Autumn Wreath 2013

Long time no post! My apologies, everyone, life got in the way of crafting and now that I’ve graduated from college and moved to a new town, I finally have time to craft and blog again! The leaves are turning and the weather is turning crisp, so I had the urge this morning to make a wreath for the front door! A quick trip to the craft store and some twisting and bow-making later, here is the final product!

I’ve never made a wreath before, so I stuck with a pre-made base (only $5 at Michaels!) and twisted in craft flowers with long stems.

This cluster of flowers has two mini crows peeking out from behind.

These two mini crows seem to be guarding the bow that holds the wreath to the door.

 

 

The bows were a lot of fun to make – I used this tutorial to do them, and it’s really easy to do! The ribbon I bought (“Celebrate It” brand) has wire already in the edging, so it was easy to twist around itself to keep together.

Have any favorite styles of wreaths or tips for future designs? Leave them in the comments!

Until next time,

Anna

19 hours until my Indiegogo campaign ends!

With only 19 hours left until my Indiegogo campaign ends, I’m still trying to reach my new goal of $1000 so that I can purchase a new lens for my camera. Please help me by reposting, emailing, tweeting about it!! If you want to @ tag me on Twitter, my handle is @thegreyladies. Thank you! http://www.indiegogo.com/psych-of-bullying?a=674139

Love,

Anna

Steampunk Earrings!

This past week, I ordered a bunch of gears and such to use in my wristcuffs. When I got them, however, they were SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than I was expecting! Definitely not usable in my cuffs, but by playing around with them, I realized that I could make them into earrings! So far I’ve managed to get 4 pairs out of all the bits and bobs, but I’m getting down to the much smaller pieces now, so I’m not sure how many more I can make.

I’ll be selling these earrings at the craft faire at LeakyCon in two weeks. Here’s a sneak peek!

I’ve also been working on wrist cuffs again, and have about 7 new Slytherin ones made! I’ll be posting images and such soon. There are still a ton of wrist cuffs up for sale on my Etsy shop, so go check them out! http://etsy.com/shop/SteampunkFabricDream

DFTBA

-Anna

Ascendio 2012 – Costumes and Craft Faire

It’s been nearly a week, but I’m finally settled back home after Ascendio, the Harry Potter convention I went to in Orlando, FL. The convention was incredible, and I’ve posted a blog about it from the performer’s perspective on the Harry Potter Alliance’s Imagine Better blog (view it here).

Steampunk Fabric Dreamer at Ascendio 2012’s Craft Faire – Photo Credit: Jenn Racek/HPEF 2012

Beyond performing, one of my major experiences at Ascendio was the Craft Faire, and it was a HUGE success! I sold out of all of my Slytherin wrist cuffs and most of my Ravenclaw ones. I’m going to be attending LeakyCon in just a couple of weeks in Chicago, where I will be selling more cuffs. :) The above is a photo of me at my booth from the Craft Faire. If you missed my booth at the Craft Faire, weren’t able to attend Ascendio, or just would like to purchase any wrist cuffs, what remains of my stock is available on my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/SteampunkFabricDream

Performing “In Noctem” – Photo Credit: Jenn Racek/HPEF 2012

I also had the opportunity to wear my Rowena Ravenclaw costume a couple of times at the convention…including at our musical revue performance Wands x Wands x Wizards! I was in three group numbers, and was Ron in “The Mysterious Ticking Noise”! :)

“Put love in your heart” – Photo Credit: Jenn Racek/HPEF 2012

“The Weapon We Have Is Love” – Photo Credit: Jenn Racek/HPEF 2012

Another Indiegogo Campaign Update!

Hey everyone,

As you know, my Indiegogo campaign reached its funding goal a couple weeks ago – so I decided to up my goal for the end of the campaign to $1000! I would love to be able to purchase a new lens for my Nikon D40x so that I may expand on and explore my senior project in more depth.

The campaign ends on July 30th, just 10 days away, and every day I am having a friend record a video talking about bullying and my project. As of right now, I am just $255 shy of my $1000 goal. Even a donation of $5 could make the difference. If you’re not able to donate, I completely understand. Even just passing the link along to others who might be interested in the project could help. Thank you so much, and thank you to those who have already donated.

Link: http://www.indiegogo.com/psych-of-bullying

-Anna

UPDATE: Indiegogo funding goal reached!!

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has donated to my campaign! The contributions have reached $715 as of yesterday, and I am over the moon. Thank you for believing in me and my project, and for getting me this far! I will do everything in my power to honor your contributions with the best possible photography project that I can create.

There are still 23 days left for this campaign, and I am going to raise the goal that I am aiming for to $1000. I would love to be able to take close-up shots for this project, and my DSLR’s standard 15-55 mm lens doesn’t allow for that. I have, however, found a NIKKORmacro lens that would fit my needs perfectly if I had the funding. So please, keep emailing, tweeting, posting on Facebook and any other media platforms so that I can create an amazing project for you all!

Thank you again,

Anna

Another wrist cuff + $85 to go!

Hey everyone,

As of today, I have raised $615 for my senior comprehensive project! I’m only $85 away from reaching my goal, and it’s thanks to people like you who support my artistic endeavors via donations, tweets, links in blogs and Facebook, etc. Thank you so much to all of you!!

There are still 27 days left for this campaign, so please spread the word and help me make this project happen! Any contribution you are able to give to this project will be greatly appreciated. <3 Link: http://www.indiegogo.com/psych-of-bullying?a=674139

Here is another cuff I’ve made to sell at HPEF’s Ascendio! No house colors this time, and it turned out so great!

Love,
Anna

Artist Website and a Fundraiser Update!

Hey everyone,

Two posts ago I mentioned the fundraiser I’m doing for my senior comprehensive project. As of yesterday, I have raised $565, which is a mere $135 short of my $700 goal! Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed, shared, commented and encouraged me on this project thus far! I am overwhelmed by the support I received in just the first two weeks of this campaign. I am humbled and inspired that you all believe in this project, and I’m so excited/nervous to get started!

There are still 32 days left for this campaign, so please spread the word and help me make this project happen! Any contribution to this project will be immensely appreciated. <3 Link: http://www.indiegogo.com/psych-of-bullying?a=674139

ALSO, I’m sure that it got lost in the shuffle of my post on wrist cuffs, but I have recently been working on my artist website. Please check it out at http://mindscastshadows.wordpress.com!

Thank you,

Anna

Slytherin Wrist Cuffs – Before & After

I just wanted to show you guys what the before and after of making these cuffs looks like. :) I took the photos with my phone, as I’m still searching for my D40x’s charger, so sorry for any blurriness in the photos.

I don’t have a pattern or specific shape I want to make going into making a cuff. I just cut the fabric and see where it goes from there. If I cut it too short or not wide enough, as was the case here, I just simply add more of an accent color to it.

And here is the “after” shot! This I actually took while I was on the bus to WV yesterday. I discovered just how difficult it was to get a clean shot on a moving vehicle, and this is the least blurry shot I got. Enjoy! :)

-Anna

Hogwarts House Wristcuffs and so much more!

Hey everyone! I know I haven’t posted any scrapbook pages in a while, but this summer has been busier than most. I’ll be home a grand total of 7 days this month, and the majority of those days are already over. I’ve been to two weddings and a bar mitzvah, visited my boyfriend in NYC last week and on Tuesday I will be leaving for West Virginia to participate in my best friend’s wedding on the 30th (I’m her maid of honor).

In my downtime, I’ve been rehearsing for Mischief Managed, the play that we will be putting on at Ascendio in just a few short weeks, and making things to sell at Ascendio’s Craft Faire. I’m going to be selling steampunk-esque wrist cuffs and knitted flower hairpins, some of which I posted about when I was on the road to Canada.

These are some of the Gryffindor wristcuffs I’ve been working with. As you can see, I’m not trying to make any identical sets – they will all be individual with varying styles and materials. All of my wrist cuffs are made of upcycled materials I have purchased at thrift stores and yard sales.

You may have seen some of these before – I’ve been working with these materials since Halloween of last year and made my first wrist cuffs for my Rowena Ravenclaw outfit out of them. I’ve been working with the design of the cuffs, and have determined the best closure for them is elastic, which  you can see in the Gryffindor cuffs image. The topmost piece is a choker.

Here are some shots of me wearing them to give you an idea of the fit:

This last image is very true-to-color on the red (which is a very shiny, beautiful material). The middle shot is more accurate for the gold fabric.

I’m working very hard to make as many of these cuffs as I can for Ascendio. I still need to get to the fabric store/find thrift stores in my area to search for the Slytherin and Hufflepuff fabrics, so until then I will keep working on my Ravenclaw and Gryffindor cuffs.

UPDATE: I just finished my first Slytherin cuff! This one has been preordered. :)

I couldn’t figure out where to put the Dark Mark at first, but then my brain clicked: “Dark Mark. Goes on forearm. Oh right.” Haha. I’m so thrilled with how this one turned out! </update> :)

And here are some of my flower hairclips I’ve been working on!

Questions/suggestions? Fire away! :)

Also, an update on my senior comprehensive project fundraiser on Indiegogo: with 36 days left to go, I am just shy of my $700 goal by $150. That’s only 21.4% to go! If you would like to know any further information about the project, please go to http://www.indiegogo.com/psych-of-bullying?a=674139 .

LAST THING! (Can you tell I’ve been busy? xD) I’ve FINALLY started up an artist website for myself. It’s still under construction, but here is a link if you would like to check it out: http://mindscastshadows.wordpress.com/

Thank you so much, and I will post again very soon.

Anna