I bet you’re wondering where I’ve been and why I haven’t posted anything lately. Christmas morning I ate the ice and broke my ankle upon the fall. I’ve been laid up…literally…since then, except for the ER visit and my trip (no pun intended) and to the bone doctor yesterday. I’ve been in a splint since my ER visit and have been taking pain pills to keep the pain tolerable. Sadly, I will be needing surgery. The Dr wants to put a pin in my ankle which upon research seems quite common for the type of break I have. I’ll be heading out early Saturday morning to the hospital and my surgery will start at 7:30 AM. I would dearly and greatly appreciate any prayers that you could send up for me. The past week has been many things, from frustrating, tearfilled, humorous, impatient, fearful, sleepy, slow, as well as a learning experience I don’t wish to ever relive. I’m doing my best to find the good in this situation, to make those around me laugh, and to keep my spirits up as well. I’ve been sleeping, reading, watching tv, sleeping, sleeping, and tossing and turning on the couch that now has a permanant imprint of my butt. I’m hoping that a few days after surgery I will have the strength, stamina, and desire to sit up and doodle a bit. I still plan on making my art classes that I had mentioned before Christmas. I know my emails are piled to the roof on my computer but I can’t make it that far yet without complete exhaustion. I will have my hands and eyes full by time I can get to my PC. I hope that your New Years Eve is far better than mine. I have high hopes for 2010 and I’m not going to let this get me down. I’ve ordered some books on marketing to stuff my brain with knowledge during my down time..In other words…I’m making lemonaid! If you’re sitting on lemons as I am.. toss in some suger and make the most of your situation…no matter how hard it seems to be. We’ll make it through this together.
Here’s something to keep you busy as you anxiously await the festivities. Or to print out and give to your overly excited wee-ones who can’t wait for the big moment! I’ll be gone for a few days enjoying time with family and friends and eating way to much. New Years Promise to self…. Get skinny. May all of you have a marvelous Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and may God Bless you abundantly! I’ll have some changes coming in 2010 that I’m very excited about and will share them here when they are ready. Until then! Jesus is the reason for the season! (and he says it’s okay to color outside the lines!)
Christmas is just around the corner. I’m not done …yet. /SIGH! I’m working feverishly on the last remaining things I wanted to get done before the big day. With only a few things left to do I’m anxious about getting them done in the St. Nick of time! I can’t share them here as the people they are for are actually the only family members I know that visit my blog. Thank you Brandie… and the hubs. I do however have something I want to share with you that I hope you’ll take the time to check into. I’ve met a girl online whom goes mainly by M. She’s hosted a 3 week challenge on a Ning site that after the 3 weeks, and then 3 weeks again, and possibly again, lost popularity and Ning being the ningypoo’s they are, they closed her site. The good news is… She now has a new site called Heart’s Desire for Joy and is offering daily inspiration for free. Her content is solid, her message is awesome, she is truly one of the most inspiring people I’ve come across on the Internet and she’s not snarky at you for succeeding! She’s a very warm-hearted person that you can’t help but fall in love with. Please drop on by, check her out and see what inspiring messages she has to offer. Inspiration is never a bad thing! There are already a lot of really inspiring people that have joined her community so you ‘ll be sure to find something you can relate to. It’s a place of friendship, sharing, discussing woes and working them out…. and so much more. For the most part I’m not one to promote things on my blog, but I believe so strongly in Heart’s Desire for Joy that I really do truly hope you stop in for a visit.
I made this post on some of the Ning sites I belong to and wanted to share it here.
As one often does at year’s end, I’ve been looking back at my artwork over the course of the past few years and I’m amazed at how I’ve improved. With practice one can do most anything.I love what I do so the practice is play for me. I’ve been forced in many cases to work around things that don’t look quite right in a painting or I don’t have the right element for.This helps to teach us and helps us grow as artists as well as building our character.I’m pleased with what I’ve learned through my art and how it helps to heal some of the sorrows that life dishes out.Art has the ability to take pain and turn it into beauty while at the same time healing our hearts and helping us forgive and grow.Art is an amazing tool in life. It’s a gift that literally keeps on giving and I just wanted to take this time as the year winds down to express to all of us that we here hold a very valuable ability to heal ourselves, help others and bring beauty to the ugliness that life can bring. Keep creating, keep bring beauty to your world and share your talent with whoever will have a look!
The Power of Pink! I’m happy to announce that I will be teaching an online class of how to make these fun ceramic trivets. I’m getting the software and video camera for Christmas so sometime in January I’ll be able to show you step by step how this process is done. This particular trivet was made for my Mother-in-Law for Christmas. And I had a very fun time creating in Pink! If you visit here often you know my love for the color pink! You also know how I love the challenge of making something that takes me out of my comfort zone. I’m always excited about using new products and new mediums and would rather buy art supplies than clothes any day! (Oh how my wardrobe is suffering… I’ll need to buy something to wear for Christmas!) As I’m pretty much a stay at home kind of person due to my lifestyle and my creative juices pouring themselves out daily onto one canvas or another… paint stained hoodies and yoga pants are my standard. However… showing up at the in-laws dressed in my artist attire would embarrass me horribly! Not to mention those who are with me. So…. A trip to my favorite clothing store is impending whether I like it or not. I’m so excited about learning video editing and presenting techniques to you and I promise this will be done in an affordable fashion! And it’s more than likely you’ll only have to buy a few supplies at minimal cost.. one of which is from the dollar store! The possibilities for this technique are endless and I’m very excited about sharing what I’ve learned by teaching myself this technique.
I’m still playing with the mosaic mixed media collage technique and loving it. This was done with collage papers, decorative napkins, modeling paste, stencils, bottle cap stampings, beads, itty, bitty seashells. and imagination. I also used mica powders on this but the camera never picks up the pizazz from them. This is a 6×6″ ceramic tile from the dollar store with hanger attached. It’s a very easy peasy canvas. I simply sanded and gesso’d the surface then played away. Today’s creation is a “pink” version of this technique. The tiles are so wonderfully inexpensive that you can buy a handful and have several going at once. Tutorials for this technique are coming up soon. =)
It’s beginning to look pretty messy on my desk! I’ve been playing with mosaic collaging. This one’s got oodles of medium used on it. It’s a ceramic trivet I got at the dollar store with a hanger on the back so it’s ready to go! I sanded the trivet, used some gesso and then sanded again. Then I spent time meticulously cutting out one inch squares of collaging paper.After my eyes stopped bleeding I used mod podge to adhere them and started playing. There are layers of papers, and tissues and modeling paste, and paper bag, and brads, and hemp, and beads and lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh my! Just wanted to make sure you were paying attention. =) All I have left to do here is to varnish, glue the string down on the back and add a backing that covers up the ugly side of the creative process! Hope you enjoy!
I got a new printer for my birthday and I’ve been playing with it and tweaking my art photos in Photoshop. I’m waiting on some software and some paper but I have managed to come up with some prints that I can sell now. This is from an original painting. It’s a great way to add to your art collection on a budget and something I’ve really been wanting to do for quite some time. I plan on a line of greeting cards, bookmarks, postcards along with the prints. I’m also going to be posting some magnets tomorrow on my Etsy. Today’s posting is my “Draw Back Your Bow” print. After a bit of hit and miss I’m please to be able to post my first “print” for sale on Etsy. If you care to do some window shopping head on over, and remember window shopping is FREE!
Faith comes in many forms… and some it is wearable. While on a supply shopping spree I found these awesome wooden crosses and knew I could transform them into something unique. These one of kind wearable wonders are approximately 1 1/2 x 1 3/4 inches and stung on hemp cord. For the ease of wearing I tied them off with a knot so you can simply slip them over your head and not worry about fussing with a clasp. I added individuality to each one with different items from beads to glitters. I found some Fiskars Zingz at Big Lots that I thought would be fantastic fun to play with so I used them on the blue cross. It’s fun digging into a project like this, I always start off by cleaning my desk and ending up with a huge pile of supplies smothering my desk. It’s also fun to try new projects and new mediums to stretch your imagination muscles!
Bedazzle yourself for Christmas, stuff a stocking, or maybe the answer to your Secret Santa whoas! I just finished my second batch of these super fun pins. The squares are 1 1/4 inch and layered and layered and layered with all kinds of fun stuff. From Feathers to Rhinestones. Metallics to Resins. I just posted these tiny treats on my Etsy store. If your interested hop on over. My shop is getting stocked and ready for holiday shopping. I’m having more fun making things then ever before. I’m excited about some cross necklaces I’m working on as well. I’m impatiently waiting for paint to dry so I came here to say hi to all of you and to share my latest shop additions. Happy Thursday.. and wow.. where has the week gone!?
