Dancing in Color...

A Whale of a Time...

...Splash!  I painted these little whales on an old piece of wood.

which was inspired by the little clay whales I have been making. 

 

 

I just love them.  I know the more I make the better they will get. It's been a while since I played with clay. I made cold porcelain clay from this youtube video... CliCK Here to Watch. - (sorry the video will not embed)  I, however, used Elmer's Glue-All, mineral oil and a jar of cold cream from the Dollar Store... 
1 C Cornstarch
1 C White Glue
2 TBS of Mineral Oil or Baby Oil
2 TBS of white Vinegar
1 tsp tempura paint - optional - (I omitted)
Cold Cream for kneading
 

This cold porcelain clay air dries very hard but still needs a good top coat of clear acrylic.  I tried putting it in the dehydrator just for fun and that did speed up the process and didn't crack either, just an FYI if you are in a hurry.

I made this step by step video of how I make these whales.   I haven't fully decided what I am going to do with these yet...maybe on a bottle I have previously covered in clay?... possibilities.. Frig magnets, hair barrettes, pendants, ornaments, gift tags, ... 

 

 

I hope you try making this fun clay and the little whales! I'd love to see them!

Blessings

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! 

This could seriously freak somebody out! :)

Ta Da I Tried It Thursday...

...This week, mixed media art play.  I'm trying to quit listening to my left brain tell my right brain what to do and just live in my right brain for a while. It's happy there. haha  I actually tried several projects that got me inspired and in create mode.  I made 2 lace books like these by Scrappin Happyxo for friends over the past week or so. Each took several days for me to do solely because of not being able to make a decision on how the fronts should look. Rearranging them over & over.  Just Click on her name to watch her video.  I'm not going to share mine right now because they are in the mail as I type. Maybe a post for another day.  I will say that I really had a lot of fun constructing these with paper like her, however, I put cereal box cardboard in mine on front & back covers & pages to make them sturdier, a little more functional.  The more you create the better you will be at it.  It made me want to learn how to do different bindings & make lots of art journals to play with.  Honestly I have never painted an art journal. I have many many spiral notebooks with notes, lists of things to do, sketches, ideas, plans, etc... but never have really painted "art journal".  While I was daydreaming of starting one & looking for some inspiration & helpful tips, I came across this video by Alma Stoller. Painting on a magazine page.  This was a fun & partly a major fail project so I am going to share this one.  

As soon as the video started I knew I had to try this! I bet you want to now after watching and I hope you do!  I "needed" to try this because I feel like my backgrounds just got boring.  In 2008 I sold mixed media paintings (not glued paper though), very folk artsy, incorporating sand, but somewhere along the line I just got too simplified, or out of touch.  Anyway, I found an old Fine Cooking Magazine, I must have been saving it for some reason. After doing my first pages I decided to use it as a funky art journal. (I did end up ripping 1 page out but the rest will be left in tack)  I feel the need to explore new products & try new techniques. I almost feel like burning everything and starting all over.  Reinventing myself. I actually know of an artist who did just that - but then spent a little time in the hospital if you know what I mean. Happy to say she is back to work but she is also back to creating the same art. So can we ever really reinvent ourselves?
Doing this project/exercise, I found out that I love painting on magazine pages with acrylic paint! It turns the stiff paper into a fabric like texture with a matte finish almost suede like.  I love the feeling of it. Could it be varnished with acrylic & then sewn on? hum...

 I also learned that it doesn't adhere to canvas very well or I'm a bum gluer.

My first pages...

I started off having so much fun, no plots, no plans, then all of a sudden I am painting food! hahaha

 There was a pea pod on this page upper right corner -  I call this "Minding my Peas & Q's". haha

 I ripped out a page  (see below) so I looked to the next page for inspiration.

I left the backs of the painted pages unpainted for now but may end up painting over them. 

I love tomatoes.

The words on this page are  from the collage sheet in my last post. I'm glad I saved this magazine. :)

This portrait page I cut out to put on a canvas...  Also realized that since it's a cooking magazine that I will leave all the paintings food related.  I do like to paint some food. Love kitchen art.  (Sushi paintings & veggie paintings are in my Etsy Shop)

Major Fail. This canvas turned out to be a hot mess, I don't even want to show you how it ended up but I will.  I used Golden medium to adhere it to the canvas but as the magazine paper dried it began to lift off. Then as I started to paint over it, it began to wrinkle & bubble.  Perhaps next time I will gesso the canvas first, or use a different glue. 

 I have to admit I did feel a twinge of guilt for spending so much time on a go nowhere piece but I have to admit that I think it was worth learning what I did, and I must say that the background isn't boring! Some of these might find their way onto a canvas in my Etsy Shop.

I hope this inspires you to try something new.

Create a Great Day!

Never Forget You Are...

Blessed! ...

 

... and Loved!

I do get busy & often forget to stop & say thanks for being

a Follower & an Angel of Mine!

1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God,
and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.


 

A Little Word on Wednesday

Hope...the skies the limit!
The photographs of the skies in this video is as beautiful as the song.

These skies can't be painted with a brush! They wouldn't look real!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

  Shawnee Golf Course, Topeka, Kansas

Yarn...

... it makes me so happy!

I love this piece by Yuko Shimizu. A tsunami of yarn, bring it on!

What Day Is It ?!

...I can't believe I haven't posted in so long. So sorry faithful Followers! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is enjoying the season so far. Mine was very nice and the Christmas spirit hasn't fully kicked in with me yet. So as usual I am behind in my shopping that has to be mailed. The year started with good intentions and I had acquired 1 gift by March, but that's as far as I got. *patting myself on the back anyway* The spirit will kick in though, I'm sure of it. Hubby decorated the tree & did a lovely job. I have to dig into the boxes before they dissappear back into the shed. I thought if the spirit really hit me I could do another Christmas Tour video until I realized that it would be pretty much the same as the last one. hahaha
This reminds me I have got to start thinking about what to bake for Christmas!

To See New work listed on Ebay: Click HERE

Sometimes?...

I find this hysterical but at the same time I feel the need to apologize for it. LOL

This is Dedicated...

...to someone I love very much and YOU know who you are.

Sharing

Just wanted to share this wonderful video of one of my favorite Artists, Michael Parkes.

Motion, Movement, A Moment

Some Christmas Spice...

...My sweet hubby is doing some cleaning for me & our little JJ is down for a nap. Christmas music is turned up a notch louder than it should be, I'm going to light up that special spicy Christmas candle, grab the tape & scissors, and wrap away! We are starting our celebration tomorrow so I am trying to get everything finished today. Wrapping. ugh. Not my favorite thing. I'm too much of a perfectionist to enjoy it. So it's one thing that I'm not so good at. I just whack away. I'm famous or perhaps infamous for my gift wrapping. Those closest to me are laughing right now and giving a knowing nod.

However, I am enjoying every minute of this Christmas, even the wrapping.

Fa La La La!

I hope you are too!

God Bless & Merry Christmas and much love to all my Family, Friends & Faithful Followers!

Oh Why Not?!

Thanksgiving make-up tips! LOL...

and a Thanksgiving outfit!

A Big Shout Out & Thank you! goes to Catsjammies, CashmereJellyBean, Valche, & She Lost It for featuring my art in their wonderful Etsy Treasury's. Click on their names to check out their special shops!

"A Shot In The DarK"

Was That Fun?!
Making this video kept me busy & my mind off of some bad news I received for a time today. I will as promised post my blog award from Sharkbytes & pass it on, as well as some Shout Outs to some lovely people that featured my art in their Etsy Treasuries in upcoming posts.

Wishing It Would Rain Already

Click here to see my newest black & white collection "Anxiously Waiting"