My little Foofa!

Madi did Halloween as Foofa! She was so cute.
Foofa is a character from Yogabbagabba, one of her favorite shows on TV.
We sing all of the songs and even I, know most of them by heart.

My little Foofa patiently waiting to go!

We visited some scary places.

Met some scary people!

Loved this house.

I loved this fence.

Cool, Huh?

Another great place!

This house was the best and the people very nice!

Madi said "can I come in?" LOL!

My little Foofa was quite a trooper and walked the couple of miles by herself.
She got lots of goodies and was only scared once by a talking skull, as long as they do not talk she was fine with them, LOL!!

Wednesday Wonder- next time

It is official- teething sucks.
Madi is now sick with a cold from lowered resistance from teething. At least that is what her doctor says.
She also bit her tongue really bad.
It is even suckier that I can not really do anything for her.
I get it. This is why they say two-year olds are so rotten.

She says she wants something to drink and I bring it to her and she tells me no! No she screams at me.
I have no time to leisurely browse the Internet to look for non traditional medium for Wednesday wonders.
I did make this last week though and it is now listed in my shop.

I love these hearts of stone. This is probably one of my most favorites and it is now listed in my Etsy store.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/79407297/hearts-of-stone-pendant-4-rock-steady?ref=sc_1
If you go look, thank you so much!!

I also made these. This is Frida and her friend. They are focal beads.
They are larger.

I love them.
They are also listed in my store.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/79272110/frida-and-her-friend-skull-beads-1-set
I may have to make more of these, depends on the response though.

I still find time to make things and work, even if I have to stay up till midnight.
I take naps when Madi does. Shhhh, don't tell anyone.
I am so lucky to be able to be with my grand-daughter and I am so lucky to be able to feed my creative soul.

But this week and last... I am wondering if a real job might be a better choice. ;-D
The weekend is almost here. I may have to leave town.
Have a great hump day you all.

Happy Birthday my friend!

I am posting this late because I just finished it last night, the pictures are not that great, but I won't have it shortly,  and I don't want my friend to see it before she gets it.

I will see her soon and I will give it to her for her birthday.
I love this piece and I think I am going to make more.

Very fun, but I have a lot to work out yet.
This friend will not mind that it is rough.

She will have the first one.
We like the same things and I am so glad to have her in my life.

Happy Birthday Dear one! I hope you like it.
If not give it back!! ;-D

So Dark So Donna

My friend Donna from the So Dark So Donna does so many cute things, but they are slightly macabre.

In a good way to me. I got these two in the mail last week.

What sweet little girl!!

She doesn't scare me a bit.

I love her.

She is going on my tree this year.

I also got this great necklace.

These may be considered dark or scary, but how can they be bad, when they bring such a smile to my heart.

I love the detail on this sweet little face and the smell of it too.

It has fur for hair.

I am known to walk in to leather stores too, just for the smell!

Now I don't have to.

Donna, you may be so dark, but baby you got style and I love your style.

Visit Donna's blog store

SO DARK SO DONNA"S 

Day of the dead kind of day

I made some new day of the dead earrings and listed them in my store.

Art from my Heart

This holiday is one of my favorites.

I adore making bright flowers and I adore making skulls, it is so perfect.

I also met a glass artist named Amy. 

http://www.flamekeeper.etsy.com/

She has some beautiful work and a shop at Etsy

Amy's glass is so richly beautiful and so well crafted it makes my heart sing.

Even the holes are smooth and clean, I love that.

Please stop by and take a look at her work. 

Nice Glass!!

To antique or not to antique... part 2

You can click on this picture for a larger view.

Well, it seems that more people prefer the antiquing than not and I agree most of the time.

 This is last post http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2010/05/to-antique-or-not-to-antique.html  

I am liking this one though, very much. I have the brightness that is so typical of wonderful Mexican art, but my little skulls pop right off the piece.

The 12th giveaway- you are sacred- update 2

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2010/04/12th-giveaway-you-are-sacred.html

Here are the 3 hearts I am giving away in the 12th giveaway.

Comment at the link above only.

Closes on the 5th of May, 2010 at 6 pm PDT, 3 winners will be picked.

Just a little reminder, I have a giveaway page with a tab underneath the banner that you can click on to find out what the current giveaway is.

The 12th giveaway - you are sacred- update 1

This is the third heart I am giving away in the 12th giveaway.

Comment only this page → http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2010/04/12th-giveaway-you-are-sacred.html

Closes on the 5th of May, 2010 at 6 pm PDT, 3 winners will be picked.

Just a little reminder, I have a giveaway page with a tab underneath the banner that you can click on to find out what the current giveaway is.

8" x 10" Skullie

Plain acrylics, before Lumiere acrylics.

I just love a give away

And I love skulls ...

My friend Brittany over at Papermoonies.com is having a give away! She makes these darling little sugar skull pins and she is giving 3 away on her blog.

Go have a look see and you never know you just might get lucky.

Skull Preparation

Preparing the skulls for use in my Dia de los Muertos pieces requires making the skulls, baking them and then antiquing them with Ne-opaque brown paint, it is a wonderful, creamy, smooth, light bodied acrylic paint that works fantastic with the Cernit. This is Opaque White that I am using. I use a pretty large stencil brush as you can see from the picture; the skulls are about ¾”. I dip the end of the brush into the lid of the paint jar and apply the paint to the skulls. I prefer a kind of stiff brush like this to get in to the cracks and the eye sockets. I cover all the skulls I have with paint this way, or if I have a lot, I do 10 at a time and then I take a ratty old dish towel, dampen it (key word dampen, not soak) and wipe off the excess paint. I then drill the holes in the side of the heads and wire in to my pieces.

Day of the Dead

The festivities were dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl,[2] known as the "Lady of the Dead," corresponding to the modern Catrina.
In most regions of Mexico, November 1st honors deceased children and infants where as deceased adults are honored on November 2nd. This is indicated by generally referring to November 1st mainly as "Día de los Inocentes" (Day of the Innocents) but also as "Día de los Angelitos" (Day of the Little Angels) and November 2nd as "Día de los Muertos" or "Día de los Difuntos" (Day of the Dead).[3]
Beliefs

Many people believe that during the Day of the Dead, it is easier for the souls of the departed to visit the living. People will go to cemeteries to communicate with the souls of the departed, and will build private altars, containing the favorite foods and beverages, and photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so that the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.[3]
Plans for the festival are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the period of November 1 and November 2, families usually clean and decorate graves;[2] most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas, or offerings, which often include orange marigolds called "cempasúchitl" (originally named cempoalxochitl, Nahuatl for "twenty (i.e., many) flowers"). In modern Mexico this name is often replaced with the term "Flor de Muerto" ("Flower of the Dead"). These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings.
Toys are brought for dead children (los angelitos, or little angels), and bottles of tequila, mezcal, pulque or atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto ("bread of the dead") or sugar skulls and beverages such as atole. The ofrendas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased.[2] Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the ofrenda food, so even though the celebrators eat the food after the festivities, they believe it lacks nutritional value. Pillows and blankets are left out so that the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives.
More of this holiday...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

http://www.dayofthedead.com/
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/daydeadindex.html
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/dayofthedead/