NEW!!

NEW to DarkDecors.com 

Art tile coaster sets!!

Heart Tree Vases

Heart Tree Vases, a photo by ametistagirl on Flickr.

The heart tree trio is completed and is now available in our shop.

The inspiration for this series is the evolution of a heart through loss. One begins at a place of heart break feeling as it were, broken. After which there is usually feelings of anger, even if it's illogical. That anger is a fire that propels one out of the mire of depression. Once the heart is cauterized it is able to heal and become hole and full once more.

First Friday Las Vegas

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight's First Friday location will be at 1025 S. 1st Street (right next door to the Artifice Bar) 

We will be selling our wares...just look for the Black and White striped tent...you can't miss it! 

It's gonna be a fun night! Hope to see you there!

First Friday in Las Vegas...

This First Friday in Las Vegas (8/5/11) we will be set up across the street from the Arts Factory by Artifice Bar...woohoo! Look for the B&W striped tent. More info to come!

First Friday event...

 

THERE ARE STILL A FEW SPACES AVAILABLE FOR TEAM MEMBERS

INDOOR / OUTDOOR

ONLY $10 A MONTH FOR 3 MONTHS

Contact Carrie & Kathy at ametista_etsy@live.com for more information...hurry!

Exciting announcement!!

Our work is NOW Available at 

 

 Located at 107 E. Charleston, Suite 225, Las Vegas, NV

(Inside The Arts Factory) 

Vendor Space Available at First Fridays in Las Vegas

Mayor Oscar Goodman officially opens Studio 8 Ten

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi team! I have recently been in touch with Angela Esler-Whelan of Studio 8 Ten who has offered our team an amazing opportunity to have a presence at Las Vegas' premiere monthly art event, First Friday
 
We think this would be excellent opportunity to provide our team much needed exposure and sales. We would begin with the First Friday in April of 2011. The Studio is offering us unbelievably inexpensive vendor space on their property.

There will be an informative interest meeting with Andreana, Supervisor/gallery/event coordinator

to determine if we have enough participants to make this a successful event. So if you'd like to be set up were Las Vegan's are coming to check out art and shop then please be at the meeting.

WHEN: Saturday, 3/5/11 at 1pm

WHERE: Studio 8 Ten -  810 South Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV, 89101
(some of you may recall the location as we had a team meeting there last year.)

In addition - We are ALL invited to the Studio's First Friday show on March 4th, from 6-8PM. This will give you a good idea of where they currently are at with First Friday participation. It's going to be a fun event!

Please contact me (Carrie from Ametista) soon if you are interested at ametista_etsy@live.com

treacherous tea sets

treacherous tea sets, originally uploaded by ametistagirl.

Coming Spring 2011!!

Preview Thursday Review - Las Vegas Art District

Recently Kathy and I decided to start checking out the local art scene on the first Thursday of every month (Pre-View Thursday) instead of on the first Friday of every month (First Fridays), because pre-view Thursday is a lot less crowded and affords the opportunity to interact with the artists and really take time to appreciate their work.

So we've decided that once a month we will share with you our top three Las Vegas art scene discoveries.

 

Last nights top three galleries were all located within the Arts Factory.  The first gallery we visited was Geolocations - Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman.  Upon entering the gallery.  Every photograph on the wall is the same size, uniformly framed within accompany statement.  The photographs themselves were interesting, well executed and diverse.  The accompany statements were at first thought provoking and then a little confusing.  But understanding that another person's art is not meant for one to easily dissect, we continue around the gallery to view more.  We then came across a plaque that read Geolocations which explained that the Geolocation project follows random tweets and by using Geotag information embedded in these tweets, travel to the GPS coordinates and take a photograph of the site of the update.

Just blown away by this original concept.  There's much more to the project so we will not give it all away, you must come see for yourself.

Our next gallery visited took us to NEWPHAZ Art by Andre Hines. Let us just tell you that this man paints some amazing portraits.  Some of his portraits included well known celebrities such as Morgan Freeman, Michael Jackson and President Obama just to name a few.  The portraits draw you in as if you were standing there with that person.  The eyes so bright and expressive.  Had to purchase a couple of prints while we were there.  You definitely want to check this artist out.

Last a but certainly not least, Statement Gallery, formerly Damned Ink Studios.  This gallery features some of the most amazing resident artist to be gathered in one location.  Included in it's list of distinguished artist are, Danny Roberts, Laura Zollar, Mike Biggs, Dasha Biggs, Teresa Maharaj and more...

The art featured at the gallery is the perfect balance of masculine and feminine expression.  The artists in residents compliment each other in such a breath taking way the art is edgy, powerful and entrancing and yet very decidedly opposite sides of the same coin. 

There's so much to see you might want to hit this one early in the evening.

WooHoo it's back! The One World One Heart Event

Carrie (that's me!) and Kathy (the crazy woman I craft with) are very excited to be participating again in this final year of the "One World One Heart" bloggers event giveaway... Yeah!!

Click on the picture above for more information on this most fabulous event.
 

Come join us tomorrow...

 We had a fab day at the Summerlin ArtWalk! Gorgeous weather and so many nice people. 

We'll be back at again tomorrow...from 10-5 offering HUGE DEALS on our jewelry and dark home decor...see you there!

New gift boxes and goodies included with our MoNsTeR bOxes...

Every Ametista MoNsTeR bOxes now comes complete with gift box, certificate of authenticity and a story scroll, telling the tale of how we captured or (otherwise acquired) that particular box.

 Get yours and add a bit of dark decor to your home just in time for Halloween!

And the winner is....

 Congratulations to "Robin" 

of Massachusetts! 

She's our May drawing WINNER

and the recipient of a Wild Things Wear
original artisan necklace entitled,
"Dancing Flowers"
a handmade PMC Silver art pendant with Citrine & Tiger's Eye.

Thank you, everyone who participated and thanks for all the lovely comments!sure to check back in June for another FAST FUN FREE Giveaway

                               

Exciting giveaway - Enter to win...Last weekend...don't miss your chance!

We've extended the contest to give you this weekend to enter for your chance to win!.

We proudly present this beautifully unique piece of artisan jewelry from Wild Things Wear valued at $68.00.  This is her precious dancing flowers necklace. Hanging from beautiful rust colored leather, this fine silver pendant has been given a pewter patina for an antique look, yet a high polish finish. Citrine and tiger's eye gemstones dangle from the pendant. The leather is attached to a sterling silver chain, with the total length 18".  Citrine will give joy and love to the owner, and tiger's eye promotes balance and strength to get through difficult phases of life.

Laura of Wild Things Wear, started making fine silver and gemstone jewelry, and combined it with her passion for art, creating wearable art jewelry! Each piece is unique and organic, and she loves using recycled materials.  To see more of Laura's work visit...
http://wildthingswear.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Austin-TX/Wild-Things-Wear/121101257902591
http://twitter.com/wildthingswear
Here is an example of a beautiful Precious Metal Clay piece that Laura created using our Heart Locket mold.

To enter simply...

1. Tell us what you love about this piece and why. Leave your comments right here at the end if this post...it's that easy! You don't have to sign up for anything or even have a Blogger account, you can still leave comments by selecting the "Anonymous" button.


2. PLEASE be sure to leave your contact information, either your email address or Etsy shop if you have one, so we can reach you when you win! (If not, we will move on to the next person who DID leave their contact info.) The winner will be contacted on or after May 17, 2010. If after 24hrs if we haven't heard from that winner, we'll pick another winner.


3. We will draw the winner's name on Monday May 17, 2010 after 5pm/pst.


Laura ships worldwide so ALL are welcome to participate in this fabulous drawing! Good luck everyone!

Why we LOVE blog giveaways...

Oooo....look what I won!

I entered a drawing hosted by Artist Halloween Queens, not expecting to win...but I did.  When I got home the other day there was a package waiting for me.

My prize was neatly wrapped in these wonderful "Halloween" tissue paper with the artist's card and a sweet little note too.

As I excitedly worked my way through the layers of tissue..

there he was, my Dracula Bat Ornie!  He was more spectacular than I expected. The details that Karen of Hope in the Heart of Darkness put in to the making of this fabulous Halloween ornament is remarkable.  She didn't miss a single stitch or fiber, just check out the loop on the top hat and the beads on the feet. 

 

This little guy measures an impressive 9" tall with his wing span of 8.5" wide.  Dracula is made from felt, satin, ribbons, beads and crystals for the eyes and buttons.  I love the fact she put in so much details that you can hang him upside down or right side up.

I had been checking him out for awhile before discovering her wonderful touch of her very own artistic tag (underneath his cape...I just love it).

I just can't seem to say enough about this awesome prize and all the workmanship that went in to him.  But doesn't he have the greatest face...LOL!

 

Thanks to all the wonderful artists and Karen for such a wonderful drawing and prize.  Be sure to stop by the Artistic Halloween Queens blog for there are many talented artists there and Karen's blog to see more of her wonderful work at Hope in the Heart of Darkness. She is a sculptor and 3-D artist with many different mediums, just amazing work.

Now I can't wait for Halloween...I think I'll hang him up for inspiration!

Bright blessings

Mother's Day Art & Craft Show in Las Vegas

  Join us for a fun event to benefit a very worthy cause.

 For more information email kat@katastrophecreations.com

THe MiGHtY RoaR MoNsTeR bOx

THe MiGHtY RoaR MoNsTeR bOx, originally uploaded by ametistagirl.

Whilst on safari, on the isle, a hunting we did go,
to catch the MiGHtY MoNsTer bOx, the fiercest that we know.

We hid beneath the tangled vines within the lions den
and waited there till it's return to capture it and then...

In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the Lion slept that night
and as he did, from whence we hid, we gave him such a fright.

The net was thrown, the lion caught, he let out such roar.
The loudest thing we'd ever heard...it shook the jungle floor!

And so we have here, just for you, a box most proud and strong, to keep your lovely little treasures right where they belong.

See more -
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=44259192

The Art of Re-Enchanting...

As many of you already know, we specialize in polymer clay, with a focus on dark yet whimsical home decor, such as artistic apothecary bottles and MoNsTeR bOxes. But what you may not know is that most of our items are crafted from re-enchanted glass, wood and other materials.

Starbucks fans will recognize these bottles.

What is Re-Enchanted?
The Definition of Re-Enchanted goes something like this...
To Enchant—
en-chant [en-chant]
-verb (used with object)
1. To subject to magical influence; bewitch: fairy tales about witches who enchant handsome princes and beautiful maidens.
2. To delight to a high degree: Her gaiety and wit have enchanted us all.
3. To impart a magic quality or effect to.

Re—
re [ree]
-prefix (used in this case with a verb)
To re-do: Can I have a do over?
To do again
To reuse, and this case to Recycle.

Chambord anyone?

In short, we re-enchant the mundane and render it magical!
At Ametista you can choose from our ever expanding selection of artistic offerings
OR you can have us custom design a piece just for you!

 Vintage Jewelry Box circa 1960, now artistically re-enchanted.

Creativity in Bloom...

We are pleased to announce the completion of a very special piece, "Creativity in Bloom". It was commissioned by an incredible jewelry designer and dear friend, Suzanne Colucci of Belandaria Designs Inc. in LA.

Her wish was to have something inspiring that could be used to hang her works in progress. She envisioned a whimsical, magical tree in a place where anything is possible and the imagination is free to roam.

This design needed to be strong enough to hold her jewelry pieces which often include strands of bead, gemstones and chain. So we started with a wooden frame and formed wire mesh around it to give it shape. (Should have worn gloves for that bit.)

After that a base coat of scrap polymer clay was applied, then a layer of black clay was laid to cover the entire piece and carved to give the effect of tree bark...being sure to carve whimsical swirls and meaningful symbols throughout.

After the carving was complete it was time for my favorite part...PearlEx metallic pigment (also avail at The Clay Shoppe)  for rich, beautiful color that shines! (I'm starting to sound like a Loreal hair color commercial here.) I should mention that while very pretty, it is not good for the hair, eyes or nose, etc...so don't put it there...trust me.

The tree stands 18" tall and is made almost entirely of sculpted polymer clay, over a frame of wood and wire mesh. It also includes examples of our work with our molds, (You can get our molds at http://theclayshoppe.etsy.com) metallic pigments and alcohol inks. Jewelry findings have been added throughout to encourage extra sparkly inspirations!

I leave tomorrow morning to bring it out to her...can't wait to see how she likes it!

If you or someone you know is interested in a custom design display please contact us via this post or at ametista_etsy@live.com

Bright blessings and happy Spring!

Mystical, Magical and Enchanted...

The MoNsTeR bOx of Madame de Strange has been included in the marvelously magical Etsy Treasury...