Inspired by the legend of the rabbit in the moon. Handmade out of copper sheet metal with a blue patina developed on the surface. Ready to hang. Available in my Etsy shop!
Moon Bun Copper Metal Art Wall Hanging
Bloody Eyeball Necklace : Fiber Art
Hollow Book Box With A Combination Lock
Got something to hide? Do ya? (;
Try a hollow book stash box!
And then… put a “tamper evident” lock on your stash box! That’s what I did recently with this large Star Wars book. I hollowed it out by hand, detailed and glued the inside and added rings to attach a small combination lock. It may not be super strongly secure but if somebody tried to open it it wouldn’t be as easy as flipping it right open. This particular hollow book was a birthday gift and the gift-giver with the idea just wanted the gift recipient to have an extra road block in between them and the other gifts that were to be gifted inside!
Colorful Wool Keychains
Simple and fun. I made over 150 of them for marketing purposes!
Copper Metal Sculpture: Blue Octopus
I created another octopus sculpture out of copper metal. It is the 2nd octopus I have created and I believe it to be an improvement over the last. The outside has a blue patina and is carefully sealed with wax to preserve the color. Currently this piece is available for sale in my Etsy shop.
First Octopus Sculpture
Since around 2003 I have been tinkering with copper sculpture. My brother introduced me to it and neither one of us has set it down since we started. I must say that, while I know my work is pretty cool, my brother’s is amazing. He is my biggest inspiration!
Ready for a challenge, I set out to create something outside of my comfort zone during the summer of 2013. So I thought, what about fluid-looking legs? That would be something. So this octopus crawled out of my imagination once I poked at it with a stick. I remember sitting on the lawn in the shade, cutting and twisting up wire and thin sheet copper next to the garden during the day. To form the head of the octopus I wrapped sheet copper around an apple that fell off the tree. Never underestimate the objects around you when creating art, I sure don’t! I was able to destroy the apple to get it out, then I pounded the hollow sphere into a more octopus-head-like shape and punctured it to create eyes. In the evening I took it inside the shop and soldered it together.
These are some copper supplies that I commonly work with… hollow copper tube, thin sheet copper and a thicker sheet copper, and various gagues of copper wire.
The octopus was made completely out of copper wire and the thin version of sheet copper that I have. It’s so thin that I need to solder it carefully because if I apply too much heat for too long it will burn through. The following photo was taken while I was making another copper product I love to create – copper orchid pots – and not the octopus.
It’s on my list to take more photos and video while I work on copper creations in the future. You bet that another octopus is on the list.
It’s What’s Inside That Counts
Sure… “it’s what’s inside that counts”… especially when there is a wedding ring tucked inside a heart shaped cut out inside of a designer journal! This one of a kind custom creation just left my studio.
It is a ring holder hollow book box that I created by hand using a blank Kate Spade journal. It was finished with black velvet, yellow ribbon and loose pages. The customer roamed the internet to find the journal and I did the rest.
The color and high quality feel of this ring holder book is my favorite part. Also, the fact that they can write their own love story in the loose pages!
Camera Gear Update : T5i
I upgraded to a Canon T5i DSLR camera. My love for photography has been renewed a bit! I find myself shooting more freely. I look forward to shooting more product and life shots in more detail. I was struggling for the past year at least with my Rebel XTi because it was getting so old and used that the grip wore off, my best lens broke so I was using a zoom lens that lacked clarity and had an old filter stuck on it, and then finally the camera developed some dust spots inside that I could not easily clean out myself and I got really tired of editing dark blobs out of all of my photos. So I moved on and could not be happier with what I got for the money I spent. Did I mention that I can record HD video with it? I’ve already put up a clip demonstrating magnet closure in a hollow book box. I look forward to making more video clips, maybe some how-to videos, other creative video projects and publishing a lot more photos with this handy tool.
Tool Love : Handmade Scissors
Last year, my best friend introduced me to these scissors. http://www.ernestwright.co.uk/
I thought they were really cool….
Then she bought me a pair as a special gift! I proudly own the paper cutting scissors.
They go perfectly with my Etsy shop, as I cut a lot of paper for the bottom stash spot liners in my hollow book boxes, as well as thank you cards and shipping labels. I’m pretty good at keeping things for a long time and I’m for sure aiming to make these scissors be no exception to that. I’m making sure to only cut paper with them!
Handmade Hollow Ring Books
Over the past few years, I have been making a few hollow book boxes designed to hold wedding engagement rings but this year I really expanded my line. It all started with a green book titled “Circle Of The Day”, but now I’ve added many surrounding the topic of love. And a few cult classics in there!
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – Cut to “The Unbreakable Vow” on Etsy
Making ring books is really fun because I get to search for interesting books to use and do a lot of custom orders. I love to focus on the fine details and deliver something that adds even more to an already astounding moment in other peoples lives. Check out some of my most popular ring holder hollow books, such as Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince which shows off the Unbreakable Vow chapter, or Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows that is cut to The Wedding chapter.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Cut to “The Wedding” on Etsy
The Book Of Love features my handmade heart shaped cut out that is very popular.
The Book Of Love With Heart Shape Cut Out on Etsy
All of my hollow books are handmade by me! I cut them by hand and then detail them until they are smooth, adding multiple layers of clear glue to the inside edge of the stash spot. A free-floating stash spot design is available for some books, otherwise I more often cut the back 1/2 inch or so of a book and glue that down, adding a decorative liner to the bottom of the stash spot. There are many custom options! Different books, cut shapes, loose pages or not left up front, stash spot liner papers, magnets added for secure closure, ribbons to tie rings to and many different colors to choose from.
Can you tell I love making hollow ring books? ‘Cause…. I do.