Retrofabulous Christmas Craftabration: Suzy Snowflake Snowlady

Here comes Suzy Snowflake...

Suzy Snowflake Copyright 2011 Margot Potter

Snow Couple Copyright 1966 Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas

Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas Magazine Cover Copyright 1966

This is perhaps one of my favorite projects...ever. I spent three full days carefully working on this, waiting patiently for the layer upon layers of material to dry. There was one craftastrophic moment with her nose, which I fixed with a few new layers of faux snow and a bead...PHEW! She is a little kitschy crafterpiece inspired by a project in a 1966 Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas magazine and I am completely smitten. She was a labor of love. Not for a book or a magazine or a manufacturer, but just for the love of making. I know, she's funky, she's weird...she's...well...totally Madge.

Suzy Snowflake Copyright 2011 Margot Potter

Suzy Snowflake Close Up Copyright 2011 Margot Potter

I used a variety of materials including a generous sprinkling of SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS (check out her tiny jewelries and her arms), fabric flowers, Aleene's Glitter Snow, Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue, pink and snowflake sequins, tinsel ball chain ribbon, pink bubble and glitter organza ribbon, head pins and eye pins, Aleene's Fabric Fusion tape, 20 gauge Beadalon German style wire...and Stickles glitter glue in Stardust from Ranger. I used Sharpee pens to color in her facial features.  I scored these peppermint beads a few years back at my friend Stan's shop. I don't know if he has any left, but his url is www.greatcraftworks.com. I got the mini-flocked trees on close out a few years ago, just added glitter, sequins, ball chain and a peppermint bead tree topper.  If you make something similar, be sure to use steel or hard tension armatures, she needs stability, regular craft wire will not work.  There is an armiture wiring her body together and a second armiture wiring her to the styrofoam stand. She needs to be free from the stand during the embellishment process.When you glue headpins with embellishments into her or the stand, make sure you dab some Tacky Glue on the stem of the headpin. This keeps them from working themselves back out over time.

Suzy Snowflake Copyright Margot Potter 2011

A crafty angel donated a HUGE plethora of vintage craft magazines to Studio Madge this weekend. There is so much inspiration inside my head is spinning! Huge thanks to Erin Holloway (and Ms. Phylma.) You are at least seventeen different kinds of awesome! (Check out Erin's tatting work, a ma zing!)

Stay tuned for more Retrofabulosity from Studio Madge for the Holidaze and beyond! And if you've not heard this lovely holiday song yet, below is a YouTube video with the incomparable Rosemary Clooney singing Suzy Snowflake. Divine.

Cheers,
Madge