What I've Been Up To -- A Round-Up

I've been crafting as much as possible, but it's much, much harder being a single Mom than I expected (and I grew up with a single Mom, so I knew it was tough already!)  Also my supplies are here, there and everywhere, and that's a challenge: I have almost no craft paint--where did it all go??  But this also means I'm using and de-stashing what I do have, and that's excellent.

 

It's hard to take credit for these, because it was mainly arranging jump rings in the right way, but these are three of my jewelry pieces I completed in the last month.  These blue crystals are ones I've had since 2010!!  See what I mean about needing to de-stash?   The picture on the left is a crude attempt at wire-wrapping, which is harder than it looks, people!  The 2nd photo of a jumble using a large dark blue crystal is simply on a large jump ring with several wire-wrapped pieces I bought from other sellers, which I took apart and re-arranged.  The 3 light blue crystals are attached to a wide-link chain using jump rings, and I'm so glad to get all 5 of these crystals onto necklaces!

This is a 16x20 canvas with 2 coats of crimson acrylic paint and hearts cut out from a pad of black, gray and white patterned paper.  The shiny paint worked out well with Mod Podge Gloss, so I'm glad I didn't have to handle the sheen issue with this one.  I'm very into black and white decor right now, with red accents, so this piece became my inspiration for decorating our new place (when we get one.)  And my beloved turquoise fits in well too, which makes me happy.



As far as a sketchbook, I've just started one this past week.  I'm using a Blick 9x12 Mixed Media wirebound journal.  I have been low on inspiration, but decided to let my desire for organization and order lead the way.  When in doubt, make a color chart!  :)

I have 19 Caran D' Ache Neocolor IIs now, {but no craft paint!!  LOL!!} and I bought myself the 12-piece set of Derwent Art Bars for Christmas, and they're extremely similar so far.  I've seen where other artists greatly prefer one over the other, but I haven't done much with either, so I have no strong preference yet.  

This is an attempt at a side-by-side color comparison chart.  I wanted to see color families together, rather than going by their names.  I've written the name of each in its space, so it's a great way to see what color I need.  (The whole violet/purple/magenta thing gets me every time, and my reds go purple or my purples go red.)  

Up next features this graph which was made on one of those insomnia nights, when I just could not go to sleep.  Allowing myself to go a little insane over straight lines and perfect squares keeps my mind off the clock, so I'm more focused on the page in front of me than on "Oh man, I have to get up in ... hours!"

 These are my markers.  These are everything from Crayola markers to Faber-Castell Pitt Big Brush Artist Pens, and also some Sharpies and "Power Liner" alcohol markers from the clearance section of Hobby Lobby.  In this case, it's about the color and not the quality.  I was also able to throw many markers away that had dried up over time.

I also have a blending marker, and the alcohol inks react with it and makes a kind of watercolor pencil thing happen, and I'll be exploring that in the future.

This last craft is more fun than craft, but whatever.  My son is totally obsessed with Batman right now, and I think we own every single Imaginext Batman toy there is.  Guess who comes with almost every set?  Batman!  We were drowning in Batmen, so James asked me to paint his extras into new costumes.  The lime green paint is a free sample of Liquitex acrylic spray paint, and the dark gray was made using black acrylic mixed with a tiny bit of white.  The 3rd one got painted red, but you can only see a little of him in this photo.  

James named them Grass, Oil and Fire, but I'm not sure if they are bad guys, good guys, goons or sidekicks. 


The Liquitex spray paint is AWESOME!!  It is seriously fun to use, it's not anything like normal spray paint.  There is a depth of color, it's basically the same as their regular acrylics except in a format that is easy to use, inexpensive and I even used it on some papier-mache shapes from Michael's with a brush and it worked beautifully.  (I had no other green to use!  Ugh, I hate moving!!)  I took pictures of the cute lil' flower, but they mysteriously disappeared and I have nothing to show you, but you should try out the Liquitex Spray Paint.

Thanks for seeing what all I've been up to.  I love this last picture of the newly-painted Batmen, so let it inspire you to do something totally crazy with your art supplies!

While Our Son's Away...We Work!

It's Spring Break around here, and our son is spending the entire week on my mother's farm.  This is the longest "alone" time my husband and I have had since...before Parenthood, hmm, maybe since early 2005!  My how time flies.......

And since we're boring grown-ups, we've spent the week cleaning.  Spring Break and Spring Cleaning are two very different experiences.  But we have to take this opportunity to clean--it's the only way we can honestly says "This room is done!" and expect it to stay that way until the next day.

Jewelry Box and Necklace Organizer
I did get some crafting done over this past weekend--a lot, really.  I've had an unfinished-wood jewelry box for a long time now--bought from Hobby Lobby on a whim with a 40% off coupon back in 2010 I think.  I haven't been able to decide what to do with it.  It has this strange recessed lid, which I now realize is perfect to throw your jewelry on at the end of the day and it doesn't go rolling off.  But I've been thinking it needed a picture or a frame attached to it, and couldn't figure it out.  The strange thing is that this wasn't even in my Top 10 Projects To Complete--but I'm extremely glad it's done now.  My jewelry has been stuffed into a tiny silver box for 2 years now, and necklaces are my favorite jewelry to make.

I have no clue where this inspiration came from, but my favorite colors right now are gray and turquoise, and I have some beautiful fabric in those colors.  I also had some gray-ish mixed paint that was begging to be used or thrown away.  So I painted and painted and painted, then Mod Podged the fabric down into the lid.  I painted the inside of the box turquoise, with more fabric in the bottom of the 2 pull-out trays that sit on the inside.

Then I remembered this sad little project from Christmas, a necklace organizer to hang on the wall, that had not turned out well.  I have no pictures of it all, which surprises me since I take pictures as I work along.  It was originally a long thin mirror in a plastic frame with great details.  I'd painted it silver-ish per the glitter paint instructions, then with silver glitter paint, and clothespins for hooks, but, well, it was hiding actually, cowering in fear of a 15th coat of glitter, lol.  It was Christmas, so the very season itself brings to mind all that glitters and sparkles.  That's my excuse, anyway :p

Some advice: if you know you don't like glitter, don't force it on yourself--you won't like it, and the very sight of the project will make you cringe every time you see it.  (Which might be how it ended up hidden....)  And this goes for metallic finishes, pastels, whatever--stick to what you like!  There's a difference from "being in a rut" and just knowing you don't like a certain paint treatment.

Anyway, I tore the clothespins out of the frame and set about painting it to match my jewelry box.  For hangers, I used small nails pushed into the fabric-wrapped foamcore; they're in the center of each flower, so 7 nails total.  And it is beautiful, if I do say so myself, and they're beautiful together.  Now I just have to figure out where in the world to hang it....

Family Motto Sign
I've had this sign for a loooong time now.  It was one of those generic "H-O-M-E" signs and did not match our personalities at all.  (It was free, so awesome!)  I painted it "Love one another."  Then a different quote.  Then "Be nice or leave," which is rather the opposite of "Love one another," lol.  But it never lasted more than one day up on the wall--I was never happy.  I'm a quote-collector, and I've been going over and over my huge list, thinking that I have the perfect quote, somewhere.  And, I did, sort of....

"Love is being stupid together." – Paul Valery 

This quote I've had for a long time, and while it's appropriate, "stupid" is not a word I want our son to start using, much less to describe his family.  Although, we are rather insane at times, lol.  Goofy a LOT of the time ;P  Inspiration struck again, and I decided to use "silly" instead of "stupid."  Perfect!

The font posed the 2nd major hurtle for this project--then I remembered the handy-dandy glue lid craft paint secret, and my handwriting worked well in the end.  There were a few bad hours there though...but in the end I've got the perfect sign for our entry:

{Inspiration hit a lot this past weekend...wonder why?}

Twilight Book Covers and the Fabric Poster
And finished on Wednesday, between cleaning sessions:

So let's talk Twilight....  Hopefully for the last time for a while...even I'm tired of it!

I got the Breaking Dawn part 1 DVD from Wal-Mart that came with a "fabric poster."  I hung it up when it arrived, but it's been sort waiting around for a more permanent spot.  I have several of those art posters still with their cardboard backing, one was the perfect size!  And so I moved Bella and Edward to the Library.  But then they looked a little lonely, and I've been wanting to try crafting with dust jackets, and I remembered that all 4 dust jackets have been laying in the same spot for years now--yay!  Fabric-covered foamcore, red paper and careful positioning resulted in this awesome Twi-Hard display ;P  Woot!

Although it does feel strange to have wedding pictures on display larger than our own.....

I've also printed a ton of quotes, signs, phrases, plans and coloring pages, so that's my next project: getting my printables organized, framed or sorted out.

I hope your week has been as productive!  The good thing about knocking old craft projects is being able to photograph them and share them.  I can't bring myself to take a picture of the sparkling clean bathroom, lol, so this round-up is done!

Coke Bottle Cherry Blossoms: A Pinterest Success Story

I love cherry blossoms.  I went to college in Macon, GA, where there's a Cherry Blossom Festival every year.  Walking to class was amazing--the blossoms were like magical snow blowing in the warm southern spring air.  I keep promising myself I'll go back, but somehow year after year passes by and Life sends me on a detour....

Source: alphamom.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I've had this pin on my Pinterest board for a while.  I admit I was skeptical, but this actually is quite simple.  I don't have any experience with stamps, so make sure your inner perfectionist is taking a nap while you paint.

The instructions on  Alphamom are excellent.  I did mine a little differently, but I love how it ended up anyway.  I'll add a couple more tips:

1. See the bottom of the bottle in this photo?  You want paint over the entire bottom, not just the obvious five "petals."  It gives you the perfect teardrap shape as well as a centered dot.  So be generous with the paint on your plate!

2. I used a 20oz Coke bottle rather than a 2 liter.  It was fine for my 11x14 canvas panel.

3. I painted the canvas sky blue before stamping.  Well, technically my 6-year-old did :)

4. I stamped blossoms first and then made the branches.  I do NOT recommend this--follow the instructions on Alphamom and paint the darn sticks first.

I also made a smaller version on an 8.5x11 blue cardstock and had equal success, so don't think you have to buy a canvas.  You can also use any color for your flowers--this is by no means limited to cherry tress.

I'm not feeling the "Spring Fever" as so many others are, but doing this painting is a reminder of why Spring is awesome.

Materials: 11x14 canvas panel, craft paint, brushes, and a 20oz Coke bottle

Glue Caps and Craft Paints: A Pinterest Success Story!

We've had a great long weekend - the "Winter Holiday," as its called by the school - and I have lots to write about and tons of photos to go through.

But I just love to post when something works for me the way it's "hacked" someplace online!! Something like this tidbit from my Pinterest craft board, from an unknown original source. (Although it's late and I'm exhausted, I might try again tomorrow):

Source: Uploaded by user via Kimberly on Pinterest

Simply take the lid from any generic Elmer's look-a-like"school glue," wash the glue out and screw the sucker onto a 2oz craft paint bottle. Write away, my dears!
And it definitely works on Americana paints from Michael's:
and I'm willing to bet it works on the larger 8oz craft paint bottles as well, I just didn't have one close by. For me, Art Journaling just got one step easier!

I already tend to keep little bottles and jars, so I plan on keeping my "empties" and putting "real" acrylics or watercolors into them. They are so easy to carry with the right bag, but not in my current tackle-box-turned-art-kit. They fit perfectly in small gift bags, just make sure you use a reinforced one and not a paper one--paint is heavy ;P

This is also another reason for me to get to painting and use (REDUCE!) what I've got :)

Happy Mon-Wednesday everyone! (It's Wednesday already?? Ugh, holiday hangover....)

Product Review: Niji Pearlescent Watercolor Pan Set

I thought I would begin to post my reviews from other sites here as well.  ( I have around 90 book reviews on Paperbackswap.com!) 

First up is a brand new favorite—I’ve been into “pearl” colors lately, as opposed to glitter, satin or gloss.  I got these in the mail yesterday from Blick online.  I love these!!  And for $3...even better!

 

Submitted at: Dick Blick

Pearl and Opaque

This is a set of beautiful pearl watercolors, and at $2.99, it's a great value as well. The range of colors is surprising, and while the colors can be translucent, they are also easily layered and were opaque within 2-3 layers. Either way, the shine on these is perfectly amazing in the light. I've used these on gesso, on plain paper in my sketchbook ("heavy weight" 117 gsm) as well as on 90lb watercolor paper—and the colors and shine were consistent on all 3.

I'm also able to write on these once they're dry; I experimented with a Pitt Pen, a metallic Sharpie and a Big Brush Pen ("marker,") and all 3 were visible even on the most opaque sections. Use a light touch if you want to preserve anything under these.

The only drawback to this set is that there isn't a "real" black; the closest is a dark silver-gray. (It's beautiful though, very similar to "black pearls!")

I highly recommend this purchase! At such a low price, even if you use these watercolors just once, they're worth the money.

This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:

Best in its category

The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:

A fantastic deal

I have not been paid or reimbursed for this review.  I paid for these as part of an order of art supplies, and my review is not prompted by any company, organization or affiliation.

 

More of This Past Week's Crafts

I'm feeling better now, thank God.  Viruses are horrible---colds are bad, but viruses...I'll take a 2-week cold over a 48-hour virus any day!  This was the sickest I've been since before our son was born, and we only remember last time because I had to go to the emergency room.  

Anyway, a few notes to add about this post and the previous one: none of the wall art is actually hung up on the wall, which makes for weird perspectives in pictures.  I also did not edit any pictures in the previous post, so pay no attention to dirty carpet, random cat sightings or other "odd-ness" in the backgrounds, lol.

"Consider the Lilies"

This was inspired by a piece from Red Letter Words (a company I have immense respect for, so check it out and have a look around.)  The phrase "Consider the lilies" is from Scripture from a section in Luke 12:22-44 entitled "Do Not Worry."  

I worry constantly, about everything, and the only words I ever noticed in this passage were the subtitle of "Do Not Worry."  Since that was all I saw, I skipped over the passage until I was shown its Truth by Red Letter Word's version (and I only noticed it then because of my flower obsession, and their version has these cute Pottery Barn-looking flowers on it.)  Specifically, verses 27-28 in the NIV:  

27“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 

I was so moved by this, that I had to make my own version of the passage to remind myself of it.  I mean, the idea that God thought to put beauty in what is essentially the ashes of yesterday's fire, yet He loves us so much He made us in the image of Him--we're so much more than we give ourselves credit for!  So, I had no real plan of how to incorporate "Consider the Lilies" into an art piece but I'm so pleased with the result!!

These things are red rose petals, a bag of 300 from the Dollar Tree's bridal section.  I didn't like them for several reasons, but I thought I could create something beautiful with them, and for a dollar, I thought it was worth the risk....  

So, using craft paint, I painted each petal, usually both sides since I was using a cake pan and the paint soaked through the thin petals a little (aren't I such a glam crafter? Using a cake pan to paint and hold supplies, and a Crayola brush to paint with!  True story: hubby saw me using this pan and said "So that's where my cornbread pan went."  I said "what?  I didn't think anyone used this" since I don't eat cornbread and I don't cook really either. "Yes, and I've been looking for it for several weeks now!" Oops!!)  

Anyway, I let the petals dry, did a 2nd coat, and then made a flower.  It was not a pretty flower--so bad in fact that I tore it apart pretty quickly hoping to salvage some of the petals.  I made a 2nd one I was happier about, but when I made the 3rd one is when I hit the perfect arrangement and so made a 4th to match exactly.  

Kind of hard to tell, but it's a really pretty flower, I promise

I knew I needed 2 full and pretty matching flowers for this project, because I had a matched set of frames, 2 squares and one rectangle.

I'm not an ornate gold frame kind of person, so here's two of the frames in the middle of the project, one painted black and the other in the original form.

But, this set is still not on my walls, because I've been very, very inspired lately.  Look for more posts, because Blogger and I are not getting along very well at the moment....

Mistakes Are Bound To Happen (or, Why Red Is Evil)

Ahhh, Fall, I do so love you!  But you do bring some stress along: husband's birthday, school "costume parade" (eye roll), Halloween, wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving and Christmas...all in the next 11 weeks!

So I'm trying to get a head start on a few things: for my husband, I'm making a "subway" inspired art piece for him, kind of like this:

source

only without all the different fonts and sideways writing.  I practiced a little bit last weekend, with the canvas I knew I'd be using for my "Make Something" paper collage.  I was able to try all different kinds of painting techniques:

 I learned quite a bit, actually.  For example, gel medium will slightly lighten the color of acrylic paint (artist paint, from a tube) but will drastically change the color of craft paint.  See the kind of pinky color--gel medium and craft paints don't mix well.  You get nice dimension but unreliable color.

Another tidbit I learned: my Faber-Castell Pitt Big Brush Artist Pens (my "art markers") work on canvas.   I have no idea why I didn't know that, but they do--beautifully!  And I was trying the different colors on the red paint to see which one to use, and the blue, purple, dark gray and black all looked black--until I took a picture, and the flash showed just how different the colors are!

So tonight, I painted the canvas pink and drew 1" guidelines in pencil.  Using a similar color, still hopefully easily covered with paint, I practiced writing out the words onto the canvas. 

And then again, in a darker marker color, because I realized the entire song lyrics were not going to fit at all, unless I scrunched my handwriting together, but making it smaller and unreadable defeats its purpose, so I made some adjustments.  I left the 1" marks along the side of the canvas, so I can hopefully use them again without having them be noticeable on the final piece.

And now, I've painted the 4th and final (I hope) coat of red paint on the actual canvas for his gift.  Red paint is a cruel and unforgiving color, by the way, and I see why spray paint was invented, if only to keep the same coverage of red over a large surface.....  At worse, I'll have to either go buy red paint or decoupage red paper onto the canvas.  He's not picky, he won't care :)

Also tonight I took a rather generic "Dream" sign from the stash of goodies from my mom's move and made it..."us."  It took several coats of paint to cover the pattern, and then I used my black art marker and wrote "You Are Loved."  Unfortunately, I messed it up.  But then I remembered that most of the fonts I love right now are more "natural," handwriting-style fonts, so I simply went back over all the letters several times to look "artfully messy."  I love the result!  But I think it needs a rolled flower on a corner....

 

 This wall art is actually hanging on the wall now, lol!   I STILL have not hung up the 7 other pieces I've made in the last 10 days! 

This Past Week's Crafts

I have a stomach virus at this moment--most likely the one going around the schools right now.  I'm utterly miserable, and looking at my crafts makes me feel better.  So these are all new, and I'm attempting to include explanations and source inspiration everywhere.

 Fractured Flower

This design is based on the stencil "Fragmented Flower" created by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and The Crafter’s Workshop--however, my hand-drawn design is on a 20"x30" foamcore board, and I used my geometry tools to create the petals.  More information about Julie's great stencils can be found here.

I plan to paint each section of the flower and I might add photos or ephemera as well, art journal-style.  I call my piece "Fractured Flower" because I think Life itself can be this way: sometimes everything is perfect, and sometimes everything falls apart and cracks appear.  This is a long-term project for me.  I don't see myself finishing it before Christmas.

Homemade Mod Podge

source

"Homemade Mod Podge"---You've seen it, I'm sure, it's all over Pinterest right now--and it works, it really does!  I'm not happy with the half water/half white glue mix recommended because I like a thicker decoupage medium.  I do see applications where the original recipe works better though.  I recommend to shake often, not sure if it's necessary, but better safe than sorry since a brush-full of water can ruin your work.

 

Also, a word from the wise: if you are going to use it straight from the jar like this, always use a clean brush or a "decoupage only use" brush--I had a tiny amount of black paint left in my brush bristles after swirling it through water to rinse it, and it turned the ENTIRE jar gray and I pretty much had to start over.  But, white school glue is 50 cents at Dollar General, so all is well.  

I made my concoction in an 18oz jar, which ended up being 3/4 full, containing 3 bottles of white school glue ($1.50) and 2 and a half  bottles of water (just use the same bottles the glue was in) so it equals around 15oz.  Brand name decoupage medium at this size costs at least $7.99, if not more.

I may get adventurous one day and attempt a colored version, as well as some with (high quality) glitter just to see the results.

Scrap-style Framed Vacation Photo

My son and I went on a 2-day vacation at the very beginning of this year.  It was a HUGE deal for me, I'd been suffering from agoraphobia for a long time and was uneasy about being out and about.  I'm enormously proud of myself for making the trip all on our own, and this picture of us on the train is a true treasure for me.  I FINALLY got around to framing it, and decided to do it scrapbook-style.  Ric-rac sparkly white ribbon makes the snowflake on the top right corner, and the red heart I cut out of an old purse.

Framed Fingerpainting

My son made this finger-painting back in 2007.  Along with 3 others, it has hung on our refrigerator ever since, because I wanted to frame them but never seemed to get around to it.  Part of the pile of goodies from my mother's new farm was this great frame, the perfect size for my favorite among the 4 painting.  I painted it Metallic Blue Topaz and it looks awesome :)  

Another thing I learned about Metallic paint: it highlights every single flaw, so I will never, NEV-ER use it on furniture!

Ugh, more to come........  I hate having a stomach.

School Supplies Galore

This is my favorite time of the year!  I know, that's a title reserved for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but for me, Back-To-School is my time to :indulge." 
I know they aren't the most sophisticated supplies, but as a crafter, you will never find Crayola-quality markers for a penny at any other time of the year.  Nor brightly-colored copy paper (turquoise, red, green and yellow, yum!) or notebooks to keep ideas for projects in or to dismantle for an art journal. 

Nor is this time of year limited to crayons and notebooks: storage solutions are EVERYWHERE.  And they come in the best colors (pinks, blues and lime greens are my favorites.)  Magnetic "locker" mirrors, pencil cups and dry erase boards are all begging to be reincarnated into amazing Christmas presents.  And those pencil boxes...I have about 10, and I'm always swapping things in and out of them (one is labeled "Mommy's Box" and goes with me and my laptop all over the house.)  They're the perfect size for keeping cropped family photos, ephemera and other goodies all together for a specific project.  But I also use those 3-page protectors for the same thing!  I can paint a background, slip it into a page protector and think about what I may use it for while I'm doing house chores or driving back and forth to school.

So, whether you have kids or not, this is THE BEST time of year to shop for craft supplies!

Kim's Distressing Ink

I spent this past weekend making my own "Distress Ink."  It's basically brown paint, black paint, and water.  Although another successful version had Coke in it too.....  It all started because I was painting and noticed how cool the water looked when I cleaned my brushes.  But I ruined the first version by having glitter show up.  Me and glitter don't really get along, yet I also can't seem to stay away from it.  And somehow the point of "distressing" something and then having it sparkle....  So I gave in and started again.

But it took like 10 hours for me too come up with the proper mix again.  And it was this weird thing of black ink for drawing on photo negatives that saved the day.  Which of course helped, being that it was black INK as in "Distress INK."  And yes, it's in my Vitamin Water bottle that would be impossible to mistake as anything else.  This pic was taken when I first began to "decorate" the bottle. 

16oz of ink is a very dangerous thing to have.........

See all the versions of distress there?  My hands are stained, and I had to completely trim my nails off, lol.

Luckily I'd gotten to make rags from hubby's torn up jeans.  Denim is awesome for absorption.

I love my Mod Podge :)

But I've also been very busy with my Art Journal.  This past weekend I bought a ton of new paint colors from Micheal's.  I haven't been inside an actual craft store in at least 2 years, so it was breath-taking!  But fun, and quite a bit like I imagine it is to have ADD.

Along the lines of ADD...I cannot seem to get organized at all.  I have too much of some methods, not enough of others, and a lot of things that just don't fit.  I've given up for now.

But that's ok too.  There are a lot of worse things that could happen.