Inner Animal Challenge in Quilting Arts Magazine

Check out my Inner Animal entry in the Quilting Arts magazine challenge.

http://quiltingarts.com/media/g/animal/default.aspx

Posting on ClothPaperScissors.com

http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/media/p/79.aspx

Check out this link to my art on the new www.clothpaperscissors.com live community!

Recycled Art

I light a lot of incense and candles around the house and started saving my used wooden matches. I dipped the burnt ends into acrylic medium to stabilize them then glued them to strips of painted muslin. Embroidery floss was stitched in rows then the strips were used to decorate journals, a picture frame and a collage. Look for "trash" around the house that has a graphic feel like these little matches and incorporate it into your art!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hope 2010 is full of hope and beautiful colors for us all!

Mr.Turkey Struts His Stuff!

Mr. Turkey thinks he's hot stuff- he has no idea how hot he'll be in the oven next week! This guy is pretty safe since he's just made of decorative papers. I like to doodle when I watch TV and then I scan them into Adobe to use as background papers in collages. I printed about 10 different patterns with different densities of marks to have a full range of values. Using a master turkey drawing, I cut all the parts from the different doodles. They were reassembled and colored with acrylic glazes. I used transparent colors like Payne's Gray and Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide with a lot of medium and built up thin layers of glaze to get the desired colors. Certain areas got touches of gesso and gold leaf to accent. The turkey was layered to turquoise and gold paper with 3D glue dots to give a little dimension then mounted on the red background. An easel back was attached so Mr. Turkey can be used as a Thanksgiving decoration.

Winter Witch on ClothPaperScissors Website

Check out my Winter Witch stuffie on the ClothPaperScissors website.

http://quiltingarts.com/cpsmag/extras/27_winter_Stuffies.html

Halloween Haute Couture

These girls are ready for Halloween in some HOT little outfits! Who knew the dead were so fashionable? These lovely ladies come from a scan of an anatomy drawing from college. The diecut chipboard backgrounds were a $1 Michael's find. Each is covered with torn paper and sheet music. The outfits are an assortment of feathers, fabric and lace scraps and brass findings. They were so much fun to make and a great Halloween treat for friends.

October Beauty

I love autumn and this October has turned into a beauty since we finally got rain here in NC. My fall garden is in its glory and my porch is full of big orange and white pumpkins and gourds. This little decoration celebrates the specialness of October- pumpkins, gorgeous leaves and the warm palette of the season. This tiny collage was made using some paper coasters from Michaels (8 for a $1!!) mounted on a wooden dowel. I copied a vintage postcard then added little snippets from my stash. Stick it in a potted plant or a vase of flowers to add a little reminder of this great time of year.

Halloween is coming!!!

You better be careful- Julius and the The Triplets might know where you live! These unsavory looking characters were scanned from an anatomy drawing I did in college. See- all those tedious studies did come in handy. These guys are framed by purchased scrapbook frames I found on sale. I added adhesive backed ribbon, tags and a collaged background to create this ghoulish family portrait. BOO!

RED!

I love doing color studies. Creating a loose set of parameters can be a good way to push yourself out of your normal patterns. Above are the back and front of a journal about RED. It started by cutting up a bunch of pieced quilt tops I was never going to finish. Each was 7" by 9" wide and I quickly stitched them to cardstock pages just to get started. The sewing machine was threaded with red thread and things just took off from there. I scoured my studio and found the biggest pile of red wonderfulness then googled RED for some great facts and quotes. The whole 12 pages came together in a matter of days- no overthinking or planning, just fun and pure play!

Greeting Card Inventory

I like to have a stockpile of cards that I can use for birthdays, get well or whatever. I'm always cruising the sale aisle in the craft store for plain cards on sale. These make it so much faster to produce a lot of cards -all with matching envelopes. About once a year, I go through the pile of experiments, ATCs and paper scraps in my studio and start making stacks of focal points, pretty papers, stickers, etc. Then, I make stacks of my purchased cards and start matching things up. With everything spread out and in full view, it's easy to put a lot of cards together quickly. As I am finishing each card, I add stickers, ribbon and doodads to spice them up. In one afternoon I can make several dozen cards so I'm ready at a moment's notice to get a greeting in the mail.

The cards above include collage scraps, ATC cards and a beaded leaf that didn't work for its intended project. Now they have a new life as special cards for friends and family.

Published in SOMERSET LIFE

Several of my Pot Pretties will be published in Somerset Life magazine www.stampington.com

The magazine will hit the stands this fall and can be purchased online at the above email address or in most Barnes & Noble bookstores.

These 3" chipboard circles are mounted on wooden dowels and represent each month of the year. They are 2 sided so the complete set has 6 units. I designed these to stick into a potted plant- great if you have a single plant on your desk at work or to gussy up a favorite plant at home. Each little circle has an image representing the highlight of the month with a tiny tag and sweet little embellishments to match. They are small reminders of the changing seasons of the year and the beauty found in each one.

No excuses- Make ATCs

Even if you aren't feeling creative, take a little time and make some ATCs. These little gems are fast and fun at 2.5" by 3.5". Use up paper scraps, try new techniques, get wild with colors. If you don't like the results, you haven't invested much time or materials. It pays to play in art to loosen up your creative spirit and this is a good way to do it. If you like your results, use them on a collage, greeting card or scrapbook page. Examples above include a pleated ribbon, faux postage and embroidered fabric scrap.

Why be BLUE.....

When you could be PURPLE!! This is a page from a mixed media accordian book on purple and all of its glory. The book included 6 Prismacolor drawings of purple flowers, lots of purple paper and all the purple scraps and doodads I could find in my studio!

Winter Witch Stuffie a Finalist!!

My WINTER WITCH stuffie is a finalist in the Reader Challenge from ClothPaperScissors magazine! She's on her way to their offices in MA so wish her luck!!