Art Piece - Castle on a Cliff

Petrified wood slab with a handmade copper and brass scenic art frame.

Newest art piece!  This one is significantly smaller, but really cool, too.  AND if you want to give me an opinion on it, you can win a prize here:  Silver Serpent Studio on Facebook

About 12 inches tall and 6 inches wide - this small piece packs a punch and lots of details!  The black background is painted wood with a picture hanger for mounting on a wall - it could also be displayed in one of the mini easels.  The metal frame is a mixture of copper and brass - the dragon is copper with a flame patina; the waves are also copper with a genuine verdigris patina (this isn't just painted on - I went through the whole process of creating this patina over 3 days); and the frame is textured brass.

Art piece with my hand as size comparison - about 12" tall.

The coolest bit about this piece, in my humble opinion, is the rock slab that I've framed.  It is a polished piece of petrified wood!  It looked like a scene to me, so I embellished upon it.  I see a castle on a cliff with a storm raging overhead.  I added in roiling waves and a dragon.

I have a small box of additional, really awesome rock slabs just waiting to be framed.  Next up:  cheetah agate!

Thanks for stopping by!
Hannah

Holiday Hiatus: Ornament Group 2

I love handmade for the holidays - but it is a time consuming process and I can't share what I'm making until after Christmas!  I apologize, but my posts will most likely be sporadic until January, when I will have more to show than can fit in several posts!

I did notice that I've never shown my beaded Christmas Ornaments, so I will leave you with a couple posts fill with them to get you in the holiday cheer!  I know Halloween just ended, but snow is in the air and I can't wait!

Handmade Ornament - painted and beaded.

Handmade Ornament - painted and beaded.

Handmade Ornament - painted and beaded.

Handmade Ornament - painted and beaded.

Each ornament started as a plain clear or frosted glass ball - I painted them inside and then beaded them on the outside.  Since then, I've learned better painting techniques if you want a smooth finish inside - rinse with alcohol first!  Still, I personally like the imperfect, handmade painted look with sporadic, drippy paint!

Happy Creating,
PZ

Holiday Hiatus: Ornament Group 1

I love handmade for the holidays - but it is a time consuming process and I can't share what I'm making until after Christmas!  I apologize, but my posts will most likely be sporadic until January, when I will have more to show than can fit in several posts! 

I did notice that I've never shown my beaded Christmas Ornaments, so I will leave you with a couple posts fill with them to get you in the holiday cheer!  I know Halloween just ended, but snow is in the air and I can't wait!

Handmade Ornament - painted and beaded.

Handmade Ornament - painted and beaded.

Handmade Ornament - painted and bead.

Handmade Ornament - painted and bead.  This one has a fun "hidden" bottom with a star!

Each ornament started as a plain clear or frosted glass ball - I painted them inside and then beaded them on the outside.  Since then, I've learned better painting techniques if you want a smooth finish inside - rinse with alcohol first!  Still, I personally like the imperfect, handmade painted look with sporadic, drippy paint!

Happy Creating,
PZ

Friendly Kids Decor - Pillows!

Pillows for my daughters - pink skulls and purple owls!

My girls and I were in a fabric store looking for curtain material to decorate their rooms, but instead found these cute fabrics made from heavy canvas material.  While the material wouldn't make very great curtains, it certainly would make great pillows (it withstands the hard use of children quite well)!  Plus, soft and unbreakable is great for kids' rooms....and it doesn't get softer and more unbreakable than pillows!

Piping Edge on Pillows - adds a little something more!

I wanted the pillows to be a little more special than just a square, so I rounded the corners and added cord piping on the edge.  It took less than an afternoon to make both pillows, the girls love them, and their bedrooms have a little more "personal" touch (other than the constant toy mess on the floor.....)!

If you want to make your own pillows with piping, I suggest this tutorial by The Seasoned Homemaker.  It's the one I (mostly) followed and she even shows you how to make your own piping (I did not do that - I bought cording already made for piping instead).  I prefer the envelope pillows to zippered ones because I really dislike sewing zippers, and I don't like hard zippers on my soft pillows!  She does a nice job, so there was no reason for my to attempt a tutorial....

Happy Creating,
PZ