Charm Update and Doodley Doo's

Slowly, but surely, I have been working on the charms. I have framed the glass pieces and added a loop for the jump ring. Here's a shot of them (post cooked / pre painted):

The next step will be painting the frames black. I haven't decided if I want to do them simply in black paint or a metallic black paint - I am leaning towards metallic, but think I will test a few in each color ... either way, I'm thinking that I'd like to finish them off with a coat (or two or six) of high gloss varnish ... I am really trying to take my time with these (procrastinate) since painting Sculpy has a tendency to be the bane of my existance ... I'm trying something a little different ... which has me holding my breath a bit ... fingers crossed, please. :)

In other news ... I am rarely found with just a single project going ... it had been a while since I doodled with my Sharpie, so ...

and

and may your days be full of

Wishing you a plethora of all three, ~M~

Soul Journal - Days 2 thru 6

Sadie and I have been spending the last few nights working on our Soul Journals. Once we had finished our writing (today I feel ... ) we covered all the writing in a fairly thick coat of Gesso. Some of the words were still visible, but it didn't matter ... the next step was Claiming Our Journals. On the first page we wrote "This Book Belongs To" and our full names over and over and over ... I can't say that I am pleased with mine (makes me feel like I have a muddy mess of a soul ...), but I'm taking one of those brave steps and sharing it just the same ...

(it helps to remember that the pages are not set in stone. I can revisit, rework, add, modify, and/or change the pages anytime I feel like it ... I seriously think it needs some sparkle and at least a little less random kindergarten scribble).

After marking our territory, we built some Soul Armor. I like the direction this one is going. I do want to add some color ... fear seaps in (ok, completely soaks me to the marrow) ... step away from the book! I added words, written a whole bunch of "I choose" statements, added a touch of pink ... more color can wait (anyone want to give me a crash course in color?!?)

Here's the 2 page spread:

Sadie was ready for the next step, so on we went. Sarah provided a list of 24 things (a smile, a hand, an eye the same color as our own, etc.) that we were to find in magazines. We spent some time pouring through a bunch and called it a night. The next day we painted a dark wash over two pages (previously collaged and Gessoed - is Gessoed a word?). Once this step was done we cut our pictures into 1" squares and attached them in grid patterns ... eyeballed. Sadie opted to do a modified design; her pages look great! I added six more images (30 total) so I could have five rows of the pretty little pictures.

Here's where we are:

and a couple of details to check out:

Click on any image to see a larger view

For more information or to get the actual promts we are following, please visit Caspiana - she starts talking about the Soul Journal project on July 13th in a post titled "S. Journaling".

Cranes, Cranes and ... more Cranes

When in doubt, fold cranes ...

lots and lots of little cranes ...

you don't have to count them ... there are 52 cranes ... or ... 26 pars of matching cranes

matching cranes? now, why would a girl do that???

One Marvelous Little Treasure

Doesn't everyone get a little thrilled when they grab the mail and there's an envelope that is obviously from a friend? I was lucky enough to have one of those moments earlier today ... and just look at what was inside:

My lovely friend over at Mice and Moonbeams recently made a decision about not selling her art. To celebrate she decided to give away some pins that she made ... I was lucky enough to be the recipient of this absolutely wonderful, exquisitely detailed fun little fish pin and I love, love, love it! ... and I feel inspired ... her creative nature, generous heart and kindness have deeply touched me; I feel blessed to know her.

Mandala

In case you're curious, here's a close up view of my profile pic:

I have a girlfriend in Phoenix that was redecorating her bedroom (this was actually about two years ago). She mentioned that she was looking for a print of a Mandala and I thought ... hmmm ... I can paint one! So, I did. This was the first one that I had ever attempted and I was really happy with the results ... she was too as it is still hanging on her bedroom wall.

This was one of those paintings that I really enjoyed working on. I broke out my ruler and a sharpened pencil to lay down the design - it started with the eight point star in the center and radiated out from there. I used acrylics on an 18"X18" canvas. Shortly after I finished this one, I painted another that's 12"X 12". I'm not as fond of the second as I am of the first (go figure, I still have the second hanging in the house). It's got a simpler design and the colors don't appeal to me as much ... but, I have been thinking about painting another one. I would like to revisit the first design again - or something similar to it. I just need to figure out the colors that I want to use ...

In the meantime, I have to set the art doll aside (I have done a little more beading since the last update, but it's dark and I prefer to photograph it in natural light). The more I look at it, the more it reminds me that I really don't know what I am doing. :) That's not really the reason that I am setting it aside ... I recently visited Monica's blog and saw mention of a Black and White charm swap ... I've never made a charm, so I am not sure what possessed me to add my name to the list, but I did. Now I actually have to create something - EEK! I contacted the host and let her know that I would work on something this weekend and would email pics so she can decide if they are acceptable for the swap. Since then, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what I am going to do ... I have a few ideas:

1) I can "macrame" black and white embroidery thread (love that 100% cotton feel over rough hemp any day of the week - no offense, hemp) over wire, embelish with black and white beads and bend into a heart shape.

2) Make the charms from wood and paint - I'm thinking geometric. I kind of see a half inch square base with a quarter inch square attached (in the center and at an angle) on either side of the base ... i think just paint and no additional embellishment

3) making little frames from sculpy and printing off pictures of the elephant that I did last fall to set (and somehow seal) in the frame ... here's the elephant that I mentioned:

Considering it's Sunday night, I don't really have that much weekend left. I've got to get started. Wish me luck - I could definitely use it right about now. :)

Red Checkerboard - redone

I wasn't happy with the results of the first attempt of the red/heart checkerboard ... here's the updated version:

Art Doll - First Attempt ... sort of

If you saw my "Doll Party ... worse than fashionable late" post, then you will know that about eight years ago I made my first doll, Bubby - she was made from one of Sadie's Winnie the Pooh sleepers and is, well, perhaps not the prettiest doll ever ... but I did make her specifically for my daughter and tons of love (and fiberfill) went into her.

More recently, I became involved in the Pink Artist Community Doll Project for Susan G Komen and was exposed to brilliant artists and creators of exquisite, beautiful and wonderous dolls. I found myself with the itch to try one myself. It's been a number of weeks and I have been busy with other things (family, breathing, work, painting, etc.) so doll making went on the back burner ... this weekend I was a woman possessed! I had to find just the right pattern to start with - finally I came across a handful of free patters from 2002 by Ronda Kivett. I decided to pick what appeared to be the smallest, simplest pattern and a remnant of an old sweater (nylon/spandex mix - weird, but uber-softie) ... drumroll, please ....

The above pictures are front and back of my very first form and as of right now I love, love, love her. :) Next step will be the embellishing ... I'm pretty sure that I'll be beading her from head to toe ... wish me luck!

Update - 12"x12" YOR Swirl

This version has the lines laid down for the checkerboard. It was tough getting a crisp shot, but this does show the gist of it. :)


I started painting in the checkerboard this evening and am about halfway done. I just have some chores that really need my attention, so had to put it down for the night. I imagine I'll finish it tomorrow after work.

In Progress - 12"x12" - YOR Swirl

Here's the background for the final checkerboard painting. I forgot to snap a shot of the last one after I layed the spiderweb (as my daughter calls the checkerboard outline) down, but will try to remember this time.

In Progress - 12"x12" - Blue Green Purple

Here's a background that I started the night before last:

The original version was very similar, but when I put the lines down for the checkerboard I had an epiphany and had to cover up the original last night. I used Liquatex acrylic paints in Emerald Green, Cobalt Blue and Titanium White, plus M. Graham and Co. in Dioxazine Purple. I'll lay down the checkerboard outline in Sharpie at some point today and will take a snap prior to filling in the squares. I wasn't very happy with the way the hearts version turned out, (uber-spouse will be "erasing" that canvas for me to use again) so I am hopeful that I have a better result with this one ... guess we'll see.

On a side note ... our anti virus program expired and we won't be able to renew it till next week. I won't be able to visit anyone's blogs till we get it updated, but I'm looking forward to visiting again soon.

Hearts - 12"x12" on canvas

I'm calling this one done. I can't say that I am thrilled with the results. Doing the checkerboard freehand was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated ... there's an obvious area where the design got off and I wasn't able to correct it. Ah well. Good for practice, I suppose. I do plan on doing another one similar to this. I'll definitely use a finer brush to lay out the grid lines ... I think I'll try a crazy more colorful background ... maybe I'll even take a shot at it tonight. :) ... or maybe I'll entertain myself by doing that list-o-things ...

02-26 Created Byhand Challenge

Here's my bunny for the Created Byhand Challenge:

I broke out my Sharpies this past week and have been a "line-fiend" ever since ... so decided to stick with it and do my bunny in the same way. If you'd like to see more of the Sharpie "scribbles" check out the previous post - most are 4X4 and one is 4X6 all in black and white).

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments are most welcome.

lines, lines, lines

For as long as I have been able to hold a pen, I have loved lines ... straight, curved, crooked, hatched, circles, graph-like & patterns! Lately I have been on a Sharpie line-fest. Here are the latest creations:

OK, so now that I have this many (and it doesn't look like I'll be stopping anytime soon) ... what, exactly, am I supposed to do with all these little squares? ... the one that is 4X6 is being sent off in a birthday package for a friend, but the rest are just sitting in a zip lock baggie with a bunch of blank 4X4 squares.