A Gift for my Daughter, and a Challenge

I have wanted to make this for my daughter for a long time. I finally took the time this week. And I love it. I'm so excited. I think she will be too :)

I should have taken pictures along the way, but I never think about that until I'm done :p

By the way, the canvas is much less green than it looks on my monitor at work ;).

I started out with a 12x12 canvas, a stencil, and some gesso. I never thought it would work out this good! I laid the stencil on the canvas, and spread some gesso over it. When I lifted it I was amazed with how defined the pattern of the stencil was. I got the idea from Angie Blom. She used textured paste. Loved hers, and thought I'd add that to the canvas for my daughter. 

The canvas was painted with a combination of a few Liquitex Soft Body acrylic paints. After that was dry I used Martha Stewart Tintable Antique Effect with a little brown acrylic paint. You use very little paint in the Antique Effect, paint it allover, then wipe it off. I love the effect. It settles in the little nooks and crannies. I also used it over the heart, and on the edges of the patterned paper. 

The heart was torn out of simple printed paper from SU. The wings were cut out of the same paper. I painted the heart red with my fingers. I didn't want it to be perfectly painted. Then I used a toilet paper roll to make some big circles. I added some small dots with Unity's Distressed Dots.

All of the papers, and the lace, were adhered with Mod Podge! Love that stuff!

The words, from the Donna Downey Adore Unity Stamp Set, were stamped with black paint. I wanted it to really show up. 

So, there you have it! 

I'm linking this up in the Unity Challenge. Go see what others have posted. Some great ideas out there!

Thank you for stopping by!

Fun Bucket!

A while back I saw a 5 gallon bucket that Melody Ross had painted and decorated for the clubhouse. I filed it away for future use. 

My trash basket in my craft room wasn't big enough, and my recycle bin was a cardboard box. They weren't working out for me. I found a couple of buckets that were in pretty bad shape. They needed this!

After scrubbing them for a very long time, my 4 year old grandson helped me paint the buckets. 

That was so much fun!

After painting them with acrylic paints I Mod Podged various papers onto the buckets. I used the glossy Mod Podge. 

This morning I decided I needed more, so I started doodling with my paintbrush allover the bucket. 

That was fun too! 

 These aren't supposed to be perfect. They're supposed to be just as they are!

 The pic below shows my grandson's artwork. He was straying from my direction, and I loved it, so I kept it :)

This is my other bucket. I'm not done with it yet. Not sure what I'm doing exactly, but it will be fun!

I'm linking up to House of Hepworths link party and
Lolly Jane Boutique's Whatcha Got Weekend link party.
:)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Have an awesome day!

Mixed Media Piece-A Dog's Love

More from the "Art of Wild Abandonment" online class.

This is based on our baby, Angel. She's not a baby really. 

She's almost 12. And she's a big dog too. 

Time's a tickin'. 

 Of course she can be a real pain the you know what, but we love her dearly. She is an Irish Wolfhound and Australian Shepherd mix. She is so sweet. 

And believe it or not, her hair is actually way longer than in the drawing. And it is everywhere! I'll have to dig up a pic of her and post it.

 I don't know that I'm actually done with this. Probably not. I think I need to do something with the words in the center. 

 True, Real, Pure. Exactly what a dog's love is. Dogs are amazing, and I couldn't imagine our life without one.

Thanks for stopping by.

And have a great day!

Love With All Your Heart

I am really excited about finishing this! I started on it months ago! 

I love doing canvases. There's nothing like a paintbrush in my hand to ease my mind.

 You can see the texture on this. The first thing I like to do is put down some tissue paper with Mod Podge. I love the texture. 

The background was done with Faber Castell Gelatos. Scribble the color where you want it with them, then blend with a brush and water. 

The black is stenciled using cardstock I punched this design from. 

 To get the letters, I put down chipboard letters and trace around them. Then I paint and outline them. 

 I love the bright colors! 

Thanks for stopping by! I love having people over ;)

Have an awesome day!

Life's a Beach Birdhouse

It was time for a little Mod Podge! Every once in awhile I get the urge :)

Since I have a bunch few more birdhouses I knew just what I needed to do.

 White paint, paper, stickers,  Mod Podge, and Martha Stewart Antique Effect, and my urge was satisfied.

 This aqua wood design paper from October Afternoon always reminded me of the beach, so I made a little beach house. It makes me think of a lifeguard shack.

 This makes me happy :)

Thank you for stopping by! 

Have a great day!

Ok, Last Post About the Birdhouses!

I have blogged about these darling birdhouses twice already! 

I loved them, but something was missing. Then it struck me, snow!

 I applied Crystal Effects, then caked on the glitter! 

 And I love it!

I am done with them! And this time I mean it!

Super cute I think!

Thanks for stopping by!

I will be back tomorrow with LOTS of ornaments that I have been working on!

Update on Birdhouses

I posted these on Sunday, but I knew I had to do something more.

I had these Stampin' Up felt flowers that coordinated with the paper pretty well. 

These antique looking pearl brads were the perfect accent.  

 I love the brad on top of the birdhouse below. 

Tomorrow I'll have a few more things I've been working on ;)

I've been having fun!

Have an awesome day!

Holiday Birdhouses

I have been busy busy busy working, but I'm making time to make some Christmas gifts.

One of my projects are these little holiday birdhouses. They're not done, and I'm not sure where I'm going with them from here. But I was anxious to share ;)

 I hate to say it, but Martha Stewart kind of rocks! 

These little birdhouses are from Michael's. They're a buck, and unfinished.

I painted them white, then Mod Podged the paper (Basic Grey) on them.

This is where the magic began! 

Martha Stewart Tintable Antique Effect! 

You mix it with a small, and I mean very small, amount of paint. You brush it on, then wipe it off before it dries. It leaves your project looking old vintage ;) 

My husband and kids say they look old, so I guess I did it right ;)

 I'm not done with them, and I'm not sure what I'm going to add yet. You can bet it'll be cute though ;) I'll share the pics of the finished products as soon as I finish them.

I have other projects I've finished too, so I will be back this week with more!

This is Why I Haven't Been Posting

I have been painting! This has undergone many revisions! I have painted over, painted over, papered over, and painted over. I thought I like the first version, then I hated it. Then I re-did it and loved it, then hated it, then re-did it, and REALLY hated it! Then I painted over the whole thing, except for the bottom. The bottom (sand) has remained the same throughout. That is the only part that has remained! 

Now I LOVE this! I want to get prints made to sell on my Etsy shop :)

 I've learned a lot while working on this. 

First of all, don't be afraid of the paint. Whatever you don't like, you can paint over, and over, and over again if you need to ;) 

Second, there is no such thing as perfection! Just do it, and love it.

I also learned, enjoy the process! Sometimes just putting the brush to the canvas is the best therapy ;)

Linking up on Whatever You Want Wednesday at Free Pretty Things For You!

Thank you for looking in! I appreciate you taking the time to stop by. I also appreciate every single comment more than you know!

Have an awesome day!

Just a Little Canvas

Another attack of insomnia, and this was the result :) This midlife stuff is pretty bad for the body, but great for my creative juices. Wait until you see last night's creation!

This is a 6 x 6 canvas from Dick Blick. A nice size for a little middle of the night creativity.

I painted the background all kinds of bright summer colors, then painted over the colors with light blue and white. You can still see shades of the other colors underneath. It makes for some nice texture.

 I stamped the bicycle from Unity with gray ink, then painted over it. I did the same with the flowers and the sun. The sentiment is stamped in Black Staz On. 

 The highlights are done using the Sharpie paint marker.

 I don't have any particular plan for this little canvas. For now it just sits on my table and makes me happy ;) 

I will link this up to All Things Unity Challenge #36, Summer Feeling.

 Thanks for stopping by :) 

Have a fantastic day!

Be Nice

I made this canvas for my entryway, for various reasons ;)

I love it! I had seen signs with this saying on it lately, and I knew it was perfect for us :)

 To start with, I Mod Podged a piece of an old pattern on the canvas. I brushed a little cream paint over it, but only enough so you can still see some of the lettering on the pattern. For the next part, I traced the awesome Cosmo Cricket Blackboard "Sweet Mix" chipboard letters (that I may never use because I love them so much!) onto clear Contact paper. I think I'll just trace them forever!
I cut them out by hand (this is where one of those nifty Cricut's would come in handy). Then I lined them up on the canvas and painted it. I used a crumpled up paper to blot some of the paint off. I wanted it to look old. Yes, that was on purpose :)
When the paint was dry I peeled the letters off, and was sooo excited! There was paint that seeped under the letters, so I just touched it up a little. The I outlined it with a black pen, and added a sloppy little shadow for some dimension. Love it!

I may sand it a little yet. I'm not so sure. If I do I will post an updated pic.

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate it :)

Have a glorious day!

Baby Mini for Eli

I saw my nephew Eli for the first time since he was born yesterday! He is adorable! It was the first time I got to hold him too. Oh the memories it brought back! I can't believe my grandson Brayden was ever that small!

I brought this gift along with me :)

So much fun to make and so much fun to give! My sister can slip some of her fav pics of Eli into the book.

The little crown on the front is for their last name. The red heart is covered with Crystal Effects. So shiny!

The papers are all Daisy D's. Love it! 

Lots of acrylic paint and ribbons!

I am linking this up to Free Pretty Things For You Whatever You Want Wednesday.

Thanks for looking ;)

Have a fantastic day!