While most of the country is still blanketed in snow we are in the midst of an early Spring.  Or maybe that's an early summer it is in the mid to high 80's in most places around here.  I've been enjoying all the random flowers that are popping up.  There must be all kinds of bulbs buried in the flower beds here that have waited a year to appear.  Like these beauties.

I've been busy in the studio working on some new pieces.  I finished the skull jewelry box I was talking about in my last post.  The technique worked great.  I want to try it on something else soon.  This jewelry box was a great thrift store find.  Here's what it started out as just a boring wood jewelry box a bit scuffed.  But I loved the inside I haven't run across any like this before.

So with a little love and Gothic magic it's now this!   He's so creepy looking staring at you with that one eye looking as if he's rising from a black pool of water.  

This week I finished a new shadow box.  I've been wanting to do a Little Red Riding Hood shadow box for some time.  I wanted Red to be standing over the wolf that she killed.  But I had no clue how to find a wolf that would work.  I thought of trying to alter one of the plastic animals that Michaels sell, but it wouldn't look right.  So I decided to try and make one out of paper clay.  I've made small miniatures for my cupboards and a few larger but simple pieces.  I hadn't tried anything like this before.  But I went for it and sculpted my first animal.  Here he is in his raw state.  

 He's a bit rough and definitely primitive looking, but I think I captured dead wolf.  Here's the finished piece.

I also made the intestines, mushrooms, the basket and it's contents (except the bottle) and the knife handle from Paperclay.  I love the idea of the fairytale twisted around so that Red is the scariest thing in the forest.

Vampire House

I've had this house shaped box for years and have never found the right project to go inside it.  And then recently I ran across this doll and this strange ornament featuring a baby on an over sized chair.  So of course I had to have them.  Once I got them into the studio I immediately saw that the doll and the baby were meant to be with each other.  So I got out my paints and made them an immortal mother and child.  Once that was done they needed a place to live and the house box was the perfect place.  I gave it a Victorian Gothic feel, adding the distressed picket fence and greenery to the outside of the box along with framed windows.  I even gave Lady Beatrice a miniature glass bottle filled with red liquid to feed her son Malcolm.  I think I had almost as much fun creating the story for these two as I did creating the shadow box!

Skeleton Dolls and Opium Dens

I've finished a new 1920s Opium Den shadow box.  This one is a bit different than my previous one.  Here's the first one I did.

 I went with the traditional flapper and a red and black design theme.  Here's the new one.

I made my flapper a skeleton, with cute bob and flapper headband.  I created a blue, silver and black design theme for the room.  I was inspired by the peacock paper it just screamed 20s to me so the piece took of from there.  I made the miniature candelier from some repurposed pieces, beads and clay.  My flapper is clay with a clay and lace skirt and a glitter and sequined top.  I also made a pipe from clay and a miniature hookah.

And I made another skeleton for a Day of the Dead shadow box.  I also made her entire outfit from clay with some fabric accents.  I made miniature saint candles as well.  And if you look closely you will see her silver hoop earrings with a black and white bead on them.

My next big project that I've been wanting to do is a skeleton pirate shadow box.  I need to find the right box it has to have enough room to create the scene I want to make.  It must be from watching John Malkovich in Crossbones. :)