Spring Nesting at The Vintage Marketplace at the Oaks

18 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by kryztyne2012 in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Field Trip, Mixed Media, Textiles, Vintage

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antique show, antiques, antlers, apothecary jar, birdcage, birds, bunny, burlap, CA, christine barker, deer, deer antlers, duckling, Easter, eggs, flea market, flora and fauna, garden, gnome, Julie Weller, junk show, lace, lamb, lamb cake mold, lavender, mixed-media, mushroom, nests, rabbit, Rainbow, Scotsman, Scotsman trailer, shabby chic, squirrel, succulents, The Vintage Marketplace, treasures, vintage, vintage candy mold, vintage flea market, Vintage marketplace, Vintage Marketplace at the Oaks, vintage suitcase

This past weekend I was delighted to be a vendor at the Spring Nesting show at The Vintage Marketplace located at the Oaks Park in Rainbow, CA. I showcased my items together with more than 60 other vendors selling vintage and antique treasures, inspired garden goodies, lace and ruffled items, shabby chic yumminess and the most creative repurposed items.

Infused with the scent of lavender, the theme of my booth was Flora and Fauna, with Flora being on the right side under the white canopy and fauna was on the left side with my vintage 1968 Scotsman trailer, Fiona.

Inspired by Spring, adorable birds, speckled eggs and organic nests I got to work early this year, pinning images to Pinterest and taking notes in my journal. My friend, Julie Weller, and I took a buying trip up to the Bay Area in February and brought back some of the treasures that you’ll see in these photos. I still have some items set aside that will be for sale at a later date and I can’t wait to show those to you!

These are some pictures from the Flora side of my booth. Enjoy!

Thank you for stopping by my blog! I’ll be posting more photos soon, featuring the Fauna side of my booth.

If you’re interested in staying in touch with me on Facebook you can find me here.

xo,

Christine Barker

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Class: Bunny Boudoir Lamp with Colleen Moody

11 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by kryztyne2012 in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Lovebug Creations, Mixed Media, Sewing, Textiles, Vintage

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Alameda Point Antique Market, antique collar, artful gathering, artist colleen moody, Ballerina cupcake topper, bunny, Bunny Boudoir Lamp, Colleen Moody, danville CA, gold bullions, kim caldwell, lace tablecloth, LOveBug Creations, mariasela vallejo, Panther Pink, paper clay, paperclay, paperclay bunny, pearl tiara, rabbit, Rumple Ribbon, Swan Lake, Sylvia Estrada, Terry Frias, velvet ribbon, vintage flowers, William

I feel like one of the luckiest girls in the whole world. Just over a week ago I was being spoiled at the lovely home of artist Colleen Moody creating this beautiful bunny out of paper clay. I drove up to Danville, CA with Kim Caldwell, Terry Frias, and Mariasela Vallejo and let me tell you, it was an adventure to remember! We were joined in some of our adventures by Sylvia Estrada and her mom. From being surrounded by bee’s, to a wonderful two days of class with Colleen, to a very wet ending at the Alameda Point Antique Flea Market (it wasn’t supposed to rain until later in the afternoon!), we were going non-stop with unexpected shenanigans the whole weekend. We laughed so much my cheeks hurt! I have pictures of the treasure we found and the stops we made, but that’s another post for another day.

Today I want to share my bunny lamp with you in all of her lovely finery. She carries a bouquet of vintage flowers tied up with some beautiful Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon in Panther Pink. Her lace dress is edged in the vintage-inspired color, William.

She’s a great fan of Swan Lake so she carries a swan seated on a satin pillow and a ballet princess in her basket, surrounded by vintage velvet leaves and flowers. I created a pearl cuff for her to wear.

A vintage earring embellishes her velvet ribbon belt and a pearl tiara graces her head. Covering her shoulders is a vintage collar adorned with antique french gold bullions. I made an attempt to give her feather wings but one can’t be perfect at everything! I need to go back to the drawing board and learn how to apply glue and glass glitter to feathers without sticking all of them together.

If you’d like to learn more about Colleen, please visit her blog. She will be teaching an online class through Artful Gathering beginning in June but sign ups are going on now! Although this bunny looks complicated, Colleen makes learning to use paper clay easy and fun. She was so good about giving us great tips and info on how to use the clay and as a beginner to the medium, I was so thankful for all of the time she spent explaining her shortcuts and secret techniques! I highly recommend her to anyone who is able to take a class!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a lovely and creative week!

xo,

Christine Barker

Inspiration: The Fairytale World of Mister Finch

14 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by kryztyne2012 in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Mixed Media, Soft Sculpture, Textiles

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artist, birds, birds and beasts, british, british folklore, fairytale creatures, fake fur, flowers, fox, hares, insects, making, Mister Finch, mr finch, mr finch textile artist, mushrooms, nature, nests, owl, pinterest, rabbit, soft sculpture, storytelling, studio, textile artist, textile bees, textile moths, united kingdom, velvet curtains, woods

Textile Moths

One of the really wonderful things about Pinterest is that I come across images pinned by other people that speak deeply to my heart and soul. I found this incredible soft sculpture moth on a mixed-media board and learned that it was created by a fantastically creative artist who lives in Leeds, Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, who goes by the name of Mister Finch.

Mister Finch

Mister Finch is described like this: “Scraps of thread, fabric and paper are stitched and pulled into fairytale creatures looking for new owners and worlds to inhabit. They hide in the woods, behind masks, some have died along the way and are buried under spoon lockets. Finch works alone and makes everything himself by hand in a studio full of books, glass jars and naughty cats.”

Textile Bees Made From Fake Fur

Mister Finch explains the source of his creativity: “My main inspirations come from nature and often I return to certain ideas again and again. Flowers, insects and birds really fascinate me with their amazing life cycles and extraordinary nests and behaviour.
British folklore is also so beautifully rich in fabulous stories and warnings and never ceases to be at the heart of what I make. Shape shifting witches, moon gazing hares and a smartly dressed devil ready to invite you to stray from the path. Humanising animals with shoes and clothes is something Ive always done and I imagine them to come alive at night. Getting dressed and helping an elderly shoemaker or the tired housewife.”

Fabric Mushrooms

Mister Finch describes his creative process: “Making things has always been incredibly important to me and is often an amazing release to get it out of my system. Its a joy to hunt for things for my work…the lost, found and forgotten all have places in what I make. Most of my pieces use recycled materials, not only as an ethical statement, but I believe they add more authenticity and charm. A story sewn in, woven in. Velvet curtains from an old hotel, a threadbare wedding dress and a vintage apron become birds and beasts, looking for new owners and adventures to have. Storytelling creatures for people who are also a little lost, found and forgotten…”

Large Textile Swan

I relate to Mister Finch because I share some of these same feelings with him. I often feel a little lost, found and forgotten and viewing Mister Finch’s creations evokes in me a desire to be in the English countryside, traipsing along a lonely country lane, discovering hidden nests, finding a clutch of small eggs and perhaps seeing a spot of parkland that has been forgotten.

Textile Owl

To learn more about Mister Finch, you can find him on Facebook, Pinterest and his Etsy Shop.

Soft Sculpture Fox Heads

Have a lovely weekend being creative, getting lost and found and perhaps escaping, with the mundane details of your life to be forgotten if only for a little while.