Sunday musings

the tools of the trade might be paper, paint and scissors...
but without direction and decision, the path is obscured...

Rustic Luxe - New Year's Eve

With Christmas over and the New Year sliding in soon, this is the last post of the Rustic Luxe series...

I wanted to end this creative series combining the most rustic item I could think of with the most luxurious...
I wasn't quite sure what it would be...until inspiration hit me at work one day in the lumber department...

What is more rustic than rough concrete?  And what is luxe than gold leaf?  What if I combined them together...

My inspiration came from these...

These are dobie blocks, used to hold rebar in place when pouring a concrete slab...I've played with these before - see my tutorial for my bud vase holders here - but for the holidays I was thinking of making candle holders with them...how festive for New Year's Eve...I gathered together my supplies...

Normally these blocks come in a section of 9 or 16 blocks, with divisions between them for separation.  I used a wide rigid putty knife and a sledge hammer to break the sections apart.  Once apart, I formed a holder for each candlestick by first straightening out the wire supports and then, using a metal pipe for a support, wrapped the wire around the pipe.  Once the pipe was removed, it was easy to slip in a candlestick.

I revised my idea of using gold leaf and instead went with heavy body acrylic artist paint in a deep gold color. After taping off sections on the concrete block, I used a stiff brush to apply the paint...surprising only two coats were needed to give a good solid color.

With the candlesticks completed, it was on to the rest of the tableau...

Gold splatters on a length of kraft paper for a table runner was another Rustic Luxe combo...I used a can of gold spray paint which was leaking badly...but I ended up liking the drips and drabs on the paper...the chestnut garland (first seen in the Thanksgiving dinner centerpiece and then hanging from my Christmas tree branch) makes its final appearance with its nutty texture and the glint of gold beads. A few poppy pods sprayed with a bit of silver paint fill the bud vases...

A swath of wide silk ribbon tied around a small galvanized bucket is the perfect Rustic Luxe champagne holder...

























Vintage ironstone plates and silver cocktail forks are waiting for the appetizers...
all is set for this small intimate gathering to begin...

As we close out 2015, I want to thank you for visiting my blog, leaving your comments, giving me your support...
I hope that the new year ahead holds all the promise and opportunity you desire...cheers!

three little words

empty glass bottles...on the way to the recycle bin...

a moment's hesitation...I gather them back up...
stash them in a box...add to them as the weeks pass...

holiday prep is creeping into the calendar...
I spy the bottles...and remember a spark of 
inspiration from lynn whipple via latitude studios...










I grab the white paint and begin...

a pencil outline...a wrap of ribbon...a single suggestive word...

a vessel to hold a dream or capture a wish...

or perhaps impart a pearl of wisdom or two...

the holidays approach...inspiration is building

linking up with kim klassen's Texture Tuesday...
today's photos edited with kk texture dollard soft and gentle and with french kiss texture grunge...

Nature is always inspiring

As the light changes from the bright hues of summer to the languid tones of autumn, 
a change of artistic scenery is due...

An old metal medicine cabinet displays vintage bottles and practice sketches...contorted oil paint tubes await their turn...a broken clock, reminiscent of a former time...capturing what once was...

The patterns and textures of nature are always intriguing...

a whorl of flower petals...

the striations in a leaf...

the delineations of a feather, the precision of a wasp nest...

Can we ever really capture the essence of this natural beauty...

these replications in print, paint or photography...only serve to remind us how wonderous nature is...
and that it is best to be experienced and explored...

joining the group over at kim klassen's texture tuesday...
all of my photos were edited with either kk texture magic0916 or kk texture everyday...sometimes both...

those "aha" moments

painting between the studs in the workshop studio...one of the openings filled with nail ends...

I spy a splattered paint board...the width of the board fills the space perfectly...

trim the length of the board down to size...nail on 8 paint can lids (been saving can lids from work for another art project idea...) the texture of the dried paint is astounding...

Instant message board...
and over to the right, you can see where I'm painting the chalkboard...

Paint can lids are steel...add a magnet...violá!

I love those eureka moments...

linking up to Funky Junk Interiors Junk Party...where you just might get an "aha" moment of your own...

The power of white

White...it can cover everything...and for many parts of the country this year, it is snow white...
and it can be overwhelming...

A view from my backyard...I know several of you are thinking, "really...you think that's overwhelming? ha!"  Let me tell you...for the Pacific NW, it is...three inches of snow...I walked to work Sunday morning rather than deal with my steep driveway and the layer of ice underneath...given the fact that no plows had been seen and there are crazy drivers out there, it was by far the safer option...

White...it can cover everything...it can be unifying...a color (or rather the lack of color) that makes disparate items seem one in the same...the reason behind painting all of the walls white in my soon-to-be-completed workshop studio...to unify and blend together the different surfaces...

White...it can accent...when all other distractions are eliminated, the textures and contours are highlighted...giving a nuance that previously was drowned out by competing colors and tones...

















White...it can soothe...and simplify...and I hope will be the perfect palette to inspire workshop participants...

I'm planning to offer workshops by the beginning of April...the idea here is not necessarily to produce great art...
but to encourage creativity...a chance to connect with like-minded souls...to be able to show up, complete a project (with mostly recycled materials!) and to leave feeling satisfied and rejuvenated...without any thought of organizing the details or worrying about the clean-up...sound good?

I'd love to get feedback on scheduling...Fridays?  Saturdays? Sunday afternoons?  other ideas?  Just leave a comment with your suggestions and ideas...I'd love to hear what you have to say...

Fresh Paint coming up!

Though there has been fresh paint in my studio, as I begin working on my next art project...

its the Fresh Paint Art Festival in August that I'm talking about...













A wonderful two day art show, all along the promenade of the Everett Marina...its a great show, a gorgeous location and a fantastic weekend event...how could you not attend!  It's my fourth year participating - don't know my booth location yet...but the  dates are Saturday, August 17 and Sunday, August 18...sponsored by the Schack Art Center...more details here...

A sneak peak of some of my new work...

Hope you will mark it on your calendar & stop by to see me...

Coming down to the end, part 2

I know that there's a lot of pinning that goes on over at Pinterest...and I'm here to say that I am actually following up on some of the ideas that have captured my interest.  Months ago I pinned an idea for block printing...and with my holiday theme of simple and natural, I decided to give it a try...

First I found a scrap block of wood...wrapped it with string...dipped it in paint...and pressed it onto a sheet of kraft paper...not so good...the string absorbed too much paint and created one big blob. 











Found another scrap block of wood...this time used a rubber band to wrap around...since the rubber did not absorb the paint but just stayed on the surface, I got a cleaner print...I also brushed the paint onto the block instead of dipping the block into the paint...much easier to control an even coverage of paint...





after a little practice, I was on a roll!  I also played around with drywall tape, laying a strip down on the paper, painting over it and then pulling up the tape before it was dry...

Since I was in the groove, I got out the chalkboard paint and a big roll of pre-pasted mailing tape...like how I use coffee cups to hold the strips of tape flat while I paint?!  Also got out my rubber stamps and tore up some strips of muslin...

After everything was dry, it was time to put it all together...

The chalkboard tape wrapped around the present with ease...and makes it easy to add any salutation...

the "r" monogram tag gets a background of chalkboard tape to make it stand out...another long strip of muslin wraps up the gift with a bow...

 

With my large piece of printed paper, I decided to make a gift bag...learned this technique years ago and it is easy to do...and any sturdy paper will work...

 

1. Lay out your paper and find a book the size you want your completed gift bag to be...essentially, you are going to wrap up the book like a present - but leave one end open...

2.  Fold over the edge where the paper meets - this will give you a more finished look.

3.  Using double-side tape will secure the paper with no tape to see...

4.  Fold the bottom of the bag just like wrapping a present...

5.  Finish folding the bottom, securing with a length of double-side tape along the inside edge.

6.  Fold over the top of the bag and tuck to the inside...my fold was about 1-1/2" deep.

7.  Punch 4 holes in the top of bag - 2 on each side; each set of holes the same distance apart.  The twine will thread through these holes for the handle.  I glued a fiber reinforcement around each hole for additional strength.  Two equal lengths of jute twine were used for the handle, simply tied in a knot after threaded through each hole.

8.  A piece of cardboard, cut a tad smaller than the bottom length and width of your bag will add additional strength once you place it in the bottom of the bag...I didn't see a need to tape it in place since it fit fairly snug.

 

And voilà!

 

 

I filled the interior of the gift bag with paper shred made from old books...the paper shredders that cut up paper in long strips (not the cross-cut shredders) are great for this...and can easily be found at the thrift stores...

 

Linking up to Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special...I know its down to the wire for Christmas, but there is plenty of inspiration to be found...and maybe a few ideas to be "pinned" as a reminder for next year's holiday projects... 

 

And you have until midnight, Sunday, December 23 to enter my Holiday Cheer Giveaway #3...find all the details here...