Conservatoire Du Cirque d'Alice!

Conservatoire Du Cirque d'Alice!"Conservatoire Du Cirque d'Alice" translate from French to English: "Alice's Circus Conservatory" This is a new piece I created which is part of the Storybook Friends Collection and is inspired by vintage storybooks, their whimsical and enchanting characters. For this piece I choose to work with my favorite storybook: Alice in Wonderland and my signature Carnival/Circus theme. The main character of this storybook piece is a yellow chix named Alice, who comes back to Wonderland to visit the Circus, and gets transformed into costume as a chix for the day, while enjoying the many treats that this circus has to offer.
Alice is scene here through the looking glass entering Berrie Diddle Dee's Fun House of Sugary Sweets, notice the edible sugar bulbs hanging over head and the lollipop columns and gumball lanterns surrounding her. Everything about Berrie Diddle Dee's Fun House is sugary sweet, a candyland utopia filled with everything edible, there is even a gondola boat made from hardened marzipan which floats you out of the fun house on the cherry cocktail water stream, all who leave the fun house receive a sour cherry heart candy wand, curteousy of The Queen of Hearts Confectionaires.

Stay tuned for Alice's adventure at the Circus! For Project directions on how to make your own glass jar vignettes/glass assemblages/glass jar fairies/jar cozies visit or pick up a copy of my book: "Altered Art Circus", Quarry Books!

This piece of Storybook Magic was created from a canning jar (ACMoore), Acrylic paints (Ranger, Ink) and Pink Paint (Plaid), Glitter (Art Institute of Glitter), Clay (Model Magic), Scrapbook Paper (Prima), Crepe Paper (Blumchen),Forget Me Knots Paper Flowers (Paper Source), Tinsel Sheets (Candyland Crafts) and other fab supplies.

Polly The Pixie Wizard, Wine Glass Doll and Vignette

Polly The Pixie Wizard, Wine Glass Doll and Vignette!
I love glass, its just so magical when either left alone, colored or decorated, vignettes really can bring a fantasy world to life to enjoy anywhere, anytime. Glass jars, vases and cake sets can store memories from a trip such as an adventure at the beach complete with sand, shells, and sea glass, then add a tag describing the adventure.

Everything you have in the house can be transformed into a piece of art from A1 Steak Sauce, Heinz 57, Tomato Sauce, Pickle and Olive Jars, Yankee Candle Jars (de-wax the left over wax inside), Canning Jars, Jelly and Jam Jars, Baby Food Jars, Lanterns, Gumball Machines, Clocks, Pocket Watches, Clear Top Plastic Easter Egg Containers, Glass Bulbs, Candy Jars, Wine Glasses, Apothecary Bottles, Glass Soda Bottles, Champaigne and Wine Bottles, Liquor Bottles, Mayonaise Jars, Fish Tank, Glass Animal Displays or Small Green House Displays, Glass Beekers and Science Jars, I could keep going, so many of these items can be given a new life.For this project I used a broken wine glass, which Linda broke during her demonstration Saturday on how to break a wine glass and turn into a captured jar fairy or display. I was so taken by it that I decided to make a doll and vignette out of it, even buying a bunch more wine glasses this week! I call this piece: Polly The Pixie Wizard, Doll and Vignette. The picture above is Polly in her beginning stages, with her freshly molded and paint head on the wine glass.Here is Polly with her finished head assemble with vintage piano paper hat, velvet flowers, trims, charms and pearls.Here is a photo of her body base with the enchanted vignette, a cotton candy carnival queen, created with vintage doll image, lettering, crepe paper, trims, handmade wand, crown, rhinestones, glitters and more.
These two pictures show more of Polly's details and magic.Here is a full view of Polly completely finished!Here is Polly surrounded by her magical carnival chairs, ready for her pixie cabinet.The chairs pictured with Polly are the pieces for the poker chip swap on the faerie zine, My mom and I made the poker chip chairs together using poker chips, my clay parts, pearls, velvet trim, paper wire and more!

Project in brief:
1.The wine glass doll and vignette was made using a wine glass with stem broken off.
2.The wine glass Base is used to build the vignette on, gluing the image to the broken stem and coating with glitters. I recommend using glossy accents by Ranger (Linda's idea), or I love clear caulk or liquid nails to glue items to glass.
3.When satisfied with your glass vignette, glue the base rim to the wine glass rim using one of the glue's I mentioned above, let dry over night, decorate with rhinestone trims, and more.

Polly was also decaupaged w/vintage piano paper, a sepia decaupage medium, painted w/Claudine Hellmuth paints and lots of trims.

For similar glass projects, poker chip projects and images, read my book:
Altered Art Circus! http://www.amazon.com/Altered-Art-Circus-Techniques-Assemblages/dp/1592534872

Have a magical day or how my friend Marlene says it: "Have a honey of a day!"
xo!
Lisa!

Wedding Opera Glass Vignettes!

Wedding and Party Glass Vignettes!After my book signing and project demonstration at ACMoore in Allentown, PA, I started making more and more jar fairies, finally completing a custom bridal shower order for a customer in Massachusettes, who ordered 22 medium sized jars.She had wanted vintage wedding shower/garden tea lady style images, with a bit of sweetness, vintage and German Glitter. After my signing I came home and was re-energized, since I did a load of jar fairy demo's. The more you do of something, the more the ideas start to swirl around in your head, always flickering back and forth. As I looked at the jars during the demo, I said their lids need a little dazzle and height, that's when I decided to go with an opera theme, using chipboard pre-cut signs as that added height, layered each one w/designer paper, their first name initial and glitter.When I came home I looked at the half done jars and said they need some height, when you get married, a Bride's head has lots of height, from a tiara and veil. So I decided to do the opera sign on each jar, using the chipboard base, chipboard letter: W (her name is Wendy, and its for her Wedding, so the letter "W" worked perfectly. I layered each jar w/creamy shredded paper, a sheet from a vintage wedding book (1920's), a vintage wedding doll image, vintage reproduction millinery forget me not flowers, German Glass Glitter in Silver and in Gold, with a mini beige tulle veil on the doll. Finally I covered the lid's center w/more glitter. These main photos are the example I made for myself and to show variation on the wedding and fairy glass vignettes!Now I have an order of 12 princess glass jar vignettes for a party in California. The customer has requested they be prodominately pink, creamy, beige, lemonade yellow and silver/gold glitter, lots of sparkle and bling w/ a princess theme.

These jars will have the creamy beige paper base, vintage princess story book pages, a vintage princess doll image, extra pink tulle, and the jar tops will have a handmade rhinestone/pearl and mercury silver seed bead crown/tiara, glitter and sign. These pictures will be up when I'm done in about 3 weeks.

When starting your own glass vignettes aka captured jar fairies, remember the possibilities are endless.
Here is a photo of the jars I did at my book signing and demonstration, these are what sparked my newest jars!These are the original wedding/bridal party jar vignettes I made several yeasr back for the members of the bridal party that I was in. These are the ones that have spun off my jar custom orders. Each one of these was made w/excelsior, vintage images, digital painted opera cover from my image collection, vintage wire, simple embellishments and vintage silk flowers.

Tips:
-Try shredding vintage book pages and use that as the base, what about natural raffia or excelsior for the base, model magic, craft batting, moss, reindeer moss, shells, sand, paper mache, floral foam modeling material (comes in pink color in a bag, when mixed water it hardens to a floral foam texture, but it can also look like cotton candy) the choice is yours.
-try coating a vintage image layered on cardstock with gel medium, let dry. Then glue to inside of glass jar, fill jar with resin for a cool paperweight.
-Use a glass jar as the body of an art doll, build a scene inside the jar and on top of the jar's lid.Here is a smaller jar vignette I made for a dear friend Rose, made from an old jelly jar, excelsior, vintage image (this image is from a larger vintage image that I digitally colored in, tghe full image is available in my book altered art circus and is the image I used for the Pageant Crown in the book).

I also used dried flowers, and a huge wire ribbon that I tied into a bow shape. The chandelier piece is handmade by me, using a mold I made and resin, and a few simple techniques.

I could go on for days, if you want to learn more jar fairy/illustrated jars, glass vignettes, jar fairy cozies (like tea cozies), captured fairy wands and more visit these projects in my book:
Altered Art Circus, Quarry Books!

Have a magic filled weekend!
xoxo!
Lisa!

Sweet and Scrumptious Vignettes!

Inside these glass jars are sweet licorice hard candies and sour sweet wild cherry hard candies. I love love love cherries, cherry anything, and I love imported dark licorice, dark chocolate, coconut (anything coconut), and toffee, super faves. I usually buy my hard candies at the Cracker Barrel Store, love that place, its like walking back in time when you enter their General Store!

Here I placed my candies in jars to easily grab or for guests to devour...I love the look of a vintage Parisian Sweet/Confectionary Shoppe.

My studio is finally getting the make over again, should be mostly done by June...My personal space was lacking some magic, Although I had a theme: Fairy Apothecary, It really had to come alive and sprinkle magic every day. So I am working on the organization now, and are keeping loads of jars filled with yummy, sweet and scrumptious candies in them, for the organizing.

Magic and Joy!
Lisa!

Le Mer-Mystique Circus!

This is a captured jar fairy I made called: Le Mer-Mystique Circus!

The Story of the Le-Mer-Mystique Circus, begins along the French Riviera of France, in a tiny magical town called, Mystique, its creator Jacques Maurice, was a brilliant archaeologist, who received world that mermaid remains were found off the Almalfi Coast on a tiny little island, with underground caverns and tunnels, just recently discovered.

When Jacques heard this, he gathered his team and they sailed straight for the island which has been called: The Isle of Juliette, after the island's explorer, Juliette Laveins, who discovered the island 3 years ago and has been working there researching the mermaid myth, but with the discovery of the underwater caverns and female/fish like remains, the myth is becoming a fact.

With only 3 weeks on the Island, Jacques, was awaken by a mesmerizing sound, voices of pure enchantment, he followed the sounds to he reached the entrance of another cave. It looked un-discovered, he walked through the vine invested tunnel inside the cave and came upon the most enormous display of lights at the end of the tunnel, when he looked over the tunnels edge, he couldn't believe his eyes, there must have been over 300 mer-people in elaborate gowns, and tuxedo's, sitting down watching a spectacular performance of legendary sea sprites, mermaids and mer-animals, it was magical.

Then a dozen royal mer-gaurds spotted him and lead him to their guard center, how could he hear and see them, was their question, he didn't know? But how could he? Why did he know his way around the Island and how come he always saw a mer-woman in his dreams? What did it mean?

His questions would not be answered now. Before he was released, jacques took an oath of secrecy to the colony and was lead out of the tunnel, which again was hidden with even more layers of vines and folliage.

Then Jacques awoke back in his tent, not knowing if he dreamt last night, or if it was real. Jacques stayed on the island another week, with no other strange occurances, he lfet with his team for home, a year later The Le Mer-Mystique Circus was born, out of one man's dream, his imagination and desire to find magic and achieve artistic bliss.


This jar fairy has been embellished with a multitude of images, from my collection, all double layered onto black posterboard for durability.

I even have a swinging acrobatic celestial clown, attached inside the jar with soft silver metallis thin thread, to lid.

I then added reindeer moss, real shells from my Monhegan Island Shells collection, rustic wire, sequims, glitters, etc.

The background image has been layered with another image, so the back of the jar, has a scene as well.

Hugs!
Lisa!

Ironically this jar fairy was SOLD over a year ago to a wonderful customer in France!

The Queen of Fairyland!

Meet Candie Meadows, The Queen of Fairyland! Here is Queen Candie, welcoming Spring and Easter in her blooming egg garden, just outside her palace in Cottonwood.

Today she will hold the annual Easter Bunny Ceremony where she bestows Mr. Bunny with extra magic, which last all season, this will enable him to surprise children everywhere (Adults too), with Easter Candies and Baskets.


Plus today will mark the official day of candy making, Cottonwood Confectionaires and Percy Pookerman's Candy factories will be extra busy, making sure there is enough confections to go around.
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This is a 3-D assemblage/ vignette made in a 8 inch Easter Egg with removable lid. inside you will find my handmade Papier Puppen: Queen Candie, Handmade paper clay eggs, vintage Bouillion, moss, painted vintage lettered paper, tinsel, glitters and more.

Mom's Birthday Jar!

This is a birthday jar vignette I made as one of my mom's birthday presents, similar to another I made a few weeks ago, only different images, painted top, flowers and sequins. The Main image is a mix of a Galerie Des Modes Image and vintage Marie Antoinette Children's Illustration.

The interior image is a Marionette Illustration, and a Marie Antoinette image attached to an Opera Style background, inserted into the jar, which is first layered with moss and the main image. Then the other pieces get inserted.

Finally the outside of the jar is embellished with paints, tulle, paper flowers, sequins and more.

Custom Jar Fairy! Flowers

Here is a custom jar fairy!

Made from a variety of materials, which I got carried away with making from hand painted excelsior moss, digitally created images, crepe paper, tinsel, millinery flowers, pearls, tulle, vintage storybook and Galerie Des Modes Images, designer papers, Crown, glitters, ribbons, velvet, painted sequins and many more vintage and vintage style pieces, complete with glittered tag made with antique silver glitter color.


I love glass vignettes, they transport you into another world, a secret place where magic is present all around you!


Captured Jar Fairies/Vignettes can be made from a variety of images and materials, make them into birdcages, indoor plant conservatories, bulbs, shadow boxes, boxes, old clocks, gumball and candy machines, bird houses, doll house frames, canisters, tins and more.