Create for a teacher...

We are taking over my mom's blog today just to show you our creation using the large size "ballerinas" set from  Unique Laser Designs.  We painted a rectangle canvas (I think this is 12"x24") with swishes of white, purple, and pink acrylic paint. There are black and white rectangles on the outside that give it a fun edge.We painted the ballerinas with black acrylic paint and glued them onto the canvas after it dried.

We made this as a gift for our most awesome dance teacher Emily. The quote reads, "We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once"~Nietzsche

Remember to join in the April challenge at the Unique Laser Designs blog, you can find all the info HERE.  You can play along even if you do not have any wood embellishments from Unique Laser Designs (yet!)--just use wood or chipboard on your creation and link it up HERE.

Katie and Rachel

Create one from the heart and two for fun...

I'm creating Valentines big and small with my Linnie Blooms canvas shapes today.  I have not ventured my mixed media onto canvas before, so I started with an 8"x 8" size so I wouldn't feel too overwhelmed.  I knew that I wanted my embellishments and textures (along with the quote) to be my focus, so I wanted a more subtle background.

I spritzed some Distress Stain (worn lipstick) with water and just splattered, brushed, and dripped it onto the canvas and then let it dry overnight so that the splotches and bubbles dried just as they were when wet.  I wrapped the canvas with some metallic yarn and added the sentiment with a Sharpie marker.

I used Copic markers to color the house/arrow and heart.

I stamped (with gray ink) the background of the canvas with some Close to My Heart stitched hearts, wrote my sentiment  (wherever you go-go with all your HEART), and then layered, layered, layered.  You can spy some punches, button, stamps, burlap, tulle, twine, stickers, and a bingo card. 

One Valentine present done.

When I looked at my Linnie Blooms canvas pocket one day, for some reason I saw a beak.  So this became...

THIS! (with the help of my daughter). 

 With oil pastels, she colored the pocket and I colored the wings (a Linnie Blooms canvas sunflower cut in half).  We added some eyes and some punched half circles for layered feathers and she is going to stick a small treat in here for her teacher.  WHOOOOOO wouldn't want to get this cute owl?

And one last Valentine--a silly one!  Using up patterned scraps with these painted Linnie Blooms canvas hearts and LOTS of googly eyes--inside the card it says "EYE" love you lots!

Three Valentines done  (more to do).  Whether your Valentines are layered, from the heart, cute, or silly...they are OH so special when they are hand-made.

~Kelly

Be seasonal...

It's time to stop and smell the leaves.
It's also time to stop and shovel the leaves.  So many have fallen in the last few days, that I can't even see my driveway.  I'm not complaining, because I would much rather shovel leaves than snow.  That white stuff will be here soon enough.

Today, I'm bringing the leaves indoors too.  I'm adding another season to my Four Seasons project with the Linnie Blooms canvas long blanks.  Linda has been adding new shapes, and these Linnie Blooms leaves absorbed the color from Distress Inks and Distress Stains so vividly.  I stamped a subtle swirl pattern on top too. I used hot glue to attach my leaves to the wire stem and canvas long blank so that I could "sculpt" some shape into the leaves.  Using a hot glue allowed me to push, raise, and wrinkle the leaves to give them even more texture and dimension. 

With mason jars a hot trend right now, I traced one onto vellum paper from clip art I found online.  Once again, I painted a chevron background by taping off the pattern with Scotch blue painter's tape (my new love).  There is also some twine and wire in there too. 

I didn't want to overwhelm this canvas...sometimes it's hard for me to tell myself to "STOP ADDING MORE ITEMS".  But, I'm happy where I stopped with this one. 

Autumn is a second spring,

and I am taking time to recognize each leaf as a flower.

~Kelly

**Remember...just for my beloved followers, I have a SUPER discount code for you. If you want to place an order at Linnie Blooms online store, you can shop here... http://lindabarutha.com/shop/. Use the code LB2013KS and you will get 10% off your order. Enjoy!

 

Be mixed up...

 

I'm learning it's ok to be "mixed-up".  At least in the sense of artwork.  I'm finding mixed-media to be very freeing.  No rules, no set structure, no boundaries, just playing.

 

 

Last Friday, I got to play with Linda Barutha at her store, Linnie Blooms (in Mukwonago, WI if you want to visit).  You can find her online store here at http://lindabarutha.com/shop/. 

She is selling lots of fun canvas shapes that are perfect for so many projects...like these long rectangular "blanks" and the fun sunflower/sun shape.  The possibilities are endless! 

First, I colored the background and flower shapes with Faber-Castell gelatos (and water) and stenciled on more designs with ink. I'm resisting the temptation to buy every gelato in every color!

Then it got even more fun as I continued to add more dimension by placing and squishing the flower shapes into one corner and adding some of Linnie Bloom textures (the cotton netting) that I had inked.  I also used some of that texture to make a little butterfly by folding it into a mini clothespin and adding wire antennae.  Finally, I added some ribbon and twine--twisting and stapling them onto the canvas to create grass, stems, and leaves.  The cute vintage hanger is from Melissa Frances.  For the sentiment, "everything grows better with love"...I  painted Modge Podge onto a piece of grid paper and after it dried I ran it through my printer.  I had to use a heat gun to get the ink to dry (after I learned how wet it stays on my first attempt---oops).

 

So, are you feeling mixed-up?  It's ok.  Embrace the craziness and create.  That's what I'm going to do.  Creating seems to mask the "crazy" pretty well.

~Kelly