Featured Artist: Maud Traon

It's not very often that we have a customer invite us to view her work on exhibition in Paris. However, that is exactly what happened with our newest featured artist, Maud Traon. 

Maud creates pieces of wearable art, abundant with color and texture. 

 

Her jewelry combines many different materials into fantastical creations.  Look closely and you will see our vintage rhinestones in some of these fabulous pieces. 

Maud's work is currently being shown at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, just across the street from the Louvre.

 

Maud's designs are being exhibited as part of a larger jewelry event called Circuits Bijoux, featuring the work of many contemporary artists housed all around Paris. Completing the tour would be an unusual and exciting way to experience Paris. 

 

If you're in Paris between now and March 2, 2014, go and check out Maud's amazing creations! And if you can't go to Paris, head on over to Maud's website.

 

Spring Fun: Hand Carved Bumbershoot Rubber Stamps

 

Here at Bumbershoot we love rubber stamps. We use them in our mixed media art all the time. So we thought it would be fun to make our own stamps based on our logo, the little green bumbershoot.

 

 

We hand carved our stamps out of a block of carving rubber, but you can even use an ordinary eraser as a base. You can find a really excellent tutorial on how to do that here. Geninne's Art Blog did a whole series of interesting posts on stamp carving too! We used Speedball's block printing cutting tool for cutting and gouging the block, and ordinary scissors for trimming the completed stamp.

 

 

We experimented with different sizes and even freehanded this little stylized bell-shaped bumbershoot. 

 

 

In the end we liked best the results we got from tracing the bumbershoot logo and transferring it to the rubber. We used ordinary waxed paper to trace and transfer.

 

 

Jim made this stamp! It is our favorite, with the really crisp lines and perfect size. 

 

We had a lot of fun going through our stamp pad collection and trying out colors. Those test sheets are now a work of art as well. They would make great wrapping paper.

We had so much fun carving out little bumbershoots, and we're looking forward to sharing them with you. Watch your invoices - you never know when a colorful little bumbershoot may appear!

New On Pinterest: Tag, You're It!

Now that it's wrapping season, our minds have turned to tags.

Printed, stamped, glued, embellished or embossed tags can make a great statement on a package. They're also a great canvas for mixed media art.

We've been collecting together our favorite tags in our new Pinterest board, "Tag, You're It!".

Check these out:

Source: sweetpaulmag.com via Bumbershoot Designs & Supplies on Pinterest

Source: pictureandscrap.blogspot.com via Bumbershoot Designs & Supplies on Pinterest

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Bumbershoot Designs & Supplies on Pinterest

Featured Artist Update: The Creative Team at www.scrapping.no

They are still at it!

You may remember that in early Fall 2011, Bumbershoot Supplies sent packages of mixed media supplies to Wenche Jensen in Norway for use by the creative team at www.scrapping.no.

The most recent piece from this talented team is shown at the top of this post.  By Silje, this one shows how the smallest of embellishents can elevate a classic card into something very special.

To see many other samples of mixed media art by the Norway scrappers creative time, see this blog post and this one too.

Thanks so much to Wenche and the other members of the creative team for connecting with us and sharing these designs!

Featured Artist Update and Giveaway: Stacey Yacula of Stacey Yacula Studio

I’m very excited to provide you with an update on one of our past Featured Artists, Stacey Yacula of Stacey Yacula Studio.  I’ve previously blogged about Stacey’s charming, whimsical, holiday and nature-inspired illustrations, sculptures and designs here and here, and I’m delighted to share that Stacey is featured in the current issue of Art Doll Quarterly for her “little blessings”.  Stacey kindly allowed me to use these photos of her beautiful angels, which you can also see on Stacey’s blog, thanks, Stacey!

Stacey and I met because she decided to use some of Bumbershoot Supplies’ beads and baubles to embellish her holiday ornaments, such as the lovely 2001 Limited Edition Keepsake ornament shown above.

I’m so thrilled we were able to provide the bells that Stacey used for this wee boy angel above and the stars held by the sweet girl angel on the left in the group photo (and also seen below), as well as vintage French metal sequins embellishing the hem of her dress.

 

To celebrate her latest publication, Stacey is hosting a giveaway of 9 holiday cards from her “little blessings” series.  So head on over to Stacey’s blog to read a bit more about the story behind these angels and leave a comment for a chance to win! Last day to leave a comment is Nov 9. And for a dose of Christmas spirit, plus many varied all-occasion cards and paper products, head on over to Stacey’s Etsy shop, Stacey Yacula Studio, where you will find many wonderful choices and Stacey’s excellent customer service, of which I have personal experience :)

Featured Artists: Second Post of Mixed Media Art by The Creative Team at www.scrapping.no

As I mentioned in this earlier blog post, Bumbershoot Supplies sent goody bags of treats off to Wenche Jensen in Norway for use by the creative team at www.scrapping.no.

I have always used our vintage supplies for much more than jewelry making, and it is wonderful to see others do the same. Look and be inspired!

I love the colors of this page by Scratch, and how our flowers (daisy cabochons and fabric millinery flower) have been used to extend the theme.

This is a whimsical wedding design featuring our vintage lace and vintage Japanese love bird cabochons...

...plus another with the lace, cupid and vintage Japanese rose cabochons. Both are by AnnKristin and found here.

And finally this lovely piece is by Kristin. She used our lace, buttons, flower cabochon, cupid and those beautiful red hearts, all combined with a beeswax overlay, for which she provided detailed step by step instructions.

It’s wonderful to see how these talented team members have used the vintage supplies!  For additional designs, see my first blogpost about this Norwegian creative team, here.

I hope you will enjoy a trip over to www.scrapping.no. I’m sure you will discover some new and exciting ways to use vintage materials in your own mixed media designs.

Featured Artists: Mixed Media Art by The Creative Team at www.scrapping.no

Some  weeks ago, Bumbershoot Supplies sent off goody bags of vintage treats to Wenche Jensen in Norway.  Wenche is a lead designer for www.scrapping.no which is the largest scrapbooking forum in Norway, with over 15,000 members.  Wenche contacted us to see if BumbershootSupplies would be willing to send some samples for their creative team to work with. 

We were delighted to do so because the paper arts are dear to my heart.  Paper and fabric is where my art and crafting journey began.  (See my  Christmas cards for 2011 here.)  Wenche suggested some items her team was interested in and I added some surprises too. I packaged up everything you see above into kits like this…

…and sent the kits off to Norway. Wenche has sent me links to the mixed media designs her team is creating with these supplies and also kindly allowed me to share the photos of her teams’ designs with you. 

I just love the tiny 1950’s vintage daisy cabochons we carry and AnnKristin has captured their cheerful spirit in this layout.

This calendar page by Wenche uses our vintage Czech glass heart cabochons and vintage rose montees. The colors are beautiful!

This is another advent calendar page by Wenche, with a full tutorial, clear and easy to follow, even for me and I don't speak Norwegian :) For this page, Wenche used our vintage lace, the hearts again, and some vintage angels.

There are so many lovely projects to share. I will post another series of designs by this talented team very soon.

Featured Artist Update: Stacey Yacula of Stacey Yacula Studio

I'm so happy to see one of our past featured artists, Stacey Yacula of Stacey Yacula Studio featured in this recent issue of Art Doll Quarterly.

And guess what – her work is on the cover!

Stacey talks a bit more about this piece on her blog, here.

  I first blogged about Stacey's art here. Stacey’s success as a cover girl does not surprise me :)  I am a great admirer of Stacey’s ability to translate special moments in everyday life into 2- and 3-dimensions through her illustrations and sculptures.  I am so glad to see Stacey’s work being made available for so many people to enjoy.

In a new addition to her Etsy shop, Stacey is now offering custom cards, where you can choose the sentiment for the card, allowing you to personalize her cards to fit your occasion. I am watching the mailbox every day for my own cards and tags, which should arrive any time now. I can’t wait!

To keep up to date with her new sculptures, illustrations, cards and designs, you can visit Stacey’s blog and her Etsy shop.

Congratulations, Stacey!

Featured Artist. Tonya Boezi of Uniquely You on Etsy

One of the things I love about vintage materials is that artists using them often use them in ways not originally intended and with mediums and materials not originally intended. This is part of what makes pieces made with vintage materials so unique and special.

One such artist I have recently met is Tonya Boezi of Uniquely You on Etsy. Tonya is pushing the envelope working with vintage rhinestones and I’m delighted to share with you her original designs.

Tonya combines images, resin, beads, metal, and various vintage components, such as beads and rhinestones, to create unique mixed media wearable art pieces. She specializes in buckles and statement rings, and these are definitely statement pieces. I’m featuring the buckles in this blog post because they are so spectacular, there is so much going on in each of these in terms of color, images, texture. Just look at this one…

And this one…

And this one…

Tonya originally contacted me to do some brainstorming about how the vintage rhinestones available at Bumbershoot Supplies might perform with the resin she uses for her buckles. It's great when customers share their experiences working with vintage materials because it helps me learn about the characteristics of the materials as they are exposed to contemporary conditions. Plus, I get to connect with wonderful artists! I’m glad to have met Tonya and learned of her work. I hope you will enjoy a visit to Uniquely You. I know you will find inspiration and will be wowed by Tonya’s unique and glamorous designs.

Monday in Seattle. Picture and Quote for the Week, What is Your Dream?

art quilt made to honor our daughter Emma and her dreams

(she is almost 17 now, by the way...)

I have a dream...

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Featured Artist. Susan Evans of Hydrangea Afternoon

When you find yourself counting and packaging up hundreds of tiny rhinestones for a customer, sometimes you’ve just got to know what she’s doing with them :) That is the case for me, at least, and I’m glad I asked, because that is how I learned about Susan Evans of Hydrangea Afternoon.

I'll be honest, the reason I stock tiny vintage flat back rhinestones and smaller cabochons at Bumbershoot Supplies is because I like to use them in my own paper, fiber, mixed media projects. So it is with recognition and delight I share with you Susan’s cards and mixed media pieces.

Susan makes one-of-a-kind, handcrafted cards, journals, sketch books, note cards, bookmarks, mixed media collages and assemblages, and she has been exploring the use of tiny 4mm vintage Czech and West German glass rhinestones, as well as other types of vintage glass cabochons.

I’m including some holiday pieces in this overview of Susan’s work because I am in awe of the time involved in adhering all these tiny stones in these designs, and so you can see how Susan’s vintage approach in these pieces has provided a wonderful showcase for these old glass jewels.

But as you can see, Susan works in a variety of styles and the rhinestones do too. Notice the vintage Japanese opaline heart cabochon in the piece below. You may not be able to see it, but the visual texture of the heart complements the pattern of the dress.

It's hard to decide, but I think the one below might be my favorite. I love the creative use of the glass teardrop cabochon as the bird’s wing and I love how it magnifies the sheet music underneath. Plus, after a week or more of very grey Seattle days, these colors vibrate :)

As you move into a new year of art making, I hope you will consider a trip to Hydrangea Afternoon for a splash of inspiration. Plus, Susan is such a friendly and positive soul, you will find her a true pleasure to chat with. Enjoy your visit!