And Then The Summer Became The Fall..

Autumn always inspires me.  Perhaps it has something to do with being a Fall baby, born at the end of the summer and the beginning of the cooler weather, but there's just something about the leaves turning colors, that certain chill in the air and the smell of fireplaces that really lights me up.

I find as the summer turns to autumn that I turn inward and become more creative, the colors and textures of nature finding their way into my work.

So, this evening I thought I'd sit down with my cup of warm cider and share some of my favorites with you....

Beautiful autumn-hued fairy wings. (wingspan approx 2 1/2feet).

Hand-shaped and crafted with autumn leaf patterned brocade fabric over copper wire, and embellished with little birds, berries, and trailing flowers and silk leaves. Ribbon shoulder ties.

Perfect for weddings,festivals and masquerades, or as a magical art piece to hang on your wall. Each of my wings are entirely handcrafted and unique, one of a kind works of wearable art.

Forest Fairy fascinator/headdress. 

Faux tortoishell haircomb is embellished with silk florals, autumn leaves and red-tipped brown and grey feathers.

Fall foliage and gold net adorn this headdress....

Meet the Autumn Princess.

Her head, torso, and arms from the elbow down are entirely handsculpted (no molds used, ever) so there will never be another quite like her again.

Autumn Princess is approx. 10" tall from the top of her head to the ends of her skirts, and is a hanging fairy. Her body is a wrapped wire armature which allows her to be very gently posed.

Her gown is created from assorted vintage and designer fabrics. Her wings are created of wire and silk leaves.

Her exquisite face is handpainted with a blush of artist pigments, colors that I mix myself. Her attire is adorned with vintage and antique laces, brocades and ribbon that I've collected over the years and continually search out for my dolls.

 ". . . . We have bid farewell to summer, but the sun's light has not yet faded. Such is the style of in between. . . . Night is falling on the year. The equinox grants us a moment of reverie, before we rush on to year's end at Samhain."

Samilova, the Spirit Of The Forest: Slavic Goddess of the woods who is the fierce protector of all animals. She has the ability to shapeshift into a falcon, horse, snake, swan or a whirlwind and would not hesitate to cause harm to anyone who threatens her creatures. She lives deep in the woods and has great knowledge of plant medicine. 

This is Samilova, my Fall Fantasy Fae. 

She is the first in a new series of dolls that combine both of my favorite mediums for creating my fairies--softsculpture and polymer clay.

Her head, torso, arms from the elbow down and feet are entirely handsculpted (no molds used, ever) so there will never be another quite like her again.

I drew her face, then handpainted and needlesculpted it. It was then attached to the head and torso, which were sculpted from italian air dry clay.

Samilova is nearly two feet tall, from the top of her head to the ends of her skirts, making her the largest doll both in height and scale that I've created. Her body is a strong wire armature wrapped in cotton batting covered in fabric,which allows her to be very gently posed.

Her beautiful face is handpainted with a blush of artist pigments, colors that I mix myself. Her gown is created of assorted vintage and antique laces, fabrics and ribbon that I've collected over the years and continually search out for my dolls. 

Her long curling hair is created from varying autumn-y shades of hand dyed mohair, lovingly applied a plait at a time. 

Her garland crown is woven of fabric leaves and is removeable. (as is her hood/wrap). The same fabric leaves and real acorn caps, trim her gown.

Hand-sculpted horns, adorned with silk autumn leaves (please see my other listings for the furry faun leggings shown--Available in child's size for $45, or adult size for $95.) 

Large burnout silk velvet fringed shawl, in shades of red, earth and burnt orange..

A glamorous take on the traditional witche's hat!

Beautiful arrangement of silk autumn flowers, leaves and raven black feathers nestled into a black satin hat. Frothy tulle cascades down the back, accented by a scattering of autumn leaves. Pure luxury! One size fits most.

You can find these and more goodies available in my shop on etsy:

http://www.faeryspellcreations.etsy.com

Thank you for looking and sharing my world :)

Enchanted Braids and Hair Falls--PuppyCatMeow

Talk about feeling like a princess for a day!

This last spring I had the fun of modelling some amazing braids and hairfalls made by Tressa at PuppyCatMeow....

  Her work is gorgeous, and she does an incredible job of custom-matching the braids to your hair color.

Here I am wearing some of my favorites...

For the less adventurous, Tressa even makes tiny headband braids, for everday wear (though truth be told, I would wear any of the braids, anytime :)

You can find and order Tressa's creations online in her etsy shop at:

http://www.puppycatmeow.etsy.com

So, get yourself on over there and get some--every girl deserves to feel like a princess for a day! :)

Ahhh... a Moment to Reflect :)

It has been a very very long time since I have had a moment to sit and catch up with everyone here.  What a busy summer and fall!  First, getting ready for my  festivals--making my costumes, and all the goodies to fill my booths with.

  I did two festivals this summer--The Sherwood Fantasy Faire in Sherwood, Oregon, and the Faerieworlds Festival in Eugene, Oregon.  Both were amazing in their own way  (and I will be posting more about them in future blogs and sharing all the wonderful pictures.)

On the heels of that was my oldest boy's birthday, and mine (we love birthdays around here! :)

After that, I attended (and was a vendor) at  a Dark Alice in Wonderland Ball at the Mt. Tabor Theater in Portland, OR.  It was a lot of fun...

THEN, Halloween! (my very favorite--and very busiest-- time of year.) This year I had to finish over 70 costume orders in a month and a half (!!!!)--no mean feat and very hard work.  Among my favorite projects this year:

Two pairs of 5 ft. tall angel wings.  This was the first time I had tried making wings this large, and they were so much fun to do (the feathers are hand-applied one at a time, so they were also very time-intensive)--but the results were more than worth it....

  my version of the  Lydia Deetz Red Wedding Dress from the classic 80's film 'Beetlejuice" was also quite a popular costume this season:

Then of course, there were the Halloween festivities (and costumes!) to create for my own family :)  I decided this year that I wanted to be Queen Ravenna from the 'Snow White and the Huntsman' film (which I love love loved and highly recommend if you have not seen it yet.)  My youngest boy wanted to be The Joker (Heath Ledger version from "Batman: The Dark Knight")  My oldest boy actually made his own costume, and I think he did a pretty amazing job if I do say so myself...

And, (since Halloween is always over too soon for my taste :)  my sister-in-law and I (and my two little guys) jumped at the chance to be part of a wonderful Dia De Los Muertos celebration on November 2nd:

Now I am finally relaxing, taking a deep breath and really looking forward to snuggling in for a cozy winter.  I plan to get this blog going again-- at least posting every week or so--I'll be elaborating on the above events and sharing some new costumes, dolls and other projects--as well as random thoughts and musings.  So glad to be back :)