An owl in the tree

Here is the completion of the textured tree that covered the three canvas I worked on last week.


Today I drew a screech owl!  I used green paper (sorry I don't know the line of paper it was a gift) and cut out two wings.  I used many layers to achieve the look of feathers. I inked the edges of each layer with frayed burlap and vintage photo Distress Ink.

 The middle of the owl was made using the same line of paper, only I stamp a french script onto it.  I brushed brown, orange and white paint in it to simulate feathers. The head was dry brushed with black soot and walnut stain ink and also black and brown paint.  The top of the head was made from green paper from the aforementioned paper line (why oh why don't I have the name of it?).  I painted the eyes, beak and talons.  I think he turned out wonderful.

Seeking His Grace: Blessings/Prayer box

I had this box I was covering. It was not just any regular box, it was a glorious Whitman's sampler chocolate box.  I had covered it in K&Co paper (not sure of which line...it came from a best of pack and the pack did not list the names).

 I had mentioned it to my friend, Valerie and she came up with the idea of a blessings or prayer box.  It was very fitting for such a wonderful box.  We weren't sure what to call it and we talked back and forth for a couple of days with ideas, finally this morning she came up with "Seeking His Grace".  It was PERFECT for our project.

I used Mod Podge in a matte finish to adhere the paper to the box and to give it the finish it needed.  To do the lid and the bottom, I tore little strips of the K&Co paper and decoupaged the tiny bits to the box. The sides were measured and cut to fit.  I also covered the inside bottom and inside of the lid.  

The outside of the lid was decorated in a chipboard branch and paper bird that I had.  The flowers and letters are from Prima.

I think our project turned out to be fantastic!  

Friendship album side 2 and Make Time to Create clock

This post doesn't need a lot of words as you got most of what this album is a post or so ago.  This is side two of a friendship album that I purchased at Michael's for $.50.  I wanted you to see what side two looked like.

The other project here is a clock.  Now I made this clock about 7 years ago, but the adhesive I had at the time (xyron) did not stick well once shut up inside a clock....and the result was that the clock stopped working because the hands stuck to the lettering.   This time I used Aleene's glue, let it dry overnight and then put it inside a cheap $3.97 clock purchased from Wal-mart.  I think this time it will work.  I did not change any part of the design, it looks just like it did when I won a blue ribbon at the McCracken County fair for the first clock.

I am blessed beyond measure....

There's this girl I work with...well there are many wonderful ladies in our building, but today I am focusing on one.  Heather....I was having a fairly rough day...well week.  And after Heather came in the office and gave me a pep talk...quoted some scripture and generally made me feel better, she left to do her job.

Sometime around lunch she brought me a carrot cake cupcake from Cass & Co., which happens to be the best place to get cupcakes in the whole city of Paducah.

The box was pretty awesome so I took it home and took it apart.  I realized I could cover the box.  I covered the box with papers both inside and out.  I decorated it up a bit and left it on Heather's desk....now she can choose to put a gift inside it and give to someone else.

Here is one of the verses she shared with me:
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help  you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"

Now how can you have a bad day after reading that???


I tell you what, I am so blessed by the people that I work with....every single day so many blessings. 

"What are you going to do with this canvas"

That is what the lady at Michael's asked me.  You may be saying "what a dumb question".....no not really.   This canvas was on clearance.  It was $2.35 for 2 canvases.  One was in perfect condition, the other had a giant hole in the middle!!!

My first step was to color the canvas. I used Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans, Broken China, and Dusty Concord Distress Inks by Tim Holtz.   Once I finished that, I spritzed the canvas with water and let some of the colors run together.  I even sprayed some Sterling Silver Michelle's Musings misting paint on the canvas.

 Next I  would have to cover the hole...which is what I told the lady at Michael's I was going to do.  I took a piece of chipboard and covered it in leftovers from my Blue Awning pad by K&Co.  I adhered this piece to the front of the canvas. I used Aleene's tacky glue and used a brayer to make sure the glue was everywhere. I could not afford any gaps in this because there is a giant hole underneath.  The next step was to cover the hole on the other side of the canvas. My business card covered the back just fine so I glued it there.

Finally came the embellishments....this was sort of inspired by a story I read about France giving America the Eiffel Tower. So the canvas has an American/French theme.  I used blues and reds in most of the piece.

The chipboard album...that became the unalbum

Here is another of my $.50 finds.  This album started as a Christmas Tree album.  Since I have no intention of making a Christmas album at this time of year...but I had no idea what I was going to do, I gessoed each page until I got an idea.

After the gesso dried, I decided to cut each album page into a triangle.  The triangles would make perfect pennant pages!!


The next step was to cover the page....I found a partial album by K&Co....I have no idea of the name it came in a best of K&Co paper pack and they did not list the name.




I was making this for my gift of 2013 promise to six people, and my niece Susan was one of the people to get gifts.  Susan likes pink so this is a darker pink, but pink none the less.  After I covered the triangles, I embellished. I used some left over letters, a piece of a necklace, Hambly Screen Prints transfers, Prima flowers, leftover ribbon, gems, charms and wire.

Friendship album side 1

This album is being made for a friend of mine. I am again using it as a motivational piece, with some great sentiments.

This is another of my great $.50 album purchases, only this one was purchased near Christmastime and I never had time to do anything with it.  It was a Christmas Tree Ball album, but I have converted it into a circle album.






I usually adhere my paper to chipboard albums using mod podge. I coat the chipboard and the paper then place them together, I use a brayer to remove bubbles and make it flat.

Here is what one side looks like all papered up and ready for decorating.  The bottom photos are stage one of decorating.
There is more to come.

I used some Stampin UP!  butterfly stamps and kindness matters stamp, some stamps (frame) I forgot who made. I think Spellbinders, some of the paper that came with the Rob and Bob paper pack, an owl stamp that was $1 at Michael's, the inks are StazOn and Tim Holtz, t

A serious case of creative block pt 1

I purchased these wonderfully made canvases a few weeks ago. My intention was to make the most stunning three panel painting you had ever seen.  I started it and BLAH! I hated it!  So, I set the whole project aside until I thought what I could do to save these normally expensive canvases.

Today I pulled out the gesso and went to work.  I decided to mix the gesso with three different blues.  I really liked this....I got an idea!!!

Once the canvases dried, I took one of my favorite books and ripped out about 10 pages. Don't panic, it is from the 1980's...it is old smelling and frankly falling apart because SOMEONE has read it way too much.  I bought another copy about a year ago (an even older copy) and I use this one for my art.  The book?  Why "Song of the Siren" by Philippa Carr.  Carlotta Main is a fascinating character.

Anyhoo, with these book pages I made a pattern of a tree that I wanted. Really it didn't start out as a pattern it was going to be the actual tree, but I needed MORE!!!  So it became a pattern.  I then cut the tree from a piece of chipboard.  Completely coated it with mod podge and decoupaged some pieces from the book onto the chipboard.  I still wanted more. I wadded up more book pages, straightened them out and inked them to death.  Many different colors of brown inks.  Sprayed with some Michelle's Musings brown and silver sprays.  Once that dried, I wadded them up and inked again.  These steps seemed to take FOREVER, but the longest step was yet to come.

Once everything dried I tore large rectangles from the pages.  I put on a thick layer of mod podge on the tree and then some on the rectangle.  I could not take a photo of this because it is incredibly messy!  I bunched the rectangle up onto the tree to resemble bark. I had to keep a paint brush with mod podge handy to put in between the bunched up part to keep it looking like bark.  This step took HOURS!!!  It was messy, it was hard to maneuver a 30 year old book page that is fragile to begin with, but I went and made it more so. I ripped many and had to use another section.  I did not want it in pieces I wanted large rectangle so it would be more like bark. 

Once this step was dry, I inked more.  Good gravy I was a mess!!!  My apron was a mess where I had wiped my hands and my craft sheet looked like a ink/mod podge bomb had gone off....but I kept going.  I spritzed this inking with water...then with some sparkle spray.  Let it dry.

I fashioned the tree across the canvas and then I cut it to fit across the canvases.


The last photo shows my plan for the layout, but I am going to be honest, the finished product may not look like that. I won't be able to work on it until next weekend, and I may change my mind. Or I might just start all over again.  Stay tuned for part 2. 

Sunday afternoon good times

This is the album I made today. It is the second chipboard album that I made yesterday.  The Marilyn page is my favorite. The image on the far right is a stencil that I had cut, the other three Marilyn faces are transparencies that I made.  I printed Marilyn faces using my Marilyn dingbat font.  I took packing tape and adhered to the front of the faces.  I pressed it down and even rolled the brayer over each image.  Then I ran warm water along the back and rubbed off the paper.  I LOVE the way they turned out.  This page will actually be added to the album I made yesterday. 


This second album was made for a friend that just recently had to put her dog to sleep.  She is heartbroken and I thought it might help to have a place to reflect on her beloved dog and maybe relive a memory or two.