Other Ways I Spend My Time: Pin Collection Display Case!

Hi!

I did another craft! I've been into the messy gluey stuff lately. What I made is more of a functional item than anything. But I had this problem, you see. I collect Disney pins (yep, I'm one of those, sorry to say) and I was having a hard time figuring out how to display them. Thanks to Pinterest, I got some neat ideas, and this is what I did!

First, I found just the right shadow box at Michael's craft store. I inspected the shadow box to determine my measurements. I took out the back panel to see how much the spacer frame takes up. This spacer is what keeps the back of the box from touching the front glass, and is what gives a shadow box its depth.

The inner most frame is the removable spacer.

Then, I gathered together my materials...

Cork board, black felt, and fabric.

I cut a piece of cork board into a size that would fit when placed on top of the back panel, and that would still accommodate the spacer frame.

Using craft glue, I glued down a layer of felt onto the cork board, and then wrapped it with fabric. I chose a nice dark pattern that would make the pins and black frame pop out (more than a solid black would). I sandwiched it between cardboard and weighed it down with books, and let it dry overnight. Then I used my hot glue gun around the perimeter of the back of the cork board, and glued it down to the shadow box's original back panel.

Notice how I left room for the spacer frame?

Then I popped all the pin backs off my pins, arranged them the way I liked, and stuck them right into the cork board! Now all my pins are secure and in a dust free zone, and on display in our Disney themed spare bedroom/library!

And to Pay it Forward for the snazzy crafters on Pinterest, I put this together:

Disney pin collection and display!

Now it's your turn! Don't forget to share your masterpieces, either in the comments below or in Pinterest! (This is my pin pinboard: http://pinterest.com/mlcillustration/disney-pins-wish-list/)

Have fun!
~Melanie

Other Ways I Spend My Time: #Disney Doodle Thank You Cards!

Hey again!

You might have noticed, I (re)caught the Disney bug. I go through withdrawals and then I make up for lost time. I can't help myself- Disney has always been a HUGE inspiration for me as a child, a teen, and even now as an adult, I would consider myself lucky to be among the Disney artists and animators or even Imagineers.

Anyway, for my most recent trip to the World, I made little business card sized Thank You cards! I was inspired to do this because I had been reading this thread on DISboards, A Simple Thing A Cast Member Did, about all the awesome and kind things people do for one another, just to make some one's day. Many of the things these Disney workers (Cast Members) do for the guests are not necessarily part of their job, though allowed and encouraged by their employer, but are usually something they choose to do for another human being.

It might sound silly, I know. But for many, little things in life make a difference. So to further encourage the Cast Members who often work under lots of pressure, and with difficult customers (I'm a server, too, and I know the feeling...) I decided to create these little cards to let them know that their hard work and smiles on the job are truly appreciated. I know it would make me feel nice, knowing someone noticed me as a person, and not just as a servant.

Anyway, I sketched out a few faces...

Me and the Hubs.

...then used my Sharpie and scanner, Vector Magic and Photoshop... and here they are!

We used them to thank our Backstage Tour guide, our waitresses and waiters, Guest Relations workers who helped us out, and, of course, our Mousekeeper at our hotel! It felt nice to be able to express my gratitude to those who make my Happy Place truly a happy one, and I will continue to use these in the future.

And as a plus, Hubs and I both now have new profile pictures to use on our various social media accounts! Hehe!

I'm going to end this post with a nice quote from Albert Einstein, which I read recently and found very inspiring:

"One should guard against preaching to young people success in the customary form as the main aim in life. The most important motive for work in school and in life is pleasure in work, pleasure in its result, and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community."
From "On Education" by Albert Einstein

Don't aim for success. Do what makes you happy, and what makes you meaningful to others.

I like that idea, don't you? :)
~Melanie

Other Ways I Spend My Time: Holiday Crafting #Disney #ornaments

*NOTE* I started writing this post a gazillion ages ago, and didn't finish it until now. So half of it is a bit out-dated. But I still like what I wrote, so I just left it the way it was!

Hello! Happy Holidays to you! :)

It's been a wicked (as we say in Rhode Island) busy holiday season for me this year, and even more so than usual! I've been working on my PiBoIdMo journal, one commission (as you saw in my last post), selling calendars and prints of my work, catching up on my blogging for Little Raindrop's blog (who also has been a busy little drop!), created art for the Providence Athenaeum's owl button project, reading and answering the latest batch of fan mail from Mr. H's 3rd graders, Christmas-ing and on top of alll that...

MAKING ORNAMENTS! (Yay!!!)

It's a holiday tradition, that sometimes occurs yearly in our family, if we are lucky. But I really love making new ornaments for family and friends, and for myself, of course! Every year, our tree has a new theme.

We've decorated by color, and even ornament collections...

Frosty Blues and Winter Friends
(A tiny First Tree from way back!)

 

Lime and Teal

 

Teddy Bears and Toys

But this year, I went to my hero for some inspiration... Mickey Mouse! And since my tree was Mickey themed, I thought why have a Disney themed ornament making session? So that's what we did!

First, make your stencils.



Mickey parts made from glittery craft foam!

Minnie wreath!

Mickey's sorcerer hat! Craft foam and glitter, galore.

Candy cane holder!

Colorful fun! Mini Styrofoam balls and a few coats of glitter.

A foamy Jack Skellington.

I put my new ornaments on the tree, with some colorful themed ribbons and other appropriate Mickey and Disney ornaments, and voila!

Our almost-too-large tabletop tree.

This was by far my favorite tree, ever! We don't always put one up, because it takes so long for me to put everything back. (It is February now, and although the tree is gone, all the decorations are still in a pile on the table! Tisk tisk.) But it was well worth it, because I couldn't stop looking at it.

While I'm at it, here's another ornament I made a few years ago...

"So you made some knockoff Mickey things, who cares?" some would say. My point of sharing this, is that it's okay to do stuff for the fun of it! Sometimes when art becomes work, it starts to feel like work, too. Crafting and playing keeps my brain happy and full of fresh ideas. Go find something you are passionately happy about, whatever it is, and go create something to honor it. Creativity is much like a can of paint; it needs to be shaken and stirred regularly!

So go shake and stir up some fun! :)
~Melanie
p.s. you can see more Disney ornament making ideas on my Pinterest board! https://pinterest.com/mlcillustration/a-very-disney-christmas/

Other Ways I Spend My Time: Star Harvest Fairy #Tattoo!

Miss me already?

Well I was able to hunt down a photo of the very first tattoo I've ever designed, from waaaaaay back in 2002! I was twenty! It's scary how fast time flies. :(

Here is the drawing...

And this is what it looks like now!

We haven't yet found photos from when the tattoo was brand-spankin-new, (and that was before every cell phone had a camera) but if it ever turns up I'll be sure to post it here! And now I think of it, I forgot to ask who inked it! So I'll be posting that information too.

One thing I DID learn, however, is that she still loves her tattoo! After all these years... isn't that awesome? :)

Other Ways I Spend My Time: Sparrow #Tattoo!

Hi Again!

I figured since I'm going to be posting tattoos, I might as well show you this one from 2009! My cousin's girlfriend has it on her front hip!

I am missing my final drawing, but you can easily see what it was supposed to look like based on the photos.

The original sketchy idea.

Better looking...

Brand spanking new!

The teal looks so neat when it's fresh like this. :)

What it looks like three years later!

This tattoo was inked by Bret A. Lohnes, of Captain Bret's Tattoo Parlor in Newport!

This was my second tattoo design, and I am working on hunting down the first! :)

Other Ways I Spend My Time: Comedy Tragedy #Tattoo!

Hi There!

So last week I was finally able to finish illustrating a tattoo design for a friend. I've designed two so far in my little lifetime, which I'll share with you once I have pretty photos of the final pieces. Tattoos are great little projects because you revise them a million times until they are just right, and then when you see all the progress you've made from point A to point B, it's truly amazing! AND, the best part, is your art ends up as a permanent piece of work on a body! How cool is that?!?

The tattoo requested needed the following items/themes: comedy tragedy masks, yin and yang, music notes, hidden initials, sparkles and "swirlies" and colors that matched an already existing tattoo.

My earliest sketches were just warm ups to get a feel for the project. Generally, my warm up sketches are quite lame. I'm seriously considering not even posting them, however, there needs to be a beginning somewhere, so here it is... *cringe*

The best part about that page was by the time it started to get full, I had gotten a spark of true inspiration, and it led me to this:

I shared it with my friend who made some suggestions, and also sent me photos of her preexisting tattoo...

original tat

brightened for color reference

And then I drew and painted a final piece, scanned it and colored it digitally for the tattoo artist's reference, and I have everything ready for her to pick up!

hand painted

digitally colored

I can't wait to share the final product with you! :D

Chairry Cake!!!!

Hello Readers!

Check out the LAST CAKE EVER of 2011! Classes are starting and I've got projects to do, so we went out with a real bang with this last cake of the year... Chairry from Pee Wee's Playhouse! Pee Wee was also cool enough to Tweet to the whole wide world about it, and to wish my pal Brook a Happy Birthday! And there are a ton of "Likes" on Facebook now, How awesome is that?!?!

My photos aren't as pretty as Brook's, but here they are, taken just minutes after I finished piping it. :)

To see more cakes, for the fun of it, go here. Thanks for visiting! :D

Koala Cake!

Has it nearly been a month already since my last post? Sheesh!

Well I've got stuff to show you from my new client, but that will be in my next post. (Got to stay organized, you know.) Let me share with you the latest cake- though I doubt it's the last. Classes don't start until September... I wonder who else will weasel in a cake order before then? (This isn't an invitation for new orders, I am just musing!)

Anyway, this particular cake was made for my sister's college graduation party. She's smart, creative, and fabulously fun to be around, and now that she has a teaching degree for Elementary Education, she's even cooler in my book! I combined her favorite animal and color, and there ya go...

PS. This character design is of my own creation... although it's not super inventive, I'm still fond of it and I'd rather you not copy it. Thanks :)

© 2011 Melanie Linden Chan (The files are doing that wacky thing again,
rotating without my permission.)

© 2011 Melanie Linden Chan

© 2011 Melanie Linden Chan

© 2011 Melanie Linden Chan

© 2011 Melanie Linden Chan

Okay! See you again in a little bit... off to type up the next post! :D