For my little nephew with love!!!

The time is almost there!!! In a few days our family is going to welcome a new member! My sister is going to give birth to a little boy and we are all very excited!!!

I wanted to give a special welcome present to my first nephew who is coming to this world to brighten up our lives! After a thorough search on the internet I decided to create a cloud mobile for his baby blue room. I was inspired by a popular french brand, called the Butter Flying, that sells beautiful cloud mobiles all over the world. You can see their work here: http://thebutterflying.wix.com/the-butter-flying

Now, my mobile is a bit different since I used clay for the stars and raindrops and baby blue fabric for the clouds (the Butter Flying is using felt for everything). I also added some newspaper flags  to decorate the hoop!

I also bought him these beautiful art prints from etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/trafalgarssquare?ref=l2-shopheader-name).

To match the sky theme of the room with these tender drawings I bought a soft rabbit toy from Mama's and Papa's (http://www.mamasandpapas.com) and boosted a bit his appearance by adding the crown and the cloud which I made from fabric and felt!

So, this dreamy baby bedroom is now ready to become a nest for this small creature that is about to come and meet us!!!

Fox cushion: My mom's first contribution to the nursery room!!!

My mom is knitting all day long, since she is expecting not one but two grandchildren within the next few months (my sister is also pregnant at the time)! 

Her latest creation is an amazing crochet fox cushion for my baby's nursery room! It's so cute and funny! I really love it! She found the pattern in this very interesting site  so If you want to make a similar cushion visit this address: http://www.letsgetcrafting.com/index.php/free-patterns/P12

In the photo above you can see my new fox cushion as well as a beautiful geometric cushion that I bought from Ferm Living (http://www.fermliving.com/). Of course the star of the photo is my cat Dulcinea, who outshines everything...nonetheless I think that my baby's bedding looks fine as well!

Thanks mom!!!

Work-in-Progress: My baby boy and his mobile!!!

It's been a long, long time since I last posted...My excuse is quite simple: it was summer time and the living was eeeaaasyyy... Yes, during the past few months I have to admit that I was actually lazy! I didn't have the energy or the enthusiasm to finish any kind of project and so I followed my need to relax and enjoy the beautiful Greek summer!

Now that the weather is gradually shifting, along with the falling temperature comes a fresh wave of ideas for action! I think this is what happens to everyone right after the summer lethargy! For me  there is also a new drive and a new inspiration in my life since I'm 4 months pregnant for the first time! I'm expecting a baby boy and I'm full of ideas for his nursery bedroom!!! I want him to grow up in an environment full of stimuli that can set his imagination  free!!!

My first project is a colorful mobile made out of paper mache and paper clay! Its theme is the sky and all flying objects (I excluded the airplane since I want to make a separate airplane mobile later on). 

You can see my mobile's elements in their earliest stages.

 

As you will notice I have finished with the sculpting stages and I'm now in the process of painting. 

Actually I have a newer version of the same elements with additional painting embellishments:

And now a photo of the most complicated and beautiful creation in progress of all:

...to be continued...

 

Work in progress _paper mache doll

A while ago I decided that I don't want to rush when it comes to posting in my blog. From the time that I created Mary's Merryland I rushed to complete many small projects, while a bigger one remained on hold, with the intent to keep my blog running. But now I want to take my time and devote myself to larger projects, as I used to do before the creation of this blog. This is why I haven't been posting so often lately. 

Still, these days I'm so excited with my new paper clay doll that I want to share some photos of my work-in-progress model! Maybe you can not see her full potentials but nonetheless I'm sure that you will find this "rough draft" pretty interesting!

Colorful Summer

Summer is finally here and it's time to shift our mood and our creativity to a new, bright and colorful vibration!!!  What's more fit to our fresh frame of mind than some colorful pebble-like pendants that will sparkle up our style? 

This collection of pendants is made out of polymer clay and painted by hand. 

 

Choose your favorite and add some flash of color to your look!

D.I.Y. Paper Flower Hoop for may!!!

Spring is coming and of the 1st of may tradition says that on the door of every household we hang a beautiful flower hoop to welcome the first blossom! This year I decided to hang another flower hoop in my living room to bring the spring on the inside! This one will be made out of paper so that it lasts forever! With a simple 10 steps crafting/papercutting project you can do the same. Enjoy it!

 

My Moonchild

Last year I took a seminar on the making of marionettes in a studio called Prassein Aloga. I have worked on a special kind of marionette that has no strings and is moved solely by the hands of the marionette player -who in most cases is a real actor that co-stars with his own marionette.  

It took me almost a year to find a chance to photo-capture the end product of this seminar.  The reason for this is that I couldn't take the pictures by myself since, in order to give life to this marionette, I had to be present in the actual photo!!! 

Well, as you will see, in the end I really enjoyed "co-staring" with my own creation! You will also notice that what people say about character creation (whether this is doll making or animation) is true: we do look alike with the creatures that we make!  

Without any further delay let me introduce you to my moonchild:

Greetings good lords and ladies:

Some close-ups:

The main materials used is paper-clay and wood.  The marionette is approximately 75cm tall (moon on the head included).  Now, here are some more moves:

Here you can see the similarity that we were talking about:

Oh, my God, I have a mini-me!!!

Playing around some more...

That's all folks!!!

In honor of my good friend Zori

Today, the 26th of march, is a painful anniversary that I feel like honouring. A year ago, my beloved dog, my best friend, has passed away. He was the sweetest, smartest, most loyal friend one could have!  He was my companion during the most difficult period of my life and left me exactly at the time when everything was coming back into place. As if this soul's only purpose was to keep me safe and busy until I could find happiness again! His life was a gift to me that I will always cherish.

When we decided to call him "Zori" (myself, Christina and Giannis), a word that in Greek means "tough time" (due to his vigorous temperament) I couldn't have guessed the coincidence of his life lasting only as my life's toughest time...     

He was only one year and a half! His life was so short, but in this time he managed to make so many people love him dearly! Because this sweet creature knew how to love back, how to express his appreciation and tenderness to anyone who came near him! A young, happy, beautiful dog, full of life and positive energy. He died after eating a poisoned piece of food that somebody threw in the street with the intent of killing a breathing soul just to make his neighborhood a little quieter (a very common criminal practice here, in Greece, that is left unpunished).

Today I struggled hard to forget the images of his agonizing death and remember Zori as he really was: a happy, vivid, communicative little tramp! I couldn't decide whether it was appropriate to make a post on this blog, since I'm using it only for creative purposes. But then I thought that this is my way of honouring him: making him part of the life that he helped me create.

Zori mou, I will love you always!