Stephanie Kao, 27, of Philadelphia

When Stephanie Kao was 3, her family already knew she was an artist. With crayons and pencils, she drew bows and balloons and princesses.

Now 27, the academic adviser at the University of Pennsylvania has moved beyond fairy tales to a different kind of Grimm. Her vibrantly painted orange skulls, first created for a "Day of the Dead" celebration in Old City, caught people's eyes at the Art Star Craft Bazaar at Penn's Landing this summer.

"I bought them from a medical-supply company and just went crazy on it," she says.

The youngest of eight children, Kao majored in advertising at Temple University, encouraged by her father, who wanted her to "anchor myself in some sort of practicality."

She took one figure-drawing class, but on her own she started sewing handbags and selling them on eBay, just to make a little extra pocketbook change on the side.

When she graduated, Kao didn't even try advertising, taking the advising job at Penn instead. She now works in the landscape architecture department.

But before Kao starts her day in "the real world," she takes to her studio in the South Philadelphia apartment she shares with her boyfriend and another roommate, both of whom are artists.

"I'm a morning person; even if I go to bed at 4, I'm still up at 7 a.m., sometimes earlier," she says. "I just go in and shut everything out."

Her work is free-flowing, much like the way she talks, flitting from one subject to the next. Right now she's working on hair accessories - '50s-style headbands, decorative pieces with elaborate flowers or cutouts.

Pieces develop from what's caught her eye that day - like a canary-yellow headband with purple scales and red fins. All are under $20. While people aren't buying much original clothing, they are willing to purchase a little something that punctuates their outfits, she says.

"I wouldn't say my work is premeditative; I kind of do what makes me happy aesthetically," she says. "I work with whatever I find - feathers, lace, rhinestones, felt."

Sometimes she paints fine details on porcelain ware, created by her roommate, Robert Siegel, who has his own ceramics line. The pieces are intricately drawn and delicate - bright pink floral designs set off with seemingly careless ink drippings surround the rim of a bowl.

"I would describe my work as happy, playful, excessively ornate, nervous, meticulous," she says.

Sometimes she paints on a whole other kind of porcelain - skin.

As part of Creative Juice, a specialty entertainment group based in Manayunk, Kao helps paint "living statues," drawing elaborate designs, from flowers to a Mardi Gras theme, on people who then perform as centerpieces or backdrops at parties.

"There's pretty much no place I haven't painted," she says.

Sometimes, she'd work the party itself, decorating photographs for each guest to take home as a unique souvenir.

Now she's going back to sewing, starting to design clothes and experiment with different looks, from frilled skirts to three-tiered cuffed shirts.

The Art Star Craft Bazaar this summer was Kao's first real show, she says - the first time she had to sit behind her work and watch passersby either pass by or stop and buy. She split a booth with her roommate, and they were worried they wouldn't be able to cover the booth fees.

Instead, they sold out by early afternoon and had to bring more merchandise the next day.

A sellout show is a long way for someone who once scribbled princesses, bows, and balloons. Or maybe not.

"I still have some of those drawings," Kao says, laughing. "They're not bad for a 3-year-old."