on my mind, out of my mind, oh no my mind

Welcome to another post when I'm feeling out of my mind. I have a hard time transitioning to fall. I love summer even the hot and humid days. The only thing I do like are the colorful leaves. They are just starting to show themselves.

I work for a tax accountant and I start prepping for that horrid tax season in November. I think that's why I have so much anxiety for fall. I'll be busy from November through to April 15th. Also, I hate the cold.

In the fall my art is sort of a mess. I look at it and wonder where my head is at. So out of my mind is correct. To keep my mind focused I work like to work in mixed media collage. It keeps my mind and hands busy with little pieces of paper trying to make it work. I don't know why it's calming for me but it works.

This piece is called Many Moons. Here is a picture of my auditioned papers. I spend quite a lot of time auditioning pieces and sometimes they just don't work and I'm diving into my box of scraps looking for something else.

The long strips are dried wet wipes. I keep them and use them in collage all the time. I have quite a stack.  Some are a form of polyester plastic so I figure with gel medium they will last quite while and not disintegrate.

Here is the finished piece. Its hard to photograph because of all the metallic on it. What you think is white is silver.  I also added Seth Apter's Cling Rubber Stamps by Impression Obsession called Border Lines.  I'm obsessed with this stamp!

Another thing I've been doing to keep my mind focus is color. Every time I use a stencil I spray it with water and put it down on paper. I keep going on one piece of paper until I like the way it looks. When it's all dry I put it away to use another day.  Fall is here so now I'm pulling them out and coloring them in with watercolors. I'm not a fan of watercolors so in an effort to change my mind about them I try to use them.

Fall makes me feel like I have to squirrel away all my nuts for the winter and get everything in order so working on collage and coloring in a page like a coloring book keeps my mind at peace. Well, maybe for a short time!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

A Bouquet for her Wedding

Hi Everyone! My sister got married a few weeks ago. For her shower I creating this 14 x 24 wood panel for her.

It took me one full weekend but a couple of hours each night after work to finish it. Although I used stencils for the flowers, I did not use the whole stencil design in one spot. I added flowers with paint and I also added flowers with TCW Light & Fluffy Modeling Paste. 

Each part of the design that I added with modeling paste, I had to wait for it to dry before adding more. That's why it took so long. TCW Light & Fluffy Modeling Paste dries fast if you put it in front of a fan. Don't use a heat gun unless you want the paste to look bubbled. 

TCW Light & Fluffy Modeling Paste is porous so when you add a little water and then add paint it's reactive. The paint will spread through the paste.  I think that's why it's my favorite. Its like magic!

The Crafter’s Workshop provided me with stencils and mediums to create this project. The opinions I share are solely my own because I do love to use them.

Here is a close up of some of the flowers.

I'm currently working on two more right now. Very different from each other and this one. I'm creating paintings for a Breast Cancer Fundraiser called Scraptoberfest.  Everyone buys as many tickets as they want for all the raffle prizes to get a chance to win something. It's an all day event, breakfast, lunch and dinner included.  I don't scrap but I bring stuff to make cards or work in an art journal.   100% of the proceeds go towards those who need wigs, prosthetics, rent, electricity, etc.

If you want to see step out pictures of this wedding bouquet you can hop over to The Crafters Workshop Blog to see it.  I also listed all the stencils I used for this project.

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading this far!

I greatly appreciate it.

 



Where to Find Cheap Wood Substrates

Hi Everyone!

I love to paint on wood. It's my favorite substrate but expensive.

 

 

Where do I find my wood?

 

T.J. Max, Marshals, Target, and any other place that sells wooden signs. You know the ones that say Welcome, Be Happy, Family, or have little quotes on them. They go on sale. I've bought them for $1.99 (regular price $6.99) and sometimes less. They come in all shapes and sizes. I bought 25 sized between 10"x10" to 2"x2".  Guess the cost? ........... $12.00!!! YES!!!

 

Go to the stores after every holiday and you'll find some. Before you paint them make sure all the price tags are off and sand them. I don't try to take all the paint off just the surface layer. Use gesso or gel medium on them before you start.

 

Here is one I created using when of my finds. This is a Crafter's Workshop Design Team Project. I used TCW Big Wreath 6x6 on this project.

 

The Crafter’s Workshop provided me with stencils and mediums to create this project. The opinions I share are solely my own because I do love to use them.

On top of this piece I added gel medium with a sponge and then added Seth Apter's Baked Texture Vintage Bees Wax. Because I didn't use embossing ink, the gel medium bubbles.

You can see how I created this on The Crafters Workshop Shop Blog.

 

 Head to your nearest shop to buy wood for your paintings!!!!

You won't regret it.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!



Words, words, words

I'm loving large font words on my art lately.

For this piece I used printed tissue paper I made with paint and stamps and attached it with gel medium. I used my alpha stamps to add the work Listen. I don't know why I used that work. It just came to me so I went with it.

 

I used a black Uni-Posca Paint pen to darken the word after I stamped it with Archival Ink. Then used Seth Apter's Borderlines stamps set by Impression Obsession on the word plus in a few places here and there on the canvas.  The blue stars were something I found in my stash drawer. I believe they are chipboard painted, wired and beads added.  Once I attached the stars I used some watered down blue paint to the canvas.

 

Finished.

 

 

I'm definitely going to create more with words. I think I love the idea of one word instead of a quote.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

 

You Have To Show Up!

Hi Everyone!

When your muse takes a vacation what do you do?

 

I find I just have to show up in my art room and keep working.

Even if I'm just scribbling in my art journal, playing with mediums I just show up.

Eventually the creativity keeps flowing. I may find some of the things I created are not my best but I feel good that I showed up.

 

I showed up with inspiration from the picture I took of a woman's shirt.

 

 

I love strips in art but I've never tried it before. To start I used a napkin with stripes and flowers. I used gel medium and add it to the canvas. I just continued to add more flowers. I used stencil by The Crafters Workshop.

 

TCW824s Growing Wild

TCW823s Rose Bouquet

 

I'm not fond of the color combination but I showed up and kept working on it. I did learn that I love the stripes in the background and will use stripes more often. I love pink but I'm more fond of brighter pinks. I'm no in search for my favorite shade. 

 

 

My muse is always with me even though it seems like its gone forever.

I'm proud of myself for showing up. Sometimes I walk away but I find that just doesn't help.

 

DID YOU SHOW UP TODAY?

 

Thank you so much for stopping by!