The Woods in Winter

© Sybille Sterk 

Do not copy or publish this in any way, shape or form without my written permission.

Created using both Illustrator and Photoshop, bought resources and my own illustrations and photography. 

Woods are lovely never mind the time of year. This was my take on a Snow White wood where the prince never came to rescue Snow White. Instead red apples grew where she fell asleep in her glass coffin. 

Sometimes life doesn't work out the way you hoped.

Available as prints, phone and tablet cases, mugs and travel mugs, wall hangings and shower curtains, cushions and various bags and pouches, duvet covers and stationary cards. Oh and mouse mats. :D Have a ball. Have a set. :D

Society6, Redbubble, Artflakes, DeviantArt, Casetify 

Snow White

© Sybille Sterk

Do not copy or publish this in any way, shape or form without my written permission.

We finally have a bit of snow even if Christmas (and therefore a chance of a White Christmas) is long gone.

This reminded me of Snow White. One of my favourite fairy tales.

All images/textures/brushes my own or bought. Edited with Photoshop.

All my images are available on Redbubble, Artflakes, Society6 and Bluecanvas as prints, cards, posters, skins for laptops, Blackberry, iPhones and other phones (for the skins go to Bluecanvas). You can now also get most of my images on cushion covers (go to Society6 for these).

Poison Apple

MCN: CU9YD-TMDYA-XNES8

A poison apple must be a special treasure to keep safe and secret until you use it. I wondered how you would store it. Another image in my 1/52 series (week 14).

Part of my new series of images for licensing on Arcangel-Images - use this code: SYST-0197

Created with my own photographs in Photoshop, no stock used.

Snow White

 

 MCN: CWNCF-Y5AFX-E9FJS

Part of my new series of images for licensing on Arcangel-Images - use this code: SYST-0188

From my very first photo shoot. The model is the beautiful Francesca.

Snow White in her coffin. It's always been one of my favourite fairytales, despite the fact that I was always annoyed that she just didn't learn from her experience, but maybe that's why it's such a good example?

Created with my own photographs in Photoshop, no stock used.

Eat Me

MCN: C6NWG-P8X38-GS7LC

I love fairy tales, so I tried to recreate the feel of Snow White (a little tongue-in-cheek) with this one. You can't beat a red apple. There's a little Adam and Eve in there too.... 

Part of my new series of images for licensing on Arcangel-Images - use this code: SYST-0177 

Created with my own photographs in Photoshop, no stock used.

Shelved - Photo Manipulation

All is not as it seems... this may look like a romantic image, however, it's actually a 'rant' against all the helpless heroines in fairyland who wait for 'true love's first kiss' and Prince Charming to rescue them from a situation they put themselves in.

For example, shouldn't Snow White have realised after the poisoned comb that maybe she shouldn't trust gifts from an old hag? Shouldn't Sleeping Beauty have listened to her parents and not run off to get herself into trouble? Shouldn't Rapunzel have worked out that she could cut her hair and climb down that tower all by herself? Not exactly the kind of role models girls need growing up. No get up and go and sort yourself out. Give me Sherazade any day...

Thing is, these role models shape the way we think of ourselves and the way we think we should live our lives. Girls as young as 11 go on diets to look 'thin and beautiful'...

How often do we put ourselves on a shelf, waiting for Prince Charming to make our life worth living, when we have the key to make it special and fulfilling all along...

Credits

Model

• Oldfashioned Stock 9 (currently in storage) by Eli-Stock

Stock

• frame 11 by Meltys
• Frame by lillyfly06-stock
• Old letter stock by rustymermaid-stock
• Stock 016 - Corset by senzostock
• STOCK IMAGE old child dummy by Lamollesse
• teacup01 by Holy-Win
• Nightstock 863 by Nightstock
• Key 1 by matazidah
• Braid by NiennaAlatariel
• STOCK PNG vines by MaureenOlder

Backgrounds and Textures

• wall frame shelf stock 8801 by Moon-WillowStock
• Copper Flower Paper by Siobhan68
• and it was my business by CKdailyplanet
• Fake Old by dazzle-textures
• Another Mixed Texture Set by Shadowhouse
• New Square Texture Set by Shadowhouse
• Vintage Oil Painting Texture Set + Tutorial by Shadowhouse
• Chaos / Grunge Texture Set by Shadowhouse
• Aged and Crackling Effects Texture Set by Shadowhouse

Brushes

• Cloud Brushes HiRes Nr.1 of 5 by leboef
• Cloud Brushes HiRes Nr.2 of 5 by leboef
• Bird Brush Pack by Shadowhouse
• Foliage by spiritsighs-stock
• Foliage 2 by spiritsighs-stock
• Foliage 3 by spiritsighs-stock
• Waterstains Photoshop Brushes by redheadstock
• Spanish Moss Brushes by redheadstock
• Cobwebs Photoshop Brushes by redheadstock
• Ropes -n- Chains Brushes by redheadstock
• Valikva Action by Apples & Sisters

All other images/textures/stock/brushes my own.

MCN: CM79D-XYFL3-96VDU

Snow White - Or be careful what you wish for!

 

 

 

 Illustration to go with my poem Snow White - Or be careful what you wish for!

Credits

Model

• Point of no return5 by faestock

Stock

• Napoleon's Crown by xangelsxflightx
• Apple II. Stock by CozycomfycouchStock
• Wooden Comb by delainestock
• Mirror 1 by wrecklesstock
• FREE STOCK, Magic Bottles 2 by mmp-stock
• Curtain - 01 by LunaNYXstock
• STOCK PNG bow and arrows by MaureenOlder
• Old Dark Room by blOntj
• winter 1 by night-fate-stock
• Window from: 1st Birthday Challenge Photo Manipulator Group's collection of images

Textures

• Smashed Glass Texture by dozystock
• Grunge by struckdumb
• Corner is messy by thespook
• retro wall paper by texturepack
• Free blood splatter textures by khaosdog
• One of the non-edited textures (texture packs) from Sirius SDZ 
• psychosomatic texture by Princess-of-Shadows

Brushes

• Hair brush set by para-vine

All other textures/images/stock/brushes my own.

MCN: CJYAV-A9GHX-KMFB

Spring Splendour - Magnolia and Cherry Blossom

A couple of weeks ago I took some more photos of the Spring Splendour all around me. I have a thing about cherry blossoms and magnolias, so here are more pictures.


Cherry Blossom

Both images were edited with filters and all sorts of clever stuff to create the different painterly effects.



Magnolias

The following pictures were only edited to enhance the subject rather than change it.


More images of crafted things to follow soon... I've just finished and posted a commission and I am working on the next commission....

Spring in Paris

Spring is here - three days (at least) of sunshine and here's my offering to the goddess of Spring, Persephone:

Spring in Paris

This is another long necklace, but this time I included a clasp so it can be worn wrapped around your neck twice.

And doesn't it look just like Spring in Paris? It's elegant, romantic and a little whimsical with a shabby chic edge to it. Lipstick and sugar pinks, pale fresh Spring green, soft cream with a floral theme set off against stark black and with the vintage touch of the verdigrised filigrees.

I've added another organza/tulle flower, with layers in mint green, dark brown, burgundy, pale pink and cream and lovely gorgeous watery green Miyuki beads.


The flower is set onto a filigree with three more watery green Miyuki beads as a counterweight and so it looks pretty just in case it does turn the wrong way round. The filigree has been hand painted with a verdigris finish in acrylic paints and covered with two layers of special varnish.



Below you can see the details:

Little filigree hearts - painted verdigris - set between beautiful floral fabric beads that have gorgeous leafy bead caps in matte black. The fabric beads have come all the way from France again from the little beadhive shop on Etsy.

The pale green beads are amazonite rounds and the black ones are gunmetal beads.

The sugary pink beads are reconstituted pink turqoise and the bright lipstick pink ones are trade beads from Africa.


I've used two types of chain: one is a gorgeous matte black chain (new) that has little crescents strung together with (soldered) jump rings. The other chain is a vintage chain with a very dark patina and teeny tiny links.

The chain has a dangle that overhangs the small clasp with more watery green Miyuki beads.

I've also made a commission, but since it's for Mother's Day I won't show it on here till next Monday... just in case.

Story Time - Snow White and Snow Queen

Blame the weather for the late post! It's been horrible round here and impossible to take decent pictures in the daylight outside.

However, here they finally are, my latest two jewellery designs. They are based on fairy tales and I've mixed all my various craft skills to create them.


Snow White

The centre piece needle felted rose was on here before but this is the finished necklace:

Once in daylight:



Once in daylight with flash:
I've used oxidised copper wire with all sorts of vintage and new glass beads, ebony wood beads and I think there are also a couple of vintage lucite/plastic beads in there and quartz and vintage opalite beads. A lovely mix of black and very dark brown, various shades of red and white, just like in the story:

Once upon a time, as a queen sits sewing at her window, she pricks her finger on her needle and a drop of blood falls on the snow that had fallen on her ebony window frame. As she looks at the blood on the snow, she says to herself, "Oh, how I wish that I had a daughter that had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony".

The needle felted rose includes some crystal organza and is connected to the necklace by a copper plate, hand cut and stamped with Snow White and my logo. The necklace has a clasp although it will slip over the head as it is, however, I thought it would work perfectly for a wedding or any other special occasion, therefore I added the clasp so coiffured hair will not be tousled when putting on the necklace.


Here's a detailed view of the white beads:




Snow Queen

This necklace is again based on a story, this time by Hans Christian Andersen. Here's a description of the Snow Queen:

'The flake of snow grew larger and larger; and at last it was like a young lady, dressed in the finest white gauze, made of a million little flakes like stars. She was so beautiful and delicate, but she was of ice, of dazzling, sparkling ice; yet she lived; her eyes gazed fixedly, like two stars; but there was neither quiet nor repose in them.'

I wanted to capture the spirit of the snow queen - the deceptive softness of the snow and the sparkling of the ice, as well as the beauty and coldness of the queen herself.


For this reason the necklace has three focal points. The first one is the hand cut and stamped crown, finished with pale grey Swarovski bicones.


The second focal point is the vintage snowflake filigree that has been embellished with vintage diamante and two teeny milky round vintage beads.


The third focal point are three large hand felted beads, one in white and pink, one in lilac and white and the last one in a stormy grey/blue and white.


Each felted bead has been embellished with teeny faceted beads.

For the main part of the necklace I've used vintage and new glass beads, faceted and smooth, vintage lucite and plastic beads, labradorite and rock quartz, vintage opalite and Swarovski beads in various sizes and pale shades (pink, blue, lilac, grey, green) to reflect the light.

All findings are sterling silver.

Both necklaces will be available in my Etsy shop soon or if you can't wait, send me an e-mail. :-)

Coming soon: blue chenille cowl neckwarmer, more pictures of the teal flower scarf and pictures of the wild rose blossom scarf.

Beanie, Wrist Warmers & a Snow White Sneak Preview

I did promise to post some pictures after the last teaser post.

Purple and Black London Beanie

Here's the beanie hat I made for Ben. I found the pattern for it on the net. It's been designed by Mark Thrailkill and if you fancy making one yourself, here's the pattern.



I slightly changed the original pattern to what Ben wanted and also to suit the wool I was using, which was slightly thinner than the one in the pattern. The wool I used was DK Super Stylecraft in black and Emperor. It's widely available and has the advantage that you can just chuck it in the washing machine. Very useful with a beanie hat. :-)


Teal Cable Wrist Warmers

I found this lovely pattern on Etsy in Nunt's Shop.


It was a lot more challenging than I had envisaged for my very first pair of wrist warmers, but I liked the pattern so much... and the pattern instructions were very good, even though I had to teach myself the Magic Loop Method of knitting in the round. I found a great tutorial video on YouTube. I also had to do other things I'd never done before - like make a thumb gusset! I'd done cabling before, but that was a long, long time ago and never anything as complex as the knotted pattern in the middle. However, I am so proud of myself that I managed this and they do look halfway decent and are lovely to wear.


The wool I used is teal bamboo which I adore. It's lovely and soft and great to knit with. Apparently it's also hypoallergenic and has some healing qualities (for most of us, some people find it itchy). The only quibble I have with it is that the threads the yarn is made up of separate quite easily which can make for messy knitting if you're not careful, otherwise I loved the yarn and I think it works really well with the pattern.

Here's the pattern in more detail. :-)



Snow White Necklace Preview

Here's a flower I felted ready for my Snow White necklace. It'll be quite a long necklace with the felted rose as a centre piece.


I've used merino wool, crystal organza and beads. The rose isn't quite finished yet, the edges still need tidying up and I am considering using some fabric stiffener to make the rose more sturdy as it's going to be used on a necklace.



More to come soon....

... I've almost finished my green chenille shawl. It's currently being blocked. I still need to make the Sakura felt flowers to decorate it (which I am about to do). The edging (my own design based on an Edwardian design - more about that later) turned out really pretty and so far it's turned out much better even than I thought it would. :-)

Rosy Posy

Another of my little brooches, this one in icy pinks. Not quite sure why but despite it being soft warm pinks it reminds me of snow. Maybe it's rosy cheeks in Winter snow?


Made in the same way as the Blue Poppy, but the centre petal is divided and I've used grey fresh water pearls in the centre (oh, and of course it's pink rather than blue). :-)




It is 8cm x 6cm (3"x2.5") and will be available in my Etsy shop soon.

Felting Frenzy - Cat, Penguin, and African Tribal Brooch

Here are some of my new felt creations:


I am really enjoying this needle felting lark - my creative voodoo! :-)

Here's a little cat I made. One of my first ones - made a while back, but I kept forgetting to take a photo of it.


Here's the tail in detail. I know, I know it's green, but I didn't have any brown or cream or grey, so green it was. :-)



This is the famous zebra brooch, but when it was finished it looked nothing like a zebra, but African/tribal instead. I still like it.


As you can see I used wooden beads: rondelles, round ebony beads, carved beads and a lovely carved bone bead in the centre.


This is the brooch from the back. The round brooch back works really well.



Here's my latest creation: a penguin for Steve based on the Linux logo penguin. Doesn't look quite the same. When it was finished I decided it needed some spikes on top of its head - a bit like a Rockhopper penguin. :-)


Here's the face in detail: