Dia de la Abby #73: Fallen Petals Skull

This morning, I noticed that half of the flower petals from a tree had fallen.

The petals had just bloomed last week. This skull is a reminder that life and death can happen quickly. With Spring comes plants sprouting new life, but death of flowers can quickly happen. They are beautiful, but very temperamental and fragile. I never noticed this much until I spent a year photographing nature. Now I have a better appreciation for the natural cycle of life.


Every other Thursday in the 5.0 year, I will post my own Dia de la Abby creations   Every Thursday in the 4.0 year, I posted my Dia de la Abby creations and occasionally tutorials with instructions on how I made my pieces. Hopefully you feel inspired by my posts just as I was by Noah's Skull-A-Day 1.0 daily project. Need more of me than just a weekly dose, follow me on  Facebook, Google+ and/or Twitter.

Dia de la Abby #53: Flower Petal Quilt Square Skull

Though last week, was my official last day for Dia de la Abby in the 4.0 year, I ended up needing to make an additional quilt square to go with my 46. Floral Quilt Square, Noah's skull quilt square and one that Noah's mom Mim made with the last of the 192. Ornamental Skull fabric.

This idea was inspired by the talking flowers of "Alice in Wonderland". Also, I have lots of white fabric flowers for making custom color flower for my business Azurafae, so I thought I could use a few of them to make a flower petal skull. I took the flowers apart to separate the layers by size. I cut them in half. I used poppy flowers for the 1st layer, since they have large rounded petals. I pinned them and used my embroidery foot to free motion sew them to the fabric. I used this technique for each later. After I had the area filled in, I stitched over the petals in the eyes and nose area, to create definition. If you don't have a machine, this is definitely something you can do by hand.

This finished quilt and all the ones I was able to finish are currently hanging in Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. They will be actioned off on Ebay after the show closes on July 8th. The Skull Appreciation Day (more like a month) show opens tonight at 7pm. There are over 100 artistic skulls displayed. Come out if you can. It is free. There will be live entertainment outside the Gallery also, so be prepared for an exciting evening.

Tomorrow, there will be crafting from 12-4, where you can learn how to make some of the projects I made this 4.0 year. From 7-11, we have an exciting night of entertainment and dancing (Noah is DJing!), for a $5 donation to the Richmond Peace Eduction Center. There will be a costume contest with prizes from Skull-A-Day, so come dressed in your finest skull or skeleton costume!



Every week in the 4.0 year, I posted my own Dia de la Abby posts as well as a tutorial with instructions on how I made my piece. Hopefully you feel inspired by my posts just as I was by Noah's Skull-A-Day 1.0 daily project. Need more of me than just a weekly dose, follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook.

Dia de la Abby #47: Flower Petal Skull

I'm working on a wedding order. I thought these flower petals looked like little bows and would make a neat skull.

These are hand painted poppy petals, so I could make a custom color for a client, as I couldn't find a flower in the correct color. This will be a completely custom flower, as poppy flowers normally have just 4 petals. I'm going to cut them apart and rearrange them into a wider flower shape. Then, sew them in layers to make a fantasy flower, complete with beaded center and peacock feathers. Finalized photos will show up on my Azurafae Facebook Page. Also, if any of you would like custom hair accessories and veils for weddings, any special occasion, or just because, send me a message on my Facebook.


Every week in the 4.0 year, I will post my own Dia de la Abby posts as well as a tutorial with instructions on how I made my piece. Hopefully you feel inspired by my posts just as I was by Noah's Skull-A-Day 1.0 daily project. Need more of me than just a weekly dose, follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook.

60. Flower Skull

Arranged Flower Petals.