Lewis Caroll

Well, I've gotten halfway through sharing all the Dead Author Tag Swap pieces so I thought it might be time to share what I created.

I selected Lewis Caroll as my Dead Author and decided to focus on one of my sisters favorites of his, Alice in Wonderland.

Here she is visiting the Caterpillar (conveniently not shown because well, I can't draw him LOL) instead I have her looking towards the "mushroom"

I think I decided to do Alice in Wonderland because I wanted to make these mushrooms.  They are made out of glass that I soldered together and then patinaed and finally stamped Eat Me on (which you can't see from this angle).

On the back I included a picture of the fabulous author and a few more tid bits from the book like the red roses and some red hearts that are hard to see but there.

Other Dead Authors in the Tag book include

Edgar Allan Poe

Emily Dickenson

Robert Von Ranke Graves

Cicely Mary Barler

Oscar Wilde

Art Share ~ Susan

This is Susan's contribution to the wonderful Circle of Friends Dead Authors Tag Book Swap. 

None of her artwork is quite the same but the saying she selected is stamped on all the tags.  

She selected Oscar Wilde

and the quote is

I never travel without my diary.

One should always have something SENSATIONAL to read in the train. 

What a wonderful addition to our book

Other Dead Authors included in the book are

Edgar Allan Poe

Emily Dickenson

Robert Von Ranke Graves

Cicely Mary Barker

Art Share ~ Sandy P.

Another wonderful tag for the Circle of Friends Dead Author Tag Book Swap that I am hosting.  This one is by Sandy P.

She selected the author Cicely Mary Barker

and shared this information with us.

Craydon, Surrey, England

B. 1895 D. 1973

Author, Artist, Illustrator, Teacher

Cicely had epilepsy as a child, so wasn't able to go to school or play like other children.  She learned at an early age to entertain herself with writing, drawing and painting.  her subjects were often the children of her sisters' kindergarten and nature.  She helped support her family when her Flower Fairy verses and art was published and well received by the public. 

Cicely Mary Barker is the first Dead Author in our tag book that was also an artist.  I think she is a wonderful addition.

Other Authors in the Tag book include

Edgar Allan Poe

Emily Dickenson

Robert Von Ranke Graves

Art Share ~ Andrea

Today I am sharing another piece from the Dead Authors Swap I am hosting.  This piece is by Andrea, who is hosting April with a wonderful swap where we will exchange a stamp and create anything we desire with it.  To learn more about our group visit us at our yahoo group. 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecircle_of_friends/

 Andrea selected the author Robert Graves and shared the following information

Born in London 1895 Died in Spain 1985

He wrote I, Claudius and Claudius, the Good

and has 15 Volume's of Poetry published

This is the back of her envelope I just love what she did to the leaf, it is almost camouflaged. 

Authors in the COF Dead Author Tag Book

Edgar Allan Poe

Emily Dickenson

Robert Von Ranke Graves

Art Share ~ Sarette

It's another Circle of Friends project.  This one I am hosting.  My theme was "Dead Authors" and I supplies a template for a tag and envelope (the participants did not have to make the envelopes just the tag but many did.). 

Sarette selected Edgar Allan Poe for this wonderful tag/envelope set. 

She shared this information with the other participants. 

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) American poet, short-story writer and critic.  He's considered the father of the psychological horror tale, and the inventor of the modern detective story.  "The Raven" appeared in the New York Evening Mirror in 1845.

She decided to make a second tag/envelope.  Her second dead author is Emily Dickenson.

The quote reads:

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

and never stops at all.

And Sarette shared this information with us.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) born in Amherst, Mass.  She wrote nearly 2000 poems, but only 7 were published while she was living. 

This has been a project long in the works.  I hosted the month of January and took all of February finishing up bits and pieces and just today finished putting the pins onto the envelopes.  I still have to attach them all together. 

Andrea has a fabulous swap planned for the month of April.  We will be exchanging stamps (permanently) and creating any item of our choosing using the stamp we receive.  If you are interested in joining the Circle of Friends check out our yahoo group.  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecircle_of_friends/

Floral Marie Antoinette's

Life has been super busy but I finally got to play in the studio and finish up a project for my Marie Antoinette group, 3 Marie ATC's featuring an image of Marie and Roses.

The frame I made for this one broke, so I improvised and am very pleased with the broken look. 

I made some quick baggies to slip them into since they were too 3D to fit into the clear ATC envelopes.  Tomorrow they will be making their way to their new owners.  I can't wait to get my returns!

"O" Yep, that's my letter! An ABC Christmas book page

One particularly wonderful blog surfing day I came across a post by Kim at ArtJoyStuff about a Holiday ABC book she was a part of and that they needed a few more letters covered.  I contacted her and was put in touch with the wonderful woman that is coordinating this fabulous project.  After a few e-mails here and there I selected the letter O and got started.

 The goal of this project is to represent the holiday season with our letter.  We needed to prominently display our letter on our page.  I decided to cut out an almost 2" letter O paint it Old Gold and add some glitter to it.  I also printed out the Orchestra music to O Christmas Tree and have a bunch of Organic fibers on the front page in various shades.

Open, the present on the front.

Over/On Top Of, flip over the page which is on top of the other page.

Orange, Orchid, old rose and oyster are the colors I used on the background paper.

I have Otterhounds and Ocicats singing (oral) O Christmas Tree.

And to finish off that page I attached an Ornament and a fabulous 3D star (available in my Etsy shop).

On the back we needed to include a list of the words that we have represented.  I mounted all of my pages on a sheet of Dictionary paper of course it's the letter O. 

This was a wonderful project to work on and I can't wait to see what all the other wonderful pages look like.  Now I am off to the mailbox to send mine on it's way. 

Yes, we know it's after Christmas but what's the fun in rushing such a wonderful project like this? 

 I hope you enjoy my page.

Read Along ~ Part 3 Winner and a Bit of Fun

Hello most fabulous Read Alongers.  Today is a bitter sweet post, I am so pleased with how this read along turned out but at the same time I am sad to see it end.  I think we had some great discussions this round and I am pleased to hear that many of you enjoyed the book. 

Thank you all that answered the bonus question last week.  I have placed a poll in the Left sidebar of my blog at the top.  It will stay open throughout February to see if I can drum up more interest and get some more input.  Right now most of you would like the Young Adult sci/fi Fantasy and I've got one picked out. 

Please tell all your friends.  The more people that participate in this the more likely I am to continue.  I do enjoy it, but it is also quite a bit of work. 

*     *     *

Okay onto the winner of last weeks prise. 

A PBS credit OR $5.00 Amazon Gift Certificate OR the handmade Tote bag pictured below. 

The Winner is

WingsPawsNMagick

Congratulations!

Please e-mail me at cmoh@earthlink.net and let me know what prize you would like. 

Didn't win, well I have another tote in my Etsy shop, different design, It's French inspired.  Remember items in my Etsy store are on sale to all Read Along participants, use coupon code MermaidRA.  Sale ends Feb 17th.

*     *     *

Now for a bit of fun.  Guess what I found out!?!  Mermaid is going to be a Movie!  HERE is what Carolyn has to say about this. 

I have a web site that I really enjoy.  It is called Storycasting and the entire premise behind it is to cast books.  I asked them to add Mermaid to their database but I didn't ask in time :(  so it's not available today but maybe sometime in the future.  But I have decided to cast it anyway. 

Here is my dream Cast, what do you think?  Who would you cast?

Natalie Portman

as

Lenia

Emily Blunt

as

Margrethe

Scarlett Johansson

as

Sybil

(imagine her with long wavy vixen red hair)

Believe it or not I actually thought about Lindsey Lohan for this role I like her look but not her acting.

and

James Franco

as

Christopher

Well, that's my cast. 

I have had a great time this read along, hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did and I'm looking forward to the next one. 



Read Along ~ Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon, Part 3 Chapters 17-End

Welcome to the final week of this Read Along.  I'm so glad you are back or joining us for the first time. 

A quick recap as to how this all works, answer the questions below, for each correct response I will enter your name for a chance to win 1 of 3 prizes (a handmade item, a PBS Credit or a $5 Gift certificate from Amazon). You have until Monday January 30th to answer this set of questions. 

Leave your answers in a comment with a way for me to get in touch with you.

This weeks Handmade prize is a big one! 

This one of a kind, hand died, stamped, painted and ruffled tote.  I embellished it with pearls and the ruffle is also hand died.  The mermaid and fish are hand painted with a lovely shimmery paint.

1.  What is unusual about Lenia's pregnancy?
2.  What book is Margarethe reading when Christopher comes to talk to her?
3.  Who does Lenia think she sees in Agnes when she is trying to explain that she needs to have the baby early?
4.  What do they name the baby?  Who is she named after?
5.  What price did the sisters have to pay to find out how to save Lenia?

Bonus:  If I do another read along what type of book would you like?  Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction or a Young Adult Science Fiction/ Fantasy (for answering this question you get an extra name in the drawing for this weeks prize)

Discussion (2 and 3 taken from the readers guide at the back of my copy of Mermaid):
1.  Do you think the price the sisters had to pay to get the knowledge needed to save Lenia was sufficient?  What do you think of the price Lenia had to pay?  How much would you pay for a chance at true love?
2.  What do you think of retelling of Fairy Tales?  Why do you think they are so popular?  Do you think there is any special power in taking a known story and envisioning it in a new way? 
3.  Mermaids are an incredibly popular subject in many cultures.  What do you think accounts for there appeal?  What makes mermaids such a rich subject for the imagination?  Can you think of other books in which mermaids play an important role?

Read Along ~ Mermaid Part 2 Winner and a Bit of Fun

Hello Fabulous Read Alongers!  I am so pleased with this weeks turn out and the discussion was so much fun.  Once again thank you all for participating and making this fun and worthwhile.

I would like to revisit Jenny's Question about where the book is set. 

Most of you were in agreement that it was not pivotal to the book but that you pictured it as being in England.  I found this interesting and wonder if since we don't have a King or Queen if we, Americans, just reach for England as our basis for a country ruled by a King or Queen. 

Well, I had a long time to ponder this while waiting (without a book) and it struck me that why can't it be set in the US?  After all Turgeon uses the titles North and South and the two countries/area's are at war.  I started to think, hey this could be a loss reference to the civil war. Plus the climate reference kind of fit, the North being typically much cooler than the South.  Oh well, just mussing. 

Great Question Jenny!  Thanks for asking.

*     *     *

Okay now I know you are all dying to know who is the winner of the prize

(1 PBS Credit, OR $5 gift certificate to Amazon OR a handmade item) 

The Winner is

Andrea

Congratulations, please let me know which prize you would like. 

If you didn't win, keep trying there is always next week, and would like some of my handmade glittered Clothespin Magnets please visit my Etsy store GlitterTart and use coupon code MermaidRA for a 10% discount.  Please note, this coupon is only good for participating Read Alongers.

Now, just for fun, I have put together a Treasury Listing, Mermaid Inspired, on Etsy of things I found that made me think of the book.  Please come take a look at the wonderful handmade and vintage items being offered by various sellers (I do not know any of them personally I just liked these items).

Okay Gang, I will catch you tomorrow, off to get some photo's taken of the last handmade prize for this read along.