Tuesday is Almost Here

4/1 Update: Looks like the auction was a great success. Thank you to everyone for all of your support and for sharing this wonderful project.

It's been a long day, so I will be pulling a winner from my giveaway hat this weekend ... stay tuned!

3/31 Update: With just under two hours left to bid, the auction has raised nearly $3000.00 (not including any donations made without bidding)!! Woohooooo!

Time is running out



to see an incredible slideshow of all the contributions, please stop by THIS POST.

Also, there's still time to enter my giveaway (bet you had forgotten ... good thing I remember!) ... go HERE for all the details (entries will be accepted till 10:00pm EST).

YOU can make a huge difference ... Visit the Auction right HERE

Thank you.

Two Shrines

(Click above image to be directed to the auction site)

*** MY NEXT POST WILL FEATURE THE AUCTION ***

But first I thought I would give everyone a little history as to how I got involved in this project (you might want to grab something to drink, kick back and relax for a bit ... I have a feeling this isn't going to be a quick post).

In November I visited Yoli's blog and came across THIS post; the timing couldn't have been better. I had just recently participated in my first "Dia de Bloglandia" event hosted by Susanna & Stephanie. Since it was a first, I had to do some research about Dia de los Muertos. The traditions & expression of the holiday spoke directly to my heart and soul. I truly enjoyed the process of making items, gathering others and simply erecting the shrine for friends and family that had passed. There was a real sense of healing in honoring these people that had touched my life (you can see the shrine HERE), so when I saw Yoli's post, I jumped in feet first ... the brain caught up a little later.

I committed to contributing a Cigar Box Shrine/Memory Box to benefit the Street Children of Oaxaca. I cannot explain why, but I felt a really strong urge to do a shrine in black & white ... once I began the process, my muse insisted that red be included, too. As for the cranes, it has been long believed that cranes not only bring luck and represent longevity, but they are also symbols of peace. How appropriate?

The birdhouse was cut down to a one inch depth to fit inside the closed box; there is a crystal heart attached just inside the opening of the birdhouse. I folded the cranes from squares of (just over 1") washi paper. Once all were folded and open, each one was dipped in a setting agent to strengthen and allowed to dry. Once dry, I painted half of them black and the other half white with acrylic paints and then sealed with a gloss varnish. The birds were strung along with black and white glass beads and clear Swarovski bicone crystals. Each string is suspended from the "ceiling" of the box. The three cranes at the base are attached.

Once all the elements were attached, I added the design in white acrylic paint to the inside cover, box front (has the name of the piece "Osmosis") and the sides.

Here's a detail of the interior:

This second shrine was an experiment for me ... I have a tendency to play it safe when it comes to use of color, but I really wanted to push my personal boundries and go for something bold and coloful - on the lines of more is better. I had tons of fun working on this shrine.

On the right (interior space of the box), I glued down a fragment of the cloth I had used on the first shrine (for Dia de Bloglandia) ... it felt right to honor that experience in this piece. I also used part of the same Our Lady of Guadelupe image. Our Lady is surrounded by pink and green sequins with Swarovski crystals set in here and there. The sides are bordered with red and gray textured glass tiles. The little cards are from a miniature tarot deck with bold images and are floated on small squares of stacked wood chips. (More were used on the outside box lide and outsied edges) The base has six swirly irridecsent shells attached. The flower stem is made of green sequins, the center of the flower is a yard pebble and the petals are small pieces of turquoise. The bit of lace at the top is actually a veil suspended from the inside and can be pulled back over to "hide" the interior.

On the left is a cross made up of bits and pieces and set in a thick layer of gel medium that's been liberally dusted with a coarse white glitter. The first outline is made up of light green glass chips and tiny red Swarovski crystals. The next is a slver textured ribbon and is followed by a border of pink sequins - the rest of the background is super fine citrus glitter with many coats of high gloss varnish over it.

Here's a detail of the box interior:

Both Cigar Box Shrines are available through the Auction to benefit the Street Children of Oaxaca located HERE ... take some time to look through the catalog of offerings and feel free to share the link with all your friends and family. The more interest we can generate, the better!

"Just one person MAKES a difference"

Shrine On!

thanks Lynn, I STILL have the song in my head. :)

So, I am WAY late on getting them shipped out, but they ARE headed to the post office in the morning (even if there are a few last minute touches left) and WILL be there before the actual end-of-the-month deadline. Phew! I was getting really nervous for a while.

All this one:

needs is a title & then it will officially be fini'!

And this one:

just needs a bit of this, a little that & a decision - skulls or no skulls (I did add some black details to them since this photo was taken); definitely doable before the pillows call.

Thank you for all the encouragement - it has been a huge help.

Here's hoping that all of the efforts of the contributing artists raise lots

of much needed funds & awareness for the street children in Oaxaca.

Has it Really Been a Week ...

... since my last post? Time keeps slipping though my fingers.

Once upon a time, I was girl that THRIVED on deadlines (sometimes meeting them by the skin of my teeth, but ALWAYS meeting them ON TIME) ... and then I moved to Florida. It took me a while, but I finally accept that I have grown acustomed to Florida time. Did you know that here in Florida (at least in the southwest) "soon" can be anytime between the next ten minutes and ten months (some might even argue ten years)? At least I think that's what's going on ...

Case in point #1: I still haven't sent out my Christmas cards or had my holiday "Make-n-Bake" fest. Has anyone noticed the first week of January has nearly passed?

Case in point #2:

What's that, you ask? It's the beginings of The Cigar Box Shrine for the Auction for Oaxaca Street Children ... remember THIS? I waited way to long to get started ... till late last week ... pan out a little and you'll have this:

Right now I am at about this point:

*sighs*

They're due to Rebecca on January 10th (to be considered for inclusion in Pasticcio Quartz - no guarantee, of course, but it would have been exciting to be considered). It's January 7th. I'm missing that deadline. I'm bummed, but I did this to myself. Thank goodness the shrined can be received until the end of the month to be included in the auction.

Case in point #3: I signed up for a post card exchange way-back-when with a "must be mailed" date of 12/15 ... I made it to the post office on 12/22 ... the saving grace is that I wasn't the only one & the hostess, JennLui at A Trinket Treasury is a generously kind spirit. So not to be a spoiler to the recipients, the two shots below are just snipets of two of the cards:

and:

In a nutshell, if it isn't Florida time that's gotten its hold on me, then I am seriously clueless as to why I have been such an utter and total flake ... anyone have any ideas how I can cure this terrible malady?!?

Cigar Box Shrine - A Call to Artists

Last week I learned that our local smoke shop sells empty cigar boxes for $.50/each, so I stopped by to see if they had any and walked out with five boxes. For years I have been intrigued by the magic that can happen to a cigar box & just a few random art supplies, odds and ends. How fun it would be to try my hand at making a little of that magic myself?

The boxes have been sitting in a stack since I brought them home. I keep looking at them & sometimes grab one to open and close it a bunch of times before returning it to the pile ... where to begin, right? As the fates would have it ... I have a starting point and a purpose now.

I know that most everyone is knee deep, in holiday planning/creating/shopping, but if you have a moment, check out the link above (the image) and read all about the Dia de Los Muertos Art Exhibit & Sale (or click HERE). There is also the Cigar Box Shrine Gallery located HERE that has pages of inspiration ... AND the final deadline for recieving them is January 10, 2009.