Crafty Blogger

I used to be a member of the talented Artsy Blogger Friday Round Up when I was the Stamping Mad blogger at b5media. When the blog was axed, I stopped participating. I am excited to report that I have rejoined the group and will be putting a Friday round up here and co-posting it over at Gadabout Media, where I’m blogging about holidays.

Cyndi from Beading Arts has a fabulous Zulugrass bracelet to give away this week!

Creative Dreamer is finishing a book and says, “Here’s the last part of how I created the latest book…come see how it was done!”

Gadabout Media DIY says Easter is coming soon, so why not use your sewing machine to help decorate for Easter?

Gadabout Media Holidays (That’s me!) is springing into warmer weather with mixed media wooden letters.

The Artful Crafter recommends that we take a spin with Eileen and Shaaron on the Craft-N-Spin crafting turntable.

The Kid’s Fun Review has some fun St. Patrick’s Day craft ideas for kids.

A friend of Noreen’s mentioned that she uses her doodling for inspiration in crochet. That inspired Noreen to make a Doodle Doll with spool knitted arms and legs. Tottie Talks Crafts tells how to make a Doodle Doll.

Now that you’ve browsed through all these artsy links, I know you’re filled to the brim with inspiration. Happy weekend crafting!

I’ve been messing around with Zazzle lately because it is weirdly addictive, especially the button maker. I will be sitting there working on an article or fooling around with an art idea and then, all of a sudden, I’ll realize I’m on Zazzle again and I’ve made another t-shirt, button, or magnet. So, I thought I’d share some of my products by making Squidoo lenses.

This is my favorite so far – a lens featuring the silly animal photos I’ve taken over the past several years. I have been working on some mixed media stuff with some of the photos, but they usually are the more serious shots. These more humorous ones tend to feel pretty complete to me instead of seeming like a jumping off point.

Are you a Zazzle fan?

I have been so busy with other things (Like another bout of Lyme Disease. Yuck!) that I haven’t done any art for a bit. So, I was glad I finally had time to sit down and sketch in my journal again.

This owl girl is one of my favorites and I would love to be able to get her onto canvas sometime soon. I was watching a new Lifetime movie of one of my favorite books from my teens while I worked on it – Stranger With My Face. The main character and her dad are both artists, so it is worth a watch if you see it will be playing.

I wanted a stencil of a man’s silhouette and couldn’t find what I needed at the local art supply stores. I decided I would draw the silhouette and cut it out myself, but sat down to flip through a magazine before I started. As I looked at the magazine, I came across a photo that was the perfect size and shape. I used that magazine page to make a lightweight stencil.

To make your own magazine page stencils, you will need just a few simple supplies:

Magazine with pictures that do not have too much detail
Scissors or a craft knife
Self healing mat
Artwork to be stenciled
Spray paint, stencil paint or an ink pad

Place the magazine page on the self healing mat and tape the corners down to keep it from shifting around. (If you will be using scissors instead of a craft knife, skip this step.) Carefully cut the inside of the part of the picture you want to use as a stencil away, leaving behind a hole in the shape of the item. This hole is your stencil.

Gently unfasten the magazine page edges and position it on your artwork. If you are using spray paint, you may want to protect the rest of your art by covering it with scrap paper. Apply your paint and carefully remove the magazine page stencil. (You can also press an ink pad onto the page over and over again until the stencil area is inked in.)

Now, you have your stenciled art and, if you were careful during the removal process, you have a stencil that you can use a few more times before it disintegrates, too.

Quick Tip:
If you want to use the stencil over and over again, sandwich the magazine between two sheets of clear contact paper before you cut out the area that you want to use as a stencil.

I have a few new articles up at Handmade News, including one on the fun and frugal crayon resist technique. I have always had a weakness for that jumbo box of crayons with the built in sharpener, so I adore a technique that means I need to buy more crayons!

I’ve been insanely busy with kids, Daisy Scouts, gardening and life. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been involved in art, though. I just finished a piece on the sea and am working on a few more. I also recently landed an awesome writing gig at handmadenews.org, where you can see my first article – Turn Ordinary Silk Flowers into Extraordinary Embellishments.

I hope that no matter how busy you are, you find time for at least a little art in your life, too. Keep on arting!

 

Chrysti is having not one, but 29, days of giveaways on her blog! Sounds like some awesome prizes, so hop over to join the fun. (By the way, if you’ve somehow never stumbled across Chrysti’s blog, you are either not at all interested in mixed media art or you just got online and never read mixed media magazines. Even if you don’t want to enter for a chance to get free stuff, you’ll want to check out her blog.)

Photo by Billy Alexander

I love these old Golden Books. This one is huge and has particularly cute artwork. It was falling apart, but I got it anyway because I’m thinking some of the pages would be cute hanging on the playroom walls.

I’ve been working on art, honest. However, before I can scan in any sketches, the littles have been snatching them for coloring sheets. I was particularly proud of my rhino, but it just isn’t the same covered in gray and black crayon! (I’ve even been drawing on demand. Draw a bunny. No, one like Max and Ruby. That doesn’t look like Max.)

I’ll get something scanned before it gets colored sometime soon, but in the meantime, here’s something else I’m working on – themed tags for Christmas gifts. I’ll be posting them to All Holiday Cafe – http://www.allholidaycafe.com – as soon as I’m set up over there, but I couldn’t wait to share at least one of them. This one is for the card shark in the family. I have the other side of the ticket on the back, so I can fill in to and from info.

Now, I have a new problem. Any uses for 51 cards?

Even though I wasn’t thrilled with this piece for Suzi Blu’s petite doll class, I decided to finish it. The flash makes the gold leaf stand out way too much. It is more blended in the photo. I would have retaken the photo, but what I wanted to show you was the face and it is clear enough in the photo. See all those color imperfections on the face? They happened after I applied beeswax to the piece.

Now I know why Suzi doesn’t put wax on her girls’ faces!