Sweet! Burlap Canvas

I've got a super SWEET little canvas to share with you today!  This is a 6x6, 1.5" deep burlap canvas.

This is the first burlap canvas that I've worked on and it was not as easy as I thought it would be.  Your definitely better off with loose mediums like spray inks, gelatos, watercolors or gouache.  I started by adding gesso and fluid acrylics.

Since the fibers are so loose I changed to gouache and molding paste for the cupcake.  The gouache covers the burlap much better than fluid acrylic.  In keeping with a highly textured piece, I opted for molding paste for the frosting.  I simply mixed my color right in before applying to the canvas.

Since painting/drawing on the burlap proved to be a bit difficult for me, I decided to go with collage.  I'm using butterflies that I purchased on Etsy from Reneaboutiques.  (Great shop, you should totally check it out!)  Sweet is from a K&Company diecut set.

I topped off the cupcake with a heart button from my stash and sprinkles of Shattered Mica Iced Enamels.  I got the shattered mica from Paper Wings Productions.  They have a lot of great mixed media productions to choose from, check them out too.

Thank you for stopping by, have a beautiful day!!!

Available for purchase here: Sweet Mixed Media Burlap Canvas

Fairy Wishes

Hello you guys!!  I'm back with a new canvas and this one is big.  I'm going whimsical on this piece, I'm calling it Fairy Wishes:

This is canvas is 16x20 and 1.5" deep.  I started just like I always do, you know with absolutely no idea of what I'm gonna create, lol.  I just picked a couple of colors that I love and started painting.

With the base colors down, I started adding these flowing vines.  I really enjoy the fluid motion of creating curves so I always add them in somewhere.  At this point I walked away for a little while til a burst of inspiration hit me.

I found a photo of girl with beautiful purple hair that inspired me to create this fairy.

I spent a lot time tweaking her, I'm self taught so I just do the best I can and learn as I go.

I started adding circles and when I added some highlights they transformed into bubble so I just went with it, lol.

I used book text, acrylic paints, gouache, spray ink, stencils, markers and stamps to create all of my layers.

The edges are painted in a muted teal.  That's it for today friends, THANK YOU so much stopping by and spending a little part of your day with me!!

May you touch Dragonflies and Stars, 

Dance with Fairies and touch the Moon

Have a magical day!!

Praise the Lord - Mixed Media

I've been on a roll and I'm happy to report that I've completed another canvas!  I had this one going at the same time as the last one so I couldn't resist doing more flowers.  The colors and the hearts were inspired by Valentines.

This is a 10x10 canvas with a mixture of acrylic paints, gauche, molding paste, inks and paper.

I started out by creating the hearts with paint and molding paste.  I used a palette knife to give them lots of texture.  Next I began doodling the flowers around them.

I added book text for stems and stenciled around the canvas.  To add a little more visual interest, I hand wrote "Praise the Lord with all your Heart" around some of the flowers.  I love incorporating positive messages in my artwork and what could be better than praising the Lord.

All of the edges are painted black for contrast.  Thanks so much for joining me today!!  I'll be up on the Paper Wings Productions blog tomorrow for Tutorial Tuesday, hope you'll join me.

Have a BEAUTIFUL day, blessings!!!

Magenta Mask

Hello friends!!  I'm back to working on my Day of the Dead masks :D  I have to warn you, you're gonna see a lot of these along with Halloween projects for the next couple of months.  They happen to be some of my very favorite kind of projects to do so I hope you don't mind.

When I start one of these masks, I always start with the eyes and I wanted to use a really fun bright color palette for the this one.  So I reached for my favorite gouache magenta and Liquitex soft body acrylic in soft blue.

I went completely freehand on this one, no stamps.  I just try and keep things as symmetrical as possible.  I think that's really key in these Dia De Los Muertos designs.

I use Signo pens to highlight my designs.

I used sheer ribbon and white grommets on this one.  

I haven't decided if I'm going to take this down to Homestead or add it to my Etsy shop.  What do you think?  Are you guys interested in any of the masks I've made so far?  The first one with the winged heart is already spoken for but let me know if you'd like me to add this one or the one with the butterfly masked to my Etsy shop.  I'd really love your feedback.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a beautiful day, Adios!!

Happy Friday!

Hello, hello!  I hope you all have had a wonderful week!!  We've been busy with end of year school activities and are counting the days, lol.  How bout you, what have you been up to?  

I have found a little time to get crafty ;D cause you know it's what keeps me sane, lol.  So today is my turn to post for Paper Wings and I'm sharing how I altered this scrap piece of wood that was on my desk.

I also knocked out an art journal page and sharing some tips on getting it done quickly.  If you'd like to see these projects, please visit:  The Aviary.

Thank you all so much for visiting me and for all the kind words you leave me.  Have a wonderful holiday weekend!!!

Frida - Mini Paper Mache Heart

I'm back with another mini heart!!  I actually made this one last week but hadn't had a chance to share it with you.  I find myself always wanting to take a bit of a breather after a show.  I work really hard to get ready so I like to unwind just a little afterwards.  I did complete a new project for Zeus and Zoe so I'll be sharing that one with you on Saturday.  It's a storage project so make sure you come by and check it out!  

Now onto my heart :D

The image of Frida is from the Paper Wings Productions Muertos Stamp Set and the sentiment is from the the Frida Por Vida set.  The little heart is also a PWP stamp and the flowers are hand drawn.

The sentiment is Frida's famous quote, "Feet, What Do I Need You For When I Have Wings to Fly".

The backside of this one is identical to the front.   Well friends, that's it for today.  Thanks so much for joining me & have a beautiful day!!

Artsy to the Bone - Mini Paper Mache Heart

Hey Everyone!  I thought I'd take a little break from my large paper mache hearts to share my first mini heart:

Isn't this awesome?!  I love this mini heart so much that I've decided to make this a reoccurring item in my Etsy shop.  I just love the bright colors and of course the sentiment, "artsy to the bone", lol.  This is a small paper mache heart measuring about 4" x 3".  I used the large Catrina stamp by Paper Wings Productions, the PWP Frida Por Vida stamp set for the flowers and the Muertos stamp set for the sentiment.

Here's a look at the backside of the heart.

I painted this heart with gouache and did my usual pen work around the edges.  I'm hoping to have some of these in my Etsy shop in the near future.  I completed two more of the large paper mache hearts yesterday so keep an eye for them.  Thanks so much for all your kind comments and words of encouragement.  They really mean a lot to me!  Thanks so much for visiting me today, have a wonderful day!!

Fiesta flowers

Did you guys get a chance to check out my altered train case yesterday?  Here's the link in case you missed it: Mixed Media Monday.  Today I'm featuring the same PWP Mixed Media kit but I'm only using the stamp set which can also be purchased separately HERE.   

This is an 8x8 canvas called "Fiesta Flowers".  Here in San Antonio we just kicked off our two week long Fiesta celebration and bright beautiful colors like these can be seen through out our lovely city.  If you'd like to find out more, visit http://www.fiesta-sa.org/ for all the details.

I was inspired by these beautiful stain glass windows in the Royal Melange stamp set.  They reminded me of flowers and so these beautiful blossomed right before my eyes.

I started out with my favorite light blue soft body acrylic then stamped the medallions onto the canvas and drew the flowers around them.

The flowers are colored in with a mixture of acrylic and gouache paints.  Then I stamped the medallions again on the cardstock included in the April Mixed Media kit, fussy cut and embellished with paint and a white gel pen. 

I randomly stamp some of the other stamps in the set and doodled around the edges.

Did you all notice anything different on this painting?!..................No words!!  At the SoFlo Market, one of the other artisans suggested that I do some paintings with no words to reach a larger market so I thought it was worth a try.  So what do you think?!  Do you like sentiments on my work, prefer them without or are indifferent?  I'd love to hear from you so please share your thoughts.

I've entered this project is the Simon Says Stamp and Show - Color Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful, inspired & colorful day!!!

VIVA FIESTA!!

Building Up an Art Journal Page

Hi Bloggie Friends!  Did you all have a smooth Monday?  Mine was okay I guess :D.  I did manage to finish up my art journal page that I shared yesterday.  Here's a look at the finished pages:

Wanna see how I got from here to......         

Here, no prob....just watch the video ;D

Did you like the music?!  Tell the truth, your booty was shakin right, right, lol!  I was actually talking in the beginning but I haven't figured out how to get the music to start after I'm done talking.   So even though I adjusted where the music started, you still can't hear me.  I was just saying that I was back and that I was gonna start building up my pages.  At the very end my battery ran out but all I did was add some rubons, journaling and doodling, nothing major.

Thank you so much for watching, please let me know what you'd like to see and I'll try and put something together for you.  I'm gonna be taking a little break from blogging starting on Wednesday, Nov 8th and will be back on Monday, Nov 12th.  My DH and I will be enjoying some much needed mommy & daddy time for our anniversary.  I'll have some post scheduled during that time but I won't be doing any blog reading.  I'm gonna give my honey my undivided attention ;D

THANKS SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY & HAVE A TERRIFIC TUESDAY!!

New Art Journaling Video

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, ours was pretty cool.  We spent Saturday at La Villita for their Dia De Los Muertos celebration.  It was so much fun, they had arts & crafts for the kids, performances by local dance troops, lots of artists selling their art and an awesome procession.  If you'd like to see pics from the event, visit my FB page.  I've uploaded a lot of pics from the event there.

Today I worked on some art journaling and made a new video to share.  This one went a lot smoother than my first attempts.  So here it is:

I hope you like this one, I tried to make it a lot shorter this time.  

WELCOME to everyone who signed up to follow along over the weekend.  I so happy to stopped by and decided to follow :D

Enjoy the rest of you day!!

Art Journaling TEST videos

Hi there!!
I've been working on creating a video to share with you for the last few days.  Boy....I had know idea it would be so much work and take so much time to edit/save & upload!  Well maybe it's just me and my learning curve, lol.  Here is a look at the final art journal page from the videos I'm gonna show you:

Okay here it is part I:

&

Part II

It was quite the adventure trying to video tape this!  When I first started, I didn't know the camera was shifting on me.  Then as I was working, the battery ran out and I had no idea so I was still chugging along.  Next my DH decides to move the camera.  He was trying to adjust it for me because I didn't capture my complete page.  Oh well, it's all good right!  Just remember this is my first try so it can only get better from here, lol.  Feel free to leave me any tips that might help me figure this out.  Maybe next time I'll remember to add music!

Here are some closer looks:

I used a stencil and molding paste for the bird then colored it with oil pastels.

The background is a combination of papers, acrylics, goauche, stamps, tapes and inks. 

I used white ink, gel pen and white out pen on this project.

I used India ink for the sentiment.

I made the flower with the button on it with joint tape.  The other two are by the Paper Studio and I added paint to all of them.

I applied the molding paste with a pallet knife and let it cure overnight.

That's it!  Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Please let me know what you think of the video and leave any tips you can share :D

I've entered this art journal page in Berry71bleu's current challenge: Mixed Media

Lucky!

This little cutie is called "Lucky"

The colors of this 8x8 canvas were inspired by the bright & playful colors of my Mexican heritage.  With Fiesta right around the corner, these bright colors are beginning to pop up all over our beautiful city.

  Every since April of 1891, our city has honored the fallen heroes of the Alamo and celebrates the victory at San Jacinto with a week long Fiesta.  If you've never been, you really need to try and make it at least once!

  For more information on Fiesta, check out the San Antonio Fiesta Commission website.

For this piece I used fluid acrylic, gesso, oil pastels, craft paper, a vintage hymn book, cardboard, chipboard embellishments, craft wire and glimmer mist

 The chipboard Lucky embellishment is from K&Company, Jubilee Icons

 I started out thinking of rolling hills, so I used Golden Fluid Acrylic in Green Gold

Once the green was on, I added Liquitex Gesso with a palette knife to create lots of texture.  Originally I thought these were going to be trees.

When I got back from restocking at Homestead today, I decided these needed to be flowers!  So I painted them with Holbein Gouache in Magenta.  Isn't it a beautiful color, the Artisans over at Homestead had these colors all over the place with their Fiesta items. 

I found scraps of craft paper, scrapbook paper oh & my favorite vintage hymn book for the stems & leaves.  No scrap no matter how small goes to waste in my studio ;o)  To add interest, I outlined the flowers and stems with oil pastels.

After starring at the canvas for awhile, I decided I needed more of the hymn book to balance my composition so I found another scrap that was perfect for the top of the canvas.



I started going through my embellishments and thought the "lucky" chipboard was just what I needed.  I added it to some scraps of cardboard and made a banner using craft wire.  I was inspired to add a banner because I'm been researching banners on Pinterest.  I want to add one to my shop over at Homestead but I'm not sure what I want it to look like so what better place to find examples than Pinterest, right!

At this point the canvas was looking a little flat so I added in layers of highlights and low lights to create dimension.  In the end I think I captured the playful and festive feel of Fiesta!

Viva Fiesta!!!!

Let the countdown begin!