New item at Etsy Shop! Custom "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" bracelet

This custom cuff has been inspired by Stieg Larsson's "Millenium Trilogy" which features the iconic heroine, Lisbeth Salander.

The cuffs are made of veg-tanned tooling leather. They are hand-cut and the design is burnt by hand into the leather (NOT DONE BY LASER). The cuffs flexibility and design are protected by Eco-Flo natural Gum Tragacanth and Eco-Flo natural Carnauba Creme.



I'm very proud of this because it is my first leather product I'm introducing my Etsy shop.

Check it out at my shop: Custom "What Would Lisbeth Do? leather cuff

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The Phantom of the Opera Leather Mask

This was my first foray into making a leather mask. I still do not know how I did this. It all started in my Stagecraft class with our final project of the semester. We were to pick from a list of props of a corresponding play or we could pick our own prop from a play, the only catch would be that my professor would have to approve of the choice.

At first, I was going to do the raygun from "The Rocky Horror Show" because I love "The Rocky Horror Show" and I thought it would be a pretty cool prop. Until I found out that there was a whole list of what was required in order to carry a fake prop onto campus property, so I just nixed that idea. (I'm still thinking about making the raygun and being Magenta for next Halloween though. hehe)

But then I had an epiphany - "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Phantom" (Erik)'s mask! I knew the play and when I found out that the most recent production masks are made of leather, I thought, that will be a definite challenge for me since I've always wanted to get into leather craft. So, after watching tutorials and researching (a lot) on how to make a leather mask, I decided to venture into doing this.

This is the plaster of my patient sister's face for the mask.

The above plaster mask, of course, fell apart as soon as the wet leather was applied to it because, as I later found out, the plaster mask is a negative mold of the face and I needed as a positive mold of her face. So, now I know that when I do my next mask, I'll need to make one of those.

And three molds later, (which I will pictures later), came up with this:

"The Phantom of the Opera" mask (finished)

Not bad, eh? The funny thing now is, I'm addicted to it, so once I figure out what to do about getting/making a face form, I think I'm going to do a series of art masks. I already have a lot of ideas what I can do. :D

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Steampunk Pendant Necklace In Progress

Last week I watched a fascinating documentary on the author HP. Lovecraft and since I'm already inspired by my undeniable devotion to all things Steampunk, the pendant I burned this weekend is the product of both of those things.

Here is the sketch I drew this week of what I wanted it to look like.

You have no idea why it was ridiculously hard for me to draw those tentacles. It's not like I haven't drawn an Octopus before. XD

And this is what it looks like burnt.

I'm debating on whether or not to add color or keep it the way it is. I want to stop using acrylic paint because I've been told the acrylic overpowers the burning. I've heard that using something that has oil in it (pencils, pastels, paints) looks better with pyrography. But I'm still researching on what is the best kind of oil pastel, paints or pencils to use and which comes in the most colors. I don't want to add too much color to this one. Maybe just the octopus to draw attention to it?

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Victory! My First Ever 5-Minute Drawings!

My friend Liz asked if I would draw her two quick drawings, one would be a deer and the other a panda bear because those two are her favorite animals. Of course, I was so nervous about drawing them because this was the first time I would ever draw animals.

I've always had a hang up of drawing nature because I felt you had to be an incredibly good artist in order to draw nature and animals. But I felt I should at least try, so these are my two 5-minute drawings! Most importantly, the victory is that she loved them. :D

"Deer" (2011)

"Panda Bear" (2011)
I love his little tongue sticking out to snatch the bamboo. hehe

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Just reopened my shop!

I hope all of you come and see the items I've added. I'm very proud of all the pieces I have.

Etsy swelldameinc

I'm planning on adding a new piece every week and I'll be updating with that news here every time I add something so all of my lovely followers can view my pieces. I'll try and give a sneak peek on what the new piece is and its progress too.

In other news, I am finishing an illustration that I hope will be made into a t-shirt on Threadless.com. So I'll be needing a lot of votes if it's accepted. *fingers crossed*

I'm also working on the Lady Gaga illustration and researching on the best possible way I can make prints for customers who want prints of my illustration. Does any of my talented followers use a printing method or company that they would recommend for illustrations?

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