Tag Art

A couple of weeks ago I got busy messing up a bunch of tags with some gesso, glimmer mist, stencils, stamps and what not.

Then last week I added a little more and turned some of them into cards.  I love how this one turned out... I inked over punchinella with a Dazzle VersaMark ink pad and then clear embossed it.

Sometimes little works of art are a lot less overwhelming.

The small "how do I love thee" 3D sticker on this one is from a package I've had forever from K & Co. It's good to use up stuff!

Celebrating Life. just because

The truth is... " that feeling of growing big with possibility, that feeling you get when you are actively engaged in making things (anything!)... is pretty doggone good even when you're just all aloney or on your owny." I love that feeling! I get that feeling! I need that feeling!

Rock Your Life Your Way!

I created this 12x24" mixed media canvas for my oldest son. He liked the butterfly canvas that I made for his sister, and I rarely make artwork for my kids, so I thought I'd make something special for him. The only suggestion he gave me was something with a guitar. I immediately thought of Picasso...

so this ended up in sort of a Christy Tomlinson meets Picasso style. He loved it and so did I! This is how the background started out:

The canvas was already painted red. I adhered a variety of textured and book papers here and there, painted, slathered on texture medium (tinted green) through punchinella, and did a bit of stamping. The guitar was created with cardboard and scrapbooking papers. I went on to add lots more paint, glimmer mist, drips and drops of alcohol ink, charcoal and more. Here is a shot of the finished product without any additional filters or photo editing. (All of these photos were taken with my iPhone; most were "enhanced" with Instagram.)

And a few more details...





It's true, isn't it? Go and do something that makes you happy today! Life has enough dark; sometimes you need to create your own light.

"We should do our utmost to encourage the beautiful, for the useful encourages itself."

 Goethe

Texture Obsession

So I've really been into creating canvases again lately. I guess it helps that I have finally moved into my new studio in the shop (drive-in shed)! It is fantastic! And I feel like I can really get down and dirty. In fact, it is a disaster of a mess right now and that's not likely to change! I do really need to get it organized though; I managed to get everything in there, and most of it made it into a cupboard, drawer or onto a shelf, but it is in no particular order at all. I will post pictures soon, mess and all.

I've also been taking Christy Tomlinson's online workshop "Your Living Canvas." It is really good... I'm learning a lot about creating balance in my life. You know, really being present in the moment, trying NOT to multi-task, spending time on the things and people that really matter. And I'm learning some awesome and MESSY art techniques!

So voila! Canvases are born. My daughter ended up liking the first one I started, the purples and yellows caught her eye, so I finished it for her. I'm now making one for each of my 3.

I like using lots of different things to create texture on the background... paper, fabric, texture mediums. I'm having so much fun with this. It allows me be free, working intuitively. These photos were just taken with my phone. I used a variety of paints, stamps, alcohol ink, charcoal, glimmer mist and more. If I get a chance, I will take another photo with my camera so that you can actually see the whole thing.

I'm not going to make any excuses for not blogging more, but I think I might just have to keep it simple and yeah, just post photos from my phone. Quick and done! And like I'm learning from Art and Christy, I have to use my time and efforts wisely. Here is another angle that shows the texture a bit more: