August 19, 2012

Giving Back

It's been one year since I took my first Flying Lesson and I don't mean in a plane. This was an online 
e-course geared to make your creative business fly, taught by artist, author and possibilitarian, 
Kelly Rae Roberts:
 Tips + Tricks To Help Your Creative Biz Soar  

I took this class because I wanted to make my dreams come true and if anybody could show me how, I knew Kelly Rae could. I not only learned how to start my creative business but I also became part of a loving community of supportive artists who still continue to encourage long after the course has finished. Now, it's a year later and we're celebrating our successes in a special way. We've decided to show our gratitude by offering a draw for some free seats in Kelly's final class! 
I know, final, that's so, final. 

 Click on the Giving Flight badge to enter your name in a draw for a chance to buckle up and fly with Kelly Rae Roberts! 
Fly Tribe Blog

Creative Clearinghouse
And don't forget to check out more terrific resources on 
this great new website by fellow fliers Lori and Ursula. 

Thanks to Flying Lessons and the wonderful people I've met because of it,
 my little business, Rare Rabbits Designs is continually evolving! Here are some of the things happening now. Bunnies, books, photography and illustrations. 
Sharing is fun!
My first children's novel, Tale of the Black Mamba with cover art by me and published by my own publishing house, Rare Rabbits Press. 
Practicing photography at Crescent Beach. 
New Halloween illustration called, Esmeralda and the Spooky Boo.
Pencil crayon work in progress of Esmeralda and the Spooky Boo. I'm gettin' there!

Please take a peek at some fascinating blogs by my fellow fliers on our 
Fly Tribe Blog Hop!

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August 15, 2012

Day Trip to Golden Ears Park

Packed a lunch and went to Golden Ears Park today. 
Walking the Lower Falls trail. It was so lovely and cool in the forest.
I suddenly realized all the massive stumps in the woods. David told me 150 years ago the loggers used to pound boards into the trunks and stand on them to chop down these beautiful giants. 
A peek at the river from the trail.
Clare in the corner contemplating a swim. 
She won. 
Further on through the forest the boulders get bigger. 
Where's Clare?
She made it! 
We're getting closer!
Now who's contemplating?
Clare falling in the water trying to follow David. 
Hmmm... somehow I thought they'd be bigger. 
Still higher up, another green pool just before it goes over the edge. 
Clare says, "Been there, done that. Lets go home."

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August 4, 2012

I Knew You Were Coming So I Baked a Cake!

Just finished a new bunny named Remy Rabbit with her watermelon inspired dress who loves cake, and it doesn't have to be carrot.
Learning to make this darling fimo dessert from a tutorial by miniature food artist, Betsy Niederer, (she's amazing) was a lot harder than I thought. I also made the fimo plate. The doily, I pieced  together using some plastic shelf trim, then glued it onto tulle fabric and embroidered the silk ribbon roses. And making these tiny quilted oven mitts was a piece of cake compared to that piece of cake. 
The whole process took longer than a real cake! I'm hoping to make a new birthday card with these props. 
 My first attempt at a watermelon cane. Did I mention, hard! Remy also loves watermelon, by the way. I better get practising. 
Bye for now.
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July 17, 2012

Make a Country Dollhouse Table

I made this cute little table out of wood, foam core and mat board. 
I started with dollhouse stair spindles because I couldn't find the proper table legs. I wasn't crazy about the shape so I thought I'd try and change them. 
I used my xacto knife to first shave off some of the wood. Then I sanded the spindles with sandpaper and smoothed them with my new, cool rotary tool that my husband bought me. After trimming, the finished leg length is 2 1/2".
Next I glued two pieces of wood together for the table top ending up with a piece 6"L  x  3 1/4"W.  
I decided on a nice curvy shape for the table apron and drew the template on card stock then traced it onto mat board. The apron width is 1/2" x  5  2/16" approximately, though this was measured for this post after the table was finished. I had to cut off slivers here and there to make it fit, so my numbers are not exact. I learned about the mat board as a building material from Kris Compas of One Inch Minis.
 I cut it out in chunks because it was difficult getting around those curves. I also sanded the cut side with a very fine sandpaper to clean up my edge.  
After that, I notched out the corners of the foam core for the leg placement. I wanted them to butt up against the apron, then I glued it in place. Before that, though, I had to trim the foam core a bit, my measuring was sucky. The foam core measures approximately 5 1/2"L x  2 3/4"W
I dry fitted it together using a bit of Instant Tac to hold the legs in place. You know, the rubber stuff your teacher used to stick paper on the chalk board, instead of tape. Don't forget to remove it before you glue, though. Once I was satisfied with the fit, I started gluing.  
After it was all adhered I realized I probably should have painted the sides and legs first. 
So I did that while it was drying. 
And here it is, a cute little country table!  It's not completely finished, I still have to give it a nicer coat of paint. But I think it's awesome for a first try, even if I do say so myself. 
The finished table is 2  3/4"H  x  6"L  x  3 1/4" W.

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July 4, 2012

Poppy's Bedroom

 I've been working on a little room for a photo shoot. I sewed the bedding and painted all the furniture. There's still some things I want to add but I figured this was pretty good for now. I'm taking way too long at this. The walls are fabric taped to two, 16x20" stretched canvases I had in my cupboard. The floor is my favourite, it's a bamboo place mat.
A cozy bed with lots of pillows. I scanned a picture of Peter Rabbit onto photo paper and made the frame out of mat board. My husband made the bed from clothes pins and foam core. The head and foot board I added using mat board. 
 The lampshade was made with card stock covered in the wall fabric and the doily is two pieces of lace sewn together. The lamp base is made from wire, beads and jewelery end caps. The little bureau gave me such trouble and it's not even finished yet. I still have to sand it an Mog Podge it.  It was a little reddish stained piece from the dollar store and the stain kept bleeding through no matter what I tried. There must be 10 coats of paint on that thing. 
I made the little book the same way as the picture by scanning my flower fairies book onto photo paper. The ottoman was made from a toilet paper roll, a tiny button and some fluff. There's a little more to it than that but I forgot to take pictures of my process. 
The flowers on the furniture are roses from one of those free printables sites that I scanned and glued on, then Mog-Podged over the whole thing. I've never used the stuff before, but I sure like it. 
It was fun to sit little Poppy on the bed and make her look so sweet. Now I just have to take some back views of her so I can list her for sale in my Etsy shop. 
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