Step 2.....Finally!

Working canvas with step two completed.

To do this, first I cut a piece of paper the same size as my working canvas. Then I made a sketch of the image I wanted as my focal point, in this case flowers. Then I cut out my image (the black is just the background I photographed my paper flowers on). I arranged my paper image on the canvas and traced around it with pencil. Then I went over the pencil with black permanent marker.

I have to confess that I couldn't quite leave step one alone. Before I started step two I added some rubber stamped images including letter stamps. I promise you won't have to wait very long for step three!

Want to play? Step One.

Use a foam brush to spread gesso on raw canvas (mine is 10"x10", not stretched). While it is still wet dip your brush in a few different acrylic colors and mingle them on the canvas. Scribble with a palette knife and stamp with found objects. I used bubble wrap and a wine cork. To be continued...

Twirly Skirt

I wish I had a little girl modeling her twirly skirt but this is a Christmas present I just made for Hannah, so my flock of colorful birdie clips will have to stand in for now. I have three out of four fabrics picked to make a skirt for Emily, that will be my next project. So it is off to the fabric store so I can get started on skirt number two.

My first crafty sale event!

Whew! No more burning the midnight oil, my debut craft event is finished! It was at a fall festival at my kids school, so a pretty small potatoes event, but it went really well. This is an overall view of my table. I wish you could see the cool fall colored fabric a little better. I topped it with chocolate colored felt.

I sold prints of my fall watercolors on chocolate cardstock, and fall fabric pin cushions.

This is my bookmark tree, with the original watercolor below it. You'll see a close up of that in a minute.

Skeletons and mummies. The mummies have cheesecloth bandages. Both were a big hit. I was only making skeletons but my daughter Hannah said I needed to make mummies too. Of course she was right.

Closer in on the pin cushions. I embroidered each leaf and made the mushrooms and snails from fimo clay. Those are seed beads around each felt flower.

I had people who don't even sew buy pin cushions because they thought they were so cute.

Each tree is made from seed beads, the berries are crystals, and the branches are done with silver and gold metallic pens. Instead of tagging each item I had acorn cards for each item group tucked into fall leaf placecard holders. The idea for pricing by group came from the lovely Jenni Horne at Mattie's Social Circle, be sure to check out her AMAZING blog. For business cards I watercolored and salted sheets of paper and punched large maple leaves. The picture doesn't do them justice, they turned out very pretty even if I do say so myself.

This is the original for my bookmarks. I had it in my head that I wanted to hang something from branches, and then thought of bookmarks. This is one night prior to the show, so of course I was up way past midnight painting this. It wasn't my intention, but I loved it as a whole (and it works as such), so I just erased the dividing pencil lines and matted it. Now if I can ever find a way to make decent prints you may buy them some day from the vision of an ETSY shop that is dancing in my head.

Fall watercolor cards

I'm working on a series of fall watercolor greeting cards, these are still in progress but I like how they are going so I couldn't wait to show them! The paintings are done but I think the first one needs a tiny crop and the edges have some tags to smooth before I glue them to the chocolate cards.

I plan to paint a bunch more, all with different images. Should I sign my name (on the bottom right) on the watercolor itself or on the card?

Penguins for Christmas!

It's still in the nineties in Dover but I have been dreaming of ice and snow. I have been very busy making stocking stuffers for Christmas, shhh, don't spill the beans! (I think I'm safe posting this picture because my blog has a readership of exactly one - and you will get something else!) So far I've made a baker's dozen of these little guys, the rest of the flock didn't fit on the pedestal. They each have their own personality to make them special, at least that is my spin, I couldn't figure out the head pattern. In case you want to make your own flock for family and friends, it can be found in Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts, on your newstand now. The penguin designer is Jesse Truong.

Fall Sketchbook

This is my new format for doing one painting each day. I have been pressed for time lately, so I have switched to a watercolor sketchbook and hope to complete a tiny square each day instead of a whole painting.

This is my palette, and it makes me very happy. I love all those cheerful wells of color just waiting to seize the day. My favorite brush is a Grumbacher no. 8 round, made from squirrel. Sable is supposed to be the best and I own many, many brushes including sable, but I have never found a brush I like better than this little guy. My paints are by Winsor and Newton, artist quality.