new fairy couture

Some new fairy dresses I'm working on for the fall collection...

this one was inspired by a dress worn by Claudette Colbert

in a 1930s movie I can't remember the name of.

Fittingly, it's for a Parisian garden fairy named Claudette.

The bodice is composed of guinea fowl feathers and down,

with cap sleeves and brooch of poppy pods, and a slim, pencil skirt of paper birch.

Here's a frothy, floaty, sensual dress with a skirt and top of hibiscus flowers, trimmed with gladiola petals and tiny blossoms. It was commissioned by Sofia, a flower fairy from Tuscany.

They'll both be available for purchase in the Camp Cactus etsy shop on Tuesday.

those cwazy wabbits!

Here's another wascally wabbit I caught flying through the garden yesterday. He'll be in the Camp Cactus etsy shop later today.

this is as close to twittering as i get...

I just posted these little guys in the etsy shop today...

they're tweet er, sweet!

the camp cactus zoo

Today a bunch (flock?) of owls flew in...what next? Elephants? Check 'em out at the Camp Cactus etsy shop!

those wascally wabbits!

Hey, these cwazy wabbits hopped into the studio today, so I sent them off to the etsy shop...catch 'em while you can! They're fast little buggers!

a hand drawn tour of camp cactus

My drawing skills have gotten a bit rusty lately, so I've decided to dedicate some time every day to sketch in hopes of improving enough to continue a project I started a long time ago. I'll let you in on it soon!

the stove of my dreams (click on picture to enlarge)

a very belated thank you

It's been really busy around Camp Cactus lately, what with visitors and studio sales and remodeling and dog sitting, and a bit of freelance work sprinkled in here and there.

In all the craziness, I realized I'd never acknowledged a lovely award given to me almost a month ago by Eugena, a very generous and talented polymer clay artist and blogger, who has blogs here, and here, and an etsy store here.

Thanks, Eugena!

Now I guess I'm supposed to tag some other bloggers with this award.
Here are the rules:
• Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
• Pass the award to 15 other blogs (or as many as you can) that you’ve discovered.
• Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

And the winners are:

1. artsyville

2. papaver jewelry creations

3. genine's art blog

4. mo "mad dog" stoneskin

5. an open sketchbook

6. writing photography studio

7. doves today

8. alive in wonderland

9. all adither

10. ta-dah

11. written inc.

12. cheap vino

13. left coast cowboys

These are all folks I admire for their creativity, writing skills and wit. Please go and check them out, and tell 'em Cactus Petunia sent you!

r.i.p.

Today I'm mourning the loss of a companion of nearly 20 years. My Husqvarna Viking sewing machine, number 6020. After valiantly hemming countless pairs of jeans, hundreds of yards of quilter's cotton and slogging through more polar fleece than I care to think about, my trusty Swedish sidekick gave up the ghost sewing, of all things, a pot holder.


I rushed it to Adam, the sewing machine doc, with hopes of a quick lube job and tune up, maybe even a transplant, but I read the bad news on his face as he heaved it onto the counter. Adam delivered the bad news, then steered me over to the new Vikings, and demonstrated the wonders of modern sewing machine technology. He's shrewd, that Adam. He didn't show me the top of the line Vikings, on the contrary, he proffered an updated model with just enough improvements over my old friend to tempt me.



Automatic buttonholes! Built in needle threader! An up/down needle control! Variable speeds! I barely kept myself from swooning. When I saw the price for these perks, I reluctantly snapped out of his spell and got down to business. How much to fix it? ($260+) That's about half the price of a new machine.

I'm tempted, but thinking it over.

What do you think? Is it worth it? Am I a traitor?

no need to panic

The Summer Sale is coming up this Friday, and I'm trying not to panic. Somehow, I'd forgotten that all my signs were stolen during last December's sale. My hand-painted signs that I've had for years. Yikes.

I'm currently awaiting a call back from two sign companies for some quickie printed plastic ones. 

In the meantime, here are some images of work by the talented group of artists I have yet to list in the sidebar. (I AM NOT panicking!)

magic marble 8 ball, by Megan Klepp

Artist Megan Klepp makes amazing mosaics with found objects like bowling balls and marbles and tile. You can see more of her work and a schedule of classes at her website, TaDah!

chicken pendants by Papaver Jewelry

My friend Maggie Kearns over at Papaver Jewelry makes very cool accessories and ornaments and doodads from a variety of materials. Her newest work involves felting, and metal, but she also works with fused glass, bottlecaps and scrabble tiles. Maggie's also an urban farmer and a  blogger! You can read about her little homestead and all her livestock (chickens and ducks and dogs and cats and her boyfriend Brandon, and their new truck) here.

felted polka dot earrings by Papaver Jewelry

Ok, I've gotta go now before I hyperventilate... Stay tuned for more artists later!

summer sale!

Next weekend!