The Last of the Art Swap Pages

I finally finished the last of the six art swap pages -- just in the nick of time!

 Do you see the little birdie hiding there?

The little lady bug is tissue paper on vellum-like tracing paper. The "hello" is a scrap of fabric.

I can't wait to receive the pages that will be sent to me through this exchange! 

Word Art Wednesday - July 25, 2012

Once again, the word art for this week's challenge is very relevant to my life! I found out that I am no longer a candidate  for a stem cell transplant because my PET scan showed a mixed response to the latest chemo: some tumours got smaller, but others grew. When you confront obstacles like that, it's sometimes tempting to throw in the towel and just give up. But that's not a healthy response! We should "never, never, never give up!" Here is my art to convey that sentiment:

Feel free to download and use the word art in your own work:

If you'd like to share your inspirational art at Word Art Wednesday, you could win an adorable antique floral frog from Karen Letchworth from My Cup Runneth Over. 

More Art Swap Pages

I have completed two more pages for the Art is . . . You Swap. This little birdie is made from a couple of swatches of upholstery fabric. The cool stitching around the border is a bit obscured by the layers of pastel I added, but it's more visible in real life. And you can't see it, but behind the letter stickers there's a piece of paper that has the title of a vintage book about nests and birds :)

The colours aren't as true in the picture below, but you can see the effect of the ribbon better:

The other page I created was inspired by Christy Tomlinson's She Art girls. I haven't taken any of Christy's classes, but I've watched a few of her online videos and I like her whimsical girls.

It's hard to tell, but my girl is wearing a bun ;) And that flower in the middle is supposed to be the sun! :)

I'm lacking inspiration for my last two pages, though . . .

Homemade Stencils/Stamps

The other day I saw the idea of making homemade stencils with hot glue on Traci Bautista's blog.  Well, I have a hot glue gun and I'd like to try playing with some stencils -- so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I used waxed paper, which didn't release the stencils very well, but it wasn't hard to peel the paper off. If I do it again, I'll use parchment paper as Traci suggests. 


Here is my little collection of hot glue stencils:

Pretty cool, eh? I think this technique could be used to make some kinda cool embellishments, too -- though it would be nice if I could think of a way to colour them.

 I didn't have any paint mists, so I watched a bunch of youtube videos and made my own with some water, a smackerel of ModPodge, metallic paint, and folk art paint. Then I played with my stencils! 

After I sprayed with the glitter mist, I flipped the stencil over and used it like a stamp:

Fun stuff!

Do you have any other ideas for making homemade stencils?

Any thoughts on how to colour the glue?

Word Art Wednesday - July 18, 2012

The text for this week's Word Art Wednesday Challenge is from a hymn I remember from my childhood:

It's a good reminder, isn't it? A comforting thought. Feel free to download and use the text in your own art if you'd like.


For my collage, I used two texted papers and some vintage bird graphics from The Graphics Fairy -- a wonderful resource for vintage pictures, blog backgrounds, and project ideas. I don't know that those little birds are sparrows -- but you get the idea ;) 


If you'd like to join us in the WAW challenge, be sure to link up so you can have a chance to win a little something from Detailed 4 U Collections. And don't forget to read the featured bio on the WAW page -- it's about me! :) 

Work in Progress - Art Swap

I recently decided that I'd like to participate in the Art Is . . . You  Art Swap.  The theme is Weird Wild Wonderful. I have been itching to get started, and yesterday afternoon I found the body power to begin, as long as I remained sitting. 


Oh, what fun I had! Outside of a run-in with the sewing machine (I wailed in frustration, unaware that in my efforts,  I cut my hand on the balance wheel and got a blister  -- not such a good thing when my immune system is so compromised. Turns out it wasn't just my chemo-compromised muscles -- DH had to get a wrench to loosen it!), I spent several blissful hours playing and creating. 


I decided I want to have a theme for each page with just a word or two to indicate that theme. The first was "Joy" -- epitomized by my happy little masking tape girl. (I kinda wish it was more obvious what she's made of.)  The perfectionist in me says she's too juvenile. But I am getting better and better at silencing the inner critic and embracing whatever shows up on my pages!

I might replace that little bird with one that stands out more, but other than that I think I'll call it done for now.

On my second page, I decided to try a technique I've seen a few places online -- painting over a magazine face. (Here is a cool example. I put a light coat of gesso on the image, so I had no trouble with the paint adhering -- though I was using acrylics and not water colours. ) 

I like my little lovely and will definitely be trying this technique again. 

Have you ever participated in an art swap? I encourage you to try it. You're "better" at art than you think! (I wrote about my first swap here. Looking back now I can see how I've "grown" as an artist -- even in less than a year! That's cool:)

Life Lists - Art Journal Spread

As you may know, art journaling is my latest creative passion. So when I saw Laura Grace Weldon's post about Life Lists, I was inspired to make a journal page about life lists. It's simple -- but it was fun and relaxing to create it. Now, if I'm ever stumped about what to journal about, I have a list. In fact, the lists could become a theme for a whole journal! 


Are there any other life lists you could add to mine? 

Word Art Wednesday - July 11, 2012

It's amazing what one can accomplish from the couch! I've been feeling pretty yucky the last couple of days after my last round of chemo, but sooooooo desirous of being creative. I'm in art journal mode these days, so this piece has a very journally feel to it. 


I started by just doing a bit of photo editing, resulting in this picture:

Then I just started doodling with gel pens on the printed copy! A bit of collage, gesso, and bling -- and voila!

I like the verse for this week:

While it is our responsibility to train our children in the ways of the Lord, in this verse, the onus is on God! He will teach our children! And with that teaching will come peace! Isn't that a wonderful promise?! I also appreciated the context of this verse -- promises to the barren woman! As an adoptive mama, it speaks volumes to my heart!


Have you considered participating in this week's Word Art Wednesday Challenge? If you link up, you might just win a little treasure from Whimsy Stamps!

Dancing Doodles

During my recent hospital stay, I spent some time doodling in one of my art journals -- my latest passion :) Here are some dancing doodles. I have yet to decide if I will embellish them with colour . . .

I am learning to embrace the imperfections of my art! Who cares if their arms are too long and their legs too short -- or their hands and feet all wonky?!?! I'm having fun playing -- and these girls are cute and quirky :)

Literary Dinnerware

DD14 has embarked on a new creative endeavour: creating place settings of literary dinnerware. Her first place setting centers on The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis. This was a trial run to see how the markers, baking, and washing in the dishwasher would work out -- and everything held up quite well!

Pretty cool, eh? The possibilities are endles :)


She wants to know if you think anyone would want to buy them!