Some of the stuff littering my room...

In all its pre-yanking glory.

Escaping marble, Captured Marble, and a little trapped bead.

I made these graphics for my Masquerade party! I used the amazing Adobe Illustrator CS5 software.
It all began as a pen and ink sketch of two mask. I then scanned in the page from my sketchbook.
After a few hours of tinkering around and learning the software, I finished it. Fully vectorized, colorized graphics!



*Please note that I am keeping the graphics at a low resolution for safety reason. I'll be doing this to many of my graphics from now on. It's not too small-- I wanted you to be able to see it, but clicking to enlarge will not enlarge by very much.

See also:
My Other Masquerade Posts (scroll down)

What would you like to see?

(EDIT: As you can see, I figured out how to add a poll inside my post. Please vote, and leave a comment with more information and ideas!)

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I'm wondering what sorts of things you would like to see on this blog.

Any specific crafts you would like me to try my hand at?

Would you like to see more artwork?

Tutorials? I can make step-by-step tutorials for almost any item on this blog. I can also make video tutorials, since my video camera finally functions! Say the word and I'll see what I can do!

Also-- would you like to see giveaways on here? I've noticed that many blogs do giveaways and it seems a good way to get the word out and make a reader quite happy. :)
(Also a good thing to do with some of the items that get made and promptly thrown in my "crafts box.")

Would you like the ability to purchase some of my crafts/artwork (prints or some originals) on Etsy or Artfire? They would, of course, be priced decently. I would consider taking commissions on small projects. (I already have a few items for sale to help The Shadow of the Bear Movie.)

Please leave a comment! If I make an item from your inspiration, I'll include your name and website/blog in the post I feature it in. :)

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Now for some updates:

• I am BACK! You may remember that I was moving. I had a bajillion posts that I set to automatically schedule. Well, we have settled into the new house. I'm going to be pretty busy, so I will not be posting every couple of days. (You were spoiled, you know, getting a scheduled post every two days!) Yes, the new house is amazing. And I'm having fun with a homeschool co-op here-- I got a good role in the play for drama class!
• Because I scheduled the posts, I was not able to put in all the links between them. As a result, there are some 30 posts with broken links! Please tell me if you find any broken links. (Leave a comment on that post).
• I'm working on a new logo! It will be up for votes later!
• Some of my items are up for sale! I donated them to help out my friend Elena get editing software for her film The Shadow of the Bear. Check it out HERE. See my post on it HERE.
• I have built my first website, www.inkandfairydust.com! Please check it out!
•  I am busy illustrating Pen in the Clouds, a collection of short stories by my forum friends. Check it out at www.penintheclouds.webs.com
•  I have several new projects to post! ^_^

Here it is, in all its finished glory!

This cross is by far the most complicated chainmaille project I have ever done-- especially because I had absolutely no instructions. I'd seen someone on Etsy make a chainmaille cross, but it was in a Persian weave, which I have not yet learned. So I winged it!

I got the jumprings from UnkamenGifts-- the colors are spectacular. As soon as I opened the bag, I knew that I had to make something in a rainbow fade...

I'm calling this the Byzantine Cross because, not only is it made in a Byzantine weave, but because the colors are typical of the artwork of the Church's Byzantine rite.

First try

FLOPPINESS!

Pulling it apart

Putting it back together.

The back of the revised edition.

Necklace, earrings, bracelet, and ring!

I made this jewelry set for my Mom, who loves simplicity and elegance. I keep borrowing bits of the set when she isn't wearing it. ^_^ We both love deep reds.

The "floating" look is achieved with beading wire (available at most craft stores) and crimp beads. I don't have real crimping pliers, so I used my needle-nose pliers and was able to make it work!

The beads are quite special-- the diamond shaped ones are garnet! (A semi-precious stone!) I found them on sale at Brightling Beads at the same time that I bought the supplies for my Pink Jewelry Set back in November. I still have almost half the strand left. :D

The round beads are actually from Walmart, believe it or not.

You might recognize the earrings as the Christmas ones I posted last year.

I love the way the garnet sparkles like pomegranate seeds. ^_^  Depending on the light, it looks deep red or magenta.

Hello, everyone! I have exciting news! I have designed my very first website!