Little mermaid is ready for her close up..hehe

Close up...well I said she was ready!!

I had so much fun making this for my niece for Christmas. I hope she likes her and will take care of her. Of course, she is still at that rough and tumble stage...can't decide if she is a tomboy or a little princess..most days she's both..hehe!! So we will see.

I made her scales out of stretchy purple cording so that they could hold the barrettes easily. Just clip them on and clip them off. Depending on the size of the bows it can actually hold about 7. I posted the three I made her and there will be one more but it's already in it's lil box. (New here? Would you like to make your own cute lil gift boxes? Click HERE) The little fishies bubbles can hold single hair twist and she can even hang a few on the shell. I just love my broken shells...they are just as pretty as the whole ones. If this one makes it through her "tomboy" stage and she actually starts wearing hair bows more than every so often then I will make her a bigger one. I am blessed to have a friend that turns into my muse at times and has no idea she does (until I tell her..hehe) She was telling me about these little dolls she made a long time ago that had long braids that you could attach bows to. Well....why in the world didn't I think of that with this one? Ohh man...V8 moment, ri iight?? The next one I make will have yarn hair instead of the paper hair and I will make several long braided strands so that they can be used as holders too. Hmmmmmm, Capt Jack (ummmmm..Johnny Depp just popped in there too) What were we talking about? Thinking thinking...OH YES...hair braids. Sorry, kinda got distracted there. I will make the braids like Capt Jack's,  with shells and trinkets too. 

These are the hair bows or accessories I made her. The top one is the one already in it's little box. The bottom one WAS one of my hemp/yarn bracelets. Things have a way of starting out as one thing and turning out into something completely different. I think it looks really cute as a hair barrette now. The pretty burgundy one with the pearl button in the middle I so love and it can be worn with a pretty dress or even with jeans and a tshirt. Princess or tomboy times..hehe  It's just pretty!! I wanted to let ya'll know if you make hair barrettes that I have found the perfect backing for them. Nicole's beadbacking!! It's great for this kinda project and any project where you need a sturdy yet workable/sewable/glueable backing. Keep her in mind for your next project!! She has an awesome blog herself and well...you should go visit. Really...GO!! Well...after you finish here first of course. ^_^

Now that I'm finished with all of my nieces gifts, I'm going to start on the teachers gifts. The Chazman gets out of school next Friday so I need to get busy busy busy!!! Ohhhhhh (looking around) I have to work on one of his gifts next week too while he is in school. I'm making him a baby dragon. He loves dragons almost as much as his momma does....almost!! HEHE He still proudly has his Seadragon I made him last year on his shelf so that he can see it while playing his games. 

Seadragon!!

Until next time.....Hugs,

Regi

Have you tried Beadbacking yet?? WOW

Everyone that knows me....knows that I love to sit under the old Southern Ooaks tree and design my clay whimsy characters.

I also love to dance around the old tree...bringing out my gypsy, bohemian soul that resides inside me. That soul is the one that designs my jewelry pieces.

 I have been going crazy designing new corsage pins and I was getting a bit worried about how I was doing the backing. I have been using felt. Plain simple felt. I LOVE felt but it wasn't really strong enough to support the weight of the fabric roses and the clay beads I have been making to go in them. I was placing all the work on one piece of felt and then placing a piece of cardboard in between another piece of felt to give it strength and just thought..."THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY...WAHHHHH". Then I remembered my dear friend, Nicole, over at Beadwright and had one of my V8 moments. Yeah..yeah..I do have them every once in awhile..hehe!!!!

Nicole is one awesome, fantastic bead artist AND she sells beading supplies. One of her items she sells is called "Beadbacking" and it is one of the best products....well..I think so!!  What is beadbacking...ya may be asking? Well....let me tell ya....it has a thickness just perfect for what I needed. Strong yet perfect for sewing my fabric roses and clay beads straight onto it. You can even glue ribbon, lace or floss onto it. It's perfect for flat bead work too....and applique'.....and gluing on cabochons....and glass beads....and stones and even my pretty little shells we find on our Sunday afternoon beach walks. OK...I think ya understand just how great this product is. I can go on if ya like...^_^  If you bead or make any kind of jewelry then you really need to add some of Nicole's BeadBacking to your supplies.

Beadbacking used on one of my fabric corsages

Nicole sells her beadbacking in 12 x 9 sheets as well as 9 x 6 sheets. So many pretty colors too. She also has the perfect sample kit you can purchase. That's what I'm using and LOVING it. It contains 15 assorted colors in assorted sizes although most of them are cut in 3 x 3 size. I'm telling you....no beading or fabric jewelry designer/artist should be without this amazing product. 

Until next time......HUGS, Regi

Disclaimer: I was in no way paid to do this post...I just simply love this product and wanted to share it with you. To me in our artist community we are "Hearts and Hands" and should always take the time to promote and share for each other. PEACE!!!