

BIIIIIIG THANKYOU JINNY, SWEETHEART.

Tutorial coming up

This weekend I will be posting a tutorial for everyone to use. What is it?. Well here is a sneak preview

Can you tell what it is yet? lol.

This is a very simple tutorial, but with a fantastic outcome. I DO hope you'll join in and make one yourself.
Supplies needed:-
Card
Scrap paper,
Ink pads
lace
brad
embellishments
vintage images.
glue

And that's it.

So come on in, and join the fun

Mona Lisa going to Zettiology

Yesterday, I called in at the Gallery in Chesterfield, with bated breath, to see if my paintings would be accepted. They were, but I'm still not sure if they were liked or not. lol.
The thing is, he has asked me to do 12 paintings altogether, along with some altered art(Which i've no idea what i'm going to do )
I did show him Teesha Moore's website, and asked would it be alright to go a little bit weirder with my work, and he agreed.
Soooooo, I've dug out an 'old' painting of mine. Mona Lisa in the Pink. This was for an exhibition at a gallery in Ware, Herts, in aid of Breast Cancer, in which all the paintings were to be done in Pin. These were to be sold off for£100, the proceeds going to the Breast Cancer appeal.
Unfortunately. my painting was not sold, and so it has been laying in my garage.
Whilst browsing the web, looking for inspiration, i came across someone elses good old Mona, which had been altered. so my little miss pink mona, is undergoing major surgery lol, zetti style.

After calling in at the gallery, i called into 2 craft shops, and before meeting OH, i called into a new art gallery/shop in Chesterfield. There in the window display was a beautiful rusty wire tree, with small easter eggs displayed on it.
So without further ado, I bought it. Started chatting to the lady owner, (actually the mother of the owner), and she asked about my work, and so i showed her the photos of the Zetti Fairys/ She was impressed, and said they may get intouch with me about me hanging work in their gallery.

Trouble is, i'm not sure if i want to go back to the Fine Art side of my work, I feel much more happier, and safer in the craft world. We'll have to see how it goes, but i'm not going to go out of my way pursuing Galleries/exhibiting.

One of the reasons for surfing the net, has been because i have been unable to find a great site that i visited just a short while ago. For the life of me i do not know why i didn't bookmark it, and so have found it impossible to find the site again.

This lady's site, featured altered art/assemblage and she made wall art, using kitchenalia, ie sieves, cutlery, pudding basins etc. and making them into fairies. and i sooooo wanted to have a go at it for the gallery. Still, i'll just have to do it my own way, which is for the best anyways.


Don't forget, my giveaway doll is still open, so if you havn't got your name down yet, please enter.

altered jiggy bit

This is another altered jigsaw for the jam swap i[m in. This time it was for Sheila, and the theme was metal. I did think of doing layers of metallic colours, but wanted to go for something a bit different. Another one of my loves is mermaids, so got my old jewellery box out, and looked for bits that could be used. Enjoyed doing this one, using bits of this and bits of that Even used a pull ring off a can of lager that i have just finished drinking at my daughter's home. lol. hence the name pi** artist. lol

Hope sheila likes this, fingers crossed. Oh by the way this was a LARGE jigsaw piece, but then again this made it easier for me. lol

Altered Jigsaw

This is my first ever altered jigsaw that i made for a Jam swap I've joined . There's five of us altogether in the swap, and I have chose the theme Shabby Chic for my pieces.

This first piece I've altered is for Nicky, and the theme she has chosen is Family, and so after MUCH deliberation, decided to go with "Home", as i consider this the heart of the Family.

I used a metal buckle for the house, after seeing them being used by Dot
the Dotee Queen , in the same way. I loved the effect she got with them, thought they made the PERFECT house shape, and by chance came across them on Etsy, being sold by a Julieh7 in Australia. They took less than a week to get here.

They are originally silver so i sponged them with gold paint, and used a verdigris embossing powder on the edging.

The actual jigsaw, i covered with 3 colours of tissue paper, and embossed on top with gold , and stamped around the edge with turquoise chalk ink.

The initial N (which is what Nicky asked to be incorporated), I hand drew and cut out of thick card, painted with acrylic paint, embossed again with gold and embellished with different beads and wire

I just hope she likes it, as she is an expert at altered art, and i'm just a novice. lol

My husband is at last on the mend, and so I can breathe a sigh of relief. I have been soooooo busy, looking after him, painting 2 pix for the exhibition, (which i'm not sure they will like), did the altered jigsaw, and started the dotee for Queen Dot. Sooooooooo worried about this one, cos she is the master, and me a mere mortal, lol, so have spent a week just searching for ideas to try and get it perfect for her. Again i hope she likes it. I've done the Zetti ATC's for her, and want to put a couple of extra's in the parcel before it flies its way over to Australia. Better put extra large wings on it, cos it has a looong journey.

I hope you like my choice of music that i've selected for my blog. All 11 songs are by Michael Buble. Can you tell i like him lol. ROFLOL.

ALTERED JEWELLERY STAND

Finally managed to finish the altered jewellery stand. had a few mishaps along the way, but i'm pleased with the result.
The face is made from air dry clay, and embellished with flowers, pearsl, and other beads. A small dragon fly bead can barely be seen in this photograph.

I used vintage music sheets to collage the body,and a quick was of gesso over the top, and the skirt was made from various laces and plasterer's scrim. That was a great buy from a carboot, many years ago for 30p for a LARGE roll. i've used it on numerous occasions, especially for adding texture. The lace was dyed in tea because i didn't want all white, and was suprised when the different laces came out in different tones. The nylon lace just had a very pale tone, whereas the crochet cotton lace came out much darker. This i feel adds something to it.

I added 4 extra 'arms', because i'm wanting to use this to display my art dolls. That was the reason for using the muted colourings.
Glad it went wrong at the beginning now, as i had started off using pinks. This, i feel, is a much better colouring.

Supposed to joining in a dotee doll swap, the theme being shabby chic. Got to get my head round it. lol. It's on a new forum i've joined, and i'm struggling with the layout of the forum. if push comes to shove i'll just leave. doing my head in LOL