Framed Collages...and an Artful Dress

Back in May, I purchased two collages from the Collage Mania sponsored by Fiber Art For a Cause. Today I got them back from the framers. Wow, wow, wow!

Rayons de Soleil de Printemps (Spring Rays of Sunshine) by Roxanne Stoner

This one has a frame that resembles bamboo, but has a metallic gleam. What really sets off this piece is the deep green matte. I have never framed one of my quilts or pieces of fiber art before. The framer stitched the collage on top of the matte, and it is all protected in glass. She admitted to pricking her finger on one of the porcupine quills in the cape.

The next is Fluttering, by Annette Rogers. The gleam on this frame brings out the gleam of the materials in the leaves. However, I did not notice until I got home that they installed the wire hanger for horizontal display rather than vertical. I will look at it this way awhile and see if I want to change it.

Now for the Artful Dress. Some may call it an Awful Dress. Some may call it sculpture. The creator calls it Moist Mother Earth. Since I have an Etsy shop, I subscribe to their newsfeeds. This dress in The Faerie Market shop was featured and it is amazing! I have not used the picture due to copyright issues, but you need to check it out. Then check out some of her other hats and scarves! Not to mention her other sculptured dress, Perelandra. I wonder what Project Runway would think of this designer!

By the way, I checked out my Etsy store, and all my items were missing. What???

It seems that they let your listings expire without warning. I was able to retrieve them, so I did not have to start all over on the lengthy listing process.

Listings expire in four months, FYI.

Fantasy Garden, 2009

I was notified that another of my fabric postcards is being showcased in what is called a "treasury" of Etsy finds. This one, "Hey Mr. Postman" is by Dayna at ThreadedExpressions on Etsy. Mine is the very first one in the collection.

I recently joined a "Creative Challenge" posted on a Needle-Felting list. The base is fabric is made from a black trash bag ironed to strips of colored plastic from shopping bags. I have been cutting up plastic bags and household items to get some colored plastic, and am ready to begin. Sounds awful, but the picture of the finished product looks lovely when organza and pretty stitching is added.

I Have an Etsy shop!

Yesterday I spent several hours setting up a shop on Etsy, which is sort of an EBay for handmade items. You don't have to bid, as all the prices are set by the seller. I have had lots of fun searching Etsy and admiring the creations. I have also purchased art from two of my favorites, Violette Clark and Fannie Narte.

My shop is called, big surprise, All Things Quilty. Not sure if that is a good idea or not, but my blog readers can find me easily! My Etsy user name is quiltnc. I have thumbnails of some of my Etsy items on my sidebar.

It took about two hours to set up the shop and list the first item. After that, it was much faster. So far, I have just listed several fabric postcards. I will continue to add items, including some of my trapunto quilts.

Thanks for looking! If anyone has any ideas to improve my Etsy page, I would be glad to hear from you.

Etsy Art Purchases

By now, many of you are familiar with the big online auction site e-Bay, or a similar site serving as a yard sale for the whole world. But do you know about Etsy? It is e-Bay for artists! Everything for sale on Etsy is handmade.

I have never put any items for sale on Etsy, and until yesterday, had never purchased anything. But two of my favorite bloggers posted pictures of some of their creations, and I decided to claim them for chez McBrayer.

First, the delightful Fannie of Imagine, Create, Inspire posted this Rose Art Quilt on her July 25 blog post. The last sentence of the post was "This Rose is for you." I took her literally! The fact that my new sewing room is painted in peach and yellow may have influenced this purchase. But you know I love flowers, and I am also wanting to explore the use of Neocolor pastels.

The second Etsy purchase was from Violette Clark, who I have mentioned in this blog several times. Just use the "Search Blog" text box at the top of my blog and type in her name. I have been a fan since I first saw her artwork and funky home in Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine. I started visiting her website and blog after that, and saw these little head houses which she featured on her blog on July 23. Had to have one! I purchased the smaller one with the happier face.

My home features a lot of artwork, mainly consisting of my quilts and my father's paintings or prints and some pottery pieces. But why not become a collector? Now I have a good start. Don't forget this lovely piece that I just won from Wanda Hanson at Exuberant Color.
Now, have I started you on another way to procrastinate while you scope out some eye candy?