Its been very nice to see the interest in our Romantic Gothic Ghosts day in the studio on October the 6th! We have a lucky 13 signed up so far, before we have shown our projects for the day. I hope that showing them now doesn't spook our guests away…
My class is inspired by this stack of old Edgar Allen Poe books from a garage sale ($1 each), They are tatteringly wonderful.
You'd think that maybe, these would make me think of teaching a book of some kind???
Well, it would make sense to use the pages in art journals. But instead, I was intrigued by using just one section, the poem about the Raven.
I cut the poem into 1-3 line quotes to use as banners on a teacup-raven-thingy.
(no name for the creation yet, I hope I can come up with something better than that eventually)
The two quotes I used for my examples are some of the less interesting lines, I wanted to save the best ones for the students.
Our projects will be Halloween Holiday Decor pieces, that have a romantic feel.
NO purple!
NO orange!
Garish Halloweens, Nevermore!
I've bought some white and gray teacups, we will fill them with vintage paper nests and add a raven made from felted sweaters.
I wish we could do the felting itself that day, but it has to be ready ahead of time. So, I bought a couple of men's 100% wool sweaters at the Goodwill (geez, when did GW prices go so sky high??? $5 each for a crappy, worn out sweater???)
I boiled them in a big pot with liquid Rit dye to turn them a deep, rich black.
Then, drew a raven pattern, cut it out and stitched it up.
I AM NOT A SEWER. If you aren't either, don't be scared!
But- this was fast and easy. Black thread on a black bird doesn't have to be perfect, it hardly shows.
She is trimmed out with pretty black feathers, lace and glitter, then topped with a crown that we will make from antique brass window screening, and decorate with rhinestones. We'll make a strand of pearls for her neck, create the nest, and the arch with the banner and cover it in old millinery blooms.
And of course, the stack of books that the teacup rests on is included. We'll bundle up stacked pages (pre-coffee stained) and tie them with lace and ribbons to use as a stage for our teacup-raven-thingy.
Beth is busy whipping up her class idea too, and from what I saw Friday, its going to be really nice. Hers is a Gypsy fortune teller's guide book of some sort. To be used an art journal. And I gave her one of my Poe books to take apart so she could share the pages with everyone. So, the garage sale books do get to be in an art journal after all.
For details about coming to the class with us in my studio, please scroll down to the previous post, or click on the button on my side bar.
Now, that I have told you that I don't do orange and purple, I'm going to try to sell you a bundle of traditional Halloween colored millinery.
Well, just because I don't use the colors much, doesn't mean they aren't just right for someone's project. And these are nice, old flowers that deserve a good project to be included in.
And this might be way off season, but here is something new in the Boutique too.
Lots of old Valentines!
I'll leave you with some pictures of whats new in the shop.
Oh that looks like so much fun!
that teacup raven is adorable.. ive never tried to needle felt.. but adore the look.. wonderful work.. and girl.. i dont know where you find the time to get all this stuff done and also be gramma to sugarwings.. 🙂
and ahem… purple is my fav color.. lol
WHY OH WHY must you live so far from me??? It’s sheer torture when you plan these events!
LOVE- Karla, this is the sweetest raven ,I wish I lived closer!! so adorable. Hugs,Dorthe
What great inspiration from a $1 book!!!! Your project is amazing! And yes, I agree…. prices at Goodwill are not cheap anymore! Inflation??? Looks like a fun time and those women who attend are lucky. Just wish you lived closer!
Thanks, Rebecca, it would be fun to have you here
Sent from my iPad
Adorable! How about “Never More” Romantic Halloween Decor?
Sounds a lot better, sandy!
Sent from my iPad
I love the idea of the felt raven, or felting any kind of bird for that matter. Great idea!
How about Cup O’ Poe? :O)
Hey Karla, love your teacup of Poe LOL Cindy. Do you still have the flower book? I don’t see it on the boutique site.
Disregard the comment above. I just found it. The pages are so very pretty!!
Oh, I do love the romantic cup of La Raven Poe-etique! The details are so pretty! I bet you really enjoy coming up with projects for your special art events!
I have also noticed Goodwill’s prices often not being the steal they used to be. That has disappointed me, too!
I have to give a little shout-out to my mother here. She is 78 years old, is also artsy, and is a lot of fun to be with. She lives several hours away, so we don’t get to see each other nearly enough, but we do talk on the phone almost every day. Anyway, when she was in high school in a small town in Texas, she memorized “The Raven” for an assignment. Pretty impressive, eh? : )
What fun. I am pretty ready to pick up and move to Kansas to take advantage of your wonderful weekends!