Frida Times Three and One for Me!

Frida Kahlo is a life-force for me. Her strength, her sense of self-empowerment, her ability to deal with the life curves she was given inspires me.  I want to grow up and be this strong of a woman.

Back in June, I had this grand idea to honor all that is Frida with a month long hommage to Frida in July, her birthday month, through our swaps at Artful Mail Groupies.  We had a swap a week for 5 weeks.....the "Blue House" swap, the "Hair Adornments" swap, the "Black & White" swap and the generic Frida Art swap.  Due to my own time constraints, I only participated in the Art swap.  Sure, I had an idea what I wanted to do.  But for whatever reason, it wasn't coming together. Not the sketches. Not the paint. Not "nuthin'".  I started and threw away about 10 efforts, not satisfied with any of them.












I received this beautiful piece from  Sharon Denny Parcel and after seeing her gorgeous work, felt even more helpless and hopeless in my grand scheme to create something wonderful to exchange with my partner.

So for several days (or was it longer?) I anguished over my seeming inability to create something exciting and wonderful to share back with her.  In a fit of pique, I went trolling on Pinterest, YouTube and tons of websites looking for some sort of divine inspiration. And then, there is was. Right in front of me.  The lightbulb went on.  I didn't have to draw or paint at all. I could push that big, fat failure to the floor and silence my screaming Inner Critic and make something fun, unique, pretty & different!  Yay!

Set the stage at Retro Cafe Art website and there she was. My possibility.  And the ideas were flashing through my head like an old flip movie. Flash! Flash! Flash!  Flowers, beads, lace, crowns, jewels.....do it!  So I did.

I ordered three Frida Shrine kits from Retro Cafe Art (and there were 3 to choose from, so deciding was difficult) {{see them here}} and awaited anxiously for their arrival. Thankfully, shipment was prompt, as always, and in just a few days, they were at my doorstep.  Oh boy!  I couldn't wait!


The directions for putting them together were easy to follow, although I did have a couple of issues. It was the "comprehension" part that made putting mine together harder. ha!  I gathered up my favorite adhesive glue and got busy assembling the shine. Great. The first one is together.  The second and third assembled much faster, of course.  The material was a good quality, heavy Masonite, with a dark stain. When put together, the center is the size of ATC's, great for storing Frida ATC's, or to decorate like a real shrine (which is what I did on Frida #1).  I thought it looked very nice in its arrival state. So I was very pleased with everything about these shrines. (sadly, I didn't take a picture... I was too excited and ripped right into them).  They came in 5 pieces, that you just pushed out of the framing. Easy peasy.

Now for the fun part!  My thinking was that I would make one for myself first to see how it went, how it looked and what I might want to do differently on the 2nd and third ones.  I knew I would not store ATC's in my shrine.  So I began to "build" the inside of the shrine with some nifty little circle mirrors on the back wall, tarted up with some flat acrylic jewels.   So what to use for the pedestal? I really want to make it like a shrine. Shrines have shrine like things, like pedestals!  Dig, rummage, dig.  Idea!

I have a huge supply of glass beads (used in my fused glass projects), and they are rather flat on the top and bottom. More glue to create a pedestal, another mirror circle on top. And to sit atop my newly formed pedestal is a treasured prayer box charm sent to me quite some time ago by a dear friend.  Voila!  Interior of the shrine is complete! I used these same jewels to build "feet" on the shrine to elevate it.  I had been saving this beautiful green stone star that would make a perfect base for a pedestal.

Next, I direct my attention to the exterior and to Frida.  More digging and rummaging through the supply cache (this took a while) to find the perfect bits.  I selected a dark scrapbooking paper for the sides of my shrine that looked like tree bark, that was cut to fit both sides.  Textile trim added to the front, along with a nifty little oval label.  I'm pretty happy with that. And of course some beaded "feet" to elevate the whole shrine. I didn't like it flat on the surface.


Then, and at last, Frida herself.  

How tarted up should she be?  This definitely required quite a few minutes of thought.  More digging in the stash.  I was pretty sure I wanted her to be wearing blue, symbolic of The Blue House.  So I selected my Peacock Blue Copic marker and colored her top.  I added the very tippy edge of some lace trim I had, fussy cutting it very carefully and affixing to the edge of the top. "Lipstick" was applied with R29 Lipstick Red Copic Marker, and highlights to her cheeks with V01 Health Copic Marker.


A beautiful woman must wear jewelry, right?  More digging. Aha!  Seed beads were the perfect thing and the perfect size. So a "necklace" was created to cover up the printed one, which I didn't care too much for.

Now, I must pay attention to her hair and her head.  Frida seemed to always wear some type of adornments in her hair.  More digging, of course.  Flowers, jewels, and there it was......a crown. That was it!  This cute little crown was sent to me in  Happy Mail. And curiously enough, some of the gals at AMG call me the "Queen Bee" so it seemed just fitting my MY Frida would have a crown.  But it was plain and boring.  Out came the gold Stickles.  I selected several graduating size "jewels" for her crown and got those all applied.  Very happy with that, and then another decision.... straight? angled left? angled right?   I finally settled on the jaunty angle to the right. Gave her some great attitude, didn't it?  I have attitude.  So it worked for me.

And while the Stickles was out, little dots were added to the center of the flower trim around each shrine, giving each a touch more glimmer and shine.  Can't have too much bling, right?

So now, I step back and admire the handiwork.  Loving it!  So I eagerly got busy and finished up the other two so I could ship both off to my assigned partners, albeit with a late mailing date.  Both were similarly prepared with fussy cut lace textiles, Copic markers, seed beads, and since the other two were planned to go to members of my mail art group, I made both just alike, with a flower and jewel hair adornment on each, both with decorative paper on the inside of the box by PapayaArt.  Both oval buttons were alike but different, giving each her own little flair.  And, there can only be one Queen, right?

Don't you think my trio turned out super cute????

Overall, I was very pleased with these little kits. The price on each was reasonable, ordering and shipping was user friendly and blessedly fast. They were very easy to assemble and made my Frida project way more fun to finish and get off to their intended recipients.

So if you love all things Frida Kahlo like I do, this little project would be a great addition to your collection.

My Queen Frida now lives on a bookshelf, adjacent to my art desk where she watches over me, giving me inspiration from the great beyond...ever watchful that I get as much joy working on my new projects as I had working on her.

Keeping it artful~~








Betty

"MIXING IT UP" LOVES COTTONWOOD ARTS BLOG HOP

Welcome to the Mixing it Up loves Cottonwood Arts Blog Hop!

This is a closed blog hop just for the members of the Mixing it Up Every Day Face Book group so that we can get to know each other better. Having said that, if you are not in our group, please feel free to leave a comment anyway and come join us over on FaceBook. We would love to get to know you better too. Here's are the links to everyone's blogs. Remember in order to have a chance to win the prize package from Cottonwood Arts you must:1. Be a blog hostess 2. Leave a comment on everyone's blog

BLOG HOP PARTICIPANTS:

Sandee Setliff http://inthehillsofnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/
Tiare Smith Woods http://www.tiaresmith.com
Martice Smith II http://www.uneekart.blogspot.com
Tiffany Goff Smith http://southerngalsdesign.blogspot.com/?m=1
Anna Turner Ely www.foronemoment.blogspot.com
Cat von Hassel-Davies http://www.catseyestudio.us/
Terri Sproul http://www.terrisproul.blogspot.com
Sharon D. Estes http://grannyskornerstudio.blogspot.com
Betty Guffey Richardson http://artyauntie.blogspot.com/
Tommy Jo Vilello Anderson http://www.tommyjovilello.blogspot.com
Melissa Willard Edwards www.melissaedwards.org
Donna Simmons Lueders http://www.damseldesignsbydonna.blogspot.com/
Jean Marmo http://pagesintime.blogspot.com/
Tamiko McCurry http://mikosspot.blogspot.com


                                                   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We were asked to answer the question: Are you a journal hoarder?

THIS IS A TRICKY QUESTION!  I suppose you first have to determine what IS a hoarder. To me, a hoarder is a person who has things, but doesn't necessarily use them. Most hoarders keep useless, random things just for the sake of keeping them. I do have a tendency to purchase new journals to use as I make and give away journals all the time, so I do have a large stash of journals on hand. Would you consider this hoarding? Maybe. Do I? No way!!! Those blank journals are inspiration to create something new and fresh on those clean, pristine pages with "opportunity for healing" on the inside! I also do buy Moleskin and Picadilly notebooks to give away for prizes when we hold contests in my mail art group, Artful Mail Groupies. I did stock up at the back-to-school sales in late August on Composition Notebooks (a whole case!). I make a ton of these, altered, for beginning art journalers like women in crisis and others who could benefit from the experience of journaling and creative art therapy. I host a small journaling class once a month at our local rural library, in addition to working with battered women's shelters, residential rehabilitation facilities, local cancer treatment centers, the local Dept. of Human Services caseworker for our area and I volunteer once a month at two assisted living centers where we make art, be creative and have lots of fun!  Giving back makes me happy. Putting a smile on a woman's face that really needs one is one of my greatest blessings.

Here's a look at the journals I am currently using, most of which have a distinct purpose for each. My current cache of working journals are:



1. "Thoughts & Inspirations" - a little pocket ledger that I use to record quotes and sayings that appeal to me throughout the year, with a few simple sketches, or pen & pencil drawings.  The paper is quite thin.

2. "Art Exploration" Journal - This journal is for play and experimentation with supplies, media, techniques and where I also document all my supplies of pens, markers, paints, etc. It became so fat I had to remove the spiral binding and replace with binder rings to hold it together. It has about reached its maximum capacity so a new "play" journal is on the horizon in my art world. It started its life as a mixed media journal, but now it has every kind of paper in it imaginable.

3. "Create Everyday" Journal - this has been my go-to journal to create pages just for me; it is a place I feel happy, safe and alive and where I use goodies that I have received from around the world in the many wonderful happy mail packages arriving in my mailbox. It too is nearing its end, only 1 more page left, so I will get to start fresh once again.  This journal started its life as mixed media journal from Strathmore.

4. "DLP Planner/Journal" - This is my daily planner/journal that I started in January with The Documented Life Project. Sadly, I am behind in the art prompts, but I do record all my events, appointments, happenings, and life bits. Next year, I definitely will use a different style planner because the tip ins really make this thing fat and chunky. I am fearing by the time I am totally caught up with all the art prompts, it may come apart.

5. "Red Journal 52" Journal - This journal is for the weekly art prompts at Journal 52 where one prompt is given a week to incorporate into the journal. I do a lot of actual journaling in this book, where I am also way behind on the art prompts. Life-interruptus has way-laid my art of late.

6. "The Striped Journal" -- This is an el-cheapo journal I picked up at our local dollar store to record favorite poetry, to write my own poetry and short stories in. About the only "art" i can put in here on the super thin pages are sketches or pen and pencil work. This journal helps keeps my writing skills "up to snuff" and allows me the time and the space to contemplate things on a higher plain.

7. "The Inspiration Journal" - This little journal is the place I make notes about ideas I want to try, where I smash in pictures, articles and all sorts of things that inspire me. Sadly, most the things I have saved that do inspire me need to go IN the journal, not in the box where they currently reside. This little book gives me some mojo when I need it, that little glimmer of sunshine to spark more creativity.

8. "The Coffee Journal" - this journal is dedicated solely to all things "Coffee". Yes, I am a coffee junkie. Hot, cold, luke warm, leftover. I am in love with the dark, robust brew that is truly my comfort beverage. Happy? Make coffee. Sad? Make coffee. Give up my Keurig? NEVER.

9. "The AFTHAS Journal" - a tarted up Picadilly writing journal that I use everyday. Purchased from Art for the Heart and Soul as a contribution for their non-profit projects. Some artwork in here, but not so much. This is where I really get in touch with my days. There is another, in-waiting, of course.

10. "Little Blue" - this is a new pocket journal made by Graphique with fantastic paper inside, to carry in my purse for the endless hours spent waiting at the doctor's office, for oil changes and elsewhere.

On top of these "working" journals, I have several albums that I store incoming postcards, Artist Trading Cards and artwork in. Each is treasured for the love that is contained inside them, because that is what they are to me. Filled with love from friends new and old from around the world and to my little corner of the earth.

I recently purchased 3 "GreenDesign Works" notebooks to try out for journaling. The paper is very nice, are 100% post-consumer recycled materials with soy ink and are a nice size for toting around (A5). The pack of 3 came with a blank, a weekly planner and a lined notebook. They are still in their pristine form at the moment so they anxiously await some fresh creativity. It was my idea to use the "planner" one for monthly "mini art". The pages are divided into boxes for the month, which would be ideal for creating approximate "Twinchies" each day of the month, filling the page with miniature art for 30 days. Here are some of the newbies, awaiting fun inside!

This journal was a recent purchase that just had my name all over it. Made by Recollections and designed by PapayaArt. The imagery is just lovely with a nice chipboard cover, beautiful decorated pages that will surely be full to overflowing in a few months time.

This altered composition notebook is one I am currently working on for a young lady in crisis who wants to start journaling and creative therapy to help her with her own healing process. I will be delivering it to her in a few days time with a cache of supplies and prompts to help get her started on her journey. These projects bring me great joy to be able to give back to women in my area who need a friend, a helping hand, a word of encouragement and some emotional support.

Sooooooo, the end result of this self-examination? I think I might be seeing a pattern here. Maybe I am a journal hoarder in the eyes of the world around me. To me, no. Each individual journal has a purpose, and each is ready for a new beginning. I look around and see them tucked here and there, some hidden away, some readily accessible for when the mood strikes. They do get used and there are times when there are no "new" journals hiding or lurking anywhere in my home. I am in denial? Maybe. Am I going to change it? Definitely not. The feel of a new journal, the paper, and the smell of that fresh clean paper always excites and invigorates me and my brain. Why would I take away that glorious feeling of knowing they are there??!

SEE THAT GORGEOUS PRIZE OVER THERE--->>>>>>> ??? I am anxious and hopeful that I will be the lucky recipient of this great Cottonwood Arts "prize" for our bloghop. I have heard many wonderful things about their products, but have not been able to get any to play with so far, so the fingers are crossed. If someone else is the lucky winner, I will be happy for them, and get busy and get a Cottonwood Arts Cold Pressed journal for my own use and to have "on hand" and ready to go when my journals are full.

REPRESENTATIVE PAGES FROM SOME OF MY JOURNALS

Here are a few of the pages from some of my journals. Some different styles and techniques that I have had fun playing with.

I love this image of Audrey Hepburn and just had to use her based on a prompt in Daisy Yellow to use the color "Red". Collage elements on red acrylic background with Sakura Gelly Roll pen, Scarlet Lime pen, Copic marker and Derwent Inktense block.

This page was just for fun, full of out-and-out play and genuine wild abandon! Definitely a departure from my customary style. Background done with Derwent Inktense color blocks. I also used watercolor, acrylic and Copic markers.

We did a Kandinsky-inspired ATC swap over at Artful Mail Groupies a few months ago, and it was so much fun, I made a whole journal page to keep enjoying the experience. Wassilly Kandinsky is one of my favorite artists, so I enjoyed trying to emulate his style. There are some collage elements, all watercolor on cold press with acrylic embellishments.

Oh what fun collage can be. This definitely has a distinct "sewing" theme where I used some favorite goodies I received in happy mail. "Aged" with a Memento stamp pad in cocoa and faux stitching with my trusty Scarlet Lime pen by Christy Tomlinson.

This page was about "mixing it up" on a very down day for me and getting rid of my "black" mood. All done in black, grey and white. the "rain" added with a Sakura Gelly pen. After it was all said and done, I go back and find it to be quite powerful. It surely helps me remember and be grateful for all the blessings in my life.

This page has tons of layers of acrylic paint, stencils, collage and hand embellishments. I see it, I smile. It is a constant reminder to me that the world is truly my oyster. 

A fun page with an asian-inspired theme and an adorable stamped image also sent to me in happy mail by a great friend. The background paper, also written in some asian language (which I do not know what it is).

Of course this ATC is in my Coffee Journal, and made for a coffee-themed swap I did in one of the groups I participate in from time to time. I made little pockets for each card to live in, coordinated with the "cup" 

This is my most recent journal page, in the Create Everyday journal. I love pigs and chickens, and this vintage image just spoke to me. The background is in acrylic with the piggys collaged on, aged with Memento Cocoa stamp pad, and colored with Prismacolor pencils and some Copic markers in cool gray for additional highlights.

Thank you for stopping by for a visit and I hope you enjoyed my little journal tour. I'd appreciate a comment or two! Be sure and visit all the other participants in this blog hop and see what great things they are all doing! If you aren't subscribed to my blog, I invite you to do so, and I will surely be subscribing to yours.

Ciao, bella!
Make it an artful day!

Betty

Friends Helping Friends

SHOUT OUT!


My beautiful and talented friend, Tiffany Smith over at Southern Gal Designs is having a giveaway for reaching 300 followers on her YouTube channel.  Tiffany is very talented and makes some really wonderful tutorials that are easy to follow.


You will enjoy her melodic southern voice and her videos. So hop on over to her blog, or her YouTube channel here and see what great things Tiff is working on & learn something new, or perhaps a new and different way of doing something and make something exciting for your art!

Junk Mail Rejuventated!

Seems as though many of us who are into the paper arts never throw anything out that we can use in our art. Junk mail is some of our favorite fodder for our journals, our planners, our mail art. So tonight, I've recycled the inside of a security envelope to make these adorable flowers!

I have a huge stash of wooden popsicle / craft sticks that I use periodically for projects.  And this one couldn't have been simpler!  

DIRECTIONS:
First, I cut open a security envelope, and colored it into 4 sections with Copic markers.  I used Maize, Peacock Blue, and Shock Pink for these flowers and a small section in New Green for the leaves.  Once colored, I pulled out 3 circle punches in 1-3/4", 1-3/8" and 5/8", and punched out 3 in each color.  Freehand cut 4-6 "leaves" out of the green section.

 I doodled on one of the flowers to see how it looked and on one of the leaves.  Certainly adds dimension.  You could also use some other paints like Acrylics,  Stickles, Liquid Pearls, or even fabric paint to add dimension and shine!

Layer the 3 circles in your color preference, and  using an awl or ice pick, poke a small hole through all 3 layers. Insert a small brad and spread it open on the back.

Color your craft stick with paint, or as in my case, I also used a Copic marker in  New Green.   Glue the "flower" to the top of the stick.  Add your leaves, and  you're done!

Now, wasn't that easy and fun?

These are going in some happy mail packages that are due out this week...... so watch your mailbox!  More to come in future packages!

We're saving the planet, one piece of junk mail at a time.

Happy creating!
~Betty



Overnight update:  I had so much fun making those you see up at the top of this post, I played the rest of the night and in-between drying times on some large background papers I've been working on, I made more fun flowers.

On this new batch, I cut up some scraps of scrapbooking papers, the remnants of some background pages that were laying on my desk and cut small ovals this time out of some free paint chips in green for the leaves.  I embellished some of the flowers with Stickles by Ranger and added flat backed "jewels" to the centers instead of brads. I experimented with several different permanent black pens including Faber Castell's Brush tip, Sakura Gelly Pen, Sakura Micron, LePen, my favorite Scarlet Lime  pen and two other generic black roller ball ink pens and all worked equally as well.

I purposely drew squiggly lines around each section of the flower, and tried to makes the leaves have more of a steady hand, just for definition.  The possibilities for exploration are endless on these flowers.

Part of the fun for me was of course playing with the punches, then mixing and matching the assorted papers. I didn't realize I had pulled soooooo many blue colors.  Must have been a blue kind of night! LOL.

I will be tucking these into future happy mail packages and as tuck-ins for some of my swap exchanges.  Everyone needs a happy flower or two, right?

If you don't have circle punches in assorted sizes, certainly you could use a circle template and fussy cut them all out, or cut your templates from heavy cardstock and just outline your template.

Somewhere I have a circle template with scalloped edges.  Going to play with that one next.

Can't wait to see what YOU come up with!

Again, happy creating!
~~Betty

Recycling, Again!

I love to recycle, upcycle, re-use and re-purpose ordinary things that would normally hit the trash bin. As a crafter and artsy-phartsy type, everything has artistic potential if you open your mind to the possibilities.

As any crafter and most artsy types know, organizing our supplies and ephemera is always a challenge, and keeping this stuff off our desks so we can have more room to play, is our bane. Digging through a jumbled up mess is a time eater and spending an hour digging through a huge box for one piece can drive you crazy. I like things organized and in their place. Can you say OCD?



So, I've been saving cracker boxes.  Big ones, square ones, smaller ones.  They are generally very sturdy and seem to be the right size for storing ephemera, journaling cards, small, clear stamps or whatever you need to store.  I like to put seasonal items in these boxes and then they are safely tucked away until the next time they are needed.  Tonight's project: Christmas.  There is so much Christmas / Wintery stuff in my ever-growing collection, it is time to sub-sort.  Enter the cracker box.

<------Turn this ordinary box into an easily recognizable box of goodness ------> that can happily live on a shelf or in your closet and be picked in an instant.  And yes, these crackers are delicious!

The whole process took about 30 minutes from start to finish.  You will need:

• two matching 12x12 inch pieces of scrapbooking paper, with the pattern of your choice 
• Some ModPodge, DIY Podge, glue or spray adhesive
• Scissors
• Ruler and/or scoring board

Trim about 1-1/2 inches off the bottom of your papers. This will leave overhang on the bottom.  Start by coating the side with the slit in the box opening with with adhesive of your choice. 

Cover liberally.

Folded Paper on Box Bottom

Working quickly, line up the edge of your paper to just below the slit on the flap and smooth out to the bottom.  Here you can use a brayer, but just smoothing with your hands works well.  Then move to the side of the box, coat with adhesive and continue around the box until fully covered, smoothing after each section to remove any air bubbles.  Trim paper to fit after you get all the way around. Cut down the side of the flaps to trim out the paper so your box will ultimately close.  Then turn your attention to the bottom.  Fold the short sides in and crease as you would on giftwrapping.  Then fold down the long sides.  Apply your adhesive to the bottom of the box. Fold in the short sides, apply more adhesive, then fold in the long sides.

Now, I gave mine 2 coats of glossy ModPodge after I finished it to give it a more durable surface for repeated handling.  And a final blast with Krylon Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze.  I am the impatient type, so I hit the box all over really well with my heat gun in between coats so I could finish up quickly and move on to the next one.

• Think about Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Winter, Fall, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Hannukah, Ramadan or a special theme that you have a collection of goodies for!  Maybe you just have a few seasonal items for these special holidays, and they get lost in the grand scheme of things.  This is a great solution!  By choosing themed paper to match your "stuff" you will easily recognize it and be able to grab and create immediately without wasting any time!

Enjoy recycling, and happy creating!
~~Betty

Recycling for Art

I love turning nothing into something. Re-using, repurposing and recycling.  Junk mail cannot go into the trash until all words and images have been carefully scrutinized and perhaps clipped for future art or journaling projects.  The political fodder that fogged my mailbox until the elections was a bonanza of words and phrases, but I certainly am glad that is over for a while.  No box hits the bin unless it is just too small to organize my growing collection of art supplies.

This week's project involved leftover Pringle's cans.  I have a ton of long brushes and they just don't fit in some of my other containers very well.  Ditto with my collection of rulers, palette knives and long handled scissors.

After going from yummy-licious, to all-gone :-( -- a quick rinse out was in order and a few seconds with the heat gun to make sure it was good and dry on the inside and out.

Select some lovely 12x12 scrapbooking paper, giftwrap or painted papers of your liking!  Coat the outside of your can with glue, ModPodge or Acrylic Medium.  I just went with ModPodge since I have tons of the stuff.  I had pre-selected some favorite rooster paper, cut to size to fit within the "lip" of the can and rolled it on.  Smooth it out if you get any air bubbles, and voila!  A decorative, tall container.  Another piece of a landfill is saved.

Happy creating!
~~Betty

Mixed Media Journal Tags

Over at Artful Mail Groupies, we're doing a tag swap, with the theme of "Book Pages".  I have two partners for this swap and really didn't want to make them both the same.  So I didn't.   The hard part is going to be how to decide who gets which one.  Maybe I will let Miss Fate decide.  She usually gets it right!

**LIFE IS ALL ABOUT YOU** tag started with a pre-made manila tag, and book page with mop-up paint on it.  It was just a scrap and just about the right size, so I went with it.  Added some fabric tape, feathers, a button and an embellishment card to send all those positive vibes out into the world.  Finished off with lovely ribbons received in Happy Mail!  The colors are soft it has a very serene overall effect.  





**BELIEVE**

This tag, started much the same as the blue one on a plain vanilla tag.  I have tons of book pages from from vintage US Government textbooks from 1949, and this was one.  I drew the sunflower with a black Sakura Gelly pen, added the highlights and then colored it all in with assorted Copic Markers in Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, Canary Yellow, Champagne and Light Camel.  Additional colors added were Apricot and Mimosa Yellow. Finished off the edges with Champagne and my Scarlet Lime pen and some fancy ruffled and gros grain ribbons.

I always enjoy making tags. They are so versatile. You can put them in your art journal, use them as bookmarks, hang them as decoration.  I am currently collecting swapped bookmarks to make a collage work with them on stretched canvas.  Right now, I have almost filled a 16x20 canvas, so the process will begin soon!

Stay tuned for more, and happy creating!
~~Betty 

Sweet as Texas Honey: Color Challenge

My friend, Melissa Bochat, also a Texan, is doing a color challenge for the next seven weeks, and I think I am going to play along!  My life is certainly filled with lots of colors from the earth right now as our garden is exploding and color, smells and heat is filling my life.

So let's all play along with Melissa.  Click this link and see what she has to say!
 Sweet as Texas Honey: Color Challenge: Summer is well underway, and  all the juicy color  the earth has to offer is in full flourish. With that, I'm under taking a color proje...

ICAD WEEK 3

Everyone seems to be progressing along nicely over at Daisy Yellow's ICAD Challenge.  The work I am seeing by other members of the group is outstanding, thoughtful, provocative, experimental and always exciting to see.  We are all playing and having great fun!  Are you playing too?

This week our primary "theme" was MAPS.  You could use them or not.  And as always, we had 7 prompts for each day of the week.

Here are my creations for this past week.

PROMPT 15-STICKERS -- Scraped black craft acrylic background, with feathers, some painted pellon, Sakura Gelly pens in metallic hues, and the owl and saying stickers.

PROMPT 16- ROLL THE DICE.  Yes, I could have gone with the obvious.  Been there, done that. Something different this time.  I printed out a copy of my grandparents' wedding photograph and tore around the edges to be able to give it a little more of an aged/distressed feel.   I did utilize the theme this week on this card since I had a map of Iowa from a vintage 1960's World Atlas I snagged at a junk store.  I colorized the image a bit with Copic Markers with Cherry White, Lipstick Red, Light Camel, Clay, Africano and Willow.  "Poetry" created with my trusty Dymo label maker and then I "aged" with Copic Markers.  The whole thing was given a little more age with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Dye.  I hope my cousins don't try to take it away from me at our family reunion this coming weekend!

PROMPT 17- POLKA DOTS.  I love dots. Circles. Polka Dots. Always have.  Have never looked good wearing them, but that doesn't keep me from liking them!  Background done with Derwent Inktense Blocks in Yellow and Green and babywipes.  The magazine image came from Style Magazine.  Embellished with Green Sharpie, Metallic Green Sakura pen, Scarlet Lime pen and "found" poetry.

 

PROMPT 18 - ORANGE.   Orange is definitely my favorite secret color.  Seems like I do lots of things with orange. I have a lot of orange in my closet.  And I definitely love it with Lime colors.  Again, I utilized a vintage map page, this time adding some scrap painted paper strips, a paint chip color chart and a couple of die cuts in orange that I received in happy mail, and some deli paper with a stamped image that quite frankly didn't show up very well.  Just gives it all character, they say!  Quote in Scarlet Lime pen.

PROMPT 19 - HARRY POTTER.    I'm not much on fantasy books or movies. I don't have kids to subject me to them either.  So, a little internet research.  Could I draw something? Probably. Did I want to?  No.  The most iconic thing to me about Harry Potter are those round glasses, so I went with that.  Background in scraped craft acrylic in Caterpillar. (Love that color!)  I had this cool saying on Vellum that I was sent, also in Happy Mail.  I used a circle stencil to draw the "lenses" and went round and round with my broad tip Sharpie and highlighted them with Signo Uniball in White and drew out the logo by trying to emulate what I found on the internet.  Logo is in Bronze Sakura Gelly pen, highlighted in Black.  Border in black Sharpie.

PROMPT 20 - CANDY BAR WRAPPER.   Who doesn't like candy?  I love, love, love Butterfingers.  In anticipation of making Butterfinger Icecream (you can find my recipe for it over at Aunt Betty's Kitchen) I had purchased a couple of big flat Butterfinger bars and they were 'hiding' in the fridge.  No other candy in the house.  So, naturally, I cut the wrapper off, ate some of it (and no, I didn't share) and put the rest back in the fridge for the homemade icecream.  Derwent Inktense background in Orange and Yellow (that secret favorite color again!) with more use of scrap die cuts and an Orange Sharpie Marker.  Additional embellishment with Scarlet Lime pen.

PROMPT 21 - REPEATING PATTERN.   Tammy Garcia I think is in love with repeating patterns. She does them a LOT.  We do them a LOT.  But they are fun, and I know this is why she does them.  Something about drawing or painting a repeating pattern is very relaxing. Doesn't really matter what it is.  I've done circles, swirls, ogee patterns, triangles, square, plaids.... you name it.  So again, this time something a little different.  Scraped craft acrylic background in Admiral Blue and Cherry Blossom Pink, although you really don't see much of the pink now.  The blue ended up looking like distressed denim. I scraped one direction, let it dry, then swirled the paint around and around.  I like the overall effect of it and will try to replicate this again on something else. Stenciled arrows with Caterpillar.  We know which direction to go now!

So that is the end of my week 3.  I got behind during the week last week, but managed to get caught up and now we're off onto week 4 and more fun.  Stay tuned & happy creating!

~~Betty

ICAD Week 2 - The Fun Continues

Week two of ICAD 2014 has now come and gone and everyone at Daisy Yellow is creating with a fury and a vengeance. We're digging out our art supplies, getting our fingers and hands dirty and enjoying the process of Tammy's prompts.

My creations this past week are as varied as the prompts we were given.  The overall "theme" of the week was "Collage" -- some of which I included collage elements, others I did not.

Prompt 8 "MANDALA" -- I freehand sketched my mandala first with a 2B pencil, then went over that with a Black Sakura Gelly pen, colored it with Prismacolor pencils in Lavender, Violet, Lilac and Sand, then over the whole thing again with my Scarlet Lime pen

Prompt #9 - ALPHABET  The question is always, how do I use this prompt in a less than conventional way?  Of course I have already just drawn out an alphabet in fancy lettering.  B.O.R.I.N.G.   This time, I dug into my box of happy mail goodies and pulled out this terrific "brick" stenciled background that was done in a bronze acylic on a CD cover.  I also unearthed the darling little girl stamped image and the chipboard letters.  More digging was required -- now through my container of words & phrases and clipped letters.  As I discovered the elements I wanted to use, it all sort of came together.   The girl is colorized with Copic markers, enhanced with Scarlet Lime pen and around some of the lettering and finally a bit of china marker, smudged with a pencil dedicated solely for this purpose.  

Prompt #10 - THE BEATLES -- The Beatles were of my generation. We were wild about those boys with all that long hair, tight pants and the hot new sound!  I remember seeing them on the Ed Sullivan Show on television.  (Yes, I'm o.l.d.).  Again with the digging into clipped and saved ephemera and my happy mail box.  The song, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" had started running through my brain and this is the end result.  Background is done with Inktense blocks and a baby wipe. Elements collaged onto the card and I embellished with "slow journaling" of a portion of the song lyrics and the border with Scarlet Lime pen.  The "Love" element was a stamped image I colorized with Copic Marker in Hollyhock.

Prompt #11 - "TOY CAMERA"  -- There are no children at my house.  Not one die cut of a camera. My printer is out of ink.  So, off to the internet I went in search of a camera.  As soon as I saw the Brownie Hawkeye, I knew that was it.  I played for hours with my Mother's Brownie (and yes, I was scolded many times for doing so).  So I sketched, as best I could with a 2B pencil something similar to this camera on Bristol.  I cut it out, then highlighted with Copic marker in cool and warm grey.  I had already smudged pencil lines but felt it needed further definition.  I couldn't really improve on the sketch with my very limited drawing skills.  But hey!  We're not making museum art.  We are playing and having fun!  I collaged the camera and the stamped image on vintage paper on my index card, then affixed the "photos" brad thingy that I got from Peachy Cheap.com.  Then I "grunged-up" the whole thing with Memento Stamp Pad ink in Rich Cocoa and Sprout.

Prompt #12 - PAISLEY -- last year, I cut out paisleys from assorted pattered paper and glued them on an index card.  I am not a huge paisley fan because I was made to wear a Paisley pattered dress I hated in the 60's.  This could be why. ha.  Anyway, I drew these paisleys with Sakura Gelly pen in black, then added the designs within each paisley, filling in the blank spaces with some random triangles.  The overall background and colorizing is with Copic markers in Lipstick Red, Special Black, Teal Blue, Maize, Apricot, Cobalt Blue, Frost Blue, Pale Sepia, Africano, Pale Blackberry and  Mallow.

Prompt #13 BOOK REVIEW -- My first thought was what on this earth am I going to do with THIS prompt?  A quick scan of some magazines found no delicious images of stacks of books. Toss out that idea. I didn't really want to "draw" books.  Then it hit me.  My all-time-favorite historical novels by Lonnie Coleman!  Do something with THAT!  There is a series of 3 and I have read each many times over and love each of them each time. They always leave me wanting more. I get so engrossed in the stories and the people and the time periods.  For me, it brings the history alive.  Anyway, I hand cut a piece of 140 lb. press watercolor to size,  thinking I would paint something.  After making a rough sketch, it surely was not any great masterpiece to be sure, so I grabbed up the trusty Copic markers & my black Sakura gelly pen and got busy adding all the details. I certainly held to the "challenge," even if in a small way.  I'm not sure why I connect so with stories of the old South, but I do.  Maybe in another life ....... ??

Prompt #14 - MAGENTA   Who doesn't love magenta?  It is such a happy color, so vibrant, soooo "artsy."  Certainly every artist has something in their arsenal that is magenta, don't they?  I had this nifty stamp of this guy holding a cocktail and a party favor that I had been dying to use.  I hear him in my head, talking in a somewhat 'Texany-British' accent.... "say, old chap... you know MAGENTA does matter"    And it does. Background is Bright Magenta fluid craft acrylic, with corrugated cardboard pressed into the paint while wet, with Neon Acrylic, pink Sakura Gelly pen and Scarlet Lime pen accents and embellishment.  Sadly, magenta and neon pink don't photograph well at night with incandescent light, and scanning is worse.  So dream of magenta, all bright and powerful.   Can't you just hear him??

So another week of ICAD 2014 comes to a close, and we move along to week #3.  Time to clear off the desk and start again. <3

Happy creating!
~~Betty