Introducing: The Phoenix

~ Introducing ~

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~ The Phoenix: Huáng Li ~

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Huáng Li: Hanyu-Pinyin Chinese

Meaning: Huáng refers to the Firebird,
or Phoenix, while Li indicates a female creature
of both great strength and beauty.

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~~SALE STATUS: FOR SALE~~

Price: $200

(not including sales tax or shipping)

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THE INSPIRATION FOR Huáng Li

What inspired me most were the ancient Chinese and other
Asiatic stories of the mysterious Firebird. While there is an Egyptian
equivalent to the Phoenix (Benu), as well as Arabic and Japanese
versions, Huáng Li is closest to the Chinese Legend.

Huáng Li is the Firebird that represents the Chinese Empress.
She symbolizes virtue and grace, amongst other things.

This doll took about a month to make, since I had to find the cloth
for her body, head, and hands, and make that, which, overall,
took the least amount of time.

Then came the challenge
of finding the cloth for her plumage. I was very fortunate in my find,
since the fabric has a wonderful shimmer to it. Huáng Li has had
hundreds of glass beads sewn to her, all around her wrists, ankles,
neck, head, and upper chest. Crystals hang from her hands and form a
glowing necklace around her slender neck. A single Swarovski crystal
drop dangles from a silver pendant on her gown.

Puffs of feathers, sewn with beads and crystals, have been placed
on her wrists, ankles, gown, and throat. All of this was handstitched onto the doll.
Her beautiful hair was made from 30 yards of imported Italian yarn, with
5 yards of American made ribbon threaded throughout. A beautiful feathered
headdress floats around her face, framing the oriental Empress with delicate
wisps.

Please keep in mind (for those who think the doll is too high priced),
that I hand-stitched everything to the doll. All the gown material,
feathers, beads, and hair, were all stitched by ME. Her hands, as well,
were stitched by me because my sewing machine cannot manage
such delicate work.

Luna Lovegood Jewelry Set

Luna Lovegood Jewelry Set Ebay Page

This set of jewelry is all made from patterns that I created.
These patterns are not available for sale, sorry.

This set is made from top quality seed beads and wire.
The Radish earrings were made using four colors of seed beads.
The Beetle Ring is made so that the wings can be worn open or closed.
The Cork necklace was made using a fancily imprinted cork.

PRICE: $35.00 (plus shipping)

Alice Cullen Choker

Alice Cullen Choker Ebay Page

The Choker has a hand-painted Cullen Crest, which has been permanently attached to a beautiful silver pin pendant. The ribbon is black velvet and has a fancy silver clasp at the back.
A single, gorgeously cut swarovski crystal heart dangles from the clasp.

This Choker comes in a small silver pouch which will keep it from getting tangled with other jewelry. These chokers are special because I hand paint the design, each necklace will be unique.

PRICE: $35.00 (plus shipping)

There's Always A First...

At least for me, there is. We, meaning my whole family, just did a swapmeet down in Black Forest. My father had his hand-etched mirrors, with hand-rubbed Oak frames that he made himself. My mother, my sister, and I sold jewelry sets that we had made. They are very beautiful sets, made from liquid silver and semi-precious stones, complete with a two-strand necklace, bracelet, and earrings. I also had some of my own jewelry pieces there, along with Sangeet and my Phoenix doll, who is getting beaded now. We actually did pretty good, for it being only a swapmeet and not a craft fair. Here is some of my jewelry:

This was sold to a most charming lady who was working the booth across from ours. She eventually came over and looked at the jewelry, and decided that Le Phantome was just the right piece for her. I very much agree =).


Status: Available


Status: Available


Status: Available


Status: Available

Why I do what I do with my jewelry pieces:

I believe that this type of jewelry making is a different sort of art form. Of course, it takes skill to make any kind of jewelry really well, but this is the perfect medium for me. I am very good at beading, but I also like to explore new ideas and this seems perfect. Eahc piece is unique and individual. Most will not be available for reproduction, so that if you buy one of a style, that is the only one. But despite this fact, each necklace is rather reasonably priced (art is no good if others cannot afford it. If it sits in your house all day and is never sold, than what have you inspired? Nothing, that's what.) The Guardian, African Princess, and The Philosopher are larger pieces, around two to three inches in length. That means that they cost $30 plus whatever sales tax and shipping (if bought online) would be. Others, like the Shell Maiden and Le Phantome, are only $20 (add tax and shipping). Pins range from $15 to $18, depending on how many shimmer powders are used (those are not cheap). Overall, my main reason is to add some beauty to the world at affordable prices =).

If you are interested in any of the available pieces above, please feel free to e-mail me. I will respond as quickly as possible: slumbermoonsfancy@yahoo.com

Fairy Name

Icon made by me =)

Some randomness...

Your fairy is called Thorn Goblinfrost

She is a bringer of riches and wealth.

She lives in brambles and blackberry bushes.

She is only seen during the first snow of winter.

She wears purple and green like berries and leaves. She has gentle green wings like a butterfly.

Get your free fairy name here!

Sangeet, the Pied Piper of Hamelin

Sangeet: Hindi for "Musician"

~~AWARDS~~
First Prize at the Colorado Springs El Paso County Fair

~~SALE STATUS: NOT FOR SALE~~

THE INSPIRATION FOR SANGEET:

What inspired me the most for Sangeet was the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Here is an excerpt from the famous Robert Browning Poem:

"Come in!"—the Mayor cried, looking bigger:
And in did come the strangest figure!
His queer long coat from heel to head
Was half of yellow and half of red;
And he himself was tall and thin,
With sharp blue eyes, each like a pin,
And light loose hair, yet swarthy skin,
No tuft on cheek nor beard on chin,
But lips where smiles went out and in—
There was no guessing his kith and kin!
And nobody could enough admire
The tall man and his quaint attire:
Quoth one: "It's as my great-grandsire,
Starting up at the Trump of Doom's tone,
Had walked this way from his painted tombstone!"

He advanced to the council-table:
And, "Please your honours," said he, "I'm able,
By means of a secret charm, to draw
All creatures living beneath the sun,
That creep or swim or fly or run,
After me so as you never saw!
And I chiefly use my charm
On creatures that do people harm,
The mole and toad and newt and viper;
And people call me the Pied Piper."
(And here they noticed round his neck
A scarf of red and yellow stripe,
To match with his coat of the selfsame cheque;
And at the scarf's end hung a pipe;
And his fingers, they noticed, were ever straying
As if impatient to be playing
Upon this pipe, as low it dangled
Over his vesture so old-fangled.)
"Yet," said he, "poor piper as I am,
In Tartary I freed the Cham,
Last June, from his huge swarms of gnats;
I eased in Asia the Nizam
Of a monstrous brood of vampire-bats..."

As you can see, Sangeet does match the description, with her pale blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. Her clothing is a motley grouping of red, pink, yellow, and tinge of purple. At her waist she wears a belt of wool that was hand-spun by my sister, which was then braided with multi-colored yarn. Dangling from it is a mixture of oriental coins and pastel gypsy bells, and two roses, one a tan and the other purple, rest above the belt. Her entir outfit is handstitched and is sewn directly onto the doll. Her skirt splits up the middle in the front, and her bodice piece is hand-beaded to match her wristlets, which are also hand-beaded onto the doll. Her hair is top-quality yarn that has been carefully unravelled and braided with more multi-colored yarns. Her gold pipe is lifted to her lips while a sash holds it around her neck. Her bare feet show her life as a wanderer.

The doll's hands were stitched by hand and firmly grip the pipe. Her face was carefully colored with pencils by me. She is posed as a sitting doll (she looks wonderful against stone). This doll was made with love and at this time IS NOT FOR SALE. This was mainly to give you, dear reader, an idea of my work. Comments are lovely and I would love to hear your opinion about Sangeet. You can either comment here or E-mail me at: slumbermoonsfancy@yahoo.com for doll updates. I am making other dolls currently and you can recieve progress updates if you are interested in purchasing them in the future.

~~UPCOMING DOLLS~~

The Pheonix (unnamed)

African Princess (unnamed)

Welcome!

If you have come across this blog by complete accident, than you are probably wondering what exactly Slumber Moon's Fancy really is.

Slumber Moon's Fancy is the home of high quality artisan jewelry and fantastical cloth dolls, all handmade by me, nicknamed Poony in my family. I am actually quite a young artist, being only 20 years old, yet it seems God blessed me with infinite creativity =)! Here is my story:

How it all started: Several years ago I became interested in OOAK (One-Of-A-Kind) 12-inch doll repaints. I made a few of these to sell (Padme from Star Wars in her Naboo Lake Gown and Nox Woman from Stargate SG-1). I also learned that the time involved in those dolls was not for me. I prefer working with cloth, instead of vinyl, because of the richness of the fibers and accesories such as specialty yarns and beads. Then I found IT. Cloth doll making! My first doll, Sangeet, took a long time because I am also in college. She seemed to sit there, half-done, for what seemed like an eternity.

Then, at a local craft fair I met Cathie Hartmann of Tanglewood Spirits (such gorgeous woodland dolls with an inner sparkle) and she was my inspiration for finishing poor Sangeet (who was a doll without any clothes, hands, or name at the time). I promised to bring Sangeet for her to see in a week's time, and Cathie thought she was beautiful. She also suggested when I asked what I should name her that I delve into India/Hindi style names. So I did. Sangeet actually means Musician, which I thought was fitting.

The Other Items: I also make high-quality face jewelry out of Sculpy, a top-brand clay. The pieces are accentuated with shimmer dust in various metallic shades, and all of the designs come out of my mind. Some of the inspirations include things in my life or where I live (cats, snowflakes, etc.), but also special ideas (African royalty, the Italian Carnivale). These pendants and pins are baked to perfection before being signed by me and sealed with the perfect high-quality gloss sealer. All of these elements combine to create some truly stunning pieces.

Ah, yes, I also make some other types of jewelry, including movie-based sets. I have made, in the past, OOAK Alice Cullen necklaces from the ever popular Twilight movie series, which is hand-made with a hand-painted Cullen crest, all mounted on a black velvet ribbon. No two necklaces are alike because of the fact that I hand-paint them. I also make Luna Lovegood (from Harry Potter) jewelry sets off of my own patterns: fully beaded Radish Earrings, Beetle Ring, and Cork Necklace.

Odds and Ends: I am an artist in another sense, too. I paint and draw, generally using pencil or watercolor. I do not, however, sell these. The reason is that I doubt anyone would want to buy what I've drawn. So, I don't even go there.

Q & A - Also known as Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Do you take commissions for your dolls or jewelry?

A: For the cloth dolls, no. Those are very time consuming and it would be too hard for me to even try to make someone else's idea into a doll. As for jewelry, I might consider making a special face pendant or pin for you. I won't, however, make other types of Twilight jewelry (or jewelry from from any other movie, either). I might start making jewelry from other things, in the future, but it will be of my own accord (I know what I can and cannot do with jewelry findings, in other words).

Q: Do you still make 12-inch OOAK repaints, and if so, can you make a special one for me?

A: I'm sorry, but there isn't enough time in my life to do those as well. I will recommend some top-rate 12-inch doll crafters, though, so don't worry. They are far better at their trade than I am and can make whatever you dream of!

Q: Do you ship world-wide?

A: Of course =). I wouldn't think of depriving someone of purchasing an item they really want. Insurance will also be available, too.

Q: Who taught you to do all this?

A: I taught myself, mostly. I have read plenty of books on different crafts, but for the most part I am a self-taught artist, right down to my painting and sketching skills. Books are the best things there are!