Another Diversion

Over the years I have accumulated a ridiculous amount of aprons.  I'm not really sure why I have kept them all.  While going through them, deciding which to keep, which to donate and which to throw out, I came across this denim one.  I really liked the pockets and shortened the length by about 10 inches and decided it was a keeper. 

Being a rather plain apron I decided to embellish it a little with scraps from a couple of pairs of jeans I shortened for my daughter, a blouse I just couldn't part with (because I loved the fabric so much) and the embroidered emblem from a Renaissance Festival sweatshirt. I really loved doing the repetitive circular stitching pattern. This is my favorite apron now ... I really want to make and embellish another one.  

First Snow Fall

Even though we have already had some snow this season, this is the first real snow storm coming through. I hear they are expecting another 6 inches by tonight.

This is the Renaissance inspired playhouse in our back yard that my husband designed (with the help from my Father) and built years ago for our daughter.

Lana Socia - Fiber Artist

I just had to share these photos with everyone. These fabulous needle felted figures are made by Lana Socia of Howell, Michigan. Her business name is "Raven Oaks" and she is the new owner of my former shop out at the Michigan Renaissance Festival.

Not only does Lana create the most amazing work , she is a delightful and lovely person and is a member of the "Black Sheep Weavers Fiber Guild" based out of Hartland, Michigan. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a website or a blog at this time.

She has such a wonderful variety of merchandise, from the beautiful felted flower pins (above) to small area rugs (shown below) and of course her many different and cleverly crafted figures.

Along with her beautifully executed wool felt pieces she does rug hooking, makes hand dyed wool (seeing her delicious dyed wools sure makes me want to take up knitting), and she also offers supplies and classes.

Please stop by and check out her work (and her new shop!) when you attend the Michigan Renaissance Festival. I wish her all the best with her new venture and hope it brings her as much joy and as many fond memories for the future as it has for me.

A Bittersweet Ending

So, I guess it's official, I am no longer a Rennie ... I JUST sold my Renaissance Festival building. I have been a participant for 17 years and I have really enjoyed it, but it is time to move on. I have finally come to terms with the fact that I can not do both the Festival and the Art Journaling (including workshops) so I had to make a choice between the two of them. So now I can devote all my time and energies to Art Journaling and other mixed media projects which have become my true passion. To view previous posts and see more photos of the Renaissance Festival click here.

"Belly Dancer" Journal page

Even though there is a week left of Festival, I am done making stock. I am now finishing up a few loose ends and I will focus strictly on preparations for the upcoming JournalFest, which begins October 21st.

************************

The above Journal page is for a Round Robin book. The theme is dance and I choose Belly Dancing. The image of the Belly Dancer is one of my all time favorite photos. I love both the design and the colors of the photo ... in fact so much so that I designed the master bath around this photo .... including the ceramic tile. The background of this page is made using left over paint from the bathroom redo.

Fairy Release

I have spent months doing what seems like nothing but making fairies. A few breaks in between just to keep my sanity. Admittedly, the first thousand or so were lots of fun, but after making these for 17 years, the thrill has somewhat faded. For a few years I have been truly passionate about Art Journaling, but find there isn't enough time to pursue it as deeply as I'd like. I have too many other interests and something has to give. After much thought and trepidation (and slumping sales due to the economy)

I have decide to take a year off from the Renaissance Festival to regroup and decide what direction I want to take my work. The plan is to lease out my building for next year and in this time I will also decide if I want to sell the building and call it quits altogether. It's a very hard decision ... one I have been considering for quite some time. Until that time, I release these fairies into the world. These fairies are approximately 4.5" X 6.5". Photos enlarge to show detail.

Michigan Renaissance Festival

I just wanted to share a few photos I took out at festival over the weekend. This is a photo of the shop on Labor day morning with all the fog. The entire village had an eerie glow to it, it looked wonderful!

Later that same morning as the fog begins to lift.

This is the Fairy Egg display case with all the trimmings. I'm pleased with the final look.
My inventory is frightfully sparse this year. We are having a hard time making the shop look full. I have been working frantically on stock, but am unfortunately not getting anywhere fast.
And finally a photo of my lovely assistant (hanging out at the puppet shop next door instead of tending her Mother's shop).

"Color" journal page

I have to admit this is not one of my favorite journal pages. It is done in a composition book for a round robin I am participating in. The theme of this particular book is "Color my World". I did this spread at the Renaissance Festival with very limited supplies. So, with what little I had to work with, I am somewhat pleased with what I came up with ... this was quite a challenge. I find it very difficult to do this kind of work away from all my supplies. As I rarely plan out my work and it is done in a very spontaneous manner, it's very difficult to anticipate what I will need.

Elfin

I have uploaded many photos of these Elfins before, but just had to show yet another. I just love this color. Check out the little fairy earring ... almost makes me want to get my ears pierced so that I can wear it. Photos enlarge to show detail.

Michigan Renaissance Festival

And so begins another season at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. I can't believe it, but this is our 17 year there ... where does the time go?! We are off to another slow start, but hopefully things will pick up as the season progresses. The first 2 weekends are historically very slow.

We have made a new display unit to hang on the front of the building that will house our "Fairy Eggs"... Delightful little necklaces with a fairy, trinkets and quote all encased in glass. In a rush to get things ready for opening day the necklaces were rather hastily hung inside the cabinet. It will be spruced up further. I plan to put some leaves and lacy, feathery type fabric along the inside edges of the case, that will add some intrigue and soften the look up a bit. The fairy imagery was made by my late father and was part of an old display unit he had made for me years ago.

Renaissance Costume

My daughter, Kiersten, is helping me out this year at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. She has grown considerably since last year, so a new costume was in order. Spent the day making her one. Have to admit I rather like this one. The Festival starts this Saturday. Most everything is in place ... aside from inventory ... probably should start thinking about making some soon.

Elfins

Elfin on pedestal - SOLD

Elfin on the base is 18" tall and the Elfin in the pod is 12" tall including the antenna. All photos enlarge to show detail. As you can see, today my favorite color is orange.

Elfins in pods

Hard at work making stock for the Renaissance Festival. It starts August 22nd, so I will have no life until it's all over on October 4th. I enjoy it, bit it is an amazing amount of work. All the photos above enlarge to show detail. Including the antenna these figures are 12" tall.

"All's Faire in Love"

Last year our Michigan Renaissance Festival was the site for filming of the movie "All's Faire in Love". There was much excitement last season during the filming, most of which was done during Faire hours. Follow this link to see pictures and a film trailer. The film is to be released this summer (we are hearing September 17th). Festival dates are weekends August 22nd through October 4th Labor Day and Festival Friday.

Back to playing with dolls

Sometimes plans can get REALLY delayed. I started these a few months ago. In fact if you scroll down all the way to April 12th you can see where I first started constructing the paper mache cones for these figures. Between not having the proper doll parts and other projects that came up needing priority over these, they were put on hold. I plan (or at least I hope) to make at least 4 more of these wall mounted pieces before going off onto yet another project. From tip to tip (including antennas) they are each 29" tall and will be available at our shop at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. Both these photos enlarge to show more detail.

Michigan Renaissance Festival

This was in today's newspaper. I didn't even know about it till my husband came home with this newspaper. How fun is that? I had no idea it was going to be run. It's hard to tell from the picture, but that's our shop to the left with fairies hanging from the ceiling overhang.

Fairy eggs!

I just finished up these little Fairy eggs and have to admit I am pretty excited about them, they are just so enchanting and magical. If you enlarge the above image you can get a better look at the tiny fairy captured inside. She is floating among tiny silver stars with clear and golden glass spheres. The quote reads "Give her wings so that she may fly". The egg is 5/8" X 1 1/4" and about 1/2" thick. This will be my new item for the Michigan Renaissance Festival for the up coming season. What fun these will be in all different colors! They will be available in my ETSY shop and on the website (after I am able to rework some areas on the website first).

Journal pages

Just a few more journal pages as this journal draws to a completion. I just have one more spread to do and it's full. Still at a bit of a loss as to how to handle the cover, there are some papers covering it, but it still needs quite a bit of work. I have my new journal all set and ready and am looking forward to starting on that. I really enjoy working in these Altered loose leaf binders, they seem to open up so many more possibilities and have fewer limitations than a regular bound book.

Purple Princesses

I just can't seem to make these Steam Punk styled princesses fast enough for the festival. I am not complaining of course, that's wonderful, I just wish I had thought to start them earlier in the season. I have so many ideas for the Elfins in the Steam Punk style. After Festival and some other commitments I believe I will start exploring the possibilities. In the mean time I shall start pulling out the metal wheels, cogs, copper tubing and other various metals to incorporate into the pieces. My head is already spinning with ideas. I'm thinking of some pretty wild contraptions that the Elfins will actually be riding on.

Labor Day weekend at Festival

This past weekend was Labor day weekend. Three days in a row of Festival is very long and hard. However, I had the pleasure of my 2 lovely assistants, shown above, to help the day go more smoothly. We have had record crowds this year,

which can be exhausting and wonderful at the same time. Festival is all abuzz as next week (and the following 2 weeks) filming for a new movie ... apparently staring Jack Black will begin filming on festival grounds during fair hours. So little is know about the details right now, so of course rumors are flying, it should prove to be interesting and we are looking forward to it. In the meantime Festival is scrambling to accommodate record crowds, film crews and equipment. All the participants have to park at the ski resort 2 miles away and will be shuttled in by tour buses ... what fun and crazy 3 weekends these will be!