The Summer of Color - Week 3 {Pink}

Better late than never! I'm participating in The Summer of Color, hosted by Kristin at Twinkle, Twinkle. I finished my pink piece but took awhile to actually post it. So, now without further ado, I'm revealing my piece for this week, inspired by the color pink.

I wasn't totally in love with my green piece from last week, but I really like how this week's piece turned out. I am creating an inspiring colorful collection which I had planned to display in my studio. But, after Kristin's comment last week, I've decided the completed collection will be displayed in Taylor's room.

I created this piece similar to the steps I followed in creating the other pieces in this collection. I painted a 5x7 canvas board in various layers and shades of pink. Then layered it with white paint applied with a brush and then stamped white paint using bubble wrap. I added stamped images in black ink and inked the edges of the canvas. Next, I added the words, and 2 hearts that I cut out of regular ol' corrugated cardboard. I peeled off the top layer of the cardboard to reveal the texture. I then painted the hearts, and glued them onto the canvas. For a finishing touch, I added pink glitter! Everything looks better with glitter. :)

And, even though I was a little late in posting this, I've already completed my yellow piece which will be revealed next week. I've had a busy week, so now I'm off to catch up on what the other artists have created in honor of the color pink.

The Summer of Color - Week 2 {Green}

I created this piece for week 2 of The Summer of Color. Remember, I'm creating a collection of canvases, each one representing a different color. There's another theme that is emerging, here and when the collection is complete, I'll reveal what the underlying theme of the collection is. It makes me giddy every time I envision the finished collection hanging in my studio. I'm so glad Kristin created this event, because I never would have thought to create this collection if she hadn't.

To create this piece, I painted a 5x7 canvas panel with layers of various shades of green (including citron - so I completed the bonus challenge). I then cut a trunk shape out of woodgrain patterned paper. Once I had the tree trunk glued down, I tore bits of green cardstock in various shades of green (including citron). I then glued them down to the canvas using Mod Podge to create the leaves on the tree. The flowers were created using stamps and paint. I then added yellow Stickles to the centers of the flowers and green Stickles to the stems and leaves of the tree. Finally, I finished off by shading a little bit with my Big Brush Pitt Pens and added some doodling and the words. I like the whimsical feel of this piece.

Finally, I want to tell you how appreciative I am of all the comments on my last Summer of Color piece. I'm thrilled to have so much positive feedback. There's an incredible group of artists participating in this event and I'm happy to be one of them. I'm off to link up and check out what everyone else has created this week! Remember, you can join the party anytime!

Fairy Garden - a mini tutorial

Taylor, like most 5 yr old girls, absolutely loves fairies. She's watched the Tinkerbell movie countless times, and after talking about fairies all day today, I've realized, I don't think I've ever watched the whole movie. Anyway, knowing how much Taylor loves fairies, I was inspired to create a fairy garden with her. The inspiration for this perfect weekend project came from Lil' Blue Boo. The fairy village she created is absolutely adorable! Be sure to check out her tutorial for step-by-step instructions, supply details and another variation on decorating the houses and the village.

So, after seeing Ashley's cute garden, I gathered some simple supplies including some bright spray paints and mini birdhouses, plants, potting soil, rocks, and a tub to put it all in. Taylor and I got to work and after a day of fun putting it all together, we ended up with this:

We spray painted and decorated each house to match the fairy who lives there. That was Taylor's idea ;). Rosetta is Taylor's favorite fairy because she's red. She's a flower fairy, so, naturally, I love her, too. We glued colorful flowers to the roof of Rosetta's house because we're certain that's how Rosetta would like it.

The green house, is Tinkerbell's house, of course. And, Tinkerbell is buried among other toys somewhere in our house, so until she is found, another tiny doll has taken up residence in Tink's house. I don't think she'll mind, do you? We decorated the roof of Tink's house with artificial leaves, because I thought that looked so cute in LBB's garden.

Vidia, is a pollen fairy. She has huge flowers on the side of her house with glittery pollen in the centers ;). We had to make whimsical polkadots on her roof just because Taylor loves polkadots. Who doesn't, really? We created the dots by dipping an eraser on the end of a pencil in white paint and then dabbing it on the roof.

Taylor and I had so much fun playing with the fairies today! I'm sure we'll spend some time tomorrow adding a few other whimsical details. The added fun of this project is that she's always wanted to plant a garden and she LOVES that the plants are real and they'll grow! She's a little disappointed, though, that the plants have been in her garden for several hours and she's given them lots of water, but they still haven't grown yet! When I explained that we won't be able to see the plants grow, she said "Oh, because they know we're watching them? Maybe we shouldn't watch them."

Blue Butterflies - Mixed Media Canvas

This is my submission for week 1 of The Summer of Color hosted by Kristin at Twinkle, Twinkle. I had so much fun creating this piece. Turquoise is my most favorite color so, of course, my blue piece would be covered in turquoise ;).

I started with a 4x6 canvas board and just started playing. I created my own version of glass bead gel using gel medium and Martha Stewart micro beads and I created the tiny butterflies in the corners using a Martha Stewart butterfly stencil and modeling paste mixed with turquoise paint.

The focal point of the piece is this detailed, layered Chip Art butterfly. Melody Ross' Chip Art collection by GCD Studios is one of the many new creative discoveries I made when I was on my unintentional blogging hiatus. You will see LOTS of chip art showing up in my art now.

I also took an on-line workshop with Christy Tomlinson and used some techniques inspired by her in the piece as well. (More to come on that! Christy is one of my new favorite artists!).

I've decided that I'll be participating in The Summer of Color each week by creating a 4x6 or 5x7 canvas board as the foundation of my piece. By the end of the summer I'll have a very colorful collection of art to display in my studio as inspiration. I'll also be trying new techniques or products in each piece to keep my creative juices fresh!

Thanks for looking! Now I'm off to see what the other participants have created. Remember you can join the party at anytime and you don't have to participate every week. You can read an overview of The Summer of Color, here.

The Summer of Color at Twinkle, Twinkle

OK, I know, I know, it's been for.ever! since I posted here. I'm OK, really I am. I'm great, in fact! Just been suuuuuper busy. Lots of stuff has been going on and I'll give you updates soon. But, right now, I'm popping my head back in here to share something fabulous with you. Do you remember my dear friend, Kristin? Kristin who is soooo incredibly talented she's been published multiple times in the amazing Stampington and Co. publications? Well, I think she's pretty amazing and she's inspired me to join in on her awesome blog party that lasts all summer long! That's my kind of party ;)

(image courtesy of Kristin at Twinkle, Twinkle)

Her party is called The Summer of Color. The basic idea is you check her blog every Monday to discover the color for that week. You then create art in *any* medium your lil' heart desires (she offers several suggestions on her blog), and then you post a link to your work on her blog. Posting a link enters you in her weekly giveaway. How cool is that?!? You get to make art *and* possibly win a prize just for playing along.

So, I wanted to be sure to tell everyone about this awesome party so you can all join in the fun, too. Those are the basics but if you want all the details, then head on over to Twinkle, Twinkle and read all about The Summer of Color. See you at the party!

Help Japan

Amazing Ashley of Lil' Blue Boo is donating 100% of the sales of her patterns between now and midnight of 3/14/2011 to Mercy Corps to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

This is a great time to purchase Ashley's super cute patterns and also know that your donating funds to a very worthy cause.

Simple Abundance {a much needed attitude adjustment}

You may have noticed a new button on my blog. It's the Picture Inspiration button. Picture Inspiration is a class I'm taking through Big Picture Classes. In addition to a series of weekly prompts that are intended to inspire class participants to pick up our cameras and start shooting, there is also a message board and a gallery to share our images. The class is hosted by Tracey Clark. If you've never heard of her, then chances are you've never heard of Shutter Sisters, either. You need to check out both of those sites if you have any interest in photography at all. Anyway, in Tracey's welcome to us, she discussed an inspiration tool box. This is basically the things that we surround ourselves with that offer inspiration for photography and creativity. The book Simple Abundance is part of Tracey's inspirational toolbox. I've owned this book for over 11 years.

I first discovered this book in my early years as a social worker. One of my mentors used it often in her personal life and in helping the women she worked with find balance. My mom gave me the book as a gift the first Christmas after I got married. At that time, I was in my mid-twenties. While I was certainly a mature 20-something, I didn't really "get' the book at that time. I might have thought I did. But, I was never motivated to get past the first few pages of this book of daily devotions, inspirational quotes and prompts for introspection.

Over the past 11 yrs I've moved that book from bookshelf to moving box to bookshelf to moving box as we've moved numerous times. I've picked it up periodically and flipped through the pages searching for something. But again, never quite grasped the message and was never motiviated to move beyond those first few pages.

Well, I'm now in a very different place than I was the first time I held that book. As a wife of 11 yrs, a mother of an almost 5 yr old, and a social worker who's experienced beyond my years, I find myself feeling like something is missing. I've had a few particularly challenging weeks recently. I can point to a few things in my work life or personal life that are stressful but at the same time, I just feel like I'm in an overall "funk". Ultimately, I feel burnt out. I'm exhausted, irritable and simply a little sad. Well, last Friday night, I was feeling particularly down, and I decided I didn't want to spend my weekend being a grump. That wouldn't be fun for anyone. I was suddenly reminded of Tracey's mention of Simple Abundance, in that moment I decided to soak in a hot tub filled with bubbles and delve into this book of Simple Abundance once more.

This book and it's message is exactly what I need right now. The premise of this book is that women are often depressed (on some level) because of a denial of their authentic self. Sound a little too out there? Well, think about it. When we walk around each day, as women, as mothers, as employees and we spend most of our days caring for others and doing things that are not in line with our own heart's desires, and we don't draw on our own talents, we are denying our authentic self.

(click image to enlarge)

There are principles and exercises in this book that are aimed at revealing our authentic selves and teaching ways to live authentically. I'm still only a few pages into the book, but the reason I put it down this time, wasn't because of lack of interest. Quite the opposite, actually. I wanted some time to digest the words. I wanted time to purchase or create a journal to be used as my companion as I embark on this journey.

Now, I don't mean to come off as all melancholy. Trust me, I'm OK. I'm not going to run away or quit my job or file for divorce (my marriage is quite good!). I just know I could be more OK, more "me". I know who I am (I think) and I know what I want (I think), but there's a disconnect between who I am, what I want and what I'm actually living. I need to find more balance and bring more of what I want into my life.

(I realize this is a little "deeper" subject matter than I usually discuss on this blog, but I think that may be part of the issue. I love blogging, I love crafting, I love posting photos, but I also really want to "keep it real", so I just might get a little deeper sometimes. Don't worry I'll still post super cute crafty tutorials and pics of my adorable daughter ;) )

So, I'm sure some of you can relate to all of this. Anyone want to let me know I'm not alone? Have any of you read Simple Abundance? I'd love to know your thoughts.