Spotlight On: Karen Turner’s Mickey Art Series

WDWNT on October 31, 2013

Karen Turner has a new series of Vinylmation. It is called the Art Series and is a set of six Vinylmation, five done in a different art style, with an Artist Mouse as the painter of them all. They are individually up for sale right now at her Etsy shop, Flights of Fancy Designs.

Artist Mouse

Impressionist Mouse

Oil Painted Mouse

Pop Art Mouse

Splatter Mouse

Watercolor Mouse

Check out her shop today. Karen also produces those Autograph Mouse Customs, my personal favorite…

Spotlight On: Karen Turner’s Bedazzled Customs

WDWNT on January 9, 2013

Destination Vinylmation: What is your background in art?  
Karen Turner: I have always been interested in art.  As a child I took classes in drawing, painting with watercolors, and painting with acrylics.  I was in art in high school and majored in art in college for a while.  I then changed my major to history, but art still remained important to me.  After working as an office manager for several years I came back to art and opened an online shop selling my work.  In the end I just kept coming back to my love for creating and painting.

DV: What other non vinyl things have you done?
KT: Lots!!  I paint ceramics, create trinket and treasure boxes, make jewelry, create decorative pieces for the holidays (not just Christmas, but Easter, Valentine’s, Halloween…)  As you can see in my shop – custom Vinylmation make up one section, but there are lots of other sections as well – I like doing lots of different things – nothing ever gets dull or flat that way – everything remains fun and challenging for me!!

DV: What’s your favorite Disney designed vinyl?
KT: Just one? That’s too hard!!  My favorites that I have are: It’s a Small World 3″ from Park 3, Squares from Urban 4, Mardi Gras, and Love 9″ from Urban 6. My favorites from the ones I don’t own (yet) are Magical Stars from Park 1, It’s a Small World 9″ from Park 1, Teacups from Park 1, Birds on a Wire, Red Scream, Railroad from Park 9, Skyway from Park 9, Living with the Land from, and the Gumball Ear hat set.  I’m not really good at narrowing things down!!

DV: What inspired this Bedazzled line of customs?
KT: In November I was at the Magic Kingdom for my birthday (and to check out the new Fantasyland), and was looking at the different figurines in the glass shop on Main Street that are jeweled with crystals and I thought I Vinylmation covered with crystals would be really awesome, so I decided to give it a try.

DV: What was the most difficult part of making these?
KT: I used the new mold for these, which made it a lot easier because of the smoothness of the surface – no buttons of noses to work around. For the Miss Mouse figurines I used Minnie’s Fly Girls from the Park Series #11, which gave me the bow on her head.  The hardest part was just getting the crystals to fit in everywhere – not having any open spots that were too small for a crystal but too big to leave blank.  I quickly realized that I had to work quickly so if I needed to move some crystals I could before the glue dried.  Working quickly doesn’t mean these were quick to make though.  These were the most time consuming customs I have made yet, but I am super pleased with how they turned out – I think I am going to have to make one for myself, since these are for my shop!!

DV: What do you think about the upcoming Minnie platform?
KT: I can’t wait for it!!  When I saw it Mickey’s Circus I was so excited – all sorts of ideas were going through my head on what I could do with that mold.  I have all sorts of things planned to do with those as soon as I can get my hands on them.  Having a Minnie mold just furthers the idea of what Vinylmation started out as to me – whatever design I put on a Vinylmation, it comes back to the fact that I am putting it on Mickey Mouse – Mickey (and soon Minnie) are at the heart of it all – which is like what Walt Disney said – “It all started with a mouse.”  That mouse is still at the heart of all things Disney, and I try to keep that idea in mind when creating my custom Vinylmation.

DV: Where can people find out more about your and your artwork?
KT: You can see all of my work at my shop www.flightsoffancydesign.etsy.com and even more photos on my Facebook Fan Page Flights of Fancy Design. I am delighted to take custom orders as well. My email is flightsoffancydesigns@gmail.com.

I have lots of new ideas I am working on for custom Vinylmation – right now my work table has five Vinylmation that are in various stages of creation.  I have a 9″ Custom in mind that I think is really going to be spectacular – as soon as I finish it I will share it with you.  So, there will be lots of new things coming in the next few months – and I am super excited about it all!!

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Karen Turner

WDWNT on September 12, 2012

Today we would like to share the work of Karen Turner. Karen lives in Valrico, FL where she creates custom jewelry and Vinylmation. We recently talked with her about her passion for Disney and creating these works of art.

Destination Vinylmation: Were you into creating artwork before custom Vinylmation?

Karen: Definitely!!  I have painted ceramics for years and years and have always been working on some sort of project or another, even as a kid.  I majored in art in college for awhile, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with an art degree. I then changed my major to History (I was going to be a teacher).  After college I managed my Brother’s insurance office for several years (thereby proving that what your college major is often has nothing to do with what career you will have after college!!)  while toying with the idea of selling my work online.  Finally, a couple of years ago, I worked up enough nerve to open a shop online and create full time.  In my shop I have jewelry, hand crafted boxes, hand painted ceramics, ornaments, and my latest edition to my shop is of course, custom Vinylmation.

Karen’s “All the Colors of the Ocean” necklace

DV: How many customs have you done?

Karen: About a dozen or so.  Right now I have five in my shop, but I first started with making customs for my Niece.  She and I both love Vinylmations, so I painted one for her based on drawings she would make for me when she was younger of a winged heart with a halo (Angel Hearts she called them).  I also painted a tonal gold and silver one and a pink polka dotted one for her. Those got me hooked on painting custom Vinylmations.  When the Jr Raindrops came out, I thought a rainbow would be neat to go with it and a sunshine as well.  So I painted a 3″ rainbow and a Jr sunshine.  When my Dad saw the rainbow one, he said you should sell that and you could name him Roy G Biv for the colors of the rainbow.  So, now I have a line of different Roys – traditional, pastel, and bright.

Roy G Biv 3″

DV: Do you collect Disney’s Vinylmation?

Karen: Oh definitely!!  And I must say, when I discovered your website my Vinylmation addiction grew!!  I love all the updates and in depth analysis you do on the different vinyls.  I have a feeling from the pictures of Vinylmations I have seen from the D23 Expo, my wallet is going to be hurting in the coming months!!

DV: What is your favorite figure?

Karen: Just one?  That’s impossible!! My favorites that I actually own are: It’s a Small World 3″ from Park 3, Squares from Urban 4, Mardi Gras, and  Love 9″ from Urban 6. My favorites from the ones I don’t own (yet) are Magical Stars from Park 1, It’s a Small World 9″ from Park 1, Teacups from Park 1, Birds on a Wire, Red Scream, Railroad from Park 9, Skyway from Park 9, Living with the Land from (a future Park series), and the Gumball Ear hat set.

Urban 4 Squares

DV: What is your personal favorite custom that you have done? Tell us about it, the design and inspiration.

Karen: Well, I love my Roy G Bivs, but I think my absolute favorite customs I have done are Cumulus Mouse and my Autograph Mouse.

Cumulus Mouse 3″

I got the idea for Cumulus Mouse while watching Up – a super favorite movie of mine.  The scene where Carl and Ellie are cloud watching and finding shapes in the clouds gave me the idea for it.  I used a textured paint to build up the clouds and kind of let the clouds take their own shape, except I did put a few hidden Mickey shapes in the clouds (I love hidden Mickeys at the Parks) just for fun.

Autograph Mouse 9″

Autograph Mouse is a 9″ I did for my own collection using the 9″ Glow in the Dark.  I had read about the problems people when having with their vinyls that had been signed by characters smearing.  So I made up a list of all the characters I would want to have an autograph of and Googled them and found images of their autographs.  For the characters that don’t give autographs (Nemo, Dory…) or don’t really make appearances in the park (Jessica Rabbit, Bolt..) I creates a signature that made me think of that character.

Autograph Mouse 9″

I also Googled Walt Disney’s and Roy Disney’s signature and put them on the vinyl – I figured without them there wouldn’t be any of this, so they definitely had to be on it.  I really like how it turned out.  It would have been great to have had the characters sign it, but this way I had no smears, and signatures I couldn’t have gotten any other way.

DV: What have you learned from creating your customs that you can pass onto other custom artists?

Karen: The first few are hard – more like learning experiences.  But once you get a feel for the material it’s gets easier to translate your idea to the figure.  Really, you have to be flexible with vinyls – sometimes their shape works great with a design, sometimes it makes the design really difficult and you may have to tweak your idea some.  So just be open to a little change and have fun!!

DV: What’s next?

Karen: Lots!!  I am working on a Night sky vinyl now that is looking really good.  I’ve got a hidden Mickey in the stars, which I love!!  I am also working on some Christmas themed vinyls – holiday lights, one that looks like an ornament that are turning out really well.  I have some other ideas brewing that I need to take time to get down on paper to see if they will translate to the vinyl well.  And I should get some inspiration soon because I have several trips to WDW planned for the next few months and I always get great ideas there!!

Topiary Mickey 3″

DV: Where can people go to see more of your work, see what you have for sale and contact you? 

Karen: You can see all of my work at my shop www.flightsoffancydesign.etsy.com  and even more photos on my Facebook Fan Page Flights of Fancy Design. I am delighted to take custom orders as well.  My email is flightsoffancydesigns@gmail.com.

DV: Thanks for showing us your work Karen.

Karen: Thanks so much for featuring me in your Spotlight On series – I am so delighted by this!!  I am glad you had such a great time at Disneyland – I have been trying to get everyone on board with making a trip out there in the next few years so both my nieces can see Disneyland. I included some other pictures of some of the Vinylmations discussed in the questions for you.  Let me know if there is anything else you need.  Thanks!!

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Karen Turner

WDWNT on September 12, 2012

To have your custom work spotlighted, please send an email to DestinationVinylmation@gmail.com
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A few months ago we spotlighted a unique custom designed by Karen Turner of Flights of Fancy Design. The custom featured hand painted signatures of Disney characters on a 9″ CYO. As someone who takes a vinyl around to collect character autographs in the parks each year on his birthday, this idea immediately hit home to me.
And while the experience of actually meeting the characters, getting pictures and seeing how they sign is all part of the fun there is a certain element of style missing. Not to mention there are a slew of movie characters who are not meetable at the Parks. With Karen’s line of Custom Autograph Mouse vinyls, each and every signature is a piece of art in and of themselves. Bursting with color and style.

It was not surprising to hear that these sold very well to the Disney and Vinylmation collectors out there. Because of the success, Karen recently contacted us to let us know she has launched three new “themed” versions of this custom: Princesses & Heroines, Princes & Heroes, and Villains & Evil Doers. We had the chance to ask Karen a few questions about these customs, but first, I wanted to share some pictures of the sample she sent to DV that included a mix of autographs from all across the Disney universe.
All the autographs have been carefully thought out, in both style and location. The come to have a character all their own and that makes this custom a special treat for fans. Figment has horns. Woody looks like a lasso. The Evil Quenn has a poison apple. Even the characters that do not sign have a special touch such as Lightning McQueen’s 95 and Kaa’s eyes.
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The packaging was extremely professional. A 9″ CYO box was found securely snug in bubble wrap and packing bubbles. Through the window you could see the wrapping that surrounded the custom within… all topped off with a blue feather (the signature logo for Flights of Fancy Designs). 

Open that up and the delicate custom is safely resting in a wax paper bag to protect it from smudging. I expected the Vinylmation to be in the box of course, but I didn’t expect the accompanying booklet…
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It documented all the signatures found on my custom. It really is a nice feeling to know how much thought and care went into this piece of art. But enough about my thoughts, lets talk to Karen…
Destination Vinylmation: What was your inspiration to create the 9″ Custom Autograph Mouse?
Karen: Well, I had seen pics where people had had their 9″ Vinylmations signed by the different characters at the parks.  But, a lot of people said the signatures smudged.  So I was thinking what a neat idea if one could figure out how to get the signatures not to smudge.  Then as I was thinking about it I starting thinking about the signatures I would want and a lot of them were of characters that aren’t at the parks often – like Lilo or Br’er Rabbit (or at all – Like Nemo or Jessica Rabbit or Pumbaa and Timon).  So it didn’t take long for me to go from that thought to the idea of painting the signatures I wanted onto a 9″.

DV: How many character signatures do you have available? And are the customs fully customizable with character autographs the buyer chooses?
Karen: These are fully customizable.  I have had customers give me a list of characters they wanted (one was all Pixar characters) and others tell me they want one like in the picture, but to put Peter Pan at the heart because he is their favorite or to put a character right at the top because it is their favorite.  I always ask if there is any particular placement of the signatures that the customer would like – which are their very favorites – so I can be sure to get them in a really good spot. 
Right now I have 232 character signatures available.  I use the signatures the real characters give in the Parks but for the others (for the ones that don’t appear in the Parks) I can always figure out what a characters signature would look like.  I have had to do that on several occasions – so my list of character signatures is always growing!!  I can fit 70 signatures on a 9″ Vinylmation.

DV: Tell us about your new themed Custom Autographed Mice. 
Karen: I came up with the idea when I was at WDW with my family over New Years.  My youngest niece was (and still is) on a Princess kick.  Anything Princess was for her.  I figured that she was not the only one like that so I decided to come up with some themed Vinylmations to suit such tastes. 

One for the girls – Princesses and Heroines. One for the boys – Princes and Heroes.  And one for the Villain lovers (which after collecting pins for many years, I happen to know there are a lot of villain lovers out there!!) – Villains and Evil Doers. 
Once I came up with the different themes, it was really just a matter of making lists of who should go on which figure.
DV: It’s the extra touches that make this at truly special item… such as the packaging and signature booklets. Are those booklets included with each custom?  
Karen: Yes they are.  I feel they kind of add an extra bit of whimsy, which to me is what Disney always offers.  The little things you find as you are walking down Main Street, the hidden Mickeys in the parks…  Those little touches add a little bit of magic to my visits to the Parks, and that what I try to give with the booklets – little funny reasons why this signature is placed where it is – just an extra bit of the magic.
DV: You can also tell you really took the time to make sure the custom is secure while shipping.
Karen: These guys take a long time to make, so I am always really careful to package them super good.  The wax paper wrap is to protect the paint and sealer.  To make sure nothing gets stuck to the figure that might ruin it.  I have been packing hand painted ceramics that we have for the holidays like this for years and they all come out each year looking fresh and new.  And that’s what I want my customer to have when they get their Custom Vinylmation – one that is as perfect when they open it as when I wrapped it up for them!!
DV: How much is one of your Custom Autographed Mouse vinyls? Is there a pricing structure based on how many or what signitures are desired?
Karen: All the Autograph Vinylmations are the same price – $86.00.  Mainly because it’s as much work to figure out where to put 30 signatures as is for 60 signatures.  So customers should order as many signatures as they want – the price is the same no matter.
DV: You can order a custom and find all of Karen’s work at www.flightsoffancydesign.etsy.com. To me, because of the Mickey canvas, Vinylmation has always been the perfect collectible for all Disney fans. Karen’s customs really bring home the magic of the Disney parks and are perfect for every fan.