There are times when I get to create some pieces that are lots of fun for me, now is one of those times. I first met Kathryn online sometime last year and just recently, we've reconnected. Above is a photo of her writing desk, very pretty and did you notice, very well organized. Kathryn is a professional freelance writer for 20 years now, specializing in topics that are dear to her heart. She writes for home & garden, interior design & professional organizing industries. You can check out her blog at:
http://www.kathrynbechenink.blogspot.com/ where you'll get to read lots of inspiring and informative posts and see lots of pretty photos along the way as well. Her website is: Kathryn Bechen Ink.
http://www.kathrynbechenink.com/ . I just purchased one of her e-books she has written, available for purchase and download on her website. If you haven't been to her website or blog, check them out, as there is lots of information and plenty of good reading.
The eggshells above are the order I will be completing for kathryn. Goose eggshell pendants and a jewlery box, a brides box to be exact. I did make one substitution though since taking these photos, I've decided to create the brides box from an Emu egg rather then the hinged goose egg shown. I love Emu eggs for their deep rich color and texture. In addition, they are quite sturdy and a pleasure to paint on. If you want to see what an Emu egg looks like, just click on the link to the right, my ETSY mini, which will take you directly to my shop there. I do have one Emu egg listed and you will get to see the large size, interesting texture and beautiful color of that particular egg. So, these are the before photos....when the order is finished, I'll be taking photos of the finished products to show you.
My Emu egg bride's box is now finished and ready to ship out. I'll try to take you through the process of how I decided on the box design. Kathryn and I had originally discussed doing a silhouette of a bride in a garden. When I actually received the blank egg in the mail, I thought about it for a good 24 hours, mulling over differnt approaches to the design I wanted to do.
I originally decided to go with a profile image of the bride, holding flowers in her hand. I visualized the background as you see it now, that never changed but when I went to draw on a profile view of the bride, it just didn't work. The egg is so heavily textured that it was making getting any kind of profile detail very difficult. I decided at that point to switch gears and do a view from the back, of the dress, veil and one shoulder peeking out. I also decided against the silhouette idea and gave her a nice traditional white , shimmering gown. I used many different shades of paint in the gown to give it dimension.
I painted the sky and ground on first and then when that was dry, I started to draw the bride directly onto the box. It took me a few tries to get her gown just the way I wanted it to look. I also really love the black/green , rich and textured color of the egg itself so I didn't want the whole egg to be painted. I wanted the bottom half of the egg to retain its natural color and I think in doing that, it makes the design more dramatic and shows the beauty and precision of the cut in the egg. 
I decided to adorn her dress with Hydrangeas cascading down from the veil and lower section of the back of the gown. Once I decided on those flowers, I decided to put them in the foreground as well, as if she were standing amoung them, ready to walk into the scene.
Here you can see some of the detail on the gown. I also added some Swarovski crystals on the lower back of the dress, just above the Hydrangeas. I wanted it to look as if that area was gathered up and the flowers were coming down from that.
I did something similar with her veil, I added 5 crystals going around the back, then added the flowers and greenery from there.
This view shows the box sitting on its very pretty wooden stand. I also liked having the flowers cascading onto the lower part of the egg itself, rather then just keeping them to the painted area.
This is a view of the inside of the box which has been lined with fabric. Because fabric and I don't really get along, Chris created the fabric lining for me. He did a great job with it too. From this angle you can see how large the Emu egg is and how much it would hold. I've put my wedding ring inside to give you an idea of the actual size. I had so much fun painting this one that I am adding a jewelry box section to my ETSY site. I've already started painting another one, this time with a floral and butterfly theme very similar to the pendants I painted a couple of weeks ago. Hope you enjoyed learning more about the process. 
