Sketchbook

Black Hat Society ...

I recently hostessed a Halloween Hanglie Danglie Mingle with the theme of the Black Hat Society.   All of the art pieces had to include an image of a person and a witches hat.  I previously posted the one I mailed out.    This is the one I received - "Little Witches Don't Stay Little".   Autumn made this for me.  She does incredible artwork.   I was thrilled to receive this, and have it proudly hanging in my kitchen.  Thank you Autumn!!!

Be Witchy ...

Well, another Halloween themed project finished!

I am the hostess of a Halloween mingle in one of my art groups.   The theme was "Black Hat Society".   We each had to make one "hanglie danglie" (that's a technical term) that had to include an image of a person and a black hat.   This is what I came up with.

 

The base of my "hanglie danglie" is a canvas covered board.  I inked it up in shades of orange and red.   After stamping the chandelier image, I used some yellow oil pastels to highlight it.   The womans image was added to a large puzzle piece and topped with a hand cut witches hat.    The potion bottles are 3D laser cut wood bottles from Etsy.   I added bling, and some chandelier drops along the bottom edge. 

Be witchy all you boys and ghouls .... 

FROG Days of Summer ...

Most of you have heard of the hot sultry "dog days of summer".   Well, where I live we also have the long lazy "frog days of summer".    The tree frogs are abundant here and make their presence known by just "hanging around" all day doing absolutely nothing.    I feel this way on many hot summer days.

I spend many summer evenings sitting on my porch with a good book or art magazine.  I thought it would be fun to make a tray for my sun room which could hold some lightly scented candles (or whatever).   Since I love frogs so much, I chose to make it with a "frog" theme.

 

 

I started off by painting a shallow wooden tray from Glue Art  & Paper Studios in a soft orange.   I covered the tray with coordinating frog/poppy themed paper from Creative Imaginations.  

   

 

I painted game tokens bright orange and added them as feet to the tray.   The corners of the tray were embellished with clear buttons that I topped off with punched images from the patterned paper.  These clear acrylic buttons really add some luminosity and reflection that this photo just doesn't pick up.     I also added the words "dogs days of summer" to the tray, along with a cute 3-D paper frog.

 

 

I hope that you enjoyed this project.   I really like using products from Glue Art & Paper Studios.   I encourage you to check them out.  They have a wide range of items... with endless possibilities.   And, the quality and service is great.

Happy "frog days of summer"!!!

 

 

Fish Tails ...

I just finished my "fish tails" art piece.  I was in a mingle entitled "fish tails".   We had to have a fish somewhere on the piece of hanging artwork.

This photo isn't the best, but you can see the basics of my piece.  I used a 4"x6" canvas and painted it with a glaze medium and paint.   I stenciled some random designs on the background using paint.   I gave the background some added texture by randomly applying some distress stickles with a paint brush.   I added an image of a vintage fish company label and used oil pastels around it for shading.    I glazed over the label.  It has almost a crackle finish to it.  I embellished the piece with an "F" game piece, some netting, small sea shells, and a wire/ribbon/bead hanger.

Coaster Calendar ...

 

I made this cute little calendar using two medium weight chipboard coasters.  The background coloring on the coaster is a fun technique that I recently created and will explain late in another post.   Hint... it is made using Glimmer Mists.

I cut a slit and made a fold in the back coaster to create a "stand" for the calendar.   The two coasters were glue together and left to dry flat under a heavy book.

Embellished with ribbon and a 3D butterfly from K & Company (I believe).  The butterfly was enhanced with extra bling and glitter pen.

Altered Wand ...

Okay... I'm back.   And, I have a fun project to share.

One of my online art groups recently had an "altered wand" swap.   We needed to make just one wand with a theme of our choice.   And, it had to have lots of hanging fibers and trinkets.

When I set out to design mine, I knew I wanted to make a "bird" or "nature" themed wand.   When I found the cute little wire birdcage, I knew exactly what my wand was going to be!!!     It came complete with a birdie, nest and eggs.  

Here it is....

 

                   

All of the fibers and trinkets hanging from the wand.   What fun to collect and assemble.  I wrapped the handle of the wand with a variety of wire and beads.    

                       

I even made a bird egg for the base of my wand.

Hope you enjoy...   spring is in the air.

Snowman ...

Recently, I saw these snowmen posted on Two Peas in a Bucket.  They were made by Linda Albrecht.   When I saw these, I was absolutely blown away.  I thought they were so creative, and so cute.   

I found myself thinking about Linda's snowmen a lot.   I knew I wanted to try to create one of my own.  One in my own style and theme.  I went ahead and this is what I ended up with.

  

My "snowperson" is made from a small bead jar which has a cork stopper and wooden scoop.    I had a wooden ball that I used for the head.   Just painted it and added pearls (with drawn pupils) for eyes and a red rhinestone nose.

The hat was made from some real wool felt that I had.   I sewed the back together to form a cone shape and cinched up the tassel at the top.     I covered the cork stopper with a red iridescent pipe cleaner.

I added a striped ribbon around the neck of the jar, and then a sheer ribbon was tied over it for the scarf.   Silver foil ribbon spirals were added.    Also, I added a clear button to the front.

Like Linda did with her snowmen, I added the pearl beads to the inside of my jar.   I used white and black rub ons on the outside of the jar.   There are snowflakes all around it, with "joy" in the front.

To personalize my snowman... I used the wooden scoop to form a safe place for my little birdy to live.   I took a little piece of green dyed cheesecloth and placed it in the scoop.   I perched my tiny little bird on top.

To complete the project... I made my snowman look as though it was actually out in the snow.   Around the neck of the bottle, I added glue and glitter.  This worked fine, but I found that my Stickles worked just as well... if not better... to make snow.   I could make it kind of thick and lumpy in spots.   I put snow all around the jar, on the arm, on the wooden scoop and on my snowman's hat.   I even gave the tiny bird a bit of snow on it's head and wings.

I want to thank Linda Albrecht for her inspiration.   I love my little snowman.  I am happy how this project turned out.  Maybe I will have to make more, so that my snowman has some friends.   The  more the merrier. 

Joy - Christmas Organizer

I just posted another new project at Buzz and Bloom.   I made a fun Holiday organizer.   I can keep track of holiday ideas, gift lists, menus, card lists, and dates.  Check it out on their blog.

New Projects ...

I've got two new projects posted on Buzz and Bloom's Blog.    The projects use their new colored acrylic pieces, and some of their new chipboard also.     I can't say enough about the excellent quality of their products.   If you have never tried them, make a point to check them out.

Here is a sneak peek of my "Night on the Town" canvas, and "Guess Who Loves You?" layout.

Altered Cabinet Cards ...

I just finished up a Altered Cabinet Card swap with one of my online art groups.    We each had to alter 6 cabinet cards and include some type of container to hold them.    We'll each receive 6 random cabinet cards and a container of some sort, in return.

I have to admit that I was somewhat intimidated about altering my cabinet cards... until I started working on them.   Oh what fun these were to do!!!   I wanted to just keep going on and on.   I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do before I sat down at my work table.   After working on the first one, there was no slowing me down.

This is my "container".    It is just a metal tin (pencil box type) that I added layers of ribbon to the outside, and altered the lid as you can see.

Incident Report - This is probably my favorite card.  He was masked and the  background was stippled with chalk inks.   Colored his prison stripes with colored pencils.  Various other stamps and embellishments.

Famous Walrous Soup -  How can you not think of a "walrous".   The background was also stippled with chalk inks.

Bring in the Clown - This lady inspired me with her clown-like dress she had on.   I just drew the giant ruffles and colored with colored pencils.   She was masked and background stippled with Brilliance inks.  I colored her hair with pencils.   Lots of highlighting  with pencils also.

Monkey Business - This guy is simply goofy.   I drew his hair with a pen and colored pencils.   Added stamped images, drawn bowtie, and monkeys.   Gotta love his big red nose.

A Stitch in Time - I thought she looked like a seamstress.   Not to much else going on in her life?   She was masked and I used oil pastels for the background.   Various embellishments added.

Princess in Tennis Shoes - I masked this lady off and painted the background with acrylic paints.   Did some over stamping.    I stamped and cut out her dress and tennis shoes, and attached them to the card (Brilliance ink).   She was highlighted with a white colored pencil.     Various embellishments added.

Give these a try!   You'll have a fun time doing it.   Even if you only have copies of cabinet cards, they will work fine.  Just attach them to poster board or mat board.