Pencil Vs Camera - 41 by Ben Heine

Pencil Vs Camera - 41
Originally uploaded by Ben Heine

I love Ben Heine's work, he's so imaginative!

Plans for a Fairytale Wedding

Plans for the wedding of 2011 The Century are underway and designers have begun dreaming of the perfect wedding dress for Kate Middleton to wear when she marries Prince William.  I love seeing sketches of couture designs and comparing them with the final confection!  Sometimes it seems there is very little similarity! 


My very favorite has to be the design from Karl Lagerfeld who suggests a Chanel take on “the Victorian wedding dress, with a twist - high boots and open in the front.”. I adore Victorian anything and I've always dreamed of prancing about in high boots with dainty laces. 

 I also love the design from Christian Lacroix: “Something old: Victorian skirt. Something new: patchwork gown. Something borrowed: Queen Elizabeth’s veil. Something red: Elizabethan top, as red was the wedding color until 1900!”  How amazing would it be to see a bride in a red top? 

Check out the article on Weddingbee and let me know which one is your favorite!

Sweet Dreams!

If I could only live in one store, it would be Anthropologie. I am always struck by their unique displays and the gorgeous array of products that they have. Especially their home section!  Today I was looking through their bedding and came across a couple I haven't seen before and just had to share!  I know I would sleep better on these bedding sets!  :)



Check out this dreamy Bow Tied Duvet Cover!

And this one is called Tuxedo Ruffle

And this one is my favorite, called Love Letters.

Sweet Dreams All!

30 Days of Thankfulness

With Thanksgiving coming up soon, I'd like to think about all of the things I'm thankful for and post a new one every day or so. Since I missed a couple days already, I have three things to be thankful for today.

1. My husband. Even though we don't always see eye to eye (especially when it comes to politics!) he is my number 1 fan. He gives me the love and support I need to be confident in all that I do.
2. My children. I can't imagine life without them both. They both have the greatest sense of humor and make me laugh at the most inappropriate times. They're both really great little humans and I look forward to being their friend one day when they are grown ups. For now I'm so happy and proud to be their Mommy!
3. The election is over!  I can answer my phone again, watch TV and get the mail without cringing!

What are you thankful for today?

Your Zoetrope is Showing!

My son, Trevor, and I went to Muzeo, a museum in Santa Ana, over the summer to check out their Frog exhibit. I can't remember why, but there was a Zoetrope in one of the interactive displays that showed a running horse. Of course at the time I didn't know what it was called, but after some determined Googling tonight I figured it out.  I really want to make one of these but first I need to find a record player!  Time to hit the second hand stores!  Here are some other examples of Zoetropes!

On the hunt for Vintage Industrial Lighting for The Scarlet Calliope

I'm counting down the days to the start up of my new hobby when I can finally create letterpressed stationery and a variety of creative paper products on my very own machines.  With the remodel of my garage about to begin any day now, it's time to find some lighting.

PW Antique Lighting has some very cool vintage lighting.

This is Fantastic! Barn Light Electric has some very interesting lights!

Hudson Goods has some incredible vintage lighting and other amazing stuff.

I'm obsessed by these light fixtures featuring

 accordions and pulleys from J Covington Design

What do you think of these beauties from Rewirela?

And this one is my fave, from Restoration Hardware.

SteamPunk Forever!

I discovered Steampunk culture over a year ago while researching corsets and burlesque costumes and started dreaming of creating my own designs. It was exciting to realize that there was a name for this aesthetic that has been whispering to my heart for most of my life. Among my favorite movies are La cité des enfants perdus,  or The City of Lost Children, (the costumes were designed by Jean Paul Gaultier), The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, Kiki's Delivery Service,  and The Golden Compass.  A year later and I'm still smitten with the dark, rich colors, the odes to days long past and the sense of excitement that recreating everyday objects into art brings. I love the Victorian look, dirigibles, rust, industrial design, corsets and petticoats, gears, goggles, and everything that steampunk represents. Back when I first started researching it, there were only three websites/mentions of the genre on Google. Now I find it wherever I look. I was ecstatic to see so many Steampunk costumes at ComicCon 2010 in San Diego this year. My husband was probably tired of hearing me say, "OMG, Steampunk!  Can I take your picture?"  To celebrate Steampunk, I'm going to regularly post images of creative, inspiring and modded objects and styles that evoke the historical fantasy and imagination of this movement.

I love this Steampunk Treehouse that was installed at Coachella 2008. I can imagine climbing into it, reading a book and being transported to imaginary worlds far from the stress and hustle of our world.  

Altered Book: Murder in the Rosegarden

I've been wanting a Dremel rotary tool for years and my sweet husband got me one for my birthday this year!  The first project I tried was to drill some holes into Dominoes so I can make some scary necklaces for Halloween. I'll post those as soon as I get some finished!

The next project I tried was to alter a book that I had, "Murder in the Rosegarden". Inspired by all of the projects in Playing with Books by Jason Thompson, I wanted to alter my own book and create some sculptural art. The Dremel works ok, but I'll have to figure out how to avoid burning the pages while I'm cutting them out. The studio still smells like burned paper, hours later!

The more I look at this the more it looks like the outline of Sasquatch. Oh well, back to the drawing board!  lol!

I'm Drifting Off to Dreamland!

I'm so excited that my friend, Alison, had her baby girl, Ava, yesterday. My friends and I are so thrilled to be aunties again to a precious bundle of love. I'm looking forward to going to the hospital today and cuddling a newborn! And congratulating Alison and Kevin, of course!  ;)

To welcome Baby Ava to the world, I created a card ensemble for Alison's baby shower. I'm really happy with the way everything turned out!

I'm Drifting Back to Dreamland!

Here's the handcrafted card with a bunny in a hot air balloon with a swan basket that I designed. 

The background collage was made from my stash of vintage sheet music and ledger, a variety of scrapbooking papers, and vintage buttons from Tinsel Trading Co. I used a technique that I saw in artist Cori Dantini's work to add white paint behind the main object to make it stand out. The swan is decked out in vintage German Glass Glitter from Wendy Addison's collection and the balloon sports a flag with Ava's name on it.

Welcome to the World Little One! 

Next, I created a theater envelope to slide the card into. 

Here's the back of the theater envelope.

This is the inside of the card

I made an envelope with string and embellished it with vintage

 buttons and silk flowers and paper I die cut with my Cricut

 and Slice tools.

This is the front of the envelope with additional 

embellishments made from vintage silk flowers 

and sheet music, die cuts and ribbon.

I made a pin to attach to the front of the gift, using 

more vintage flowers, die cuts and ribbon.

Hello Little Baby! 

Add in a banner with a Letterpress-esque

 font, a sewn edge and ribbon to match

I created this super easy pinwheel (tutorial on making handmade pinwheels later this week!). My husband, Phil, is super patient and teaching me some tricks in Photoshop. I photoshopped the checkerboard pattern and made it pink! The handle of the pinwheel is made from a chopstick! 

Easy Peasy, one two threesy!

I made some bows to match following the instructions in my 

fave new book about altered book art  "Playing with Books".

And, Voila!  A super cute, handcrafted card and gift wrap!

Now it's time to go visit Ava, Alison and Kevin!  Au Revoir!

Starting a business is hard work!

As a wannabe smartypants with a degree in Business Management from Pepperdine University, I thought that choosing the name of my business would be the easiest part of being an Entrepreneur. Turns out I was so wrong!  I was elated to find that Calliope Studio is available for me to use as the name of my LLC in the state of California. I was dismayed to find out that someone already owns www.calliopestudio.com but isn't even using it. Back to the drawing board!

So now I have to start the process of finding domain names that are simple to remember, easy to spell and offer a smidgen of info about what I'm all about.  Calliope Workshop?  Kinda 70's. Calliope Vintage?  People might think I don't offer products with a modern design. Calliope Atelier?  I think it's perfect, but couldn't have spelled it if I hadn't seen it written down first.  So, step one, find a resource to give me some direction...aha, how about  The Craft Business Guide?

I'll keep on thinking and hope I figure this name thing out soon!

Frustrated? Unhappy? Check out these Six Success Secrets with the When I Grow Up Coach

"Surround yourself with the people who are good for your heart, your spirit, your attitude, your outlook, your optimism, your support, your confidence. "


Sounds good to me!  Check out the other secrets from Michelle Ward, the When I Grow Up Coach.  


http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/six-success-secrets-with-the-when-i-grow-up-coach-10690/?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Read+Michelle%27s+blog+post+first&utm_content=etsy_success_100710&utm_campaign=etsy_success_100710


Let me know what has resonance for you!

Stealing art is NOT COOL!

Zetti Graphic for blogs
Originally uploaded by Tumble Fish Studio

As an artistic person, I dream of one day creating art that will fill peoples hearts with unbridled whimsy and inspire them. What I don't dream of is some day finding my art copied and used without my permission for someone else's financial gain. That's so uncool. Spread the word!

(Thank you, Marsha Jorgensen, for a great way to pass on the message!)

Frayed Rosette Bib Necklace Tutorial by Carla C

I found the exact project that I was admiring at The Creative Connection last month. Carla C is a patternmaker and she has easy peasy instructions for how to make a Frayed Rosette Bib Necklace just like the ones you've seen at Anthropologie!  These would make easy gifts! Post some pics if you make this project!

(Tutorial and Photo by Carla C)

DIY: How to Make Fabulous Roses from Strips of Fabric

While I was at The Creative Connection in Minnesota, I attended Tiffany Windsor's Pajama Party. One of the tables made beautiful necklaces adorned with fabric roses. Although one of the girls showed me how to do it, I couldn't remember for the life of me how to make one now that I'm home. Thankfully, Bridget Baxter has an easy tutorial on her blog so that we can all make them! Thanks Bridget!

http://bridgetbaxter.blogspot.com/2009/11/tattered-fabric-roses.html

(Gorgeous Roses and Photo by Bridget Baxter)

BRIDE'S SURPRISE LIGHT UP WEDDING DRESS

I was out looking around for wedding videos on YouTube and I found this First Dance Fun. It reminds me of the dresses in the Electrical Parade at Disney's California Adventure. I know if I had seen this before our wedding, I would have figured out how to make my dress light up. (And then people might have actually watched our first dance. We have photographic proof that nobody was watching us except for DJ Dave!)

Surprise Wedding Reception

This is so funny! This couple went to City Hall to get married and ended up getting a surprise reception from an Improv group! So funny!

You have to check out this awesome Etsy seller!

Being the owner of two bratty Flemish Giant rabbits, I am always looking for Bunny themed stuff. I found the cutest bunny pillow on Etsy. Teracotta also makes adorable bunny and other animal dolls. Check it out!

Adorable Hand Made Bunny Pillow by Teracotta

Amazing Paper Dresses from Elsa Hiltner

Thanks to Lisa M. Pace, I came across this blog entry from Elsa Hiltner from 2009. She is a Costume Designer of amazing paper dresses at the Printers Ball hosted by Columbia College Chicago's Center for Book and Paper Arts . Elsa writes, "Columbia's Spectacle Shop worked closely with the Center for Book and Paper Arts to create an overall look for the event that would greet attendees when they entered the building and stay with them as they roamed the multiple floors the event covered."


Paper Dresses at Printers Ball from Amy Guth on Vimeo.

Solar Flower - The Giant Robot of Buenos Aires -- And a new video!

Solar Flower - The Giant Robot of Buenos Aires -- And a new video!
Originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs

I am LOVING this! What a gorgeous picture! Even though I know what it's for, the possibilities of what it could be are infinite.

MakiDoll: New Arts

MakiDoll: New Arts

I've made a new friend on Facebook! Her name is Bonnie Yamamoto and she lives in Hawaii. Her studio was in Studio magazine from Cloth, Paper, Scissors, and I just had to learn more about her!  I checked out her blog today and saw that she made a gorgeous Alice in Wonderland scene from felt in April. I just may need to travel to Hawaii to buy one for myself!   :)

Inspiration, where art thou?

There is no doubt in my mind that I have lost every drop of inspiration. I set out to put together a collage inspired by Alice in Wonderland and Oh, dear, I fear I've made a dreadful mess! Maybe I'll come back to it in a couple days and discover that I love it.  What do you think?

In the meantime, I'm going to play with the paper that I got at the CHA Supershow from Teresa Collins and see what I come up with. I've got a new toy, the Zutter Bind-it-All, to put it all together when I'm done.

I'm finishing watching the second half of the movie "Tom Jones", a comedy set in England full of period costumes, horse drawn carriages and stately manors in the English countryside. Maybe that will inspire me?

Modern Siggy Swap

At last I finished my blocks for the Modern Siggy Swap, started by Rachel Griffith. I'm excited to see what blocks I get back from the other quilters. I've seen peeks of their beautiful work and I can't wait!

Here are the fabrics, ready to be sewn together

I love how all the fabrics look together.

That's a lot of blocks!

I LOVE wedding videos!

Even if I don't know the people in them!  Call me crazy, but watching two people get married just brings tears to my eyes. Imagine my delight when I randomly came across a wedding video company with the coolest steady-cam technique. Their demo video is so great that Fox brought them out to Los Angeles from Chicago so that they could use their demo video in a new Fox show.  You have to check it out!


2008 Wedding Demo from GEBBS on Vimeo.

CHA Craft SuperShow - So Much Fun!

Day 1

Friday, January 22

Silly me, who knew the CHA Craft SuperShow opened at 12?  I was so excited to be there that I arrived at 10 am. CHA is a HUGE industry-only trade show. Every manufacturer that you can imagine has a booth at CHA.  It is a crafters heaven! (My goal for 2011 is to score a badge to get into CHA! I'm working on my strategy.) The CHA SuperShow is a mini version of CHA, open to the public and features some manufacturers and crafting retailers. 

I started off my day by picking up a copy of Lisa Kettel's book, Altered Art Circus. I knew she was going to be at the show and I was hoping to meet her in person. No such luck!  Boo, maybe next time!

No sooner had I left the Barnes and Noble booth when the most amazing black and white pattern on a figure caught my eye and, of course, I had to check it out! Suzanne McNeill, of Design Originals, was demonstrating Zentangles.

If you aren't familiar with this awesome abstract art form, you have to check it out! The more Suzanne talked about it, the more I realized I have to try it. It seems like it could put me in the right zen frame of mind to let my mind wander and allow art to just happen.

Next, I stopped by the Treasured Memories booth for a cute make and take.

While walking down the aisle one of the reps from Westcott handed me a pair of free scissors, yes, FREE!  And they are so nice! Perfect for cutting paper without cutting that skin between my thumb and pointer finger, I think Sally Jean Alexander calls it your chicken. I dunno, that's just what she calls it! (I think that's the scientific name) Anyhow, the cutest little 2 1/2" scissors are now mine!  I love getting free useful stuff!

Mona Gettman and Cheryl Mezzetti (I'm the one in the middle!)

After that, it was time for my workshop with Cheryl Mezzetti, designer for Creative Imaginations.  She showed us how to make an altered Bare Elements flower book that she designed using the new Creative Imaginations My Girl Collection from Christine Adolph, new Wood veneers and Luminarte paints. I love Cheryl's techniques, she really encouraged us to give our project dimension by making the elements pop right off the page.  I was so happy to see my friend, the very talented Mona Gettman, who works at Creative Imaginations. 

You may have noticed my gorgeous necklace...I was stopped so many times all day!  It was made by Cheryl Simpson, who has these gorgeous creations for sale in her Etsy shop. One of the ladies who asked me about my necklace told me that the figure of the doll is called a Cold Frozen Charlotte, because these figures were found buried in the ground in Germany. I checked it on google and I can't see any info about it. I'll have to ask Cheryl!  (I figured it out!)

Domino Jewelry

Next, I discovered a great way to play with dominoes. The demonstrator for Auntie Amy Stamps uses mini rubber stamps to decorate the tiles and they can be used in necklaces, bracelets, key chains, and you can embellish them in so many ways!

I go gaga for VINTAGE!

Next, I headed over to the Crafty Secrets booth and boy did those ladies have some eye candy!  I LOVE Vintage!  My favorite item was their clear Alice in Wonderland themed stamps. I can't wait to use them!

Sandy and Vicky from Crafty Secrets

Carol Duvall

It wouldn't be a crafting show without a crafting celeb or two, and Carol Duvall was there signing her book.

One of the highlights of my day was watching Teresa Collins and Stephanie Ackerman create beautiful roses out of Teresa's paper and then embellish them with TC SHIMMER PEARLZ. 

It was getting late, they were getting silly, and it was so entertaining! For a second, I seriously thought they were going to use the roses as pasties!

Isn't this the cutest ever?

One of my favorite stops was the Making Memories booth. Number 1, they have great products and I have been coveting a Slice forever. Number 2, I got a very cute, and FREE, pink apron!  I think Savannah wants it, but she has to promise to make me some crepes!

My other favorite place had really long lines and lots of people wearing chefs hats. Cricut is introducing a new product, called Cake. As it turns out, you can use this really cool new machine to cut out gumpaste to decorate cakes. Genius! I wish I had taken some pictures, because Provo doesn't have anything posted on this product yet. It was amazing!

That's it for Day 1, I'll be back with more info on Day 2, and tell you about my adventure with Savannah.