Celebration Santa Online Class at Purely Acrylics 12 Days of Christmas

I have such exciting news for all of you…. I have finally taken the plunge and joined an online teaching group.  This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time and was asked by the Purely Acrylic Group and am so excited to share the news with you. 

Join me and 11 talented artists for Purely Acrylic’s 12 Days of Christmas beginning July 13, 2015.  See the details at Click here for more details

Celebration Santa
Mixed Media Canvas

Celebration Santa Ornament
Mixed Media Ornament

Join me and 4 talented artists for Purely Acrylic’s 5 Days of Christmas Sampler Class beginning July 13, 2015.  See the details at Click here for more details

Registration begins May 1^st for the class. 

 Learn techniques in acrylic, watercolor, and mixed media, My Celebration Santa uses mono printing on a Gelli Arts gel plate to develop Santa’s coat, stencils in the background to develop interest and depth, and a little glitter for some added bling.  If you don’t have a gel plate, no worries, I will show you how to use your craft mat for mono printing.  Take a look at a preview of my project at …. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uja38DAPTFs   Instructions for both Santa projects are included in the class. 

I have decided to offer a free e-pattern to anyone who signs up for either the 12 Days of Christmas or 5 Days of Christmas through my link found here, on my website, or on my Facebook page.  I'm offering my new e-pattern Winter's Child.  Hope to see your name on my link so I can send you this free pattern.

Here is a sneak peek of all of the incredible projects which will be part of the class. 

Come join us and share in the Christmas in July fun!!!

I can't wait to hear what you have to say!!!  I have been working like crazy to get this ready for you and have more planned for this Fall.  

Planner Inside Pages and Illustrated Calendar

On one of my shopping expeditions I found these adorable die cuts by Jillybean Soup and decided to doodle on them and they turned out so cute that I chose to add them to my planner dividers.  I think they were a great addition.  I colored them with Gel Pens, Acrylic Markers, and Tombow Markers, cut each die cut in half and glued them onto the pages.  So fun and such a great project to work on in the evenings when I am watching TV.  You can see the one above and the one below.  The light reflects a bit on the surface but I think you can get the idea. 

This divider is a Mary Engelbreit Card which my daughter and her husband gave me for Valentines Day.  I loved it and thought that it would be great added to my planner so I cut it down, added Washi Tape and inserted it front and center.  I also did the card which my husband gave me but haven't inserted it into the planner yet.  What a great way to re-purpose expensive cards. 

Originally I wasn't planning to add a calendar, I have a calendar which I keep in my purse and of course always have my phone on me.  In the past I have done calendars which I have illustrated and used in my planner, I did that last year in a Moleskine planner which I did with the Documented Life Project.  I thought about ordering a calendar to use in the planner but being a DIY kind of person decided to make my own again this year.  This is the August version.  It has changed slightly as I opted to paint around the edges using my Tombow Markers.  I'm currently working on October, which I love and will share that one when I get it finished. 

I think this is going to be a great planner which I can use as I see fit and add new pages as I use it more and more.  If you like the idea of doing a Life Planner but can't seem to keep up with the daily habit think about something which will suit your purpose more and this seems to work for me. 

How about some comments????  Do you use a planner????

Journal/Planner Re-design Inside pages Part 1

I am fascinated with the work that folks are doing with their planners, so fun and such a great descriptive visual opportunity to record your life on a daily basis.  I on the other hand have a hard time keeping up with anything which requires me to "keep" up with something.  I'm a huge fan of the gals over at the Documented Life journaling program and have participated during the past few years and start out with a bang and then just get overwhelmed with everything else that I want to do and end up only doing portions of the project.  I'm fine with this, it doesn't bother me at all because I believe that you need to do the sections which speak to you.  But..... I considered this when I started looking at the planner pages that folks were doing and decided to do something which was realistic for me only. 

I really wanted to do something which was "realistic" for me given my time and interest so decided to turn this planner into a journaling/sketching book which can be carried with me at all times.  This gives me the chance to sketch when I have time and the opportunity.  Because this planner is so small, approximately 5"X7.5", I can carry it in my purse and it packs really well when I am gone for the day or even longer periods of time. 

I cut down to size 90# watercolor paper, Bristol paper, and sketch paper, punched the holes in them and added them to the planner.  For my dividers I decided to use some of my Gelli Prints, Washi tape and laminated them.  In the photos above you can see that I used a variety of materials for the borders and included some scrap pieces of  projects completed by some of my students.  I decided that if the student didn't want the scrap material they would look great around my dividers and remind me of my students as long as I use these dividers.  What a great way to re-purpose something which was going to be thrown away. 

So far I am loving this planner.  What do you think? 

Journal/Planner Redesign

In my last post you saw the planner I was working on to re-design as I disliked the color of the Day Planner and opted to paint it using Deco Art So-Soft Paints and really felt that it was toooo busy!   I will admit that I tend to go overboard when I am stenciling, then thought why not paint around a design to tone down most of the front. leaving the areas of the stenciled layer that I loved.   I had a new stencil from Stencil Girl Products that I was  looking forward to using of a daisy mask and thought it would be perfect for this planner.  HMMMM!!!!  I used Black So-Soft paints to paint around the design leaving the previous stenciled image and loved it although it took days for it to dry because I had added sooooo much paint over neoprene.  I was actually a little nervous that it was never going to dry completely but it did.  HURRAY!!! 

Now I love it and have something which is completely of my own design and idea.  I would suggest doing this if you have a paintable planner, I don't know how well you can paint over leather but the neoprene seemed to take the paint well but you do have to be patient and allow the paint to cure.  It is still a little sticky but over time I'm sure it will dry perfectly.  If you look carefully you can see the glitter paint starting to show through the black and little snippets of paint colors which I love. 

In my next few posts I am going to share with you some of the inside sections of this planner which were also completed entirely by myself.  Having a blast with this project. 

BTW the stencil I used for the flower is one by Stencil Girl and is called Doodle It Daisy Stencil by Maria McGuire.  Love it.  Go to their site and view all of the fantastic stencils by the amazing artists at Stencil Girl!

Day Planner Re-Design with Deco Art So-Soft Paints

I went a little overboard on adding paint to this.  LOL.  I was starting to make a mess but wanted to try calming it all down and added the pink and turquoise dots to try to bring the entire design together.  Not sure if I accomplished what I had in mind, I may decide to paint around some of the elements that I like but will decide what my next step is after I let it dry.  It is a little busy, maybe fresh eyes will give me a needed perspective.  

What do you think?  Is it a hot mess or interesting?  

Journal Re-design using Deco Art So-Soft Paints

Here is the second step in my re-design of my Day Planner.  You can see that I've begun layering additional paint colors onto the planner but you can still see quite a bit of the red, which I do not care for.  I will have to take care of that.  My problem with this planner has always been its color, not the size or inside design, which I really like.  So what to do now?  Suggestions?  

I hope the So-Soft Paints start to dry because this is still a sticky mess.  I will keep you posted.  This might become a hot mess and will go to Good Will.  LOL.  

Have you ever tried this?  

Designing a Planner

I've had this Day Planner for 15 years or so and used it, until I got my I-Phone, as an address book and a general planner.  It was great and kept me organized between home, work, and my business.  Once I got my phone I decided to train myself to use my phone instead of a physical calendar and love my phone but had this planner taking up dust.  Being a teacher/artist I hate to throw things out, you never know when you will need something. LOL.  My husband on the other hand would really like me to get rid of a few things, I decided that I should  use this planner again or get rid of it, but really hated the color.  It is a red neoprene, which I've never really liked but when I purchased it the colors which were available were limited.  So being a can do kind of person decided to paint it and got out my Deco Art So Soft paints. 

I made the decision that if I didn't like it once it was painted I would get rid of it for good.  HMMM????  Is that a challenge to myself.  

I wasn't really sure that I wanted to paint the entire planner and chose to stencil and sponge reds, orange, turquoise blue, and white onto the planner.  Still wasn't overly sure I was crazy about it but was beginning to like it better.   Check back after I let this dry to see the next incarnation of re-purposing this planner.  It is a great size 6"X 7", I'm planning to use it as a travel sketchbook so it doesn't really have to be gorgeous but I would like to enjoy the color of it.  

Do any of you use planners?  For what purpose?  I'm kind of missing having a planner and have been reading about the planners that individuals are developing.  It sounds like fun.  Maybe this should be a full fledged planner instead of just a travel sketchbook.  Time will tell.  

More Hand Painted Bottles using the Deco Art Glass Paint Markers.

I just completed these two bottles.  No, I'm not a heavy drinker, my niece's husband works at a local restaurant which has a bar and he is nice enough to rescue the bottles for me.  I've had an amazing assortment of bottle for inspiration.  Certainly good for the environment as well as my liver!  These re-purposed bottles now have a new life.  I am developing a pretty decent inventory and am thinking about selling off some of my stock.

I think these would be great for vinegar, oils, and decanters for home-made liquors.  Any other ideas?

  Every time I complete a bottle it becomes my newest favorite and these are two of my faves.

Guiness Bottle

I am happy to post the final photo of my Guiness bottle, I actually did a second bottle as well and am posting both bottles. I stayed with the gold and silver color scheme.  Lighter colors did not show up on the dark glass.  The second bottle actually reminded me of a combination of a mosaic and a sweater material.   Lol.

What do you think?  Would you want to try these.  

Guiness Bottle

I am back online now, thankfully I have my computer back up and running.  I had to re-install software and reconfigure my contacts in my email, still working on those, but at least I am back in the techno world.

As I promised a few weeks ago here is the second photo showing the Guiness bottle that I started working on.  This photo shows where I have added the vertical lines and don't be concerned about the bleed from the white lines, that will disappear once I add the remainder of the gold paint.  I am using White and Gold on this bottle and it is turning out really lovely.

I will post the finished bottle in my next post.  I just received a number of new bottles that are calling for me to begin the design process and I have 4 finished bottles that need to be heat set in the oven.

I'm seriously considering adding these bottles to my website for sale.  What are your thoughts?

Phew, what a couple of weeks I've had!  The hard drive on my computer crashed shortly after posting my last blog post.  I ended up replacing the hard drive and luckily had backed up all of my pattern files but had not backed up any of my email contacts.  I was able to replace all of my pattern files, which was a blessing, but I've had to reconfigure all of my email contacts and newsletter addresses.  The moral of the story is back up your email contacts.  LOL.  Easy to say now, I wish I would have taken my own advise.  Needless to say I'm still working on putting all of my addresses back into my computer, consequently I have not had time, or a computer, to be able to blog, not to mention am still trying to reload software which was on my computer prior to meltdown.  I'm hoping to have my computer back up and running by next weekend and can post the next bottle which is finished and ready to be posted as soon as I can access my photos.

Hope you have a great week.

Turn an Ordinary Bottle into Something Extraordinary with Deco Art Glass Paint Markers

My last post was all about tips and techniques that I have learned in my glass painting journey using the Glass Paint Markers.  In this post I thought that I would show you a bottle starting at the beginning, or close to the beginning of the design process and give you some insight into the creativity process.  Are you with me as we take this from a boring dark colored bottle to a stunning piece of art?

• This is your basic dark colored beer bottle, Guinness to be exact, it has a plastic label which made it enticing since the prep work was very minimal. I removed the label with a sharp knife, washed it in the dishwasher and looked at it for a few days.  In my mind I am envisioning what design I think will enhance the features of the bottle.  This bottle seemed to call for an overlapping line pattern to form diamonds. The marker colors used was predetermined by the color of the bottle.  I have now completed enough dark colored bottles that I am beginning to get a feel for which colors work and which do not and how to add brighter colors if I decide I want them.  
• It was actually fairly easy to accomplish, I used 1/4" green masking tape to mask the lines after I sketched the general design in with my white Stabillo pencil and used the tape to help me draw in fairly straight lines with my white marker.  
• Next I drew the diamond shapes to fit in each area with my white or gold paint marker and colored them in.  I gave these two coats of paint, let each coat dry completely otherwise your paint will scratch off, and added dots to enhance the design. 
• It is difficult to describe what goes into the process of developing a design on a bottle except that I look at  the bottle for a period of time to see what calls to me.  This bottle seemed perfect for this design but am now at the stage where it needs to sit again for a while so I can determine what to add to the top and bottom portion of the bottle.  
• Often I will sketch a random idea on a bottle to see how I think it will work out and then rework the design until I find something that I am satisfied with although I have been known to just sit down and begin doodling randomly and just go with the process.  
• However you look at it it is a fun process and you are re-purposing the bottles.  
• I will keep you posted on the next stages of the bottle.  

Leave me feedback!  I'd love to hear your comments.  

Patron Bottles and Glass Markers, A Match made in Heaven!

 I am a fan of Margaritas, especially those made with Patron.  That is one of my go to cocktails when we go out to dinner.  Before Christmas my husband and I were finishing up our Christmas shopping and decided to stop at our local state liquor store and saw these absolutely adorable mini Patron bottles.  Of course I couldn't resist, Patron and an adorable bottle to go along with, it was a match made in heaven.  Sooooo I got two, one is good two is even better.  Naturally because they were so small I poured the alcohol into my larger Patron bottle, removed the labels, put them through the dishwasher and started doodling on them.  So cute!!!!!  Kind of like a puppy, cute and adorable but won't mess on your carpet!  Woo Hoo!!!

I have been experimenting with a variety of bottles and have had some great successes and some not so great.  I will keep you posted on some of my faves!

Now that I have been using these markers for quite some time I feel very comfortable giving you tips and techniques which seem to work well for me.

• First of all let each color dry before trying to change colors.  LOL.  Seriously this seems like a no-brainer, I  must be a slow learner because I had a few messes before I realized that you cannot rush this process.  When you first add the paint to the glass piece the color will be sticky, let the paint dry to the point where you can begin to layer paint colors, if you rush the process you will lift your paint.  Experiment with this because it will depend on your weather and humidity level. 
• If you make a mistake and need to make a correction you can easily remove your mistake for a short period of time with your finger or a wet tissue.  If you wait too long your paint will adhere to the glass and you will need to scratch the paint off.  Trust me on this one, remove the paint early on.  
• The white and black paint markers are opaque and can be used to mask out areas which you may not be completely happy with.  The colored markers are transparent.
• If you are using a colored bottle many of the colored markers will  not show up except on a clear bottle, use the white marker to mask out an area, let it dry completely and then color over the white area with a colored marker.  Make sure that this area is completely dry otherwise the white paint will lift.  I would recommend that you allow this to dry overnight before applying your colored layer.  
• You can easily shade and highlight with the markers just make sure that each paint layer is dry before working over another color.  
• The paint will blend somewhat when placed in the oven to heat set and the paint colors will become slightly more intense.  
• I do not worry if you see my strokes as I color on the bottle, that is part of the charm of each bottle.  The whimsy that occurs as you develop your design is part of the charm of each piece.  
• Don't sweat the small stuff, have fun.  

I will post more tips and techniques as I discover the ins and outs of glass painting.  

Aren't these mini Patron bottles adorable?  

Everyday with the Artist's Club

I was so thrilled to be selected to be a part of the Artist's Club first compilation artist book.  The group of artists is so talented and I am honored to have been asked to be a part of it.  This is a first for me, as many of you know I published my own e-book this year and now to be a part of a compilation project is a dream come true.  LOL, check and check off of my bucket list.  This is my project which is called Life Is....... and is the first in a series of banner projects that Artist's Club has asked me to complete.  The second will be out as a pattern later on this spring or summer.  The banner is painted on Roc Lon and the  Life banner holder is a wood piece.  All can be purchased at www.artistsclub.com.

Glass Paint Markers on Bottles

Have I told you how much I love these Glass Paint Markers?  LOL.  I sound like a broken record but they are fantastic and so easy to use.  I've been saving a few interesting glass bottles trying to decide what I wanted to do with them and decided to try doodling.  Sooo much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Easy too!

The bottle really dictates what the design becomes, after studying the bottle I started by sketching some ideas on the bottle using my Stabillo pencil.  Once I have a design that I like then I develop it using the paint markers.  I had three bottles and did three very different designs on them, once they are heat set in the oven they are dishwasher safe although I'm not sure I'd put them in the dishwasher. I'd probably wash them by hand if it were me just to be on the safe side.

I could see these used as bottles for oils, liquors, or even filled with colored water.  What are your thoughts?  What would you use these for?

Deco Art Glass Paint Markers

Back again with the Deco Art Glass Paint Markers!  I know I have discussed the virtues of these markers in the past but I am once again going to express how easy they are to use!  This is my last set which will be used as Christmas gifts.

My husband watched me doodle on these the other night and was amazed that I just sit down without a plan and doodle on the glass.  I guess I've done enough of these that I'm pretty confident that I can just go with the flow. I've tried to repeat the patterns from some of the previous designs but never seem to be able to duplicate them, I guess that is the beauty of hand-made.  LOL.  I hope you will give the markers a try, even if you have to order them directly from Deco Art I really feel that they are worth the time and money invested.  Merry Christmas.

 You can see in these photos I've used the markers on a few ornaments as well as the porcelain dishes.  The two flat ornaments in the front and the round one toward the back were all purchased at Michael's.  I preferred the round one to the flat, just a personal preference but will keep that in mind for next year.  In fact am planning to try my hand at doodling on colored glass ornaments which I have an abundance of.  I will keep you posted how they turn out.  That could be a wonderful surface to try this technique on.

My very favorite dish is the round one to the left of this photo, I just love how I integrated the colored markers into the piece, I felt the color set off the design.  I may have to keep that one for myself.  

For some reason this has been an extremely popular series of blog posts, I don't really know if it is because you are all interested in using the markers or you just like the idea of doodling on porcelain.  I'd love to hear what you like about this series of blog posts.  

I have a glass Patron bottle which I have been saving for the right project and may try my hand at doodling on it.  HMMMM..... 

I'd love to hear what it is that has intrigued you all about this series of blog posts.  

Gel Printing Part 2 with my Daughter

I love the Christmas season!!!  Unfortunately it goes by so quickly and I for one do not take it all in until something makes me slow down and enjoy.  I think that many of us get so caught up in the shopping, wrapping, decorating, and the prepping that we forget what Christmas is all about.  That happened last weekend when my daughter decided to come spend the day with me and gel print because she wanted to make her Grandmother a recipe book for Christmas.  This Christmas she wanted to make as many of her gifts as she could for economical reasons but also because she really wanted to connect in a personal way with her gift giving.

As I stated in my last post I was so thrilled that she was interested and we had a great day.   She used many of her gel prints for sections of the book.  She sent me a few photos as the book came together and I was thrilled with the result, she very kindly gave me permission to share the pages with all of you.  I know that her Grandmother will treasure the book and be able to use it every day to store her recipes.  I know I felt honored that my daughter wanted to share this day with me.  What a wonderful spirit.

Gell Printing with my Daughter

To my delight my daughter recently expressed an interest in wanting to learn how to Gel Print and I was both surprised and thrilled.  We spent a glorious day monoprinting on my Gelli Arts Plate, what a great day of mother/daughter bonding while sharing a technique which I love.  You can see in the photos which follow that she had a wonderful time and made some really lovely prints.  I think she is a natural!  Believe it or not it was her first time.

 I had her use the Deco Art Satin paints as I always get a great result with them and I really love the finish when they are dry.

 Here she is adding texture with a plastic holder which originally held glue sticks during shipping!  I tend to use as many found/household objects as I can when gel printing.  She particularly liked the texture which she achieved with it.  You can see the reverse on the print in the photo below.  As you can see she also used a number of stencils and the Catalyst Wedge tools.

 Here she is printing section of a paper, she was actually horrified to learn that I do not clean my plate until she started to pull some of the dried bits of paint which added amazing layers to her prints.  Now she's a believer.

 

 Look at these glorious prints.  I can't tell you how proud I am of her.  She has always been very creative and started painting with me as a toddler but seemed to lose interest during her teen years.  Maybe she is interested in Art again?  Hopefully!!!!

I can't wait to share with you what she is doing with these prints.....  A gift for someone, unfortunately not me.  LOL.  Check back in a few days to see.  

Wow, I didn't realize how long it has been since my last blog post. In this post I chose to test white gel pens and acrylic paint markers over the Uni Posca Acrylic Markers.  I recently purchased the Uni Posca 1M set but did not have them when I was completing this test.  Will keep you posted on my thoughts about these.

In one of my previous marker comparison posts I promised to test my Uni Posca 3M Acrylic Markers.  On the top of this chart I made a color chart of each pen color so I had it for easy reference and on the bottom tested four white pens over the Posca markers:  Montana White, Molotow White, Signo White Angelic 120, and the Signo White Broad 153.  Interestingly enough I had issues with the Montana White producing a consistent opaque line while the Molotow White produced a consistent opaque line although I had problems with the marker working consistently.  It was a little temperamental.   The Signo White Broad was definitely more consistent than was the Signo Angelic although I was actually pleased with both of these.

I'd say that from these results I would be concerned to use the Montana White and the Molotow White and to expect a good consistent result where line work is concerned.  I'd say that I would choose to use my White Gel pens instead if I wanted a good consistent result.

Do any of you have any ideas?????  Love to hear them.

Halloween Art Journal Page

I posted the background for this art journal page a while ago  as I was comparing acrylic markers, I added some doodling which I completed using my white and colored gel pens.  I really wanted to add something to the page to finish it off but couldn't come up with an idea for it.  As I was sketching one evening this character appeared on the page, I colored her with my Uni-Posca Markers, added some gel pen, cut her out and attached her to the page.  She really had the look of Halloween about her and decided to keep with that theme and added spiders and bats.  I was happy with it although in the future I'd probably enlarge her slightly so she became more of a focal point.

 I love the colors on this page and might consider doing another page in the  future because I think this would be so adorable with an undersea theme instead of Halloween.  But I had Halloween on the mind....... Happy Halloween.