Altered Surfaces looks like fun...

The book "Altered Surfaces" is this week's pick. It is by Chris Cozen and is published by Design Originals (who also published my books).

This book is all about "Using Acrylic Paints with Gels, Mediums, Grounds & Pastes". I already use Gel Medium for a lot of things, as a transfer medium, as an adhesive, etc. My plan for this week is to do at least six 4" x 4" canvases using the techniques in the book, then making them into completed collages. I've got a lot of great "tools" like paints, mediums, molding pastes, etc., but they sit on the shelf because I haven't taken the time to play with them. It's time!

I'll be back in a couple of days to show you what I've done. Hope you are finding time in your life for some art-play, journaling, or some other soul-satisfying pastime.

Wow, that was fun!

I had a lot of fun with these projects - making backgrounds is something I really enjoy doing, it's so random and very relaxing to work on. It is so handy to have a stash of backgrounds on various media to work with!

Here are the results of this week's book selection, "Canvas Remix" by Alisa Burke...

First, I painted a bunch of Claudine Hellmuth's sticky backed canvas using paints from her paint line, then adding graffiti like writing, scribbling, bubble wrap print, etc. to create texture and interest. I then tore the canvas into strips and started covering a wood frame (see the kids picture). I quickly realized that there were going to be a lot of little pieces leftover so I started to cover a canvas board also. My plan was to put a photo in the frame and to collage on the canvas board.

I treated the canvas board as a background and attached the photo using gel medium. The piece of bubble wrap I had stamped with was on the table, covered in paint. I cut off a section and placed it near the photo - it was just what I needed! So, I adhered three strips of painted bubble wrap around the photo (see close up photo). I love the way it looks!

The large photo is of Steve and I at Brian's wedding in Colorado - in a huge field of dandelions in full bloom. It was beautiful! I made dandelion crowns for Britney and Emily, they looked so sweet.

The small photo is of me and my siblings, me, Stuart, Leslie & Valerie. It's one of my favorite photos and a reminder of a joy filled childhood.

So, that's it for this week! I had a lot of fun with this and will be painting more canvas to tear and collage. The book has a lot of great ideas for what to do with your painted canvas, ideas I'll be sure to re-visit down the road. Check back next week to see what I'm up to!

Time and space...

Once again, the week got away from me - how can it be Friday already? Lots going on - we got the POD emptied and the garage partially straightened out on Sunday - the POD was picked up on Tuesday and it's nice to have it out of our front yard! I'm still trying to figure out how I want to set up my metal/soldering/stained glass work area in there. My studio is a big room but it is carpeted and quite full of all kinds of flammable supplies so I'm nervous about soldering in here. So, I'm taking over some of the garage space :)

I had a great time on Monday night, friends Ted and Jaime (owners of The Crafter's Workshop) came over for dinner & art play. We played with their templates and spray dyes/inks on giant sheets of watercolor paper. Well, actually, Ted and I painted and Jaime was our "sous artiste", washing stencils & keeping us organized. We made about eight great sheets of paper and it took three days for all of the ink to come off my hands (I can't work in gloves!).

On Wednesday I made a little quilt for a challenge from ArtQuilt magazine (Stampington & Co.) based on "what's in your car". It took me a while to figure out what to do but I like what I came up with. I may make a couple more over the weekend since I've got a couple more ideas cooking.
Then, Poof!, it became FRIDAY!

The book I've chosen for this week is Canvas Remix by Alisa Burke (North Light Books). The book covers techniques using canvas, paints and stamps to create interesting accessories like tote bags and pins. The work has a grafitti kind of feel to it.

At the beginning of the year I bought Claudine Hellmuth's incredible Studio line of paints but haven't had time to work with them. I thought this would be a good opportunity to combine my weekly book project and using the paints. One of the great things about Claudine's paints is the color mixing chart that can be downloaded from her site. From the fifteen colors in the collection, Claudine gives the combinations that give another fifty-one colors. The paints are creamy and the coverage is great.

I've painted several sticky-back canvas sheets (also a Claudine Hellmuth product) using all fifty-one colors and I'm waiting for them to dry before doing further surface effects (like stamping & mark making). I'll embellish the sheets tomorrow and will figure out what to make from them.

It's going to be a busy weekend, I've got a lot of things to get done in my studio - this comes first though! Come back tomorrow to see what I've come up with!

Charm photos

I'm so proud of me, I succesfully installed the software for my new camera and figured out how to get the pictures from the camera to the computer! I know this doesn't sound like much but for me, it's an accomplishment!

Here are the photos of the five charms I made for last week's "Bookworm 52" project. I made two pearl bird nest charms and three button stacks. All were pretty easy to make and are really fun necklaces.

It has been a long time since I've made anything along these lines. They were quick to make and I love the results - another fun project I've made because I'm focusing on a book a week. I haven't picked out my book for this week yet - I'll do that tomorrow night. Hope you like what I did this time!

Simply Charming...

With little time to work this week, I chose my book partly because I could accomplish a project in little time. As it turned out, I was having so much fun that I wound up making five necklaces!

The book, "A Charming Exchange" by Kelly Snelling & Ruth Rae (North Light Books) is a delightful book full of charms created for exchanges. After the exchanges, the charms were used to create amazing bracelets and interesting necklaces.

I have long wanted to make Ruth Rae's "pearl bird nest" charm. It is an elegant design, lovely to wear and simple to make. My first one was finished so quickly that I decided to make a second, using different color pearls. I strung one on leather cord, the other on silk ribbon. I see myself making many more of these for gifts!

I also loved the button stacks and made my own version of the design. I had so much fun that I made three of them, all strung on vintage seam binding. It was fun to dig through my button stash to find the right color & texture buttons to use. I combined the buttons with a few beads, used gel medium to attach a word and tied snippets of seam binding for added texture. They are adorable!

My photography skills still need work - I took photos with the old camera but they are all blurry. I have yet to load the software for the new camera so I can't post photos from that one yet. Here's hoping I get that done on Saturday so I can show you what I've made.

I love this book and I'm SO happy that I've finally made the pearl filled bird nest charms that I've been wanting to make for so long. Here's hoping I can post photos tomorrow.

Holy Mackeral, where did the week go?

Yikes. It's FRIDAY and I still haven't even picked out the book I'm using this week! It has been a busy week at my office, we had a tax deadline on the 15th which wore me out - I've been going home and lying down for a little "rest" then waking up hours later. Too late to head to the studio!

So, tonight I'll pick out my book & get my act together for my project. I've got some other things I want to work on over the weekend, plus, our garage renovations are finished and it's time to move our "stuff" out of the POD and back into the garage. Here's hoping that we can get rid of a bunch of useless stuff in the process!

Saturday is my birthday, I'm 51. I still think I'm about 25 (which is probably why I take on too much and wear myself out, lol). We're going to dinner with friends on Saturday night - I've already gotten a bunch of cards, a beautiful bouquet of white flowers from my sister, Leslie, and a delicious Edible Arrangement from my step-daughter, Dawn & granddaughter Emily. I'm all set for a tasty, smell-good birthday!

I better get back to work... I'd like to sneak out early but I have a late appointment - who's idea was that on a Friday??? Happy weekend, all.

New camera!

I forgot to tell you, I bought a new camera tonight! I've been wanting a pocket sized digital camera for a while - I want to carry it so I can build a library of my own photos, taken during my daily running around. I got a Nikon CoolPix S630, 12 megapixels and a 7x zoom. I'm VERY excited about it! I may be posting some photos in addition to the "Bookworm 52" projects.

OK, now I'll go pack for Atlantic City!