It's a party with no rules!

Mad Hatter Glass Cabochon

Magic! Eat me, drink me, and you can grow large or small! 

I'm late, I'm late, for a Very Important date!

I LOVE the Adventures of Alice in Wonderland - the stories, the history, the imagery, and all of the wonderful characters Alice gets to meet. 

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, I chose this cabochon image of the Mad Hatter at his tea party to embellish, and it was a GOOD TIME!

I've read the stories, enjoyed the fantastic images done by a number of really talented illustrators, and loved the movie where Johnny Depp did what only Johnny Depp can do with a character - creepy and colorful and lovable all at the same time.

So I had a good time choosing the colors that would go into the embellishment of this cabochon necklace, and I had a rough idea of how I would combine them, but my muse must have been dancing with the Mad Hatter because after I'd calmly done most of the green border, she suddenly reminded me that the Mad Hatter is all about breaking the rules - what is, isn't and such. So I found myself choosing not more green, but wild red instead as I sewed and sewed tiny peyote stitching around the glass cabochon image. I noticed the Mad Hatter's hair is very orange, while his jacket is quite red, so I combined them with abandon, then moved on to the blue, for the blue band around his hat.

The fringe begins on the right, short and fluffy with some flowers and leaves.

Then I started the fringe, which I'd imagined nicely symmetrical and balanced, but my muse, in cahoots with the Hatter, was having none of that. Into my hands jumped tiny Czech flowers and leaves, because his tea party's outside, and my muse directed me to PLAY as I worked my way around the bottom, choosing all manner of Dr. Seuss-like patterns in each fringe strand. 

And ends on the left, asymmetrically, having collected
some divine orange and red tea-r-drops along the way.

It's fluffy and floofy and fun!

Hangs about mid-chest, crazy wonderfully.

Showing off the necklace patterns.

The necklace part is 23 inches, and slips right over your head, to hang about mid-chest. The patterns in the necklace are also Dr. Seuss-like, because he was also one who knew so well how to bridge the worlds of imagination and reality to craft a really enchanting story.

Total length of necklace including the embellished cabochon and fringe is about 27 inches.

It's backed by soft royal blue ultrasuede, and sewn with FireLine throughout, which is very strong so it'll last a long, long time. 

Next I'm doing the Queen, and I just ordered two new collage sheets chock a block full of my favorite characters from this timeless story - the white rabbit, the cards, the caterpillar, and Alice on many wondrous adventures, can't wait to work on them!

This one is currently up in DreamkeeperCreations on Etsy, but I'll wear it just once in a few days, (I always test my creations) when we get to attend the Mad Hatter Tea Party, a membership event hosted by the Bellefonte Art Museum, where we'll experience High Tea with scrumptious edibles, and visits from some of the characters from this beloved story book. I think the event is certain to help me to grow larger, but I'll need to use my imagination for growing smaller, or maybe go  to  the      gym....

Happy summer adventures!