Illustration Friday - Wish

I have a new book to play with, thanks to Clearprint.

It's a vellum book, which is new medium for me to draw on, and a new concept for how to draw on.

So, I am using vellum as an artist instead of as a card maker.

Before I rarely used vellum as it was difficult to adhere down and curled a lot.

This is new for me, to paint on it. 

Or sketch.

Or draw.

And because it is transparent, you have 2 sides to work with.

The possibilities are mind blowing!

I am going to dedicate this book to Illustration Friday where I can practice drawing and working with both sides of the paper to complete a picture.

There is a learning curve here but I am excited!

This is my illustration for the week, called "Blow" to define "wish".

On the front side of the page I penned in the candle, the air coming from his mouth and the word Wish.

On the backside of the paper I drew the boys face.

Cool, huh?

Fall Gift Box

The first thing I do when altering any project is to start gathering my supplies together and see how everything looks together. I began with the clear plastic lid box, added the handmade paper which inspired me to dig out the Sugar Maple leaves that I had collected last year and an acorn which I have been collecting this year along my lake walks at the Carl Sandburg Home. 

I use an old Cricut mat to spray my liquid adhesive by Helmar onto the sheer handmade paper. The over spray goes onto the mat and because I've used it this way many times, the mat remains just sticky enough to hold my small papers so they don't fly away when the impact of the spray hits it.

As you can see, the liquid spray does not show up and will hold my piece of thin paper to the inside of the box very nicely. I just lay the paper in and press down gently.

Here is the top of the box, as you can see I don't do the sides of the cover.

Next, I collage the bottom ½ of the box using Helmars Decoupage and Craft paste. I use the applicator to give it a thin coating since I don't need a heavy coat with this mulberry paper.

Here are both the top and the bottom of the box completed. Make sure to let the bottom ½ dry completely before sliding the top over it so you don't have to worry about scrunching up the paper.

The fun part is always the embellishing part and I used my Helmar's 450 to secure the leaves, burlap and acorn together for a nice tight hold.

The ribbons that hold my boxes together are "latched" together with Velcro so  that the recipient just lifts off the ribbon and does not actually unwrap anything. The tiny burlap flower covers the velcro.

Here is my finished Fall Gift Box ready to be placed in the Art MoB for sale. I would love to get a present that is wrapped this way, wouldn't you?

I love the texture and feel of handmade paper and am hoping to make the Design Team for Arnold Grummers. As a paper crafter I am always looking for ways to create interesting and unique designs, what better way than to make your own paper?

Over on Frosted Designs, we are having a Fall Theme challenge!!
I just love the colors of fall!
Play along with us!

Oh Fairy Dust...what a mess!!

I need a Fairy to sprinkle some cleaning dust on my craft desk!!

Just look at all this mess it took to create one tiny mini book!!

The room isn't this dark, actually, I just didn't use my flash when I took the picture.

But, oh, what a mess!!!

You can see the booklet sitting in the small clean area, lol 

If you want to see the close-ups I did a slide show presentation over on the Frosted Deigns blog.

Hope you "fly" over there and leave some fairy love for me!

Fairy Advice

I'm currently working on a little mushroom mini album that's titled "Fairy Advice" and this is one  of the chipboard pages so far. 

Entering this in Simon Says - Stencils and Stamps

Clear Scraps stencil - Stones

Cricut - Happy Hauntings cartridge, grass, p. 60

Paisley cartridge, mushroom, p.

Ranger Distress paint - Picked raspberry

Prima stamp - script

Susan K. Weckesser stamp - What's Up Gnomey

StazOn ink

******edit******

I have since finished the book and this is a short slideshow flip of all the pages:

altered canvas bag

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”― Pablo Picasso

TCW474 Hand Drawn Frames

TCW 2044 Pods Fragments

TCW389 Fancy Feathers

TCW202 Harlequin

Susan's Live in Color stencil

Insta-Cute stamp set - ( smile )

Over on the {my sweet earth} blog today I am showing how I transformed this old but highly usable canvas bag that I cart around with me. I was tired of it's plain old look and wanted to liven it up a bit for my trip to Charleston, SC next month. :)

Here's a sneak peek..

Please pop on over and feel free to leave me some love!

Mixing it Up loves Cottonwood Arts blog hop

Welcome to the Mixing it Up loves Cottonwood Arts blog hop!

This is a closed blog hop just for the members of the Mixing it Up Every Day Face Book group so that we can get to know each other better.

Having said that, if you are not in our group, please feel free to leave a comment anyway and come join us over on Face Book.
Our group is called Mixing it Up Everyday.
We would love to get to know you better too.

Here's are the links to every ones blog, remember in order to have a chance to win the prize package from Cottonwood Arts you must:

1. Be a blog hostess

2. Leave a comment on everyone's blog

This is the prize that Cottonwood Arts very generously donated to our group.

Let's be artists supporting other artists!

Hop along in any order and be patient if someone doesn't have their post ready, you have all week end to visit everyone. I hope that you join their blogs and have fun reading what they wrote.
Sandee Setliff http://inthehillsofnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/
Tiare Smith Woods http://www.tiaresmith.com
Martice Smith II http://www.uneekart.blogspot.com
Tiffany Goff Smith http://southerngalsdesign.blogspot.com/?m=1
Anna Turner Ely www.foronemoment.blogspot.com
Cat von Hassel-Davieshttp://www.catseyestudio.us/
Terri Sproul http://www.terrisproul.blogspot.com
Sharon D. Estes http://grannyskornerstudio.blogspot.com
Betty Guffey Richardson http://artyauntie.blogspot.com/
Tommy Jo Vilello Anderson http://www.tommyjovilello.blogspot.com
Melissa Willard Edwards www.melissaedwards.org
Donna Simmons Lueders http://www.damseldesignsbydonna.blogspot.com/
Jean Marmo http://pagesintime.blogspot.com/
Tamiko McCurry http://mikosspot.blogspot.com

1. Am I a journal hoarder?

NOPE.

The journals that I do own are put to a specific use and I do use them. I try very hard not to hoard anything and find that I actually enjoy using my stuff daily.

I have 6 journals that I keep.

1. My Dylusions journal was my first one and the one that is closest to being completed. It's a modge podge of everything because I wasn't very organized and I used it for everything.
It's also the messiest.

2. My second journal is my graph journal that I use for lettering.
It's the cheapest and thinnest of all my journals.

3. My next journal is a Strathmore Mixed Media journal that I created to keep my bible verses to memorize and illustrate.
It's one that I feel the guiltiest about not working in it more.

4. My next journal is my plein air water colors ( also a Strathmore ) which I use to create my drawings that I use when I write my short stories for Rapid River Arts and Culture Magazine.
Writing short stories just kinda happened by accident but I enjoy it.

5. My next ( Strathmore ) journal is relatively new, it's my diet journal and if you visit My Plexus Journey blog you can see what I have been drawing and how I use it. Also you can follow me by e-mail and keep up with my diet journey there. If you really want to get to know me, stop over there and start back on the first post I wrote, I bear my soul openly and freely so that other people who are trying to diet know they aren't alone.
Being overweight sucks.

6. My newest journal and the most unique is the canvas journal from Cottonwood Arts.
 I didn't even know they made canvas journals but I am really enjoying it and using it for the prompts from Wet Canvas.
I love how sturdy this journal is.

This is my first painting in it.
We are to paint a still life with special meaning to us.
And, as my friends know, I am all about 2 things currently in my life.
Painting and trying to get a healthy body back .

Artist and chocoholic.

yep, those are my labels.

So I painted this:

That's suppose to be a brownie sitting on top of my Dylusions journal, but I need more practice painting food.

My life outside of art

Most likely if I am online I am playing Candy Crush, Criminal Case and Puzzly Words.
I think playing strategy games helps to keep your mind alert.

Something you may not know about me.
I hate phones....any phones.
I have the cheapest phone with the cheapest plan I can find.
All my real time friends know not to call me but will send me messages via FB or e-mail.
My editor at the magazine skypes me.
I am that bad.

I also do not have cable TV and only watch movies and shows that I get through Net Flix.
I find that watching TV makes me unproductive and keeps me from painting.
 I love SciFi, comedies and Action/Adventure movies.

I love to read books in bed when I an winding down at night.
My favorite books are series because I get wrapped up in a character and hate to let them go.

The secret of being happy...

This is just part of a journal page that I created for my Helmar blog post today but this part is a subject near and dear to my heart. This truly is the secret to being happy. Sometimes I forget this, but I remind myself that things always could be worse and to be thankful for what I do have!

Hope you skip on over to the Helmar blog and leave me some loving!
Sure would make me happy if you did ♥