Operation beautify your home: Laundry Room

I have been working on making my house a little more put together, a little more cohesive, a little more not so much a showcase for our yucky mismatched furniture, but a shabby chic paradise.   My first project was the kitchen that you all ready know of, my second the utility room.  This room is going to be my owl room. In reality I am the ONLY person that spends any time in this room so I am making it into something I LIKE!  I started with redoing some of the picture frames that were in the room, then I made a canvas, then a quote, and next was the first owl.  Today I made the second owl, and started working on the third and forth (those two won't make their appearance for a blog post or two).

Today addition was inspired by a quilt hoop that my mother-in-law gave me about 10 years ago. I held onto it thinking I would do a large cross stitch and would need it for that.  NOPE that won't happen so I got it down and thought about what I could do.  Since I usually work in paper I decided I needed a change of pace. I chose felt. I have a massive pile of felt that I stamp on and make into flowers.  Since I have it by the yard it works perfect in the hoop.

I chose a blue for the background, and free handed cut out things from the felt. Since it was a laundry room I chose a clothesline and owl design.

I glued the shapes onto the felt and had all ready planned I would stitch around the pieces.  This was the fun part. I used some of my stitches I learned from cross stitching.

When I was all finished with the sewing I painted the hoop black and I have the perfect addition to another wall in the laundry room.

Day 3 of snowed in

Being poor on trapped in the house if wearing on me.  Cabin fever has set in.  Holy Moly!!  I have done all the dishes, all the laundry, all the sewing repairs, all the touch up of paint, all the cleaning, all the changing of sheets...good gravy you get the picture. I have made 32 cards, 2 canvas thingys, bunches of die cuts paper piecings, organizing of my drawing materials, the taxes, made a peanut butter pie, bit all my nails to the quick, and even got all the recyclables together.  This stupid ice must melt soon, I am not made to sit home all day!!!!

Here is what I created today:

Mixed media minis

These little miniatures feature a little bit of everything.  Maybe some painting. Maybe some inking.  A little die cutting....who knows. 

The first three are to honor two movie stars I adore...Betty and Marilyn.

This next one I have a bit of how I made it. 

I made a sketch on the mixed media paper and traced it to make a mask.  I put double sided tape on the back of the mask after I cut it out.  I then placed it over the sketch on the mixed media paper.  I inked the background using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Walnut Stain and Vintage Paper.  Then I sprayed with Perfect Pearls silver misting spray. 

Next, I used my brand new viewmaster styled Tim Holtz Distress Die and made a couple from regular white scrapbook paper.  I inked both of them with distress inks...walnut stain, vintage paper, and tea dye.  Then I sprayed with Michelle's Musings brown ink on one and java ink on the other (I can't remember who made it...I broke the original bottle).  One of the viewmasters was covered in Michelle's Musings modeling paste the other in a heavy gel. On the heavy gel one, I added glass glitter.  Once the two viewmasters were dry I cut them apart and added to the mixed media paper.  Next, I took off my mask and painted the lady.

And the last one is a homage to Audrey Hepburn, Michelle's Musing style.  This one was fun for me. It is a bit of everything...just like me!

Let them eat cake

I had this very large 16x20 canvas I wanted to do something EPIC with it.  I also just bought this book by Suzi Blu.  In this book, she created a Marie Antoinette. I did not want to copy her painting, but I did want to be heavily influenced by Suzi. If you have not checked out Suzi's work I highly recommend it.  Her work is exquisite. 

The first step was to make my sketch. It did not post that picture because I did it very lightly.  Suzi's work featured a castle, I wanted Versailles.  I also wanted cake, even though Marie never said the famous "quote" I HAD to have it on my canvas.

After I had my layout like I wanted it I had to insert Marie. I drew her on a vellum paper because I intended on blending her skin tone.  I drew how big I wanted her to be on the vellum paper. I used colored pencils by Prismacolor to create my tones.  I drew a face, a neck with a low cut dress line, and two arms.  I then cut those out and put them onto the canvas (do not adhere). I then drew the body around the completed body parts. 

I took the body parts off and painted the background.  I wanted a red toned background.  To me, this represented the French Revolution which is really what this is all about. I used a red-brown mixture for the ground so that it looked a tad different from the sky.  Versailles is created with gold, green and diamond color. It sparkles.

Once the basic background was done I added Marie's body (using mod podge) and began her clothing. I used fabric for her bodice and skirt.  Her sleeves are made by using color pencils and blending as much as I could for definition.  Then I took UTEE (one of my faves) and layered a good layer over the pencil work.  It made for a slick, shiny almost satiny finish.  I then sprayed her skirt with Perfect Pearls in silver for some shimmer. 

Her hair is made using modeling paste and heavy gel. I just kept layering until it was as thick and fluffy as I wanted it to be with a palette knife.  I added some tendrils by simply placing my palette knife as Bob Ross would have with a tree.  Like Suzi, I added fibers into the hair, but one step above, I added some glass glitter for more shimmer (it's all about the shine!).


Next, it was time for details. I had to add details to Versailles, which for the most part was done with paint.  I did put a stamped clock unto the castle front and embossing with Midnight black powder.  I added some transparency garland to the front and some quotes from one of my favorite books.  It was set in Paris.  I outlined the words "castle", "court" and "passionate" on each book page.

The Eiffel Tower graces the top of the castle just for fun.  Scrabble tiles spell out her name, chipboard flowers grace a stenciled design that was made with my homemade modeling paste.  In the yard, I added a doily that was distressed with Distress Ink.  I embossed a chipboard table with silver embossing powder.  The cake is made from Paris themed scrapbook paper scraps.  I think it is by My Mind's Eye.  I added the famous "quote" but decided to layer it in UTEE as well. I just love that stuff.

A ribbon and some fun pennants finish out the corner.  I thought she needed some jewelry so I added a barrette I found on the floor at the last LOHS prom to her hair, pearls for a necklace and a Tim Holtz bobble for more bling.  I hope you enjoy, because I LOVE her and I am craving cake.

Distressed Abbey Road

I wanted to make my dad Abbey Road for Father's day, but I wanted to make it in my way.  Very distress, altered type of Abbey Road.

I started by painting the background in blocks of color to match the album cover.  In the center, I mixed some shades of blue.  On each side, I painted a patch of green to background the trees.  And under the horizon line, there is a grey/silver mix to simulate the pavement.

Once all the paint was dry I added some blue paper to the blue and a few stamps.  To the green, I added bunched up tissue paper. I adhered the tissue at the same time I was bunching it up and I used mod podge.

After that dried, I painted the tissue in many different shades of green and sprayed some Caribbean Sea Blue misting spray onto the blue sky.

To the pavement I dabbed on some browns, black, red and yellow.  Once it was dry I added some red crosswalk strips.  I missed this with many misting sprays.

The Beatles are hand cut from grungepaper, stamped with Close to My Hearts music note stamp.  Distressed with Black Soot ink by Tim Holtz and sprayed with Golden Slumbers misting spray by Michelle's Musings.

I adhered The Beatles with dimensional foam and hot glue.  Everything got a bit of Sterling Silver misting spray.

Girl Power Canvas

I wanted to make a canvas that says, "girls can do anything".  I started with a 12x12 canvas.  I covered the entire canvas with pages from one of my favorite books "Song of the Siren" by Philippa Carr.  This copy was printed in the '70s and there were some nice texture and aging going on. I did not have to do anything to age this before mod podging onto the canvas.  The next step was to add a bit of color. I used a remnant of a sheet of Graphic 45 paper.  It was in the Steampunk collection, but I forgot the name of this sheet.  I do believe it is out of print.  I did an overall coverage of mod podge to seal all this together.

While this was drying I began sketching the girl I would use.  Here is both the beginning sketch and the final product.  I cut her apart to use as a pattern.

I next swiped on some color. I used some of the colors from the Graphic 45 paper, a blue, brown, gold, and pink.  I swiped on a bit of the color with a brush or my fingers and dabbed it off with a paper towel.  I added some stamps, an Eiffel tower, houndstooth, swirling dots, and a stopwatch.   Some I embossed and some are just straight Staz on inks.  I just kind of had fun. No rhyme or reason, just fun.

Using my new branch die from Tim Holtz, I added a branch.  I cut this from grunge paper and embossing it with Vintage Photo embossing powder.  I found some red tulle that I tied to the branch.  Oh, and the die had a bird on it too, I cut him off and use an owl stamp to add an owl element.

The girl was mod podged directly onto the canvas.  She was in many pieces and I just pieced her together right there, covering her all over with mod podge.  Her shoes are painted on and not paper.  When she was dry I added the black lines and hair.

The bottom is finished out with some pom pom ribbon and a crocheted flower my mother-in-law made about 20 years ago.

The quote is wonderful!  Believe in your dreams and live them!!!

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.

"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.

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. 

Finding Your Happy Place

This Saturday started out earlier than I imagined...the cat started meowing at 4:15am.  Does she not realize it is Saturday?  Silly Cat.  I finally gave up all hopes of sleeping around 6:00am and got up.  First things first, I fed the cat...then I sat at my art table.  My brother-in-law had saved me some old photos and I wanted to use some in something today.  I thought I would look at my favorite creative site CR84FN and do the challenge colors.  The owner had made a new post with this challenge's best projects.  They were lovely!!  I read the post, Mona (the owner) was closing the challenge.  WHAT?  No more CR84FN!  I was so sad. I have played along for a couple of years and the challenges have inspired me to try new things, to think outside of the box, and most of all to not be afraid of my least favorite color.....YELLOW!!!!

I picked myself up and decided to think about something happy.  I thought of a friend who has been on my mind a lot lately.  She is going through an extremely tough time, but you would not know it.  She smiles all day, she offers to pray for others, she works hard, but she is hurting.  What is her secret?  I think it's her faith in God.  She has given her problems to God...praying everyday.  She is pretty wonderful.

I decided to paint and I was going to paint what I thought her soul looked like.  A colorful world, with many flowers, lots of things going on, but still she is wearing a pretty dress.  Her castle represents the Kingdom of God.  It's a pretty deep painting for one afternoon.  As you can see from the painting, I think her soul is a pretty happening place. I am grateful to be her friend and grateful to know her.

What started off as a rough day ended up pretty swell.  

Luke 6:31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

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The painting contains many different types of acrylic paint...apple barrel, craftsmart and Americana.  I used stamps from Technique Tuesday.  Inks by Stazon, red flower made by Ina Champion (my mom-in-law) and is about 30 years old, paper flowers in purple made by Michelle's Musings (hey, that's me), green flower by Prima, yellow flower by Creative Memories.  Leaves cut from green cardstock scraps and the die is by Sizzix.  Castle, clouds, bubbles, happy word and all shapes designed and painted by me.

This painting is dedicated to my friend....may she display it proudly.