Flower Vase Number 2

This is a commission from a friend for one of the Doodlebug vases I posted about earlier. I have to say I like this one much better and may have to redo mine! She wanted bright spring colors, so I went with some blue, red, yellow and purple and decided on a bright yellow paper with a subtle design for the vase.

I think the purple flowers are my favorite, but the blue and red have a touch of sparkle and who can resist sparkle?

And the other change I made was to the stems and "grass". I painted the stems a pretty soft green and colored the grass by using blending solution and Adirondack inks. I spritzed on the color in the shower to avoid a mess and so I could just rinse off the ink from the shower floor. Eagads the smell is awful, so if you try this method try and open a window or don't stay and spritz for too long.

Crackle!

I discovered this awesome crackle treatment a few months ago, unlike the other ones it's not a two part procedure you just apply one coat over your paint and TADA! crackle.

I *ahem* borrowed a small table from the garage as I needed a place to put a lamp. This table had those god awful country designs that were so popular, little houses, hearts and chickens. Blech.

So since my lampshade was green, I painted over the designs with a nice sage. Forgive the blurry but you get the general idea of the color.

After the crackle medium was applied. It's hard to capture on the camera but I hope you can see.

Well of course that wasn't enough for me so I painted the trim around the table top a nice chocolate brown and then decided to put a nice chocolate wash over the crackle to bring it out more.

How cool is that?

The crackle is made by Deco Art, I've found it at Joanns, Michaels and Hobby Lobby. It's a great price and so easy to use and everything I've tried it on so far has produced great results.

We have a winnah!

Actually we have two! The SPCA had a photo contest for cats to be featured on their virtual charity walk page Meow March. I am happy to report that Gomez/Morticia and Sidney won two of the three spots! I await the calls to roll in for commercials.

Gomez, Morticia and Sidney occupy the first two photos in the banner here

I have a few pictures featuring Sidney and his smile, which is mostly caused because he squints at the flash when it goes off. In the winning photo it was pretty much an evil grin of "Guess how fast I can take this new collar off?"

Doodlebug Plain and Simple

So this kit has been sitting around staring at me for a few months, and I finally decided to give it a whirl. It comes with everything, just all blank white so you can add your embellishments. I love the color combination of chocolate and brown, so I went with that when choosing my papers and brads.


It can be a bit tedious cutting out all those freaking flowers though. I just glued them to the paper and cut out using a craft knife, then tidied up the edges with scissors.



I'd like to add a big chocolate bow, but don't have one on hand. I believe they are discontinuing this line so if you one to get one grab it while you can!

Book Number 2!

This is the book I made for my cousin for Christmas, it's more pet centric. The only thing different is I left the inside pages in their natural, ugly state :-)

The front and back cover are the same paper

Jessie and her "mini me" which I gave her last Christmas

Jessie in her chicken hat *cackles*

Hannah exhibiting her excellent training. Neither sitting nor staying.

Otie at his sweetest, opening his Christmas present.

Had to include at least ONE of my cats

The End!

Day of the Dead

I just received 'Day of The Dead Crafts' from Amazon yesterday and I've just had a chance to page thru it and I'm so excited to try some of the projects. The first thing that struck me with the book is just how bright and colorful the pages are, it's really beautifully laid out with lots of examples of Day of the Dead art.

I was so pleased to even find patterns in the back of the book to trace and use for your own art. Since I cannot draw to save myself, it's a wonderful addition. The instructions are easy to follow, although a bit sparse. Normally this would annoy me, but the projects are relatively straightforward and accompanied by clear pictures so I don't think it will pose a problem. Most of the projects are simple, but I think they give a good jumping off point to branch out into your own ideas; so don't expect complicated Day of the Dead masterpieces just a nice foundation to build from.

I can't say when I first became a fan of Day of the Dead art, I think it might have been as simple as running across my first Calavera but I've been hooked ever since. One of my favorite Day of the Dead artists, Tamra Kohl's work is included in the book which I was so excited to see. Take a moment to visit her Flickr page you'll enjoy your visit.

I have so many craft books at home and always vowed to try EVERYTHING.IN.THEM. That never works out does it? But since I was laid off I have a bit more free time to say the least, so I'm going to try and do one project from each book or tutorial I have saved. That might make for some interesting blog posts I think?

Anyway guys, go out and grab Day of the Dead Crafts

SPCA Meow March

Happy New Year my friends! I'm participating in a fund raiser for the SPCA to help raise money for homeless kitties. In memory of my Atticus who I lost in 2008, because no kitty should go unloved.

Please visit my donation page here if you can help, no amount is too small!

Thank you!

Tim Burton at MoMA

How sad I am that I can't see this, but I just spent a couple of hours looking thru the exhibit. Just amazing, the wonderful creative genius of Tim Burton.

Moma Interactive