Painting the Roses Red...

So, it's been a while since my last post but I haven't been idle. My problem is that I try so many different things and I get obsessive over something for a while, find something else to obsess over then go back and forth. I also need inspiration for my mobiles. This Alice in Wonderland mobile was for my new granddaughter. My daughter LOVES Alice in Wonderland. She has loved the Disney movie since she was little. She read the books in grade school and loved them even more. She was working as an Educational Assistant the past two years and, having the perfect (natural) blonde hair and build, had me make her a dress for Halloween so she could be Alice. So, when she told us she was expecting a baby girl, this was the natural choice for her mobile. 

The best part was making the roses. It was a brilliant thought, at least I thought so, to make them of white felt and then use fabric paint to paint them red. My teenage daughter came home for lunch one day during school and asked what I was busily doing. I  started singing, " I'm painting the roses red, painting the roses red...." and that made it all worth it. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that it takes me between 40-60 hours from designing to completion of these mobiles.

 My finishing touch was adding the petit four complete with the words "EAT ME". If you've read the books or seen the movie, Alice is constantly finding things labelled with the invitation to "Eat Me" or "Drink Me." Every time that she does, she changes size dramatically.

Oh, the teapot is also my favorite. I embroidered the pansies and daisies with ribbon. I hadn't done ribbon embroidered for about 15 years! It all came back to me quickly though.

I originally designed Alice to be standing and was ready to begin when the idea came to make her falling like she was being poured with the other characters, from the teapot.  

 This is the first mobile that my hubby helped me with. I purchased the plastic hearts at the dollar store because they said they were beads, once I opened them I realized that they didn't have holes in them so my husband drilled holes so I could use them to represent the Queen of Hearts. The detail on the other beads that I used is difficult to see, but they are porcelain with hand-painted roses on them, representing the Mad Tea Party. The Dormouse's umbrella was another brilliant idea. It is 3D with bugle beads as the umbrella handle to keep it stiff and in the proper position.

Finished