Birthday Score!

One of the things I love about birthdays is they last so long.

  Invariably there are some presents that show up after the fact - 

 and I love that and deeply appreciate
my friends who make that happen,

 because them my birthday lasts even longer!

Here's what I received from the
wonderful Marylinn Kelly a week or so ago. 

As Michelle Ward would say "Does she get me or what?!"

I'm having a blast just imagining all the wonderful things

I can create with this bounty.

I have to say these two little tags speak to me and 

are among my favourites from the whole stash!

Tag - You're It!

These two tags use Distress Paint on a rubber stamp as a resist

and then Distress Ink on top to bring out the resist.

And these three feature a technique called  Eroded Metallic.

 Start with several colours of Distress Paint in blues and greens,

then over paint with Metallic Bronze, spray with water,

partially dry and use a paper towel to remove some of the metallic paint.

In person, these tags actually look like patina-ed metal - amazing!

Tag Team

Having fun in the studio doing different techniques 

from Tim Holtz's Creative Chemistry 102.

It's one of the things I love about on-line classes -

you can go back anytime and watch them over and over.

These four tags use Distress Paint to create a marbling effect.

   

After swiping the tag through the paint, 

you spritz with water.

And then finish them off with a bit of Distress Ink.

I'll show more tags next time.

More Background Fun!

 More fun creating backgrounds, this time

using Tim Holtz Distress paints and inks.

 I love the way this Distress paint reacts to water spray!

 I used a variety of rubber stamps from 

Tim's collections and also Michelle Ward.

And stencils from Tim's Layering Stencils and

 two of my all time favourite
 Mary Beth Shaw stencils- gears and web.

A lot of fun experimenting and seeing what the results were!

Life on the Coast

Yes, now it's really spring!

From the Bookshelf

On the second day of spring I thought this an appropriate tome for the new season. Almost 40 years old now from it's publication and 108 years since its original creation, Edith Holden's book is as fresh and beautiful as ever.  Wonderful illustrations of the flora and fauna surrounding her English countryside home. Detailed notes on the first blooms, the nesting habits, the emerging fruit, the turning of the leaves and falling of the first snow.

I was blessed several years ago to spend a week in a little Cotswold cottage in the country and got to see so many of the birds, flowers and small animals that I had first met in the pages of this delightful book.  If you've never read it, you're in for a treat and if it's an old friend - pull it out and revisit.  Either way - what bliss!

Altered Books - Frida y Mexico, Dos

 I was just learning a lot of new (to me) altered book techniques,

 such as envelopes, flaps and sleeves.

 Cut-out pages reveal a line of monkeys -

 a favourite subject in Kahlo's self portraits.

 I also used Loterria cards and overprinting on velum sheets.

I was very pleased with the results and decided to go on and create many, many more altered books, which I'll be sharing here on the blog in the coming weeks.

Altered Books - Frida y Mexico

 Way back in 2005 I started doing altered books,

 I loved the fact that all the instructions about

 them said you couldn't do them wrong!

The second one I did was entitled Frida y Mexico.

 I had a blast putting it together, using everything I 

could find in my growing stash of art supplies,

 including Victorian scrap from my material
grandmother's scrapbook(center top on right hand page),

 a napkin from Venice (right hand page),

and crepe paper cutout flags (left hand page).

More pages of Frida on Wednesday.

Nicky Ruxton

Margot and I attended an inspiring talk given by jewelry designer Nicky Ruxton presented by PenWAG - the Peninsula Wearable Art Guild in Campbell, CA.  There were ample opportunities for shopping and a class offered in the afternoon.

Nicky's talk took us through her life from childhood, school, college and up through the decades. A fascinating journey that lead from art school to graphic design to box making to collage and finally to the amazing jewelry designs she's become known for. She calls her style Industrial Artwear.

This is a woman who salivates at the sight of rusty detritus and would rather visit a metal scrap yard than the local mall - our kind of person n'est-ce pas?

Her motto is "Say yes to life!" and her story shows how she's done that over and over again.  I was inspired and uplifted by her talk and loved her jewelry!

Creative Time Too

I used a variety of texture tools on these canvses -

 embossed wall paper, credit card edges, coffee cup sleeves,

 and plastic canvas rounds and squares.

 Had fun adding drips and splatters as well.

I'm pleased with the results and loved
getting back in the studio again!

Creative Time

Spent some wonderful time in the studio on Monday creating!

 Don't always the energy for doing art right now -
so this felt great.

All on 5x7" panels with gesso, fluid acrylics and glazing medium, using techniques I picked up in the workshop I took from Seth Apter last month.  More on Thursday.

Life on the Coast

It's that time of year once more!

From the Bookshelf

Here's the second book  Lisa gave me for my birthday.  Beautifully constructed with wonderful photos and clear directions.  Amazon says How does Isa Chandra Moskowitz make flavorful and satisfying vegan meals from scratch every day, often in 30 minutes or less? It's easy! In ISA DOES IT, the beloved cookbook author shares 150 new recipes to make weeknight cooking a snap. Mouthwatering recipes like Sweet Potato Red Curry with Rice and Purple Kale, Bistro Beet Burgers, and Summer Seitan Saute with Cilantro and Lime illustrate how simple and satisfying meat-free food can be.

The recipes are supermarket friendly and respect how busy most readers are. From skilled vegan chefs, to those new to the vegan pantry, or just cooks looking for some fresh ideas, Isa's unfussy recipes and quirky commentary will make everyone's time in the kitchen fun and productive.

I'm not a vegan, but there are a ton of recipes in here that I can't wait to try! Thanks Isa and thanks Lisa!

Still Swooning - Art Supplies

More eye candy in the art supply department.

 I count tools in the same category,

colourful, irresistible and fun!

These are Margot's Sassy Feet paints -
 but she lets me use them!

I just love seeing the masses of colour!

 Fun containers.

My favourite journal pens.