Have you gawked today?

Mello greetings all!

Have you been gawking lately?  If you haven't, I highly recommend it.  No matter what you are interested in, you can find something to gawk at.

No...no, I haven't gone off the deep end.  I am simply referring to one of my favorite websites, www.craftgawker.com.  Have you checked it out yet?  You should!

You never know what you might find.  Today, I was amused to find where one innovative soul used everyday veggies to make art.  Be sure to check out the website at: http://ilovetocreateblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/4-fun-ways-to-stamp-with-your-veggies.html (I was going to share one of the pictures from the site, but I didn't want to get into trouble for copyright infringement :-) ).

Another site offered a pattern to make a great gray owl.  So cool!  That one can be found here: http://www.downeastthunderfarm.com/2013/07/great-gray-owl/.  Being an owl fan, I think I am going to have to find time to make that one!

Interested in crocheting?  Knitting?  Jewelry?  Crafts for your kids?  You'll find them all on craftgawker.  It's completely random and almost all of the patterns are easy to get to and can be acquired for free.

Not interested in crafts?  How about food?  Interesting ideas for your home?  Fashion?  Have a wedding to plan?  There's a gawker for those, too.  For these you have www.foodgawker.com, www.dwellinggawker.com, www.stylegawker.com, and www.weddinggawker.com.  There really is something for everyone!

So, if you are low on inspiration or need to kill a little time, check these out...I bet you'll be gawking away in no time!

And now to share a little of what I am working on.  I have a spool that is ready for a bit of wisdom (I have the words, but don't know how I want to put them on the spool):

Yep, it is made with Legos, including the rubber wheels on the bottom.  I love the bright colors!  This spool will say something like this: Build the future you see in your dreams, no matter what its color, size, or shape.

And here's another brightly colored piece waiting for something (not sure what yet, but that's okay :-) ):

This is a flour sack type of fabric that I colored with kids' water color paints.  It was so much fun to blop paint on fabric and watch how it spread out and merged into the other colors.  I have no idea what this will be, but I just had to do it!

I'm not super happy with the photos, but it's the best I can do today.  Perhaps tomorrow will be better.  I think I'll try them again in a few days to see if I can get something better.  I have been trying to take pictures in my studio without my photo tent and I think that is becoming an epic fail to get decent pictures.  I'll try again and see what I can get, but not today.  Too pooped to do much of anything today.  :-)

Until next time, add a little color to your life in some way...it'll add a little happy to your day!  Take care!

A stitch in time

Hello everyone!

First, welcome back!  I hope you have had a good week!  My week was crazy...work is crazy, local family issues are crazy, and doggone it, I'm tired!  It was no rest for the weary this week, but no matter.  I am here, you are here, and all is well.  Thank you for being here!

I feel I must apologize for my less than complete entry last week.  Lots going on in my life outside of my studio caused me to be less than focused on my blog entry.  So, I'm going to fill in a few gaps.

The extra hearts I added to my start to finish project were done with tiny stamps:

Here are the stamp pads I used ("wild hare" [fun name :-)] and "black" [boring, but effective :-) ]):

It was a simple matter of stamping the stamp on the pad I wanted, then stamping the stamp on a paper towel to remove some of think, and then stamping the stamp on the piece.  I wanted the hearts to be subtle and that is why I used the paper towel.

So today, I wanted to take the next step.  I wanted to sew the words "you" and "me" by the center ampersand, as the focus of the piece is about love between two people.  I am very much in love with my fiance, so love is never far from my mind.  I thought the ampersands could represent things about love ("you and me," "love and affection," "cherish and honor," etc.).  To sew them on, I needed a guide, so I used my own handwriting for the words "you" and "me":

It took a few tries, but I finally got what I wanted.  I cut them out and then put them on the piece:

I used black cross-stitch thread (I do that, too, so I have tons of it laying around :-) ) and sewed over the paper to get the words to look right:

Then I took very pointy scissors and carefully cut away the paper to get the final look:

I like it!  This was not an easy process.  I stabbed myself multiple times and had a heck of a time pushing the needle through the canvas.  I had to use a needle that was very fine to try and not leave a lot of large needle holes on the piece.  This caused me to struggle with the needle going through the canvas, as the needle almost wasn't strong enough to make it through.  Oh well...it was effort well-spent in my opinion!  :-)

I want to add some of those other words (like "love" and "honor") to the other ampersands but I'll be using a different method than sewing.  See, those other ampersands are too close to the wooden edge of the canvas on the back, making it next to impossible to sew anything there.  That's okay...I have a fun idea for how to add those.  Hopefully I'll have something to show you soon!

So, until next time, be grateful for the wonderful things in your life, even if it is the simple things like food, shelter, and love.  It's the simple things that are the best.  Take care all!

More hearts...

...and just in time for Valentine's Day!

Well, they are in time for Valentine's Day, but they aren't FOR Valentine's Day.  They are just one more layer of goodness added to my start to finish project.  Here are some photos of the recently-added hearts:

Some of the hearts are super-subtle, some are not, so when you look at these pictures, look closely, because you may miss some of them.

I have the next step in mind and hopefully I'll have time to work on it this week so I have something fun to show you next week.

Until then, hug your sweetie tight and enjoy a lovely Valentine's Day!  Happy Days!

Small steps

Hi everyone!

Well, I took a small step forward today with the start to finish project.  I added some heart stencils to both the back and front of the piece.  Here are some pictures:

In the first couple of pictures above, it is hard to see the hearts...you can kind of see the gray heart outline a little bit, but you can't really see where I rotated the stencil on the piece and then used blue paint to make hearts.  I have to admit...the blue hearts are very subtle, but that is how I wanted them.

The back of the piece is much more obvious (still subtle, but you can at least see the outline of the heart in the center).

Here's the stencil on top of the start to finish piece:

And here's the paper plate I used with the blue paint on the front.  Basically, I squeezed a little paint on the plate then bounced my paint brush in the paint and then on the plate to take most of the paint off.  I wanted more of a dry brush effect.

For the gray outline, I used this kid's tool called a SprayZa.  You take a marker and insert it into the black SprayZa device.  Then you blow through the end that is away from the marker, causing air to blow onto the marker and then the marker to spray out onto the piece. This gives you a very light spray line through the stencil, again giving you a subtle look.

Joe got me the SprayZa for Christmas a couple of years ago for something fun, and it turns out that the thing makes a great artist tool.  I used it on a piece I did quite some time ago (that was purchased by a co-worker of mine :-) ), as it created this nice air-brushed look on it (I used it without a stencil on that piece).  Obviously, the more you blow in the same spot, the more color that transfers onto your piece, but that's okay...you have the control to do as little or as much as you want.

So, another step forward for the start to finish project...that makes me feel excited.  I have more to do, but that's okay.  At least it is still moving forward.

Until next time, keep moving, step by step, and before you know it, you'll have accomplished something big.  All it takes is tiny steps forward to do it!  Stay warm and safe everyone!