Ta Da! I Tried It Thursday...

... Stars & most anything under the Sun can be quickly molded & made now! This week I tried making molds with my hot glue gun.  I saw this Hot Glue Mold  Pin on Pinterest, which lead to the video on Youtube  below. Why didn't I think of this before? I was more excited about this than I'd like to admit. I had to try it for a project I am working on. (posting soon)  I needed a starfish mold.  I have a starfish soap mold but it was too big.  Opening up my wooden treasure boxes full of shells & beachy sea things,  I found the perfect size dried starfish to sacrifice.

 Bada Bing Bada Boom! I think this worked out great!  I grabbed a little shell to finish off the rest of my glue stick in the gun.  It does take quite a bit of glue sticks.  I squeezed my glue out onto tissue paper instead of foil. The tissue paper washes right off.  Also, I let the big glob of glue start cooling off a little before I pressed the starfish into it.  No matter what I was making a mold out of I would advise you to do that, let it cool a little.  Getting the starfish out of the mold wasn't too hard. The glue was cooled, harden, yet bendable. Poor little guy did break to pieces like I knew it would.  I know it was already dead but I still felt a twinge of "poor little guy". I washed the mold really good, dried it, then pressed orange polymer clay into it.  As you can see it really did pick up all the texture from the starfish.

God Bless & Create a great day! 

Ta Da ! I Tried It Thursday...

... This week I tried "Hot Glue Stencils" for Mixed Media paintings & art projects. I used wax paper to do mine on.  It tears off pretty easy. I started with my smallest glue gun and using small strings of glue like the video, however, they tend to break when you are pulling the stencil off the paper.  I think that this would be the case no matter what you put the glue on.  So I pulled out the big glue gun and this worked much better, the strings are larger and it's easier to pull off the paper.  You could put a design under the paper to guide your glue gun.  This was a fun project and I am already using and loving my re-usable hot glue stencils! Click  HERE  to go to Pinterest to view some more ideas for hot glue stencils.

God Bless & Create A Great Day!

Ta Da I Tried It Thursday!...

... Today is my first Ta Da Thursday. I decided I would share & demo all of my messes  projects that I do on a regular basis.  I have tried a lot of quick projects & recipes because of Pinterest.  (You can click on the word Pinterest to view & follow my boards) I can't promise I will do this every Thursday but I will "try". :)

I am working on 2 mixed media/collage projects for 2 friends.  I might share these projects at a later date.  I don't do a lot of mixed media/collage but I love it. I had forgotten how it sets you free & really turns the light on in your right brain, your creativity really gets turned up a notch.  Because I don't do a lot of mixed media or journaling I don't have a lot of stamps.  So this week I tried the Styrofoam Faux Lino Carving I had in my Crafty Cravings Board.  After a great supper of take-out Chinese Chicken & Eggplant from our local favorite, I cut out & washed the lid of my Styrofoam container.  BTW I hate eating food that have been in those containers, I always take it out of those before I store it in the frig. I used to wish they would use paper cartons, now forget about it, gimme that Styrofoam.   Here is the "Pin" that was the inspiration for me to try it...

I drew a little portrait. You can see I messed up on her eyes. This taught me that there are no do-overs on this foam. If you want a clean cut, then I suggest you draw your image on thin paper & trace onto the foam. If it isn't deep that's ok you can always go over it & make it deeper. Obviously  I didn't take care to wash the stamp between colors, just went crazy stamping. 

You can see  by the print in the upper left corner in pink how you can paint only a portion of the stamp, even get fancy and add several colors. (those eyes! haha) Humm... if I took my time, a new world of possibilities... 

After printing this, honestly I dug through the garbage to get my son's carton to try writing on it. Thankfully it wasn't buried or I'd be calling in another order! haha  I knew it would print backwards but does anyone really read the printing anyway? Next time I will slant my writing to the left so that it will print out slanted to the right more like the stamps that you purchase. 

I didn't use ink. I used acrylic paint (Americana craft paint) for this experiment & old Bristol vellum coated paper that I used for charcoals.  I think you would definitely get a smoother print with ink & different papers. The acrylic paint picks up the grainy texture of the Styrofoam so most likely it would with ink as well...

So all in all I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I didn't feel like it was a waste of time to try it. It's definitely easier to carve than lino.  Also I think in a pinch that Styrofoam could work nicely as a quick stencil as well if you pressed the foam to flatten it out.  I plan to make some stamps for mixed media, journaling or collage with Styrofoam... Hum... a good excuse to eat out. I need another doggie bag!

If you try this I'd love to see it!  Is there something new you have tried lately? 

Create a Great Day!

This New Year...

... is so welcomed! Last year wasn't great for me physically or mentally. I lost a lot of people that I love. So I'm glad to let last year go. I can feel it, this year is gonna be great! I'm ready to get back to work! After a long recouperation, it feels so good to be able to sit, lift my arm (for hours) and paint.  Every morning before my feet hit the floor I praise God.  It's been a year & 1/2 since I re-injured my back. Not only did I suffer from so much pain, my painting also suffered, and this blog, not to mention my housework, however, there was enormous good that came from this terrible time, so God is really great.  It's like waking up from a fog.

I finished a portrait commission early in December, then had fun with the Freeform figures, did some collage, and while my creative juices were flowing I came up with my next series.  I didn't have anything new last year at all.  I mostly painted commissioned pieces & sold a lot of prints, & things on Zazzle, which I was so grateful for.   If I went in the studio to paint it would be for very short periods of time. Now I'm losing track of time in there! I can paint for hours! It's wonderful!

My new series is Big Bears, Big Circus Bears! I have been having so much fun drawing them in different scenarios.  I painted a ballerina bear for my niece several years ago.  I love bears. I have a few black bears in my kitchen.  I started drawing them and couldn't stop.  I have 30 so far but can think of some more.   I want them to look old timey, so back to my roots & hand me the antique solution.  Oh man do I get nervous to antique a piece.  I am always afraid I am going to ruin the painting which looks perfectly fine. I have 2 paintings on canvas done & they are antiqued.  I was thinking I really should have had them scanned first for the sake of prints before I antiqued them.  Oh well it is what it is.  First I drew them out... (example using "The Tourist")

then I painted them on paper...

then I painted them on canvas...

"The Tourist"

I love the paintings in ovals and on paper. I love painting on paper. What do you do with all the trail pieces, or practice pieces? I'd like to hear from you Artist out there. I would like to learn to digitize these bears for the embroidery sewing machine.  I am still trying to figure out how to incorporate my art & sewing together which would = Utopia. 

Free Form and Fresh Eyes ...

...Thanks to Milliande! I was taking a break from work on a portrait commission today, when

I watched Milliande's wonderful Free Form Youtube video. I have been a subscriber of hers on Youtube, but honestly  & sadly so, I have only taken the time to watch one of her videos, and that was a long time ago. Now I regret all the fun I've missed & have to watch all her videos as soon as I can. I had to take time out to try her exercise, her "form play" would be just the thing to give me a "fresh eye" & get my creative juices flowing. A little "Right Mind" work. It was so fun to see what was created from a  random squiggles! Each one is like a little Meditation. Warning this may become an addiction!

This is her video and how you get started...

 

Here is my squiggle page...

Looking at it from all sides I pulled a few of these figures out...

 

Using pencil, ink, cream colored  & black acrylic paint these fun little creatures came to life...

I created 5 little pieces in all but here are 2 of them... 

Happy, Bubbly, Marshmellowy, is that a word? ... 

Rainy, Lazy, Curled up, Disconnected by Weather...

 

If you give this free form play a try,

please leave your link below.

I would love to see your Free Form Fun!

Show me your squiggles!

Bed Bugs...

... We don't have them here, but this one might have a few. Coffee in the morning or picnic in bed ?! You know I don't have that much of a green thumb this photo was found at inspirebohemian.blogspot.com

Upcycled Reuse Terrarium Project

These are 2 that I made using thrift store finds. I have 3 more made since I took this picture. They are addicting & look so pretty in my garden window! Add some ribbon, beads, knobs, etc... These are so fun and would make great gifts too.

If you make one I'd love to see it. Please send me your photo and I will post!

Mango plant update : It's still alive!!!!!! I haven't killed it yet! Hopefully I'll be able to grow these too!

A Day Late...

... I spent this weekend pulling everything out of my walk-in closet, there were mountain size piles of clothes in my living room. Pants, shirts, shorts, skirts & dresses. Then jeans, pants, tees and blouses, color coordinating everything as I put it all back. It looks amazing and it feels good to have that done. I've still got to go through all my shoes and underwear drawers. Hubby & I loaded big boxes of clothes that I don't wear, won't ever wear, never have worn or don't fit to the thrift store just this morning. Then I saw this video. Wah Wah I might have to go buy a few back now! hahaha

A Simple Project to Share...

I made these Prayer Tile Trivets 6 or 7 years ago, as you can tell from the wear & tear on them! They are looking pretty awful, not sure why I didn't just throw them out last year,*pack rat*, so I thought I would make some new ones before Thanksgiving. My back is better but not 100%, so my hubby took me to the pharmacy for more back creme & Thanksgiving paper napkins to make some new trivets. I was really disappointed that the only Thanksgiving napkins they had were of extremely ugly turkeys. Hopefully I can find something better before Thanksgiving. If not, I may try printing a picture onto some tissue paper that may work just as well. I'm sure you could use a magazine picture or other paper, however, it just would be as flat. I am thinking I am going to use a piece of recycled wood instead of a tile. I am going to paint & distress the wood before applying the picture. They come in so handy with all the hot plates & dishes at dinner. To make one you simply pull the napkin layers apart leaving just the printed image that you want to adhere on your tile or piece of wood. Glue image to tile & let completely dry. Then you can antique, paint or whatever you'd like. Then over the top of it all write the prayer with permanent marker or paint pen, then spray with acrylic or coat over with Mod Podge. This would be a great project to do with kids as well. I didn't write the prayer that is on my tiles. I'm sorry I don't know who wrote it but I can bet whomever wrote it wouldn't mind me or you using it. It reads:
Our Heavenly Father,
Please bless the bounty that has been prepared before us. Bless those who are with us today and those who are not. Thank you Lord for all the many blessings that you have so graciously bestowed upon us. Thank you for giving your life so that we may have life. Father bless those who are less fortunate. Bless our children for they are our future, and bless our elders for they are our history. For all these things we ask in your holy name.
Amen

Swamped, Stressed & Swimming Upstream!

"The Swimmer" is the painting I am currently working on. I can't decide if I like her upright or sideways better. I still have lots of work to do on her but I'm sharing. I am using acrylics but I am wishing I had done her in oils for the Summer Color exhibit at the gallery. If only my camera could capture what my paintings really look like in real life, it just doesn't.

I have a few shout outs today. Thank you Vicki owner of EllieLee for featuring my purple Aura Angel in your perfect purple Purplicious collection in your Etsy Treasury! Also Thank you to Julia & rkdsign88 for giving me the wonderful "Lovely Blog Award"! I am paying my son help me with a few things so hopefully I will be able to find the time to pass it along. I'm honored by you all!

I've taken a little time to do a project with my Swell Sisters. Several of us painted the same picture. The picture happened to be the one of the cat that grew wings in China. Sorry the link that I had to the story is expired, but this is the picture... If you have the time it's an interesting story. It was so fun to see every one's interpretation of the picture. I didn't spend much time mine, even used craft paint but had a lot of fun doing it. We are planning to do this kind of challenge again. JenJ's digital painting interpretation was so creative & unique that I have to share it. It's delicious pinks just like cotton candy! Sorry the picture isn't better.

I am trying to get a few things completed to list. Things are slow at Etsy and I may remove some originals there & put them elsewhere. So I am a little swamped, stressed & swimming upstream!

***update! 6/5 Gallery has invited me to put The Swimmer in the show! I'm honored & thrilled!

My Baby & Bling

Happy Birthday to my oldest baby Joe! I love you!

On Mondays I am watching my little JJ, my oldest baby's baby and 1st grandson. He is growing up so fast. I think he's so cute it's hard not to kiss him constantly. I am gettin' it while the gettin' is good though while he can't say quit kissing me Gramma! haha I don't have many toys over here and he is now holding things and starting to play a little. So I had to make this "redneck" baby rattle. Or maybe I should say "alternative toy". haha It's a plastic chicken bouillon jar with a few dried garbanzo beans in it! He loves that thing! Go figure!

We did our 1st art project together. I painted his feet with red paint and stamped his feet on canvas paper. I let him hold the paint brush long enough to make some strokes on the paper too and stamped Happy Birthday Daddy on it. I put it in a nice mat & frame. My son said it chocked him up when he opened it. Awwww Sorry I didn't take a picture of it but did take a few shots of my little JJ, my angel.

I would like to thank Casa De Boneca for giving me a blog award! More bling for my blog! I have to nominate people to pass it out so I will have to think about who that will be and will get that posted soon. The rules are in spanish so I have written to Boneca for translation so I can post the correct rules.

Today I am working on more bookmarks. I am having a lot of fun making them. I am using my artwork on them and scriptures. I plan to start some more kitty cat paintings as well. I haven't done any of those for a while and I'm just in the mood. Etsy and Ebay are very slow at the moment, but out of the two, regardless of the high fees, I may have to list more things on Ebay. At least on Ebay I know how much I may have coming in on a given week if things sell. If I wasn't trying to sell my own art, I would be gobbling up lots of great art right now, and at great prices - more gettin' while the gettin' s good!

Beautiful Recycling

Yesterday afternoon 4 of my Swell Sister's came over and we made beautiful cake/cupcake servers for our gallery opening. That's TJ doing a fine modeling job of all our wares! LOL We will be serving bite size cheesecakes on them. Initially we had planned on mini cupcakes but those are hard to find. Maybe not the "in" thing anymore ? None of us wanted to bake for over 250 + people! We bought plates, candle sticks, glasses, & vases from Thrift Stores and used an assortment of old craft bobbles, beads & stones to embellish. The sky's the limit on embellishment. We used a 2 part epoxy that dries clear to glue the pieces together and nothing is budging. It was so much fun! I wish I had a picture of all the finished pieces. Some servers had ribbon with sequins, pearls, and dripping beads. These could be really fun for tea parties and special Christmas gifts or Christmas servers and for just a few dollars. The Thrift Stores have lots of Christmas plates out now and Christmas doodads to embellish with. It's a fun way to spend the afternoon!
For a little refreshment I served a curry dip that I had never made before. I know that's brave serving something you've never made before but for some reason I do that a lot. I made it the night before just in case it was awful. The recipe said to let it chill for several hours anyway. I ran across the recipe online and it was so odd that I had to try it. I didn't follow it exactly (something else I do a lot) but I used all the ingredients. To my surprise it was super good and everyone liked it. It's a keeper and I will definitely be making it again. Here's the recipe...
2 C sour cream
1/2 C light mayo
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp horseradish
2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp of Zerguts Red pepper Relish (recipe called for ketchup)

Wordy Wednesday!

Wow I've made 55 post already! Make sure you read them all haha! Time is flying! I completed some more angels that I was working on and will be listing them on Ebay later today. I painted another angel on an old LP record, which I think is becoming my new addiction! I even like the squeak the brush makes when I paint on it! I love melting the vinyl too. I am also listing one that I had already hanging around because she's not one of my favorites, however, I've learned that sometimes the ones I don't particularly care for others really like. So what the heck I'm sending her off to a new home hopefully.



I went to a Career Artist meeting last night which is a subgroup of the Swell Sister Society. I met some really nice women that I haven't met before! I feel so lucky to be a part of such a talented group of women. I posted a picture of my new Indie project collaborative piece on the Swell Sister site and below. I played around with my modeling paste. I can't wait to get started! Last time it was so much fun. I'm getting my final piece back, the one on the large piece of broken wood on Thursday night and can't wait to see it. I will post the transformation when I get it. The next few months are going to be very busy with the projects, meetings, getting ready for the gallery show and staying on top of my work! I saw my grandson yesterday and he is growing fast! He was so good and after his feeding stayed awake and alert for a long time. It was nice spending time with him and his mother for a little while. They asked me to paint some pictures for his room and I've been dragging my heels worrying about what & how to paint it, but after seeing his cute little room yesterday I have got to get busy!

I would just like to take a moment and thank all my buyers if you are reading this. I get the most wonderful emails, so many of you go above and beyond to send them to me and I appreciate and treasure each one. Also a thank you to all the people who comment on my art almost daily. It truly nourishes my spirit and keeps me motivated to keep going and not go back to life in a cubicle!

Too Much Art Too Little Time!

I am tackling a long list of things to get done today. Preparing wood for painting commission, making my own clay plates for cuffs, finishing some card/book/zines. I knitted a new cuff this morning while having my coffee & watching the Today show.

I love perfume, however, most of the commercial perfumes on the market give me a headache, so several years ago I did a great deal of research, got lots of essential oils and like a little chemist (Nutty Professor! ) came up with several wonderful original blends. I gave some as gifts, sold a few bottles, but never really marketed it. Each perfume was a "girl" so to speak and if I say so myself the boxes are very cute! Basically set up an entire business but never took it anywhere. I was working and just wiped out tired when I got home, didn't have the energy for both jobs. I have Mermaid, Garden Girl, Tropical Girl, Bride to Be, Dance Hall Girl, Sweet Baby Girl, Indian Maiden, Queen of Denial, etc... I did the art work for each, made the boxes and made up a poem for each box. Mermaid is my personal favorite, surprise! haha It's a blend of 8 different oils with the top note being pikake an expensive Hawaiian Jasmine. Anyway... The other day I was thinking that these poems and art would make great cards/book/zines! So I am in the process of constructing those. So keep a weathered eye out for those! (love that saying from Pirates!)

The Swell Sister Society meeting was so much fun last night! We now have a website http://www.swellsister.com/ and we plan to make an impact in Sacramento! Our first art show is in December. I'm so blessed to be in this group of lovely women! We made paper wallets last night. It was like a kindergarten project but mine was pathetic - truly! A Swell Sister said I need to learn how to use tape! hahaha Actually that's so true! One thing I am not good at is wrapping presents with tape! I do wrap my art before I mail it and I must admit I could probably do a much better job. I just hope the pretty ribbon makes up for it! hahaha The paper wallet project did inspire me though. I'd love to make some with fabric. I just can't pull out my sewing machines right now or everything will go by the wayside!

Whirly Bird

That's me today! A whirly bird. One of my favorite Beatles songs is Black Bird. Until recently I never knew that it was about a girl. duh. And I won't even tell you how old I am! Paul McCartney explained the song and said that in England they call girls "Birds"! In the US we call girls Chicks! strange. I have so many things whirling around in my head that I want to create & try today and not enough time to do everything! I was requested to do another commission & sold several prints the past few days! So I feel blessed.

A Swell Sister came over this morning, we had coffee, a nice visit and she dropped off a new collaborative project to work on. It feels like I am getting a present every time we exchange! I already had in mind something I was going to do but ended up doing something else besides my initial thought. I boiled eggs yesterday and saved the shells. I used the shells as a mosaic path. You have to take the membrane out from the inside. I laid the glue down and put a piece of shell and then pushed into the glue. It makes a lovely cracking noise and breaks into little pieces that are stuck. I did a wooden box like that once and it came out pretty cool. I decided to use the eggshells because of the birds in the picture. I added some bushes, a fence, the eggshells & painted in the fabric. I wanted to keep the spirit of the original fabric canvas. To me it feels like a garden! I can't tell you how much fun this Indi collaborative project is! It's sure is nice getting to know the Swell Sisters. Yesterday I met a Sister and passed on the altered book. I had a nice time chatting with her & found that we had a few things in common. And I got a sneak peek at mine and it is so awesome!! I have the perfect spot for it when it's done. Here's the project I got today, before & after my changes. You can click on the picture to see it larger.

Monday Madness

Today was crazy because I took the day off yesterday, did nothing related to my art at all! A friend took me to my favorite Vietnamese place in Folsom, a belated birthday lunch . It was so good. We didn't get to visit long enough & may get together again this weekend. I had my usual bowl of noodle soup & we shared shrimp spring rolls. Yes soup in the summer! I love soup and don't really care that it's hot outside! After lunch, I picked up 2 other friends and we headed down to the river. The 3 of us had never been down Garden Hwy that far along the river before and it was a nice Sunday drive. My husband's band http://spotteddogmusic.com/index.php played at Swabbie's On the River yesterday. (My husband's picture isn't on the site yet as he is new drummer & they haven't changed photos yet) http://www.swabbies.com/index.html . They played 3 days in a row this weekend. I think they are great and I'm really glad he decided to play with these guys! The smoke has cleared up a lot and it was a beautiful day. What a fun kicked back place! The band played outside in a big shady area that was full of tables filled with people. My youngest son raved about the tacos so I told my friends about it. (My husband has played there before with another band & took my son with him) They ordered them, they looked awesome, so awesome it was tempting to have them even though I wasn't hungry! But I didn't have any, I was still full from my lunch. They said they would come back just to eat those! My next trip there I will definately be going hungry so I can try them! As I was waiting in line for the bathroom, a girl next to me said the band was so great! I said thanks & told her my husband was in the band & she should let the owner know! I left before Jim and when he got home he said the owner told him that people came up to him and told him they loved the band, wanted to know when they were playing again and he gave them extra money! A percentage of the bar! Ok I'll take credit for that! It was a fun day and it was nice to get out of the house. I must admit that the people were just as entertaining as the band was! Lots of people coming off the river feeling no pain and kicking up dust on the dirt dance area! It is such a kick watching drunk people dance! We laughed a lot!! It was unavoidable. One lady in her late 50's in particular must have taken tap dance when she was young because she was tap dancing away to the blues music at a tempo much faster than what was being played and still had a Dorothy Hamil haircut! Her legs were brown from her toes to her knees from kicking up all that dust! hahaha

Today I was on a mission! I had to go to the printers, hospital, art supply store, grocery store, my son's work... seems like I drove all over town! I drove my husband's truck which I can't park for the life of me so I park out in Timbuktu to avoid denting some one's car. hahaha When I finally got home and pulled into the driveway I see my little car! What! I just assumed he had taken it and didn't even look! arrrgh. I had to prepare prints and paintings & my wood trees so that I can mail them out tomorrow. I finished up my Indie project & will trade with my Swell Sister Carol tomorrow. I could keep going on it but I've never done a collaborative project before and I don't want to do to much. I can't wait to see what Carol has done on Christine's project! Here's my final photo before passing it on... She's a bit eerie but I like that about her. She is holding a string of dragonflies and has butterflies in her hair.

Tomorrow I have to go to the post office, list some paintings and paint paint paint! I canvases prepared and ready to go! I sure hope that July isn't as slow as June was! While reading blogs I came across "ecrater" a widget that will let you buy paintings directly from my blog, so I am going to start working on setting that up!

Check out the refreshing new recipe of the week!