What we've got here is a...leaf-napper!

The perp: Cali, a sneaky calico whose mission in life is to steal my bestest velvet leaves...

Here's my innocent box-o-leaves...When I'm not looking, she verrrry quietly jumps up onto my worktable and nuzzles around in the box til she finds just the right one. It must be a spray of leaves, preferably expensive ( from Tinsel Traders, of course), and one with some of the leaves cut off. She delicately takes it in her sharp little teeth and stealthily makes off to her lair...on a folded blankie by the window...or under our bed!
She proceeds to wrestle the thing into submission...
I didn't do it!!!!
Further evidence...Here's a close-up of the poor victim, slightly moist with a few tooth marks...

Case closed for now. Leaves returned and replaced with proper cat toy...(not!)...this is the only toy Cali likes, so I do let her play with the wire skeleton that's left over when all the leaves have been cut off. I think she thinks it's a really long, skinny bug!
Gotta love her. And I do!

That was then...

A couple of months ago I cleaned up my act a bit for a photo shoot...but it was only temporary...

This is now... I've been designing & glittering like crazy, attempting to get ready for my fall season of shows, as well as coming up with some new ideas, preparing for workshops and developing new products for my etsy store (not much time for that lately!) and making stuff for the wonderful retail stores that sell my glittergoods.

My worktable is a complete jumble,... a tangled hodge-podge of fruit, pliers, ribbons, held all together with hot glue threads! There are ribbon scraps, velvet leaves and of course, lots of glitter everywhere...(sigh)...pure heaven, if you ask me! I'll never win the award for tidy-ness, but I have a heck-of-a-time here in Glitterland! I do try to sweep up and put stuff away (sort of) whenever I have time but it seems I'm always under pressure to get something to somebody somewhere and I'd rather make stuff than clean!

Note: My motto is "A clean house is a sign of a wasted life." Another one of my favorites is "Housework is evil...it must be stopped!" There's no point in even trying to get all the glitter up anymore...however, I do try to not waste a flake cause it's expensive and I use aluminum pans to contain it but some always manages to escape, mostly on my face! But now that my studio is off the dining room table (where it lived for 6 years) and into my old kitchen at one end of the house, I can contain my glittery-ness better and there's not so much of it elsewhere.

Yesterday was "pear" day and I also worked on some veggie ideas. Just wish I had about a jillion more hours in the day so I can get everything done. Gotta go glitter something now...

With glittery love to all you fantastic blogging buddies,

(I really love reading your amazing blogs and learning about all of you and your projects...and I especially love your very kind comments.)

xoxo

The Glitter Fairy

I've been tagged.....

My friend, Michelle, from Faerie*Dust*Dreams just tagged me so heeeeeeear goes.....

4 jobs I've had:
Design Director/Graphic & Package Designer
High School Art Teacher
Assistant to the Minister of Cultural Affairs, Embassy of ****, Washingtin, DC (Wild experience!!!)
Children's Entertainer (Yup, with guitar, singing and the whole bit!)
...and I've had tons more...I know, it's the ADHD! I feel like I have (seriously) lived several lives already...and now I'm a mom AND a glitter fairy. What will be next?
4 films I would watch over and over:
That's a hard one...I don't watch many movies, can't sit still long enough...but I do enjoy...
Shrek I
The Wizard of Oz (I watch this annually)
White Christmas (just call me sentimental...sigh...)
The Sound of Music (always wanted to sing at the top of my lungs on top of a mountain!)
4 places Ive lived:
a 700 acre farm in Pennsylvania - born and raised there with the cows...( i.e., perfect childhood with nothing but nature all around...hand-made clothes by my mom, freshly pastuerized milk from the farm and freshly baked warm cookies after school. My mom was a saint! And yes, I had a beautiful collie named Cleo, who would be waiting every day after school for me at the bus stop. I'm not making this up!!!)
Rochester, NY
Washington, DC
Connecticut
4 favorite TV shows:
Any cooking show, especially Jaques Pepin or Julia or Lidia
Pretty much anything on PBS (Hey, we don't have cable!)
Ugly Betty (what a hoot!)
Martha (obviously)
4 favorite foods:
Now this IS hard...I love all food, so I'm only gonna list 4 things I don't like:
Liver, or anything that has been anywhere NEAR liver...
Peas, those little greenies...however, I do love snow-peas ( I even have a glittered snowpea in my veggie line!)
Sauer Kraut
refried beans
(Chocolate and ice cream & freshly baked chocolate chip cookies are at the top of my love list...oh, and a good steak...lobster...and anything with cream, suger or butter in it!)
websites I visit every day:
CuteOverload.com wins hands down! (The world's best website!!!)
my etsy store (to see if I've sold anything...)
my blog (obviously)
see my fav list to the rignt. ( I LOVE all my blogging friends and visit them all daily as time permits.)
4 places I love to be:
Cape Cod
My studio, up to my elbows playing in glitter and working on new ideas
In front of our fireplace, (picture a roaring fire) laying on the couch with all the other lights off, looking up at our sparkly Christmas tree all lit up in it's glory! Of course, the kids, hub & cats are all there, too!
NYC , especially Tinsel Trading Company
4 favorite colors:
periwinkle blue
moss green
white
sea foam green
(anyone see (sea) a trend here?)
4 names I love but wouldn't use for my children:
Thaddeus ( I was named after a horse-thief named Thaddeus Munson and my middle name is Munson! )
Munson (I wouldn't name a kid Munson, either!)
Loretta
Matilda

Well, that's the end...now you know everything about me...maybe tooooo much...so now I will tag.... Lidy of Littlefrenchgardenhouse , Kari of Artsymama , Karla of Sugar Bear Designs , Linda of Restyled Home , Jennifer of SisBoom Daydreams

Ta ta for now...

Kari's Artful Blogger Party..............Parrrrty-tiiiiiiiime!

Hey everybody, I'm so thrilled to participate in Artsymama's fabulous Artful Blogger Party. Please check out her blog today to meet some amazing bloggers. I love meeting new craft bloggers, to see what they are up to and also share my glittery ideas and projects.
My offering toady is the post directly below this one, "The eensy-weensy spider...(oops!)...bumblebee...!" , which shows how to make a glittered bumblebee matchbox ornament. It's not an official tutorial, with step-by-step instructions, just general info & pics, but I'm sure you'll get the idea. Any questions on the details or materials, please email me @ glitterworksstudio@sbcglobal.net.

Hope you all have a fantastic blogging day....I'll be reading all of your posts. ( Guess I won't be getting much work done today!!! YAY!)

Thanks so much to Kari, a fantastic & inspirational artful blogger!

xoxoxo

The Glitter Fairy

The eensy-weensy spider...(oops)...bumblebee!

Here's my latest matchbox ornament, with a big, glittery bumblebee front and center!

I painted the inside box moss green (big surprise, there!), then covered the outside slider with green & white decorative paper, highlighted with glitter, of course.

Next, I glued a velvet leaf on top, then added a glass glittered bumblebee. I glued a silk ribbon on the top as a hanger and filled it's little drawer with the most silky, gorgeous stuff, called Angelina. It's a wispy fiber that is used in fabrics...or in anything woven that needs some shine. I got it from my glitter company, who also makes it. Feels like bedding for an angel! Sooooo soft.

I glued a piece of white card stock on the back ( it's sort of a base) and stamped "For:" so the giver can write the givee's name or a sweet sentiment. Perfect for a single piece of chocolate! Or, better yet...something REALLY SHINEY!!!! Oooooh!

Later...

I'm a basket case....

I've always been a "basket case", ...er...I mean I am a sucker for baskets.
Any size, material, shape, I'm gonna love it.

An artichoke can make a fine basket.....cabbages make fine baskets...you never know what I'll cobble into a basket for treats or place cards! And I have waaaay too many store-bought baskets around here. I'm extra crazy about nantucket-style baskets and thankfully, The Christmas Tree shop carries tons of them at a very cheeeeep price. I just can't go in there anymore...

But... I'm also crazy for boxes. I especially love small boxes for candies, treats and treasures.

I loved making chick & duckling boxes at Easter...

I made bumble-icious bee & flower boxes this spring

( did a fun workshop on those!) ....

and now I'm working on some sliding boxes. Matchboxes or slider boxes are great to work with...so many sizes and shapes, from the teensiest for the tiniest of treasures, to large, which will hold just enough chocolate! You can buy pre-made blank ones, use a real matchbox (sans matches, of course) or make one out of a box you already have, minus the lid.

I made this one out of a recycled jewelry box and the sliding cover out of card stock, which I stamped with you-know-what...bees, with a few dragonflies for good measure. I added silk ribbon, vintage style velvet leaves, a silk flower and of course, a glittered bumblebee hovering above.

This baby even has its mouth open, just waiting for sombody to put something special in it, hopefully, chocolate...

Will be doing an ornament version for Halloween & Christmas.

A girl's gotta have a place to stash her chocolate, don'tcha know!!!

C-ya

p.s. Can you see a trend here, people??? I'm also nutsy-crazy for moss green and pea green, a few shades lighter. And BUMBLEBEES...I know, there is help...seek it!

Vacation eye candy...(sigh)...

This just in from heaven...

There's something about sunsets. Each one is so different and more glorious than the last!

(sigh)...(double sigh)...Doesn't get better than this, does it?

Sparkling apple-iciousness...

This is one of my favorite glitter fairy products. It's a faux apple, glittered and adorned with a velvet leaf , with a hand-forged wire curli-cue. You can stick your favorite picture in it, post the menu for your dinner party or stick a hand written place card into it. Makes a great gift for your guests to take home after dinner, too. I used a combo of gold ultrafine plastic glitter with antique silver glass glitter, over the apple. A bit of the golden apple color is coming thru.

I usually do these in red glitter for teacher gifts. It's a fun twist on the "apple for the teacher". You can make a small color copy of the class picture, and insert it into the curli-cue for your child's favorite teacher. I'll have some up on my etsy store in time for the holidays.

Yours in glitter...
Laurie

Well, lah-dee-dah...glittered compotes!

It's a known fact that I am an antique cake stand & compote freak. I collect them and hold them very near to my heart. I especially love the clear EAPG bakery style cake stands which are so well worn and full of history. I use them all the time for display at shows and also for foods at parties. It's amazing how elevating cookies or a cake on a glass stand can make them look terriffic.

Sooooooo... I've been working on lots of new ideas for the Fall ...and ....I started fiddling around with candlesticks, tart pans, plates, shells, bugs and of course, glitter, and ......the next thing I knew, these decorative compotes appeared! I have used different types of paints & glitter, too, including glass glitter, which means they must stay out of the way of little fingers!

The compote at the top of this post (first picture) is actually a large scallop shell, the kind you serve fancy seafood dishes in, glued to a small wooden candlestick which is glued to an upside down terra cotta flower pot saucer, with a glass-glittered dragonfly hovering overhead. Am I nuts, or what???!!! These pictures don't do them justice. They really sparkle in the sun.

These are purely decorative and are not meant to be used with food, unless you like eating glitter, but they can hold all kinds of other things. At the holidays, you can pile them high with glittered pumpkins, a candle, glass ornaments, fruit ornaments or other decorative treasures to add a bit of sparkle to your table.

The little bitty ones were made out of mini tart pans glued to small candlesticks, and can be used as place markers if you pile some mini glass balls in them and stick a place card in. I'm sure you guys can think of other ways to use them...

You never know what I'll dream up next!

Would love your thoughts, comments or ideas.

Laurie

My kind of heaven....

Just got back from The Cape and wanted to share one of my favorite moments with you. The bay has such spectacular sunsets and this baby had absolutely amazing colors! We try to stay down at the beach until the last rays dip below the horizon, even though the no-see-ums are doing their best to take up residency in our noses. Can't believe it will be a whole year til we see this sunset again...

Why, oh why, does vacation have to end???!!! ( long sigh...)

I'm gonna print this sucker out and stick it to the wall of my studio, right in front of my face!!! (longer sigh......)

More "crowning" around...

Can't seem to stop myself from making crowns with fancy papers, velvet leaves, flowers and of course, lots of glitter! This one's off to a shop on the other side of the country to bring glittery goodness to another unsuspecting diva!

Off to the beach...see you all soon!



Yours in glitter,



Laurie

Take five minutes for a quick summer note!

I am personally trying to revive the art of note writing by making beautiful cards to inspire taking pen to paper. In these frantic times of no time, emailing and cell phones, it takes a real effort to sit down, collect one's thoughts and actually write to someone.

I use the finest papers I can find, hand stamp & glitter each one, then sign and date them on the back. I've made these particular cards for some of my retail stores whose clients appreciate something handmade. I never know what combination of paper stock, ink, stamp and glitter I'll use and many are one of a kind.

I hope they inspire you to take a moment, dig your feet into the sand and drop a note to a special friend. Better yet, make a card yourself to make it even more special...

A handmade tag can really jazz up a bottle of wine, bouquet of flowers or any gift.

Glittery Sea Star Wedding Favors

After the wedding, there wasn't a single one left...and I made way more stars than there were people! Guess they liked them!

And...here's how they looked on the table, although at the beginning of the meal, they were propped up against the wine glasses. Very pretty. This pix was taken after the first glass of wine! Oops! Just a BIT blurry!!! Honest, I didn't drink the wine!!! But I did partake in a teensy-weensy taste of champagne.....mmmmmmm!

( I'm a sucker for anything wrapped up in cello! )

By the way, these are real sea stars that I glitter in seasonal colors, set with an eye hook ( so you can also use as an ornament with the hand-forged hook ) and pop into cello with a custom banner. This banner said "Love Joy Peace".

I sell tons of them yearround, but these are my summer colors: lime green, pale blue and blue-white. I do have about a gazillion different colors...but used only three for this event. Her flowers were chartreuse and shades of white. Roses, peonies, hydrangia, stock, lime green frilly stuff...To DIE for.....

There were lots of little tufts of cello bags sticking out of ladies purses...Makes a girl...er...Glitter Fairy... proud!

p.s. Sea star ornaments also look swell on the Christmas tree or mantel, glittered in golds, bronzes or silvers. I also sell them at the Holidays. ( see my etsy store )

Ta ta for now...

It's Suuuuumertime...make some faux flower tea lights

Here's a fun & easy summer project. Now that the weather is warm, it is time to eat supper out on the terrace, deck or picnic table. Faux flower tea lights are easy and fun to make! Group a bunch of them together on your dinner table and they will safely cast a warm glow ...and if you make enough of them, you can actually see your dinner!

I found very cool faux tea lights at the craft store. I know you can't really see the light in this picture, but don't worry, it's in there! They are little white round thingies with a plastic flame on top & are powered by little replaceable batteries. They flicker a bit like real candlelight and if you place one inside a faux flower, it makes a wonderful bit of light to eat dinner by.

Take the fluffiest faux flower you can find and pull it off the stem. (No, this doesn't hurt!) The one above is a white peony. Next, separate the petal layers, keeping them in order. Each petal circle will have a small hole in the center which you have to enlarge by making an "X" with an exacto knife.

Starting with the largest petal circle facing up , insert the plastic flame into the hole (from the bottom) , pushing petal down to the base of the flame. Add each layer until the flower is complete. You don't even need to glue them in place. You can , however, hot glue some leaves underneath the flower if you like. I almost forgot to tell you to add a glittered bumblebee to the flower. Just wind its wire stem around a thin cylinder such as a thin paintbrush, to make a coil and leave a straight section at the end farthest from the bee. Put a dab of hot glue inside the flower and stick the straight end of the wire into it and hold it for to seconds until the glue sets. Now your bee is hovering over the blossom and the coiled wire gives it a special "boing"!

The tealight has a little switch on the base which turns it on and off. Each will light up for about 7 hours or so. Be sure to pick up an extra batch of batteries.

I can't seem to keep myself from making little boxes with flowers and bees on top. This is a small oval box with three flowers clustered on top & a glittered bumblebee, of course! I filled it with dried lavender so it not only pleases my eye, but my nose, too!

All hail, the queeeeeeen!

The Glitter Fairy has been dreaming up new glittery surprises...and voila! Crowns! The one above is for the "Queen Bee", perfect for a birthday party or special occasion for that DIVA in your life---that could be YOU!!!
I couldn't resist putting a glittery silvered bumblebee right smack in the middle! It's trimmed with vintage tinsel, rhinestones and a gazillion yards of lavender silk ribbon (actually...7 yards each side X 2 types of ribbons= an over-the-top 14 yards! Can't have too much silk ribbon - or glitter- I always say!)


The back is covered in beautiful pink swirly paper, with a banner for you to write something special and a spot for the Diva du Jour's name.

This pink crown above is my dragonfly crown. A beautiful silk flower is being visited by a glittered champagne pink dragonfly. Rhinestones, tinsel & ribbons complete the front, and the back has a place for your name. I handwrote "Made by the Glitter Fairy" in the banner.

Crowns can make a dreary day sparkle, a child giggle and a 40th birthday party rock! And what FUN to make.

I will be doing a "Diva du Jour Crowns" workshop soon so stay tuned...I will also be selling these soon at the studio and at my etsy store.

I may have trouble parting with them, however!!!!!

You can't help but feel SPECIAL with one of these babies on your head!

You're really not gonna believe this....

Just for the heck of it, I watched the promo for tomorrow's Martha show, just to see if I was really going to be on. There I was, in all my glittered glory...YAY!!!...but then, I clicked on the Friday promo preview and there was Joan Rivers (hey, wasn't she on the other show I was on???)...and...guess what??? This is really wierd! Yup, little ol' me will be on Friday's show, too! ( Must be a really slow news week...)

I am just blown away...two days in a row on national TV...
The Glitter Gods are really, really, really smiling down on me.
Can't really absorb it. But what fun! Glitter Rules!
See ya tomorrow at 10am.
See ya Friday at 10am.