Ode to a Postcard

The theme is Black and White and Read (Red) All Over. They are late being sent, but while I was decorating the cards, I deviated a bit and made a circle to commemorate them. I may forget to take a photo of the cards, so this way I have at least a bit of a record!

I thought of the old joke - and started making paper fabric including some of the main answers to that joke. Once I started to assemble the cards, I realized I didn't have enough, so had to redirect and use the fabric for an accent. Then, added just one more (and the most delicious) answer: a hot fudge sundae with a cherry on top!

Black Friday?

Mine was pretty colorful! I don't generally hit those ultra-early sales, unless there is something significantly discournted that I plan to buy anyway. I did venture out around 9 am and hit some of my favorite craft and thrift stores. I managed to buy a few presents and stocking stuffers, but embarrassingly, most of the goodies were just for me!
One of my most extravagant purchases was a set of richly toned embossing powders. I wanted to add a few colors to my meager stash, but they didn't have a big selection and each 1 0z. jar was over $3. With my 40% off coupon, the set of 16 half-ounce vials was only $17.99. Sure, it cost a bit more, but the colors... Oh! the colors! Very deep, rich colors! More my style than the few pastels on the shelf. I put back some of my other splurges so I wouldn't overindulge too much.

You can see some of the rich colors on yesterday's circle. I took the embossing pad and pressed just the corner, embossed and then repeated a little distance away. It had lots of texture, but when I covered it all with a thick coat of clear, they softened and blended. I still like it, but I think next time I will use the diamond glaze and retain some of that texture.

I hope your "Black Friday" had some colors just for you!

Family Circle

Today I used a different type of tool... my granddaughter!

Kady chose some heart stickers and a few colors of permanent markers to use on the gesso covered chipboard. I added a metallic swash and colored the edges purple. Kady was fascinated with the diamond glaze. Nothing beats creating with family!

Giving Thanks

#12

I spent the morning and early afternoon with my older daughter and my two granddaughters. We engaged in a great family tradition - eating donuts while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The 4 year old was thrilled with all the balloon characters. The baby just wanted to be held and fed. I know my other daughter and my mom were visiting the extended family down in California. (I"ll be seeing them for Christmas.) I am so thankful for my family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

#10

"M-I-C... See ya real soon..." I just wanted something easy, so started with scrapbooking paper and finally used that ultra-sticky red tape I had to adhere the micro-beads.

#11

This circle will not end up on my walls like most will. This one is a gift. The recipient may see this blog, so I want it to remain a secret until they have unwrapped it for themselves. Then, the "normal" image of the circle will be posted.

Inked Foil Tape

Aluminum tape (from the hardware store) over shaped bits of tape and then covered with alcohol inks. A bit of dry brushed metallic blue and some spots of embossing powder. All covered with diamond glaze. Colorful, huh?

Number 8

Wow. This one is more interesting blown up from the scan than in its real 1 inch size. Some of the same embossing powder and metallic paints. Added some micro-beads in glue in the middle. Added the heart because it needed something. I'm not sure that was "it," but that's how it goes with experimenting.

Craters?

Friday's experiment was to use something other than the tacky embossing pad or pen to adhere those embossing powder crystals. I grabbed the closest thing, some craft glue intended to secure "jewels" to fabric.

To backtrack a bit, I began with the idea of making a paisley-type design with micro-beads and glitter embedded into the embossing powder. I drew a rough paisley shape with the embossing pen directly onto the chipboard. I was to lazy to prime with gesso and the result was that the pen mostly absorbed into the cardboard, leaving little to grab the powder. I was left with a few clear puddles that also partly absorbed into and discolored the cardboard. A mess.

Figuring it was too late to prime, that's when I grabbed the glue and filled in my rough paisley shape. I sprinkled embossing powder into the glue and decided to see what would happen if I used my heat gun to melt the powder and dry the glue all at the same time. Would it just seal over or would it be like the old candles we made by pouring the wax over bits of ice? (You DO remember doing that, right? If not, just wait and that "retro" craft will make a comeback and you can try it!)

The glue and powder fizzled and bubbled! I loved it! Then, I painted with some russet and gold metallic paints and speed-dried with the heat gun. All the embossing powder under the paint bubbled and blistered. Cool! I played with adding more powder and more paint and more heat. Here is the result. All finished with diamond glaze for that glossy finish I'm going for in this group of work.

PS: Please note that all my circles look way better in person than scanned or photographed. I can't seem to get the right angle to show the colors and gloss without too much reflection.

Snow

Well, it isn't quite cold enough outside to snow, yet, but Thursday's circle hints at the weather to come.


Circle is base coated with gesso, then a rubber stamped a snowflake and embossed with ultra thick clear embossing powder. An embossing pen was used to write the word "snow" and it was also embossed. The entire piece was painted with (what else) metallic blue paint. After drying, I rubbed briskly to remove the paint from the embossed areas and reveal the images. Finished with a nice coat of diamond glaze.

Circles

It's been hard to "do" art lately with my materials and supplies spread throughout the house. The studio is now painted and the major furniture pieces are built. I'm still adding a few shelves to the closet and need to re-attach the peg boards, but things are starting to be functional. Yippee!!

I wanted something artsy on the walls. I thought of all manner of border possiblities (from fabric swatches to tissue paper to ceramic tile and more), but when my eyes fell on the chipboard circles at Craft Warehouse the bells and whistles went off. I will be creating groupings of various sized circles in several places in the room. So, just about daily I am decorating circles using various techniques. Each is finished with a high gloss coat of Diamond Glaze or ultra thick clear embossing powder. I may use polyurethane and/or resin in the future, too. (I was interested to note that there are glossy little design circles given on Facebook called Flair. That is kind of what will be on my walls.)

The circles are various sizes, so if I only have a little time I can choose a smaller circle! The fun part is that I get to play with a variety of materials and mediums. I have so far used paper packing tape, acrylic paints (some metallic, of course), ink, glitter, mica powder and fabric. Yesterday's is my favorite so far, that is why it begins this blog! (3" chipboard circle, fabric, rubber stamping, metallic paint, metallic marker)

My Latest Art

This year I have to teach US History. Me and History, friends? Not really. So, teaching it again (I muddled through two years ago) stands as a challenge to my days. The four boys in my class are nearly non-readers, so there is no "read chapter 5 tonight, we'll have a quiz tomorrow" kind of lessons. Everything must be basic and clear in class.

After struggling through a month and getting nowhere, I had to rethink my entire approach to teaching this class. I looked at the state required standards for history. I looked through the textbook I was given. I knew I couldn't teach the entire book, so tried to decide the important concepts.

About this time I finally found an old suitcase to alter, though it was a bit larger than I had wanted. Right there in the Goodwill checkout line it hit me! I would use my altered suitcase and create a Kidspace style model inside to represent our topic. It would be hands-on and visual for my students and I would also have fun!

Our first topic is immigration. Here is the grand tour...

All those old books and magazines I've collected donated the outside photos. Those who know me will quickly notice the paint - metallics: russet and gold. The maps and other pictures inside were culled from weeks of internet research. (I found the best historic map site! (David Rumsey Map Collection)

I introduced the suitcase yesterday and let them explore. I told them nothing except everything inside goes together; they had to guess what it was all about. They were not to discuss their guesses with each other. When they had an idea, they came to my "booth" and described what they thought. I gave a prize to the one who guessed the closest.

Today, they began identifying the 6 maps and answering questions about the cities and countries represented. Tomorrow we begin working on family trees and I introduce them to Ancestry.com. They will see my tree and start to learn about one of the 4 immigrants we are studying - my great-great-grandfather.

We'll see in a month if my scheme actually works. At least I'm having a good time!

Not a Heart...

...but made with love!


My older granddaughter, Kady, wanted to be Wall-E for Halloween, but that's obviously not a popular choice this year as costumes are hard to come by. The one I found wasn't very good and cost $50!

Given the time and money, I think I'd have scrounged local thrift shops and created a replica of Wall-E that would even have motorized/light-up parts. As it is, I told Kady I'd spend $10 to make her a costume. We went to PaperZone to find a cube-shaped box that would fit her properly (12 x 12 turned out to be the right size). I mixed up a yellow-gold with some gesso for the base coat and made a darker gold glaze to dry brush over spots.

I cut the wheels/treads from another box and painted shades of gray in roughly the right shapes. I also painted the gray "control" area on the front. Then made a cardboard console and applied a 4x6 mailing label I had printed from my computer (designed in Adobe Illustrator). I covered that with clear mailing tape to look like glass over the "solar" indicator. I also downloaded the correct font (Gunship ) to make the name. My trusty X-acto made the head, arm and leg openings.

A purchased Wall-E mask saved me time and I loaned her my small cooler, not only to be like Wall-E, but to put her Treats in.
The next day I went to a thrift shop and purchased some small, old shoes. I found a bargain plant at Wal-Mart and snipped off a few leaves and voila, I had Wall-E's little plant.