Ready~ing For a Road Trip!

A Travel case for the Beaded Basket &......

  What a busy summer! Its just flown by and am still busy as ever trying to get all my work caught up before I have to leave again for the Casketeer Get Together in Santa Fe this October. I have all my kits ready & packed, and got the travel case finished for my beaded basket. Well...its kind of finished~ it will eventually be painted, so for now will travel with a sealer only on, until I get the time to paint it later this fall. I made it from a gorgeous piece of quilted maple I got when I went home this summer.

  Finally, traveling in style! No more ugly cardboard box for my basket!  I am working on slate frames this week and since I have had confirmation of some getting to their destinations this week, now I can share them with you! The large frames are so difficult to get a good picture of~ so here are some closer bits of my favorites~

  This frame has swags of my signature roses, purple bows, tassels,  ribbons, needles, bees, bee skeps, jazmins, tiger lilys,  butterflies!!!  Is there room for anything else on here???? perhaps!

  I love the bees skeps and little bees~ there are also little bees buzzing throughout the frame

 Of this frame, the pink & white tiger lilys were my favorite to paint, they really came out awesome

 I am really having so much fun painting frames~ who would have thought I would ever paint pirates & skeletons on a frame~ but I have, and are they ever cute!  Well...not cutsie cute....but not scary either...

 There are dancing skeletons on the verticals, and I love the skeleton I Painted just lounging in a tree!

 For the Pirate theme frame I was challenged with, I chose to focus on the treasure, as that was what my customer pointed out was one of her favorite things. I painted the entire frame like a map, working from a 17th c example. There is a compass, a ship, a 'sea monster', and of coarse a treasure chest.  I did mark where the treasure is buried on the map.......but thats a secret!

 For a little something special, because this customer just happened to order my very first frame, and has since ordered several, I gilt her treasures in real 24k gold.  I do so appreciate each and every order~ I cannot thank everyone enough for their kind enthusiasm and support of my work~ you have bought the school clothes for this year, put supper on our table and brought some very special pieces to the Museum's collection this year.  I hope I can continue to grow and get better at all that I do~ and Hey! Dont forget~ you can see my Halloweenies in this months new issue of Prims magazine!