Another great Artiscape class!

I scanned my pages from another class at Artiscape - Paula Hardesty's "A Symphony of Backgrounds". She is a wonderful instructor and I always learn fun new things in her classes. These two pages were done using Golden's fluid acrylic paints - one of my favorite mediums to work with. The quality of their products is just amazing and the colors are just phenomenal! We stamped with gesso (the white image areas) and fluid acrylics on top of a background we built layer by layer. I was very happy with the results. I can't wait to try more color combinations.

Vintage Album Pages Class

Here are the two pages I created in Lesley Venable's class at Artiscape. They were really fun to do and I think the sewing machine stitching really added extra dimension to them. Lesley was so generous with her ephemera and gave me the crown to use, which fit her just perfectly after I did a little cutting on the bottom of it. I will definitely use what we learned in class again and had a great time in Lesley's class.

This was one of Lesley's images and I just LOVE this little girl!

This was fun to do too and the eggs at the bottom were a transfer technique we learned using contact paper. The stitching was fun again too, didn't know I could make circles like that!

Fun at Artiscape!

What a fun time I had at Artiscape this past weekend. I also realized that I started my blog a year ago right before I left for Artiscape! Time really does fly. I took 7 classes this year, all great classes and instructors. Lesley Venable's Vintage Album pages was the first night and it was awesome - I'll scan my pages and post them later this week. I also took a class called Layers upon Layers with Jacqueline Sullivan and was thrilled to end up with a very nice painting!

My finished painting

Hard to believe that this is how it started out, aluminum foil, cheese cloth and tissue paper. Really amazing process that I'm sure I'll use again.

I also had fun with my Art Gang Ohio friends who came for classes too. We went to Schmidt's (a yummy german restaurant in historic German Village) for dinner. This is a picture of us before we ate like little piggies at the german buffet.

Left to right - Darlene, me, Lou and Dianne

I'm looking forward to taking 3 classes this Friday from Tim Holtz who will be at the Akron Stamp Convention with Darlene, Kelli and Betsy. Can't wait - I'll try to post pictures of our day with Tim! Until then....

Snowy, snowy day

When I woke up this morning I decided the snow was just too beautiful not to share. Yes, I'm getting tired of all the shoveling, but it truly is beautiful! The photos were taken from our deck on the back of the house. As I was taking the photos, it was just so peaceful and quiet and all the birds had already been to the feeder and were all snuggled up in the piles of branches that we purposely toss at the back of our property for them to nest in. I'll have to try and take some shots of the birds when they eat. The color of the male cardinals are just amazing against the snowy white background!

The path from the tree is a path that the deer take from the woods to our bird feeders, they need to eat too.

The squirrels must have a stash of nuts in this tree. They have tunneled a little path to this tree. Pretty funny to watch them as they run through the little path they have carved out. I see their tails as they run along, then every once in awhile you see a head pop up, and they look around to see where they are, then back down and running towards the nuts! On the left is the top of my stone bench. about 3 ft. off the ground!

When I put this sign in my flower pot on our front porch, I had no idea! Hope you all can enjoy the snow as much as I am today! Stay warm and enjoy the beauty.

New Year and New Projects

I've started out the year with a couple of fun art projects. The first project is from a day that my friend Diana (Art Frenzy blog) and I decided to play with metal. Between the two of us, we had been accumulating quite a few tools, sheets of metal and odd bits of this and that to make metal jewelry. We viewed a DVD that I had purchased through Interweave Press -Riveted-Earrings, a great step by step video with lots of great information. I wish I had taken a picture or two of us working away, hammer, hammer - we had a ball! I made the pendant shown below. I learned to make metal rivets, easier than I thought (after watching the video). I will add a jump ring or wire wrap at the top to hang it from some chain for a fun necklace.

 

Front of riveted pendat.

 Back of riveted pendant, shows my first rivets! 

My next project is from my Hudson Art Group. We meet once a month, and each time we meet, we take turns putting together a project for the group. Since we all have such varied interests, it can be a fiber project, stamping, altered art or anything at all, which is kind of fun because we all end up out of our comfort zone at some point. Stacey did the project last night and used the little shrine necklace kit she bought from Ginny Carter Smallenburg's Small Studio Productions website. The image area is just perfect for a little inchie image and I used an image from DigitalCollageSheets.com. It was a fun project, mine still needs a little something at the top, but I just love it. Thanks Stacey! Great project.

I used a little 3D letter for dimension.

The pendant is made from 3 separate pieces that are stacked, then glued together.

  

Happy Holidays to All!

Just a simple, short wish during these hectic, hustle and bustle days. Happy Holidays to all! Try to take just a little time for yourselves and enjoy the season, I know I am this year.  I just sat down to write this and am enjoying a cup of hot chocolate with a yummy, homemade marshmallow, a gift from a  friend. Her instructions were: take time during the hustle and bustle, sit, enjoy the cocoa and relax. I'm listening to Christmas carols on the radio and smiling to myself. What a wonderful and blessed life I have and many great friends!  Happy Holidays to you all!

 

Let the Shopping Begin

One of my promises to myself after the holiday show I was in,  was to start posting more to my Etsy site. I'm happy to say that I'm getting much better and have posted a few things. Now, to get the same commitment with my blog! Those of you who have blogs and post regularly, any tips for trying to post once a week or better? I'd love to hear from you!

This was a bracelet that I had a lot of fun creating. I purchased sterling silver wire a year or so ago and decided it was time to use some of it! Am I the only one who buys things and thinks "I have to have this!", then my "have to have" item sits quietly on a shelf or in a drawer somewhere while I get distracted by another project. Oh well, it sure is fun to "find" it later. I had  never created my own wire wraps/loops and had a lot of fun with this bracelet. I also love the new toggle that I found. It fits small to large size wrists.

I've been loving my stuff from a Vintaj Brass order and created this necklace using their chain, leaf charm, and a vintage aqua bead, swarovski crystal and snakeskin jasper pendant that I had in my bead stash. Well, off to take a few more photos for posting on Etsy.