More Cat Faces.

I used a pencil sketch as the basis for this again, this time much more digital layering and coloring. I was laboring under the delusion that digital is faster. Digital is not faster - the digital advantage is simply having the world's most awesome eraser at your disposal.

New Art Journal Page - Also Available as ACEO

Got to play again the other night - I'm not a huge fan of cold press paper, but she was done on cold press. You can see the texture of the paper. Undecided on whether I like that.

It's going to get cold again, after a balmy couple of above-30 days. Blergh.  This is me, trying to cheer myself up.

She's available as an ACEO for now @ my etsy shop. 
You can request a full size print if you want!

Supply Side Friday: Kickin' It Old School: Manto Fev

Hey lovely people.

New Feature - Supply Side Friday!

Look for the tag when you want to read them all - and I'm going to dedicate Fridays to a shop, source, tool, or material.

Today: Manto Fev.
 
Have you been to Manto Fev?

Maybe you're saying "duh." Then you know.

Maybe you're saying "what?"  Then you should hasten on over to this charmingly minimalistic an un-gussied up shop which is all about the stuff.  You'll find an amazing mix of charms and materials, some of the designer items, but where Manto Fev really outshines a lot of the competition is in its offerings of inexpensive, often bundled - ACTUAL FACTUAL old stuff.

This is the stuff that the collage-sheetists digitize.  Handwritten notes, odd tickets and ledger papers, weird tokens, vintage cards and greeting cards, and all that old old acidic yellowing patina!  I can scarcely contain myself.

Here's some awesome, subject to availability:

Vintage Paper Ephemera at Manto Fev

Labels! Nice ones.






Font-a-riffic.

 matchbook mania.









I love Sarah's sense of humor too, and the personality of the shop really shines without having to "look crafty".  Visit. Really.

Oh and the prices are pretty special - actual vintage from Manto Fev  is often less expensive than popular reproductions.

What else makes Paper Yum different?

I just pulled some things from the shop, because I just didn't feel right offering them.

It bothers me that so many pendants are sold using hobby crafter medium to hold the photos in place - this glaze is a great nontoxic product, and I absolutely would use it for my own gratification, but I just can't bring myself to sell things that you can't touch with a wet fingerprint or that you have to remember to take off just to do the dishes - never mind walking into the shower with it on.

I've found a suitable replacement - that still is considerably less toxic and environmentally damaging than a lot of two-part resins, but it's jewelry-grade. It behaves as plastic should.

If I'm going to be focusing on sterling silver options, it only makes sense to tie them into durable resin lacquers. Even in the cases where a bail might be silver plate - even if the pendant is a scrabble tile pendant - you deserve jewelry that lasts. Sure it's a little more expensive than some of the other options out there, but the lasting enjoyment will be worth it.

Here's a photo of a new offering - sterling silver chain and bail, resin and glass pendant with reproduction paper. It's scrabble-tile size - teeny!

The macro lens I have is relentlessly unsparing - I swear when I look for bubbles in the actual pendant I can stare and stare and not see any!

The Bird Bracelet

Original clippings from a sixties era bird picture book I found in poor repair. These little 18mm birdies are set by hand under plastic lenses in solid brass, attached to a brass bracelet base that was antiqued in the US to my nickel-free specifications.

7 inches, simply gorgeous - and it's the ONLY ONE of its kind - this is non-reproduced vintage paper.