Cleaning up and a birthday card

We recently rearranged our basement and in the process we opened up a little bit more room for my creative area!  Woot, right!?  But in doing that we created a bit of a disaster!  All the better to organize my dear!

While organizing I ran across some "forty" paper that I had used for my husband's 40th.  I remembered an email asking to send a friend a birthday card and so I thought what better time then NOW to go ahead and do it!

One never wants to focus TOO much on the number, but 40 is something that needs to be recognized.. so it's in the first layer of the card.

Over that layer of the "number" we build all the beauty, the strength, the messes, the things that hold us together.  Because at 40, we are "nothing less". 

Of course, this card is STILL sitting on my creative area where I left it to dry and never popped it in the mail.  I *SWEAR* it's going out this week... hopefully with that other painting I did for a friend MONTHS ago. 

What's that about those roads paved with good intentions?  

Till next time!

Letting a friend know you care...

Some days, you are chatting with a friend and you get that 20 mins where you SHOULD be cleaning, but you realize your friend could use a little boost and instead of doing what you are SUPPOSED to be doing, you make yourself do what you want.  While I don't love friends needing a boost, I do love having a reason to make a card!

I have been watching and following Tracy Scott (Videos here ) and absolutely love everything she seems to just whip up!  So I had this magical thought that I could throw together a card using some of what I just saw.

Not quite as amazing, but it was fun and quick... something I will definitely keep practicing with.  There are some pieces of baseball stats torn up and put on the card (the "boy" in question plays baseball).  I then used some craft paints that I had and started creating colors and shapes.  I even got some rub-ons that I literally collect because they are all amazing, but I never actually USE them... and so I thought - WHY not?!  USE them...and honestly I always LOVE what they add. 

I can't wait to watch her video using Dina Wakley's Girl stamps!   

Tags are sometimes just the perfect little touch...

It's the end of the school year here... we are officially on summer break.  One of the best things about this year has been knowing that my kids were always going to get home by a good friend if I wasn't able to get there in time.  They could get home in a matter of 5 mins, instead of 45 on the bus.  This was a real blessing and they loved talking to my friend as well.  I always get her a little something for always being there to grab my kids, but this end of the school year was hard.  This was the "last time" I would be giving her a gift for being the shuttle.  My friend and her family are changing schools, and while I know that we will still see each other, I wanted to do something to show her that she's really the best "carpool" around.

So why not attach an award to her gift!  It was a quick "not so little" tag that I put together and will attach to her gift.

The number one car pool award!

I took a ranger size 10 tag and spread some gesso on it for texture, dried it a bit and the used dylusions sprays to give it color and life!  I had some black chip board that said No. 1 and had a little car with wheels.  But who wants boring black?  I went ahead and used Claudia Hellmuth Pastel Yellow paint to lighten up the car.  The car needed to stand out so I found some chipboard that had resist in it.. and sprayed that with some yummy purple dylusions!  I love the pop!  I also dripped some of the extra spray on the tag to tie it all together.

I know I can't possibly be the only one who has TONS of random letters.  Some letters just are NOT used as much.  And to tell you the truth, I LOVE the look of mixed fonts.  They were all different colors and textures of chipboard and metal and I went ahead and used some green Mica on all of them to get them to the same color family and make them a bit more cohesive.  I thought it worked out well with still looking a bit mismatched.

The car and the frame were getting a bit lost so I went ahead and edged the tag and the resist board with some distressed ink mini, and then used a neocolor II crayon to sort of outline the car and give that a bit more definition.

Hopefully the sentiment comes across to someone who I have counted on all year and who I want to know that I appreciate.

Have fun and create,

Cyndi

Items for the first craft Fair

Last year my friend was doing some craft fairs and wanted me to help her.  Sure!  Why not?  But then I thought, well maybe I can ADD a few items on her table and see if they sell.  If they did, amazing.. if they didn't..that's ok too!

Well I was pretty giddy when items started to sell. The items were simple, but had a lot of detail.  They were fun to make.

I did a few magnets with some chipboard and wood cut outs...  they were just fun little sayings and things that people might want to give as a gift, or a little addition to the kitchen or work area..

These are just layered on little mini canvases.  Paints, gelatos, some stencils and other items I had on hand.  

And what girly girl doesn't love a good heel?  This one is about dreaming big in a girls' world.

I love maps.  So I went ahead and made some gelli printing on a map and cut it up to make a house.  Houses are so versatile and fun.  Craft paints, gelatos for shading and the back ground.  Stencils to create layers and texture.  And of course a nice wood / chipboard word "family" - because our home really is all about that.  Layered with some washi tape and some other scraps.

Owls.  I  **LOVE** owls!  This guy is created with gelatos for the background and on my dictionary pages.  I cut them apart to make the owl, highlighted and shaded with some more gelatos and stencils and add some bottle cap eyes.  Even my husband didn't want me to sell it.  

Canvases are really so much fun.  Especially these canvas boards that you can put in frames.  You can make seasonal ones, special occasion or just ones that reflect beliefs or mantras that you have.  I envisioned this for a teen girl.  They really just need to learn to BE You!  Even some of us older people needed to be reminded of this from time to time.  Again, this was made with gelatos, craft paint on a gelli and stencils.  Layering until you get it just right, and feel your muse!

I love quotes and I love silhouettes.  Unfortunately I am not good at drawing them.  So I found a nice silhouette on the internet, printed it out and used it as my mask!  I honestly love how she looks like she's jumping but everything is sort of bursting around here.  This was made with craft paints and gelatos.

Thanks for checking out some little projects I have.  I would love to see anything that you have done.

Create!

Cyndi  

Especially for someone...

I was talking to a person who does art and she was telling me all about creating art with someone in mind.  Making a painting for a person, or persons, instead of just art.  That the meaning in it, the deeper thought meant so much, and it was such a way to express your feelings for them.  I was so intrigued.  I don't think I have ever FINISHED an art project that had someone specifically in mind.  And never a project that was more about the emotion and not just -  Mary likes butterflies, so I will paint a butterfly- .  Truly THINKING about the person and then, C R E A T I N G.

Well, I got that chance.  Through poor planning and time passing faster than we ever anticipate I was unable to see a friend's daughter in a school play.  I felt horrible, because I really wanted to support her.  She's a great kid, love her mom.  So I set out to create a gift for her in celebration of her play.

Teenage girl.  Smart.  Dramatic.  Geeky.  Heart.  Soul shines bright.  Top it off, she *LIKES* my art.  (yeah!).

This is what emerged for this beautiful teen and she loved it...

It was a fun one to make and I hope that in thinking of people when I create, I can truly make some meaningful art for people.  Dream big, Annie!  You will do anything you set your mind to!

Art Evolving

I am most happy when I am learning new aspects of art.  Following new artists, taking classes, playing around in my art journal.  Over the past few months, I have really been venturing in almost EVERY direction -- and I have NEVER been happier!

I don't know that I have a style yet.. but I definitely am having more confidence to go ahead and just TRY something, and not worry so much about the outcome.  How freeing is that?!  I would recommend it to everyone.  Get an art journal.  Follow some tutorials, sketch out those crazy things in your head and just see where it all takes you.  I find that having an art journal is much more inviting to try new things.  It's a book, there's no expectation of it needing to be a "work of art" and it's just something to get your creativity flowing.

One of the things I started to try was faces.  Girl faces.  I am a mom of boys, and I never think to do "girly" things.  But, why?  I *AM* a girl..  I *CAN* do girly things, right?  I mean, they are cute faces.  So I went ahead and tried.

Following a couple of videos by Willowing (http://www.willowing.org/) I tried faces and water soluble crayons.  What girl doesn't like needing new supplies?!

This of course led me to just try some faces on my own from what I had learned in following the videos..

I am not sure which is more fun - faces? or the backgrounds that you can create and immerse them in?

Briefly I tried to follow along with Andrea Gomoll [http://andrea-gomoll.de/] and her daily book pages, but I only ended up doing a couple.  They were OK, but nothing that I felt too passionate about.

Then, the magic happened!  I found out that I love a bit more of the funky art and the process of finding your art as it forms. And that there were really talented people out there doing this kind of art.  That there was raw art.  Crazy art.  Sometimes a bit mental, but so emotional grabbing to me.  I happened upon such an artist and become completely obsessed with her process -- Michelle Brown (a.k.a. MitsiB [http://michellebrown.ning.com/]).  It's raw, quick, emotional.. sometimes strange and completely AMAZING.

I had a page that was a bunch of layers and I couldn't figure out what it wanted to be and after seeing a few of Mitsib's videos... I realized it just hadn't spoken yet... and in a matter of one short session this was born:

A bit twisted, but it's like some of the art I am REALLY drawn to.  The type of art that every time you look at it, you can maybe see something knew, something different.  I was still using some faces, but they weren't perfect.  I  ** L O V E ** that.  There's so much there.  Depth.  Emotion. Doodles. I need to make more of these.  I decided that I had a canvas board that I was creating for someone and it just wasn't working... I wasn't loving it.. but what if I just kept layering?  What if I thought about this person, added more layers and saw what could be?!  It's actually one of my favorite pieces I have created for someone....  and I am behind on getting it out to her.. but hopefully when she gets it, she will LOVE it.

I am still learning new things and trying things, but maybe that should be another post... my goal is to update more of what I am actually doing real time.. even if no one is watching / reading. 

Art can heal...

I love feeling the art that I create. 

I love watching all the videos of people creating in their art journals.

I bought an art journal, but still only watched other people create.

Then.  Then I told myself that *I* needed some therapy.  My art journal was the answer to put down in basic forms some thoughts about my parents. 

Memorialize them having been here.

Having loved each other for 50 years, and only the death of my dead breaking that apart.  

Then dealing with my mom having alzheimer's and not remember this man she had 50 years with.  A family with.  A life and a home. 

Then she's gone.  Alzheimer's and the strokes that come along with it, took her from me in a simple phone call for the second time.  Because I had already lost her once to that horrific disease, the disease that had her calling ME mom because she just knew I was a good person who was taking care of her, and bringing her ice cream on my visits.  Ice cream she enjoyed until she forgot she enjoyed it.

My first pages in my art journal were for my parents.  For 50 years of marriage, good and bad.  To a hope that I will make it to 50 years with my husband some day too.. and maybe even more.  

After using gesso to prime my pages, I played with gelatos.  I wanted to use pinks and purples and colors that make you think of love, and turmoil and real marriage.  I used gelatos with my stencils to give it some layers.  For the first time ever, I did an image transfer.  It was messy and it was fun.  It made the beautiful old wedding photo I had of my parents FEEL old and loved.. even though it was a photocopy!  I used yellow gelato with the ampersand stencil on a thesaurus page, and fussy cut it as liberally as I could.   I am NOT a fussy cutter.  I added some large stickers that I found for their names.  More gelato with heart stencils.  

It was very emotionally fulfilling to make this layout.  It's mine.  It's the graffiti style of writing on a notebook back when I was in high school.  It's of a love in a simple time... even though you don't realize it then.  

Today is 5 years since my dad left us.  And two months since my mom joined him.  I still need a lot of therapy to get through everything that's in my head.  I do hope that some of it will be some really great art!

Remember to love our family and friends while they are here with us.  Make memories that won't ever leave you.  And more importantly, make some art!